Daily Newsletter – 10/10/2013

Legal Committee: Video Clip Points to Hizbullah Committing War Crimes Against Huanity Punishable by International Law

A member of the Legal Committee of the Syrian National Coalition Hisham Marwa announced that the Legal Committee was investigating the leaked video clip, which shows the terrorist Hizbullah militia of committing war crimes against humanity against civilians and wounded people in Syria. Saying that “Hizbullah’s avoiding a reply to this tape, despite the existence of evidence of the party’s involvement in the crime”, where in the tape showed several evidences which indicate that the killers belonged to the terrorist Hizbullah militia. These evidences include the Lebanese dialect, yellow bands on the militants’ arms and religious expressions such as “legitimate commissioning” which was repeated by militants who killed the wounded civilians. Marwa added that “all this puts forth question marks around Hizbullah’s ignorance of all the evidence that proves them guilty.” Based on the above analysts confirmed that “this tape proves Hassan Nasrallah lied when he claimed in an earlier speech that they “do not kill the prisoners or take advantage of the wounded.” The member of the Legal Committee of the Coalition said that the proven validity of the video will implicate the terrorist Hizbullah militia and put them at risk going on trial at the International Criminal Court on charges of committing war crimes against humanity, citing that this is “due to committing crimes of murder against the wounded civilians, and not military troops.” According to activists the execution of the Syrian civilians in the video clip happened after Assad regime forces and terrorist Hizbullah militia troops stormed the villages surrounding the besieged city of Homs.  The military operation launched by Bashar al Assad’s forces, backed by the terrorist Hezbollah militia, on Homs is one of the fiercest raids that have been conducted during which horrific collective massacres were committed, as reported by activists. The battle of Homs was fought by the Hezbollah militia who announced their participation in the battle publicly, battling alongside Bashar al Assad forces, who through his military forces is trying to crackdown on the popular uprising and the peaceful demonstrations of the Syrian people for more than two and a half years now. It is worth mentioning that the Hezbollah militia stood by Bashar al Assad’s forces since the beginning of the events receiving financial and military support from Iran to quell demonstrations that pose a strategic threat to the existence of Iran in the region, which considers Bashar al Assad its military and political arm in the region, which Iran cannot do without, as reported by analysts. (Source: Coalition)

The Coalition Holds UNICEF Responsible for Protecting Children’s Rights

The Syrian National Coalition held UNICEF responsible for protecting children’s rights from the violations committed by Bashar al Assad’s regime against Syrian children, recalling operations such as “slaughtering, throwing from the rooftops of buildings and the tops of mountains, and burning them alive.”  The Coalition called the nations of the world to recognize “Bashar al Assad’s violation of all international humanitarian laws by using children as human shields during the storming of Syrian cities.” The Coalition statement criticized the regime’s television media which has broadcast over the past few months “scenes of minors forced into acts that no sane person can believe, accept or tolerate it”. What the Coalition witnessed was “a clear and flagrant violation of the values ​​of honor and morality, and an unprecedented violation of the rules of international humanitarian law in general and the rules of the Convention on Child Rights signed in 1989.” The statement referred to the story of “the child Shaaban Hamida, accused by the regime of killing 10 soldiers, 13 civilians, and 9 militants as well as the young girls Rowan Qaddah and Sarah Alao who have been accused by the regime with what they call ‘Jihad Marriage’.” (Source: Coalition)

Al Atassi to Danish Foreign Minister: Impossible for Bashar and His Figures to be Part of a Solution

The Vice President of the Syrian National Coalition, Suheir al Atassi, said to the Foreign Minister during his visit to the Assistance Coordination Unit in Gaziantep, “the solution is tied to main points,” stipulating that, “Bashar al Assad or his criminal representatives cannot be part of a political solution in Syria.” She noted that the Assistance Coordination Unit had recommendations that if the General Assembly of the Coalition decided to go to the Geneva 2 Conference “ it should focus on breaking the siege on rebel areas and the United Nations organizations to perform cross-border operations for the delivery of humanitarian relief and support to the liberated areas.” Al Atassi raised a question about the role of the West in the face of Bashar al Assad’s regime practice of killing and starving Syrian people; she asked, “Is dismantling of “the policy of starvation” also an interest of the international community as is dismantling the chemical weapons in Syria! Is there a measure stop the continued killings of the Syrian people with all types of available forbidden weapons?”. The Vice-President of the Coalition alerted the international community that continuing to ignore the Syrians “would convert the oppressed people into ticking time bombs.” (Source: Coalition)

60 Martyrs in Syria until this Evening and 79 Martyrs Yesterday

Local Coordination Committees in Syria documented 70 martyrs yesterday, 60 of which were martyred up until 6 PM this evening, among them eight women, five children, and three were martyred under torture. Also, there are 28 martyrs in Aleppo, 14 in Daraa, 10 in Damascus and its countryside, four in Homs, three in Idleb, and one in Der Elzor.  (Source: Local Coordination Committees)

The Free Syrian Army Kills 25 Regime Soldiers in Daraya and Takes Controls of 25 Residential Blocs

The FSA took control of more than 25 residential blocs on the Old Cornish east of Daraya. Among them are eight strategic blocs directly overlooking the Cornish, the FSA killed more than 25 regime soldiers among them officers. At the same time a fire burned in the Damascus International Airport as a result of shelling on the airport by the FSA in al Qalamoun with rocket launchers. Also, yesterday evening a mortar shell fell on the Central Bank in the center of the capitol Damascus. Regime forces shelled the town of al Buwayda in southern Damascus with a surface to surface missile resulting in the injury of many people and the destruction of many residential buildings. (Source: Local Coordination Committees + Coalition)

The Free Syrian Army Destroys 3 Regime Military Vehicles in Daraa and Fighter Jets Strike Nawa

Regime fighter jets conducted air strikes today on the city of Nawa in Daraa targeting civilian homes resulting in their destruction as well as the martyrdom of seven people among them children and women. Fighter jets also conducted air strikes on the city of Inkhil resulting in the injury of many people and destroying one of the mosques in the city as a result of the shelling. At the same time the Free Syrian Army destroyed three regime military vehicles resulting in the death of a number of regime soldiers and the injury of many others. (Source: Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

A New Massacre of 11 Women in Hama

The residents of the town of Braydej in the Hama countryside found the burned bodies of 11 women in a mass grave in the area. This happened after regime forces raided al Janabira village previously and captured a number of women then placed them in a home and proceeded to burn them alive. (Source: Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

The Free Syrian Army Advances “The Earthquake” Battle in Idleb Countryside

The Free Syrian Army continued its military advance in what they have called “The Earthquake” Battle which they announced just a few days ago in the Idleb countryside. They have clashed with regime forces and killed a large number of regime soldiers and injured many others. The FSA has taken over the Ribe al Jouz Checkpoint in Wadi al Dayf after destroying a BMP, as well as taking over a regime tank. Also, fierce clashes took place on the Kfar Yasin, Babuleen, and Waheesh fronts in the Idleb countryside. On another note, regime fighter jets conducted air strikes on the town of Muarat Misreen in the Idleb countryside resulting in the injury of a number of people. (Source: Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

Air Strikes with Steric Bombs on al Sfeira and Free Syrian Army Takes Over Regime Checkpoint in Aleppo

Regime fighter jets struck the town of al Sfeira in the Aleppo countryside with steric bombs resulting in the martyrdom of 12 people at the least and the injury of many civilians; activists reported that victims were still under the rubble of destroyed buildings until now. Also, five civilians were martyred and 10 others injured after midday yesterday, as a result of regime forces based in Nubal and Zahra on the town of Hayan in the Aleppo Province. The village of Hayan, located on the road connecting Aleppo to the Turkish border, witnessed continuous clashes between the Free Syrian Army and regime forces based in the villages of Nubal and Zahra. The FSA destroyed a regime tank and a BMP and killed all the regime soldiers in them. The FSA took control of the al Malab al Hamdaniya Military Checkpoint, and advanced all the way to Bilal Mosque in al Athamiya.  (Source: Coalition + Smart News Agency)

Twenty-year prison Sentence for a Turkish Officer Involved Abducting Harmouch

A Turkish court in Adana handed a 20 year sentence to a Turkish intelligence officer for his involvement in the abduction of Hussein Harmouch and handing him over to the Assad regime. The court also issued prison sentences ranging between 4 and 18 years for the rest of the group consisting of 3 intelligence officers and 7 civilians, including businessmen who participated in the abduction. According to media reports the abduction of Hussein Harmouch, a defected Assad army officer, happened on August 29, 2011when he was invited to dinner outside the refugee camp in the city of Hatay to meet with one of the Turkish Officers in order to discuss how to provide the necessary support for the continuation of the revolution, and the arming of defected officers in Jabal al Zawiye. Available information points to the fact that Hussein did not go alone, and he was well known among the people, but instead was accompanied by two other defected ranking officers, who were abducted with him as well, and whose fates were unknown until now. A drug to induce sleeping was put in their food and their smuggling from Hatay across the border from Turkey to Syria ensued under the supervision of members of the Turkish intelligence. (Source: Daily 7 Turkish News)

The Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Call for a Truce in Syria During Eid Ul Adha

Today, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation called on Assad regime forces and the Free Syrian Army to cease fire during the Eid al-Adha holiday next week. Through a joint statement, the Secretary-Generals of both the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation called on all parties in Syria to stick to a complete cease fire, all acts of violence and all forms of fighting on the occasion holiday. Recall that from two and a half years ago until now more than 120,000 have been killed in Syria and millions have been forced to flee their homes to neighboring countries.(Source: al Hayat)

Relief Coordinator Hopes that the Security Council Resolution Allows Access to Trapped Civilians

United Nations Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos expressed her hope that the Security Council resolution on the humanitarian situation inside Syria will open the way for humanitarian organizations to reach the trapped population. Amos said UN reports indicate the presence of about two million people in the besieged areas; the organization was unable to reach them, pointing out that there is a severe shortage of food in the besieged areas. The humanitarian relief coordinator of the United Nations saw that the step that must be taken by the various parties in Syria was a primary political move in order to reach a cease-fire, paving the way for relative stability, enabling people to return and rebuild their lives.(Source: Seventh Day)

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons calls for a Cease-Fire in Syria to Complete its Mission

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons called for a cease – fire in Syria so that its team working there could complete its mandated task of dismantling the Syrian chemical weapons arsenal according to a timetable, after it announced its intention to send in another team. Director-General of the Organization, Ahmad Ozmuju, said at a news conference in the Hague: “I think that if they were to reach a cease-fire, the organization can achieve these goals,” in reference to the complete disassembly in the time frame set by the Security Council, which is the middle of next year. He added that the agreed timetable was “very tight”.  The organization’s mission comes pursuant to the UN Security Council’s decision, and after an American- Russian agreement to dismantle the weapons. (Source: Al Jazeera )

NATO: We Hope Geneva 2 Will be Held in November

Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen hoped that the “Geneva 2” conference on Syria would be held in the upcoming November, which will open the way for a comprehensive political solution, calling on all parties in the conflict to cease hostilities and start a dialogue and to assist in the dismantling of the chemical weapon arsenal according to a Security Council decision. Rasmussen also welcomed the United Nations’ decision which set the frameworks for dismantling Syrian chemical weapons. He called on Syrian authorities to “do what it can to help the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical weapons to carry out their mission in Syria.”(Source: Russia Today)

Lebanon Jails a Defected Syrian Officer

A Lebanese judge jailed an Assad army defected officer under the pretext of doing suspicious recruiting of Lebanese citizens to fight alongside the Free Syrian Army in Syria, and planning attacks on military sites of the Syrian regime forces. A judicial source said Syrian dissident Colonel Ahmed Amer was arrested “in the port of Tripoli, while he was returning from Turkey, where he met with officials from the Free Syrian Army.  He was caught with a CD-ROM and a portfolio of information and maps of military centers and forces of the Assad regime.” (Source: al Hayat + AFP)