Daily Newsletter – 30/9/2013

Brahimi: The two sides in Syria are moving slow on Geneva 2, Makhoos to Brahimi: it is not possible to put the regime and the people on the same level

Dr. Monther Makhoos member of the political committee of the Syrian National Coalition, said: “Brahimi, who is a representative of the Secretary-General in charge of arranging Geneva 2, is attempting through his remarks to be neutral and to put himself at the same distance from all parties in Syria. But in every political or humanitarian process there are those on the side of justice and others on the side of injustice and there is no way we can put both parties on the same level. There is a practicing a systematic killing of its citizens, and the people demanded freedom and the regime responded to them with murder and guns. ”  Dr. Makhoos’ words came in  response to the UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, in an interview with “Alarabiya” who said that “the main obstacles are the reluctance of the parties in Syria and their ambivalence about the conference; regime refused the participation of the Syrian National Coalition, while the Coalition demanded guarantees from Arab and Gulf nations.”Dr. Makhoos said the Coalition demanded guarantees in order to go to Geneva 2 and these were reiterated by Arab foreign ministers at the “Friends of Syria” conference; the guarantees were to force the regime to implement international resolutions. Brahimi saw that the difficulties placed in front him by the Assad regime and the Coalition “may even undermine the commencement of the conference.”

(Source: Coalition + Al Arabiya)

Head of the Kurdish Democratic Union: We are currently fighting Assad forces and Jabhat Al Nusra

Party leader of the Kurdish Democratic Union, Saleh Muslim Mohammed, said that his party is now fighting Assad regime forces and Jabhat Al Nusra saying that he feared collective crimes against civilians who live in the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maksoud neighborhoods of Aleppo, which are continuously bombed and under siege by the “jihadists” calling the international community to intervene to prevent the massacre. Muslim said in an interview published by the newspaper “Al Hayat”: “The Assad regime wants the militarization of the revolution because he has a military advantage, so he released a few thousand Salafis and jihadists from Sednaya prison and was successful in doing just that.” Muslim asked: “Whoever speaks about democracy today? Even more moderate Brigades are demanding the Khilafa now.”

Regarding concerns about Democratic Union Party preparing for detachment from Syria, Muslim explained that “there is no basis for these concerns only one Kurdish party in Syria calls for secession.” In reference to this he said “Because we demand our rights does not mean that we want to secede. Muslim said that western Kurdistan is not “a political statement but a geographical term. It is as if some people want us to forget our Kurdish identity.”

(Source: Al Hayat)

Al Assad claims that he will respect the United Nation’s agreement on chemical weapons

Bashar Al Assad said to 24 News Italian Television channel yesterday, “His regime will respect the United Nation’s agreement on chemical weapons,” according to his claims. Al Assad added that his regime had joined the International Convention on the Prohibition of the Possession and Use of Chemical Weapons before the issuance of the United Nation’s agreement.

(Source: Reuters)

The FSA targets Tishreen Palace and kills 20 regime soldiers during the operation

Today the FSA targeted Tishreen Palace in Damascus with two mortar shells resulting in heavy bellowing smoke in the area. Regime forces targeted Barzah district in Damascus with a surface to surface missile in response to the previous day’s killing of 20 regime soldiers. Fierce clashes occurred between the FSA and regime forces around Zamalka, Al Mleiha, and Moadamaiat Al Shaam amidst heavy shelling of the area. Regime forces also shelled the town of Nasiriya with heavy mortars in the Damascus countryside resulting in the martyrdom of several people and many people being injured.

(Source: Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

FSA repels an attempted regime raid in the Hama countryside; Regime fighter hets drop explosive barrels on the town of Hajib in the Aleppo countryside

The FSA repelled an attempted regime raid on the town of Balaya in the eastern Hama countryside resulting in the killing of many regime soldiers and the injury of many others. At the same time regime forces shelled Masyaf Salma in the Lattakia countryside with heavy mortars and rockets with no reports of injuries. Regime fighter jets also dropped explosive barrels on the town of Hajib and the villages in the Aleppo countryside resulting in the injury of many people and the destruction of many homes. Also, in Al Sakhoor district in Aleppo many were injured during clashes between the FSA and regime forces. At the same time the Baath Party building in Suleiman district where regime forces gathered was targeted resulting in the killing of many regime soldiers and injuring others.

(Source: Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

Fabius: Al Assad must be interrogated as a criminal against humanity

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that: “Some European countries will participate in the next international conference ‘Geneva 2’ on the transitional phase in Syria,” while Bashar al-Assad refused European countries to play any role in this conference. Fabius told radio ‘France Inter’ that “Bashar al-Assad can say what he wants, but must be questioned as a criminal against humanity who is responsible for the deaths of more than 100,000 people, and killed 1,500 people with poison gas.” He explained that in “Geneva 2 a discussion must be performed with the presence of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and to agree on a transitional government in Syria that is united and respects minorities.” Fabius stressed that “he suggested the participation of the other three permanent members of the Security Council, namely China, France and Britain, and this proposal was approved.” The French minister said: “In Geneva 2, we want to find a solution between Assad regime representatives and the Syrian National Coalition, so as not to benefit terrorists, extremists and al-Qaeda.” He said the “moderates represent 80% of the opposition and the radicals 20%.”

(Source: AFP + Al Hayat)

The inspectors leave…New “chemical weapons” experts will search any Syrian sites

The UN inspectors team assigned with investigating the use of chemical weapons use left their hotel once their mission came to a close, according to France Press.

The agency’s photographer stated, “members of the team headed by Swedish Aki Salestrom left their hotel ‘Four Seasons’ in the center of Damascus at 13:30 in the afternoon. They were accompanied by four UN vehicles in which they loaded their belongings, bringing to a close their second mission in Syria, which began the last Wednesday.”

This comes as the group of international experts prepare to go to Syria tomorrow to begin their mission of disarming the chemical weapons which the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons dubbed “complicated”. This also came as the Assad regime committed to fulfill its promises that it would abide by its international agreements in regards to the matter. The experts intend to visit “any site” even if it is not on the official list which the regime presented to the international organization. This mission will try to gather more than 1000 tons of poisonous gases (sarine gas or mustard gas) stored in 45 different sites in the country.

(Source: Al Hayaty + AFP)

Lavrov: Mobile labs could be used to search for chemical weapons

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that special mobile labs would be used to identify poisonous materials in Syria. These labs are available in the United States and some other countries as well. Lavrov claimed that he is convinced that the Assad regime will not allow any difficulties to arise while fulfilling the United Nation’s decision on the Syrian chemical weapons and Russia will continue to encourage Assad to prevent any problems from occurring.

(Source: Russia Today + Other news agencies)

Media project to ease the delivery of international aid to Syrians

The international Security Council began discussion today on a media project requesting the Assad regime to ease the arrival of humanitarian relief agencies of the United Nations to the civilians.

The presidential media project calls for permitting convoys that deliver aid to cross into Syria from neighboring countries in coordination with an agreement on ceasefires to allow for easy travel to affected areas. Diplomats added that Russia is protesting this because it means delivering aid directly to areas controlled by the Free Syrian Army. The regime also rejects such a decision because it allows for easier delivery of weapons to the hands of the Free Syrian Army.

Luxemburg and Australia – which heads the Security Council until the end of September- proposed the presidential media campaign which requires unanimous agreement from all 15 members of the Security Council to publish it.

Among the campaign claims – according to what was reported by Agence France Press – that the Security Council “condemns the increasing and unacceptable level of aggression in Syria which has taken the lives of more than 100,000 people until now.” It also condemns “the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by Syrian authorities.”

The project statement claimed – which is based on a proposal presented by Valerie Amos the Human Rights Officer in the United Nations – that the Assad regime “took immediate steps to ease and expand aid and humanitarian efforts and to remove bureaucratic and other obstacles” to ensure the arrival of assistance.

(Source: Al Jazeera + Other news agencies)

Ihsanoglu : international understandings about Syria is confined to “Chemical Weapons…the road is still long

Secretary- General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Ekmeleddin IhsanIhsanoglu, invited   “was skeptical to express optimism for a political solution in Syria.” Ihsanoglu said, during an interview with the newspaper al – Hayat: “The recent international understandings are constrained to the chemical weapons, and other than that, the road is still long and faces difficulties.” Then Ihsanoglu said: “The Syrian issue has created a lot of intertwined knots that will not be undone unless the knots are undone at once. The selection of a single knot, that of the chemical weapons, which is simply a single step from dozens of other steps that must be taken. In this sense, there is a fundamental question ; yes chemical weapons have been used this is something repugnant and banned internationally and we must stop it and the chemical weapons arsenal in Syria must be dismantled , but it is imperative that there be an response from the United Nations about those who used the weapons.  The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons should tell us who it is that used the chemical weapons. Secondly, where did these weapons come from, where were they made, and sold? Thirdly, there are there others in the region that have chemical weapons and why does this ban not cover the rest of the region.” Ihsanoglu also said: “No regional problem can be solved without the involvement of countries in the region, meaning that a Syrian problem, and any problem in the Middle East, cannot be solved without the participation of neighboring countries and the countries of the region, and any solution beyond this would be a failure.”

(Source : Al Hayat)