Category: Syria

An FSA terrorist group goes missing way back from Turkey

The most important developments in Syria during last 24 hours indicate that a prominent member of Free Syrian Army has been missing, and FSA members have been clashing with each other in Aleppo.

Informed sources had it that Yusuf Afash, brother to Ahmad Afash, FSA leader has lost along with his terrorist group members in their way back from Turkey in Qatma border village.

They have reportedly exported stolen goods from Aleppo factories to Turkey. FSA has announced Al-Nusra Front as responsible for the event.

Defected Syrian Army Colonel defects to Turkey

Also these sources had it that Syrian Army defected Colonel Amin Amin, popularly known as Abu Mohammed, who headed attack on the Meng Military Airport, has defected to Turkey after verbal clash with the leader of the group. After his defection, Amin’s followers engaged in a fight with the leader.

Leader of Al Tohid brigades killed in southern Daraa

Syrian Army units have killed Ismail Mahmoud al-Masri, also known as Abu Sariyya, leader of Tohid Flag brigades during a fierce fight in southern Daraa. His group’s members have been reportedly killed.

via An FSA terrorist group goes missing way back from Turkey.

February 13, 2013
Syria crisis: ‘Powerful’ minibus explosion kills 13

The blast happened near the Cilvegozu border post, one of the main crossing points for Syrian refugees into Turkey

A minibus exploded on the Syria-Turkey border, killing at least 10 Syrians and three Turkish nationals, Turkish officials have said.

It is not yet known what caused the blast, which wounded dozens more.

Meanwhile, rebels have reportedly seized control of Syria’s largest hydro-electric dam, in what would be a strategic loss to the government.

Activists and opposition groups said fighters were guarding the dam’s entrances and exits in Raqa province.

Reports said the dam on the Euphrates River in the country’s north was still operational.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reiterated on Monday that he would not step down, “no matter how pressures are building up”, state-run Sana news agency reports.

“Syria will remain the beating heart of the Arab world and will not give up its principles despite the intensifying pressure and diversifying plots not only targeting Syria, but all Arabs,” he is quoted as saying by Sana.

Scene of clashes

Monday’s explosion happened in the area of the Cilvegozu customs post on the Turkish side of the border, in the southern province of Hatay.

It is one of the main crossing points for Syrian refugees into Turkey.

The Syrian-registered minibus blew up only metres away from the Turkish border gate, where scores of civilians and humanitarian workers were congregated, Turkish deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc said.

“It was a powerful explosion. But whether this was a vehicle laden with explosives or another type of explosion, I think, at the latest, will become clear tomorrow,” he said.

“All possibilities are on the table, including political motives.”

Turkey’s interior, justice and customs ministers were due to fly to the area to be briefed on the incident.

The crossing, which lies opposite the Syrian border post of Bab al-Hawa, has been the scene of clashes in recent months. Rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad captured Bab al-Hawa in July.

The latest incident comes after continued violence across the country left some 77 people dead on Sunday, AFP news agency quoted opposition activists as saying.

The Local Coordination Committees said clashes had broken out in the al-Afif neighbourhood of Damascus, near the the presidential complex.

Information from inside Syria is almost impossible to verify because of the heavy restrictions placed on international journalists there.

The fighting in Syria has killed at least 60,000 people, the UN says.

Dam ‘taken’

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activists group, said Islamist fighters now controlled the Tabqa dam. The facility provides much of the electricity to the city of Aleppo.

Rebels launched an offensive in Aleppo in July, but since then the city has been divided between fighters and government forces, with neither side apparently able to push the other out.

“The rebels took control of the dam, which is still in operation. They are guarding both entrances but have forbidden the fighters from staying inside for fear the regime will bomb it,” SOHR director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The SOHR said Islamist fighters also took over three districts in the neighbouring town of Tabqa, where employees of the dam and their families live.

The SOHR is one of the most prominent organisations documenting and reporting incidents and casualties in the Syrian conflict. The group says its reports are impartial, though its information cannot be independently verified.

Moaz al-Khatib (file photo) Moaz al-Khatib’s offer of talks was criticised within his own movement

‘A Syrian opposition leader meanwhile has criticised the government for not taking up his offer of peace talks.

Moaz al-Khatib, of the Syrian National Coalition, said the regime’s response sent a “very negative” message to the world.

In a statement on his Facebook page, Mr Khatib said the government had “lost a chance to engage in a dialogue” to end the two-year conflict.

Last month, Mr Khatib said the Syrian National Coalition – an alliance of opposition groups – would meet Syrian officials, so long as Syria freed 160,000 political prisoners.

His overture, which has the backing of the US, was criticised by many of his coalition colleagues, who reject discussions while President Assad and his inner circle remain in power.

On Friday, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said the government was prepared to hold talks with the opposition without preconditions.

“We are serious about the question of dialogue,” Mr Zohbi said on state television. [But] When you speak of dialogue, it means dialogue without conditions, which excludes no-one.”

via BBC News – Syria crisis: ‘Powerful’ minibus explosion kills 13.

February 12, 2013
Opposition Leader Says ‘Turkey Wants to Harm the Kurdish Cause’ in Syria

Abdulhakim Bashar, the first president of the Kurdish National Council (KNC) and the secretary of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria (Al Party) Photo: Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Abdulhakim Bashar, the first president of the Kurdish National Council (KNC) and the secretary of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria (Al Party), who directs his party from Erbil, accuses Turkey of supporting Arab fighters against the Kurds in Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain).

He told Rudaw that by doing so Turkish intelligence wants to harm the Kurdish cause, but that by backing radical Islamists on its border Turkey is threatening its own future security.

Rudaw: Why have the Arab fighters directed their heavy weapons towards Serekaniye? Does capturing Remelan have something to do with attaching Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain)?

Abdulhakeem Bashar: Serekaniye is an alarm that shows the existence of groups that are hostile toward the Kurds and want to eliminate their cause. Some terrorist groups have come to Serekaniye after the withdrawal of the Syrian regime from that town. They are easing the pressure on the Syrian regime. If these groups really care about fighting the Syrian regime, then they should go and fight in Damascus and Aleppo where the real fight is. These fighters are making a big mistake by fighting in Serekaniye, because by doing so they help the Syrian regime and create a Kurdish-Arab war. This will change the path of the Syrian revolution dramatically. There is an Alawite-Sunni conflict in Syria, and if a Kurdish-Arab conflict is created, then the Syrian regime will never collapse. For these reasons, I believe that these groups are either very narrow-minded or they are working for the Assad regime. I hope this issue will be solved politically; otherwise, as the AI party, we will have a different reaction.

Rudaw: Will you send your armed forces to Serekaniye?

Abdulhakeem Bashar: We will send our forces to Serekaniye if deemed necessary. This is a sacred duty, for which we will have to sacrifice.

Rudaw: Do you believe in the existence of external influence in this issue?

Abdulhakeem Bashar: We treat Turkey as a friendly country, but unfortunately it facilitates the movement of the Arabs into Serekaniye. This means that Turkey wants to harm the Kurdish cause. But, this will only increase the problems for Turkey, because it will complicate the Kurdish issue inside Turkey, and the radical Islamists will settle on the Turkish border. The Turkish government might not be involved in this, but according to the information we obtained, there are signs of involvement of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in this issue.

Rudaw: But isn’t the MIT under the control of the Turkish government?

Abdulhakeem Bashar: A group inside the Turkish government is involved. But this does not mean that there is a political decision behind it. I can’t say for sure which group it is, but this action surely does not serve the interests of Turkey, nor ours. If Turkey were truly a friend of the Syrian revolution, then supporting these groups would be a mistake. If it were a friend of the Syrian Kurds, then supporting these radical Islamists would again be a mistake, as well as a threat to the border security of Turkey.

Rudaw: Have you tried to contact the Turkish consulate in Erbil to convey your grievances to the Turkish government?

Abdulhakim Bashar: No. But a woman from the Turkish consulate contacted me and asked me questions about this issue. I told them that the situation was very bad and that we might change our way of thinking about Turkey if things continue in this manner.

Rudaw: Do these groups seek to control only Serekaniye, or do they have other goals?

Abdulhakim Bashar: I believe that these forces cannot control Serekaniye, unless it is done over the dead bodies of the Kurds. This will become a national war for the Kurds and all Kurds shall support it.

Rudaw: What kinds of affiliations do these radical groups have?

Abdulhakim Bashar: These armed groups are connected to Jabhat al-Nusra and Ghuraba al-Sham. The United States branded the former as a terrorist group. Ghuraba al-Sham was previously called Jund al-Sham, which was a terrorist group and created by the Syrian intelligence agency. This group carried out 80 percent of the terrorist attacks in Iraq. The leader of this group was called al-Qaaqaa and was killed in Aleppo three years ago. They later changed their name to Ghuraba al-Sham, but they are still controlled by the Syrian regime.

Rudaw: How long will the conflict in Serekaniye last?

Abdulhakim Bashar: If the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) intervenes, then the conflict in Serekaniye will stop. But, if things continue in this way, this conflict will worsen and become a war between Kurds and Arabs.

Rudaw: How is the situation in west Kurdistan after receiving humanitarian aid?

Abdulhakim Bashar: It has become better. We thank the Kurdistan Region very much. But, the distribution of the humanitarian aid was not very organized. Some groups claimed to the people that the aid was their own in certain regions. We also hoped that the aid would somehow reach Ifrin and Kobani, as these two regions have suffered a lot. We ask the Kurdistan Region to help these two regions as well.

Rudaw: But geographically it is not possible.

Abdulhakim Bashar: We can do this through Turkey’s help. The Kurdistan Region must ask for assistance from the Turkish government.

via Rudaw.net – English – Opposition Leader Says ‘Turkey Wants to Harm the Kurdish Cause’ in Syria.

February 9, 2013
Turkey Denies U.S. Complained Over Comments Against Israel

Turkey denies that the United States expressed concerns over remarks made by the country’s officials about alleged Israeli raid in Syria.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 2/8/2013, 3:15 AM

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

AFP/File

Turkey denied on Thursday that the United States expressed concerns to Turkish authorities over remarks made by the country’s officials about an alleged Israeli raid on a military convoy and a research center near Damascus last week.

Diplomatic sources told the Turkish daily Today’s Zaman that the U.S. embassy did not convey any concerns to the Turkish side over the remarks.

“There has been no initiative or a meeting in Ankara [between Turkish and US officials]. We couldn’t understand what they were referring to,” the sources told the newspaper.

On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu criticized the Syrian government for failing to respond to the alleged Israel airstrike, suggesting that the Syrian stance raises suspicions that there is a secret deal between the two countries.

“Why has the Syrian army, which has been attacking its own people with warplanes and tanks for 22 months, not responded to this Israeli operation?” Davutoglu asked.

“Why doesn’t [Bashar al-Assad] throw a stone at the Israeli planes while they fly over his palace and insult his nation’s honor? Why doesn’t he do anything against Israel while he drops bombs on the innocent people of his country? Is there a secret agreement between Israel and Assad?” he added.

A day later, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of waging “state terrorism” as he condemned the alleged air strike as an unacceptable violation of international law.

“Those who have been treating Israel like a spoilt child should expect anything from them, at any time,” Erdogan said.

“As I say time and again, Israel has a mentality of waging state terrorism. Right now, there is no telling what it might do and where it might do it,” he told reporters.

“We cannot regard a violation of air space as acceptable. What Israel does is completely against international law… it is beyond condemnation,” Erdogan said.

Responding to the comments, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called them “inflammatory” and said they are “obviously very troubling to us.”

Nuland told reported that the U.S. had “conveyed our concerns on this matter with senior Turkish officials.” She added that the U.S. administration had expressed these concerns to Turkish authorities via the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.

The U.S. embassy in Ankara declined to comment on the matter and said it is impossible to provide more information than what Nuland said.

Tags: Syria ,Turkey ,Recep Tayyip Erdogan ,Ahmet Davutoglu ,Victoria Nuland ,Turkey-Israel relations ,IAF-Syria

via Turkey Denies U.S. Complained – Middle East – News – Israel National News.

February 8, 2013
Can Turkey seize the ‘Kurdish card’ for itself?

By Soner Cagaptay, Special to CNN

Editor’s note: Soner Cagaptay is the Beyer Family fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute. His publications include the forthcoming book ‘Turkey Rising: The 21st Century’s First Muslim Power.’ The views expressed are his own.

Turkey’s Syria policy now seems to have one goal: take down the al-Assad regime. With this in mind, Ankara has become actively involved in the Syrian uprising, supporting the opposition and allegedly allowing weapons to flow into Syria to help oust Bashar al-Assad. But not everyone vying for power in post-al-Assad Syria has welcomed Turkey’s helping hand.

Enter the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Ankara’s archenemy for decades. The PKK and its Syrian franchise, the Party for Democratic Unity (PYD), which holds sway over the Syrian Kurds, have recently secured parts of northern Syria adjacent to Turkey. This suggests that when the al-Assad regime falls, Turkey will be confronted with PKK and PYD-run enclaves across from its border with Syria.

As hostile as the PKK has been towards Ankara, though, the PKK cannot afford to carry this menacing anti-Turkish attitude into Syria. After al-Assad is gone, the Syrian Kurds represented in the PYD will discover that they are fated to become woefully dependent on Ankara for survival, much like the Iraqi Kurds were after the end of the Saddam regime in Iraq.

Simple geography dictates this. The PYD holds sway among the Syrian Kurds in the northwestern part of that country. These Kurdish-dominated areas are non-contiguous enclaves, surrounded by Arab majority areas with Turkey to the north. One emerging battle in Syria is conflict between Arabs and Kurds. When that struggle fully unfolds, the Kurds in northwestern Syria will have no friend but Turkey to rely on as leverage against that country’s majority Arabs. This will present the PKK in Syria with a stark choice: fight both Turkey and the Arabs on all four sides and perish, or rely on Turkey to increase their bargaining power vis-à-vis the country’s Arab majority. Survival will require the second path, and as surreal as it sounds now, the PKK’s Syrian branch will acquiesce to Turkish power.

More from GPS: Why U.S. should rethink Syria Kurds policy

This corresponds to a seismic shift in Turkey’s Kurdish policy. Until recently, Ankara had seen the “Kurdish card” in the region as a threat to its core interests. Now, this appears to be changing. Ankara has reportedly built intimate commercial and political ties with the Iraqi Kurds. Now, Ankara wants something similar with the Syrian Kurds. If the PKK in Syria is deft enough to curry favor with Ankara, Ankara will return the favor.

The Turkish Kurds are the last piece of the puzzle. If recently announced peace talks between the Ankara government and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan succeed, Turkey may be able to turn the “Kurdish card” to its favor.

If the peace talks go as planned, PKK members will lay down their weapons. In return, Turkey would issue a blanket amnesty to the group’s core membership currently located at the Kandil enclave in northern Iraq, and possibly grant some cultural rights to its Kurdish population. And Ocalan, who has been in solitary confinement in an island jail, will see an end to his isolation.

Still, the Syrian Kurds in the PKK’s Kandil enclave in mountainous northern Iraq could spoil this process. Many among the PKK’s membership, especially those from Turkey, will listen to Ocalan. But some hardline leaders could refuse to buy into what they might perceive as a personal deal to set himself free.

All this means that while the PKK in Syria will moderate its behavior towards Turkey because it has to, the Syrian Kurds in the PKK will likely maintain a hardline stance against Ankara.

Turkey may be able to preempt such a scenario by showing the Kurds in Syria a degree of friendship that exceeds even the outreach it has shown to the Iraqi Kurds. Such a strategy might help placate the animosity of the Syrian Kurds in Kandil towards Ankara, though it will not fix the problem.

For now, it appears that while the PKK in Syria will not bite Turkey, Syrian Kurds in the Kandil enclave will remain the biggest hurdle to Turkey being able to claim the Kurdish card for itself.

Post by: CNN’s Jason Miks

via Can Turkey seize the ‘Kurdish card’ for itself? – Global Public Square – CNN.com Blogs.

February 7, 2013
NATO missiles in Turkey shield Israel, a plot against Russia: Layos Szaszdi

An analyst says NATO missiles deployed in Turkey under the pretext of protecting Ankara against Syrian attacks are in actual fact aimed at Russia in pursuit of Israeli interests.

The comment comes as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance says it has made the first set of Patriot missiles operational on the Turkey-Syria border.

NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe Admiral James Stavridis has backed the deployment of Patriot missiles, saying it shows the alliance’s willingness to defend allies facing threats.

Six batteries of the US-made missiles, effective against aircraft and short-range missiles, will be deployed in the southern city of Adana and the southeastern cities of Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep.

The Syrian government has censured the plan, calling it another act of provocation by the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Layos Szaszdi, political commentator in Washington to further discuss the issue. What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Mr. Szaszdi, we see foreign-backed insurgents literally killing civilians in Syria, execution style. Why has the international community remained silent on this and why isn’t it doing anything about it?

Szaszdi: Well, because they do support the rebels. They want them to succeed because their ultimate goal is to topple the government in Damascus and this is a broad coalition that includes Western powers headed or led by the United States and including France, United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey of course– a major spring board for the rebels.

And that’s why the Patriot missiles are being deployed in the regions where they are near the city of Adana, near the city of Kahramanmara because probably those areas, certainly the city of Adana were the US base of Incirlik Base are entry ports; from where? Well, not entry ports but staging points where supplies are provided to the rebels in Syria.

So because of this broad alliance or coalition including Western powers and Middle Eastern powers, Persian Gulf, Arab States of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, probably Israel also is supporting the rebels so that’s why they don’t denounce the crimes committed by the rebels particularly the al-Nusra front which by the way the United States has declared a terrorist organization.

So there is this common goal that unites the Saudis, the Israelis, the Turks, the Germans and the Americans which bring down the government in Damascus as part of the information war, the propaganda war.

They are not going to mention or accuse the rebels of committing crimes. Everything that is going wrong; any war crime that is being committed in Syria they are always going to be blame it on the government in Damascus.

Press TV: As far as the NATO Patriot missiles are concerned, you spoke about them, how should one interpret these missiles and of course where does the international law fit in this?

Szaszdi: Well, Turkey is a NATO member, they do have the right to deploy, these NATO allies, the US, the Netherlands, Germany (have the right to) to deploy these Patriot missiles which are regarded as a defensive weapon in the Eastern borders of Turkey.

Now of course it’s my belief that where the missiles are being deployed near the city of Adana, Kahramanmaras were the Germans missiles, two batteries of Patriot missiles are being deployed, they are being deployed there because it’s a staging point from where the rebels obtained supplies, weapons, and volunteers.

So they are military targets, that’s why they are deploying missiles in case that Syria supposedly would like to retaliate launching attacks against those staging bases from where the rebels are being fed with weapons, volunteers, supplies, and etcetera but of course Syria is not going to provoke NATO to intervene.

I would say that these Patriot missiles are part of an extension of the European missile defense system which is actually aimed against Russia and Iran and the Russians know it.

They know that this is an excuse, the deployment of the Patriot missiles claiming that it is to protect Turkey against Syrian missile attack or air attack but in fact it’s aimed against Russia and its part of a broader missile defense system that does not just include NATO European missile defense System but also Japan presumably.

And in the case of the Patriot batteries being deployed in Eastern Turkey they could be connected to the more sophisticated missile defense system which is the Theater High Altitude Area Defense system also known by its acronym (THAAD) and there is a fire control [system and a] radar for that missile system which is the AN/TPY-2 and that radar is mobile so supposedly now it’s pointing Iran since its mobile it can turned pointing Russia.

Why Russia? Because I believe that these European missile defense system including the Patriot batteries can be linked to that fire control radar I just mentioned, could be used to defend Israel in case that Israel would attack Russia for instance move their intercontinental ballistic missile force including the Jericho-III ICBM that can reach Moscow and St. Petersburg.

And Israelis have been targeting the Soviet Union since the late eighties presumably they’re still targeting Russia due to its support to Syria, to Iran for instance though it is a friendly nation. So presumably the missiles can be used against Russia too.

VG/JR

via PressTV – NATO missiles in Turkey shield Israel, a plot against Russia: Layos Szaszdi.

February 3, 2013