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Tag: syrian rebels

  • Syria accuses Turkey of supplying rebels with chemical weapons

    Syria accuses Turkey of supplying rebels with chemical weapons

     

    Syrian minister lashes out at West for supporting rebels; denies claims of chemical weapons use by government; ‘US manipulative, trying to repeat Iraq,’ he blames

    Ynet

    Published: 04.27.13, 09:58 / Israel News

     

    Syrian Information Minister Omran Al-Zoubi rejected US andBritish allegations Damascus had used chemical weapons against opposition fighters, and instead accused Turkey of allowing rebels to transfer chemical weapons across the border into Syria, the Syrian SANA new agency reported.

    The minister talked to Russia TV on Friday, dismissing a claim by US officials a day earlier that they had evidence the chemical weapon sarin had been used in Syria on a small scale, CNN reported.

     

     

    “Everything that the American minister and British government have said lack credibility,” Al-Zoubi said. “It’s baseless, and it’s a new tactic to put political and economic pressure on Syria.”

     

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    Dead animals in Syrian village, allegedly killed by chemical weapons (Photo: Reuters)

     

    Al-Zoubi said the Syrian government is the one that called for an investigation of an incident in which it claimed chemical weapons were used by “terrorist groups.” The government routinely labels rebel fighters as terrorists.

     

    Syria does not have chemical weapons and would not use them if it did, he said.

     

    The Americans “want to manipulate the issue, to let whoever used the chemical weapons … get away (with it), and to repeat the Iraq example,” Al-Zoubi said.

     

    United States President Barack Obama said on Friday that the deployment of chemical weapons by the Syrian government was a “game changer” while noting that intelligence assessments proving that such weapons had been used were still preliminary.

     

    “Horrific as it is when mortars are being fired on civilians and people are being indiscriminately killed, to use potential weapons of mass destruction on civilian populations crosses another line with respect to international norms and international law,” Obama told reporters at the White House.

     

    Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron agreed with US President Barack Obama that such use would represent a “red line” for the international community, but said the response would likely be political rather than military.

     

     

    “This is extremely serious. And I think what President Obama said was absolutely right, that this should form for the international community a red line for us to do more,” Cameron told the BBC.

     

     

    But he objected to British military involvement in Syria. “I don’t want to see that and I don’t think that is likely to happen.

     

     

    “But I think we can step up the pressure on the regime, work with our partners, work with the opposition in order to bring about the right outcome.”

    Also Friday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked the man heading the world body’s investigation into chemical weapons use in Syria to report to UN headquarters on Monday for “consultations,” a UN spokesman said.

     

    The UN leader has repeatedly asked the Syrian government to give UN inspectors unrestricted access to the country as it looked into chemical weapons use allegations. The team, led by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom, is ready to head to Syria within 48 hours if an agreement is reached.

  • Britain and France renew efforts to lift arms embargo on Syrian rebels

    Britain and France renew efforts to lift arms embargo on Syrian rebels

    Britain and France renew efforts to lift arms embargo on Syrian rebels

    Britain and France will renew their attempts to lift the EU arms embargo on the Syrian rebels after western allies accused President Bashar al-Assad of using chemical weapons.

    Members of the free Syrian Army during an attack against Syrian government forces in Aleppo Photo: AP

    By Richard Spencer, Istanbul

    7:03PM BST 21 Apr 2013

    William Hague, the foreign secretary, said the two would take a “strong stance” in talks with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday. The pledge came after Germany, a major stumbling block to arming the rebels, significantly softened its position on the issue.

    Britain wants to widen the range of aid it is sending to the opposition, though it is not considering sending weapons “yet”. “We are in favour of getting more assistance to the Syrian National Council (SNC),” Mr Hague said. “There are many ways in which we can do that.”

    The German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, said he would accept the lifting of the arms embargo if other countries pushed for it. He said that if “one or two countries” thought there was no risk that arms would fall into the wrong hands, he would “respect” their decision.

    Western ministers and opposition leaders met in Istanbul on Sunday and agreed that all aid to the opposition would be channelled through the SNC’s military wing.

    The United States also announced a doubling in its aid, from $127 million to $250 million.

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    In return, the SNC published a statement of principles that included pledges not to use chemical weapons, to renounce “terrorism and extremism”, and to respect the rights of minorities, including the Alawite sect from which the Assad family comes.

    “Our revolution and vision are for all Syrians,” its statement said. “There is no room for sectarianism or discrimination on ethnic, religious, linguistic or any other grounds. Universal human rights principles will apply to all Syrians, men and women.”

    Mr Hague last week said there was “credible evidence” of chemical weapons use in Syria, with a number of incidents where diluted chemicals appear to have been deployed.

    President Barack Obama has made use of chemical weapons a “red line” which would trigger outside intervention. While officials do not believe that red line has been met in terms of conclusive evidence or scale of use, the western allies made a stronger statement than before on President Assad’s refusal to allow in a United Nations fact-finding mission.

    “Such an approach suggests the responsibility of the regime,” said the statement, by the Friends of Syria group in which the UK, US, France, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are all prominent. “If these allegations are proven to be correct there will be severe consequences.”

    Ministers fear the situation inside the country is deteriorating fast, with Syrian regime forces recently making tactical gains in the Damascus suburbs and near the Lebanese border around the town of Qusayr with heavy loss of life.

    Rebel activists accused the regime of killing civilians as well as scores of fighters as it swept through the towns of Jdeidat Artouz and Jdeidat al-Fadl near Damascus.

    The risk of the war spreading into Syria’s neighbours was highlighted when a rebels accused Lebanon’s Shia militia Hizbollah of fighting alongside Assad troops, and fired shells on Shia towns inside Lebanon in retaliation.

    Britain, France and the United States want the rebels to get enough arms to turn the balance of the war, but not so as to win a quick victory, rather wanting them to force President Assad to negotiate a “managed” transition.

    “The chances of a political solution at present are negligible,” a western diplomatic source said. “The best way of opening up more chances quickly is changing the balance of power on the ground to put more pressure on the regime.”

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  • U.S., allies agree on rules for sending military aid to Syrian rebels

    U.S., allies agree on rules for sending military aid to Syrian rebels

    By Roy Gutman — McClatchy Newspapers

    ISTANBUL, TURKEY — In a move intended to trim support to Islamist extremists who now play a leading role in the Syrian uprising, the United States, Turkey and key Gulf allies this weekend agreed to funnel future military aid only through the internationally recognized Syrian rebel coalition.

    It’s one of a set of steps that Secretary of State John Kerry and other western and Mideast officials announced early Sunday, in what appears to be a concerted new drive to end the two-year-long civil war that pits the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, who enjoys support from Russia and Iran, against a diverse group of rebels backed by the United States, Turkey, and European allies along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

    Among the steps by the “Friends of the People of Syria” were a U.S. decision to provide another $123 million in non-lethal aid to the Syrian rebel fighters, doubling the aid to date, and a call by all 11 participants for a negotiated solution to bring in a new transitional government.

    They also condemned Assad’s use of ballistic missiles and endorsed a written pledge by the Syrian opposition to hold individuals responsible for war crimes and not to seek “revenge and retribution” against members of Assad’s Alawite sect or any other minority.

    All 11 countries at the Istanbul meeting “made a commitment to direct their military aid and assistance directly and uniquely, solely, through the Supreme Military Command,” headed by Gen. Salim Idriss, a former Syrian army general who defected last July, Kerry told reporters Sunday. “This may be one of the most important single things that was agreed to…that can make a difference to the situation on the ground.”

    How to provide aid to the rebels without empowering militant Islamist extremists who have been at the forefront of anti-Assad victories for the past year has bedeviled countries seeking an end to the Assad regime. The Supreme Military Command is poorly organized and its control of fighters on the ground is uncertain. Aid from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the primary providers of military aid, have dealt primarily with individual commanders on the ground, many of whom are affiliated with Islamist extremist movements.

    Idriss made a lengthy presentation at the meeting of foreign ministers Saturday evening, giving a rundown of the military situation, province by province, and describing in detail the forces that report to him. He assured the ministers that he would provide a full account of “everything you provide to me,” according to a diplomat who attended.

    Kerry told reporters everyone was impressed by the “strength and clarity” of the Idriss presentation and said the Syrian general “could not have been more clear about his determination to separate what he and the opposition are doing from what some of the radical and extreme elements are doing.”

    “I think we are quite confident that he is a strong leader with a capacity to make a difference,” Kerry said.

    Military analysts who closely follow the war say that Gulf states, and individual donors, have been backing the Nusra Front, which the U.S. government has labeled a terrorist group identical to al Qaida in Iraq, and similar groups because of their effectiveness. More moderate rebel groups have said they’ve been starved for support. A senior State Department official, briefing reporters Saturday, said a provincial military commander with thousands under his command, said recently that he had to rely on donations obtained by his troops from family and friends, because Idriss was unable to deliver.

    “Your help to Salim Idriss isn’t going fast enough,” the official quoted the commander as saying. “How do I tell my guys, ‘Wait for the stuff from Salim Idriss. Don’t take that money from that business guy who is backed by an Islamist network’?” The senior official spoke anonymously because he said he was not authorized to speak on the record.

    The main diplomatic move announced Sunday was the call for a return to discussions with Russia on a political resolution of the conflict, based on an accord agreed reached in Geneva last July that called for a transitional government, members of whom would be nominated by, and accepted by both sides.

    Assad named an aide to represent him in the talks, but the rebels did not, and diplomats say Russia has insisted that Assad effectively have a major role in the transition. In the joint statement early Sunday, the 11 participants – Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, the United States and Turkey, said “Assad and his close associates have no place in the future of Syria” and should cede power to a transitional executive body.

    Kerry sought to offer at least a rhetorical olive branch to Russia, noting that the “framework of peace” was agreed to “by the international community, including our friends, the Russians.” But the joint statement of the 11 countries also warned that if Assad rejects a peaceful transition, “further announcements regarding expanding our assistance will follow.”

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who negotiated the framework with Kerry’s predecessor, Hillary Clinton, was in Turkey on the eve of the 11-nation talks, but there was no sign of any political shift. The discussion is expected to continue Tuesday, when Kerry attends a meeting of NATO foreign ministers that Lavrov is also expected to attend.

    Email: rgutman@mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: @RoyGutmanMcC

    via ISTANBUL, Turkey: U.S., allies agree on rules for sending military aid to Syrian rebels | World | ADN.com.

  • Syria opposition must distance itself from “terrorists:” Germany

    Syria opposition must distance itself from “terrorists:” Germany

    Reuters
    Syria opposition must distance itself from “terrorists:” Germany
    Sat Apr 20 16:29:00 UTC 2013
    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Saturday the Syrian opposition must distance itself from extremist forces and he said Germany was skeptical about supplying weapons to the rebels.”We expect from the opposition that they clearly distance themselves in Syria from terrorist and extremist forces,” Westerwelle told reporters in Istanbul at a meeting of Syrian opposition leaders and their international backers.

    “We are skeptical as the German government when it comes to delivering weapons because we are concerned that weapons could fall into the wrong, namely extremist, hands, but it is a matter that must now be discussed in the European Union.”

    A U.S. official said on Friday Washington planned to provide about $100 million in new non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition that could include for the first time battlefield support equipment such as body armor and night-vision goggles.

    Secretary of State John Kerry was expected to announce the new aid package, which would mark a recalibration of U.S. policy toward Syrian rebel groups at Saturday’s meeting. Fresh U.S. humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees is also likely.

    The new assistance would stop short of supplying weapons to rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It is also far less than what is sought by Syrian opposition leaders, U.S. allies Britain and France and some U.S. lawmakers.

    The 11-nation “core group” of the Friends of Syria, including the United States, European and Arab nations, has been deadlocked over how to remove Assad, whose security forces killed and arrested thousands of protesters who took to the streets to demand democratic reforms in March 2011.

    Syria’s opposition has said it hopes the Istanbul meeting will give teeth to a tacit agreement that arming rebel groups is the best way to end Assad’s rule.

    More than 70,000 have been killed in the revolt and subsequent civil war. But a military stalemate has set in and much of Syria is left in ruins because of a divided and ineffective opposition, a lack of action by foreign allies and Assad’s ability to rely on support from Russia and Iran.

    (Reporting by Nick Tattersall; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Stephen Powell)
  • Syrian rebels told by West to unify and reject extremism

    Syrian rebels told by West to unify and reject extremism

    Syrian rebels told by West to unify and reject extremism

    Syrian rebels were told by their western backers on Saturday they had to present a united face and reject extremism in return for a major new package of non-lethal assistance.

    The West has been reluctant to provide even non-lethal aid to rebel fighters Photo: Reuters

    By Richard Spencer, Istanbul

    4:05PM BST 20 Apr 2013

    Foreign ministers of nations backing the Syrian opposition, including William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, and John Kerry, the US secretary of state, met opposition leaders in Istanbul to thrash out a major new aid package.

    They continue to reject directly supplying the opposition with arms, despite fighting reaching a bloody stalemate across the country, but the US was on the verge of announcing up to $200 million in “non-lethal” military aid – equipment such as body armour and night-vision goggles.

    Diplomatic sources told The Daily Telegraph that in return the allies were demanding an end to internal wrangling in the opposition Syrian National Coalition, the Western-recognised political front for the rebels.

    The SNC was being asked to sign up to a three-pronged pledge. They had to reject extremism and present an inclusive face to the world that included religious minorities, secular groups and women as well as the dominant Islamist faction.

    Several secular members of the coalition have walked out in the last month, following the election of Ghassan Hitto, who is seen as close to the Muslim Brotherhood, as an interim prime minister for the rebels.

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    They are also being told to commit to secure Syria’s chemical weapons, a major security concern, and to present a detailed plan for “the day after” – how basic services will be run whenever President Bashar al-Assad is forced from office, assuming he is.

    Anti-Syrian regime protesters chant slogans and wave the Syrian revolutionary flag during a demonstration in Aleppo (AP)

    Time is running out,” one diplomatic source said, adding that the Coalition needed to show unity to be recognised as a credible leadership by those doing the fighting inside Syria.

    On Thursday, Mr Kerry told congressmen: “We want to make certain that the people we’re working with are committed to pluralism, diversity, to a democratic process. There have to be a series of guarantees.”

    The West, represented in the “Friends of Syria” group, has been reluctant to provide even non-lethal aid to rebel fighters, keen not to get sucked into another Middle Eastern war and afraid of bolstering the many jihadist forces among the rebels.

    But America is believed to be coordinating with Gulf allies like Saudi Arabia, which are sending weapons, and the SNC on Saturday called for more direct intervention. “While humanitarian aid is a dire necessity, the Syrian opposition is also looking for support that will enable the immediate fall of the regime and an end to the suffering of the Syrian people,” a statement said.

    Underlining their demands, fierce fighting claims scores of lives on Saturday. Activists and the regime confirmed major battles in the Damascus suburbs and between Homs and the Lebanese border.

    In Damascus, regime troops were attacking rebels who had seized the mixed Sunni and Christian suburbs of Jdeidat Artouz and Jdeidet al-Fadel. The activists’ Damascus media office said 69 people had been killed on the rebel side, including civilians.

    Near the Lebanese border, an area divided between Sunni, Shia and Christian communities, regime forces swept into four rebel-held villages around the town of Qusayr. Earlier in the week, rebels seized part of an airbase north of Qusayr, showing the back-and-forth nature of the conflict.

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