"And I have found both freedom and safety in my madness, the freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us. But let me not be too proud of my safety. Even a Thief in a jail is safe from another thief. "

Khalil Gibran (How I Became a Madman)

Lübnan Marunîleri / Yasin Atlıoğlu

Lübnan Marunîleri / Yasin Atlıoğlu
NEWS AND ARTICLES / HABERLER VE MAKALELER

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Army’s Air Force carries out raids on ISIS position in Deir Ezzor- SANA

Deir Ezzor – SANA –Air Force and Artillery of the Army on Tuesday destroyed positions of ISIS terrorists in Panorama area, al-Tharda, the surrounding area of the Airport, al-Maqaber, Hweijet al-Saker, al-Reshdia and al-Hweiqa in Deir Ezzor Province.
SANA reporter said that the Army’s raids also targeted ISIS gatherings in the villages of al-Hussan, al-Jneina, Ayash, al-Khareeta, al-Treif, Ain al-Boujemma.
Army units clashed with terrorist groups in Bogheilia, al-Reshdia, al-Maqaber and the surrounding of the Airport where many of the terrorists were killed or injured.
Local sources told SANA that more than 30 terrorists fled away from al-Bukmal city, which made the terrorists put posts in the city to arrest people and make them join the battles by force as to compensate for the shortage of personnel.
Gönderen

Monday, August 28, 2017

the Syrian Arab army and Resistance end ISIS presence in western Qalamoun- SANA

Damascus Countryside, SANA -Hundreds of ISIS terrorists with their families were transported from Jroud Qara in western Qalamoun  in Damascus countryside towards the eastern region.
SANA reporter said that the buses which carry the terrorists and their families left Jroud Qara after completing preparations to get them out  into Bou Kamal area in Deir Ezzor eastern countryside.
Earlier in the day, preparations to evacuate ISIS terrorists along with their families from Juroud Qara area in Western Qalamoun in Damascus Countryside towards the eastern region in Syria have been completed.
SANA reporter said that buses that will transport ISIS terrorists have gathered at al-Sheikh Ali/al-Rumiyat crossing in Western Qalamoun, in addition to 11 ambulances affiliated to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC).
The reporter added that ISIS terrorist organization has set fire to its sites and vehicles to hide their logistical and intelligence links with the anti-Syrian parties.
On Sunday, a military source said that a deal reached between Hezbollah and ISIS terrorist organization on the withdrawal of the remaining ISIS terrorists from Western Qalamoun towards the eastern region of Syria was agreed on.
Last July, units of Syrian Arab Army, in cooperation with the Lebanese resistance, started operations against ISIS gatherings in Western Qalamoun area, that have resulted in establishing full control over Juroud Flita and most of the main passages and axes and strategic heights and hills in the area after inflicting heavy losses upon ISIS terrorists.
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Syrian War Report ISIS Suffers Large Casualties In Clashes With Army In Southern Raqqah- South Front

Syrian government forces, supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces, reportedly eliminated the most battle-tested and well-armed unit of ISIS in the Euphrates River valley last weekend.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, over 800 ISIS members, 13 battle tanks, 39 pickup trucks armed with large-caliber machine guns and 9 mortars and artillery guns were destroyed during the clashes near Ghanem al-Ali village. The ministry added that government forces are now advancing against ISIS along the Euphrates River.
The Syrian Arab Army and its allies took back Sabkha and Ghanem al-Ali villages and continued developing momentum in order to retake the rest of the areas near Maadan seized by ISIS during its large attack last week, according to pro-government sources.
The ISIS-linked news agency Amaq claimed that the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out over 100 airstrikes on ISIS positions in the southern Raqqah countryside over the weekend and claimed that about 50 SAA servicemen were killed in a SVBIED attack.
Reports have been circulating that at least 60 SAA service members have been killed and about 300 others have been missing since the start of the ISIS counter-attack in southern Raqqah.
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After Deal, IS Allowed to Leave Syria-Lebanon Border Area- Naharnet

Islamic State militants and their families began leaving a border area between Lebanon and Syria on Monday as part of a controversial negotiated deal with the extremist group to end its presence there, Lebanese and Syrian media reported.
An unidentified number of militants and their families headed in buses toward a town held by the Islamic State group in far eastern Syria, near the border with Iraq. The evacuation will effectively end the presence of jihadist militant groups on the border, after al-Qaida-linked fighters evacuated earlier this month.
The transfer comes nearly a week after the Lebanese army launched a military campaign to drive IS from the rugged mountainous area along its border with Syria.
The Syrian army and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbullah, which has been fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's forces in Syria since 2013, have been waging their own separate but simultaneous offensive to pressure IS on the Syrian side of the border.
Nearly two dozen buses and 11 ambulances carried the militants and their families Monday from the area straddling the Syria-Lebanon border toward the IS-held town of Boukamal in eastern Syria.
Syrian Al-Ikhbariya TV reported that there were about 250 militants in the transfer. The Central Military Center, a media outlet run by Hizbullah, said ambulances ferried 25 IS wounded fighters from the area.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234646
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Saturday, August 26, 2017

150 persons from Manbij in Aleppo have their legal status settled- SANA

Aleppo, SANA – 150 persons from Manbij area in the eastern countryside of Aleppo had their legal status settled today in the framework of local reconciliations.
Member of the leadership of Aleppo branch of the Arab Socialist Baath Party Emad Eddin Ghadban pointed out during the event that was held at the Party’s Aleppo branch that the door is open to all those who want to have their legal status settled as they will be
provided with all the facilitations needed to ensure that their lives return to normal.

For his part, the Secretary of the Party’s Manbj Division Abdullah al-Hussein said that the number of people whose file was settled today is 150 people, noting that this is the sixth batch from Manbaj area, where the legal status of 700 people has been settled in the
recent reconciliations.

The Syrian government is keen to strengthen local reconciliations in different regions in parallel with the ongoing military operations carried out to restore security and stability to the whole Syrian territory.
Gönderen

Three ceasefire violations registered in Syria- TASS


MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. Three ceasefire violations were registered in Syria over past 24 hour, the Russian Defense Ministry reported in a daily bulletin on Saturday.


"Control groups continue monitoring the ceasefire observation within the implementation of the Memorandum on creation of the de-escalation zones in the Syrian Arab Republic, which had been signed by the Russia, Turkey, and Iran on May 4, 2017," the ministry said. "Situation in the de-escalation zones is assessed as stable."

"Within last 24 hours, the Russian party of the Russia-Turkey Commission on violations of the Joint Agreement has registered two cases of firing in the provinces of Aleppo," the bulletin reads. "The Turkish party has registered one case of ceasefire violations in the province of Homs."
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Tal Afar battle: Iraqi forces 'dealing with final IS pockets'- BBC News

Iraqi forces say they are poised to recapture the city of Tal Afar from so-called Islamic State (IS) after six days of intense fighting.
Troops have cleared the old citadel and its surrounding neighbourhood of militants, Lt Gen Abdul Amir Yarallah said on Saturday.
Clashes were still being reported in the northern outskirts of the city.
Tal Afar, near the Syrian border, is one of the jihadists' last remaining strongholds in Iraq.
Last month, a long-running operation drove IS militants from the Iraqi city of Mosul.
Gen Yarallah, who is in charge the latest offensive, said his forces were now dealing with the final pockets of jihadi resistance in Tal Afar.
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Syrian Army, allies liberate more territory from US-backed mercenaries in south Damascus- Al-Masdar

BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:23 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and paramilitary forces allied to it have continued their advance in the desert of southern Rif Dimashq (Damascus) Governorate, very recently liberating more strategic locations from US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) mercenaries.
Today it can be confirmed that pro-government forces, advancing parallel to the Jordanian border in Syria’s expansive southwestern desert region, secured from US-backed militants the area of Ghader Mahmoud and the nearby Mahmoud Canyon.
US-vetted interlopers by no means surrendered either location without a fight and in resulting clashes, pro-government forces ended up killing and injuring at least a dozen mercenaries of the FSA’s Jaish Osoud al-Sharqiyah group.
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Damascus, Opposition in Daraa Discuss Settling Syrian Conflict for First Time- Sputnik News

The representatives of the Syrian government and armed opposition in the Syrian province of Daraa have discussed for the first time steps to settle the conflict in the country, a Sputnik correspondent reported Saturday.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — The phone conference that was organized by the Russian Defense Ministry's center for reconciliation was praised by Daraa Governor Khalid Hanus.

"Influential people, who play an important role for the militants and have influence on them have participated in the conference. We all want… peace in Syria, so that all people could live as hey used to thanks Syria's ally Russia," Hanus told reporters.

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Friday, August 25, 2017

Russia and Syria create joint air defense system- TASS

KUBINKA /Moscow region/, August 25. /TASS/. A unified air defense system has been set up in Syria thanks to efforts of Russian and Syrian military experts, Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces Major-General Sergey Meshcheryakov told a round table dedicated to the Syrian experience at the Army-2017 International Military-Technical Forum.

"Today, a unified integrated air defense system has been set up in Syria. We have ensured the information and technical interlinkage of the Russian and Syrian air reconnaissance systems. All information on the situation in the air comes from Syrian radar stations to the control points of the Russian force grouping," he said.


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IS Counterattack Kills 34 Regime Forces in Raqa Province- Naharnet

At least 34 Syrian soldiers and allied fighters have been killed in an Islamic State counterattack in the east of Raqa province, rolling back regime gains, a monitor said Friday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the jihadist group had recaptured large swathes of territory from government forces in the fighting on Thursday.
Syria's army is seeking to advance through Raqa province to reach neighboring Deir Ezzor, where jihadists have besieged government forces and civilians in the provincial capital since 2015.
Earlier this month, government troops and allied fighters arrived at the outskirts of Madan, the last IS-held town in the eastern Raqa province countryside before Deir Ezzor.
But in Thursday's counterattack, IS "made major progress and... expanded the area under its control along the southern bank of the Euphrates," the Observatory said.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234523
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Meeting Syria's generals in the desert- BBC News

The jagged ruins of Sukhna, rising in the midst of an infinite expanse of desert sand, can feel like the middle of nowhere.
But this strategic crossroads in eastern Syria, surrounded by gas fields, is a major prize for Syria's army in its offensive against the last remains of so-called Islamic State's crumbling self-declared caliphate in Syria.
"It's a significant victory," declares Gen Mohamed, his eyes shaded from the glaring heat by mirrored aviator sunglasses.
The squat muscular soldier who offers only his first name had suddenly - and surprisingly - leapt from his gleaming white vehicle and strutted across the ribbon of tarmac when he spotted our team inspecting a road sign defaced by IS' infamous black signature at the entrance to this ravaged desert town.
"Sukhna was Daesh's [IS'] most important hub in this area and we've now opened the road to Deir al-Zour," he explains in reference to the next populated centre in their sights. The neighbouring governorate of Deir al-Zour is almost completely controlled by IS, except for a besieged section of its main city and a Syrian airbase still in use.
We are the first journalists to be taken to this abandoned town just captured by an advancing Syrian army. Its steady stride across the vast sweep of the baking hot eastern desert is accelerating with the powerful punch of Russia's warplanes and special forces, an array of Iran-backed militias and local tribes.
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ISIS Lost Last Chance To Regain Initiative In Central Syria- South Front

The first attack toook place in the area southwest of Ithria where a synchronized attack from both ISIS and HTS militants against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the National Defense Forces (NDF) took place.
The goal was to  to lift the siege from ISIS militants in the east Salamiyah pocket. ISIS militants attacked Shiekh hilal from the south and HTS attacked Sa’an from the north. The SAA and the NDF temporarily withdrew from several points but then government forces gained the lost areas back and even captured some new points.
The second attack took place on the western bank of the Euphrates river in southern Raqqa countryside. ISIS militants carried out an attack against Tribal Forces positions and forced them to retreat from several villages including Moghlah Kabira, Moghla Saghira, Arrabiya, Albu Hamad and Ghanim al-Ali towards the Aljararih field.
In turn, the SAA Tiger Forces deployed reinforcements to the area and government forces conducted a counter offensive in order to recapture the lost villages. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Zawer ash-Shomar and Ghanim al-Ali villages were recaptured.
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Hezbollah Leader Confirms Negotiations With ISIS Over Terrorists Withdrawal From Syrian-Lebanese Border- South Front

On Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah confirmed in a live speech that negotiations are ongoing  between Hezbollah and ISIS on the Syrian-Lebanese border.
According to Nasrallah, local ISIS fighters asked for the negotiations, not the ISIS central command.
Nasrallah stressed that there will be no ceasefire before ISIS fighters agree to withdrew to the ISIS-held areas in Deir Ezzor. Nasrallah also demanded ISIS to reveal the fate of the Lebanese soldiers who were captured by ISIS in 2014 in Arsal and release them if they are still la live.
Furthermore, Nasrallah said that the Syrian government will not approve such deal unless it received an official request from the Lebanese government.
Gönderen

SDF Prepares To Launch Advance On Deir Ezzor-Reports- South Front

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are preparing to launch a military operation against ISIS in the province of Deir Ezzor, according to media speculations and reports by pro-SDF activists.
The SDF could launch the military operation “within several weeks” aimd the ongoing fighting for the city of Raqqah, Reuters reported citing, Ahmed Abu Khawla, head of the Deir Ezzor military council. [a part of the  SDF]
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Government Forces Capture 200 Square Kilometers In Southeastern Syria- South Front

On Friday, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies captured the Dahrat al-Arid area and the Watid hill in the southeastern Damascus countryside near the Syrian-Jordanian border, according to the Hezbollah media wing in Syria. The size of the newly captured area is 200 square kilometers.
The Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) intensified its bombing campaign against the US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups in the Damascus desert during the last few days.
SAA units in the southeastern Damascus countryside are now advancing towards its positions in al-Jarin mount in order to secure the entire eastern Damascus desert.
On August 22, two leaders of Jaysh Usud al-Sharqiya “Rami Hamid al-Kmari” and “Ahmad Hassan al-Jarad” were killed in a Syrian airstrike.
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Thursday, August 24, 2017

Military Situation In Central Syria On August 24, 2017- South Front

Pro-government forces have closed the second ISIS pocket in central Syria following the liberation of the Dahiq Mount and are now clearing the remaining ISIS-held area.



Gönderen

Syria War Diary: What Life Is Like Under ‘Moderate’ Rebel Rule- Mint Press News

In early 2016 the hillside town of Madaya, just northwest of Damascus, was the focus of sudden Western and Gulf media campaigns featuring harrowing photos of emaciated elderly and children splashed widely across print, online and social media. Throughout 2016, these stories continued in Madaya, as well as in al-Waer, Homs, and in eastern-Aleppo areas.
The Syrian government was accused of not allowing in food and medical aid, of deliberately starving its people; the terrorists’ presence was largely unmentioned. On Madaya, The Telegraph ran a headline, “Starving Syrians in besieged town of Madaya are reduced to eating cats and dogs,” and subheadline, “The people of Madaya outside Damascus – besieged by regime forces and Hezbollah since July – are surviving on boiled leaves and street animals,” with no mention of al-Qaeda or Ahrar al-Sham.
The Independent accused the “Assad regime” of deliberately starving 40,000 civilians and, while citing the Red Cross in the article, neglected to cite that organization stating it had sent in food aid in October 2015, and also failed to mention al-Qaeda’s presence in the town. In the same vein, the New York Times ran a piece stating aid was denied from coming in, while also ignoring the realities on the ground and prior aid deliveries.
On Aleppo, corporate media extended the blame to Russia. The Independent published “Russia and Assad regime accused of ‘starving’ Aleppo,” in early 2016, and in a July article fear-mongered about starvation after the Syrian army secured a key road which had connected Turkey to al-Qaeda in Syria and other extremists occupying areas of Aleppo. In November, The Independent reported that “a quarter of a million people in rebel-held east Aleppo will starve unless aid is allowed into besieged areas,” ignoring that aid had been sent in numerous times prior, also ignoring that the al-Nusra-led coalition, Jaysh al-Fatah, had in mid-September rejected further aid coming into eastern Aleppo.
Completely unmentioned was the terrorists’ hoarding of food and medicines, occupation of hospitals and schools, and trying of civilians in Sharia courts resulting in jailing (usually in underground prisons with tight solitary confinement cells) and/or execution, among other heinous crimes.
Throughout 2016 Aleppo and the district of al-Waer, Homs, were the subject of the same claims, with even more propaganda and slick media campaigns the intent of which was to vilify those fighting the terrorists dubbed “rebels” by the Western media.
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Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Paris Sees No Need to Revise UNIFIL Mandate as U.N. Reportedly Snubs U.S. Request- Naharnet

France said Wednesday it wants the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon to stick to its current mandate, opposing U.S. calls to strengthen the force's authority to deal with arms movements by Hizbullah.
Turkey's official news agency meanwhile reported that the U.N. Security Council “rejected a U.S. request to revise the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).”
Anne Gueguen, France's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told reporters her government saw no need to change the 2006 Security Council resolution that sets the mission's current mandate, which expires at the end of August.
"We want to keep the mandate as such," she said, adding that "does mean there won't be any change in the resolution."
The 10,500-strong United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has been in southern Lebanon since 1978, when it was charged with confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces from a demilitarized zone between the two countries.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234487
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Saudi Minister in Beirut for Talks with Top Officials- Naharnet

Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan arrived Wednesday evening Beirut for talks with top Lebanese officials, the National News Agency said.
Sabhan's several-day visit will address the bilateral ties between the two countries and the latest local and regional developments, NNA added.
He was welcomed at the airport by Telecom Minister Jamal al-Jarrah, representing Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and Saudi charge d'affaires in Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234486
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Erdoğan'dan ABD Savunma Bakanı Mattis'e PYD tepkisi- Sputnik News

Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, ABD Savunma Bakanı James Mattis ile görüşmesinde ABD'nin PYD/YPG'ye verdiği destekten Türkiye'nin duyduğu rahatsızlıkları dile getirdi. Erdoğan, Suriye'de çatışmasızlık bölgeleri oluşturmayı hedefleyen mekanizmanın desteklenmesinin önemine de değindi.

Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan'ın ABD Savunma Bakanı Mattis'i kabulünde, ikili ve bölgesel konular ele alındı. Cumhurbaşkanlığı kaynaklarından edinilen bilgiye kabulde, DEAŞ ve PKK başta olmak üzere terör örgütleriyle ortak mücadele konusundaki kararlılığın yanı sıra Suriye ve Irak'ın toprak bütünlüğünün korunması gerektiği vurgulandı. 
Bu çerçevede, Irak Kürt Bölgesel Yönetimi'nin (IKBY) referanduma gitmesinin yanlış bir adım olacağı belirtildi. Görüşmede Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan'ın, ABD Savunma Bakanı Mattis'e ABD'nin PYD/YPG'ye verdiği destekten Türkiye'nin duyduğu rahatsızlıkları da dile getirdiği kaydedildi. 

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Aoun Pledges $30M for Developing Areas Liberated from IS- Naharnet

President Michel Aoun on Wednesday vowed that the state will implement developmental projects in eastern border areas liberated by the army from the hands of the Islamic State group.
“The post-liberation phase will be for developing these areas and for eliminating the remnants of the abnormal situations that prevailed over the past years,” Aoun told his visitors.
He revealed that “funds worth $30 million have been earmarked to execute a number of urgent projects,” hailing “the sons of these regions” for clinging to “their land and properties.”
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234472
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LF and Marada Seek to Normalize Ties in Mutual Visits- Naharnet

Marada Movement official and ex-minister Youssef Saade has visited Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab and talks between the two men tackled the course of the relation between Marada and the LF in addition to important political issues, media reports said.
Saade's visit to Maarab “is part of the mutual coordination between the LF and Marada, amid a common desire to turn the page on the disputes of the past and establish a relation in which the controversial issues would be put aside, despite disagreement on major topics such as the Syrian crisis and the relation with Hizbullah,” LF sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.
“What has been achieved so far between the two parties is very important in terms of reducing the areas of dispute and tension,” the sources added, noting that a thorny issue such as normalizing the Lebanese government's ties with Damascus “has not affected communication” between the two parties despite their conflicting viewpoints on the issue.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234468
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Hariri from Arsal: State is Your Sanctuary, Services to Reach Town- Naharnet

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Wednesday paid a surprise visit to the northeastern border town of Arsal where he received a popular welcome, shortly after he inspected army units in the nearby border town of Ras Baalbek.
“My visit to Arsal is a duty owed to this town, which paid a hefty price as a result of all the circumstances that prevailed in the past,” Hariri said at the headquarters of Arsal Municipality.
“Arsal's residents opened their houses and welcomed the refugees without any hesitation or conditions,” Hariri added.
“It is our duty as government to stand by Arsal's residents,” he stressed.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234477
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Army Prepares for Assault's 4th Stage, Deploys in Areas Liberated from IS- Naharnet

The Lebanese army began Wednesday morning a deployment operation in eastern border areas liberated from the terrorist Islamic State group, as it started preparations to launch the fourth stage of Operation Dawn of the Outskirts, an army statement said.
Engineering units were excavating new routes and searching for landmines and explosives, the statement added.
The Army Command stressed that “there will be no ceasefire with the terrorist groups until they are completely routed.”
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234455
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New Truce Reached in Ain el-Hilweh after Mawlawi Threatens to 'Bomb Sidon'- Naharnet

Cautious calm was engulfing the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh on Wednesday afternoon after a ceasefire was reached between the rival parties.
The calm follows around seven days of fighting in the camp that pitted two small extremist groups led by Islamist militants Bilal Badr and Bilal al-Orqoub against the secular Fatah Movement and the Joint Palestinian Security Force.
According to the National News Agency, the joint force started deploying in the camp's al-Tiri neighborhood at 4:30 pm. The neighborhood was the main frontier in the fighting and is the bastion of the Islamist groups.
Armed clashes had intensified in the morning after the sounds of grenade and rocket explosions and machinegun and sniper fire echoed across the camp throughout the night, NNA said.
Gunshots and shells reached areas outside the clashes zone in the camp, such as the al-Zeeb, Taytaba and al-Sifsaf neighborhoods, as stray bullets reached the Sidon serail outside the camp and reportedly wounded two Lebanese security personnel.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234454
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Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Syrian Civilians Brace for Disaster in a Final Confrontation Between Assad & Jihadists- The Intercept

SIX YEARS AFTER REVOLT first broke out in cities and villages across Syria, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has rolled back the fractious opposition to its rule and regained control of almost every major population center in the country — except one, the northwestern province of Idlib.
Once famous for its olive groves and archaeological ruins, Idlib is now the last redoubt of Islamist opposition to Assad. The capital, Idlib City, has been under Islamist control since 2015, and today the two million people living in the province — many of them refugees from other parts of the country – could be caught up in a disastrous final confrontation between jihadists and the Assad regime.
Ahmad Awad, a civil society activist, was deported to Idlib by the Syrian regime as part of a brokered agreement earlier this year, when government forces retook his rebel-held hometown of Madaya. Awad, who became an activist during the revolution, had survived a years-long starvation siege and initially, he told The Intercept, “comparing to the circumstances I went through in Madaya, I was very happy when I reached Idlib.
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Raqqa: US-led attacks 'kill 100 civilians' in 48 hours- Al-Jazeera

At least 100 civilians have been killed over the past 48 hours by US-led air attacks targeting fighters in Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) in Syria.
Residents told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that at least 100 civilians had been killed since Sunday, with 55 civilians killed in the eastern neighbourhoods of Bedou and al-Sukhani on Monday.
Meanwhile, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) put Monday's death toll at 42, including 19 children and 12 women, and said 27 were killed on Sunday - a two-day total of 69 people.
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ISIS Retreats From 6 More Villages At Syrian-Lebanese Border- South Front

ISIS have retreated from 6 more villages in the Arsal area at the Syrian-Lebanese border under the pressure of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Hezbollah.
On Tuesday, SAA and Hezbollah fighters secured Shabat Sadr, Beit Badran, Wadi Shabat Harfoush, Shabat Batteekh, Shabat Moustabah, Shabat ‘Ajlon Kabeer and Wadi Hawrataho that had been controlled by ISIS members.
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Syrian Army Advances 30km Along Highway To Deir Ezzor-Reports- South Front

Government forces, led by the 800th Regiment of the Syrian Republican Guard and supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces, have advanced 30km along the Palmyra-Deir Ezzor highway, according to pro-government sources.
The Republican Guard has reportedly captured all important hills overlooking this part of the highway and now are entrenching in the area. If the reports are confirmed, this will be an important gain confirming the collapse of the ISIS defense in central Syria.
Earlier this week, reports appeared that the army and its allies took control over the entrie Resafa-Sukhna roadcreating the second ISIS pocket in the province of Homs. However, no photos or videos have appeared confirming these claims yet.
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IS 'Emir' Seeks Exit to Deir Ezzor as Ibrahim Asks for Info on Held Troops- Naharnet

The so-called emir of the Islamic State group in Lebanon’s eastern border region, Mouwaffaq Abu al-Sous, is seeking a mediation that would secure the withdrawal of his embattled militants from the outskirts of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa to Syria's Deir Ezzor, a media report said on Tuesday.
Al-Akhbar newspaper said that since the Lebanese army started its major anti-IS offensive on Saturday, the besieged jihadist “has been requesting negotiations on daily basis,” telling the Lebanese side, “There is no problem between us and the Lebanese army.”
Abu al-Sous is demanding “a safe route to withdraw to Deir Ezzor, specifically to the city of al-Mayadeen,” al-Akhbar added.
“But the Lebanese side, represented by General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, has rejected the demand, after Abu al-Sous insisted on securing a ceasefire before negotiations, whereas Ibrahim insisted on negotiations under fire,” the daily said.
According to al-Akhbar, Ibrahim also underlined that Lebanon would only negotiate on two points: “offering information on the army's troops who have been kidnapped since August 2014, and surrender.”
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234420
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'Dozens of civilians killed' in Raqqa air strikes- BBC News

US-led coalition air strikes have killed dozens of civilians in the Syrian city of Raqqa over the past 24 hours, activists and state media say.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 42 had died in attacks on areas held by so-called Islamic State.
Anti-IS group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently said 32 were killed in one district alone.
The coalition said it adhered to strict targeting processes and procedures aimed to minimise risks to civilians.
Its aircraft are supporting a ground assault on Raqqa by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which is believed to have captured more than than half of the de facto capital of the IS "caliphate" since early June.
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Army regains 9 villages and towns in eastern countryside of Homs, kills more terrorists in Deir Ezzor- SANA

Provinces,  SANA – In the framework of their continued operations against ISIS hotbeds in the area of Oqairbat in the eastern countryside of Hamaprovince, Syrian Arab Army units, in cooperation with the supporting forces, have carried out intensive operations in the direction of Jana al-Albawi village over the past
night.

SANA’s reporter said that full control was established over the strategic hill of al-Mahsa near the village of Jana al-Albawi to the north of Oqairbat town, the main stronghold of ISIS terrorists in the eastern countryside of the province.
The reporter added that army units combed the hill completely as they dismantled tens of explosive devices and mines, and they discovered a lot of tunnels and positions belonging to the terrorist groups, seizing all the arms and ammunition inside them.
Deir Ezzor
The Syrian Air Force and Russian Aerospace Forces launched intensive strikes against ISIS sites, fortifications and supply routes in Alloush Hill, the area
surrounding the graveyards and Wadi al-Tharda road in Deir Ezzor, according to a military source.

As a result of the airstrikes, at least 15 terrorists were killed, others were injured and a number of vehicles, some of which equipped with heavy machineguns, were destroyed.
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Army Liberates 100 Out of 120 Sq Kms as IS Explosives Kill Soldier- Naharnet

The Lebanese army announced Tuesday that it has launched the third phase of a broad offensive to capture areas controlled by the terrorist Islamic State group on the border with Syria.
After fierce clashes, the advancing units managed to seize control of the strategic Ras al-Kaff and al-Kahf areas.
And as troops scoured Ras al-Kaff for any remaining militants, the engineering units were detonating explosives and traps left behind by the jihadists.
The army later announced that its units captured six new hills in the area and an Army Command spokesman announced that the military was now in control of 100 out of 120 square kilometers of territory previously held by IS.
"Nine terrorist posts were destroyed as arms, ammunition and explosives were seized," the spokesman said.
"We captured around 20 square kilometers (on Tuesday) and therefore we still have around 20 square kilometers" to liberate, he added.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234413
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Syria Peace Talks in Astana Postponed to September- Naharnet

Kazakhstan said Tuesday that the next talks to try to thrash out a Syria peace plan in its capital Astana may be held in mid-September, after Russia had planned to hold them in late August.
Kazakhstan's foreign ministry wrote on Facebook that the timing of the talks would be set at a meeting this month between experts from Russia, Turkey and Iran and "provisionally, we could be talking about mid-September."
The ministry said it was quoting diplomatic chief Kairat Abdrakhmanov's comments to journalists on the sidelines of a government meeting. 
Abdrakhmanov said that the date change was based on "information received from Russia."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists in Moscow on Monday that the expert-level meeting would be held "by the end of the month or right at the start of September."
He did not give a precise date for the full Astana talks. Russia had previously been planning a fresh round of talks in the Kazakh capital in late August.
Earlier peace talks in Astana saw Russia, Turkey and Iran hammer out a plan to establish safe zones across swathes of Syria.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234412
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Monday, August 21, 2017

Fatah Advances against Islamists in Ain el-Hilweh Clashes- Naharnet

A bomb exploded early on Monday at the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh, breaching a ceasefire agreement reached a day earlier, as clashes resumed between the secular Fatah Movement and members of two small Islamist groups.
The intersection at the vegetable market-al-Tiri in al-Fawqani street witnessed sniper shooting and bomb explosions, added the agency.
In the evening, TV networks said a new ceasefire agreement was reached after a meeting at Usbat al-Ansar official Sheikh Abu Tarek al-Saadi.
NNA has reported in the afternoon that Fatah fighters were advancing against the Islamist militants in the al-Tiri neighborhood, the stronghold of the Islamist groups.
Two Islamist militants were killed and another was wounded in the clashes, the agency added, reporting an injury toll of eight on Monday.
A ceasefire had been reached Sunday after a night of violent clashes that left two people dead and around seven wounded, media reports said.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234375
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Army Pounds IS Jihadists for Third Day in a Row- Naharnet

The Lebanese army heavily pounded the hideouts of the Islamic State posts for the third day in a row, as it scored advances in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa, media reports said on Monday.
The troops have intensified their operations primarily following an attempted suicide attack Sunday that aimed to target their positions on Lebanon's eastern border where the battle rages.
On Monday evening, the army issued a statement saying army units were continuing their bombardment of IS' posts with "heavy artillery and aircraft."
"Direct hits were recorded among the ranks of the terrorists and the vehicles they were using, as the army's Engineering Regiment continued the removal of landmines, traps and explosives from the way of the advancing units," the statement said.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234376
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Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Holds Talks with Aoun, Bassil, Jumblat- Naharnet

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hussein Jaberi Ansari held talks Monday in Lebanon with President Michel Aoun and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil after arriving in the country on a two-day official visit.
According to the National News Agency, Aoun stressed to Ansari that “the Lebanese stance is firm in terms of refraining from interfering in the domestic affairs of Arab countries and staying away from external conflicts.”
He also told the Iranian visitor that “the Lebanese army is receiving unanimous national support in its war against terrorism, which will soon result in ending the presence of the terrorists in the northeastern border outskirts.”
And hailing “the bilateral ties between Lebanon and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Aoun promised to visit Tehran at the official invitation that was recently addressed to him after agreeing on its date through diplomatic channels, NNA said.
Ansari for his part relayed to Aoun Iran's congratulations on “the success that the Lebanese army has achieved in ousting the militants of the terrorist Islamic State group from the eastern border's outskirts.”
He also emphasized that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is keen on “developing bilateral cooperation in the various economic and commercial fields,” lauding “the achievements that have been made during President Aoun's term, especially in terms of extending security and stability across Lebanon and regularizing political life.”
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234369
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Russian air force destroys 200+ ISIS terrorists heading for Deir ez-Zor, Syria-MoD- RT

The Russian air force has destroyed a large column of Islamic State militants, vehicles and large caliber weapons heading to the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, the Russian defense ministry has said.

"The Russian Air Force destroyed another large column of ISIS fighters that was heading to the area of the city of Deir ez-Zor, where international terrorists are trying to regroup and equip their last base in Syria," the statement says.
The ministry further noted that "more than 200 militants" have been killed in the strikes, which also destroyed "heavy vehicles with ammunition."
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Sunday, August 20, 2017

Billboards with Saudi King Salman photos installed in Moscow- Al-Arabiya


Billboards with Saudi King Salman’s photos were installed in Moscow to welcome his expected visit to Russia.

The Kremlin expects the King Salman’s visit to be scheduled soon. 

It will be in response to the invitation which President Vladimir Putin extended during the first phone call between him and King Salman after the latter was crowned.

The Russian View magazine published a special report about Saudi Arabia that addressed political, economic and cultural aspects, the Russia Today website reported.


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The Largest Statue Of Saint Charbel In The World To Be Installed In Faraya!- The961

Soon, Lebanon will be the home of the largest statue of Saint Charbel in the world.
Today, it was getting transported from Haret Sakher to Faraya. Since it is very heavy (it weighs 40 tons), its transportation is a very delicate process.
Since the roads are not in a good condition and there are many curvy roads to arrive in Faraya, the Internal Security provided a convoy to make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible.
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Lebanese army recaptures third of IS stronghold near Ras Baalbek- BBC News

The Lebanese army has recaptured a third of an enclave held by so-called Islamic State near the north-eastern border with Syria, officials say.
Troops launched an offensive near the town of Ras Baalbek on Saturday.
The army says there are about 600 militants in the mountainous area, which IS has held since 2014 and is the group's last stronghold in the country.
About 20 militants have been killed in the latest operation and 10 soldiers have been injured, the military says.
The offensive was aimed at ridding the area of IS militants, who are armed with anti-aircraft and armour-piercing missiles and drones, the Lebanese army said.
Youssef Roufeyel, a resident of Ras Baalbek, told Reuters news agency that local people would do whatever was necessary for victory.
"This battle requires help and support from the people, and we are behind the army and by their side," he said.
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