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Assad regime manipulates exchange rate of Syrian lira
The exchange rate of the Syrian pound increased in recent days against the U.S. dollar to unprecedented levels in the recent months. The U.S. dollar exchange rate ranged between 115 and 123 Syrian pounds today, considerably higher than the 160 pounds of last week. The rise in the exchange rate is not based on any economic improvement in the country, as the economic wheel has stopped turning with the stop of the tourism, the closure of factories, and faltering of exports. He added that this exchange rate is a temporary cosmetic step and may be just a game designed by the Assad regime intended to deliver the message to the Syrian people that “economic prosperity” is associated with Assad staying in power. However, the people are well aware that this rise in the price of the lira has not translated into lower prices of goods on the market. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
Syrian activists launch “Without Assad” campaign
Syrian activists are preparing to launch a campaign to put pressure on the Syrian opposition and the international community to reach a political solution to stop the bloodshed based in Syria. Activists said that the Without Assad “campaign is seeking to rally public opinion to make Assad’s stepping down a condition in any negotiating process.” The “Without Assad” campaign which will begin tomorrow, will try “to have some impact over civilians whose voices are no longer heard amid all the gunfire and the sound of arms.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)
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Death Toll: 13 in Syria today, 56 yesterday
Local Coordination Committees in Syria documented 56 dead yesterday, while 13 people were killed by six in this evening, citing six dead in Damascus, five in Homs, and two in Aleppo. (Source: Local Coordination Committees)
Random shells fall on central Damascus
Several mortar shells fell on the Papal Embassy in central Damascus, al Tabreed Square in Bab Mussallah, and al Hariqa, injuring a number of people and causing material damage. Meanwhile, scholastic printing houses were burnt due to artillery and mortar shelling by regime forces on the area in rural Damascus. Regime forces also targeted the city of Yabroud with heavy artillery, killing one person and wounding others in the region. This coincided with violent clashes between the Free Syrian Army and regime forces on each of the fronts of the Tishreen hospital, Yarmouk camp, al Subayna, and most of the southern countryside of Damascus. The above-mentioned areas came under bombing of various types of weapons which resulted in a number of injuries and the destruction of a number of houses. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)
Warplanes bomb Al Lattamina in rural Hama, Violent clashes east of Hama
Assad Warplanes bombed the town of Al Lattamina, causing civilian casualties amid violent clashes around the town between the Free Syrian Army and the regime’s forces. Regime forces also bombed the town of Al Toreimsa in rural Hama today with heavy artillery, injuring four people and destroying a number of houses. The city of Al Salamiya and the villages in the northeast countryside of Hama came under shelling by rocket launchers, which resulted in some casualties, some in a dangerous condition. Warplanes also launched air strikes on the villages of Huwareen and Maheen in eastern Homs wounding a number of civilian. Snipers also targeted the seventh and ninth Jazeeras in al Wae’er neighborhood in Homs amid fire on civilians in the neighborhood. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)
Artillery shelling on Aleppo, FSA clashes with Hezbollah’s militia
In an attempt to break into the region, regime forces shelled the neighborhoods of Bani Zeid, al Ashrafiya, and al Sakan al Shababi in Aleppo with heavy artillery, injuring a number of civilians. Meanwhile, clashes were reported in Muarat al Arteeq between the Free Syrian Army and terrorist militias of the Lebanese Hezbollah. Seven regime soldiers were killed during clashes near the town of al Safeera; their bodies later were transferred from the Defense Factories to Hama airbase. A woman was hit by a random shot by regime forces in the neighborhood of Al Adamiya. Meanwhile, the administration of the Salam border crossing announced the opening of crossing for pedestrians and for civilian cars and trucks starting tomorrow. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees) |
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Meetings held in preparation for Geneva II
A meeting began today between UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, Russian Deputy Foreign Ministers, Mikhail Bogdanov and Gennady Gatilov, and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Wendy Sherman, in an effort to set a date for the convening of the Geneva II Conference intended to come up with a political solution for Syria. This will be followed by an expanded meeting that will include representatives of the three other permanent member countries of the UN Security Council, China, France and Britain. The U.S. Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, held meetings yesterday with senior Syrian regime appointed figures in Geneva on the eve of the aforementioned preliminary talks after coming to an agreement on the text of the invitation that will be directed to conference participants. Ford is expected to head to Istanbul to meet with members of the Syrian Coalition during its meetings on Saturday and Sunday. (Source: France 24 + Al Haiyat)
200,000 Palestinians Refugees from Syria Displaced
Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement, said that more than 150 thousand Palestinians came out of the Yarmouk refugee camp and remained inside Syria, about 60 thousand Palestinians fled Syria and sought refuge in Lebanon, and 7,000 others have fled to Jordan. Al-Ahmad called for the Palestinian refugees to be taken care of just like their Syrian counterparts. He expressed deep sorrow that the fate of these refugees is uncertain after losing their sources of livelihood, pointing to the limited capabilities of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the refugee relief organization UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees). He revealed that Palestinian refugees do not receive the same care meted to Syrian refugees, inside and outside Syria, calling for a change in this pattern in dealing with them. (Source: Al Arabiya)
Syrian Coalition: No to Lavrov’s Request of Iran at Geneva II
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said that Iran should be invited to the Geneva II Conference aimed at finding a political solution in Syria, adding that “all those who have any leverage on the situation in Syria should certainly be invited to the conference. This includes all the neighboring countries of Syria and almost all the Gulf states, not only the Arab countries, but also Iran.” It is worth mentioning that the Syrian Coalition refused the idea that Iran attend Geneva II as Iran did not participate in Geneva I, and also because Iran is part of the problem, rather than the solution.” The Syrian Coalition’s head, Ahmad Jarba, called on the Arab League yesterday to declare first, that Iran is a country that has occupied Syria; and second, to demand that Iran withdraw its Revolutionary Guards and mercenaries from Syrian territory; and third, to boycott them. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
Financing of chemical weapons disposal in Syria falls short
The Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, charged with the disposal of the Syrian chemical weapons, did not raise enough funds to finance its mission and will run out by the end of this month. The cost of this task has been estimated at around ten million euros (13.5 million dollars). More money has to be raised quickly to pay the cost of the destruction of stockpiles of poisonous gas by next year. The Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has been charged with overseeing the destruction of stockpiles of nerve gas inside Syria. A document of the Organization dated October 25th said that the current human resources are sufficient to conduct operations through October and November 2013. (Source: Reuters + Al Haiyat)
Russian source: Geneva II postponed to December
A Russian source close to the ongoing meetings between Russia, the United States, and the United Nations in Geneva said that “Geneva II”, the international peace conference on Syria, which was originally scheduled for November, will not be held before December. You may recall that the fired Deputy Prime Minister of the regime, Qadri Jamil, had previously announced that the date for holding Geneva II would be November 23. (Source: News Agencies)
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