Daily Newsletter – 18/11/2013

Syrian Coalition: Abdel Qader Saleh: FSA Hero Falls but Will Never be Forgotten

Al Bahra: We Reject the Intervention of Any International Party in Choosing Geneva I Participants
Mr. Hadi Al Bahra, a member of the Syrian National Coalition’s Political Committee, said that the National Coalition “rejects the intervention of any international party in deciding who will attend Geneva II as that will be determined…Read more

Mortar rounds land in Umayyad Square, Surface-to-surface Missile hit Qara near Damascus
Several random mortar rounds fell today near the building of the Chiefs of Staff near Umayyad Square, Abbasids Square and Kassa’a in Damascus. One person was reported killed and several others injured. Meanwhile, violent clashes took place between Free Syrian Army and regime forces near al Nour checkpoint in the town of Maliha in rural Damascus. Regime forces fired at the town of Qara in Qalamun from military posts surrounding the area using surface-to-surface missiles, heavy artillery and rocket launchers. There were reports of civilian deaths and damage to property.  (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

Heavy artillery shelling on Dara’a
A civilian was killed and others, including children, were injured by regime shelling on residential neighborhoods of Dara’a al Balad. Regime forces also targeted the town of Nawa with heavy artillery, which resulted in civilian casualties and the destruction of a number of houses. At the same time, violent clashes took place between the Free Syrian Army and regime forces in the town of Gharz to the east of the city of Dara’a and around the Central Prison in the town. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

FSA attack Nairab Airbase and Brigade “80” in Aleppo
Free Syrian Army forces attacked Nairab airbase and the perimeter of Brigade “80” with mortar rounds and homemade rockets, with reports of regime losses. Meanwhile, dozens were injured and homes destroyed by airstrikes and shelling by rocket launchers on the town of Mare’e in rural Aleppo. In addition, regime forces shelled the grain silos in the village of Bilat near al Safeera with rocket launchers which caused civilian casualties but with no reports of damage in the grain silos. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

Ban Ki-Moon Expects Geneva II to be Held in Mid-December
During a visit the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, said he expected that Geneva II might be held “in mid-December.” The peace conference has already been postponed several times. Though Ban Ki-moon told reporters that he could not announce a date at this moment, he stressed that “the joint UN-Arab envoy Lakhdar Brahimi will try to determine a date, possibly in mid-December, during a scheduled meeting with U.S. and Russian representatives on November 25.” The Syrian National Coalition expressed its readiness to participate in Geneva II provided that it leads to the formation of a transitional governing body with full powers as well as the exclusion of the Assad regime from the transitional phase. (Source: Syrian Coalition)

“UNRWA” Director: the Palestinian camps turned into battlefields
The director of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Syria Michael Kinsla said today that the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria had “become battlefields,” adding that “no one can predict the future of Syria in the absence of peaceful solutions.” He added that “the Palestinian refugees in this country have become refugees twice,” describing the conflict in Syria as “harsh”, adding that “no one is protected in this country.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)