Daily Newsletter – 14/03/2014

Syrian Coalition: Assad’s Failure to Answer Kidnapped Alawite Appeals Exposes His Exploitive Agenda

Nora Al Ameer, vice president of the Syrian Coalition, demands that the Assad regime seek the immediate release of around 100 kidnapped Alawites, mostly children and women. “We condemn all acts of kidnapping, no matter who is kidnapping, and no matter what the motives are behind them. We demand the release of all abductees. The anti-regime fighters’ kidnapping of a group of Syrians belonging to the sect to which Assad belongs is a something we…Read more

50,000 Classified Documents Reveal Assad’s Crimes in His Secret Dungeons
Louay Miqdad, head of Masarat Media Center, said he would publish more than 50,000 classified documents leaked from Damascus. The documents reveal Assad’s systematic crimes against Arab, foreign and Syrian detainees. “Beginning next Monday, we will publish the names of the Arab and foreign detainees that we have obtained through close coordination with a vast network of intelligence and regular army officers. There more than 1,000 documents from Damascus, highlighting for the first time the minutes of the meetings inside the Office of National Security that discuss the file of Lebanese prisoners and the missing,” Miqdad said. The Assad regime has always denied detaining Lebanese prisoners in its secret dungeons through which Assad seeks to suppress the will of the people, not only in Syria, but the region as a whole. Miqdad lashed out at the methods followed by the intelligence of the Assad regime in killing the detainees, in violation of all human rights laws. He also said that most deaths were attributed to kidney failure. “Assad tries to hammer home his talk about conspiracy theory through the random arrest of Arab nationals and foreigners.” A document from Damascus reveals the reason for the arrest of an Arab national, who asked for the source of the trail made by Assad’s tanks after storming one of the Syrian cities. Miqdad also said that one of the documents reveal the minutes of a meeting held between Walid Muallem and officials from the regime’s allies. The document shows the methods and commands that were received by the regime to execute the unarmed civilians. Some documents tells of developing plans to exploit the Geneva II conference to achieve personal goals.” Miqdad also said that the leaked documents contain a series of correspondence between the security branches, and the tactics used to spy on activists since the beginning of the Syrian revolution. “All the leaked documents, including the ones that contain the names of the Arab and foreign detainees, have been verified by Arab and international bodies specialized in this field.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)

Syrian Coalition and the Interim Government Set Up a Crisis Management Cell in Aleppo and Yabroud
The Syrian interim government said it set up management crisis cell in coordination with the Syrian Coalition and the concerned authorities in Syria aimed at dealing with the critical situation in Aleppo and Yabroud. The Syrian interim government allocated $250,000 USD to Yabroud and $500USD to Daryya, Moadamyah, Yarmouk Camp Al Hajar al-Aswad and Yalda in southern Damascus, Iyad Qudsi, deputy chairman of the Syrian interim government, said that the emergency financial aid is going to be handed by local councils in the affected areas, and that more aid will be sent to all areas across Syria. “We hope we can support our people who are struggling in the face of a terrorist regime backed by the foreign mercenaries,” Qudsi said. The interim government allocated $100,000 USD to Al Amal Hospital in Reyhanli near the Syrian-Turkish borders. It also allocated financial aid for stalled Syrian schools in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Media Center- Syrian Interim Government)

Epidemics Weekly Newsletter Record 15 Polio Cases in Syria
ACU-run Early Warning and Response Network (E-WARN) published its pandemic weekly newsletter for the period from February 23 to March 1st of 2014. The report said that 73.2% of the reporting centers in the seven provinces sent their weekly reports, with 95.4 % of the reports sent on time. The report added that the number of consultations recorded during this week totaled 36,498, of which 43.1% were for children under the age of five, compared to 37,474 recorded during the consultations last week. The main cause of the disease was the fever of unknown origin, which accounted for more than 320 cases (0.87%). 75 warnings were recorded during this period, including 37 warnings of suspicion of measles, 13 warnings of fever of unknown origin, nine warnings of acute jaundice syndrome, nine warnings of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, five warnings of cluster cases in rural Idlib, in addition to the spread of lice. Three warnings of scabies were recorded in Deir Ezzor, besides a case of bloody diarrhea in and one unexplained death. ACU-run Early Warning and Response Network (E-WARN) said it would continue to gather additional information about the suspected cases of measles. The report also said that 13 cases of polio were recorded, including a Sabin vaccine-derived field isolate of poliovirus (type 3), and a new case of acute flaccid paralysis in the sixth week. (Source: Syrian Coalition)

FSA Attack Regime Positions in Rankous
The Free Syrian army attacked regime positions near Rankous in rural Damascus with Grad rockets, achieving direct hits. The Free Syrian Army clashed with regime forces on the Southern Bypass near Zamalka, while regime forces bombed the towns of Daryya, Yabrood and Adra. Regime forces also shelled the district of Jobar in Damascus with heavy artillery. (Source: Syrian Coalition + LCC)

Ten Pro-Regime Soldiers Killed By Friendly Fire in Morek
Ten pro-regime soldiers were killed by friendly fire in the town of Morek north of Hama, while regime forces bombarded the towns and villages in northern Hama, causing civilian casualties and material damage. (Source: Syrian Coalition + LCC)

Barrel Bombs Kill Eight People in Al Atareb
Assad’s warplanes launched barrel bomb attacks on the town of Al Atareb west of Aleppo, killing eight civilians and wounding dozens. Aerial shelling was also carried out on Orme Al Qubra and Anadan, killing three civilians and wounding dozens. The Free Syrian Army clashed with regime forces near Anakarin, while Assad’s warplanes launched air strikes on Bani Zeid and Hanano in Aleppo, injuring a number of people and causing material damage. (Source: Syrian Coalition + LCC)

• Ban Ki-moon calls for resuming Geneva II talks.
• Brahimi: Holding presidential elections in Syria would ruin Geneva II talks.
• American mercenaries fight alongside Assad’s forces
• France calls on the regime to abandon the presidential election and resume negotiations.