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Target Syria NWO's next acquisition The Middle East- WW III - Muslim Civil War

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March 27, 2024, 12:55:24 pm Mark says: Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked  When Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida began a speech marking the 100th day of the war in Gaza, one confounding yet eye-opening proclamation escaped the headlines. Listing the motives for the Palestinian militant group's Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, he accused Jews of "bringing red cows" to the Holy Land.
December 31, 2022, 10:08:58 am NilsFor1611 says: blessings
August 08, 2018, 02:38:10 am suzytr says: Hello, any good churches in the Sacto, CA area, also looking in Reno NV, thanks in advance and God Bless you Smiley
January 29, 2018, 01:21:57 am Christian40 says: It will be interesting to see what happens this year Israel being 70 years as a modern nation may 14 2018
October 17, 2017, 01:25:20 am Christian40 says: It is good to type Mark is here again!  Smiley
October 16, 2017, 03:28:18 am Christian40 says: anyone else thinking that time is accelerating now? it seems im doing days in shorter time now is time being affected in some way?
September 24, 2017, 10:45:16 pm Psalm 51:17 says: The specific rule pertaining to the national anthem is found on pages A62-63 of the league rulebook. It states: “The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. “During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.”
September 20, 2017, 04:32:32 am Christian40 says: "The most popular Hepatitis B vaccine is nothing short of a witch’s brew including aluminum, formaldehyde, yeast, amino acids, and soy. Aluminum is a known neurotoxin that destroys cellular metabolism and function. Hundreds of studies link to the ravaging effects of aluminum. The other proteins and formaldehyde serve to activate the immune system and open up the blood-brain barrier. This is NOT a good thing."
http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-11-new-fda-approved-hepatitis-b-vaccine-found-to-increase-heart-attack-risk-by-700.html
September 19, 2017, 03:59:21 am Christian40 says: bbc international did a video about there street preaching they are good witnesses
September 14, 2017, 08:06:04 am Psalm 51:17 says: bro Mark Hunter on YT has some good, edifying stuff too.
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Author Topic: Target Syria NWO's next acquisition The Middle East- WW III - Muslim Civil War  (Read 44751 times)
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« Reply #240 on: August 14, 2012, 09:37:43 am »

http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USBRE87C0RK20120813

Islamic body agrees to suspend Syria: source
 Mon, Aug 13 2012

JEDDAH (Reuters) - Foreign ministers at a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) agreed on Monday to suspend Syria from the international body, an OIC source said, further isolating President Bashar al-Assad.

"The session just ended. The ministers adopted the resolutions, including the suspension of Syria," the source told Reuters.

The move by the OIC, a body comprising 56 member states plus the Palestinian Authority that aims to represent Muslim interests on the world stage, is its response to Assad's suppression of a 17-month uprising.

It will have more symbolic than practical implications for the Assad government which has never put emphasis on religion and which will continue to enjoy support from Iran which opposed the decision to suspend Syria at the OIC.

"By suspending membership, this does not mean that you are moving toward resolving an issue. This means that you are erasing the issue. We want to really resolve the issue," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters before the meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The ministers were holding preparatory talks before a two-day OIC summit in Mecca starting on Tuesday, which was called by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah earlier this month.

The formal decision on Syria, which notionally requires a two-thirds majority, meaning that Iran alone will not be able to defeat the motion, will be taken by OIC leaders and announced on Wednesday, an OIC diplomat said.

Salehi's comments pointed towards a likely diplomatic showdown in Mecca between Sunni Muslim states, including Saudi Arabia, that have declared support for Assad's opponents, and Shi'ite Muslim Iran - a reflection of heightened sectarian tensions across the region.


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« Reply #241 on: August 14, 2012, 11:28:02 am »

http://news.yahoo.com/pm-defected-says-syrian-regime-near-collapse-123115353.html

PM who defected says Syrian regime near collapse
By JAMAL HALABY | Associated Press – 3 hrs ago.

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Syria's prime minister who defected to the opposition said Tuesday that Bashar Assad's regime was near collapse and urged other political and military leaders to tip the scales and join the rebel side.
 
The comments by Riad Hijab were his first public statements since leaving his post and fleeing to Jordan with his family last week. Hijab is the highest-ranking political figure to defect from President Bashar Assad's regime.
 
"The regime is on the verge of collapse morally and economically in addition to cracks in the military," Hijab told a press conference in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
 
Hijab is a Sunni Muslim from the eastern province of Deir el-Zour where rebels claimed to have shot down an army MiG-23 warplane on Monday. Hijab, who was not part of Assad's inner circle, said the trip to Jordan lasted three days during which he was protected by rebels of the Free Syrian Army.

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« Reply #242 on: August 21, 2012, 05:47:05 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-warns-syria-over-chemical-arms-journalist-killed-021137904.html

Syria says 'ready to discuss' Assad going as fighting rages

8/21/12

A Syrian minister held out the prospect Tuesday that embattled President Bashar al-Assad could leave power as part of a negotiated settlement to the increasingly ferocious conflict.
 
The surprise comments by a Syrian envoy visiting Moscow emerged after Russia warned the West against meddling in Syria in the wake of US President Barack Obama's warning to Damascus over its chemical weapons arsenal.
 
In Syria itself, at least 128 people were killed nationwide, among them 81 civilians, monitors said, reporting relentless shelling and fighting across swathes of the main battleground of Aleppo as well as around the capital.
 
"As far as his resignation goes -- making the resignation itself a condition for holding dialogue means that you will never be able to reach this dialogue," Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil said after talks in Moscow.
 
But he added: "Any problems can be discussed during negotiations. We are even ready to discuss this issue."

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« Reply #243 on: August 24, 2012, 01:09:01 pm »

http://debka.com/article/22296/US-UK-French-elite-units-on-standby-for-seizing-Syrian-chemical-weapons

US, UK, French elite units on standby for seizing Syrian chemical weapons
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report August 23, 2012, 8:44 AM (GMT+02:00)


US C130 transports stand ready at Middle East air bases to fly into Syria US elite units especially trained in combat against chemical and biological weapons and tactics for securing their arsenals. Western intelligence sources reported Thursday, Aug. 23 that those units are on standby at bases in Israel and Jordan. Their assignments are to engage Syrian troops attempting to move those unconventional weapons systems to battle fronts or Hizballah and to prevent them falling into the hands of radical Islamic rebel fighters, especially Al Qaeda.

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« Reply #244 on: August 25, 2012, 11:05:19 am »

U.S. sends aircraft carrier back to Gulf to face Iran, Syria

8/23/12

By Daniel Fineren

DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy is cutting short home leave for the crew of one of its aircraft carriers and sending them back to the Middle East next week to counter any threat from Iran, according to the official Navy News Service.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta told sailors aboard the USS Stennis in their home port of Seattle on Wednesday they were needed back in the Middle East soon, after approving calls from the U.S. Central Command for Stennis to return to the region.

"Obviously, Iran is one of those threats," the U.S. military news service quoted Panetta as saying during a send-off event at a military base on the U.S. West Coast.

"Secondly, it is the turmoil in Syria," he said. "We're obviously following that closely as well."

The Stennis' departure in January from the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet area of operations prompted Iranian army chief Ataollah Salehi to threaten action if it returned, saying Iran was "not in the habit of warning more than once".

The threats started a war of words between Iran and the United States that spooked oil markets, and fears over possible military confrontation remain high.

Panetta cited Iran's nuclear program and its threats to oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz as two concerns the Stennis strike group could counter in the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility, which also includes Syria and Afghanistan.

U.S. attention on Syria is focused on providing humanitarian aid, monitoring chemical and biological weapon stockpiles, and offering non-lethal assistance to forces opposing President Bashar al-Assad, he said.

A spokesman for the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain said the redeployment was not a build-up in the Gulf because the USS Enterprise is due to leave the region on its final voyage back to the United States before being decommissioned after over 50 years of service.

"The presence of two aircraft carriers changes based on needs and requirements," Lieutenant Greg Raelson said.

Iranian threats to block the waterway through which about 17 million barrels a day sailed in 2011 have grown in the past year as U.S. and European sanctions aimed at starving Tehran of funds for its nuclear program have tightened.

A heavy western naval presence in the Gulf is a big deterrent to Tehran actually trying to block the shipping route through which most of the crude exported from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq sails.

The Stennis had been due to deploy next to the Pacific towards the end of 2012 but its return to active duty has been brought forward by four months because of tension in the Gulf.

(Reporting by Daniel Fineren; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USBRE87M0HY20120823
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« Reply #245 on: August 25, 2012, 04:54:31 pm »

Lebanon clashes stoke Syria spillover fears

8/25/12

Clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian factions in the Lebanese city of Tripoli killed three people including a Sunni cleric, jeopardising a fragile truce, a security official said.

Clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian factions in the Lebanese city of Tripoli killed three people including a Sunni cleric, jeopardising a fragile truce, a security official said.
   
The deaths brought to 14 the number of people killed in factional fighting in the Mediterranean port city over the past five days linked to the conflict in neighbouring Syria.
   
A further 110 people have been wounded, most of them shot by snipers.
   
A sniper killed Sunni cleric Sheikh Khaled al-Baradei, 28, at dawn, sparking the flare-up between fighters from the pro-Syrian Alawite district of Jabal Mohsen and anti-Damascus Sunni districts, an AFP correspondent reported.

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http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1685821/Lebanon-clashes-stoke-Syria-spillover-fears
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« Reply #246 on: August 30, 2012, 11:37:26 am »

http://debka.com/article/22314/

Russia is disengaging from Syria: Arms shipments stopped, warships exit Tartus

Russian naval vessels have unexpectedly departed the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus and Russian arms shipments to Syria have been suddenly discontinued. debkafile’s military sources reveal that those and other steps indicate that the Russians are rapidly drawing away from the Syrian arena to avoid getting caught up in the escalating hostilities expected to arise from military intervention by the US, Europe and a number of Arab states. Russian intelligence appears to have decided that this outside intervention is imminent and Moscow looks anxious to keep its distance for now.

According to our military and Russian sources, these drastic steps must have been personally ordered by President Vladimir Putin. He is believed to have acted over the objections of some of his army and naval chiefs. This would explain the mixed statements issuing from Moscow in recent days about the disposition of Russian personnel at the naval base in Tartus and Russian military personnel in Syria.

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« Reply #247 on: September 15, 2012, 04:45:51 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-tells-syrians-admires-courage-172440569.html

9/15/12

Pope tells Syrians he admires their courage

BEIRUT (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI told Syrians at a rally for young people Saturday that he admired their courage and that he does not forget those in the Middle East who are suffering.

On a day of appeals for religious freedom in the region, he said it was time for Muslims and Christians to work together against violence and war. He spoke on the second day of his visit to Lebanon, a country with the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East. He arrived amid a wave of violent demonstrations over an anti-Islam film across the Muslim world.

Addressing the rally, Benedict said he understood that there were young people present from Syria in the crowd of some 20,000 people.

"I want to say how much I admire your courage," the pope said, speaking French. "Tell your families and friends back home that the pope has not forgotten you. Tell those around you that the pope is saddened by your sufferings and your grief."

Traveling to Lebanon on Friday, Benedict called for a halt in weapons deliveries to Syria, but he did not draw a distinction between the government and rebel sides. Lebanon has given refuge to nearly 70,000 of a quarter-million Syrians who have fled their country's increasingly bloody civil war.

The turmoil stemming from the Arab Spring has deeply unsettled the Middle East's Christian population, which fears being caught between rival Muslim groups. Part of the pope's mission in Lebanon is convincing his flock to remain in the region despite war, sectarian violence and hardship.

"It is time for Muslims and Christians to come together so as to put an end to violence and war," he said.

Earlier Saturday, he appealed for religious freedom, calling it central to stability in a region bloodied by sectarian strife.

"Let us not forget that religious freedom is a fundamental right from which many other rights stem," he said, speaking in French to government officials, foreign diplomats and religious leaders at the presidential palace in Mount Lebanon in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

He held up Lebanon, which is still rebuilding from a devastating 1975-1990 civil war largely fought on sectarian lines, as an example of coexistence for the region.

He said Christians and Muslims in Lebanon share the same space — at times in the same family — and asked, "If it is possible in families why not in entire societies?" Marriages where husband and wife are from different religious groups are not uncommon in Lebanon.

He said the freedom to practice one's religion "without danger to life and liberty must be possible to everyone."

The papal visit comes amid soaring sectarian tensions in the region, exacerbated by the conflict in Syria, which is in the throes of an 18-month-old civil war. A predominantly Sunni opposition in the Sunni-majority country is fighting to topple President Bashar Assad whose regime is dominated by Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Syria's population, say they are particularly vulnerable to the violence sweeping the country of 22 million people. They are fearful that Syria will become another Iraq, with Christians caught in the crossfire between rival Islamic groups.

Thousands of Christians have fled areas where heavy fighting has taken place, including the once religiously mixed central city of Homs. Rebels have controlled Homs' Christian neighborhoods of Hamidiyeh and Bustan Diwan since early February and most of the districts' residents have fled.

On Saturday, a Syrian priest from Homs said the Archdiocese of Syriac Catholics in Hamidiyeh was torched this week. The motives behind the attack were unclear.

The priest, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, told The Associated Press by telephone that the attack took place Thursday. He said residents tried for 14 hours to put out the raging fire because fire engines could not reach the area under rebel control. No further details were immediately available.

He said around 80,000 Christians used to live in Hamidiyeh but now only 85 people remain.

In Lebanon, enthusiastic crowds lined the streets and cheered along the 30-kilometer (19-mile) motorcade route to the palace as Benedict went by Saturday in the bullet-proof glass popemobile. Soldiers on horseback rode ahead of the car.

As the pope arrived in the presidential compound, officials released about 20 white doves.

Just hours after the pope arrived Friday, violence erupted in northern Lebanon over "Innocence of Muslims," a film that ridicules the Prophet Muhammad, portraying him as a fraud, a womanizer and a child molester.

According to Lebanese security officials, a crowd angry over the film set fire to a KFC and a Hardee's restaurant in the port city of Tripoli, 85 kilometers (50 miles) north of Beirut, sparking clashes with police. Police then opened fire, killing one of the attackers, the officials said.

At least 25 people were wounded in the melee, including 18 police who were hit with stones and glass. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Lebanese authorities tightened security for the pope, suspending weapons permits except for politicians' bodyguards and confining the visit to central Lebanon and northern Christian areas.

In the evening, Benedict will address thousands of youths from across the Middle East.
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« Reply #248 on: September 17, 2012, 11:57:02 am »

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/17/syrian-jets-hit-lebanese-territory-near-border-state-media-says/

9/17/12

Syrian jets hit Lebanese territory near border, state media says

Missiles fired by Syrian warplanes hit Lebanese territory Monday in one of the most serious cross-border violations since Syria's crisis began 18 months ago, security officials in Beirut and Lebanese state media said.
 
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said four missiles fired by two Syrian jets hit a rugged and remote area on the edge of the Lebanese border town of Arsal. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
 
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that the warplanes fired three missiles that fell on the outskirts of Arsal about 500 yards from the border between the two countries.
 
"I heard several explosions and saw four clouds of dust billowing from the area," Arsal resident Nayeh Izzedine said by telephone referring to the border. "I don't know if it was an air raid but there was a plane in the sky."


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« Reply #249 on: September 17, 2012, 03:34:57 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/august-produces-worst-toll-syria-conflict-says-u-163653513.html

9/17/12

August produces worst toll in Syria conflict, says U.N.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - August was the worst month for casualties so far in Syria's 18-month conflict, the United Nations said on Monday, warning that the worsening "grim spiral of violence" could threaten the country's neighbors.
 
U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry did not give specific figures, but the world body says about 20,000 people have died during the conflict, including a record toll of 1,600 for the final week of August.
 
"The month of August registered the highest number of casualties thus far, and this toll is growing," Serry said.
 
More than 250,000 Syrians have fled to neighboring Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq to escape the violence - with more than 100,000 of those leaving in August alone.

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« Reply #250 on: September 23, 2012, 09:33:29 am »

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-293159-.html

Turkey deploys heavy weapons to Syrian border

Turkey's military deployed armored vehicles and heavy weaponry to the border with Syria on Saturday, near a crossing that has seen intense fighting between opposition fighters and government forces, local media said.

The deployment is reportedly in an area where earlier this week Turkish civilians were wounded when stray bullets and shelling crossed the border from the Syrian province of al-Raqqa.

CNN Turk television said artillery fire had landed close to the Turkish border overnight, causing panic among local residents.

The Turkish army moved three Howitzers and one anti-aircraft weapon to the border, the channel said.



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« Reply #251 on: September 23, 2012, 08:36:24 pm »

http://www.timesofisrael.com/jordanian-syrian-armies-exchange-fire/

Syria fires into Jordan, sparking clashes

9/22/12

Syria moves its Golan Heights brigade to the Jordanian border

The armed forces of Syria and Jordan clashed Saturday after Syria fired into Jordanian territory, where thousands of refugees have fled from an 18-month-long civil war between the Bashar Assad regime and opposition fighters.
 
According to a report by Al Jazeera, the Syrian army has moved its Unit 61 brigade — whose main function is to block any possible attack from Israel — from the Golan Heights to the Jordanian border.
 
In recent months, attacks by the Syrian military on the border region with Jordan have intensified, as part of an effort to stem the flow of refugees into the neighboring kingdom.
 
Syrian activists said rebels and government troops fought a fierce battle in the area, that lasted for several hours, overnight Friday.
 
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« Reply #252 on: September 24, 2012, 02:36:49 pm »

 Roll Eyes While Israel sits back and watches the competing Arab factions kill each other off.

Map for perspective...



http://www.historicjesus.com/maps/israel.html
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« Reply #253 on: September 27, 2012, 09:32:38 am »

http://debka.com/article/22385/

Iranian officers reshape Assad’s Shabbiha militia into a second al-Qods
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 26, 2012

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has leapt into the Syrian battle arena, undertaking the task of transforming the Alawite Shabbiha militia, which has carried the brunt of Bashar Assad’s brutal suppression of the Syrian opposition for 18 months, into a new corps, retrained and reorganized on the model of the elite Al Qods Brigade.

Al Qods is the IRGC’s arm of clandestine and terrorist operations in Iran's foreign arenas.

debkafile’s military sources report exclusively that when the Shabbiha is slapped into its new military shape, Bashar Assad will have at his disposal an extra 50-60,000 professional Alawite soldiers under arms – the nucleus of a Syrian Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Our sources also reveal that Tehran has promised the Syrian outfit weaponry on a par with the Al Qods arsenal. So, unless he is overthrown in the interim, the Syrian ruler and Iranian government will command the biggest special operations force in the Middle East.

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« Reply #254 on: September 29, 2012, 09:08:31 pm »

Ancient market burns as fighting rages in Syria's Aleppo

9/29/12

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/29/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE88J0X720120929

(Reuters) - Hundreds of shops were burning in the ancient covered market in Aleppo on Saturday as fighting between rebels and state forces in Syria's largest city threatened to destroy a UNESCO world heritage site.

The uprising-turned-civil war that is now raging across Syria has killed more than 30,000 people, according to activist groups such as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

But beyond the dramatic human cost, many of Syria's historic treasures have also fallen victim to an 18-month-old conflict that has reduced parts of some cities to ruins.

Rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad announced a new offensive in Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub of 2.5 million people, on Thursday, but neither side has appeared to make significant gains.

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« Reply #255 on: October 03, 2012, 12:11:35 pm »

Syria's crisis

Four blasts ripped through a government-controlled district close to a military officers' club in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, killing at least 40 people and wounding more than 90 on Oct. 3, opposition activists said
.


Men walk on a road amid wreckage, after blasts ripped through Aleppo's main Saadallah al-Jabari Square October 3, 2012. Four blasts ripped through a government-controlled district close to a military officers' club in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, killing at least 40 people and wounding more than 90 on Wednesday, opposition activists said. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)



http://news.yahoo.com/photos/syria-1339375979-slideshow/
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« Reply #256 on: October 03, 2012, 03:41:08 pm »

Turkey PM’s office says Turkish artillery fired on Syria after shelling of Turkish town

Turkish artillery fired on Syrian targets after deadly shelling from Syria hit a Turkish border town on Wednesday, sharply raising tensions on a volatile border that has been crossed by tens of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing violence in their country.

In a terse statement, the office of Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemned shelling that hit the Turkish town of Akcakale, killing five local residents and wounding a dozen others. The shelling appeared to come from Syrian government forces who were fighting Syrian rebels backed by Turkey, which has called for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“Our armed forces at the border region responded to this atrocious attack with artillery fire on points in Syria that were detected with radar, in line with the rules of engagement,” the Turkish statement said.

“Turkey, acting within the rules of engagement and international laws, will never leave unreciprocated such provocations by the Syrian regime against our national security,” it said.

Turkey’s NTV television said Turkish radar pinpointed the positions from where the shells were fired on Akcakale, and that those positions were hit.

“Turkey is a sovereign country. There was an attack on its territory. There must certainly be a response in international law. ... I hope this is Syria’s last craziness. Syria will be called into account,” said Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc.

In Belgium, NATO’s National Atlantic Council, which is composed of the national ambassadors, was holding an emergency meeting in Brussels on Wednesday night at Turkey’s request to discuss the cross-border incident. Turkey was likely to receive an expression of support from the alliance, although any imminent move by the NATO members to intervene militarily seems remote. NATO also held an emergency meeting when a Turkish jet was shot down by Syria in June.

A NATO official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of NATO rules, said the meeting in Brussels was being held under a treaty article that states “the parties will consult whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of any of the parties is threatened.”

Turkey, a NATO ally, is anxious to avoid going into Syria on its own. It has been pushing for international intervention in the form of a safe zone, which would likely entail foreign security forces on the ground and a partial no-fly zone. However, the allies fear military intervention in Syria could ignite a wider conflict, and few observers expect robust action from the United States, which Turkey views as vital to any operation in Syria, ahead of the presidential election in November.

Turkey hosts more than 90,000 Syrian refugees in camps along its border, and also hosts Syrian opposition groups. There is concern in Turkey that the Syrian chaos could have a destabilizing effect on Turkey’s own communities; some observers have attributed a sharp rise in violence by Kurdish rebels in Turkey to militant efforts to take advantage of the regional uncertainty.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/turkey-pms-office-says-turkish-artillery-fired-on-syria-after-shelling-of-turkish-town/2012/10/03/c3cc1386-0d8f-11e2-ba6c-07bd866eb71a_story.html?wpisrc=al_national
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« Reply #257 on: October 04, 2012, 08:06:35 am »

Turkey renews artillery strikes on Syria

ANKARA, Turkey- Turkey fired on Syrian targets for a second day Thursday but said it has no intention of declaring war, despite tensions after deadly shelling from Syria killed five civilians in a Turkish border town.

Turkey's Parliament, meanwhile, began an emergency session to discuss a bill authorizing the military to launch cross border operations in Syria. If approved, the bill could more easily open the way to unilateral action by Turkey's armed forces inside Syria, without the involvement of its Western and Arab allies.

The cross-border tensions escalated on Wednesday after a shell fired from inside Syria landed on a home in the Turkish village of Akcakale, killing a woman, her three daughters and another woman, and wounding at least 10 others, according to Turkish media.

Turkish response was prompt. It fired salvos of artillery rounds deep inside Syria. The NATO military alliance, of which Turkey is a member, met at an emergency session in Brussels, condemned the attack on Turkey and demanded "the immediate cessation of such aggressive acts against an ally." It also urged the Syrian regime to "put an end to flagrant violations of international law."

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi, meanwhile, offered his "sincerest condolences on behalf of the Syrian government to the family of the deceased and the Turkish people."

He appeared to be trying to reduce tensions, although he said Turkey must do more to control its borders and "prevent militants and terrorists from sneaking across."

An aide to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday thatTurkey has no intention of declaring war on Syria but that the bill being debated in Parliament on Thursday was intended to give "Syria a warning." He spoke on condition of anonymity because civil servants are not allowed to speak to journalists without prior authorization.

TRT television reported that a military battalion based on the border town of Akcakale resumed striking Syrian targets across from the frontier overnight and that shelling continued Thursday morning.

Turkish Foreign Ministry officials were not immediately able to confirm the reports of renewed Turkish shelling, while Defense Ministry officials refused comment.

A myriad of Syrian rebel groups have been using Turkish territory as a base for their operations against the troops of Syria's President Bashar Assad. Thousands have died and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes since the start of the war in Syria last year.

Turkish legislators were debating a bill that would authorize the government to send troops to Syria or for warplanes to strike Syrian targets whenever it deems it necessary. A vote on the authorization, which would be valid for one year, is expected later on Thursday.

The government-proposed bill accuses Syria of carrying out "aggressive acts toward our country's territory" and says "these acts have continued despite our warnings and diplomatic initiatives."

If approved it would allow the government to determine "the scope, extent, and time" of any possible intervention.

Turkey, which has moved military reinforcements to the border in recent months, has more than 90,000 Syrian refugees in camps along its border, and also hosts Syrian opposition groups.

There is concern in Turkey that the Syrian chaos could have a destabilizing effect on Turkey's own communities; some observers have attributed a sharp rise in violence by Kurdish rebels in Turkey to militant efforts to take advantage of the regional uncertainty.

Turkey is still loath to go it alone in Syria, and is anxious for any intervention to have the legitimacy conferred by a U.N. resolution or the involvement of a broad group of allies. Turkey is mindful in part of inconclusive ground missions, mostly in the 1990s, against Kurdish guerrillas based in northern Iraq, as well as the bitter lessons of being seen as an occupying power that are associated with the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq. Reaching deeper into history, Turkey is aware of Mideast sensibilities over Ottoman rule over much of the region.

Additionally, there is no strong push for war among the Turkish public and Ankara is likely to act with some degree of restraint unless it suffers more casualties from Syrian fire in the days ahead. However, approval of the parliamentary bill could open the way to more retaliatory flare-ups along the border, similar to the periodic air and artillery strikes that Turkey has carried out for years against Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq.


http://www.onenewsnow.com/ap/world/turkey-renews-artillery-strikes-on-syria
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« Reply #258 on: October 05, 2012, 05:39:28 am »

Did Turkey Just Declare War On Syria?

The Turkish Parliament has "authorized military operations" against Syria.  So exactly what does that mean?  Did Turkey just declare war on Syria?  For now, the government of Turkey is making a clear distinction between "military operations" and "declaring war".   If Turkey were to "declare war", that would likely involve Turkish troops actually entering Syria, and the war would not be considered "won" until certain objectives are achieved.  So by just authorizing "military operations" against Syria, Turkey can sit back and fire off artillery rounds (and potentially call in air strikes if necessary) without being committed to entering Syria or attacking Damascus.  Turkey is not too keen on invading Syria by itself anyway.  Turkey would want the help of NATO in such an event, and right now Barack Obama has made it abundantly clear to the Turkish government that he is not going to participate in an attack on Syria before the election.  Obama has been leading in the polls and he has way too much to lose by starting another war.  But what all of this does show us is a couple of things.  First of all, once again we see that the Middle East is a tinderbox that can erupt at any moment.  Second of all, just the rumors of a war between Turkey and Syria sent the price of oil absolutely skyrocketing on Thursday.  It is frightening to imagine what a real war in the Middle East might do to the price of oil.

So what precipitated this move by Turkey?  Well, some mortar shelling that originated from inside Syria killed five people living in a town in Turkey near the border.  The following is from a Fox News article....

Turkey's Parliament authorized military operations against Syria on Thursday and its military fired on targets there for a second day after deadly shelling from Syria killed five civilians in a Turkish border town.

For its part, Syria admitted it was responsible for the shelling that killed five people in Turkey and formally apologized for the deaths, a top Turkish official said.

There are reports that the Turkish response was actually much stronger than the mainstream news has been admitting.

According to Debka, the Turkish military was hitting Syrian military targets with "continuous artillery barrages"....

Constrained from a substantial military incursion into Syria by US President Barack Obama’s veto and Saudi and Qatari refusals to help pay for it, Turkey’s government and military decided to make do with carving out a buffer strip 10 kilometers deep into Syria by continuous artillery barrages.

Thursday morning, Oct. 4 at 0300 GMT, Ankara ordered the Turkish army to keep up its cross-border shelling of Syria after the first bombardment Wednesday night in response to the deaths of five Turkish civilians and eight injured by Syrian mortar shells which exploded in their village.

DEBKAfile's military sources report the artillery squads were told to aim primarily at Syrian military targets inside this strip, including bases, outposts and Syrian forces on the move.

Several Syrian bases and outposts have been hit so far and a large number of Syrian soldiers killed or wounded. Neither Ankara nor Damascus is offering information on casualties. They have imposed a heavy blackout on events so as to keep them under control and avoid the risk of a full-blown war.

Many believe that this could end up being the excuse that NATO will use to intervene in the conflict in Syria.  Since the uprising against President Bashar Assad began, approximately 30,000 people inside Syria have been killed.  It has been a very bloody conflict.

But Syria is not alone.  The Assad regime still has plenty of friends.  In fact, there have been reports that both Hezbollah and Iran have been moving forces into position to help defend Syria.

That is one reason why it is so important to keep a close eye on this conflict.  What is starting out as a conflict between Turkey and Syria could end up drawing in the United States, the rest of NATO, Iran, Hezbollah and potentially even several other countries in the Middle East.

And if war erupts in the Middle East, the price of oil is going to go through the roof.

Just look at what happened on Thursday.  The price of oil jumped about 3 dollars as reports of what was happening between Turkey and Syria reached the financial markets.

So what would happen if a full-blown war in the Middle East took place and the flow of oil was significantly disrupted?

That is a bit frightening to think about.

Sometimes we need a reminder of just how fast things can change.  For example, thanks to a couple of temporary refinery problems in California the price of gasoline in that state is spiking and some gas stations are actually shutting down for a while.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline in California increased by 8.3 cents on Wednesday alone.  It is now sitting at $4.315, which is about 53 cents above the national average.

According to Bloomberg, the refinery problems are causing gasoline shortages and quite a few gas stations are actually shutting down their pumps for now....

Gasoline station owners in the Los Angeles area including Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) are beginning to shut pumps as the state’s oil refiners started rationing supplies and spot prices surged to a record.

Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) stopped selling gasoline on the spot, or wholesale, market in Southern California and is allocating deliveries to customers. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) is also rationing fuel to U.S. West Coast terminal customers. Costco’s outlet in Simi Valley, 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, ran out of regular gasoline yesterday and was selling premium fuel at the price of regular.

And according to Fox 5 San Diego, some gas stations are being told that there will not be any more gasoline until mid-October....

Dave Hallak, owner of Emerald Oil at 5600 Baltimore Drive, received a call Wednesday morning from his gasoline supplier saying he won't be getting more gasoline until mid-October.

“My supplier said there’s no gas available in San Diego,” said Hallak. “He said 'all the racks are down in Southern California and there’s very tight supply, if any.'”

Of course these problems are just temporary and things should get back to normal soon.

But what if a major war in the Middle East disrupted the supply of gasoline for an extended period of time?

Our world is becoming increasingly unstable, and an event on the other side of the globe can change all of our lives in an instant.

Let us hope for peace in the Middle East, but let us also get prepared for the day when war will inevitably come.

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/did-turkey-just-declare-war-on-syria
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« Reply #259 on: October 06, 2012, 08:14:43 pm »

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1267895--turkey-syria-trade-artillery-fire-for-fourth-day

10/6/12

Turkey, Syria trade artillery fire for fourth day

BEIRUT—Turkey and Syria traded artillery fire for the fourth day in a row Saturday as rebels clashed with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces near the border, heightening fears that the crisis could erupt into a regional conflict.
 
Also Saturday, Syrian Defence Minister Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij vowed to crush the rebellion and bring the violence that has engulfed the country to an end.
 
The diplomatic crisis began on Wednesday, when a Syrian shell killed five civilians in a Turkish border town and triggered unprecedented artillery strikes by Turkey. Ankara has deployed more troops to its southern border with Syria and has responded to each shell that has struck Turkish soil with its own artillery barrage.
 
On Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cautioned Damascus not to test Turkey’s “limits and determination” and said Ankara was not bluffing in saying it won’t tolerate such acts.

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« Reply #260 on: October 10, 2012, 05:34:45 pm »

http://www.debka.com/newsupdatepopup/2498/

Panetta: US troops are on Jordan-Syrian border. Amman denies
DEBKAfile October 10, 2012, 5:40 PM (GMT+02:00)
Speaking to a NATO defense ministers conference in Brussels, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the U.S. has been working with Jordan to monitor chemical and biological weapons sites in Syria and also to help Jordan deal with refugees pouring over the border from Syria. US troops sent to the Jordan-Syria border are helping build a headquarters in Jordan to bolster its military capabilities in case violence spills over from Syria, suggesting deepening US military intervention in the Syrian conflict.
However, a Jordanian army spokesman denied an earlier New York Times report. "News reports that the United States is helping Jordan deal with the Syrian refugees or face dangers related to chemical weapons are not true," the spokesman said in a statement carried by state-run Petra news agency. D
DEBKAfile: Similar US chemical weapons task forces have already been set up in Israel and Turkey as we reported on Aug. 12

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« Reply #261 on: October 10, 2012, 10:44:04 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/panetta-us-sends-forces-jordan-131927741.html

10/10/12

Panetta: US sends forces to Jordan

BRUSSELS (AP) — The United States has sent military troops to the Jordan-Syria border to bolster that country's military capabilities in the event that violence escalates along its border with Syria, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday.
 
Speaking at a NATO conference of defense ministers in Brussels, Panetta said the U.S. has been working with Jordan to monitor chemical and biological weapons sites in Syria and also to help Jordan deal with refugees pouring over the border from Syria. The troops are also building a headquarters for themselves.
 
But the revelation of U.S. military personnel so close to the 19-month-old Syrian conflict suggests an escalation in the U.S. military involvement in the conflict, even as Washington pushes back on any suggestion of a direct intervention in Syria.
 
It also follows several days of shelling between Turkey and Syria, an indication that the civil war could spill across Syria's borders and become a regional conflict.

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« Reply #262 on: October 12, 2012, 07:23:57 pm »

http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4291402,00.html

Syria activists: Jihadists seize missile base

Videos posted online Friday, apparently shot inside air defense base near Aleppo, show fighters linked to al-Qaeda participating in overnight battle, inspecting lines of large missiles
News agencies

Anti-regime activists say jihadist fighters linked to al-Qaeda fought with rebels to capture a Syrian military air defense base near Aleppo.

Videos posted online Friday apparently shot inside the base say Jabhat al-Nusra participated in the overnight battle for the base. The videos show fighters inspecting lines of large missiles.

Two Aleppo-based activists and Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also say Jabhat al-Nusra fought in the battle.

The base's capture is sure to fuel fears that Islamic extremists are playing a greater role after nearly 19 months of unrest in Syria. Western powers cite their presence as a reason not to arm the rebels.

Syrian opposition activists estimate more than 32,000 people have been killed since March 2011 when the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began.

Clashes were also taking place Friday at a military barracks close to Maarat al-Nuaman, a town on the main highway to the northwestern city of Aleppo which was seized by rebel forces earlier this week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The pro-opposition Observatory gave a death toll for Thursday of more than 260 people, including civilians and combatants on both sides in violence in the capital and the north, west and east.

It said 92 soldiers were killed on Thursday, which would be one of the highest daily casualty counts on the government side since the uprising against Assad broke out in March 2011.

The official SANA news agency also reported fighting nationwide and said dozens of rebels, which it called "mercenary terrorists", had been killed.

The reports could not be independently verified but they indicate a rapidly intensifying conflict, with the death tolls of the past several weeks far exceeding previous months.

Although international attention has focused on the Turkish border in the past week, Aleppo and the city of Homs – north of Damascus and near the border with Lebanon – are being fought over and clashes take place almost daily in the suburbs of the capital Damascus as well as in the countryside.

Turkey scrambled two fighter planes to the border with Syria on Friday after a Syrian military helicopter bombed the Syrian border town of Azmarin.

The Observatory said the air defense base seized by the rebels was located in al-Tana village by the Koris military airport on the road east from Aleppo to al-Raqqa.

Aleppo, Syria's largest city and commercial hub, has been contested since July. The rebel capture of Maarat al-Nuaman cut the highway between Aleppo and Homs, the main route for the government to resupply and reinforce the northern city.

SANA said government forces were mounting operations to clear Aleppo's Karm al-Jabal area of rebels on Friday.

More than 30,000 people have been killed in the conflict which started out as a popular uprising against four decades of Assad family rule then descended into civil war. The armed forces have relied heavily on air power and artillery to hold back the rebels.

Fighting has also spilled over the borders into Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and the Golan Heights, raising concern that the fighting could spread across the region, now home to 340,000 Syrian refugees.

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« Reply #263 on: October 24, 2012, 08:43:25 am »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20066613

10/24/12

Syrian government 'agrees to Eid al-Adha ceasefire'

The UN's envoy to Syria says President Bashar al-Assad's government has agreed to abide by a ceasefire during the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters in Cairo that most opposition factions had also said they would observe any ceasefire.

The government said it would make its final decision on Thursday.

Mr Brahimi said he hoped to use the lull in fighting over Eid al-Adha, which starts on Friday, to "discuss a longer and more effective ceasefire".

Eid al-Adha, the Festival of the Sacrifice, is celebrated by Muslims to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as proof of obedience to God.

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« Reply #264 on: October 25, 2012, 10:06:42 am »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20055271?print=true
24 October 2012 Last updated at 06:15 ET

Russia: Syria rebels have US-made weapons
 
A senior Russian general has said Syrian rebels now have anti-aircraft weapons, including US-made Stingers.

Gen Nikolai Makarov was quoted by the Interfax news service as saying the origin of the surface-to-air missiles should be "cleared up".

Russia is the biggest supplier of arms to its Syrian government ally.

Aerial bombardment of rebel-held towns continued on Wednesday, as the UN's Syria envoy prepared to brief the Security Council on ceasefire efforts.

Lakhdar Brahimi has been trying to arrange a ceasefire between rebels and government forces over the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, which begins on Friday.

Weapon supplies
 
"We have reliable information that Syrian militants have foreign portable anti-aircraft missile systems, including those made in the USA... it should be cleared up who delivered them," Gen Makarov told journalists in Russia.

There have been earlier unconfirmed reports of the Syrian opposition having shoulder-mounted missiles, but the West has been reluctant to openly arm the rebels.

In August, Syrian rebels said they had shot down a fighter jet near the border with Iraq.

Syrian warplanes have stepped up their bombardments of rebel-dominated areas in recent months, particularly in the north of the country. Deadly air raids are now daily events in towns around the city of Aleppo.

Recent footage has emerged of Syrian opposition fighters using old Soviet SA-7 heat-seeking missiles, which can destroy a plane flying at up to 14,000ft.

US-made Stinger missiles are shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft weapons designed to target low-flying planes and helicopters.

A US decision to supply them to the mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 1980s to fight the Russians proved to be a turning point in the war.

The UN says that more than 18,000 people have died so far in the uprising against Bashar al-Assad's government, which began in March 2011, but activists and opposition groups put the figure closer to 30,000.
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« Reply #265 on: October 27, 2012, 10:07:23 am »

http://www.jpost.com/VideoArticles/Video/Article.aspx?id=289422

Damascus car bomb kills 5, shatters Syria truce

Syrian regime accuses "terrorists" of carrying out car-bombing near makeshift playground built for Id al-Adha holiday.

BEIRUT - A powerful car bomb exploded in Damascus on Friday, inflicting many casualties and buffeting a shaky temporary truce in the Syrian conflict on the occasion of a Muslim religious holiday.

State television said the "terrorist car bomb" had killed five people and wounded 32, according to "preliminary figures".

Opposition activists said the bomb had gone off near a makeshift children's playground built for the Id al-Adha holiday in the southern Daf al-Shok district of the capital.

Fighting erupted around Syria earlier as both sides violated the Id al-Adha ceasefire arranged by international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, but violence was far less intense than usual.

The Syrian military said it had responded to attacks by insurgents on army positions, in line with its announcement on Thursday that it would cease military activity during the four-day holiday, but reserved the right to react to rebel actions.

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« Reply #266 on: November 04, 2012, 05:40:36 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/bomb-shakes-damascus-opposition-begins-unity-talks-142232847--finance.html

Bomb shakes Damascus as opposition begins unity talks
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis | Reuters – 2 hrs 5 mins

11/4/12

AMMAN (Reuters) - A bomb exploded near army and security compounds in Damascus on Sunday, Syrian television said, and fractured opposition groups seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad began unity talks abroad to win international respect and arms supplies.

The 50-kilogram (110-pound) bomb, near a large hotel in a heavily guarded district, was described by state media as an attack by "terrorists" - the government's term for insurgents in the 19-month-old uprising against Assad.

Opposition activists said the blast appeared to be the work of the Ahfad al-Rasoul (Grandsons of the Prophet) Brigade, an Islamist militant unit that attacked military and intelligence targets several times in the last two months.

"The terrorist explosion caused several injuries. One of (the injured) is in critical condition," state television said.

Video from state media and posted online by activists showed shattered windows and battered cars but little other damage.

The mainly Sunni rebels have carried out a series of bombings targeting government and military buildings in Damascus this year, extending the war into the seat of Assad's power.

The Syrian conflict has aggravated divisions in the Islamic world, with Shi'ite Iran supporting Assad -- whose Alawite faith derives from Shi'ite Islam -- and U.S.-allied Sunni nations such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar backing his foes.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights, an activist monitoring group, said government forces had killed 179 people on Sunday. It said most of the dead were civilians killed in shelling of Damascus suburbs and included 14 women and 20 children. The rest were rebels killed in battles in the capital and the northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo.

In northern Idlib, opposition sources said rebels were forced to halt an offensive to take a big air base because of a shortage of ammunition, a problem that has dogged their campaign to cement a hold on the north by eliminating Assad's devastating edge in firepower, especially warplanes and helicopter gunships.

Islamist insurgents had launched the attack on the Taftanaz military airport at dawn on Saturday, using rocket launchers and at least three tanks captured from the military, disrupting government air strikes on nearby rebel-held towns and villages.

The Syrian government restricts journalists' access in Syria, making it difficult to verify reports from the ground.

The Jaafar bin Tayyar Division, a rebel unit in Deir al-Zor, said its fighters had taken control of the al-Ward oilfield near the Iraqi border on Sunday, after overrunning a loyalist outpost that had 40 militiamen defending it.

Rebel commanders, former Syrian officials and the Syrian head of an oil services company familiar with oil production in the area said the fields, mostly not operational, had been under de facto rebel control for months.

FEARS OF WIDER CONFLAGRATION

The conflict began with peaceful protest rallies that morphed into armed revolt when Assad, whose family has ruled Syria since 1971, tried to stamp them out with military might. About 32,000 people have been killed, wide swathes of the major Arab state have been wrecked and the civil war threatens to widen into a regional sectarian conflagration.

The opposition talks that began in Qatar marked the first concerted attempt to meld feuding, disparate groups based abroad and coordinate strategy with rebels fighting in Syria.

Divisions between Islamists and secularists as well as between those inside Syria and opposition figures based abroad have foiled prior attempts to forge a united opposition and deterred Western powers from intervening militarily.

Analysts were sceptical the planned four days of opposition talks in the Qatari capital Doha would bring immediate results.

They aim to broaden the Syrian National Council (SNC), the largest of the overseas-based opposition groups, from some 300 members to 400, to pave the way for talks in Doha on Thursday including other anti-Assad factions to crystallise a coalition.

"The main aim is to expand the council to include more of the social and political components. There will be new forces in the SNC," Abdulbaset Sieda, current leader of the Syrian National Council, told reporters in Doha ahead of the meeting.

The meetings would also elect a new executive committee and leader for the SNC, he said.

A Qatar-based security analyst, who asked not to be named, said the meetings would bring a small step forward, at most. "The Syrian National Council is just too divided," he said.

The United States called last week for an overhaul of the opposition's leadership, saying it was time to move beyond the SNC and bring in those "in the front lines fighting and dying".

Veteran opposition leader Riad Seif has proposed a structure melding the rebel Free Syrian Army, regional military councils and other insurgent units alongside local civilian bodies and prominent opposition figures.

Called the Syrian National Initiative, his plan envisages the creation of an Initiative Body, including political groups, local councils, national figures and rebel forces; a Supreme Military Council; a Judicial Committee and a transitional government-in-waiting composed of technocrats.

Western, Turkish and Arab recognition of the new opposition structure, Seif said in an interview with Reuters last week, will help channel anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to the rebels and "decide the battle".

Western powers keen to see Assad removed have been loath to arm rebels in part because of the growing prominence of radical Islamic fighters fighting separately from more secular groups.

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« Reply #267 on: November 04, 2012, 05:45:27 pm »

http://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-tanks-cross-into-golan-demilitarized-zone/

3 Syrian tanks cross into Golan demilitarized zone, Israel raises alert

The Israeli army, which has been braced for Syrian fighting spilling into Israel, reports the incident to UN peacekeepers


11/3/12

The Israeli army said three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights on the Israel-Syrian border Saturday.
 
The Israel Defense Forces raised its alert level in the Northern Command area, and a military spokeswoman said Israel complained to the U.N. peacekeeping force in the area after the tanks entered.
 
The incident — the first such violation in 40 years — was not regarded as an incident of hostility toward Israel. Rather, the Syrian tanks were apparently facing off against Syrian rebel forces. Nonetheless, Syrian-Israeli relations are relentlessly fraught, and any border incident raises tensions.
 
Hebrew news site Ynet said there were reports that two Syrian armored personnel carriers also crossed into the zone.

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« Reply #268 on: November 05, 2012, 10:02:29 am »


http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=290534
Syrian army strikes Damascus after rebel attacks

By REUTERS

11/05/2012 10:38

Activists say 28 people killed in bombardment and overnight shelling; Russian FM justifies $1b. in arms sales to Assad in year.

The Syrian army bombarded rebel strongholds in southern Damascus on Monday with artillery and from the air, hours after opposition fighters attacked a militia loyal to President Bashar Assad, opposition activists said.

At least eight people were killed and dozens wounded in the bombardment, after 20 people were killed by army shelling overnight, they said.

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http://debka.com/article/22499/

Israeli warplanes fly over Golan as Hizballah fighters pour into Syria
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report November 4, 2012, 9:23 PM (GMT+02:00)

Israeli warplanes flew over the divided Golan Sunday, Nov. 4, in a show of strength and as a deterrent against the Syrian civil war seeping across the border, debkafile’s military and Western intelligence sources report.  In Paris, President Francois Hollande vowed Sunday that “France would oppose with all its strength any bid to destabilize Lebanon. Lebanon must be protected.”

He spoke regardless of the 5,000 Lebanese Shiite Hizballah fighters who have poured into Syria from their Beqaa Valley stronghold of al-Harmel to fight Bashar Assad’s war. Our sources reveal that these Lebanese fighters have now advanced 50-60 kilometers deep into southwestern Syria, up to the outskirts of the embattled town of Homs.

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« Reply #269 on: November 07, 2012, 09:59:38 am »

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-election-signals-phase-syria-war-112519191.html

11/7/12

Obama re-election signals new phase in Syria war

ZAATARI, Jordan (AP) — Western efforts to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad shifted dramatically Wednesday, with Britain announcing it will deal directly with rebel military leaders and Turkey saying NATO members have discussed using Patriot missiles to protect a safe zone inside Syria.

The developments came within hours of Barack Obama's re-election, with U.S. allies anticipating a new, bolder approach from the American president to end the deadlocked civil war that has killed more than 36,000 people since an uprising against Assad began in March 2011.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, visiting a camp Wednesday for Syrian refugees in Jordan, said the U.S., Britain and other allies should do more to "shape the opposition" into a coherent force and open channels of communication directly with rebel military commanders.

Previously, Britain and the U.S. have acknowledged contacts only with exile groups and political opposition figures — some connected to rebel forces — inside Syria.

"There is an opportunity for Britain, for America, for Saudi Arabia, Jordan and like-minded allies to come together and try to help shape the opposition, outside Syria and inside Syria," Cameron said. "And try to help them achieve their goal, which is our goal of a Syria without Assad."

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