Damascus’s push for soft power legitimacy- Sami Moubayed

While no leader has emerged in the pro-regime online community, social media influencers are on the rise.

BEIRUT - On several occasions over the past seven years, soft-power techniques have been used to rally support for popular causes in Damascus, seen as more cost-effective than sheer military might.

Initially immune to public criticism, Syrian authorities have been surprisingly attentive to what is being said about them on Facebook and, to a lesser extent, Twitter, especially when it comes to the whims and complaints of their constituency. They never really cared what the opposition was saying, looping all its branches and figures into a one-size-fits-all jihadi basket.

The Assad government is using soft power to peddle its version of events, so successfully it seems that its official channels on YouTube were shut down in September. Contrary to what many believed, most outreaches were never aimed at convincing the opposition but at uniting the converted behind a single cause.

More recently, however, Damascus has been reaching out to the millions of refugees abroad — especially the politically neutral among them — trying to lure them home, at the urging of the Russians. The objective was to attract international aid off the backs of the refugees, repeating the experience of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

Syrian authorities have provided returning refugees with construction materials, electricity and running water, nudging them into physically rebuilding their homes, hoping this will inspire international donors to pitch in.

https://thearabweekly.com/damascuss-push-soft-power-legitimacy

France confident in Lebanon’s ability to carry out reforms: embassy- Daily Star

BEIRUT: The French Embassy Saturday emphasized its confidence in Lebanon’s ability to reform and tackle future challenges, denying a report by a local daily claiming that a French official had called the country “irreparable.”

In a statement, the embassy denied the accuracy of quotes attributed to Ambassador Pierre Duquesne, France’s interministerial delegate in charge of Mediterranean affairs, in an article published Saturday by Al-Akhbar.

The daily quoted Duquense as saying that Lebanon was “irreparable,” a comment the embassy statement said was “distorted and taken out of context.”

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2018/Oct-13/466281-france-confident-in-lebanons-ability-to-carry-out-reforms-embassy.ashx

How Will the Kurds Impose Their Hegemony on Christians in Northern Syria?- The Syrian Observer

Christians living under Kurdish rule in northern Syria have been subjected to harsh conditions as people have been arrested and schools closed writes Al-Hal.

The L’Orient-Le Jour newspaper has published a report on the situation for Christians in the northeastern regions of Syria, which is controlled by Kurdish forces. Religious minorities — especially Assyrians — live under sustained pressure exerted by the Kurdish forces and their allies, starting with the closure of schools and even arrests and being thrown in prison.

The report describes how Syrian Kurds have exploited their war against the Islamic State (ISIS) to expand in eastern Syria and establish a de-facto self-ruled area, in the face of the regime, to whom they are linked with contradictory relations. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are majority Kurdish and backed by Washington, have been able to take control of the game with the aim of establishing an independent Greater Rojava along the Syrian-Turkish border.

However, the severity of the tension among religious minorities and the de-facto authorities has recently intensified, especially in the al-Jazira region — and especially after the issuing of a number of decisions this summer, which various churches considered void, especially those concerned with the administration of private schools. Since then, the de-facto authorities have targeted their Assyrian rivals.

Last August, the de-facto authorities closed a number of educational institutions, before locals and religious leaders expressed their indignation and their refusal to comply with these laws and decisions. After they took over about one hundred government schools to impose their ideological curricula, the Kurds had hoped for success in bending to their will the Christian schools in Qamishli, al-Darbasiya and al-Malakiya. The Syriac Union Party, which is part of a Kurdish alliance, headed by the Democratic Union Party, which Ankara considered to be the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, was sent to impose its teachers and curricula on the Christian schools, which accept children of all religions. Bishop of the Syriac Catholic Church in Hasakeh, Benham Hindou, announced, “From now on, they don't want us to accept Kurdish children in our schools, saying that they will go to their own schools. The latest decree says that any citizen in the areas under their rule will be subject to a fine of one million Syrian pounds and a prison sentence of three months if they send their child to a school which follows the government curriculum. However we refuse to submit to their orders and will continue to resist Kurdish rule. They want to steal our land, our language, and our culture. In short, they want to expel us!”

http://syrianobserver.com/EN/Features/34904/How_Will_Kurds_Impose_Their_Hegemony_Christians_Northern_Syria

Russia Says US Is Responsible For Dire Condition Of Refugees In Syria’s Rukban Camp- South Front

BEIRUT, LEBANON (7:45 P.M.) – The U.S. is attempting to establish an illegal entity east of the Euphrates River, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

The Russian Foreign Minister said that the U.S. attempting to create a group to fight the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and their allies, including the Iranian-backed forces.

Lavrov did not specify what this entity is going to be comprised of, nor did he mention the basis of this information.

However, Lavrov’s comments come just days after his U.S. counterpart Mike Pompeo said that the Washington has two main goals in Syria: 1) defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) and 2) force the withdrawal of the Iranian forces and their allies.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/us-attempting-to-establish-illegal-entity-east-of-euphrates-russian-fm/

U.S. Says No Syria Reconstruction Aid if Iran Stays- Naharnet

The United States said Wednesday it will refuse any post-war reconstruction assistance to Syria if Iran is present, expanding the rationale for US involvement in the conflict.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking to a pro-Israel group, vowed an aggressive push to counter Iran across the Middle East and said that Syria was a decisive battleground.

"The onus for expelling Iran from the country falls on the Syrian government, which bears responsibility for its presence there," Pompeo told the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

"If Syria doesn't ensure the total withdrawal of Iranian-backed troops, it will not receive one single dollar from the United States for reconstruction," Pompeo said.

Pompeo's speech effectively broadens the official explanation for why the United States is involved in Syria's civil war, which a monitoring group says has killed close to 365,000 people since 2011.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/251687

Aoun Travels to Armenia to Attend Francophonie Summit- Naharnet

President Michel Aoun departed on Wednesday leading an official delegation to Armenia to partake in the 17th Summit of the International Organisation of la Francophonie (IOF) in Yerevan on October 11-12, the National News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The delegation included caretaker Minister of Culture Ghattas Khoury, caretaker Tourism Minister Avedis Kedanian and several other officials, NNA said.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil is expected to join the delegation later on along with several ambassadors and diplomats, it added.

The President is planned to deliver a speech at the Summit tomorrow. He will meet with attending state leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/251661

Gunfire Erupts at SSNP Offices in Aley- Naharnet

Gunfire erupted Tuesday evening inside the offices of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party in the Mount Lebanon city of Aley, the National News Agency said.

The shooting broke out during a dispute between party members inside the building, NNA reported, adding that the offices were later cordoned off by security forces.

Senior SSNP official Hussam al-Israwi meanwhile told MTV that the gunfire erupted after “undisciplined party members tried to storm the offices,” denying reports that he was injured during the incident.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/251643

High ranking jihadist commander assassinated in northwest Idlib- Al-Masdar News

BEIRUT, LEBANON (7:30 A.M.) – A high ranking jihadist commander was assassinated in the northwestern countryside of the Idlib Governorate on Monday, opposition activists reported.

According to the opposition activists, the military of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, Abu Mussab Al-Dureer, was killed alongside two of his associates in the northwestern countryside of Idlib this week.

The HTS commander was reportedly traveling along the Darkoush-Azmarin Road in northwest Idlib, when a group of unknown assailants opened fire on his vehicle.

Abu Mussab Al-Dureer was killed instantly during the ambush and his body was later retrieved by his own faction.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/high-ranking-jihadist-commander-assassinated-in-northwest-idlib/

Presidential decree granting general amnesty for military deserters inside and outside country- SANA

Damascus, SANA-President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday issued the legislative decree No. 18 for 2018 granting a general amnesty for military deserters inside and outside the country and the crimes included in the Military Penalties Law issued by Legislative Decree No. 61 for 1950 and its amendments committed before October 9, 2018.

This decree does not include fugitives from justice unless they turn themselves in within 4 months for those inside the country and 6 months for those outside the country.

The legislative decree also provides for granting a general amnesty for the full penalty for crimes included in the law of Military Service No. 30 of 2007 and its amendments.

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=148449

Lebanon Invites Arab Leaders to AESD Summit- Naharnet

Dispatched by President Michel Aoun, caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil left on a regional tour to invite Arab leaders to the Arab Economic and Social Development summit to be held in Beirut on January 19-20, the National News Agency reported Monday.

NNA said that Bassil will first travel to Kuwait where he will hand an invitation to Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah. The two are expected to hold talks on several issues including the ties between the two countries.

Bassil will later head to Jordan for the same purpose, added NNA.

Earlier last week, caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil went to Tunisia and handed an invitation to Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, who promised to attend.

Caretaker Minister of State for Combating Corruption Nicolas Tueni had also traveled to Sudan on Sunday and handed an invitation to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/251557

Zahle LF official released after LF-FPM dispute- Daily Star

BEIRUT: Youssef Saide, head of the Lebanese Forces' office in Zahle’s Ferzol, was released Monday afternoon after having been detained for more than 24 hours following a dispute in Zahle.

The Lebanese Army intervened early Sunday morning after supporters of the LF and the Free Patriotic Movement became embroiled in a shouting match over an attempt by the LF to erect a monument commemorating its martyrs.

The statue’s installation was blocked by FPM MP Michel Daher, who refused to have it placed near his family home and called for the Army to intervene.

The dispute, the latest incarnation of the tensions between the two major Christian parties, culminated in the arrest of Saide, along with five other men affiliated with the LF, who were later released.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2018/Oct-08/465705-zahle-lf-head-released-after-lf-fpm-dispute.ashx

Jumblat Says Accepts to Offer 'Concessions for Sake of Country'- Naharnet

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat hinted Monday that he could agree to offer “concessions” regarding his party's share in the new government.

“Enough with building paper castles. The circumstances do not allow this luxury, as debt increases every moment due to public money waste, corruption and the accumulation of debt and haphazard spending. No one and no conference can rescue us,” Jumblat warned in a tweet.

“A settlement is necessary and it is not wrong to offer concessions for the sake of the country,” he added, referring to the stalled cabinet formation process.

Jumblat had been insisting on getting all three Druze seats for his PSP but has recently shown some flexibility. Lebanese Democratic Party chief MP Talal Arslan, backed by President Michel Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement, has stressed that he has the right to get one of the Druze seats.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri was quick to respond to Jumblat's tweet.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/251574

Rusya: İdlib'deki silahsızlaştırılmış bölgenin sınırları belirlendi- Sputnik News

Rusya Dışişleri Bakan Yardımcısı Sergey Verşinin, Türkiye ile Rusya’nın İdlib’de oluşturulması üzerinde anlaşılan silahsızlandırılmış bölgenin sınırlarını belirlediğini söyledi.

Sputnik’e röportaj veren Verşinin "Silahsızlaştırılmış bölgenin sınırları belirlendi. Türkiye ile Rusya orduları arasında çok iyi temaslar, işbirliği ve bağlantı sağlandı. İki ordunun temsilcileri mutabakatın ardından birçok kez bir araya geldi" dedi.

Rusya Devlet Başkanı Vladimir Putin ile Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Soçi’de yaptıkları görüşmede İdlib’de silahsızlaştırılmış bölge oluşturulması yönünde mutabakat sağlamıştı.

https://tr.sputniknews.com/ortadogu/201810081035564237-rusya-idlib-turkiye-silahsizlastirilmis-bolge-sinir/

Proposed law puts Syria’s religious diversity at risk- Sami Moubayed

Critics say the law would “Islamise society” and transform Syria into a virtual theocracy.

BEIRUT - Major cracks are emerging in the pro-regime street in Syria — unprecedented since 2011 — over a controversial measure that is yet to be enacted, giving unprecedented powers to the Ministry of Religious Endowments (Awqaf).

Law #16, which has the backing of the powerful Sunni Muslim clerical community in Damascus and Aleppo, is being challenged by secular Muslims, Christians and Alawites, who say it is an infringement on state secularism, arguing that it “Islamises society” and transforms Syria into a virtual theocracy.

Backing them, ironically, is Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, the highest religious authority in Syria, who is in an open battle with Minister of Awqaf Mohammad Abdul Sattar al-Sayyed.

Sayyed claims, in private, that the mufti was parachuted into his job, despite lacking strong religious credentials and is useful only when it comes to speaking to foreigners because of his moderate views on religious coexistence.

Among other things, Law #16 would give the minister the right to appoint the grand mufti — a decision previously vested in the presidency — and limits his tenure to three years, renewable by ministerial permission only.

If legislation passes, it would mean the automatic ejection of Hassoun, who has been at the job since 2005. The measure would also strip the mufti from the right to lead the Higher Awqaf Council, as decreed by a law in 1961.

Supporting the mufti’s behind-the-scenes lobbying against the law are a handful of intellectuals and MPs, including secular writer Nabil Saleh, who leaked the controversial measure to the media and was accused of being “a sectarian atheist.” An online campaign, called “I am a Syrian opposed to Law #16,” was begun and some critics are planning a sit-in at the gates of the Awqaf Ministry to voice their objection.

The legislation gives the ministry the right to set up its own venture capital arm, establish investment projects, whose revenue would go directly to its treasury rather than to the coffers of the Syrian government. The Awqaf Ministry is the richest institution in Syria, thanks to the non-stop Islamic charity that it receives and the large amount of property that it owns, all registered as religious endowments since Ottoman times. If the measure passes, the ministry would get total financial independence, making it a state within a state.

https://thearabweekly.com/proposed-law-puts-syrias-religious-diversity-risk

Netanyahu Vows More Raids on Hizbullah Arms Shipments- Naharnet

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday again pledged that Israel will maintain its efforts to stop the transfer of sophisticated weapons to Hizbullah.

Speaking at the start of a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu again pledged to stop "Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria and to thwart the transfer of lethal weapons to Hizbullah in Lebanon."

On September 27, Netanyahu said in an address to the U.N. General Assembly that Hizbullah had secret missile conversion sites near Beirut airport.

He produced satellite imagery pinpointing three sites and accused the powerful Iranian-backed group of using residents as human shields.

A Hizbullah minister has dismissed Netanyahu's claims as lies and fabrications.

Last month, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that Hizbullah had acquired "precision missiles."

Israel has fought several conflicts against Hizbullah, the last in 2006.

The Israeli military believes Hizbullah has between 100,000 and 120,000 short-range missiles and rockets, as well as several hundred longer-range missiles.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/251532

Syrian State Media Once Again Accuses US-led Coalition Of Evacuating ISIS Members From Deir Ezzor Province- South Front

The Syrian state-run news agency SANA reports (source):

Helicopters of the US-led International coalition evacuated a number of of Daesh (ISIS) terrorists from the south-eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor.

Identical sources of media and information said Sunday  that Helicopters belonging to the US-led coalition, carried out an air landing  near al-Sha’feh town in the pocket where Daesh terrorists are positioned in the south-eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor and transferred a number of Daesh terrorists of different nationalities .

Few days ago, the “International Coalition” carried out an air landing operation at the outskirts of al-Mrashde village located in the pocket where  Daesh terrorists spread in the southeastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, transferring a number of Daesh leaders.

The Syrian state-run media and government have repeatedly accused the US-led coalition of evaucating ISIS members from various parts of the war-torn country to the coalition’s bases. Some of these reports has also been supported by the Russian side.

At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly drawn attention to activity of “unidentified helicopters” in Afghanistan, where they provide supplies and other support to ISIS members.

https://southfront.org/syrian-state-media-once-again-accuses-us-led-coalition-of-evacuating-isis-members-from-deir-ezzor-province/

In Syria's Sweida, Young Men Take Up Arms to Defend Villages- Naharnet

Maysoun Saab's eyes filled with tears as she recalled finding her parents bleeding to death on the fround outside their home, minutes after they were shot by Islamic State militants on a killing spree across once tranquil villages they infiltrated in a southeastern corner of Syria.

Within an hour, she had lost her mother, father, brother and 34 other members of her extended family. Overall, more than 200 people were killed and 30 hostages abducted in the coordinated July 25 attacks across Sweida province.

It was one of the biggest single massacres of the Syrian civil war and the worst bloodshed to hit the province since the conflict began in 2011, underscoring the persistent threat posed by the Islamic State group, which has been largely vanquished but retains pockets of territory in southern and eastern Syria.

More than two months after the attack, tensions over the missing hostages — all women and children — are boiling over in Sweida, a mountainous area which is a center for the Druze religious minority. Anger is building up, and young men are taking up arms. This week, the militants shot dead one of the women, 25-year-old Tharwat Abu Ammar, triggering protests and a sit-in outside the Sweida governorate building by relatives enraged at the lack of progress in negotiations to free them.

It's a stark change for a usually peaceful province that has managed to stay largely on the sidelines of the seven-year Syrian war, and where most villagers work grazing livestock over the surrounding hills.

"We still haven't really absorbed what happened to us. It's like a dream or a nightmare that you don't wake up from," said Saab, a slender woman with a long braid showing underneath a loose white scarf covering her hair.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/251499

Syria Rebels, Jihadists Clash near Planned Idlib Buffer- Naharnet

Fighting erupted on Friday between Turkey-backed rebels and jihadist hardliners in northwest Syria, a monitor and a resident said, near a planned demilitarisation zone.

The buffer zone, agreed last month between rebel backer Ankara and government ally Moscow, is meant to separate regime fighters from the myriad rebel and jihadist forces of the Idlib region.

On Friday, just days away from the deadline to establish the zone, clashes erupted between rival rebels and jihadists.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighting first began between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by former Al-Qaeda fighters, and Nour al-Din Al-Zinki in the town of Kafr Halab.

HTS had reportedly been trying to arrest a local commander present in the town on the western edge of Aleppo province, near the administrative border with Idlib province.

"Zinki sent reinforcements to the area, and the clashes expanded to several areas and the National Liberation Front joined in," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

The NLF is the main Turkey-backed rebel alliance in the Idlib region, but jihadist heavyweight HTS holds most of the province.

"The clashes are near where the buffer zone is supposed to be established and are the biggest since the deal was announced last month," said Abdel Rahman.

The Britain-based Observatory said HTS had taken two towns, including Kafr Halab. At least three civilians, one HTS member, and two NLF fighters were killed, the monitor said.

"We woke up at 4:00am to the sound of gunfire from an HTS convoy," a resident of Kafr Halab told AFP.

"They started hitting civilian homes, and a child was killed," said the resident, speaking on condition of anonymity.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/251502

Bogdanov: Soçi'de varılan tüm anlaşmaların uygulanmasını istiyoruz, Ankara ile temaslarımız sürüyor- Sputnik News

Rusya Dışişleri Bakan Yardımcısı Mihail Bogdanov, İdlib'le ilgili Soçi'de Türkiye ve Rusya liderleri arasında varılan tüm anlaşmaların gerçekleşmesini umduklarını, anlaşmaların hedefinin silah bırakmayı reddeden teröristleri ortadan kaldırmak olduğunu söyledi. Bogdanov, İdlib konusunda Ankara ile askeri düzeyde temasların sürdüğünü ifade etti.

Yunanistan'ın Rodos Adası'nda gerçekleştirilen 'Medeniyetler Diyaloğu' forumu çerçevesinde Sputnik'e konuşan Bogdanov "İdlib'le ilgili temaslarımız sürüyor, Türk meslektaşlarımızla 17 Eylül'deki anlaşmalara yönelik çalışmalara devam ediyoruz. Askeri yetkililerimiz Ankara ile yakın temas halinde. Soçi'de varılan tüm anlaşmaların uygulanmasını umuyoruz" dedi.

'İDLİB'DEKİ TERÖRİSTLER YOK EDİLMELİ'

Bogdanov, Suriye Dışişleri Bakanı Velid Muallim'in silah bırakmayan militanların ortadan kaldırılması gerektiğine yönelik ifadelerini değerlendirdi.

İdlib'le ilgili anlaşmaların geçici anlaşmalar olduğunu ve nihai amacın teröristleri yok edip Suriye'de bütünlük ve bağımsızlığın tesisi olduğunu belirten Bogdanov "Elbette silah bırakmayan teröristler saldırılarına devam ediyor, bunlar ya yakalanmalı ya da ortadan kaldırılmalı. Bu Rusya, diğer müttefiklerimiz ve Şam tarafından da söylenmişti" dedi.

Bogdanov, İdlib'le ilgili varılan mutabakatın daha hızlı bir şekilde uygulanılmasının istendiğini, ancak siviller arasında kayıpları önlemek ve Türkiye ile Astana sürecindeki ortak anlayışı korumak için dikkatli davranılması gerektiğini vurguladı.

'İDLİB'LE İLGİLİ BAŞARILI ADIMLAR ATILDI'

Bogdanov "İdlib'de silahsızlaştırılmış bölge ve gerilimi azaltma bölgesi oluşturulması için atılan adımlar, hem siviller hem Suriye ordusu arasından birçok kaybın yaşanmasını önlemesi açısından büyük başarıydı. Silahlı muhaliflerin temsilcileri de bu çerçevede ateşkes sürecine girdi" dedi.

'SURİYE ANAYASASI İÇİN ÇALIŞMALAR HAREKETE GEÇİRİLDİ'

Bogdanov, Suriye anayasası komisyonu için çalışmaların harekete geçirildiğini belirterek "Suriye hükümeti ve muhalifler kendi adaylarını sundu. Şimdi mesele sivil halkı kimin temsil edeceğinde" ifadesini kullandı.

https://tr.sputniknews.com/amp/ortadogu/201810061035548880-bogdanov-soci-anlasma-ankara--temas/

SWEIDA: A Bloody Massacre Barely Registered by Western Media as ISIS Slaughter Innocent Civilians in their Sleep- Vanessa Beeley

Vanessa Beeley / 21st Century Wire

On the 2nd October 2018, a young woman’s life was brought to a brutal end by a bullet from an ISIS executioner’s hand-gun. Mrs Thoraya Um Ammar was executed on video by the terrorist group more than two months after she and twenty five other women and children were kidnapped from the Sweida countryside, south of Damascus on July 25th 2018. 

[Note: Numbers of kidnap victims do vary. While in Shbeki, I was told 32 were originally kidnapped but that a number of them managed to escape their captors and return to their village]

The images circulating of this execution are extremely distressing and we will not be sharing them in this article. During my recent visit to Syria, I visited three of the seven villages that came under attack in the eastern countryside of Sweida City on that fateful day in July 2018. The grief and anger was still very raw but civilians spoke to me of the bloodshed that was a result of the meticulously planned ISIS attack, unhindered by the US Coalition forces camped in Al Tanf, 330km to the East. ISIS entered the villages from the east and traversed vast areas of exposed desert to do so, apparently undetected by those who claim to wage war on ISIS inside Syria.

“The roads of Shrehi ran with blood” H Saab told me as we stood next to his family home in Shrehi where four of his relatives were murdered by the marauding ISIS gangs. He pointed to the still visible stains on the road in front of us and on the walls of the house and courtyard.

https://21stcenturywire.com/2018/10/06/sweida-a-bloody-massacre-barely-registered-by-western-media-as-isis-slaughter-innocent-civilians-in-their-sleep/