Daily Newsletter – 30/12/2013

Mekdad: Russia wants Geneva II to be easy on the Assad regime

Louay Mekdad, the FSA’s political and media coordinator, said that Russia “seeks to achieve the greatest possible interests for the Assad regime at Geneva II through pressuring the revolutionaries to attend the conference.” Mekdad stresses that sitting with the criminal regime at the negotiating table “will end its political isolation and international ostracism, which came in response to the horrific massacres committed against the Syrian people.” Mekdad went on: “The international community and Russia knows that Geneva II would…Read more

Al-Maleh: Assad Must Be Prosecuted and Held Accountable
Haitham al-Maleh, head of the Syrian Coalition’s Legal Committee, lampooned  Muallem’s insistence on Iran’s participation at Geneva II. “The actual rulers of…Read more

Syrian Coalition: Assad’s Brutality Impedes Geneva II
Ahmad Jarba, head of the Syrian Coalition, said in a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Assad’s massacres against the Syrian people must…Read more

A Family Badly Injured By Fire In Raqqa
A mother and four children were badly wounded by fire they lit to warm themselves and escape the bitterness of the cold north wind. They were feeling very cold and wanted to increase the size of the fire, so the mother tried adding some diesel which made fire get out of control. The story of this miserable family is not fictional; it is the story of four children who became fatherless and homeless after the aerial shelling on their town. They suddenly found themselves battling hunger, cold, and fear. They started roaming the city looking for shelter, which they found in this small clay room. One of the relief workers in Raqqa said they had found this family in this abject room during one of their tours of the province. They describe how the mother and her children were crying because of the cold and pain, and how the mother was listening to their whining not knowing what to do. The relief workers said they provided the family with some aid, but said their need is greater than that. Is there anyone who can end the suffering experienced of these children? (Source: Syrian Coalition)

ACU Launch Anti-Polio Vaccination Campaign For Two Million Children
The Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) received doses of anti-polio vaccine in order to start a broad campaign against the disease that includes seven Syrian provinces (Al Hasakah, Deir Ezzor, Raqqa, Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia and Hama). ACU received the doses through the Turkish government during a formal conference held in the Directorate of Health in Gaziantep, Turkey. Among the attendees were Dr. Ahmad Tomah, interim prime minister, and Suhair al-Atassi, director of ACU. The vaccination campaign will begin on January 2. The working group tasked with overseeing the campaign consists of 3200 teams with a total of 7,500 volunteers, including 200 Syrian and Arabic doctors. The campaign aim to give vaccine to more than two million Syrian children aged between one day and five years. (Source: Syrian Coalition)

Death Toll: 10 People Killed Today, 78 Yesterday
The Local Coordination Committees documented 78 people killed yesterday, while 10 people were killed as of 6:00 of today, including a woman. Deaths were cited as: 5 in Damascus, 2 in Deir Ezzor, and one in each of Dara’a, Raqqa and Idlib. (Source: Local Coordination Committees)

Barrel Bomb Attacks on Rural Damascus              
Assad’s air force launched barrel bomb attacks on Adra, Dariya and  Khan al Sheih in rural Damascus, with reports of civilian casualties and material damage. Civilians were allowed by regime forces to get out of the besieged town. A number of civilians were killed and dozens injured by regime shelling on Zabadani. Three civilians starved in Yarmouk refugee camp, which has been subject to suffocating siege by regime forces. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

Shelling and Clashes in Rural Dara’a
The Free Syrian Army clashed with regime forces on the outskirts of Tariq al Sad neighborhood in Dara’a, alongside shelling by regime forces on the city. Regime forces pounded the town of Hirak with heavy artillery, killing a civilian and wounding dozen others. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

FSA Attacks Regime Position On M5 Highway Near Homs
The Free Syrian Army clashed with regime forces on the outskirts of the towns of Zara and Turkmaniyah in rural Homs, alongside artillery shelling by regime forces. The Free Syrian Army attacked one of the regime positions on the M5 Highway with B10 cannon. Regime forces shelled the town of Hula with Gvozdica guns, with reports of civilian casualties and material damage. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

Clashes and Shelling In Northern Rural Hama
The FSA clashed regime forces in the town of Morek north of Hama, alongside heavy shelling by regime forces. The town of Kafr Zeta came under shelling by heavy artillery and rocket launchers. Regime forces stormed a number of neighborhoods in Hama and arrested many civilians. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

FSA Inflict Losses on Regime Forces in Aleppo
The Free Syrian army has blew up a regime position in the neighborhood of Iza’a of Aleppo, with reports of heavy regime forces. The Free Syrian Army also destroyed two army vehicles in the district of Sheikh Saeed. Violent clashes took place between the Free Syrian Army and the regime forces in the Old City of Aleppo. Regime forces shelled the town of Mareh with ground-to-ground missile, with reports of civilian casualties and material damage. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

FSA Attack Regime Position in Deir Ezzor
The Free Syrian army attacked regime forces stationed at two checkpoints at the entrance of Deir Ezzor with mortar rounds and heavy machine guns. The FSA also destroyed a room used by regime snipers in Deir Ezzor air base. Meanwhile, regime forces shelled the villages of Jafra, Mazloum and the perimeter of the air base, with reports of civilian casualties and material damage. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

• The Lebanese Army responds for the first time to an air raid by Assad’s air force
• Tory peer Lord Howe calls for Syrian refugee rethink
• Syria, Iraq, Egypt most deadly destinations for journalists in 2013
• A Saudi producer makes a film exposing Assad’s massacres
• Ford is still the U.S. ambassador to Syria