Free Syrian Army militant General Salim Idris to joining army to fight al-Qaeda

Source : Ahlul Bayt News Agency

Syrian ringleader of the anti-government militants General Salim Idris has declared that he is prepared to join government troops in the future to drive out al-Qaeda-linked extremists.The commander of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) warned that in particular ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham), with thousands of foreign terrorists in its ranks, was “very dangerous for the future of Syria” and needs to be confronted before it becomes even more powerful.Speaking in Istanbul, General Idris, a former officer in Syria's army, said he and his associates were dropping the precondition that President Bashar al-Assad must leave power before the Geneva meeting takes place. Instead they would be satisfied if his departure were to take place “at the end of the negotiation process” when General Idris will join forces with the remainder of the government to mount an offensive against the terrorists.Western security agencies now believe that Syria poses the most potent threat of terrorism in Europe and the US from where hundreds of extremists have gone to join the terrorism. Britain’s intelligence agency (MI5) and Scotland Yard’s anti-terrorist branch recently tackled the first case of men sent from there specifically to carry out attacks in London.One senior Western intelligence official stressed that the Syrian government’s forces must be preserved for the battles ahead against the terrorists and the need to avoid the mistakes made in Iraq and Libya, where the army and police were disbanded with the fall of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, allowing terrorist groups to rise in a security vacuum.The official held that talks between the Syrian government and militants set to take place in Geneva in January could be the beginning of the formation of an anti-al-Qaeda front in Syria, along with a negotiated settlement to end the conflict.The opposition would like to see evidence of good faith from the government, which would include allowing supplies to get through to communities trapped by the fighting.General Idris complained his men were having to fight a war on two fronts: they have, he claimed, fought al-Qaeda at 24 different locations in the last six months while at the same time facing poundings from government’s warplanes and artillery.

ISIL Kills All Members of Rival Armed Group in Reef Idlib

Source : FARS News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) killed all members of another militant group in Reef (countryside of) Idlib in Northwestern Syria on Monday.The heavy clashes erupted after ISIL came under the group’s attacks in Hazano in Reef Idlib.Last week, ISIL clashed with an armed rebel group in Saraqeb town in Reef Idlib and a large number of militants from both sides were killed in heavy fighting.The heavy clashes erupted in Reef Idlib after the ISIL kidnapped nine armed rebels and executed them.After more than two years of fighting side-by-side and leading one of the bloodiest conflicts in the recent history of the Middle-East, the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) and al-Qaeda affiliated groups have been making growing moves against each other to take charge in battle zones following West’s official announcements about its arms and logistic supports for anti-government forces in Syria.Analysts say West’s pressures for opening a way to send arms to militants in Syria and not the terrorists is actually differentiating the anti-Syria armed groups to “good terrorists” and “bad terrorists”.Militants in Syria have been committing numerous war crimes against people and Syrian army soldiers throughout the country during their bloody war.Earlier this year, sources said the number of antigovernment combat factions has reached 1750, including the FSA, ISIL, and other groups working for different agendas.However, the most prominent differences lie between the FSA and the ISIL, where media sources reported that the latter killed Abu Obeida Al-Binshi, one of the FSA commanders, the Islam Times reported."The assassination took place after the ISIL had taken a number of Malaysians, Syrians and Turks relief workers as hostage," the sources said."Following the abduction, a number of the FSA brigades moved in an attempt to release prisoners, which led to clashes between the two opposition groups, and left Abu Obeida Al-Binshi killed," they elaborated further.Earlier, a media source in the FSA described the ISIL as the movement which turned into a cruel rebel group."This organization kills all dissidents without exception, chasing and assassinating them in the areas of Ghouta and Damascus western countryside," the media source said.Such incidents were being repeated in Syria during the recent period, signaling a growing tension between the militant groups active under the FSA and the so-called 'Jihadi' groups, mainly composed of non-Syrian militants.For its part, the opposing UK-based Syrian Observatory said that Al-Qaeda-affiliated ISIL had beheaded another battalion commander in the province of Idlib, Northwest Syria, in the wake of a battle erupted between the Syrian army and militants of other battalions in the town of Dana, in which dozens were killed.Recently, the city of Raqqa in Northern Syria has witnessed protests, sit-ins and demonstrations against the armed groups deployment as a result of arrests carried out.Moreover, the killing of a 14-year boy at the hands of "State of Iraq and Levant' mercenaries in front of his family in the city of Aleppo after being accused of blasphemy had also provoked widespread protests. 

Armed Rebels Massacre Entire Population of Christian Village in Syria

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- Armed rebels attacked a village in Syria's Western province of Homs and slaughtered all its Christian residents on Monday.

The armed rebels affiliated to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) raided the Christian- populated al-Duvair village in Reef (outskirts of) Homs near the border with Lebanon today and massacred all its civilian residents, including women and children.

The Syrian army, however, intervened and killed tens of terrorists during heavy clashes which are still going on in al-Duvair village.

The armed rebels' attack and crimes in al-Duvair village came after they sustaine heavy defeats in al-Qusseir city which has almost been set free by the Syrian arm except for a few districts.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was almost restored in the Arab state after President Assa started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies sought hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots to topple President Bashar al-Assad, who is well known in the world for his anti-Israeli stances.

Internal Dispute Kills Notorious Terrorist Ringleader in Northwestern Syria

Source : Fars News

TEHRAN (FNA)- Clashes between two main Syrian armed rebel groups in Reef (outskirts of) Idlib in Northwestern Syria killed tens of armed rebels, including a notorious terrorist leader.

The clashes erupted between members of the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda and Lava al-Saqour terrorist groups in Mar Tamsarin of Reef Idlib today, killing more than 50 terrorists from both sides, including Lava al-Saqour's ringleader Shokri Ajauj.

In similar clashes last month, harsh disputes erupted among the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels over links and cooperation with the notorious terrorist group, the al-Qaeda.

Al-Ahd news website reported in April that the harsh disputes between the FSA and al-Nusra Front over the latter's pledging allegiance to the al-Qaeda have at times even grown so violent that have led to an exchange of fire.

The groups affiliated to FSA in a statement expressed their opposition to the al-Nusra Front's allegiance to the al-Qaeda.

Last month, leader of al-Nusra Front Abu Mohammed al-Jawalani pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda.

The pledge was made in an audio message by al-Jawalani a day after al-Qaeda in Iraq said al-Nusra Front in Syria is part of its "Islamic state", al-Mayadeen TV reported.

The differences between FSA and al-Qaeda-linked group came while the former Head of the so- called Syrian National Coalition Sheikh Ahmad Maaz Al-Khatib had several times voiced support for al-Nusra Front.

Last December, Al-Khatib criticized the Washington's decision to put the al-Nusra Front in the US list of terrorists.

Al-Nusra Front has claimed responsibility for most of the fatal bombings targeting civilians and government institutions across Syria after the outbreak of the country's crisis in early 2011. Damascus has repeatedly warned of the growing threat of such groups to not only Syria, but the entire region as well.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against the Syrian police, border guards, statesmen, army and the civilians being reported across the country.

Thousands of people have been killed since terrorist and armed groups turned protest rallies into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

Detecting 400 meter-long tunnel between al-Musika barrack and Harmala roundabout in Jobar

Source : http://www.breakingnews.sy

Units of Syrian Arab Army carried out a series of qualitative operations against the headquarters of a "Free Army" militia in a number of towns during which they stroke a number of its members dead and injured and the destruction of their weapons and heavy machine guns.

Breaking News Network correspondent said that a unit of the Syrian Arab Army destroyed the weapons and ammunition at the tunnel Harmalah, as clashed with gunmen in the valley of Ein Tarma.

Units of the Syrian Arab Army killed and injured a number of "al-Nusra Front" in the neighborhood of Jobar in ural Damascus and found a tunnel and field hospital that contains large quantities of medicine and medical equipment stolen from public hospitals and private health centers in the district.

The correspondent added that a tunnel was found about 400 meters long stretches from al- Musika battalion to the area of al-Manasher roundabout to the Junction of Harmalah, in addition to a field hospital contains large quantities of equipment and medicines gunmen looted from the public and medical centers in the region.

our correspondent pointed that army units seized another tunnel between Barzeh and al-Qaboun in rural Damascus, after combing the two regions in the countryside of Damascus.

In another context, gunmen fired a shell exploded this morning over the old city of Damascus without causing any injuries or material damage.

The SANA news agency noted that the shell that has been fired from al-Sbeneh town by gumen has exploded mid-air causing a fire mass and strong loud bang over the old city of Damascus without claiming injuries or material damage.Units of Syrian Arab Army carried out a series of qualitative operations against the headquarters of a "Free Army" militia in a number of towns during which they stroke a number of its members dead and injured and the destruction of their .weapons and heavy machine guns

Breaking News Network correspondent said that a unit of the Syrian Arab Army destroyed the weapons and ammunition at the tunnel Harmalah, as clashed with gunmen in the valley of Ein Tarma.

Units of the Syrian Arab Army killed and injured a number of "al-Nusra Front" in the neighborhood of Jobar in ural Damascus and found a tunnel and field hospital that contains large quantities of medicine and medical equipment stolen from public hospitals and private health centers in the district.

The correspondent added that a tunnel was found about 400 meters long stretches from al- Musika battalion to the area of al-Manasher roundabout to the Junction of Harmalah, in addition to a field hospital contains large quantities of equipment and medicines gunmen looted from the public and medical centers in the region.

our correspondent pointed that army units seized another tunnel between Barzeh and al-Qaboun in rural Damascus, after combing the two regions in the countryside of Damascus.

In another context, gunmen fired a shell exploded this morning over the old city of Damascus without causing any injuries or material damage.

The SANA news agency noted that the shell that has been fired from al-Sbeneh town by gumen has exploded mid-air causing a fire mass and strong loud bang over the old city of Damascus without claiming injuries or material damage.

Syrian Army keeps securing Abu al-Zuhour airport

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

Syrian Army continues the operations against Free Army militia by targeting the strongholds of the armed terrorists in Tal Salmo and al-Teraa villages of Abu al- Zuhour countryside and hitting their locations in Em Green, Abu al-Zuhour, al- Buaytee towns that are closed to the military airport, what resulted in the death and the injury of many of the gunmen and the destruction of 3 vehicles loaded by machine guns.

The operations maintains by striking the gathers of the insurgents in Ain al-Qasab, Qatroun, al-Mazulah, al-REmanah in Jeser al-Shughour countryside and by destroying their dens in Ehsem, Ebleen of Jabal al-Zawyeh claiming the life of a number of the gunmen and the injury of others.

Assad: Syria capable of responding to Israel

Source : The Daily Star

BEIRUT: President Bashar Assad said Tuesday the Syrian army is capable of confronting Israel, saying the airstrikes represented an act of terrorism aimed at Syria.

"The Syrian people and its army who have made important achievements by fighting terrorist and Takfiri groups are capable of confronting Israel's ventures that represent one of the many faces of terrorism targeting Syria today,” he said during his meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, Syria's state TV reported.

The Syrian President also said Israel's air strikes in Damascus reveal the extent of the Jewish state's involvement in the ongoing crisis in Syria.

"The Israeli aggression on Syria reveals the extent of Israel and other regional and Western states' involvement in ongoing events in Syria," Assad said.

Salehi voiced his country's condemnation of Israel's "aggression," affirming the Islamic Republic's support of Syria in the face Israel's attempts “to mess with the region's security and weaken the axis of the resistance.”

According to SANA, the Iranian official who arrived to Damascus in an unannounced visit also said “it was time to deter Israel from carrying out such aggression against the people of the region.”

Militants used chemical material against civilians near Idlib: Syria

Source : Tehran Times

Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar al- Jaafari has said that the foreign- backed militants in Syria have used chemical material against civilians during an attack on a town near Idlib.

Bashar al-Jaafari said at a press conference on Tuesday that the militants spread the contents of plastic bags containing chemical material during the attack.

Many residents were affected by the armed groups’ “heinous and irresponsible act,” the Syrian envoy said, warning that it was an attempt to “implicate the Syrian government on a false basis.”

Some of the victims were transferred to Turkey for treatment, Jaafari added.

The envoy went on to say that 'today or tomorrow Ankara and Western media would launch a new propaganda campaign against Damascus and claim that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against its own people.'

Reports say that two people were killed and 20 others injured in the militants’ chemical attack in Idlib.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama has said Washington did not know how chemical material was used in another recent attack in Aleppo.

The Syrian government requested the UN to dispatch a fact- finding mission to the country after reports circulated that the foreign-backed militants had used chemical weapons against civilians in Khan al-Assal district of the northwestern province of Aleppo on March 19. Over two dozen people were killed and more than 100 injured in the chemical attack.

Obama said at a press conference on Tuesday that, "If I can establish in a way that not only the United States but also the international community feel confident in the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, then that is a game-changer."

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of government security forces and army personnel, have been killed in the violence.

Damascus says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

(Source: Press TV)

Mortar shell lands near Iraqi Embassy in Damascus

Source : Xinhua

DAMASCUS, April 30 (Xinhua) -- A mortar shell struck on Tuesday the vicinity of the Iraqi Embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus, leaving material damages only, local media reported.

Activists' Local Coordination Committees (LCC) said the rebels fired mortars at the Tishreen Presidential Palace near Abu- Rummaneh.

But witnesses denied the report, saying the shell missed its target and landed instead near the Iraqi embassy.

Earlier in the day, a deadly explosion occurred near the old headquarters of the Interior Ministry in Damascus, killing at least 14 people.

Also, two mortars landed near Damascus' Free Zone in the Jamarek area, the pro-government Sham FM radio said.

Meanwhile, according to the LCC, mortar round landed near a church located between al-Jazmatieh and al-Ghawas lanes in the capital's central district of al-Midan.

Explosions and mortar attacks have become increasingly common in Syria as the al-Qaida terror network has become active on Syrian soil, especially after aligning with the radical al-Nusra Front

Syrian Rebels Use Chemical Weapons – State TV

Source : RIA Novosti

BEIRUT, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – Militants in Syria have used chemical weapons against civilians with the aim of discrediting forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Syrian state-run TV said on Tuesday.

“Terrorists gathered together residents of the city of Saraqib at the city’s southern gates and released a powder of unknown origin amongst them, causing asphyxiation, tremors and other breathing problems,” a Syrian official said on air.

The official also said those injured by the chemicals had been taken to hospitals in Turkey in order to use the incident as the basis for accusing government forces of using chemical weapons.

Both sides in the two-year-old civil war in Syria have accused each other of using chemical weapons in recent months.

Damascus has refused to let UN chemical weapons inspectors enter the country.

The White House said in a letter to lawmakers last week that intelligence gathered by the United States, with the help of opposition forces in Syria, shows “with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria.”

US President Barack Obama has called the use of chemical weapons in the conflict a “red line” for potential American intervention. The White House letter said the attacks very likely originated with Assad’s forces.

At least 13 people were killed in an explosion in the center of the Syrian capital of Damascus earlier on Tuesday, state TV and activists reported.

The United Nations says almost 70,000 people have died in the two years since civil war broke out in Syria.

Syrian Army Surrounds Strategic Town of Qusayr

Source : Al Akhbar English

The Syrian army continued to make advances against opposition forces, this time in the strategic area of Rif Qusayr along both banks of the Assi River near the border with Lebanon.

Qusayr has played a key role in the conflict due to its proximity to the Lebanese border, where weapons, supplies, and fighters are smuggled through the rugged hills near the Lebanese town of Ersal.

For months now, the opposition has had complete control of the city of Qusayr, with an ability to reach north to Homs and south to the northern suburbs of Damascus, where government forces are waging ferocious battles with the opposition.

However, the western banks of the Assi River – home to many Lebanese villages located inside Syrian territory – remained under the control of the army with support from the local Popular Committees, which are in turn backed by Hezbollah. The opposition nevertheless had the ability to cross over to the western side of the river where it enjoyed a strong presence in some villages.

The situation began to change around ten days ago when the Syrian military took the area of Nabi Mando, which not only overlooks most of Rif Qusayr but also contains a bridge connecting the two banks of the river. They also managed to take the town of Ibil to the north, effectively cutting Qusayr off from Homs.

The battles in these areas came at a heavy cost to the opposition. Calls for assistance appeared on their social media sites, saying that Syrian army and Hezbollah forces were closing in on Qusayr.

While some local sources suggested that the army’s offensive will not end until it has expelled the opposition from Qusayr, others said that the target of the operation is limited to isolating the city and preventing the fighters in it from either moving north to Homs or south toward the suburbs of Damascus.

At the same time as the Qusayr operation, the Syrian army carried out a similar offensive to the southwest of Damascus, where again the opposition lost ground and took some heavy casualties. Here again, the military’s objective is to cut off the smuggling of weapons coming from opposition-held areas in the Golan to fighters in the capital’s suburbs.

According to close observers, these military operations are part of an overall plan to cut off the opposition’s supply lines from Lebanon in the west, Jordan in the south, and Turkey in the north, while at the same time expanding what the regime is calling a “secure zone,” starting with the areas around Damascus and Homs.

(Al-Akhbar)

RedditTweet25 Send by emailPrinter-friendly version Tags Section: Mideast & North Africa Category: Articles Tags: syria, Qusayr, Syrian army, Damascus, Syrian opposition, Assi River Related Articles Battle for Damascus: Regime Fights on Four Fronts For two months now, all eyes were on Damascus as both the regime and the opposition readied themselves for a major confrontation to gain the upper hand ahead of a US-Russia summit in June. Inside the Assi River Basin Villages Photo Blog by: Haytham Al-Moussawi The villages that dot both the Syrian and Lebanese sides of the Assi (Orontes) River Basin have found themselves steeped in the Syrian conflict, divided between... Advertisement Published Monday, April 22, 2013

The battles in these areas came at a heavy cost to the opposition. Calls for assistance appeared on their social media sites, saying that Syrian army and Hezbollah forces were closing in on Qusayr.

Behind the Scenes: 4000 Militants Killed in Three Weeks

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

4000 members of the military and Takfiri groups were killed thousands were wounded during the last three weeks as was reve by military reports which reached the US military command and Pentagon circles this week.

According to many Western intelligence sources, the recent re coming from Syria reflected a significant shift of balance of mi power towards the Syrian government benefit. The Western sou expressed concern this change in the military field has caus devastating effect on the military factions fighting against the S army that many of them are fleeing the field, surrendering t government forces or joining them.

The G8 countries are mulling an initiative to propose a political sol to the Syrian crisis, this idea was further deliberated between th and Russian Foreign ministers, the initiative would be based on the of Geneva accord.

Sources close to the prime minister designate Tammam S expressed hope and optimism over a soon cabinet formation; how observers say it is not likely Salam forms his government in a future as many obstacles and detriments still need to be solved be that.

Syrian troops advance on several fronts nationwide: report

Source : Xinhua

DAMASCUS, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army is advancing on several fronts as part of its fresh wide-scale operation to wrest control over rebellious areas across the country, local media reported Wednesday.

The army now is breaking the siege on Wadi al-Daif encampments in northwestern Syria to secure the road between the central province of Hama and the northwestern province of Idlib all the way to Aleppo province, media reports said.

It also said that the road between the capital Damascus and the southern province of Daraa and the borders with Jordan is open, adding that the army is "cleansing" the road between Damascus and the central province of Homs in the areas of Jobar, al-Nabek and al-Qalamoun.

The operation has also included border areas near the Lebanese frontier, namely al-Qussair and Talkalakh.

The operation apparently aimed at securing network of routes connecting several Syrian areas as a prelude to besiege the rebels for decisive battles.

Meanwhile, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 12 civilians, including two women and two children, were killed by bombardment with rocket launchers on the al-Bweida al- Sharqiya town earlier on Wednesday.

It said three rebel fighters were killed during clashes with regular forces in the vicinity of the Abel town in the countryside of al-Qussair.

The Observatory also alleged that violent clashes broke out between regular forces and pro- government militants from one side and rebel fighters from the other in the perimeter of the towns of Abel, al-Bweida al-Sharqiya, Jousiya, Jobar, al-Dab'a, al- Sultaniya and al-Burhaniya. The clashes resulted in losses from both sides, the Observatory said.

It also claimed that fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah were fighting alongside the government troops near al-Qussair.

Earlier in the day, an opposition activists in Homs told the Saudi-funded al-Arabiya TV that around 700 militants affiliated with Hezbollah were deployed to the Syrian town of al-Nazariyeh near al- Qussair in Homs.

Hezbollah has recently acknowledged that Shiite people living in villages between Syria and Lebanon have taken up arms to defend their areas against threats from the rebels Free Syrian Army, but the Shiite group has shrugged off allegations that it had sent manpower to back their Syrian ally, the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria calls on France to stop interfering in country’s affairs

Source : LBCI News

Damascus has called on the French government to stop its intervention in the country’s internal affairs, after Paris considered the general amnesty issued by President Bachar Assad on Wednesday ‘void’ in terms that it does not exempt him from the crimes he has so far committed.

In a statement released by the Syrian Foreign Ministry, Damascus said the Syrian people will no longer welcome the French for their support of ‘terrorist cells’ inside the country. The statement also added that the general amnesty was issued on a significant date marking the withdrawal of French troops from Syria in April 1946.

On the other hand, the General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers of the Arab League, denounced the closure of the Arab Interpol Bureau based in Damascus, holding the regime responsible for the safety of its employees.

In the details, forces from the Syrian Interior Ministry stormed the office and tampered with its contents, taking over the bureau’s archives and expelling all staff before shutting down the entire building.

Meanwhile, reports emerged citing US fear of a rebel victory in Syria. According to the Wall Street Journal, the US administration believes that "Islamists would come out on top should the rebels win the fight". "Islamists tied to al-Qaeda increasingly dominating the opposition to Syrian President Bachar al-Assad, [will present] too swift a rebel victory [therefore] undercutting hopes for finding a diplomatic solution," the paper quoting officials from the Obama administration said.

"This assessment complicates the White House's long-standing push to see President Assad step from power. It also puts a spotlight on the U.S.'s cautious approach to helping the opposition, much to the frustration of U.S. allies including France and the U.K., which want to arm Syria's moderate rebels," the daily added.

Meanwhile, Syrian activists said a rocket attack by government forces has killed at least seven people in a village near the central city of Homs. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack on the village of Eastern Buwaydah took place Wednesday morning, adding that children were among those killed.

Eastern Buwaydah is located between Homs and the Lebanese border.

Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman reported heavy fighting Wednesday in the area between government troops and rebels trying to topple President Bashar Assad's regime.

This as the UN-Arab League Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi hopes to revamp his role as an international peace mediator in the Syrian conflict as a United Nations envoy without any official link to the Arab bloc, UN diplomats said on Tuesday.

Brahimi has become increasingly frustrated with the league's moves to recognize the Syrian opposition, which he feels has undermined his role as a neutral mediator, diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Another UN diplomat confirmed the remarks. There have been rumors circulating for weeks that Brahimi might resign, though diplomats said his preference was to remain involved in Syrian peace efforts through the United Nations, an organization he has worked with for decades.

Brahimi will present an update to the UN Security Council on Friday about the situation in Syria's two-year-old civil war, which the UN says has claimed more than 70,000 lives. "We expect Brahimi to offer another bleak report," a diplomat said.

The Arab League has suspended Syria's membership and last month invited opposition leaders Moaz Alkhatib and Ghassan Hitto to attend a summit in his place.

The Syrian National Coalition, an opposition bloc recognized by the Arab League as the sole representative for conflict- torn Syria, opened its first embassy in Qatar last month in a diplomatic blow to President Bashar al-Assad.

Assad said earlier this month that "the Arab League itself lacks legitimacy."

Daily death tolls in Syria of around 200 are not uncommon, monitoring groups say. More than a million refugees have fled the country and the Syrian Red Crescent says nearly 4 million have been displaced internally.

US-Israel led Al-Nusra-Front rapes the Free Army militants

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

Both Al-Nusra, that resides under the umbrella of Al-Qaeda, and the ‘Free Army’ have several times coincided and fought against each other on the loots, something which may not be new. However; local sources informed our network from inside the city of Idlib that a new milestone which can be considered as a turning point in the usual fighting since a month ago as the battalions and brigades of the rebels have withdrawn from the circumference of Wadi-Al-Daif and Al-Hamidiah strategic sites in Ma’arat-Al-Nowman town in Idlib countryside.

The source maintained as 10 of the ‘Free Army’ militants were kidnapped by Al-Nusra, those militants who follow their leader jamal-Ma’arouf in Idlib, were taken, tortured and sexually ‘raped’.The main reason of this incident was because of the withdrawal of the ‘Free Army’ militants from Ma’arat-Al-Nowman in a battle against the Syrian Army leaving Al-Nusra alone in the battle which caused them heavy casualties.Incidents of hostage- exchange have increased lately between the two sides along with mediators for the increasing tension especially where retaliation started to appear where every side now is only aiming to prove their domination and existence

Behind the Scenes: More than 1500 Militants Killed in Syrian Army Ambush

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

High officials in Western military services were very confused after the recent accomplishments last week by the Syrian government military forces in many areas in Syria; the most important of which was in Dara'a where more than 1500 militants were killed after they were strategically trapped during their movement from Jordan to Syria.

Credible reports talked about heavy clashes taking place between the different factions of the so-called military opposition forces. A recent report, which reached to UN offices, unmasked information about a major clash in Aleppo which led to the killing of more than 150 militants.

Well informed Russian sources expressed dim hope that the coming Russian-American summit between Presidents Obama and Putin could bring any positive results vis a vis the ongoing crisis in Syria. The sources said US can do a lot to stop arms sending to the takfiri groups in Syria, but is not willing to do so, because the war of attrition, and exhausting and weakening of Syria would suit perfectly well the American plans in the region.

Free Army militia will complete the training in Jordan at the end of the current month

Source :  http://breakingnews.sy/en

The newspaper "The Washington Post" of America that US and Jordan are based training "Syrian opposition, which has been used to create a buffer zone on the southern Syrian border line" according to a newspaper.

The newspaper quotes that "training began last year", adding that "Jordanian security officials have said it was due to complete the training about three thousand of the" Free Army militia" by the end of next June, but was provided deadline to the end of April".

Obama’s administration has sent about 150 U.S. military personnel to Jordan in the last year, but has repeatedly refused to comment on reports that they have trained armed groups.

Witnesses report onset of chemical warfare in Syria

Source : DEBKAfile

Extensive preparations by Syrian army units for launching chemical weapons against rebel forces have been sighted in the northern town of Homs, Western intelligence agencies told debkafile’s military sources Tuesday, March 19.

Damascus paved the way for resorting to unconventional weaponry with an accusation run by the state news agency SANA Tuesday that Syrian rebels had fired a rocket containing chemical substances in the Khan al-Assad area of rural Aleppo, allegedly killing 15 people, mostly civilians.

Rebels quickly denied the report and accused regime forces of “firing a chemical weapon on a long-range SCUD, after which 20 people died of asphyxia and poisoning.”

Neither of the accusations could immediately verified.

But a Reuters photographer said he had seen people come into two Aleppo hospitals with breathing problems after the attack. They claimed people were suffocating on the streets.

Western intelligence sources reckoned that for the Assad regime, Homs, the scene of fierce battles between government and rebel forces in recent days, is likely to be the first place where the Assad government resorts to chemical warfare. A rebel victory there would be a grave setback for the regime because it would sever the main highway linking the Syrian military forces fighting in the towns of Damascus, Latakia, Aleppo and Idlib.

Monday and Tuesday, therefore, heavy government reinforcements from the South and Damascus were piled onto the embattled town, along with large numbers of warplanes and attack helicopters, in an all-out effort to cut short the rebel advance.

debkafile’s military sources report that the importance Assad attaches to carrying the day in Homs is represented by the elite units he has assembled in and around the city: Heavy armored forces of the 4th and 5th Republican Guard Divisions were imported from Damascus and the 18th and 19th Divisions are there too, issued in the last few hours with chemical warfare gear.

Syrian ruler Bashar Assad can on no account afford to be defeated in the key town of Homs just when US President Barack Obama is scheduled to arrive in the Middle East Wednesday. He will therefore use whatever it takes to prevent this happening, even chemical weapons if they are the only answer.

The allegation that the rebels have resorted to chemical warfare strongly points to an Assad ploy to go there himself and maintain it was only after the opposition went first. The emergence of dread unconventional weapons on the Syrian battlefield during the US president’s stay in the region is bound to dominate his talks with its leaders. It may even have the effect of altering his schedule and affect his itinerary.

Syrian troops, rebels battle over Aleppo airport

Source : LBCI News

Syrian activists said Tuesday that fighting has intensified as government troops and rebels battle for control of the international airport in the northern city of Aleppo and nearby army bases.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that clashes erupted anew around the airport's facility. The rebels have been trying to seize the strategic facility for weeks, overrunning checkpoints and capturing a smaller military base that provides military protection for the airbase.

The Observatory, added that rebels have also intensified their assault on the Nairab and Mannagh air bases near the Aleppo airport, as well as on an airfield nearby known as Kweires.

Earlier, the Syrian “Al-Watan Daily” stressed that the Syrian army is capable of continuing the “war defending the country" for several years, noting that the call launched by the Syrian Fatwa Council on the people to stand by the army aims at encouraging them to defend their land instead of just “keeping up with the news of the battles”.

The newspaper said that the Fatwa or edict council urged people to participate in defending "their country and honor, because Syria is being invaded from all fronts.”

The daily quoted sources close to the Syrian army as saying that the army is “fine”, as the soldiers have been fighting, for two years, the fiercest battles in the name of the Syrian people.

On the humanitarian file, Russia sent on Tuesday a new aircraft loaded with more than 10 tons of aid including blankets and food to the affected Syrian people.

Separately, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry confirmed that a Ukrainian journalist who was kidnapped in Syria is free after more than 150 days in captivity.

Ministry spokesman Yevhen Perebiynis said the reporter, Ankhar Kochneva, was expected to contact the Ukrainian embassy in Damascus later in the day.

Kochneva, who has written for Syrian and Russian newspapers, was kidnapped in western Syria on Oct. 9 and reportedly held by members of the Free Syrian Army opposition group. Perebiynis said he had no further information on her.

The Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda quoted Kochneva as saying she walked away from the house where she was held, skirted a rebel guardpost and then walked about 15 kilometers (9 miles) through fields until finding a villager who helped her.

According to the newspaper, Kochneva said she was abducted near the city of Homs while riding in a taxi to Damascus.

The abductors released a video in which Kochneva said she was working as a Russian agent, but the newspaper quoted her as saying the recording was made under duress.

"They forced me to say that I came to Syria on the instruction of Russian spies. They forced me with threats. I refused at first, but they said 'then we'll kill you'," she said.

Instructors from US special forces train armed rebels in Syria - Sana

Source : Voice of Russia

Instructors from US special forces are training armed opposition groups that are fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s state-run news agency Sana reported on Sunday.

The US commandos are training rebels from the so-called Free Syrian Army in camps located on the territory of Jordan, according to Sana.

The training program started in late 2012 in a base located on a private territory in the northern suburbs of the Jordanian capital of Amman. Apart from the US instructors, the Syrian militants are also receiving training from French and British commandos, Sana reported.

The US military also make raids into Syria from Jordan and Lebanon for reconnaissance purposes and for preparing terrorist operations in support of Syrian rebels, Sana reported, referring to the French newspaper Figaro.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Assad accused the British government of arming and supporting terrorists in Syria. He also said he had doubts that Europe really wanted peace in Syria.

The Syria events will have disastrous consequences for the entire Middle East, Assad warned.

Syria has been locked in an increasingly bloody civil war since demonstrations broke out against President Assad in March 2011. According to UN estimates, at least 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Western states have been calling for Assad to step down. However, Russia and Iran insist that President Assad's exit cannot be a precondition for a deal to resolve the country’s crisis.

Voice of Russia, RIA