The Free Syrian Army (FSA) claimed Thursday that it had downed a Syrian military fighter jet in the northwestern province of Idlib.
In the video, which was exclusively obtained by Al Arabiya, a crowd of Syrian rebels shout “Allah Akbar” — “God is great” — as the airplane falls from the sky, billowing smoke.
Smoke swirls as the fighter jet, downed by the Free Syrian Army, descends in the northwestern city of Idlib. (Al Arabiya)
Two pilots can be seen in the video, descending in parachutes after ejecting from the jet.
The FSA also claimed on Thursday that it had destroyed 11 helicopters and a number of tanks around Tiftiaz military airport, in the northern city of Aleppo, where there has been heavy fighting between the resistance and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
The rebel forces on Wednesday started targeting the airport, which is considered to be one of the largest bases in the country for military helicopters.
The Syrian army has been bombarding the less heavily armed rebels with helicopters and jets as they fight for control of the country, inflicting large casualties.
On Monday, Syrian opposition fighters made headlines when they downed a helicopter in Damascus.
via Free Syrian Army claims downed fighter jet in Idlib.
Is Incirlik airbase in Turkey being used to direct military and communications aid to Syria’s rebels August 2, 2012
Posted by Richard Clements in Drones, Syria.
According to an interesting article recently published by Reuters Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have set up a secret base in the Turkish city of Adana, some 100 km (60miles) from the Syrian border, whose purpose is to direct arms and communication aid supplies to Syrian opposition forces.
“It’s the Turks who are militarily controlling it. Turkey is the main co-ordinator/facilitator. Think of a triangle, with Turkey at the top and Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the bottom” said Reuters source based in Doha.
“The Americans are very hands off on this, U.S intel(ligence) are working through middlemen, middlemen are controlling access to weapons and routes.”
As mentioned above, Adana is close to the Syrian border but also is home to Incirlik airbase, a strategic U.S. military installation located some 8 km from the town.
It is unclear whether the alleged “nerve centre” is located within the confines of the huge airbase.
However, since the base is believed to be used along with other airports in the Gulf area (as Al Dhafra, in the UAE) to launch spy missions over or near Syria, the proximity of the “rebels support center” to the American drones raises some questions: are drones being flown from Incirlik providing the “middlemen” with the intel they require to provide logistics and communications to the rebels?
An MQ-1B Predator from the 414th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron sits on the flightline Feb. 14, 2012, at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. (U.S. Air Force photo) Note the lack of markings on this drone: a typical feature of robots operating in “hot areas.”
Indeed Obama administration has publicly admitted that it is providing “non-lethal” assistance to Assad’s opposition by means of communication equipment, even if some reports claim he has given the go ahead to clandestine support to Syria’s rebels.
In the meanwhile, the Free Syrian Army has reportedly obtained nearly two dozen shoulder-fired missiles, weapons that could be used against regime’s helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
According to NBC News, the MANPADS (of Soviet origin) have been delivered to the rebels via Turkey.
On Jun. 22, a Turkish RF-4E Phantom was mysteriously downed by a Syrian Air Defense battery after violating Syria’s airspace.
Written with David Cenciotti
via Is Incirlik airbase in Turkey being used to direct military and communications aid to Syria’s rebels « The Aviationist.
The failure of a recent UN Security Council resolution that sought to calm Syria has once again highlighted the dilemmas Turkey has faced in its efforts to end the humanitarian catastrophe in this neighboring state. Ankara joined international outrage, condemning the Syrian regime on the one hand, and expressing concern over China and Russia using their UN veto, on the other. While calling for urgent action and exploration of fresh options to stop the bloodshed, Ankara, nonetheless, reiterated its reservations about international intervention.
The proposed UN Resolution would have supported the Arab League’s peace plan. In the negotiations preceding the vote, Moscow’s objections prompted Western powers to soften the resolution’s tone. The failure to satisfy Russia’s expectations that the Syrian opposition is also given sufficient warning and Assad is not forced to leave power created a delicate situation. The lack of a breakthrough on a compromise draft prompted the backers of the resolution to put it to the UN Security Council for a vote. Hours before Russia and China vetoed the draft resolution, Assad forces continued their violent campaign, shelling Syria’s third largest city Homs, which, according to many reports, killed hundreds of people.
While video footage showing Syrian forces’ alleged atrocities and the conflicting accounts of the death toll could not be independently verified and the Assad regime denied such reports, this development triggered an acute reaction in Turkey both at the governmental and popular levels (Anadolu Ajansi, February 4). Turkish anger was further fueled by the fact that the attack on Homs was executed on the anniversary of the infamous Hama massacre of 1982, when Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, had tens of thousands of people killed. Moreover, reportedly, during the bombardment of Homs some mosques were targeted, while Muslims were celebrating a sacred night marking the birth of the Prophet Mohammed.
More remarkably, the clashes between the Syrian army and the forces of the Free Syrian Army spread to the Turkish border, and gunfire was heard in the border villages in the Turkish province of Hatay throughout the night. While some Syrian villagers fled to refugee camps in Turkey, where thousands of people including the leaders of the Free Syrian Army were already taking shelter, bullets from the clashes hit the homes in Turkish villages, which were televised live, raising public interest in these developments (Sabah, February 5).
Like in other nations, Turkish people also organized demonstrations outside Syrian diplomatic representations in protest against these developments (www.turkiyegazetesi.com, February 5). Though the demonstrations were not large-scale, they have nonetheless attracted a significant number of people since the beginning of the uprisings. This development was also important because it signified a gradual transformation in Turkish people’s perception of the situation in Syria. Previously, Turks focused more on the geopolitical aspects of the Syrian uprising than the humanitarian tragedy caused by the regime’s brutal crackdown, believing that there was Western manipulation to change the regional balance of power. Many Turks, including conservative segments of society, harbored suspicions about the root causes of the uprisings and were critical of the Turkish government’s outward opposition against the Damascus regime, believing that it was acting as a subcontractor of the West (EDM, November 15, 2011). The recent demonstrations indicate that the Turkish public might become more supportive of their government’s policy on Syria and focus on the humanitarian aspects of the crisis.
The Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, attending the Munich Security Conference together with other world leaders, criticized Moscow and Beijing. Questioning the morality of their behavior, Davutoglu maintained that they acted with a Cold War mentality and the price for the vote would be paid by the Arabs and Turks in the region. Davutoglu emphasized that Turkey would continue to support the Syrian people’s struggle. Expressing solidarity with Syrians, Davutoglu added that Turkey would embrace the entire population of this country if they needed Turkey’s help (www.ntvmsnbc.com, February 4).
Ankara’s ties with Damascus became contentious at the outset of the Syrian uprising and, over time, Turkish leaders broke with their former ally Assad and asked him to step down. Meanwhile, Ankara supported the umbrella organization, the Syrian National Council in bringing together opposition groups, as well as hosting thousands of refugees (EDM, August 10, 2011). The presence of members of the Free Syrian Army in refugee camps has led to speculation that Turkey was arming the rebels against Damascus. When an earlier attempt at imposing sanctions on Syria failed in October 2011, due to Russian and Chinese objections, Ankara went ahead and adopted sanctions in coordination with Western powers. Turkey also coordinated its diplomatic initiatives with regional countries and worked hard to ensure the peace plan by the Arab League would succeed. Davutoglu undertook enormous diplomatic efforts to convince Tehran, the chief regional ally of Damascus, to work together toward a solution of the crisis and the prevention of sectarian tensions in the region (EDM, January 10). In a subsequent effort, he traveled to Moscow to exert pressure on Damascus (Anadolu Ajansi, January 25).
As his reaction to the recent failed resolution at the UN demonstrates, Davutoglu has been frustrated over the lack of progress on the diplomatic front. Two statements released by the foreign ministry regarding the ongoing atrocities by Damascus and the UN Security Council vote reflect similar thinking (www.mfa.gov.tr, February 4). While the first statement maintained that “The shelling by a country’s official security forces of its own cities constitutes the most concrete indication that the government of that country has totally lost its legitimacy to rule,” the second statement argued that “The stage that has been reached by the regime’s suppressing the desire of the Syrian people for universal values […] with the use of guns, violence and mass executions has acquired a threatening nature in which international peace and security is at risk.”
This sort of language is one that values human rights over the principles of sovereignty and non-intervention and Ankara has so far underlined clearly that the Syrian regime has lost its right to legitimately rule the country. Turkey, however, has not gone as far as advocating international intervention, and believes that any solution has to come through international legitimacy. Short of international consensus on a UN-orchestrated solution, Ankara is left with little options for changing the situation on the ground.
WASHINGTON — Turkey, aligned to the Muslim Brotherhood, has cracked
down on the rebel army in Syria.
Opposition sources said the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan
has frozen Free Syrian Army bank accounts in an effort to pressure
the rebels to recognize the authority of the Brotherhood-aligned Syrian
National Council.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan. /Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images
“The popularity of the Free Syrian Army inside Syria is a sore issue with Erdogan and the MB,” the Reform Party of Syria said. “From a strategic point of view, control of the Free Syrian Army by the MB is an essential component for which it must not fail.”
The Washington-based opposition movement asserted that Ankara imposed sanctions on FSA on Nov. 30 after the secular rebel army refused to take orders from SNC. FSA, based in Turkey, was said to be entirely dependent on Ankara for safe haven of its fighters as well as training and logistics.
The sources said FSA attacks on Syrian military installations and
convoys increased the credibility of the rebel force, particularly with NATO. They said Britain and France were persuaded to cooperate with FSA, which consists of thousands of deserters from the Syrian Army.
For its part, SNC has been strongly supported by Arab opponents of
Assad. They were said to include Qatar and Saudi Arabia, deemed primary
financiers of the revolt in Syria.
“Tensions are also rising over the little financial aid the FSA is
getting from Saudi Arabia and Qatar whose aim is to control the organization
to serve the MB,” RPS, which supports the secular opposition, said.
In late November, Turkey hosted the first meeting of the leadership of
FSA and SNC. Following the session in the southwestern town of Hatay, SNC
said FSA agreed to end all but defensive operations in Syria.
RPS president Farid Ghadry said SNC contains elements of the Palestinian
insurgency group Hamas. Ghadry cited Ahmed Ramadan, identified as a leading
operative and, until May, news director of the Hamas television
station in Beirut.
“Ahmed Ramadan today is one of the behind-the-scene operatives of the
SNC providing capital, logistics and advice,” RPS said. “That’s a known and
public fact to many Syrians, including two RPS supporters who attended the
first meeting.”
RPS said Turkey has directed French military aid to Islamic fighters who
posed as defectors from FSA. RPS said Erdogan sought to recruit Western
support for the Brotherhood, targeted as a future proxy for Turkey in Syria.
“The MB military wing would become Turkey’s proxy against the Kurds,”
RPS said.
via Turkey sets terms for backing Free Syrian Army: Bow to Muslim Brotherhood group | World Tribune.
Cairo (CNN) — Syria has agreed to end its crackdown on anti-government demonstrations, pull troops from the streets and release prisoners jailed during months of protests, the Arab League announced Wednesday.
Yussef al-Ahmad, Syria's ambassador to the Arab League, attends a meeting in Cairo on Wednesday.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government agreed to “stop all violence from any side in order to protect the Syrian citizens,” Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim, announced after an Arab League meeting in Cairo. The Syrians also agreed to allow Arab League observers and international journalists to into Syria and allow their freedom of movement “in order to witness and document the reality of the developments,” he said.
And in two weeks, they will launch a “national dialogue” moderated by the Arab League, he said.
In response, the Free Syrian Army — a group of military deserters who have helped defend anti-government protesters — said it would abide by the Arab League agreement “as long as the regime commits to the same.”
“And in the case that the regime falls short of meeting the Arab League requirements, we will be compelled to protect the protesters and work on bringing down the regime no matter how much that may cost us,” the group added in a post on its Facebook page.
Syria has made previous pledges to withdraw armed forces from civilian areas. But in some of those cases, they withdrew only armored units and left infantry in place, or returned after a brief pullout. Anti-government activists criticized those steps as efforts by al-Assad’s regime to buy time.
Syria also has made other moves aimed at defusing the protests, including plans to draft a new constitution, but they have failed to appease the demonstrators.
The Arab League declaration came amid reports of more than two dozen deaths across the country on Wednesday.
The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria, an opposition umbrella group, said four people were killed in the suburbs of Damascus, while 21 were killed in the northern province of Homs.
Snipers were deployed in the city of Homs to enforce a curfew, while artillery fire continued in Hama, the group reported. And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces used tanks and heavy weapons to disperse a large demonstration in al-Hula, while military deserters killed three pro-government “thugs” blamed for killing 11 people at a factory Wednesday morning.
CNN cannot independently verify the reports because the Syrian government has limited access to international news organizations.
Syria is one of several Middle Eastern and North African states swept up in the “Arab Spring” revolts that began in January in Tunisia. The United Nations estimates that more than 3,000 people have died in Syria since unrest broke out in mid-March, when protesters began calling for the end the 40-year-old al-Assad regime.
CNN’s Nada Husseini and Arwa Damon and journalist Ian Lee contributed to this report.
via Syria agrees to end crackdown, Arab League says – CNN.com.
Ed Ou for The New York Times Col. Riad al-As'aad defected from the Syrian military.
ANTAKYA, Turkey — Once one of Syria’s closest allies, Turkey is hosting an armed opposition group waging an insurgency against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, providing shelter to the commander and dozens of members of the group, the Free Syrian Army, and allowing them to orchestrate attacks across the border from inside a camp guarded by the Turkish military.
The support for the insurgents comes amid a broader Turkish campaign to undermine Mr. Assad’s government. Turkey is expected to impose sanctions soon on Syria, and it has deepened its support for an umbrella political opposition group known as the Syrian National Council, which announced its formation in Istanbul. But its harboring of leaders in the Free Syrian Army, a militia composed of defectors from the Syrian armed forces, may be its most striking challenge so far to Damascus.
On Wednesday, the group, living in a heavily guarded refugee camp in Turkey, claimed responsibility for killing nine Syrian soldiers, including one uniformed officer, in an attack in restive central Syria.
Turkish officials describe their relationship with the group’s commander, Col. Riad al-As’aad, and the 60 to 70 members living in the “officers’ camp” as purely humanitarian. Turkey’s primary concern, the officials said, is for the physical safety of defectors. When asked specifically about allowing the group to organize military operations while under the protection of Turkey, a Foreign Ministry official said that their only concern was humanitarian protection and that they could not stop them from expressing their views.
“At the time all of these people escaped from Syria, we did not know who was who, it was not written on their heads ‘I am a soldier’ or ‘I am an opposition member,’ ” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on the condition of anonymity in keeping with diplomatic protocol. “We are providing these people with temporary residence on humanitarian grounds, and that will continue.”
At the moment, the group is too small to pose any real challenge to Mr. Assad’s government. But its Turkish support underlines how combustible, and resilient, Syria’s uprising has proven. The country sits at the intersection of influences in the region — with Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Israel — and Turkey’s involvement will be closely watched by Syria’s friends and foes.
“We will fight the regime until it falls and build a new period of stability and safety in Syria,” Colonel As’aad said in an interview arranged by the Turkish Foreign Ministry and conducted in the presence of a Foreign Ministry official. “We are the leaders of the Syrian people and we stand with the Syrian people.”
The interview was held in the office of a local government official, and Colonel As’aad arrived protected by a contingent of 10 heavily armed Turkish soldiers, including one sniper.
The colonel wore a business suit that an official with the Turkish Foreign Ministry said he purchased for him that morning. At the end of the meeting, citing security concerns, the colonel and a ministry official advised that all further contact with his group be channeled through the ministry.
Turkey once viewed its warm ties with Syria as its greatest foreign policy accomplishment, but relations have collapsed over the eight months of antigovernment protests there and a brutal crackdown that the United Nations says has killed more than 3,000 people.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was personally offended by Mr. Assad’s repeated failure to abide by his assurances that he would undertake sweeping reform. Turkish officials predict that the Assad government may collapse within the next two years.
“This pushes Turkish policy further towards active intervention in Syria,” said Hugh Pope, an analyst with the International Crisis Group. He called Turkey’s apparent relationship with the Free Syrian Army “completely new territory.”
via Turkey Shelters Anti-Assad Group, the Free Syrian Army – NYTimes.com.
