Syrian nukes: a simple or complex issue?
A Der Spiegel story that could make the Syrian civil war even more fraught. Has the regime got nukes? Nukes guarded by Hizbollah close to the Lebanese border too. ISIS offered the IAEA an inspection visit to Kibar, the site the IDF hit in 2007 near Deir al-Zor.
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For years, it was thought that Israel had destroyed Syria's nuclear weapons capability with its 2007 raid on the Kibar complex. Not so. New intelligence suggests that Bashar al-Assad is still trying to built the bomb. And he may be getting help from North Korea and Iran.
Link:http://www.spiegel.de/international/...a-1012209.html
Syrian nukes: cold water shower
A riposte that ends with:
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Perhaps, the most compelling evidence that casts doubt on
Spiegel's claim is the fact the site continues to exist and has not met the same fate as its alleged predecessor in an Israeli air strike seven years ago in north east Syria.
Link:http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middl...clear-facility
The Syrian Arab Air Force, beware of its wings
The Orynx blog has a long update on the Syrian Arab Air Force, in particular how it manges - with a lot of Russian support - to fly:http://spioenkop.blogspot.co.uk/2015...re-of-its.html
I like maps, although I thought Deir ez Zor had fallen recently to ISIS.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ld7OhMiUIv...BMAP-REV04.jpg
Necessity is the mother of adaptation
Once again, a fascinating article on the Orynx blog this time on the Soviet-era APC, the BMP-1 and BMP-2. The emphasis being on the local DIY upgrading of the armour and weaponry:http://spioenkop.blogspot.co.uk/2015...rias-bmps.html
Bombs plus dropped on Iraq & Syria
A moving timeline chart for Allied air activity via a Danish website:http://www.information.dk/databloggen/515038
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The United States Central Command, CENTCOM, updates the course of the war against the islamics in Iraq and Syria daily. In their press releases the actions of US and the partner nations is specified. However, from the 20th October the individual details of the partner nations are removed. From this date and so forth it is not possible to distinguish the actions of the specific partner nations.
From Russia with Love, Syria’s AK-74Ms
Turkish enclave (Tomb) is evacuated
The NYT reports that Turkish forces entered Syria and evacuated the garrison at the tomb and the tomb's contents:
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The Turkish Army launched an operation into Syria to evacuate soldiers guarding the Tomb of Suleyman Shah, which has been besieged by Islamic State militants, and move the tomb’s remains, an official and Turkish news media reported on Sunday.The military then destroyed what was left of the site to prevent the militants from using the enclave, and one soldier was killed by accident during the operation, CNN Turk said Sunday, citing military officials.
The operation, called “Sah Firat,” began on Saturday and involved a large convoy of tanks and other heavy weaponry that entered Syria through Kobani....
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/wo...orts-say.html?
Dateline Damascus: fighting on all fronts
Via Open Democracy:
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For 12 days, two Dutch journalists travelled all over Assad’s Syria. They spoke with high-ranking officials in government and generals at the front lines. A unique look behind the scenes.
Link:https://www.opendemocracy.net/opense...-on-all-fronts
Citing an un-named 'general-in-the-field:
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Did he have prisoners of war? “We don’t keep prisoners. We kill them immediately. Either they flee or we kill them. We shoot them on the spot and shovel them with a bulldozer under the ground. They are not men. I don’t consider them as human beings. They are less than animals to me. Down the road from where you came, 19 are buried in a mass grave. Do go to have a look on your way back—terrorists from Egypt, Sudan, Algeria and Saudi Arabia.” He threw a few IDs on the table. And how about the destroyed villages along the road—had he blown them up? “The villagers collaborated with the Free Syrian Army. Some villagers were used as human shields. We had no other option.”
On the NDF and Syrian Army, with my emphasis:
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The regime increasingly relies on the National Defence Force established in 2013, a pot-pourri of 100,000 locally organised and highly motivated volunteers. In 12 days travelling some 1,200km, except for special forces in Aleppo we hardly saw any anything of the regular army. The bands of Assad’s soldiers at the roadblocks in Homs and Damascus were for the most part members of that force, obviously rooted in the local community.
Syria in 2015 (new thread)
Temporary separate thread for maximum visibility.
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In northern Syria, is the US running out of rebel allies?
Harakat Hazzm, a US-armed group vetted by the CIA for training, has fallen to an Al Qaeda affiliate that is targeting moderate rebels.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middl...f-rebel-allies
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The U.S. backed “moderate” rebel militia “Harakat Hazzm” (Movement of Steadfastness) has faced an abrupt end to their one year old existence after a war broke0ut between their forces and the Syrian Al-Qaeda branch “Jabhat Al-Nusra” in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.
While U.S. State Officials attempted to depict Harakat Hazzm as a moderate rebel force combatting the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Syrian President, Dr. Bashar Al-Assad, they failed to garner much support from the Syrian populous, as their alleged 4,000 strong organization folded in the same province they found their genesis in this Syrian conflict.
Oddly enough, Harakat Hazzm was one of the first “moderate” rebel forces to receive the much anticipated TOW (anti-tank) missiles to combat the SAA’s armored divisions in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo; however, these weapons were irrelevant against the swarming Jabhat Al-Nusra contingents at Regiment 46 Base in southwest Aleppo – their forces disbanded one week after the latter declared war against them.
http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/...oin-islamists/
What the fall of Idlib means: five points
Scott Lucas has a short comment and starts with:
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Last Saturday, after a four-day offensive, rebels captured Idlib in northwest Syria, the third provincial capital lost by the Assad regime in Syria’s four-year conflict. The five major lessons of Idlib for the winners (the rebels, the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra), the losers (the Assad regime, mainstream media), and those on the side (the US, the Islamic State).
Link:http://eaworldview.com/2015/04/syria...feat-in-idlib/
Afghan Hazaras fighting in Aleppo
A Der Spiegel report that explains how a few Hazaras have been captured fighting for the Assad regime in Aleppo. Coerced mercenaries who no-one cares for. Plus a description of recent fighting in the city:
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Exact numbers are hard to come by, but some 700 of them are thought to have lost their lives in Aleppo and Daraa alone. What's worse, most of them don't come completely on their own free will.
Link:http://www.spiegel.de/international/...a-1032869.html