Clown of Aleppo 'killed in Syrian or Russian air strike'

[rooster59]

Clown of Aleppo 'killed in Syrian or Russian air strike'

Alasdair Sandford

 

 

Reports from Syria say a social worker known as the “Clown of Aleppo” who helped the besieged city’s children has been killed in an air strike.

 

Anas al-Basha was 24 and had reportedly got married just two months ago.

 

Known for dressing up as a clown, he was also a centre director for Space of Hope, which tries to provide services for people in opposition areas.

 

According to AP he was killed in a presumed government or Russian strike on the eastern Mashhad district.

 

The Syrian army released a video showing its advance towards southern areas of Aleppo after recapturing some districts.

 

A ground and air campaign has cut off rebels in their most important urban stronghold.

 

An estimated quarter of a million civilians were left with dwindling food and medical facilities.

 

Syria and Russia declined a request for a pause in the fighting but the UN says Moscow wants to discuss possible humanitarian corridors.

 

The UN says about 30,000 people are receiving aid after fleeing the city’s eastern zone in recent days. Just over half have been registered entering government-controlled areas; others went into a Kurdish zone.

 

The United Nations is stepping up efforts to provide aid and monitor the treatment of people fleeing.

 

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-12-03

[Stargeezr]

Putin and Assad are war criminals, and I will be happy if they

both  have to stand in a court room and get charged for this

crime, just like Saddam Husain did in Iraq.

[craigt3365]

11 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Putin and Assad are war criminals, and I will be happy if they

both  have to stand in a court room and get charged for this

crime, just like Saddam Husain did in Iraq.

We can pretty much guarantee Assad will be charged with human rights violations when things calm down and Russia tosses him out.

[Scott]

Russia is unlikely to toss Assad out.   There really isn't a (known) replacement in the wings that would satisfy both Russia and Iran.   If Assad did step down, he would most likely be given sanctuary in Iran and far from the grasp of any tribunal.  

 

If for some reason he is captured, he most likely wouldn't make it out alive.   If he were to stand trial, it would be by an opposition force and his fate is already sealed if they get their hands on him.  

 

 

[craigt3365]

28 minutes ago, Scott said:

Russia is unlikely to toss Assad out.   There really isn't a (known) replacement in the wings that would satisfy both Russia and Iran.   If Assad did step down, he would most likely be given sanctuary in Iran and far from the grasp of any tribunal.  

 

If for some reason he is captured, he most likely wouldn't make it out alive.   If he were to stand trial, it would be by an opposition force and his fate is already sealed if they get their hands on him. 

I've read several articles over the years that state Putin isn't exactly happy with Assad.  But yes, who'd replace him?  And if he was replaced, probably go to Iran or Russia.  Iran being more likely?  Hard to say.  What a mess if he does get captured!

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35294890

Quote

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not ruled out granting political asylum to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a long-time ally.

.........

He said the aim in Syria would be to work towards a new constitution: "It is a complicated process.

 

"Then, early presidential and parliamentary elections should be held, based on the new constitution. It is the Syrian people themselves who must decide who should run their country and how.

 

 

It'll be interesting to see this! LOL

[Jblood]

You can't deny that a huge proportion of population in Syria still supports Assad. If that wasn't the case his war would have ended 4 years ago. A large number of population, local elites, clergy and the army are still very loyal to Assad. Assad's personal safety wasn't even threatened in the whole period though he was in the middle of the fighting the whole time. In 4 years not even an assassination attempt or a coup attempt... it can only mean that his people are very loyal to him.

[Scott]

The Assad inner circle is a very secretive and the relative isolation of Syria since the time of Assad Sr., means that the West does not have a lot of intelligence on the inner workings of the Assad regime.  

 

Assad, in addition to being insular, has also managed to act very passive-aggressively with his neighbors and enemies, which means he has never been quite as high profile and as scrutinized as was Saddam, for example.  

 

Of course, Putin would not be particularly happy with Assad.   Putin is aggressive and Assad is passive-aggressive.   They are like oil and water.   They do need each other though.   I suspect that Iran has had its share of troubles with Assad.   

[Scott]

2 minutes ago, Jblood said:

You can't deny that a huge proportion of population in Syria still supports Assad. If that wasn't the case his war would have ended 4 years ago. A large number of population, local elites, clergy and the army are still very loyal to Assad. Assad's personal safety wasn't even threatened in the whole period though he was in the middle of the fighting the whole time. In 4 years not even an assassination attempt or a coup attempt... it can only mean that his people are very loyal to him.

It's a very secretive, insular and exclusive circle around Assad.   It is difficult to know if there have been assassination attempts.   He did have some fairly high ranking officers that defected.  

 

Assad is very, very entrenched in Syria and I suspect we know more about how North Korea works than we do about Syria.  

[williamgeorgeallen]

4 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Putin and Assad are war criminals, and I will be happy if they

both  have to stand in a court room and get charged for this

crime, just like Saddam Husain did in Iraq.

yea execute assad like husain so syria can be the paradise that iraq now is. america is doing most of the bombing and killing most of the civilians. how they can tell whos bombs are whos is beyond me.

[craigt3365]

4 minutes ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

yea execute assad like husain so syria can be the paradise that iraq now is. america is doing most of the bombing and killing most of the civilians. how they can tell whos bombs are whos is beyond me.

I'd bet those in Syria consider Iraq to be a  paradise compared to what they are living through now.  And America is not doing most of the bombing of civilians in Syria.  You know that.

 

[Jblood]

According to Assad himself he's not fighting his people but rather the foreign Al-Qaida network and foreign armed and terrorists. You can listen to the whole Assad interview with Danish TV and western Danish reporter who isn't trying to side with Assad:

 

 

Assad doesn't strike me as some deranged lunatic dictator as always described in the Western Media. I think what you see here in the interview is the exact opposite.

 

As for Syria itself. Its borders were rather porous even before this conflict started. Those officers who defected probably provided full picture of what Assad and his near circle is about... There's been no secret about it for a while now.

[mettech]

Assad still wear nice clothes and still getting rid of is own people what a way to clean a country. He must of bought a lot of army toys from who ever had them for sale even the North America one.

[Briggsy]

If the Saudis had not funded, armed and fomented the Syrian revolution and the Americans had not viewed it as convenient to hit the Russian sphere of influence distracting them from Ukraine, then Syria would not be in this awful mess.

 

The Western media myth that the revolution was a spontaneous uprising, that once Assad is removed all those races and religions will get along, that Al-Qaeda are okay now and that ISIS just appeared from nowhere has grown very tedious.

[craigt3365]

57 minutes ago, Jblood said:

According to Assad himself he's not fighting his people but rather the foreign Al-Qaida network and foreign armed and terrorists. You can listen to the whole Assad interview with Danish TV and western Danish reporter who isn't trying to side with Assad:

 

 

Assad doesn't strike me as some deranged lunatic dictator as always described in the Western Media. I think what you see here in the interview is the exact opposite.

 

As for Syria itself. Its borders were rather porous even before this conflict started. Those officers who defected probably provided full picture of what Assad and his near circle is about... There's been no secret about it for a while now.

Ah yes, that bastion of truth and justice for all.  Assad.  Anybody who bombs his own people, puts them in prison and tortures them, etc, is deranged.  I'm sure other mass murdering lunatics have some similar interviews.  Propaganda at it's worst.

[craigt3365]

16 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

If the Saudis had not funded, armed and fomented the Syrian revolution and the Americans had not viewed it as convenient to hit the Russian sphere of influence distracting them from Ukraine, then Syria would not be in this awful mess.

 

The Western media myth that the revolution was a spontaneous uprising, that once Assad is removed all those races and religions will get along, that Al-Qaeda are okay now and that ISIS just appeared from nowhere has grown very tedious.

The myth that the revolution started due to outsiders and not due to atrocities committed by the government has grown very tedious.  But yes, it's gotten worse due to outsiders like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, etc, etc, etc.  Sadly, Assad is one of the main obstacles. The opposition is hard and fast on that.  Nothing to do with Western media.

[Beats56]

What mess in Syria. The country is turned into a pile of rubble. Feel sorry for the poor inoccent people caught in the middle of this. And the bombing of hospitals is just awful. It will take a lot of resources to rebuilt the infrastructure.

 

[Morch]

6 hours ago, Scott said:

Russia is unlikely to toss Assad out.   There really isn't a (known) replacement in the wings that would satisfy both Russia and Iran.   If Assad did step down, he would most likely be given sanctuary in Iran and far from the grasp of any tribunal.  

 

If for some reason he is captured, he most likely wouldn't make it out alive.   If he were to stand trial, it would be by an opposition force and his fate is already sealed if they get their hands on him.  

 

 

 

I don't think Russia and Iran are quite on the same page as some assume. Iran is hardly as receptive to Russian dictates and wishes as other ME players were to the USSR of old. Their agendas with regard to Syria coincides on some interests, but not all, and both got other, unrelated issues to contend with.

 

That is not to say that there is a disagreement between the two with regard to Assad's future, just that if and when it comes to that point, they may not see eye to eye. Would probably take some clever diplomacy to exploit that, so not much hope.

[Morch]

6 hours ago, Scott said:

The Assad inner circle is a very secretive and the relative isolation of Syria since the time of Assad Sr., means that the West does not have a lot of intelligence on the inner workings of the Assad regime.  

 

Assad, in addition to being insular, has also managed to act very passive-aggressively with his neighbors and enemies, which means he has never been quite as high profile and as scrutinized as was Saddam, for example.  

 

Of course, Putin would not be particularly happy with Assad.   Putin is aggressive and Assad is passive-aggressive.   They are like oil and water.   They do need each other though.   I suspect that Iran has had its share of troubles with Assad.   

 

6 hours ago, Scott said:

It's a very secretive, insular and exclusive circle around Assad.   It is difficult to know if there have been assassination attempts.   He did have some fairly high ranking officers that defected.  

 

Assad is very, very entrenched in Syria and I suspect we know more about how North Korea works than we do about Syria.  

 

Secretive, insular and exclusive for sure, but hardly an enigma as presented by North Korea. Way more outside foreign contacts and exposure. I think the difficulty, as with many dictators (and especially those under survival threat) is assessing which way the wind blows at any given moment.

 

Saddam Hussein other than having a very different personality, was also heading a much richer country, who's actions actually influenced matters. Syria is relatively a blimp in comparison.

 

With regard to assassination attempts - one of Assad's cousins was murdered about earlier last year, but hard to say if that applies. There were several car bomb attacks in Damascus which targeted government offices, with some speculation that they were directed at Assad or his inner circle.

[Morch]

2 hours ago, mettech said:

Assad still wear nice clothes and still getting rid of is own people what a way to clean a country. He must of bought a lot of army toys from who ever had them for sale even the North America one.

 

Most of Syria's weapons are provided by Russia and Iran. What arms sales by the US can you point at?

[Morch]

2 hours ago, Briggsy said:

If the Saudis had not funded, armed and fomented the Syrian revolution and the Americans had not viewed it as convenient to hit the Russian sphere of influence distracting them from Ukraine, then Syria would not be in this awful mess.

 

The Western media myth that the revolution was a spontaneous uprising, that once Assad is removed all those races and religions will get along, that Al-Qaeda are okay now and that ISIS just appeared from nowhere has grown very tedious.

 

2 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

The myth that the revolution started due to outsiders and not due to atrocities committed by the government has grown very tedious.  But yes, it's gotten worse due to outsiders like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, etc, etc, etc.  Sadly, Assad is one of the main obstacles. The opposition is hard and fast on that.  Nothing to do with Western media.

 

It's not an either/or thing. Can't have a civil war/uprising/insurgency without no local cause whatsoever, and granted that it's easier to sustain the very same with outside support.

[Xircal]

5 hours ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

yea execute assad like husain so syria can be the paradise that iraq now is. america is doing most of the bombing and killing most of the civilians. how they can tell whos bombs are whos is beyond me.

 

The Russian air campaign comprises primarily of carpet bombing from 35,000ft while the US confines itself to surgical strikes. The US has special forces on the ground using lasers to assist aircraft to precisely hit targets thereby limiting damage to civilians. 

 

Russia on the other hand doesn't care who they kill and if civilians are among the dead, they won't lose any sleep over it.

[Jblood]

The problem is  that the Western Media can't be trusted at all on this and many other issues. I provided a link with Assad interview where he clearly explains that there's no logic in either Syrian or Russian forces in targeting hospitals or civilians. He says the consequence of such actions would only further ferment unrest - it's like shooting yourself in the foot. I think the problem here is that the Western Media is highly exaggerating the scale and the intensity of the war in Syria and it's straight out lying that either Syria or Russia are deliberately targeting hospitals or civilians. I'm pretty sure the western media is lying about everything else as well.

[Morch]

20 minutes ago, Jblood said:

The problem is  that the Western Media can't be trusted at all on this and many other issues. I provided a link with Assad interview where he clearly explains that there's no logic in either Syrian or Russian forces in targeting hospitals or civilians. He says the consequence of such actions would only further ferment unrest - it's like shooting yourself in the foot. I think the problem here is that the Western Media is highly exaggerating the scale and the intensity of the war in Syria and it's straight out lying that either Syria or Russia are deliberately targeting hospitals or civilians. I'm pretty sure the western media is lying about everything else as well.

 

Whereas Assad can be trusted, and so can Russian media. Because they have such a stellar record of avoiding propaganda and adhering to the truth. The logic of hitting schools and hospitals is that it produces fear among the populace, and shatters their morale. It is also kinda inevitable when conducting mostly non-precision attacks. 

[simple1]

7 hours ago, Jblood said:

The problem is  that the Western Media can't be trusted at all on this and many other issues. I provided a link with Assad interview where he clearly explains that there's no logic in either Syrian or Russian forces in targeting hospitals or civilians. He says the consequence of such actions would only further ferment unrest - it's like shooting yourself in the foot. I think the problem here is that the Western Media is highly exaggerating the scale and the intensity of the war in Syria and it's straight out lying that either Syria or Russia are deliberately targeting hospitals or civilians. I'm pretty sure the western media is lying about everything else as well.

 

Assad himself admitted significant military losses (from memory estimated 60,000 combat deaths, including Assad militias) and shortages of personnel that led him to requesting support from a known terrorist group, Hezbollah and others. BTW Hezbollah has suffered roughly 1,500 combat deaths in Syria. So given you're of the view Assad speaks the truth (LOL) kind of refutes your theory of a relatively low intensity war.

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-27/syria-assad-army-focusing-on-holding-most-important-areas/6649306

 

http://yalibnan.com/2016/06/20/hezbollah-suffers-heavy-casualties-in-syria-including-another-mughniyeh-commander/

 

 

[craigt3365]

8 hours ago, Jblood said:

The problem is  that the Western Media can't be trusted at all on this and many other issues. I provided a link with Assad interview where he clearly explains that there's no logic in either Syrian or Russian forces in targeting hospitals or civilians. He says the consequence of such actions would only further ferment unrest - it's like shooting yourself in the foot. I think the problem here is that the Western Media is highly exaggerating the scale and the intensity of the war in Syria and it's straight out lying that either Syria or Russia are deliberately targeting hospitals or civilians. I'm pretty sure the western media is lying about everything else as well.

Using a blanket statement like Western Media can't be trusted makes your post not worth reading.  You've got some good arguments, but that kind of blanket statement ruins it.

 

Plus, do you really believe everything people say during an interview?  Especially one like Assad?  I guarantee I sure don't!  Regardless of who they are or their nationality! LOL

 

If you don't like Western Media, give us a source you trust.  Read this article.  These guys are pretty accurate.  Hopefully, it will change your mind.

 

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2016/09/21/aleppo-un-aid-analysis/

Quote

Considering the presence of a tailfin of a Russian-made bomb, the presence of a Russian drone monitoring the location, and the barrel bomb attack, it is almost certain that Syria–and possibly Russia–carried out the attack. There are no indications in the open source evidence that corroborate Russian claims that the damage took place from a “fire” on the ground (not initiated by an airstrike) or that a U.S. Predator drone could have been responsible.

.

 

 

Pretty conclusive evidence

[Jblood]

50 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Using a blanket statement like Western Media can't be trusted makes your post not worth reading.  You've got some good arguments, but that kind of blanket statement ruins it.

 

Plus, do you really believe everything people say during an interview?  Especially one like Assad?  I guarantee I sure don't!  Regardless of who they are or their nationality! LOL

 

If you don't like Western Media, give us a source you trust.  Read this article.  These guys are pretty accurate.  Hopefully, it will change your mind.

 

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2016/09/21/aleppo-un-aid-analysis/

.

 

 

Pretty conclusive evidence

 

That Assad interview is probably the best piece of evidence we have about that conflict so far than from any source of media. You have the key "suspect" and who also happens to be the key and most informed witness in that whole conflict giving his testimony to an impartial or actually probably biased against Assad media. Nobody knows more than Assad does. Any digital media can be easily manipulated, manufactured, photoshopped and so on. I doubt that any of the evidence meets the criteria of collection of forensic evidence during a crime investigation for example. But since we are at war with Western Countries clearly physically and financially backing the "rebels", then pretty much all western media sources particularly those linked to the government and the establishment should be dismissed as pure propaganda and source of disinformation. It's just common sense. It's something which shouldn't require explanation.

 

I can only see that Assad's body language tells me he's probably telling the truth. I didn't notice any body language which would indicate he's lying at any instance during the interview. And it was more of an interrogation - he was asked the same question something like 7 times. And each time he answered using different wording and added further information to his argument, which usually doesn't happen when a person is lying.

 

 

[craigt3365]

26 minutes ago, Jblood said:

 

That Assad interview is probably the best piece of evidence we have about that conflict so far than from any source of media. You have the key "suspect" and who also happens to be the key and most informed witness in that whole conflict giving his testimony to an impartial or actually probably biased against Assad media. Nobody knows more than Assad does. Any digital media can be easily manipulated, manufactured, photoshopped and so on. I doubt that any of the evidence meets the criteria of collection of forensic evidence during a crime investigation for example. But since we are at war with Western Countries clearly physically and financially backing the "rebels", then pretty much all western media sources particularly those linked to the government and the establishment should be dismissed as pure propaganda and source of disinformation. It's just common sense. It's something which shouldn't require explanation.

 

I can only see that Assad's body language tells me he's probably telling the truth. I didn't notice any body language which would indicate he's lying at any instance during the interview. And it was more of an interrogation - he was asked the same question something like 7 times. And each time he answered using different wording and added further information to his argument, which usually doesn't happen when a person is lying.

So if Bush gave an interview saying he absolutely new of weapons of mass destruction, you'd believe that?  Or Putin saying there are NO Russian troops in Ukraine, you'd believe that?  Sorry, but Assad if far from a credible person.