The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Syria

  • Aleppo: Evacuation plan back on track

    Aleppo: Evacuation plan back on track

    An evacuation plan of the rebel-held areas of Aleppo was back on track on Thursday in spite of clashes overnight and was expected to begin within hours.

    Syrian opposition groups and a military media unit run by the government’s ally Hezbollah said that the operation to organise the departure of fighters from east Aleppo had begun.

    In addition, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had been asked to assist with the evacuation.

    Also, overnight contacts between the parties succeeded in reviving a ceasefire that had originally come into effect late on Tuesday before breaking down.

    An official from the Jabha Shamiya rebel group said the new truce came into effect at 2.30am (0030GMT) on Thursday.

    Reports say at least nobody has heard the noise of fighting in the city since the early hours of the morning.

    Such an exodus would end years of fighting for the city and mark a major victory for Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad.

    As an initial deal stalled on Wednesday and the planned evacuation failed to materialise, renewed fighting raged in the city.

    According to rebel and UN sources, Iran, one of Assad’s main backers, had imposed new conditions, saying it wanted the simultaneous evacuation of the wounded from two villages besieged by rebels.

    Rebel officials said that they had agreed to an evacuation of the wounded from the Shi’ite villages in Idlib province and that the Aleppo deal would go ahead as planned.

    Abdul-Salam Abdul-Razak, a military spokesman for the Nour al-Din al Zinki rebel group, said that within the coming hours the evacuation would begin.

  • Two Hospitals attacked in Syria

    Two Hospitals attacked in Syria

    • SyriaPhosphorous bombs used In Syrian attack
    A hospital in Kafr Zita in rural Hama, has been hit by at least two barrel bombs, resulting in severe damages to the facility.
    According to media release made available to David Lawal of The Nation by the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM) in Syria, the initial reports show no casualties even as the facility was rendered completely out of service.
    Similarly, another hospital in Atareb, rural Aleppo, was targeted today by airstrikes, resulting in damage to the facility. Also, no casualties reported.
    On a monthly basis the hospital provides an average of 3,350 consultations, 480 admissions and 285 major surgeries.
    A phosphorus attack was reported in Daret Ezzah in the Aleppo directorate.

    No casualties have been reported but medical staff have raised concerns about the use of prohibited weapons such as phosphorous and their indiscriminate and horrifying impact on civilians.

    “UOSSM condemns today’s attacks against medical staff and civilians. The blatant disregard for international humanitarian law must stop. We call on the international community to hold those responsible accountable for war crimes and use all pressures at their disposal to come to a peaceful resolution in Syria.”

    The hospital, which its name was deliberately not released to protect facilities and staff, provides an average of 1,940 consultations, 339 admissions, 126 major surgeries and 25 deliveries.

  • Syria: What the West chose to forget

    At the peak of the migrant crises in the last quarter of last year, some big European countries notably Germany, Austria made a huge show, of welcoming the mostly Syrian refugees who were angrily fenced off, by middle size and struggling central European countries. The United States was moved by Europe’s so-called act of hospitality that President Barack Obama announced that the U.S should take in about 10,000 migrants.

    Currently, Germans who trooped out in their numbers to welcome the refugees are organizing huge demonstration in Cologne to call on their government to slam close door against further influx of migrants.

    Recently in London, a donor conference to help Syrian refugees was organized and a pledge of US$10billion was made. The much anticipated Syrian political dialogue that managed to open in Geneva was hurriedly closed. The Syrian opposition consisting of hard salafist armed group dragged their feet on attendance, making reference to the humanitarian disaster in Syria and ridiculously setting the condition that the Syrian government cease military operations before they can attend. There posturing did not fool anyone, since it is well known that the Syrian regime fights to retain the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Syrian state. The Geneva conference, which the opposition grudgingly attended, ended sooner after started as the Syrian military cut off the supply line to the armed insurgents through Turkey.

    However, the West mostly the United States, the United Kingdom, even France made shows of their concern to the Syrian humanitarian disaster and political quagmire but conveniently forgets that its machinations to foster regime change in Syria, as it has done in neighbouring Iraq and Libya, were at the root of the crises.  When Syrians peacefully demanded political reforms in 2011, following the outbreak of popular protests which started in Tunisia, the Syrian Baathist regime responded with strings of political reforms, including, ending the leading and vanguard role of the Baath party and in its place a multi-party competitive process was instituted.

    Before the reforms could be tested on ground, the West seized the moment to orchestrate its preferred political project of regime change, which it has successfully implemented in Libya, but with dire consequences that continues to manifest up to this day. As in Libya where extremist jihadists of all hue were encouraged to fight to topple the country’s regime, these hot-heads from Libya and elsewhere were encouraged to pour into Syria to fight. Seizing the vacuum created by the armed insurgency in Syria and sectarian divide in Iraq, the monstrous Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant-ISIS,ISIL was conjured up to put further pressure on the already fractured states of Iraq and Syria. In driving Syria to the brink with its project of regime change, the West and more particularly the United States of America, Britain and France, are complicit in the outbreak of the migrant crises which is been merely treated as humanitarian crises, instead of, as an outcome of  a deliberate policy choice of destabilization of the region. Before Russia took the bold military step of helping the suicidal jihadists to meet their creator, earlier than they would have loved, they prance literally unchallenged in their Syrian-Iraqi turf; inspite of the U.S-led coalition aerial attacks. They were making territorial gains and show of their barbaric act of beheadings.

    Since Russia entered the fray, the ISIS barbaric army is on the run. The West recently is claiming that Russia is doing more to help the Syrian regime than targeting ISIS. But it is undeniable that due to the Russian military operations, ISIS has been considerably degraded. The rump of the Syrian armed insurgents, including the Al-Qaeda affiliate, Al Nusra front are terribly hemorrhaging. With muted calls by the West to the Russians to halt military operations against ISIS in Syria, they are attempting to throw a life line to the monster of the Islamic state from the back door, notwithstanding high sounding rhetoric on the contrary.

    Syria is pivotal Arab nation with a long history of stability in a turbulent region. At a point, Syria was the guarantor of stability to the neighbouring Lebanon. Syria is both secular and the most tolerant of Arab states and has the largest number of Christian minorities among other Arab states. Its Baathist regime may be authoritarian, but is also among the most urbane in the Arab world. The country is dotted with historic sites including a community that still speaks Christ early language. All these lay in ruins currently as the Syrian government struggles to retain a modicum of the sovereign status of the Syrian state. Apart from parochial West’s foreign policies, the Syrian government would have been their best regional ally in their fight against extremism, the potent threat to the West’s values and way of life. Syria has so far, better prospects of democratizing than the Wahabist Saudi Arabia regime and other closest Arab states in the Gulf. Ironically, the two major states in the region-Syria and Iran, with reasonable democratic contents in their leadership recruitment are the West main bogeyman, while other assorted Arab autocracies, without the faintest hint of democratization, are the West’s chubby buddies in the region.

    The open arms of some Western countries to welcome the Syrian refugees and even the funds raised to ameliorate their terrible conditions are welcome, but are really unsustainable palliatives, which the Syrians did not even need, had their country not been trapped in the devious ploy of “regime change”. Instead of the rigmarole in Geneva of which the latest round is the fourth, the West and its Arab allies, could just recall their attack dogs in Syria and let the country set up its own machinery for reconciliation, reconstruction and reform. The Syrians of all political persuasions have what it takes to retrieve their country from the brink, as long as outsiders can keep away.

     

    • Onunaiju is a journalist based in Abuja.

     

  • Photo: Buhari addresses Supporting Syria conference

    Photo: Buhari addresses Supporting Syria conference

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  • Syria extends offensive to retake territory in west

    Syrian troops and allied militia backed by a fresh wave of Russian air strikes and cruise missiles fired from warships attacked rebel forces and hope to recapture a major territory in the west of the country.

    The assault focused on western areas where rebel advances earlier this year had threatened the coastal region vital to President Bashar al-Assad’s support base.

    The Russian Defence Ministry said it fired missiles from ships in the Caspian Sea for a second day and had hit weapons factories, arms dumps, command centres and training camps.

    Meanwhile, U.S. officials said they believed four Russian cruise missiles bound for Syria had crashed en route in Iran, however, Russia’s Defence Ministry insisted the missiles had reached their targets in Syria.

    Since Russia began air strikes last week it has described all its targets as belonging to the Islamic State group, although most have been in areas controlled by other rebel movements where Islamic State has little or no presence.

    On Thursday, Moscow said its air force hit 27 Islamic State targets in the provinces of Homs, Hama and Raqqa, while Kirby said Secretary of State John Kerry had expressed his concern to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by telephone that most of the targets hit so far were not related to Islamic State.

    The U.S. has been leading a separate air campaign against Islamic State targets for a year, and the arrival of Russian war planes last week means the Cold War superpower foes are now flying combat missions in the same air space for the first time since World War Two.

    Washington and its allies who want Assad to leave power have accused Moscow of using a campaign against Islamic State as a pretext to target Assad’s other enemies, many of which receive help from countries that oppose him.

    But Russia, allied to Damascus since the Cold War, says Assad’s government should be part of an international campaign against extremists.

  • Russia defends weapon delivery to Syria

    Russia on Wednesday defended its supply of military equipment to Syria, saying it complies with international law.

    In a statement, Maria Zakharova, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Russia had long been supplying weapons and military equipment to Syria, which was done under the existing bilateral contracts and in full conformity with international law.

    She added that there were Russian military specialists in Syria instructing local troops in using the supplied armaments.

    According to Zakharova, Russia might consider extra counter-terrorism aid to Syria.

    “If additional measures are required to boost anti-terrorism efforts, then, undoubtedly, these issues will be additionally considered, but exclusively on the basis of international law,’’ she said.

    Earlier in the day, Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov claimed that Russia would continue sending humanitarian aid to Syria using alternative flight routes.

    He made the remarks in response to the recent move of the Greek government, which closed its air space for Russian humanitarian cargo flights heading for Syria, obviously under U.S. pressure.

    Bulgaria on Tuesday also refused Russian flights to enter its air space on suspicion that the planes might carry military other than humanitarian cargoes.

    “Some countries are deviating from, what I would call, their international duty, namely, the provision of air corridors to the aircraft involved in the settlement of humanitarian problems,” Ryabkov said

  • Homosexuality: Man stoned to death in Syria

    Homosexuality: Man stoned to death in Syria

    Disturbing images have shown a man being thrown from a tower for his sexuality in the town of Tal Abyad in Syria.

    The man, who sat on a plastic chair was also blindfolded before he was hurled out of the building which was at least 7 storey as punishment for ‘being gay’.

    According to local media reports, the man who appears to be in his 50s after being thrown from the roof of the tower block, miraculously survived the fall, but that did not stop him from being stoned to death.

    The man was flanked by two masked men in dark clothing and army fatigues, whom people believe to be ISIS militants.

    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights believes that the man’s crime was having a ‘homosexual affair’.

    The man who appeared to have survived the fall was seen sitting at the foot of the building, when onlookers began to gather around him, throwing stones at him until he became unconscious.

  • Syria: UN asks for $16.4bn in aid

    Syria: UN asks for $16.4bn in aid

    the UN has asked for $16.4bn (£10.5bn; 13.3bn euros) for its aid operations in 2015, with the largest single sum – $7.2bn – going to help Syrian refugees.

    Its last annual humanitarian appeal was for $13bn, making the new request a record for the organisation.

    The request comes as aid agencies warn they are running out of cash to fund this year’s operations.

    Last week the World Food Programme announced it would have to cut food rations to Syrian refugees.

    In its new appeal, the UN is requesting $2.8bn to help those displaced by the conflict inside Syria. It is seeking another $4.4bn to help more than 3,250,000 refugees registered in neighbouring countries.

    Last year, Syria, South Sudan and the Central African Republic figured large in UN aid operations.

  • SYRIA: let’s ship all tyrants to another planet

    SYRIA: let’s ship all tyrants to another planet

    Isn’t it a shame and a wonder that the world still lives under the same roof (or is it stratosphere now) with avowed tyrants? With popular rule and with the chants of freedom and liberty having rented the air in most corners of the world hundreds of years ago, is it not uncanny that the world of 21st century still does not only harbor brutish dictators but it also allows them to rule over the human race, to savage it and to brutalize it at will.

    Almost 300 years after America fought and won her independence who would have thought that in 2013 in a country that is supposedly in Europe, a dynasty of tyrants would hold sway for about forty years? And when the people rose to say enough was enough, the army would be called out to mow them down. When that failed, they were gassed and put to deathly sleep as if they were mere mosquitoes.

    Of course Hardball is discussing Syria, a country that could have been European even though its closest boundary to the West is Turkey. Since 2011, Syria has been going to pieces. Caught in the wave of the Arab Spring, Syrians had seized the moment to demand for a change in the way they were herded like cattle by their leader, Bashar al-Assad. They wanted the long dynastic rule of the Al-Assad family to be subjected to popular debate if not popular rule; they wanted to vote and be voted for; they wanted power to flow from the people and not from the palace.

    This is not too much to ask in a world in which elections are not just the norm in many countries but an emerging universal culture. The Syrians only asked to join the rest of humanity in the continuous re-enactment of the humankind.  But the ruling gods won’t hear of it. Of course if they had ruled from generation to generation then it stands to reason if they conclude that they are born to rule. When the protests started, Bashar would have chuckled and said to himself: my father got this mantle from his father, he did not hand it to me to hand over to a stupid mob of the hoi-polloi, no way; that is not going to happen. Only weaklings like Saddam Hussein and Moumar Ghadafi would allow that, he would have thought.

    He quickly labeled the protesters rebels and enemy of State and called out the military to clear the streets of the ‘litter’. But he  missed the point this time and for two years, the ‘war’ has been raging with over 100,000 killed and more than a million displaced. A new twist was brought to the feud about a month ago, when it was discovered that a chemical weapon of mass destruction may have been applied in the warfare by the al-Assad government which killed more than 1000 Syrians in a most horrific manner including about 300 children. Yes, Hardball understands full well that the world is a crazily complicated place but all the same, nothing explains why the world still allows mini-gods to prowl this planet. Shouldn’t the world sign a convention that would make Bashar and all his kind who still live in the utopia that they are bigger than their human communities and entities to be rounded up and made extinct like dinosaurs? If Bashar had placed humanity above his miserable self, if he had not considered himself indispensable and Syrians thrash, he would have provided leadership even to his protesting compatriots and guided them to a sunny, new frontier instead of callously confronting them with tanks and APCs. Now he gasses them as if they were vermin. And if perchance it happens that he did it not, he no doubt precipitated it. In conclusion, Bashar surely is not a citizen here anymore, he really should take a trip to the climes where all brutes converge, quickly!

     

  • Syria warns U.S.: No unilateral airstrikes

    Syria warns U.S.: No unilateral airstrikes

    While offering to assist any international effort to fight Islamic State militants, Syria’s foreign minister warned the U.S. Monday not to conduct airstrikes against the group inside Syria without Damascus’ consent, saying any such attack would be considered an aggression.

    Walid al-Moallem’s words appeared timed to try to pre-empt any U.S. military action in Syria.

    President Barack Obama has resisted ordering U.S. military action in Syria for three years, even after a deadly chemical weapons attack a year ago near Damascus he blamed on President Bashar Assad’s government.

    But now, Obama faces pressure from his own military leaders to go after the Islamic State group inside Syria.

    Obama remains wary, however, of getting dragged into the bloody and complex Syrian civil war that the United Nations says has killed more than 190,000 people.

    Al-Moallem’s remarks at a news conference in Damascus also marked the first public comments by a senior Assad official on the threat posed by the Islamic State group, which has captured large swaths of Iraqi and Syrian territory.

    The foreign minister said the Syrian government repeatedly has warned of the threat of terrorism and the need to cut off resources and funding but “no one listened to us.” Syria’s government has long described the rebels fighting to topple Assad as “terrorists” in a foreign conspiracy.

    There is not much Syria can do, however, if the U.S. does decide to strike. U.S. officials revealed last week that U.S. forces had tried to rescue U.S. journalist James Foley in a failed operation in Raqqa in July.”

    Had there been prior coordination that operation would not have failed,” al-Moallem said.The minister also denounced “in the strongest terms possible” Foley’s killing last week by Islamic State militants, while asking:

    “Has the West ever condemned the massacres by the Islamic State and Nusra against our armed forces or citizens?”