Daily Newsletter – 31/10/2013

Syrian Coalition Calls Russia to Stop Spreading Lies about Syrian Revolution

Jarba on Route to Meet Foreign Ministers
President of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, Ahmed Jarba, began a tour to rally support ahead of a meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers next Sunday…
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Death Toll: 28 today, 59 yesterday
Local Coordination Committees documented 59 martyrs in Syria yesterday, citing 28 people killed until six in the evening today including a woman, a child, and two martyrs under torture. 15 martyrs in Damascus, five in Dara’a, four in Aleppo, two in each of Homs and Idlib ,and one martyr in Deir Ezzor. (Source: Local Coordination Committees)

Regime forces try to break into Kaboun, Shells al Hajar Al Aswad
Regime Forces shelled the neighborhood of al Hajjar al Aswad in rural Damascus with heavy artillery and mortar fire which led to the martyrdom of a number of people and caused a number of injuries. Meanwhile, the Free Syrian Army clashed with regime forces in the neighborhoods of al Hujjaira and Buayda in the southern countryside of Damascus in an attempt to storm them, amidst bombing with various types of weapons, particularly the Iranian missiles ‘Daoud.’ In addition, other clashes took place between the Free Syrian Army and the Assad regime as regime forces try to storm the neighborhood with armored vehicles from the direction of Al Mohannad Hall in conjunction with heavy shelling which targeted the neighborhood with mortar rounds. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

Clashes in Atman in Dar’a and FSA targeted regime sites in Tal al Hash near Nawa 
The Free Syrian Army in Dara’a used “B10” cannons to target regime forces stationed in Tal al Hash near Nawa. Violent clashes also took place between the Free Syrian Army and regime forces in the town of Atman amid shelling of the city with heavy artillery. In the meantime, regime forces shelled al Sheikh Miskeen with Gvozdika shells which resulted in wounding some people the destruction of a number of houses. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)

FSA repel Assad’s forces in al Saffira near Aleppo
The Free Syrian Army repelled Assad’s forces who tried to break into the city of al Saffira in
rural Aleppo, killing a number of regime soldiers and wounding others. Meanwhile, Assad’s warplanes dropped barrel bombs on the city along with shelling by rocket launchers with no reports of casualties. Clashes were also reported in al Rashideen neighborhood amid regime shelling on the region in an attempt to overcome the Free Syrian Army. The town of Magharet al Arteeq also saw clashes between the two sides.

Ford: Geneva 2 to lead to the formation of a transitional government in Syria
Former U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, said today that America hope that Geneva 2 lead to the formation of a transitional authority in Syria. This came in the ambassador’s testimony to a hearing in the U.S. Congress about Syria. Ford said that “the opposition does not accept the presence of Bashar al-Assad but is grappling with each other and this makes it very difficult.” He also called for peace and tolerance inside Syria, and turning away from the elements of extremism and alQaeda. Ford stressed continued U.S. support for “non-lethal” aid to what he called the “moderate opposition”, hinting that the U.S. administration has provided $ 250 million in non-lethal aid. Ford also revealed the US had stopped a Russian arms shipment that was heading to the Assad regime to kill the Syrian people. (Source: Al Arabiya + Syrian Coalition)

French Prime Minister optimistic about the success of Geneva 2
The President of the French Prime Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, expressed his country’s hope in the success of Geneva 2, and that it leads to the “formation of a transitional government with full powers.”  Ayrault added that the success of Geneva 2 “requires the provision of conditions that allow the Syrian National Coalition to participate in the conference and that will lead to the formation of a transitional government with full executive powers, including the powers of the presidency.” This comes in response to comments by Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, during which he warned of the possibility of failure at Geneva 2. (Source: Al Jazeera + SyrianCoalition)

Amnesty call on Jordan to keep borders open for Syrian refugees
Amnesty International called on the Jordanian authorities to keep their borders open for the Syrian refugees. A new report released by Amnesty International focused on the problems faced by Syrian refugees fleeing to neighboring countries, especially Jordan. Amnesty International called on the international community to help Jordan, and the neighboring countries of Syria that receive refugees, and help put an end to the restrictions imposed on civilians who have fled from the crisis in their homeland and the deportation of some of them back to the Syrian border. The report, entitled “Increasing Restrictions and Difficult Conditions: the Plight of Those Fleeing from Syria to Jordan,” noted that dozens of people fleeing from Syria, including families with young children, are not allowed to enter neighboring countries, a thing that the report described as ‘unacceptable’. The United Nations predicts that the total number of Syrian refugees will rise to 3.5 million people by the end of the year. (Source: Al Jazeera)