Protesters call for execution
More than 1000 Syrians stage a protest in Latakia, calling for the execution of a Assad’s cousin, who has been accused of killing an army officer in a road rage incident. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more than 1,000 people gathered in the city holding up pictures of the victim. The demonstrators call for the execution of Assad’s cousin. They also chanted slogans in support of the president. Syria’s state media did not report the protest, the traffic incident or the reported killing.
Cousin kills air force official in road rage incident
A cousin of Syria’s president shoots dead a senior air force officer in a road rage incident according to a monitoring group. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the incident happened when the cousin followed the officer because he overtook him at a crossroads, then swerved the car around, got out and shot him dead. The cousin has not been arrested.
Authorizes defence against Syrian attacks
Obama authorizes using air power to defend a new U.S.-backed fighting force in Syria if it is attacked by Syrian government forces or other groups, raising the risk of the American military coming into direct conflict with the regime of Assad. Though the new rules allow Pentagon strikes to defend the U.S.-allied force against any regime attacks, U.S. military officials play down the chances of a direct confrontation. The newly trained force is committed to fighting Islamic State, not the Syrian regime, and won’t be fielded in areas the regime controls. U.S. officials say they believe the regime won’t challenge the new force.
Admits army under pressure
Assad says the Syrian army has been forced to give up areas in order to hold onto more important ones in its fight with insurgents, and the scale of the war means the military faces a manpower shortage.
Sometimes, in some circumstances, we are forced to give up areas to move those forces to the areas that we want to hold onto. We must define the important regions that the armed forces hold onto so it doesn’t allow the collapse of the rest of the areas…Everything is available (for the army), but there is a shortfall in human capacity, Mr Assad said. Despite that, I am not presenting a dark picture.
Assad says increased support from states backing the rebels is the reason for recent setbacks and dismisses the view that Syria is heading towards partition into areas run separately by the Damascus government and armed groups fighting him. He says amnesty for men at home and abroad who have dodged military service will encourage thousands of conscripts who want to join the army but hold back because of penalties.
Opposition groups agree Assad must go
Syria’s two main opposition groups settle longstanding differences to agree that Assad must step down in any deal to end the country’s conflict. The issue has dogged efforts to get the exiled Syrian National Coalition and the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCCDC), to agree a common platform. The two groups say in a statement after a meeting in Brussels that peace:
can be achieved through a political process undertaken by the Syrians themselves, under the auspices of the UN.
They say they now have:
a fundamental and comprehensive change of the current political regime, including the head of the regime and all its leaders, pillars and security agencies.
agreed a road map for the salvation of Syria, including the basic principles of a political settlement, to be adopted by their respective competent bodies.
Updates Koran
Assad orders the release of a revised version of the Koran in order to correct distortion and misleading lessons, announcing the changes on television with the Minister of religious endowments (Awqaf), and members of the Ministry’s Permanent Committee for the Holy Koran Affairs. The new version will contain simplified letters standardised by official accredited standards set by Koranic scholars.
We truly need such acts at this critical stage of distortion and misleading,
Congratulates Iran
Assad sends a personal letter of congratulations to Iranian Supreme Leader, celebrating the occasion of a nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 world powers. Assad calls the nuclear agreement a turning point for Iran. Assad says in a message to Iran;
We are confident that the Islamic Republic of Iran will support, with greater drive, just causes of nations and work for peace and stability in the region and the world…In the name of the Syrian people, I congratulate you and the people of Iran on this historic achievement, This deal provides clear recognition on the part of the world powers of the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program
Aleppo ceasefire proposed
Syria’s U.N. special envoy Mistura says he has won a commitment from the Syrian government to stop shelling the city of Aleppo, before a planned offensive against the city, and that it is up to rebels to also agree to the proposed six-week freeze in fighting. No start date has been agreed. Mistura
The government of Syria has indicated to me its willingness to halt all types of aerial bombing and artillery shelling for a period of six weeks, all over the city of Aleppo.
The U.N. representative of the opposition Syrian National Coalition:
We await a detailed proposal from [Mr.] de Mistura. We’ll study any proposal he puts forward carefully and in detail. The Assad regime’s compliance with any such proposal will be judged by actions, not words. And thus far, his actions have been only brutality and terror.
EU upholds Assad uncle sanctions
Judges in the European Union uphold EU sanctions against Mohammad Makhlouf, an uncle of Assad, dismissing his request to be removed from a list of Syrian figures banned from entering the EU and whose assets in the bloc are frozen. The court dismisses an argument that the sanctions breached ‘s right to privacy on the grounds that it prevents him from maintaining his family’s standard of living.
The Council has succeeded in proving that Mr. Makhlouf is a member of the ruling economic class in Syria and it cannot be denied that he maintains links with the regime and has a decisive influence, as a principal adviser, over all the primary circle of rulers of the Syrian regime and, in particular, over his sons…The right to privacy is not intended to protect the individual against a loss of his purchasing power,
Air strikes kill 232 civilians in two weeks
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says airstrikes by the Assad government have killed at least 232 civilians in the last two weeks. Among the weapons deployed, the regime has dropped least 401 barrel bombs on rebel-held areas in eight provinces. The regime says that it only uses the weapons against terrorists. A refugee camp in Idlib was hit. A man who says his house in Anadan has been destroyed by barrel bombs three times:
Barrel bombs kill those we love most, they destroy houses, dreams and memories, and leave us without any hope that the killing will ever stop.
Pursues crushing campaign
The President of Syria takes advantage of the U.S. led coalition combating ISIS forces to advance a crushing force against rebel forces. Changing tactics, the Syrian government scales back in certain areas to focus on key areas, such as the two cities of Damascus and Aleppo. Harmer:
Whereas previously the Syrian regime had some interest or some level of obligation to take direct action against ISIS, to the extent that the American military is now doing this, the Syrians don’t have to do it. If ever there was a time when the Syrian regime had everything lined up for them to do so, this is it. It is in a very favorable position and it’s got the opportunity to execute major offensives around Damascus and Aleppo.
Syrian airstrikes ‘may be illegal’
Officials in the House of Commons Library warn that airstrikes against ISIS in Syria may be difficult to justify under international law, despite Cameron’s view that the Assad regime is illegitimate and does not need to give permission for military operations. A briefing paper prepared for Members of Parliament:
Action in Syria will be difficult to justify legally without a request for assistance from the Assad government, and it is unlikely that the West could be seen to be responding to such a request. The British Government has said that any action in Syria will comply with international law, and the most likely way to achieve this would be to claim that military action is for humanitarian purposes, using the Responsibility to Protect doctrine. This remains controversial, however, without a United Nations Security Council resolution to authorise it.
‘Contingencies in place to deal with Assad defenses’
White House press secretary Josh Earnest tells a weekly press briefing that there are protocols in place if potential U.S. airstrikes in Syria against ISIS meet with a response from the Assad government’s air defenses:
There are rules of engagement any time that our men and women in uniform are put into harm’s way. And so there will be rules of engagement that are related to any military orders that the President directs – military actions that the President directs. So I’d refer you to the Department of Defense for a detailed assessment of that. But it won’t surprise you to know that there are contingencies related to self-defense when it comes to these sorts of rules of engagement.
He says that media reporting of the secret Special Forces mission to rescue journalist James Foley and other American hostages – which ultimately failed – demonstrates President Obama is willing to put boots on the ground if necessary:
But I can say that while I think it is evident to anybody who is paying attention here that that is – indicates the President’s willingness to order the kind of military action that’s required to protect the lives of military – of American citizens, even if it means sending our military into Syria.
‘Obama strategy is credible’
Gen. Petraeus says that Obama’s strategy to counter ISIS will likely be successful, although the battle against ISIS in Iraq and Syria take years. ISIS is not as great a threat as Al Qaeda was during the height of the Iraq War:
This is not the kind of Iraq on fire, complete desperation we had during the surge. [ISIS] has nowhere the roots and the structure of al-Qaida in Iraq.
The formation of a more inclusive government will address sectarian tensions:
It’s a new Iraqi government now. There’s new hope, there’s outreach.
This could be vital in ensuring the strategy is a success, as ISIS capitalized on sectarian divisions and chain-of-command vulnerabilities when routing the Iraqi military in the group’s initial offensives:
The third failing was the population was not happy with sectarian and loyalist leaders.
In Syria, opposition to ISIS is less cohesive and the Assad regime may have to be removed before a credible force can be assembled against ISIS:
This is going to be years, not months.
Confirms chlorine use
The Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons says it has ‘compelling confirmation’ that chlorine gas was used in fighting between regime forces and rebels in three rebel-held northern villages earlier this year. It says chlorine – a toxic gas that is not specifically classified as a chemical weapon – was used ‘systematically and repeatedly’ in fighting in the villages of Talmanes, Al Tamanah and Kafr Zeta. As chlorine is not strictly classified as a chemical weapon, the government is not required to report stockpiles of the gas. The Assad government and rebel groups have both accused each other of using chlorine in the villages.
Urges political solution
Ban says Assad can participate in the international coalition being assembled to fight ISIS by seeking a political solution to the crisis in Syria:
He (Assad) can play a role through ending the crisis as soon as possible and engaging in political dialog.
He says that agreement is important on outside intervention in Syria, but stops short of saying that airstrikes against ISIS would need approval from Assad:
I know that some leading countries are trying to discuss the matter, and the position of the U.N. will be declared at the suitable time. But it is important that the international community is united and shows strong support for any action that has to be taken to root out this terrorism.
Top rebel commander killed
The head of the Syrian group considered the strongest opponent to ISIS and the Assad government is killed at its headquarters in the northwestern town of Ram Hamdan in Idlib province. A suicide bomber infiltrates a meeting of leaders of Ahrar al-Sham (The Islamic Movement of Free Men of the Levant), killing its commander Hassan Aboud, also known as Abu Abdullah al-Hamwi. A statement from the group says 11 other leaders were killed. The Assad regime doesn’t typically conduct suicide bombings, but they are a common tactic among extremist rebel groups such as ISIS and Al-Nusra Front. Tweet from Islamic Front, the coalition led by Ahrar al-Sham:
They were martyred … in an explosion inside their meeting headquarters
Airstrikes kill 53
Airstrikes by the Syrian military targeting ISIS in its stronghold city of Raqa kill at least 53 people. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman:
We have documented the deaths of 31 civilians, among them five women and three children, in Raqa and its surroundings.
Another 15 militants are confirmed dead in a string of eight air strikes, as well as seven other unidentified people. Eight of the civilian victims are from one family.
Strikes on taxi stand kill 12
Syrian air force helicopters are reported to drop barrel bombs on a taxi stand in the city of Aleppo, killing at least 12 civilians including a child. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights:
Twelve civilians, among them a child, were killed, and five others seriously wounded after helicopters launched two explosive-laden barrels against the Haidariyeh district.
A resident of the area:
I saw the bodies. They were workers, people who were simply trying to find a way to put bread on the table… You can see the human remains.
A man who had volunteered to help rescue survivors:
Taxi drivers gather here to transport workers and goods… There were no rebels here.
Airstrikes
Assad regime airstrikes on an ISIS-operated training camp and bakery in Raqqa kill 25 people. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says militants and civilians are among the casualties. ISIS operates a variety of assets in Raqqa – the capital of the self-styled Islamic State’s caliphate – including courts, a central bank and an administrative system.