Western governments don’t have any end game strategy in Syria- RT

Syria is reverting not to a secular state, but to another failed state thanks to American policy in the region, Godfrey Bloom, a member of the EU parliament and the UK Independence Party told RT.

 

Thursday is the day after which EU leaders pledged to take a decision on arming the Syrian rebels. The deadline is unofficial, and it was set in May when EU ministers led by Britain and France, agreed to end their arms embargo.

 

However, they seem to have had a change of heart regarding weapons supplies to the Syrian opposition over extremism concerns. There are also fears of a potential terror backlash, with more foreigners now fighting in Syria, with many coming from EU countries.

 

RT: UK and France were the ones pushing the EU to lift the arms embargo. Does it mean that London and Paris will be sending shipments as we speak?

 

Godfrey Bloom: It would be madness to pump arms into a situation which is already out of control. We have, I am afraid, the Western governments to blame for a lot of this. What they seem not to understand is when they go into these countries, when they influence these countries they don’t seem to have any end game strategy. All that we have managed to have done in Syria is see a complete destabilization of the regime. We have seen murder; we have seen mayhem, we have seen revolution, now we are seeing refugees pouring across the border because we don’t understand how to deal with the problems in the Middle East. It’s a medieval society with unbelievable different interests. There are Shiite Muslims; there are Sunni Muslims, Kurds, Alawites, Christians. There is a whole boiling pot of problems out there we don’t ever seem to understand. Now we have got another mess in Syria. We had a mess in Iraq, we have got a mess in Afghanistan, we have got a mess in Egypt and we have got a mess in Libya. Why don’t the Western powers learn from any of this?

http://rt.com/op-edge/syria-usa-rebels-arms-907/

Who controls what in Syria since the fall of Qusair?- BBC News

The conflict in Syria began as a series of major pro-reform demonstrations in key cities in early 2011.

These protests - and the Assad government's reaction to them - became increasingly violent. The administration suffered a wave of military defections as protests escalated into a full-scale rebellion.

Nahed Abouzaid, from the BBC's Arabic service, takes a look at the current map of Syria and illustrates how the power pendulum has been swinging since the fall of Qusair in June.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23530792

Syria's Homs Explosions: At Least 40 Dead- SKY News

Dramatic footage captures the moment a giant explosion engulfed a weapons depot killing scores and injuring 120.

http://news.sky.com/story/1123286/syrias-homs-explosions-at-least-40-dead

Syria conflict: Assad says he is 'sure of victory'- BBC News

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said he is "sure of victory" over rebels fighting to topple him, in a message to the army.

"If we in Syria were not sure of victory, we would not have had the will to... persevere in the face of more than two years of aggression," he said.

Meanwhile, the UK-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a huge blast in Homs city.

It said 40 had been killed in a rocket strikes by rebels on a weapons depot.

Unverified footage apparently showed the strike blasting a huge fireball high into the air above the city, and causing secondary explosions.

It comes after troops recaptured a key district of Homs on Monday.

A month ago, troops launched an offensive to oust rebels from the city.

The army has also been on the offensive in the eastern suburbs of the capital and west of the main northern city of Aleppo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23529440

Esad zaferden emin- Hürriyet

 

Esad, Suriye Ordusu'nun kuruluşunun 68'inci yıldönümü vesilesiyle yayımladığı mesajda, "Kazanacağımızdan emin olmasak, düşmana karşı iki yıldır gösterdiğimiz bu direnme ve savaşmaya devam etme gücüne sahip olamazdık" dedi.

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/planet/24437708.asp

El-Esad Dareyya’da Askerlerin Bayramını Kutluyor- SANA

ŞAM – Cumhurbaşkanı Beşşar el-Esad; Ordu ve Silahlı Kuvvetler Bayramı münasebetiyle Şam kırsalının güneybatısına düşen Dareyye Kasabasında silahlı kuvvetlerimizin birliklerine saha gezisinde bulundu.

 

Ziyaretinde el-Esad: “Tarih bugün, teröre karşı gösterdiğiniz kahramanlığı kaydediyor. Günümüzde tüm dünya, Suriye Arap ordusundan söz ediyor. Her daim sloganınız ‘ Vatan, Onur, Bağlılık’ oldu. Şimdi de sizler vatan ve onurunu bağlılıkla savunuyorsunuz.

 

El-Esad: “Düşman ve arkasındaki tüm güçler, tüm çabalarına rağmen Suriyelilerin onur ve cesaretini katledemedi. Çünkü karşısında, hezimet ve korku bilmeyen, teröristlerin yüreklerini korkuyla dolduran, vatanı kahramanlık ve fedakarlıkla savunan ve savunmaya devam eden bir orduyla karşı karşıya geldi.

http://sana.sy/tur/236/2013/08/01/495247.htm

President al-Assad: The enemy failed because our army knows no defeat nor fear- SANA

 

Damascus, (SANA)- President Bashar al-Assad stressed Thursday that the enemy, despite all of its attempts and those standing behind it, has failed to kill the pride and courage of the Syrians as it found itself faced with an army that knows no defeat nor fear.

 

During inspecting a unit of the armed forces in Daraya city in Damascus Countryside on the occasion of the Syrian Arab Army's Day, marked on August 1st of every year, President al-Assad said the Syrian army has spread fear in the terrorists' hearts and has protected the homeland and is still doing so.

 

He added that history will record what the Syrian army members are doing today as the whole world are now talking about the Syrian Arab Army.

 

"Your motto has always been 'Homeland…Honor…Honesty', and here you are honestly defending the homeland and its honor," President al-Assad said.

 

http://sana.sy/eng/21/2013/08/01/495243.htm

الرئيس الاسد يتفقد في داريا وحدة من قواتنا المسلحة بمناسبة عيد الجيش العربي السوري

Syria is now ‘a factory churning out nothing but death, destruction and suffering’, says archbishop- Catholic Herald Online

The Vatican nuncio to Syria has said that the war in Syria is like a factory churning out nothing but death, destruction and suffering.

 

Archbishop Mario Zenari said that even though the Vatican was unable to confirm recent reports that a Jesuit priest had been kidnapped in Syria, the nuncio said hundreds of innocent people there find themselves abducted for political leverage or economic extortion.

 

Kidnappings in Syria represent “a very, very painful wound that deeply harms the nation and the Syrian people,” he said.

 

Italian Jesuit Fr Paolo Dall’Oglio, 59, who had spent more than 30 years promoting Muslim-Christian dialogue in Syria, was reportedly missing.

 

News reports said acquaintances had been unable to reach him by phone, and Reuters reported that militants with links to al-Qaida kidnapped the priest on Monday while he was walking in the northern Syrian city of al-Raqqah.

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/08/01/syria-is-now-a-factory-churning-out-nothing-but-death-destruction-and-suffering-says-archbishop/

Shadow of Syria takes toll on Lebanon's tourist appeal- CS Monitor

Lebanon's economy typically rides a wave of tourism every summer, but Syria's war is scaring off visitors.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2013/0731/Shadow-of-Syria-takes-toll-on-Lebanon-s-tourist-appeal

Esad’ın sarayı gibi saldırdılar- Hürriyet

Suriye’nin Resulayn ilçesinde her köşe başı, Halk Savunma Güçleri (YPG) ile El-Nusra arasındaki çatışmanın ağır izlerini taşıyor. 4 kez evini terk etmek zorunda kalan Zehra Aban, delik deşik olan duvarlarını göstererek, “Sanki Esad’ın sarayı” sözleriyle yaşananlara isyan ediyor.

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/planet/24434046.asp

El Kaide Suriye'de Cizvit papazı kaçırdı- Sabah

El Kaide ile bağlantılı, Irak ve Levent İslami Devleti adlı örgütün önceki gün Suriye'nin kuzeyindeki Rakka kentinde İtalyan Katolik Cizvit Rahip Paolo Dall'Oglio'yı kaçırdığı bildirildi. Geçen yıl isyancıları desteklediği ve Beşar Esad'ı eleştirdiği gerekçesiyle rejim tarafından 30 yıldır yaşadığı Suriye'den sınır dışı edilen Dall'Oglio, geçen hafta Türkiye üzerinden yeniden ülkeye giriş yapmıştı. Dall'Oglio'nun muhalif güçlerle Kürtler arasındaki çatışmaları eleştirdiği için radikal grupların hedefinde olduğu bildirildi.

http://www.sabah.com.tr/Dunya/2013/07/31/el-kaide-suriyede-cizvit-papazi-kacirdi

Leaving Damascus: Syrian Air Travel Sinks Under Sanctions- Al-Akhbar

For Syrians, traveling to any given destination in the world is more complicated than ever. Syrians have very limited choices, and the “sky is the limit” for the fares they have to pay, even if traveling from Syria on the national carrier.

 

Damascus – The crisis in Syria has gone on for too long, and any hopes the Syrians may have had in seeing it end have all but evaporated. Some now dream of leaving for good, toward any destination that would receive them, whether as refugees or, at the very best, self-supporting expatriates.

 

For those choosing the second option, Damascus residents have only two options: risk the trip to Damascus International Airport to board one of its limited flights; or chose the safer option of crossing the Lebanese border and going to the Beirut airport.

 

A taxi driver working the Beirut route told Al-Akhbar that the majority of daily trips from Damascus now head directly to the Beirut airport, seeing as the number of flights operating out of Damascus has declined dramatically. He did not deny that fares have increased significantly.

 

Previously, the trip from the passenger’s home to Charles Helou station in Beirut would cost no more than 600 Syrian pounds (SYP) per passenger ($6 at current rates) or 3,500 for the whole car ($35). After the crisis, taxis now charge SYP 3,500 per passenger.

 

“At best, one can pay SYP 2,500 and take a bus to the Beirut airport. If one wants some luxury with an entire taxi, one must pay SYP 12,000 ($120),” the taxi driver added.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/leaving-damascus-syrian-air-travel-sinks-under-sanctions

Terrorists targeted across Syrian cities- SANA

Provinces, (SANA)- Units of the armed forces on Wednesday inflicted heavy losses upon terrorists in Daraa and its countryside and destroyed their equipment.

 

A military source told SANA that army units targeted terrorists' gatherings in al-Ghariyeh al-Sharkiyeh, al-Hrak, Izraa, al-Mseifra and al-Harra near al-Jdeira checkpoint, killing and injuring a number of terrorists, among them terrorist Ammar Jamal Awad was identified.

 

In Daraa al-Balad and Bosra al-Cham, units of the armned forces killed a number of terrorists, among them were Mohammad Khalil al-Sawaleh and Ashraf Suleiman al-Duroubi.

 

An Army unit pursued terrorists between the villages of al-Harir and al-Ghariyat, killing and injuring many terrorists.

 

Army units eliminate terrorists in Damascus Countryside

Army units killed and injured a number of terrorists and destroyed their weapons and ammo in al-Qaboun area in Damascus countryside, while other units established control of a number of buildings in the area after eliminating the terrorists inside them, one of whom was a sniper.

 

An Army unit pursued a terrorist group in Harasta area, leaving its members dead or injured, while a second union carried out an operation against a terrorist hideout in Ein Tarma, resulting in destroying weapons and the elimination of terrorists including Wael Marwan Krenbeh.

 

In Adra area, a terrorist gathering was destroyed along with the weapons and equipment inside it, while Army units continued operations against terrorists in al-Bahariya farms, eliminating a number of terrorists including Haitham al-Hashash and destroyed their weapons.

 

A terrorist hideout was destroyed along with the terrorists, weapons and munitions inside it in al-Ziyabiye. One of the dead terrorists was identified as Abd al-Ilah al-Jerdi.

 

In the town of Hejjeira, a number of terrorists were eliminated including Samer al-Baida and Fadel al-Mashtuli.

 

http://sana.sy/eng/337/2013/07/31/495039.htm

Halk Meclisi Eski Başkanı Son Yolculuğuna Uğurlandı- SANA Türkçe

ŞAM – Halk Meclisi Eski Başkanı Abdülkadir Kaddura’nın cenazesi bugün Şam’ın Muhacirin semtindeki Nebiullah el-Kefel mezarlığında son yolculuğuna uğrulandı.

 

Cenaze törenine katılanlar arasında Cumhuriyet Müftüsü Ahmet Bedrettin Hassun ve Arap Sosyalist Hareketi Genel Sekreteri Ahmet el-Ahmet’in yanı sıra Baas Partisi Bölge Yönetim Kurulu Üyeleri ve Halk Meclisi üyeleri yer alıyordu.

 

Bilineceği üzere Baas Partisi Bölge Yönetim Kurulu Üyesi olan Kaddura 1980-1985 yılları arasında Ekonomiden Sorumlu Başbakan Yardımcısı olarak atandı. 1986 yılında da Halk Meclisi Başkanlığına seçilerek 2002 yılı sonuna kadar bu görevini sürdürdü.

http://sana.sy/tur/236/2013/07/31/495102.htm

UN chemical weapons inspectors to visit Syrian sites- BBC News

Syria has agreed to allow UN investigators to visit three sites where chemical weapons have allegedly been used, the UN has said.

The inspectors will go "as soon as possible", a statement from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's office said.

They are expected to investigate three locations of suspected use, including one in Khan al-Assal, outside Aleppo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23524536

Hizbullah'ın Suriye'deki Amacı Ne?- VOA

Lübnanlı Şii Hizbullah örgütünün Suriye iç savaşındaki rolü giderek artıyor. Hizbullah’ın  Suriye’deki iç savaşa dahil olması, ülkedeki karışıklığın mezhep savaşına dönüştüğünü ortaya koyuyor. Peki Hizbullah Suriye’den ne istiyor, iki yılı aşkın süredir yüzbinlerce insanın öldüğü ülkeden çıkarı ne? İşte bu soruların yanıtını Lübnanlı gazeteci ve bölge uzmanı Hanin Ghaddar verdi.

Uzmanlar, Suriye'deki iç savaşta Hizbullah'ın da taraf olmasının, savaşın mezhepsel karakterini ön plana çıkardığını vurguluyor. Devlet Başkanı Beşar Esat, dini açıdan İran'daki Şiiliğe yakınlığıyla bilinen Suriye Alevilerinden. Suriye rejiminin, Hizbullah ve İran'daki devrim muhafızları dışında bölgede müttefiki bulunmuyor. Öte yandan, muhalifler ise Sünnilerden oluşuyor. Peki Hizbullah neden Suriye’de savaşıyor?

http://www.amerikaninsesi.com/content/hizbullahin-suriyedeki-amaci-ne/1713651.html
 

Yeniçeri: Suriye'de yaşananlar rastlantı değil- Haber 7

MHP Ankara Milletvekili Özcan Yeniçeri, Suriye'nin kuzeyinde el Nusra'nın PYD karşısında gerilemesinin ve PYD lideri Salih Müslim'in İstanbul'a gelmesinin El Kaide'nin öfkesini çektiğini öne sürdü.

 

http://www.haber7.com/siyaset/haber/1057102-yeniceri-suriyede-yasananlar-rastlanti-degil

 

Suriye ile anlaşmalar teknik olarak geçerli- Milliyet

Dışişleri Bakanı Ahmet Davutoğlu, 2003-2012 arasında Suriye Arap Devleti ile askeri, sosyal ve ekonomik alanda 83 anlaşma imzalandığını belirterek, “Uluslararası hukuk açısından, onay işlemleri karşılıklı olarak tamamlanmış ve yürürlüğe girmiş olan anlaşmalar teknik olarak geçerlidir” dedi.

http://siyaset.milliyet.com.tr/suriye-ile-anlasmalar-teknik/siyaset/detay/1744380/default.htm?ref=OtherNews

Suriye'den Türkiye'ye suçlama, İran'a övgü- Milliyet

Suriye Dışişleri Bakan Yardımcısı Faysal Mikdat İran'ı yardımlarından dolayı hiç unutmayacaklarını söyledi.

 

 

Suriye Dışişleri Bakan Yardımcısı Faysal Mikdat, ülkesindeki iç karışıklıklar konusunda İran'ın yardımlarını asla unutmayacağını belirtirken, Türkiye’nin ise; sınırını kontrol etmeyerek teröristlerin ülkesine girmesini sağladığını öne sürdü.

Tahran Radyosu’nun haberine göre, İran Haber Ajansı’nın (İRNA) sorularını yanıtlayan Dışişleri Bakan Yardımcısı Mikdat, İran halkı ve devletinin Suriye halkı ve devleti ile olan iyi ilişki içerisinde olduğunu, İran’ı kendilerini hedef alan teröristler ve dış düşmanlar karşısında en büyük hami olarak kabul ettiğini söyledi.

 

Mikdat, Suriye’nin İran ile stratejik ilişki içinde olmayı kendi temel siyasetlerinden biri kabul ettiğini ancak, Arap ülkelerinin Suriye’ye karşı komploda düşmanlar ile birleştiklerini iddia etti. ABD ve müttefiklerinin Suriye hükümetini kimyasal silah kullandığını ileri süren Suriye Dışişleri Bakanı yardımcısı, Türkiye’nin topraklarındaki teröristleri 'Suriye içine salıverdiğini’ bu tutumun Suriye’de katliam ve cinayetlerin devam etmesini beraberinde getirdiğini iddia etti. Mikdat, Türkiye sınırlarının kontrol edilmemesi ve teröristlerin cirit alanına dönüşmesinin hem Suriye ve hem Türkiye için tahrip edici sonuçlar doğurduğunu söyledi.

http://dunya.milliyet.com.tr/suriye-den-turkiye-ye-suclama-/dunya/detay/1744101/default.htm