Rebels

Syrian Rebels In Heavy Fighting With The Syrian Army

The Syrian army continues to push back militants fighting against the government on the outskirts of the capital Damascus. On Saturday, the army persevered with its tactical operations against the militants’ positions in al-Qaboun area, north of the capital.

“We are in the industrial zone of Qaboun. Our mission is to form a defense line and monitor the militants’ movements to fight their infiltration into the capital,” said an army soldier.

On Saturday, the army regained full control of two areas in Sadad town, situated 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Homs, and 101 kilometers (63 miles) northeast of the capital Damascus, following heavy clashes with the militants.

Also units of Syrian Army troops have taken full control of al-Sfeira town in Syria’s northwestern province of Aleppo. Syrian soldiers seized various kinds of weapons and munitions following the gun battle and defused more than 700 improvised explosive devices planted by militants in the town’s streets.

The Syrian government will not participate in the forthcoming Geneva 2 peace conference if the aim is for President Bashar al-Assad to relinquish power, the country’s information minister says.

A senior commander of the so-called Free Syrian Army and head of the militants in the northern city of Aleppo has reportedly resigned from his post over division of opposition.

In an online video, Abdul Jabbar Akidi criticized the opposition and the Syrian National Coalition, saying they are weak and irresponsible.

Unverified videos allegedly show Syria rebels using chemical weapons

Unverified footage, which came into the spotlight following a post by prominent blogger ‘Brown Moses’, allegedly shows Syrian rebels using chemical weapons on 21st of August. RT discusses the videos, the potential chemical trail, and for the record, comments on Brown Moses’ in-depth work on social media coming from the Syria conflict.

RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air

Kidnapped Teacher: Rebels Said Assad Not Behind Chemical Weapons Attack

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
September 9, 2013

A Belgian teacher who was kidnapped by rebels in Syria said he overheard the militants acknowledging that President Bashar Al-Assad was not responsible for last month’s chemical weapons attack.

Kidnapped Teacher: Rebels Said Assad Not Behind Chemical Weapons Attack

Troubled waters: Naval forces line Syrian shores

Troubled waters: Naval forces line Syrian shores

Mounting pressure for a Western strike on Syria has seen naval forces both friendly and hostile to Damascus build up off the embattled country’s coastline.

  The potential of a US strike against Syria in response to an  August 21 chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb gained  steam on Wednesday, when a resolution backing the use of force  against President Bashar Assad’s government cleared the Senate  Foreign Relations Committee on a 10-7 vote.

  President Obama has decided to put off military action until at  least September 9, when the seemingly recalcitrant US House of  Representatives reconvenes to vote on the measure.

  Following the August 21 Ghouta Attack, which killed anywhere  between 355 to 1,729 people, the diplomatic scramble to launch or  stave off a military strike on Syria was mirrored by the movement  of naval forces in the Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of  Syria.

  The deployment of US and allied naval warships in the region has  been matched by the deployment of Russian naval warships in the  region.

  While the Western vessels have in many cases been deployed in the  event a military strike against Syria gets a green light, Russian  President Vladimir Putin has said Russia’s naval presence is  needed to protect national security interests and is not a threat  to any nation.

  Below is a brief summary of the naval hardware currently amassed  off Syria’s shores.

  USA

  The US Navy has five Arleigh Burke-class guided missile  destroyers off the coast of Syria, which its top admiral says is   “fully ready” for a wide range of possible actions.

  The USS Ramage, USS Mahan, USS Gravely and USS Barry are each  armed with dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range  of about 1,000 nautical miles (1,151 miles) and are used for  precise targeting.

  The ships are also equipped with surface-to-air missiles capable  of defending the vessels from air attacks.

  On August 29, the USS Stout was sent to relieve the USS Mahan,  but a defense official told AFP that both ships might remain in  the area for the time being.

  Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations, told an  audience at the American Enterprise Institute on Thursday that  the US ships are prepared for what he called a “vast spectrum  of operations,” including launching Tomahawk cruise missiles  at targets in Syria, as was done in Libya in 2011, and protecting  themselves in the event of retaliation, AP reports.

  In addition to the destroyers, the United States may well have  one of its four guided missile submarines off the coast of Syria.  At one time these subs were equipped with nuclear-tipped  ballistic missiles. Nowadays, they are capable of carrying up to  154 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

  It was also announced on Monday that the US had deployed the USS  San Antonio, an amphibious transport ship, to the Eastern  Mediterranean.

  The USS San Antonio, with several helicopters and hundreds of  Marines on board, is “on station in the Eastern  Mediterranean” but “has received no specific tasking,”   a defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

  The deployment of the USS Antonio comes despite promises from  President Obama that no amphibious landing is on the agenda, as  the US has ostensibly ruled out any “boots on the ground.”

While the wording of the draft resolution set to be put before  the House does not permit a ground invasion, the wording of the  text could potentially allow troops to carry out non-offensive  operations within Syria, including securing chemical weapons  stockpiles and production facilities.

  On Monday, it was also announced the USS Nimitz super carrier had  moved into the Red Sea, though it had not been given orders to be  part of the planning for a limited US military strike on Syria,  US officials told ABC News.

  The other ships in the strike group are the cruiser USS Princeton  and the destroyers USS William P. Lawrence, USS Stockdale and USS  Shoup.

  The official said the carrier strike group has not been assigned  a mission, but was shifted in the event its resources are needed  to “maximize available options.”  

The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and strike group is also  in the northern Arabian Sea.

  Russia

  Russia, Syria’s longtime ally and primary arms supplier, has its  only overseas naval base located in the Syrian port of Tartus,  which has reportedly been used to support Russia’s growing number  of naval patrols on the Mediterranean. However, Russia insists  recent efforts to bolster its naval presence in the region are  not in response to Western threats of a military strike.

  Reported movements of many Russian ships in the region are coming  from anonymous Russian defense ministry sources and have not been  confirmed. RT contacted the Russian Navy to ask for confirmation  of the reported ship movements, though no comment was  forthcoming.

  On Friday, for example, the large landing ship, Nikolai  Filchenkov, was reportedly dispatched from the Ukrainian port  city of Sevastopol for the Russian Black Sea port of  Novorossiisk, from where it is eventually expected to reach the  Syrian coast, a source told Interfax News Agency.

“The ship will make call in Novorossiisk, where it will take  on board special cargo and set off for the designated area of its  combat duty in the eastern Mediterranean,” the source said.

  RIA news agency quoted an unnamed senior naval source as saying  on Friday that the frigate, Smetlivy, would leave for the  Mediterranean on September 12-14, and the corvette Shtil and  missile boat Ivanovets would approach Syria at the end of the  month.

  The Russian destroyer Nastoichivy, which is the flagship of the  Baltic fleet, is also expected to join the group in the region.

  Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov, who was unable to  comment on specific reports, said on Thursday the Russian navy  currently had a “pretty strong group” there.

  “The Russian navy does not intend to take part directly or  indirectly in a possible regional conflict,” he told the state  Rossiya 24 broadcaster.

“Our navy vessels are a guarantee of stability, guarantee of  peace, an attempt to hold back other forces ready to start  military action in the region.”

  Also reportedly in place in the eastern Mediterranean are the  frigate Neustrashimy, as well as the landing ships Alexander  Shabalin, the Admiral Nevelsky and the Peresvet.

  They are expected to be joined by the guided-missile cruiser  Moskva.

  The Moskva, set to arrive in a little over a week’s time, will  take over operations from a naval unit in the region.

“The plans of the naval unit under the command of Rear Admiral  Valery Kulikov had to be changed a little. Instead of visiting a  Cape Verde port, the cruiser Moskva is heading to the Strait of  Gibraltar. In about ten days, it will enter the eastern  Mediterranean, where it will replace the destroyer Admiral  Panteleyev as the flagship of the operative junction of the  Russian Navy,” a source told Interfax on Wednesday.

  Panteleyev incidentally, only arrived in the east Mediterranean  Sea on Wednesday after leaving the Far-Eastern port city of  Vladivostok on March 19 to join the Russian standing naval force  as its flagship.

  The SSV-201 reconnaissance ship, Priazovye, is also reportedly on  its way to join the group in the Eastern Mediterranean.  Accompanied by the two landing ships, Minsk and Novocherkassk,  the intelligence ship passed through the ‘Istanbul Strait’ on  Thursday, which helps form the boundary between Europe and Asia.

  FRANCE

  On August 31, French military officials confirmed the frigate  Chevalier Paul, which specializes in anti-missile capabilities,  and the transport ship, Dixmude, were in the Mediterranean.  French officials denied they are in the region to participate in  military action against Syria, but were rather taking part in  training and operation preparations.

  Despite their presence in the region, France currently has no  ship-based missiles, so any offensive action would come from the  air in the form of long-range Scalp missiles, similar to those  the nation used in Kosovo in 1999 and in Libya in 2011, Time  reports.

  Italy

  Two Italian warships set sail for Lebanon on Wednesday in a bid  to protect 1,100 Italian soldiers in the United Nations Interim  Force in Lebanon, Syria’s southeastern neighbor, Agence France  Presse reported.

  The Italian ANSA news agency reported that a frigate and a  torpedo destroyer boat departed from Italy’s southeastern coast  on Wednesday and would provide additional protection to the  soldiers in the event the Syrian conflict further deteriorates.

  UK

  As of August 29, the Royal Navy’s Response Force Task Group was  deployed in the Mediterranean as part of long-planned exercise  Cougar 13. The force includes helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious,  type-23 frigates HMS Westminster and HMS Montrose, amphibious  warship HMS Bulwark and six Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships.     The Trafalgar-class nuclear submarine HMS Tireless was also  believed to be in the area at the time, after it was detected in  Gibraltar.

  On the same day that British media started touting Britain’s   “arsenal of military might” which would be available in the event  of intervention, British Prime Minister David Cameron lost a vote  endorsing military action against Syria by 13 votes. In light of  the shocking parliamentary defeat, Foreign Secretary William  Hague said the UK would only be able to offer the US “diplomatic  support.”

The UK’s Conservative Chancellor, George Osborne, confirmed that  the UK would not seek a further vote on action in Syria.