Army seeks to cut supply line
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says regime forces had taken the villages of Bashkawi and Sefat and are battling to block the key highway leading from rebel-held east Aleppo to the Turkish border. The fighting stops traffic on the road, which passes through the town of Tal Rifat and up to the border. They also says fierce clashes are also raging between rebel forces and government troops in the nearby villages of Ratyan and Hardtaneen. It says regime fighters are shelling the town of Hayan, which lies on the road to two government-held villages that rebels have besieged for more than 18 months. Observatory director:
The regime troops have two goals in the area: to cut the road leading from Aleppo to the Turkish border, which is the key supply road for the rebels and to open the way to (besieged) Nubol and Zahraa,
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.
Hackers steal rebel plans
0 CommentsOver a two-month period, hackers posing as beautiful women steal the Syrian opposition’s strategy, tactical battle plans, supply needs, and large amounts of personal information and online chats. The fake website includes a matchmaking section that infects the victim’s computer when they click on links to women’s profiles. It is unclear who the hackers are working for, but the victims include rebels from the Free Syrian Army, Islamist fighting groups, media activists and humanitarian aid workers.
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,
Homs ten-day ceasefire
The Syrian government and rebels agree on a ten-day ceasefire in al-Waer, the last opposition-held area of the city of Homs. Thousands of residents are stuck in during the siege, only occasionally receiving food and humanitarian aid. Residents say they believe the rebels agree to a ceasefire because they had been weakened in recent months and are running out of supplies. The ceasefire appears to be a result of local negotiation efforts, with talks between the warring sides going on for some time. A resident says food trucks have arrived:
We have been without any electricity, diesel or gas for heaters for too long now. Children are really cold, we live in extreme cold. We hope that after this the roads will open and we can have the freedom of moving.
Restricts Syrian visas
Lebanon begin imposing entry restrictions on Syrians as the country struggles to cope with more than a million refugees fleeing the civil war next door. The government estimates there are about 1.5 million Syrians in Lebanon, about a quarter of the total population. Some 1.1 million are registered with the UN refugee agency. Lebanese officials say they simply cannot absorb any more. The policy requires Syrians to obtain visas that limit the time they can remain in Lebanon. Interior minister:
We have enough. There’s no capacity any more to host more displaced
Lebanese security officials say many Syrians are turned back at border crossings but they have no exact figures. The flow of Syrians through one popular crossing appears lower than normal. There are no plans to forcibly repatriate Syrians already in Lebanon.
Warplane not shot down
The U.S. military dismisses a claim that ISIS shot down a jet piloted by a Jordanian airforce pilot, and confirms the group has taken the pilot captive. CentCom statement:
Evidence clearly indicates that ISIL did not down the aircraft as the terrorist organization is claiming. We strongly condemn the actions of ISIL, which has taken captive the downed pilot
We will support efforts to ensure his safe recovery, and will not tolerate ISIL’s attempts to misrepresent or exploit this unfortunate aircraft crash for their own purposes.
The Jordanians are highly respected and valued partners and their pilots and crews have performed exceptionally well over the course of this campaign.
Captures pilot
The group captures the Jordanian pilot after his plane crashes in Syria while carrying out airstrikes. He was in an F-16 and was able to eject. He is the first foreign fighter to fall into the militant group’s hands since the bombing campaign began several months ago.
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.
U.S.-armed groups surrender to Al Qaeda
Harakat Hazm and the Syrian Revolutionary Front, who were meant to form the main line of attack against ISIS and have been receiving heavy weapons including GRAD rockets and TOW anti-tank missiles, surrender military bases and weapons supplies to Nusra, the Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate, as it storms villages in Idlib. Nusra members announce on Twitter that they have seized the TOW missiles. Some of the rebels are reported to defect to Nusra.
Reported beheaded by ISIS
Rehana is reported to have been beheaded by ISIS. Photos claiming to show her severed head are circulated on Twitter, but her death is unconfirmed at this point. The Kurdish YPG (People’s Defense Unit) and YPJ (Women Protection Unit) aren’t able to be reached for comment.
Killed in Syria
Hassan is the fourth person from Portsmouth killed while fighting for ISIS. Chairman of the Portsmouth Jami Mosque, Abdul Jalil:
It has been confirmed with the family that he has died. Right now they are very upset. I am saddened and again shocked for the community about this news.
It is thought he died in Kobane.
Destroys two ISIS planes
Syria’s Information Minister tells SANA that government forces are still searching for the third MiG:
Regarding … that terrorists control three jets in al-Jarrah military air base in Aleppo, there are three old aircraft that the terrorists were testing so the Syrian Arab Army immediately destroyed two of them on the runway as they were landing. It does not worry us and [the planes] cannot be used [militarily].
Defends Kassig
Aqidi, a senior Al-Nusra member, says he received treatment from Kassig during a bombardment by the Assad regime, and also gave treatment to Dujana, identified as Nusra’s leader in Deir Ezzor. He says he believed at the time that Kassig was a fellow jihadi:
[…] It later became clear to me that he’s an humanitarian activist that served in Deir Al-Zour for more than a year and was then kidnapped by Isil
U.S. weapons cache
ISIS releases a video claiming that it is in possession of an airdrop of weapons meant for Kurdish forces. ISIS:
Weapons and munitions dropped by American planes and landed in the areas controlled by the Islamic State in Kobani.
Met chief: Five Britons a week travel to join jihad
Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe says the figure is a minimum, and the ‘drumbeat of terrorism in the UK’ is now ‘faster and more intense’.
Those are the ones that we believe have gone. There may be many more who set out to travel to another country and meandered over to Syria and Iraq in a way that is not always possible to spot when you have failed states and leaky borders.
Video of stoning
A video released on ISIS-affiliated social media pages shows a woman being stoned to death. The charges against the woman are not clear, but a cleric accuses her of committing adultery. The woman pleads for forgiveness with a man that she refers to as her father, before the sentence is carried out.
Reaper drones may get attack role
The UK government is reported to redeploy drones based in Afghanistan to Iraq and Syria, where they may get authorization to deploy Hellfire missiles. They will be based in Kuwait and controlled via satellite link from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. Whitehall official:
The Reapers would be very useful for intel on Isis in Syria for ourselves and our allies; that would be their primary purpose. Their use in combat would obviously depend on parliamentary approval – unless we have a need for them to secure the wellbeing of British subjects or prevent a humanitarian crisis.
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.
Helps Kurdish fighters into Kobani
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says the country is assisting Iraqi Kurdish reinforcements to cross the border.
Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government announced that they are in cooperation with Turkey and the U.S.. Actually, we are helping peshmerga forces to enter into Kobani to give support.