Daily Newsletter – 09/01/2014

Sarah: Russia Blocking the UNSC Statement Is an Attempt Divert Geneva II’s Focus

Fayez Sarah, the Coalition’s political and media advisor, said that “Russia’s blocking of a UN Security Council statement condemning Assad’s daily bombing of Aleppo aims to divert Geneva away from its objectives through insisting on making the fight against terrorism the conference’s primary objective.” Sarah points out that Geneva II can be a conference to fight terrorism, including the terror practiced by the Assad regime against the Syrian people. Combatting terrorism also means tackling the military, political and financial…Read more

Syrian Coalition: Assad Monopolizes Terrorism Industry in the Region
Badr Aldin Jamous, Secretary General of the Syrian Coalition, condemns the “horrible crime committed by ISIS fighters against 50 people, including military personnel…Read more

A Report Details Humanitarian Situation in Syria
The Syrian Organization for Human Rights conducted a field study on the social reality, health and food in Syria during the period between September 15th – 28th. The Organization used data and statistics submitted by more than 60 rights activists in various Syrian territories. The study said that a Syrian dies of hunger every 10 hours, while one dies of cold every 8 ½ hours. The study showed that every 50 minutes a child dies in Syria, a woman every 45 minutes, and a man every 30 minutes. The organization noted that every 10 hours a Syrian dies under torture in the prisons of the Assad regime, while a civilian dies every 12 minutes by regime forces. (Source: Syrian Coalition)

FSA Calls On the World to Evacuate a Romanian National from Kalamoun
The Free Syrian Army in Kalamoon sent appeals to the Romanian government and the European Union for the evacuation of a Romanian elderly woman, Stephanie Najjar. The FSA saved the life of the woman in Monastery of Saint Sophia in the town of Qara in rural Damascus, after subjecting her to surgery by doctors of the Free Syrian Army. The FSA calls on the Romanian Embassy in Damascus, the Diocese of Yabroud, Damascus and Beirut as well as the Syrian Red Crescent and the Assad regime to move Stephanie out of Syria, before her health conditions worsen even more. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Orient.Net)

Assad Soldiers Pay Bribes to Avoid Fighting on Front Lines
According to eyewitnesses’ accounts, elements of Assad’s militias have been trying to evade being deployed to the battle fronts through paying cash bribes to their commanders. Reports say that this phenomenon is not new, but increased dramatically after the formation of the Free Syrian Army and the increasing number of its members and after fighting raged on all fronts. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, it is estimated that 32,000 pro-Assad fighters were killed since the start of the uprising. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Al Sharq al Awsat)

Regime Forces Block the Delivery Of Humanitarian Aid To Yarmouk Camp
Regime forces shelled the neighborhood of Yarmouk camp with missiles in order to thwart the entry of urgent humanitarian assistance to the trapped people inside. Some relief organizations managed to evacuate around 300 badly ill civilians from the districts. Clashes broke out between the Free Syrian Army and regime forces in the neighborhood of Alasali, with reports of regime losses. Regime forces shelled the districts of Kaboun, Arbin and Dariya. (Source: Syrian Coalition + LCC)

Islamic Front Takes Over Major ISIS Stronghold in Northern Syria
Islamic Front announced it took control over the town of Dana in the northern Idlib province after heavy clashes with ISIS fighters. Regime forces shelled the town of Maart al Nouman, killing a woman and a child. Assad’s warplanes launched air raids on the town of Sergeh in rural, without reports of casualties. (Source: Syrian Coalition + LCC)

Air raids on Sheikh Maqsood in Aleppo
Assad’s warplanes bombed the neighborhood of Sheikh Maksoud in Aleppo, killing four people and wounding dozens. Barrel bomb attacks were reported on Sheikh Yusuf near Anakarin east of the city of Aleppo. The Free Syrian Army targeted regime positions in Khalidiya neighborhood of Aleppo, with reports of regime losses. Activists spoke about ongoing clashes between the Mujahideen Army fighters and regime forces in the opposition-held districts of Aleppo. Meanwhile, The FSA and Mujahideen Army clashed with ISIS fighters in the town of Al Bab northeast of Aleppo. (Source: Syrian Coalition + LCC)

Massacre in Mzereeb, Dara’a
Regime forces committed a new massacre in the town of Mzereeb in rural Dara’a when they pounded the town with heavy artillery, killing six people. Violent clashes broke out between the Free Syrian Army and regime forces in the town of Sheikh Misqin, alongside shelling by regime forces. In the meantime, regime forces shelled the neighborhoods of Dara’a, with reports of civilian casualties and material damage. (Source: Syrian Coalition + LCC)

• Assad’s stockpiles of chemical weapons will be destroyed completely by the end of June
• Russian deputy foreign minister meets with the regime ambassador to discuss Geneva II
• Kerry off to Paris and Kuwait on a tour discussing the Syrian file
• British military adviser accuses his government of failing to deal with Syrian crisis
• Germany will destroy the remnants of Syria’s chemical weapons on German territory
• Jarba and Assad’s foreign minister to hold indirect talks through Lakhdar Brahimi