| Fayez Sara, a member of the Syrian Coalition’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said that Hasan Nasrallah is “parroting the regime’s words and lies in his new-old speech.” Sara added that “Nasrallah is playing on the emotions of the Lebanese people in an attempt to gain sympathizers by speaking about those who went missing and kidnapped in Lebanon’s civil war. However, he was always been opposed to Lebanon’s attempts to know the fate of the missing people in Assad’s prisons. In fact, he never wanted to get involved in the matter at all.” Sara pointed out that “If Nasrallah believes that there’s no military solution in Syria, and that the solution must be a political one, then he must pull out his militiamen from Syria and take practical, tangible steps as a prelude to his cooperation towards a political solution.”
Sara also highlighted his belief that “It’s better if Nasrullah turns his attention to the situation in Lebanon instead of Syria, since Lebanon is already witnessing political disintegration represented by the country’s inability to formulate a government, which is the result of the political parties’ stubbornness and inconsistency, with Hezbollah as the most prominent example. Hezbollah should focus on solving the situation in Lebanon, which is much more important. Instead, Hezbollah presented itself as a party in the Assad regime by sending its militias to fight alongside Assad against the Syrian people, thus acting just like occupation forces. It also teamed up with a party that is committing crimes against humanity, with the battles they waged in Quseir and rural Damascus as the most striking examples.
Sara’s speech came as a response to one delivered by the Secretary General of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, Hasan Nasrallah, where he pointed out that “settling the issue of those who were kidnapped in Azaz opened the door for settling the issue of the Lebanese who went missing during Lebanon’s civil war” adding that “pretense won’t work here, instead there must be a serious work on this issue, as there is a chance of finally getting some serious answers regarding it.” Nasrallah also noted that “the situation in Syria affects every aspect in Lebanon, as there is a faction there that is holding off on everything waiting to see how the situation in Syria will work out.” Nasrallah made it clear that “the whole world agreed that there’s no military solution in Syria, and that for a solution to be available and acceptable it must be a political one, which can only be achieved through candid, not pre-conditioned, dialogue. Lebanon, as well as every nation affected by the Syrian crisis, has to seek a political solution in Syria.”
(Source: Syrian Coalition)
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National Coordination Commission to Attend Geneva 2 on the basis of Geneva 1 accords
The National Coordination Commission of Democratic Change Forces issued a press release in which they asserted they intend to participate in Geneva 2 if they are officially invited. However, they point out that the invitation must be based on Geneva 1 accords including its six articles and that they must form the basis that the negotiations will be built upon. These include an attempt at a ceasefire, the release of political prisoners and the kidnapped, providing access for aid to those in need, and the establishment of a transitional government with full powers in order to set the stage for moving the country to a new democratic rule. The Coordination Commission stipulated that “they must be invited as a representative of a legitimate political body in the democratic national opposition including a wide spectrum of national parties and factions. They also stipulated that the Coordination Commission’s representation at Geneva 2 must be effective and given political weight no less than the representation of any other political body, and the Commission alone has the right to appoint those who will represent it in the negotiation delegation.
The Commission called on the democratic and national factions and parties that will be represented in the Geneva 2 conference to hold a consultative meeting in order to unify their position and negotiation policies and program of setting the stage for a transitional period and for the future of Syria. It also called on all parties invited to the conference to declare their commitment to Geneva 1 accords as a basis for negotiation between the interested parties and to make every effort to make the conference successful.
Cost to Rebuild Syria – $20 Billion USD
One study estimated that the reconstruction of Syria would require more than $20 billion USD and many years of persistent and synchronized work. Syrian experts and academicians said during a presentation at the American University in Beirut that the destruction in Aleppo alone would need around six billion USD and 20 consecutive years of work. Omar al Hallaj, an engineer from Aleppo and a consultant in real estate development, said that more than 38% of Aleppo’s historical buildings were destroyed and that Aleppo can be considered as the sample of the destruction in Syria, which is catastrophic. Al Hallaj noted that this represents a grave indication that may be applied to the rest of Syrian cities. The reconstruction process is estimated to need 400 million cubic meters of concrete, equivalent to building 1300 towers the size of Khaleefa Tower in Dubai, the world’s tallest tower. The reconstruction process would also require cleaning up 30 million tons of iron, a process equal to the dismantling of more than 4000 iron towers the size of the Eiffel Tower. (Source: Al-Arabiya)
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Death Toll: 21 Today, 65 yesterday
The Local Coordination Committees documented 65 killed in Syria yesterday, with 21 people cited as killed as of six in the evening today, including two women and three children, 6 people in Damascus, 5 in Aleppo, and 3 each in Idlib and Deir Ezzor , 2 in Homs, and one hero each in Hama and Dara’a. (Source: Local Coordination Committees)
Two Children in Killed in Rural Damascus
Regime forces shelled the city of Adra al Omaliya in rural Damascus with mortar rounds which led to two children being killed and the wounding of more than 15 civilians. The regime forces also targeted the Yarmouk refugee camp with surface to surface rockets which resulted in the death of one person and the fall of a number of wounded. Assad Regime Forces also targeted both the Duma and Harasta Maliha with various types of weapons which led to the deaths of dozens of wounded and the destruction of a number of houses. In the meantime, the Free Syrian Army clashed with the forces of the Assad Regime today on the road to Damascus International Airport and the International School in Beit Sahem. Clashes also took place between regime forces and the Free Syrian Army in the neighborhood of Kaboun Damascus near the al Baladiya checkpoint in conjunction with heavy shelling targeting the neighborhood. Regime forces bombed the city of Yabroud with heavy artillery which led to the death of one person and injuring of a number of civilians. First Aid was administered at nearby medical points, as several fires broke out in the city but were immediately extinguished. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)
Assad Regime Uses Cluster Bombs in Hama
Regime Forces targeted the village of Qala’t al Madeeq in Hama with rocket launchers an cluster bombs that led to a number of wounded civilians and destroyed a number of houses in the city. Regime Forces also shelled the town of Atshan and Hawash and left a number of injuries. Also targeted were civilian homes in al Wa’er neighborhood in Homs with heavy machine guns, wounding a number of people, including children. Al Hula in rural Homs also came under bombing from Qurms military checkpoint that led to the displacement of a number of families to neighboring villages. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)
Regime Artillery Targets Rural Deir Ezzor
Regime artillery targeted the town of Jadid Ekadat in eastern Deir Ezzor, leading to the death of three people, including a child, and wounding others. Assad Forces also shelled several neighborhoods of Deir Ezzor and surrounding areas with heavy artillery, including the city of Mohassan. No reports of casualties in the region. Meanwhile, regime fighter planes launched air strikes on the neighborhoods of Sheikh Yassin, Hamidiya, al Ommal and al Khasham, wounding a number of civilians, some of them in critical condition. The air strikes also destroyed a number of buildings. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)
Regime Warplanes Barrel Bomb Aleppo
Regime warplanes dropped barrel bombs on the city of Manbej in rural Aleppo, killing three people and wounding of a number of others. Also, the town of Al Safeera in rural Aleppo was subject to similar bombing which resulted in wounding a number of civilians and the destruction of a number of houses. The bombing was part of the regime’s attempt to take control of the city. The Free Syrian Army targeted with mortar rounds regime forces headquartered in al Hatab square in the city of al Raqqa, killing and injuring a number of regime troops. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Local Coordination Committees)
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Urgent Meeting of The Arab League on Syria to Be Held
The Arab League officially announced an urgent meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers on Sunday evening to discuss the latest developments regarding the Syrian situation. The Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League Ambassador Ahmed Ben Helli, said that the urgent meeting of Arab foreign ministers will address one topic, the preparation for “Geneva 2” and building support for efforts being made by the joint United Nations and the Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi. Ben Helli told reporters on Monday that there was a proposal to hold “Geneva 2″ on the twenty-third of next month, but things have not been determined officially. ” It is worth mentioning that there is a meeting on November 5 in Geneva between Brahimi, Russian, and American officials as well as the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and other interested parties for consultation and announcement of what was decisively and finally agreed upon regarding the timing of the “Geneva 2” conference. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Al-Yaoum al Sabe’)
One Killed in a Turkish Town by a Random Mortar Shell
Today a stray mortar shell hit a house in the town of Gylanbenar in southeast Turkey, near the Syrian-Turkish borders, killing a 35-year-old man. Security sources said that the shell was fired during clashes between Kurdish and Islamist militants in Ras al Ein, a Syrian town near the Turkish border. Turkish authorities closed down the schools in the town and warned the residents not to leave their houses after the fall of the shell. Five people have been killed so far in Turkey in similar incidents since the start of the clashes in the area back in July. (Source: Reuters)
UNICEF: The area is under threat if the needs of Syria’s children aren’t met
UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, Yoka Brandt, said that the future of Syria depends on the future of its children, warning that the country and the region are gravely threatened unless the children of Syria are taken care of and provided an education. Brandt pointed out that four million children in Syria were affected by the current crisis, including one million refugees, adding that three million children inside Syria are in need of humanitarian aid. Brandt also said that those figures are likely to increase, expressing her surprise that one million refugee children were provided with aid this year, compared to 70.000 last year, a number multiplied more than ten times, adding that one million children is equivalent to the number of children in an entire country like Norway. (Source: Al-Sharq al Awsat).
Brahimi in Damascus today for a two day visit
International envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, arrived in Damascus on Monday, the most prominent stop as a part of his regional tour to achieve consensus on the convening of the “Geneva 2” conference on Syria. Brahimi arrived in the morning at the airport in Beirut coming from Tehran, and proceeded upon the road to Damascus in his first visit in almost a year. A government source of the Assad regime stated yesterday that Brahimi’s visit “may continue for two days.” Syria is the 8th stop of Brahimi’s regional tour to rally support around the “Geneva 2”, which is likely to be held on November 23, but this date is not official yet. (Source: AFP)
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