Syria warns West against intervention

Flipping The Script: The Western Media’s Syria Propaganda Is Falling Apart

Saman Mohammadi
Infowars.com
July 29, 2012

Do you remember this guy, Jason Russell? He was the frontman for the short-lived and over-hyped “Kony 2012″ propaganda campaign that exploited young people’s emotions to popularize a U.S. military invasion of Uganda. After his lies were exposed on the Internet he had a shocking meltdown in public. He ran around naked near traffic lights, smashed his fists on the pavement, and screamed bizarrely. The heavy spirit of Madness conquered his weak will.

The day before his freakish breakdown Russell was idolized in the mainstream press as a saint on a mission to save the children of Africa. His war propaganda documentary about the deceased CIA contractor Joseph Kony became hugely popular on Facebook and other social media outlets. But as soon as his mask came down and his craziness was captured by cameras, the media vultures forgot about his crusade and quickly moved on to the next hot story.

The new story that captured the corrupt Western media’s attention was Syria. The conflict was heating up, and the “international community” was being pressed to take action against the country. “Assad is killing his own people,” they said, without offering any evidence. “This is the next domino to fall in the Arab Spring, the rebels must be supported and Assad has to step down,” so went the propaganda. And yadda yadda. The media’s insane lies were repeated for months. Major media channels were engaged in non-stop propaganda warfare to destroy the independent Syrian state and reduce Syrians to slavery.

But then something remarkable and unexpected happened. Some Western journalists began telling the truth about the origins of the conflict, the true motives behind the West’s anti-Syria propaganda, and the nature of the unpopular Syrian opposition.

The spell was broken.

In June, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported that the infamous Houla massacre was committed not by Assad’s forces, as it was claimed by the Western media at first, but by the NATO-backed terrorist opposition.

The official narrative about the Syrian conflict fell apart at that point. The moral case for overthrowing Assad was lost because it was based on total lies. The naked aggression by NATO’s barbaric pawns against Syrian civilians was clear to see for anyone who was paying attention.

II. The Global Alternative Media Rises: End of Mainstream Propaganda

The establishment media no longer has a monopoly on reality. Official lies are challenged, buried truths are dug up, and objective reality is preserved. The magician’s tricks have been revealed by spoilers in the crowd. The global alternative media is rising and it is an engine of peace, liberation, understanding, and sanity.

Even mainstream media figures are forced to admit that they have been lying to the world about nearly everything and that their warmongering views are not mainstream. They are losing their control over the minds of the masses, and like Russell of the Kony 2012 stunt, they are also losing control of their own minds.

In fact, establishment journalists have already gone crazy and lost their grip on reality. Their world is falling down around them and their temporary power is disappearing by the day. Truth is too strong a force. The establishment media is going against the gravity of reality and it is losing the battle.

But not everybody in the Western media has lost their heads and hearts. There are still some respectable and honourable journalists around who place the facts of history above the lies of governments. The writer “b” of MoA writes:

“There seems to be slight turn in the western media coverage of Syria. Here in Germany the press has now more reports showing the “rebels” as what they really are: traveling jihadists and foreign paid rabble. Commentators on the news websites are now mostly highly critical about the usual propaganda pieces and the German government policy of supporting the SNC. There also seems to be a slight shift in international media.”

Whereas in the recent past the Western establishment media was all-powerful and its official narratives were unquestioningly accepted by the general public, today its legitimacy is rapidly collapsing and it is failing to make people believe in government lies.

Young consumers of news are looking to the rising global independent media to get the facts about critical issues and conflicts. In the process, their worldview is changing and their government-made beliefs are dying.

The truth about Syria, like the truth about 9/11, can be suppressed for the time being but it cannot be erased from the record of history.

Tony Cartalucci says that Western propaganda against Syria has gotten too out of control and as a result it is falling to pieces. The tangled lies are being exposed before their usefulness can be exploited. Here is an excerpt from Cartalucci’s article, “US Treasury: Al Qaeda Runs Syrian “Rebellion”:

“Now, it appears that the West’s Arab “foreign legion,” Al Qaeda, is about to suffer an unprecedented defeat – not at the hands of Western anti-terrorism forces, but at the hands of Syrian troops in the city of Aleppo. In a desperate effort to prevent this, the West is employing a series of desperate strategies ranging from portraying the trapped foreign-fighters committing atrocities inside Aleppo as “pending a certain massacre,” to using the very presence of these foreign-fighters as evidence “Al Qaeada” is operating in Syria and must be “stopped” by Western intervention.

It is essential to understand that, as empires have always done, the monolithic corporate-financier interests of the West seek regional hegemony as a step toward global domination, and will say and do anything in order to achieve it. As resistance increases, the West’s lies become more difficult to sell, the consistency of their propaganda overtly crumbling. The West, in nearly a single breath, has now claimed FSA fighters are both “Al Qaeda” that need to be eliminated, while also impeding a “massacre” by Syrian forces if something isn’t done to save them.

When US President Obama referred to the “depths of depravity” regarding Syrian security operations in Aleppo, he and his script writers do so with the belief that Americans, and the world, are ignorant and disinterested in the truth, and will gladly allow Western foreign policy to once again prey on their emotions and good intentions to sell yet another destructive, self-serving military intervention.”

It is strange to hear that Washington is at war with Al-Qaeda in Yemen, and, at the same time, it is an ally of Al-Qaeda in Syria. Only one of these two things can be true. Washington is either at war with Al-Qaeda or it is not.

Washington’s sense of logic is funny and twisted, but it is not unique. That’s the way of the world. Throughout history, empires first conquer the truth, reality, and human consciousness, and then move their way to resource-rich lands.

The power of an empire is dependent on the cult beliefs and cult personalities that are created to justify its brutal rule at home and abroad.

It is a sign of hope for the world and for the collective life of mankind when the sovereignty of truth overcomes an empire of death, in whatever age in human history.
Originally appeared at The Excavator.

http://www.infowars.com/flipping-the-script-the-western-medias-syria-propaganda-is-falling-apart/

First time I have read that Christians are leaving in droves. On the news tonight an intrepid reporter was with some rebels in a deserted part of Aleppo
which looked like a bomb site. Most of the Women and children have been driven to nearby Jordan , the Rebels have very little to eat and were caught
by the Syrian Army shooting at them, one man was shot and died as his friends were trying to move him to a safe spot sad to watch.

I do wonder what Assad's English wife thinks about this , they have an escape route to Russia if it looks as though the Rebels will win.

Jul 30, 5:19 PM EDT


Tens of thousands flee Syria's largest city

By BASSEM MROUE and ZEINA KARAM
Associated Press







BUKULMEZ, Turkey (AP) -- Smoking a cigarette outside a Turkish hospital near the Syrian border, a man in a gray gown and flip-flops held his sleeping 2-year-old daughter, Aya. On Aya's right eye was a bandage. In her left hand was a chocolate bar.

Aya lost her eye when she was struck by shrapnel from a shell that also killed her 8-month-old brother, Mohammad, and their mother. The father and daughter were among some 200,000 people who the U.N. said late Sunday have fled Syria's largest city, Aleppo, during days of clashes between rebels and the military.

Aleppo residents, some severely wounded, are packing up belongings and loading them onto cars, trucks and even motorcycles to seek temporary shelter in rural villages and schools outside the city and dusty tents across the border in Turkey.

In interviews with The Associated Press, refugees described a city besieged by government troops and beset by incessant shelling. Food supplies and gasoline are running low and black market prices for everyday staples are soaring.

As the violence intensified, the country's most senior diplomat in London defected. Charge d'affaires Khaled al-Ayoubi is the latest in a string of high-profile diplomats to abandon President Bashar Assad's regime over a crackdown that, according to rights activists, has killed more than 19,000 people since March 2011.

The battle for Aleppo, a city of 3 million that was once a bastion of support for Assad, is critical for both the regime and the opposition. Its fall would give the opposition a major strategic victory with a stronghold in the north. A rebel defeat, at the very least, would buy Assad more time.

Activists said regime forces were shelling rebel-held districts of the city and a cluster of surrounding villages relentlessly on Monday, sending entire families and panicked residents fleeing. Many went to Turkey, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) away, where tens of thousands of Syrians have already found refuge during the uprising.

Reem, a woman in her 30s who fled Aleppo's rebel-held district of Saif al-Dawleh, was among those who showed up in Turkey on Monday.

"The situation in Aleppo is dreadful," she told the AP soon after arriving at the Bukulmez illegal border crossing, where she was greeted by Turkish soldiers.

"Had it been merely bearable I wouldn't have left my home," she said.

Wearing a black head scarf and black robe and sandals, Reem described hiding for three days in a room near the entrance of the building in which she lived. She then fled to a village near the Turkish border before crossing over on Monday.

"I blame the regime for everything. People in the city used to go out and protest peacefully, but they just shot at them," said Reem, who would not give her last name.

Turkish troops ordered an AP team to leave shortly after journalists began interviewing refugees at the border crossing Monday.

Outside the state-run hospital, Aya's father recounted how his family's tragedy unfolded.

"I was at work when I received the call that a shell had hit my house," he said. "As soon as I returned, I found my wife and son dead on the floor. Part of my son's skull was blown off, and Aya was wounded."

"The whole city is destroyed," said Aya's father, who would not give his name but said that he was from the rebel-held district of Bustan al-Qasr.

The U.N. said 200,000 Syrians have left Aleppo over the past 10 days as the government trains its mortars, tanks and helicopter gunships on the neighborhoods seized by the rebels.

"I am extremely concerned by the impact of shelling and use of tanks and other heavy weapons on people in Aleppo," Valerie Amos, the top U.N. official for humanitarian affairs, said in a statement late Sunday. "Many people have sought temporary shelter in schools and other public buildings in safer areas," she added. "They urgently need food, mattresses and blankets, hygiene supplies and drinking water."

"It is not known how many people remain trapped in places where fighting continues today," she warned.

In online videos, people can be seen scurrying through streets against a backdrop of gunfire and climbing onto any form of transportation available to escape, including trucks, cars and even heavily laden motorcycles.

The authenticity of the videos could not be independently verified.

"Dozens of families are packing their belongings and leaving in cars and trucks," said an activist in a village near Aleppo, who declined to give his name for security reasons. "They are taking only light possessions that they can carry, like a few clothes, some valuables and that's it."

"I saw cars with eight, nine people packed in them fleeing the bombing," he added. He said rebels had seized a nearby checkpoint early Monday and captured several tanks. The regime responded by shelling the rural area just northwest of the city. "Entire families are leaving."

Videos of the attack on the checkpoint in Andan posted on the Internet show fierce exchanges of fire in the early morning and then later, victorious rebels hauling out boxes of ammunition and taking heavy machine guns for the fight in Aleppo.

Among those wounded in Aleppo province on Monday was Al-Jazeera correspondent Omar Khashram, who was hurt by shrapnel after a mortar round fell near his car, a colleague said.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry defended its offensive in Aleppo province, saying it was meant to protect innocent people.

In two letters addressed to the head of the U.N. Security Council and the U.N. Secretary General, Syria said that "armed terrorist groups" backed openly with funds and weapons by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey have committed "horrifying crimes" against innocent civilians. It accused the rebels of using residents as human shields.

Syrian state media reported the army had "purged" Aleppo's southwestern neighborhood of Salaheddine and inflicted "great losses" upon the rebels in one of the first districts they took control of in their bid to seize the city.

Activists, however, disputed these claims. The assault has knocked down power lines, and the neighborhood has been without electricity since the morning.

President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone on Monday and agreed to "coordinate efforts to assist the growing numbers of displaced Syrians, not only within Syria, but in Turkey and the broader region," according to a White House statement.

The Turkish state-run Anadolu agency reported Monday that Turkey is deploying more troops to the border, sending tanks, armored combat vehicles, more missile launchers and infantry troops.

In addition to Turkey, the violence in Syria has sent refugees flooding into Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon. Greece has responded by quadrupling the number of guards on its borders with Turkey out of fear of a potential influx of Syrian refugees.

Al-Ayoubi, the Syrian diplomat in London, is the fourth high-ranking envoy to defect. He was preceded by the charge d'affaires in Cyprus, her husband, a diplomat in the UAE, and by the ambassador to Iraq.

A Foreign Office spokesman said al-Ayoubi was staying in a safe location in the United Kingdom and was in contact with British officials. His departure leaves five staff at the embassy and there has been no indication that they would be leaving their posts as well.

Turkey also reported that the deputy head of security for Syria's Latakia region, a regime stronghold, had defected as well.

The brigadier general was among a group of 12 Syrian officers who crossed into Turkey late Sunday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. His defection raised to 28 the number of generals who have left for Turkey since the start of the 17-month-old uprising.

---

Karam reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Paisley Dodds

Panda wrote:
First time I have read that Christians are leaving in droves. On the news tonight an intrepid reporter was with some rebels in a deserted part of Aleppo
which looked like a bomb site. Most of the Women and children have been driven to nearby Jordan , the Rebels have very little to eat and were caught
by the Syrian Army shooting at them, one man was shot and died as his friends were trying to move him to a safe spot sad to watch.

I do wonder what Assad's English wife thinks about this , they have an escape route to Russia if it looks as though the Rebels will win.

If the rebels win, there will be a takeover by Islamists, rather like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Syria will not be a safe place for Christians. The mainstream media is feeding us the myth that Assad is bad and the rebels are good. We have to look to independent media sources for details of atrocities committed by the rebels. Assad may not be a humanitarian, but if the Islamists win, the country will be ruled by Sharia. Far worse than Assad.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/29/world/meast/syria-prisoner-exchange/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

Looks like it is another Sunni/Shiite War as well,

The BBC's Ian Pannell and cameraman Darren Conway were trapped by fighting in Aleppo. Their report contains graphic images of victims


There have been fresh reports of clashes and attacks by helicopter gunships in Aleppo as the Syrian army offensive enters its fourth day.

State TV said Syrian forces were inflicting heavy losses on "terrorist groups" in Aleppo and also claimed government successes in Homs.

Thousands of refugees are continuing to flee Aleppo - Syria's commercial hub.

Meanwhile the US and Turkey have agreed to step up efforts to achieve "political transition" in Syria.

This would include the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the White House said.

According to Syrian TV, government troops have been gaining ground in several Aleppo neighbourhoods.

On Monday, it reported that the army had won complete control over Salah al-Din, one of the areas of Aleppo where rebel fighters from the Free Syrian Army had become entrenched.

Analysts say Salah al-Din provides an important route for Syrian troop reinforcements coming from the south.

But activists and rebel commanders denied that government forces had gained ground there.

Rebel fighters are outgunned by Syrian government forces but do have some anti-aircraft weapons
They report renewed heavy shelling and helicopter gunship attacks there and in other rebel-held areas on Tuesday, especially around the Sakhour quarter on the north-east side of Aleppo.

Violent clashes have also taken place near the headquarters of the feared Air Force Intelligence agency to the west of the city, they say.

State television completely ignored events in Aleppo in its early morning news programmes on Tuesday, the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says.

Instead, it broadcast a detailed report from Homs where it said the quarter of Qarabis, which has long been held by rebel fighters, had finally fallen to government forces.

But later bulletins carried reports of Syrian forces inflicting heavy losses on ''terrorist groups'' in Aleppo districts.

Correspondents say neither side can afford to lose Aleppo, Syria's largest city and is the country's industrial and financial centre.

Until this month it had been spared the daily bloodshed seen in other cities since the uprising began in March 2011.

Supplies are now reported to be running out in certain areas and those citizens remaining in the city face long queues for bread.

Border security

In a phone call on Monday, US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to help the growing numbers of refugees - both inside Syria and in neighbouring countries.

Turkey has been a staunch critic of President Assad and has given refuge to large numbers of army defectors.

Thousands of Syrian refugees are also living in refugee camps on the Turkish side of the countries' long border.

Continue reading the main story
Where Syrians are fleeing
Turkey: 44,188 Anxious Turks wait for endgame

Jordan: 36,824 Jordan's desert refugee camp

Lebanon: 32,796 Defiance at Lebanon frontier

Iraq: 8,445 Iraq pressurised by tribal ties

Estimated internally displaced: 1,000,000

Source: UNHCR, 31 July 2012

Those arriving from Aleppo in recent days have spoken of incessant shelling.

As the crisis deepened, Iran - a close ally of Damascus - warned Turkey not to intervene militarily, the Syrian state-controlled al-Watan newspaper said.

"Any attack on Syrian territory will meet with a harsh response, and the Iranian-Syrian mutual defence agreement will be activated," it reported on Monday.

The newspaper said Turkey and the US were planning to create "a safe haven guarded by the armed gangs" in the north of Syria.

"Turkey has received very strong warnings in the past few hours and the following message - beware changing the rules of the game," al-Watan said.

Turkey has said it will use troops if necessary to prevent another Halabja - a reference to a notorious massacre in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

Greek officials were due to reveal further details of new border security plans on Tuesday, aimed at stopping Syrian refugees crossing from Turkey.

On Monday, Greece - one of the busiest entry points for illegal immigrants entering the EU - said it was quadrupling the number of guards along its border with Turkey.

In New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon repeated that he was particularly concerned by the continued use of heavy weapons by Syrian government forces.

He also called on the Syrian government to renounce the possibility of using chemical weapons under any circumstances, and to secure its stockpiles.

Damascus has implicitly acknowledged its possession of chemical weapons but said it would not use them against its own people, only against foreign invaders.

Fighting in DamascusFighting in AleppoRefugee camps

Jul 31, 10:06 AM EDT


Humanitarian problems grow in besieged Aleppo

By PAUL SCHEMM
Associated Press








BEIRUT (AP) -- Humanitarian conditions have grown even more dire in the besieged Syria city of Aleppo with activists reporting on Tuesday dwindling stocks of food and cooking gas and only intermittent electricity supplies as droves of residents flee 11 days of intense clashes between rebels and regime forces.

Government helicopters pounded rebel neighborhoods across Syria's largest city and main commercial hub. Activists said the random shelling has forced many civilians to flee to other neighborhoods or even escape the city altogether. The U.N. said late Sunday that about 200,000 had fled the city of about 3 million.

"The humanitarian situation here is very bad," Mohammed Saeed, an activist living in the city, told The Associated Press by Skype. "There is not enough food and people are trying to leave. We really need support from the outside. There is random shelling against civilians," he added. "The city has pretty much run out of cooking gas, so people are cooking on open flames or with electricity, which cuts out a lot."

He said shells were falling on the southwestern neighborhoods of Salaheddine and Seif al-Dawla, rebel strongholds since the rebel Free Syrian Army began its assault on Aleppo 11 days ago.

The United Nations has expressed concern over the use of heavy weapons, especially in Aleppo, while the Syria's neighbors in the Arab League have issued even stronger denunciations.

"The massacres that are happening in Aleppo and other places in Syria amount to war crimes that are punishable under international law," Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said following a meeting in Cairo at the League's headquarters.

The official Syrian news agency said government forces were pursuing the "remnants of armed terrorist groups" in Salaheddine and inflicting heavy losses. President Bashar Assad's authoritarian regime regularly refers to opposition fighters as terrorists.

But the rebels denied that the government has succeeded in penetrating the neighborhood with its tanks.

Rebels have captured a number of government tanks in operations against army positions outside the city, including the town of al-Bab and the village of Anand. Saeed said they planned to use them in future operations.

The taking of Anand has also opened the road to the Turkish border, where the rebels get many of their supplies and manpower. It also the main escape route for refugees streaming out of Aleppo.

Many of those who have fled may be taking refuge with relatives in the countryside, remaining inside Syria, while others reached the camps inside the Turkey.

"The helicopters were hurting people because the regime couldn't enter the neighborhoods, so they were shelling from a distance with helicopters and artillery," said Mohammed Nabehan, who had fled Aleppo for the Kilis refugee camp just across the border.

He said the humanitarian situation in the city was serious and there was little food.

According Turkish prime minister's office, there are some 44,000 Syrian refugees being sheltered in tent cities and temporary housing in camps along the border. While Turkish authorities say they have yet to see a massive upsurge in refugees from Aleppo, they are prepared to house up to 100,000.

Jordan, for its part, has also begun building a tent camp to house refugees along the border - something it was initially reluctant to do for fear of embarrassing Syria by calling attention to its refugee problem. But with 142,000 Syrians having already fled across the border, according to the Jordanian government, they needed to create the facilities to house them all. Jordan said this week that up to 2,000 new refugees are arriving daily.

While there had initially been speculation that Assad's regime might be in serious danger from the rebels, especially after a bomb killed four top security officials in Damascus on July 18, the core of the army has remained intact and the fight looks set to be prolonged.

A high-ranking Western diplomat familiar with the intelligence assessments on Syria said most expected the civil war to be a drawn-out affair.

There is also a great deal of concern in the West over the flow of foreign militants into Syria to fight a jihad, or holy war, against Assad's regime, said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss such matters.

Militants from Chechnya, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan have been joining the rebels in significant numbers entering by way of Iraq and Lebanon and bringing along skills gleaned from battling the Americans and Russians, the diplomat added.

Syria has long branded the opposition as being foreign-funded "terrorist mercenaries" even when the anti-government movement was overwhelmingly peaceful and Syrian. Now, however, it appears that elements involved in militant jihads are increasingly joining the fight.

In the past month, the rebels have demonstrated greater capabilities and have mounted the biggest challenges to the regime so far in the 17-month-old uprising. They have been fielding more effective forces with better weaponry.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have both expressed a willingness to fund the rebellion and are believed to be sending money to rebels to purchase weapons. On Tuesday, the official Saudi Press Agency said a week-long national campaign to support "our brothers in Syria" had collected $117 million dollars in cash donations to outfit relief convoys for Syrian refugees.

-------

Associated Press writer Slobodan Lekic from Brussels, Aya Batrawy from Cairo, and Associated Press Television on the Turkish border contributed to this report

New video emerges apparently showing rebel soldiers killing unarmed pro-government militia members.

Graphic new footage has emerged of what it is claimed is rebel soldiers in Syria executing pro-government milita members.

The two-minute video seems to show Shabiha fighters, who are an armed militia group aligned to President Bashar al Assad's regime, being killed.

The men appear to be unarmed.

Sky News is unable to verify the images independently.

The person who posted the video online says it shows rebel soldiers leading members of the militia down a street in Aleppo.

It is Syria's largest city and the scene of intense fighting between government forces and the opposition.

Some of the captives appear to have been beaten or are wounded.

The men are forced to sit down by a wall as a crowd gathers. Many of the men are armed.

Another member of the crowd appears to try to prevent it being filmed.

After a minute of continuous shooting, the dead bodies of the men who had been lined up against the wall can clearly be seen.

http://news.sky.com/story/967391/syrian-rebels-execute-pro-regime-militia

Aaron Dykes
Infowars.com
July 31, 2012

While mainstream press have been hailing the virtues of the alliance between al Qaeda, the Syrian Free Army and the West in opposing Assad in Syria, they’ve also been caught once again “faking the war” to play up sympathy for an all out invasion.
Austria’s largest daily paper, Kronen Zeitung, with some 3 million readers daily, published this sympathetic photo, seemingly portraying a man carrying a baby and a woman in burka fleeing from some war-torn corner of Aleppo. However, it was later exposed to be a Photoshop forgery, juxtaposing the people walking on a normal looking corner with that of a blown out city block ravaged by heavy damage.

The subjects were apparently taken from the previously-published file photo credited to the European Pressphoto Agency, as the publishing notes next to the image indicate. The revealing side by side comparison was first posted to Reddit.com.
Gizmodo points out:

Just to be clear, the family in the photograph is, in fact, in Syria; the original photo (on the right) came from the European Pressphoto Agency. But merely fleeing a city ravaged by guns and mortars apparently isn’t quite dramatic enough on its own. The editors of the Krone—as it’s commonly called—needed this baby to sing.

To be sure, the entire perception of the conflict in Syria has been (purposely) distorted in the media, including many blatant lies.
Remember the Syrian Danny hoax?

Advocating intervention, “Syrian Danny” was caught faking gun fire on CNN in order to portray heavy fighting that wasn’t really going on in the background while he literally begged for Western-backed forces to enter Syria and overthrow Assad. Paul Joseph Watson described the hoax: While waiting to be connected, Danny says, “Well, let the gunfire sound then,” before subsequently asking someone off camera, “Did you tell him to get the gunfire ready?” An explosion is heard soon after, but Danny doesn’t even flinch. The following video demonstrates this amazing stunt, which correlated with numerous other exaggerated reports issued by propaganda-activist Danny.



A nearly identical example of war propaganda is depicted in the 1997 film Wag the Dog, where green screen technology was used to place an actor in a studio with a kitten in a war torn zone in Bosnia




http://www.infowars.com/wag-the-dog-media-publish-photoshop-to-sell-image-of-war-torn-syria/

1 August 2012 Last updated at 09:01 BBC World News

Fighting between Syrian security forces and rebels has been reported for the first time near two Christian areas in the Old City of the capital, Damascus.

One soldier had been killed outside Bab Touma and Bab Sharqi, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Gunfire and explosions were also heard on Baghdad street, in the city centre.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International says in a report that government forces committed crimes against humanity this month in the second city, Aleppo.

In the report, based on research carried out in May, the rights group appealed to the UN Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court and impose an arms embargo on the country.

Amnesty accuses security forces and pro-government militiamen, known as shabiha, of firing on peaceful protesters and bystanders, including children. It also says medical teams were targeted and those arrested were often tortured.

In Aleppo itself, rebel sources say fighter jets and helicopters have again been pounding rebel positions as the battle for control of the city continues.

Activists have also told the BBC that a large military column is heading towards Aleppo to reinforce the army units engaging the rebels. However, this has not been confirmed by the government or independent sources.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=

Damascus, one of the oldest Cities in the World is in ruins, Aleppo, the largest City, also being destroyed.....what have
the Refugees got to come back to when this War is over.? This is a terrible tragedy yet despite all the hand-wringing
the UN is powerless , Russia and China intransigent and the Arab League silent.

Aug 1, 5:16 AM EDT


Syrian president lashes out at 'internal agents'

World Video




Targeted in Syria civil war, Iraqis flee back home

Jordan: Syrian war closes export route to Europe

Israel's Barak sees no threat of chemical attack











BEIRUT (AP) -- Syrian President Bashar Assad says foreign enemies are using "internal agents" to undermine the country's stability.

Speaking to the army Wednesday on the 67th anniversary of its founding, Assad said the armed forces are the "homeland's shield" against plots by criminal and terrorist gangs.

He said the people see the army as a "source of pride" and a "defender of just causes."

The speech, which was carried by the state news agency but not broadcast on state television, was a rare comment from the president who has kept a low profile during recent fighting in the country's two main cities.

Syria is enmeshed in a 17-month rebellion pitting rebels against the army.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Human rights are condemning the shooting of pro Assad activists saying the Rebels are no better than assad. Another
captured pro Assad man had tattoos of Assad on his Torso which was bleeding from what looked like cuts with a knife .

A spokeswoman for the rebels says the rebels and their Families have suffered much more and their familes face a long
time in Refugee camps for a long time and the damage to their homes is incalculable.

Panda wrote:

Human rights are condemning the shooting of pro Assad activists saying the Rebels are no better than assad. Another
captured pro Assad man had tattoos of Assad on his Torso which was bleeding from what looked like cuts with a knife .

A spokeswoman for the rebels says the rebels and their Families have suffered much more and their familes face a long
time in Refugee camps for a long time and the damage to their homes is incalculable.

Thanks Panda. I saw somebody being interviewed on Sky News this morning who was asking if Syria would benefit from being governed by a group, ie the rebels, who are funded by Saudi Arabia.

Aug 2, 4:14 AM EDT


Activists: Syrian troops kill dozens near Damascus







Syrian refugees grow impatient with top defectors

Syria rebels suspicious over defector's motives

Targeted in Syria civil war, Iraqis flee back home

Jordan: Syrian war closes export route to Europe




Buy AP Photo Reprints







BEIRUT (AP) -- Syrian opposition activists say regime forces have swept through neighborhoods south of the capital Damascus in a deadly military operation that has inflicted casualties.

By some activist estimates, dozens of people have been killed. The figure could not be independently confirmed.

Syria's state-run news agency said Thursday that army forces have raided rebel hideouts in Yalda as well as Jdaidat Artouz, both southern suburbs of the capital, and had killed and arrested "a number" of militants.

SANA says the operation began Wednesday evening. It says Syrian troops targeted terrorists - the government's term for armed opponents of the regime.

A rebel assault on Damascus was crushed two weeks ago, but many areas remain sympathetic to the rebels.

30 July 2012 Last updated at 01:52 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

BBC News, Aleppo


The old man hobbled past a burnt-out tank and slowly crossed the deserted road, calling for help. He was dressed in a full-length galabeya gown, his face worn by many Syrian summers and his head swaddled in a red and white checkered scarf.

"My family have gone and I need somewhere safe to stay," he said.

At 90 years old, Mohammed Khalaf deserves better. He has lived through many wars and more than one revolution.

Today he sits alone in his house in one of Aleppo's poor sprawling suburbs, terrified by the gunfire and artillery shells exploding nearby.

His family has fled the city. He claims that they left him behind but - old, afraid and confused - his mind is perhaps not as clear as it once was.

He says he remembers the struggle against the French occupation but adds: "They didn't shoot at us during [the Muslim holy month of] Ramadan.

The BBC's Ian Pannell and cameraman Darren Conway were trapped by fighting in Aleppo. Their report contains graphic images of the victims of the Syria conflict
"Things that are happening now never happened during the fight for independence."

As he left to see if the bakery was open, the terrifying sound of heavy gunfire erupted nearby.

He tried to run for cover, his weathered body no match for his survival instincts and the best that he could manage was an awkward shuffle.

The battle for Aleppo was raging all around. The situation on the ground has completely changed from just a few days ago. The fighting has intensified and the government has deployed thousands of troops and tanks to try to recapture the neighbourhoods it ceded a week earlier.

The commander of the Tawhid Brigade, one of the largest groups of rebel fighters in Aleppo, called us in for a meeting.

Abdul Saleh is a businessman turned rebel leader. He says his brigade has thousands of fighters who control more than 40% of the city's neighbourhoods. It is a claim that is impossible to verify.

He wanted to talk to the tiny group of foreign journalists who had entered the city and he began with a warning that everyone should have their bags packed and their cars ready to leave at any time.

He said the nearest tanks were now just 2km away. With one eye fixed on an escape route I asked: "In which direction?"

In a rare moment of candour about the threat his men face, he replied: "In every direction."

'We die or win'

Despite the threat that grows by the day it was an honest assessments from the armed opposition who often inflate their strength and numbers, masking vulnerability with confidence and tough talk.

"We decided and we promised that we would fight," he said. "We will die or we will win."

But the odds they face are daunting. A conventional armed force with tanks, mortars, artillery, helicopter-gunships and fighter jets is now lined up against rebel fighters armed with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

However, the terrain of these heavily populated areas works to their advantage.

Many of the fighters are battle hardened in a way that the government's soldiers are not. The rebels are also making their own improvised explosive devices and Molotov cocktails and are perhaps more willing to make the ultimate sacrifice than an army of conscripts and career soldiers.

The hole-in-the-wall bakery is the only source of food for some residents
Not far from their base the hole-in-the-wall bakery that Mohammed had been seeking had just reopened its doors after being closed for more than a day. Most food shops in the turbulent districts are now closed.

Rebel fighters tried to marshal the crowds as hundreds of hungry and increasingly desperate residents clamoured for the thin round loaves.

Suriya had finally reached the front of the queue and the middle-aged mother thrust her hand through the railings outside the bakery, grasping for the bread. Like many poor Syrians she has a large family to feed and with no fresh fruit or vegetables available this is her only chance to get food.

"A lot of poor people are suffering from a lack of food and water," she complained. "Many are going to bed hungry."

Their suffering does not seem likely to end soon. Food, water and power shortages have made life hard for residents. The ever-present danger from bombs and bullets is making it intolerable.

Thousands of families have already fled the city. Men, women and children are being killed every day, innocent victims of a battle they did not choose and that no-one seems able to stop.

This is just the start of the battle for Aleppo and it is impossible to predict the outcome.

But it will shape the destiny of President Bashar al-Assad, the revolution he faces and the Syrian nation. And it will leave countless numbers of its citizens bleeding and dying.

====================================

Kofi Annan has resigned as negotiator saying neither side adhered to the ceasefire.

The main battle for the Syrian city of Aleppo is imminent, a senior UN official has said, hours after Kofi Annan quit trying to end the conflict.

Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous warned of intensified fighting in the civil war after rebels obtained tanks and other heavy weapons.

"The spiral of violence is still increasing," he said.

"The focus two weeks ago was on Damascus, the focus is now on Aleppo where there has been a considerable build-up of military means and where we have reason to believe that the main battle is about to start."

Aleppo has been under siege from President Bashar al Assad's forces since July 20, using jets and artillery to target positions within the northern city, and military observers have predicted a prolonged battle for the commercial hub.

The warning came as rebel forces, who hold several areas of the country's largest city, used tanks for the first time to attack a military airport to the northwest of the city, according to a commander.

Mr Ladsous said unarmed military observers near Aleppo had seen the heavy weapons in the hands of the opposition.

"We have not yet seen the opposition in the action of using those heavy weapons against government forces. But we know that they have tanks, that they have armoured personnel carriers etcetera. That's a fact."


A destroyed Syrian army tank outside a mosque, north of Aleppo

Fighting has also continued to claim lives elsewhere in the country. In Hama, Syrian forces killed at least 50 people, including 21 members of three families on Thursday, according to local activists and residents.

"During the clashes the army entered the neighbourhood of Arbaeen and conducted raids, during which they killed members of three families," resident Abu Ammar told reporters.

South of the capital Damascus, a raid by Syrian forces killed another 43 people, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Regime forces entered the Jdaidet Artuz district on Wednesday and arrested around 100 young people who were taken to a school and tortured," the opposition group said in a statement.

"On Thursday morning after the operation the bodies of 43 people were recovered. Some of them had been summarily executed."

Meanwhile, China has expressed regret over Mr Annan's decision to stand down.

The UN-Arab League envoy to Syria tendered his resignation after complaining that his April peace plan had not received the support it needed from major powers.

He also hit out at "continuous finger-pointing and name-calling" at the UN Security Council which he said had prevented co-ordinated action to end the bloodshed.

His resignation sparked a new round of recriminations among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, with Washington blaming Beijing and Moscow's vetoing of three separate resolutions on the Syrian conflict.

"China expresses regret at Annan's resignation. We understand the difficulty of Annan's mediation work, and respect his decision," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a statement.

Kofi Annan will step down from his high-profile role as special envoy for Syria at the end of the month.
Enlarge Article:
Kofi Annan Quits As UN Syria Envoy Syria: 70 Killed As Annan Quits Envoy Post
Updated: 10:48pm UK, Thursday 02 August 2012

UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan has quit his post, complaining of a lack of support and the increasing militarisation of the conflict.

Mr Annan, a former UN secretary-general, headed up diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire from Syrian president Bashar al Assad's regime.

Even as he stepped down the crisis in Syria deepened, with reports of at least 70 deaths in separate attacks by Syrian security forces in Damascus and Hama.

Mr Annan's much-lauded six-point peace plan - first introduced in April - was not adhered to by either side in the conflict.

"I did not receive all the support that the cause deserved," Mr Annan told a hastily scheduled press conference in Geneva.

"I accepted this task, which some called 'Mission Impossible' - for I believed it was a sacred duty to do whatever was in my power to help the Syrian people find a peaceful solution to this bloody conflict."

But he added that "continuous finger-pointing and name-calling" in the UN Security Council had hindered his attempts to implement his peace plan.

"The increasing militarisation on the ground and the lack of unanimity in the Security Council fundamentally changed my role," the former UN chief said.

But he predicted that Mr Assad would go "sooner or later" and did not rule out his successor having more luck or success.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon earlier announced "with deep regret" the resignation of Mr Annan, who was named to the post on February 23.

"I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Mr Annan for the determined and courageous efforts he has made as the Joint Special Envoy for Syria," Mr Ban said.

Within hours of the announcement, evidence was emerging of further bloodshed in Syria.

The Reuters news agency reported that 50 people were killed by Syrian forces during clashes with rebel fighters in the city.

And at least 20 people were reported killed when Syrian security forces fired three mortar rounds at a Palestinian camp in Damascus.

Witnesses claimed the mortars hit a busy street as people were preparing for the Ramadan meal to break their fast.

British Prime Minister David Cameron told Sky News that Mr Annan's resignation showed the peace process was not working and that more sanctions were needed.

"The Annan plan worked very hard at it, but it hasn't worked because we've got this appalling bloodshed, we've got this slaughter," he said.

"I think what we need to do is ramp things up. We need to pass resolutions at the United Nations to put further pressure on Syria."

But he said that a military approach would not be right in the case of Syria.

"Syria is not Libya, it's a different situation... but there's a lot more pressure we can put on," he said.

Mr Cameron earlier Thursday locked horns over Syria with Russian president Vladimir Putin in a meeting at Downing Street.

The British leader tried to push the former KGB spy to take a tougher line on Syria, Russia's firmest foothold in the Middle East, and stop blocking Western-backed resolutions aimed at stepping up pressure on Mr Assad.

"Obviously we don't agree, but there is some common ground emerging. The Russians can see what is happening in Syria is not good for the Syrian people," Mr Cameron said.

A Western UN Security Council diplomat said: "Annan was dealt a very difficult hand which he played as well as anyone could have done.

"The lack of Security Council unity made it almost impossible for him to do his job.

"Western Allies still believe that the plan he formed is still the only way to proceed in Syria, with or without Annan at the helm."

Mr Annan's resignation, which is effective as of August 31, comes as the civil war in Syria spirals further out of control.

Syrian rebels have bombarded a military air base in the northern city of Aleppo using a tank captured from government troops.

And a rights watchdog reported dozens of people were killed in a raid near the capital Damascus.

The Aleppo report was one of the first indications the rebels are starting to deploy the heavy weapons they have managed to capture in the past weeks from the Syrian army.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebel-seized tank shelled the Menagh military airport outside Aleppo, which the regime has used to launch attacks on rebel positions in the surrounding area.

Later, a nearby village was shelled by government forces out of that same airbase.

The report, however, represents an escalation in the battles between the two sides.

Up to this point, rebel forces have suffered because of a huge disparity in armaments with Syria's well-armed military.

The United Nations earlier confirmed that rebels battling president Bashar al Assad's regime now have heavy armour.

But the Syrian army still has many more tanks and armoured vehicles than the rebels and there was no indication that Thursday's attack on the airbase was particularly effective.

Rebel forces in Aleppo have already captured several neighbourhoods in the past fortnight - and they have held them despite ground and air assaults by the government.

With its proximity to rebel-friendly Turkey just to the north, Aleppo, Syria's largest city, has enormous strategic importance to the opposition.

Further south, a security forces raid killed 43 people, some of whom were tortured and executed, near Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Regime forces entered the Jdaidet Artuz district on Wednesday and arrested around 100 young people who were taken to a school and tortured," it said.

"On Thursday morning after the operation the bodies of 43 people were recovered. Some of them had been summarily executed."

On Friday, a vote is set in the UN General Assembly on a resolution drafted by Arab League countries. It calls for Mr Assad to step down and turn over power to a transitional government.

Aug 3, 5:54 PM EDT


UN General Assembly denounces Syrian crackdown

By PETER JAMES SPIELMANN
Associated Press









UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly denounced Syria's crackdown on dissent Friday in a symbolic effort meant to push the deadlocked Security Council and the world at large into action on stopping the country's civil war.

Before the vote, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon reminded the Assembly of the fresh violence in the city of Aleppo and drew comparisons between the failure to act in Syria with the international community's failure to protect people from past genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia, and Rwanda.

"The conflict in Syria is a test of everything this organization stands for," Ban said. "I do not want today's United Nations to fail that test."

The vote came after the more powerful Security Council was stopped by a series of Russian and Chinese vetoes on resolutions that would have opened the door to sanctions on Syria.

The General Assembly vote was 133 in support of the resolution and 12 against, with 31 abstaining. Syria's ambassador angrily called the vote "a piece of theater."

Though General Assembly resolutions are unenforceable, a strong vote can carry moral weight.

Even so, the resolution's Arab sponsors this week weakened two key provisions - a demand that President Bashar Assad resign and a call for other nations to place sanctions on Syria.

Russia and China had objected to those provisions. Both voted "no" Friday, along with Syria, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Belarus, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Myanmar, Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

The revised resolution takes a swipe at Russia and China by "deploring the Security Council failure" to act.

Frustration over the lack of action was clear. Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan resigned Thursday as the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria after his peace proposals failed.

Friday's session rang with accusations over why Annan's mission failed.

The Syria uprising has left 19,000 dead since it erupted in March 2011. The U.N. estimates that 1.5 million people have been forced to abandon their homes but remain in the country.

"The acts of brutality that are being reported may constitute crimes against humanity or war crimes," Ban said of the Aleppo fighting. "Such acts must be investigated and the perpetrators held to account."

The resolution backs Annan's "demand that the first step in the cessation of violence has to be made by the Syrian authorities."

It also demands the lockdown of the regime's chemical and biological weapons. Israel's Ambassador Ron Prosor said, "We should not pretend that a regime that cuts the throats of children today will not be prepared to gas them tomorrow. Assad must know that he will be held accountable for using these weapons."

The resolution denounces attacks on children as young as 9 by the Syrian government, military intelligence services and militias. It condemns the increasing Syrian military reliance on heavy weapons, including tanks and helicopters, and "failure to withdraw its troops and heavy weapons to their barracks" in line with Annan's proposals.

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari called the resolution's main sponsors, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, "despotic oligarchies."

"The draft resolution will have no impact whatsoever. It is a piece of theater," he told reporters after the vote. And Iran's deputy ambassador, Eshagh Alehabib, called the resolution "one-sided."

British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said the resolution was not meant to be balanced. The intent, he said, was to issue an unequivocal condemnation of the Syrian regime.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said afterward that a reference in the resolution did amount to a demand for Assad leaving power: "Importantly, the resolution also welcomes the Arab League's July 22nd decision, which calls for Assad to step down and for a transitional government to be formed."

On Thursday, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said he could not support the General Assembly's "extremely unbalanced and one-sided resolution." He said the countries pushing the resolution were providing weapons to armed opposition groups.

The vote came a day after U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the Security Council that U.N. military observers in Aleppo were seeing "a considerable buildup of military means, where we have reason to believe that the main battle is about to start." The rebels have commandeered tanks, and are bringing them into combat as Syrian warplanes strike back.

The observer mission is in the midst of a 30-day extension of its mandate, which expires on Aug. 19. Extending it would require passage of another resolution in the Security Council.

The mission has been largely kept from its work by the violence, and it is already being cut back, from its original authorized strength of 300 to currently 115 monitors and 80 civilians.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

(CNN) -- As the crisis in Syria intensifies and Bashar al-Assad's hold on power starts to unravel, concerns are mounting over what may come next for the beleaguered nation.

Some foresee bloody sectarian strife or a descent into militia rule, while others fear what might become of its chemical weapons stockpile.

Not all observers agree it's the beginning of the endgame for al-Assad, but all are sure there's no clear road map for what lies ahead.

The prospects for al-Assad are "very grim," said Shashank Joshi, an associate fellow at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute think tank and a doctoral student at Harvard University.

Syria's chemical weapons threat demands a response


Is there any plan for post-Assad Syria?
Syria's violence and 'street of death'
Watch violence erupt in Syria
Syrian rebels fight through grief, pride "There's no going back," he said. "He's not far from collapse, because what's occurred through defection or assassination is that the political part of his regime has been hollowed out."

By contrast Dr. Dan Plesch, director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, considers it too soon to write al-Assad out of the picture.

But in a scenario where he is pushed out -- bringing to an end four decades of rule by him and his father before him -- the Syrian military will likely play a major role in what happens next, Plesch said.

Recent defections of high-level officers -- notably regime insider Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlas -- on top of the desertion of many rank and file personnel, signal an erosion of the army's coherence in the face of the rebellion.

Many of those at the top are determined to fight on to the end because they fear the personal consequences for them if they lose, analysts say.

In what some saw as a turning point after more than 16 months of violence, al-Assad lost four top aides following an explosion in Damascus last week, as rebel forces attacked the capital and Syria's commercial hub, Aleppo.

Reinforcements head to Aleppo

So far, al-Assad has shown no signs of quitting. But what's not yet clear is how much stomach he has for a continued bloody conflict, and whether he might be more inclined to negotiate a transition than some of his immediate entourage, Plesch said.

If al-Assad's ouster were the result of a "palace coup," involving negotiation between some insiders and the insurgency, slightly more continuity would ensue, said Joshi. However, such a transition is likely to be unstable because many rebels would refuse to accept it and would fight on.

He believes it more likely that the regime collapses entirely and the Syrian National Council -- an opposition coalition whose leadership resides outside of Syria -- stakes a claim to lead the transition as part of a coalition also involving opposition figures within Syria and Kurdish and liberal representatives.

However, unlike Libya, where the National Transitional Council presented a fairly unified voice as Gadhafi's regime crumbled, the opposition in Syria remains more fragmented and no credible transitional leader has yet come to the fore, Joshi said.

Plesch agrees that while the Syrian National Council "aspires to be the linchpin in the transition," questions remain over how effective it could be and what support it commands among rebels on the ground.

Ausama Monajed, who advised a previous president of the Syrian National Council, told CNN in March that his group has a plan for a post-Assad era, including the formation of a transitional unity government and a body to draw up a new constitution and election laws, leading eventually to parliamentary and presidential elections.


A boy plays on the gun of a destroyed Syrian army tank partially covered in the rubble of the destroyed Azaz mosques, north of the restive city of Aleppo, on Thursday, August 2.
Smoke rises from Al-Safsaf in Homs on Friday, August 3. A boy plays with an AK-47 rifle owned by his father in Azaz, some 29 miles north of Aleppo on Friday, August 3. Syrians climb on an abandoned Syrian army tank north of Aleppo on Thursday, August 2.
A man looks at a destroyed Syrian army compound in Azaz, 29 miles north of Aleppo on Friday, August 3.
A Syrian refugee walks at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, on Friday, August 3.
People and a member of the Free Syrian Army commute on Wednesday, August 1, past a building on the outskirts of Idlib that was hit by rocket fire Tuesday night by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Unrest spread across other volatile regions of the country as al-Assad's forces shelled targets and launched raids in and around Damascus, Homs, Daraa and Deir Ezzor.
A woman and child on Wednesday walk through rubble of a building destroyed by shelling from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo.
Demonstrators hold an opposition flag during a protest Wednesday against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.
Syrian girls on Wednesday walk past a Syrian army tank captured two days earlier by rebel fighters at a checkpoint in the village of Anadan. The strategic checkpoint secures the rebel fighters free movement between the northern city of Aleppo and Turkey.
Rebel Free Syrian Army fighters capture a policeman who they allege is a "Shabiha" or pro-regime militiaman, on Tuesday, July 31, as the rebels overrun a police station in Aleppo.
Rebel fighters load an anti-aircraft machine gun on an armored vehicle in Atareb, east of Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo, on Tuesday, July 31.
Syrian boys run near a building hit by bullets and fire in Atareb. A member of the Free Syrian Army fires at forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad in a district of Aleppo called Salah Edinne on Tuesday.
A member of the Free Syrian Army carries an injured civilian to safety in Aleppo's district of Salah Edinne on Tuesday.
Members of the Free Syrian Army learn that a tank belonging to forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad is heading to the area.
A Syrian boy carries bags of bread as people wait outside a bakery near Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo. A photo released by Syrian Arab News Agency depicts damaged buildings in Homs on Monday, July 30.
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes position Sunday, July 29, in Aleppo as people flee shelling. Intense clashes have been under way for more than a week between the regime and rebels in Aleppo, Syria's commercial and cultural center. Parts of Syria's largest city saw the fiercest clashes yet in the country's 16-month crisis on Saturday, July 28. About 200,000 people have fled fighting in Aleppo and surrounding areas in the past two days, a U.N. official says.
Fighting leaves vehicles damaged Saturday in the southwestern city of Daraa.
Syrians carry the body of a man allegedly killed in the bombardment of Sukari, southwest of Aleppo, by Syrian regime forces on July 27.
Destruction appears widespread in Homs on Friday, July 27, in a handout photo from the Syrian opposition Shaam News Network.
A Syrian opposition fighter takes aim during clashes with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Wednesday, July 25. Family and friends mourn over the body of Usame Mircan, who they say was killed by a Syrian government sniper in Aleppo on Wednesday.
Usame Mircan's mother grieves after he was killed during fighting in Aleppo.
The bodies of men killed during clashes between Syrian rebel fighters and goverment forces lie on the Aleppo street on Thursday, July 26.
Fighters from the Syrian opposition rest at a former primary school in Aleppo on Wednesday.
Residents take cover as fighters from the Syrian opposition clash with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Wednesday.
Syrian rebels guard a checkpoint in Aleppo on Wednesday.
A damaged portrait of President Bashar al-Assad sits among piles of debris at a checkpoint manned by Syrian rebels in Aleppo on Wednesday.
Syrian rebels drive through Selehattin near Aleppo during clashes with government forces on Monday, July 23.
A Syrian rebel runs through the streets of Selehattin during an attack on a municipal building. The rebel Free Syrian Army says it is attempting to "liberate" several districts of Aleppo.
Syrian rebels work to find snipers during clashes Monday between the opposition and government forces in Selehattin.
Syrian rebels make their way down a street Monday in Selehattin near Aleppo. If they gain control of Aleppo, it would mark a pivotal point in the Syrian crisis. Syrian rebels take cover behind sandbags during fighting Monday at the entrance to the city of Selehattin.
On Sunday, July 22, a Syrian refugee looks out from a bus as he arrives at a refugee camp in Turkey opposite the Syrian commercial crossing point Bab al-Hawa.
Syrian refugees flee from a refugee camp nicknamed "Container City" on the Turkish-Syrian border in Kilis province, southern Turkey, on Sunday.
A mortar shell falls toward the Syrian village of Jbatha Al-khashab, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Damascus. It's seen from the Israeli side of the border, in the Golan Heights.
Smoke from artillery shelling rises above Jbatha Al-khashab.
An armed Syrian rebel wearing the jersey of FC Barcelona rests with comrades near the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday. The rebel Free Syrian Army announced the start of the battle to "liberate" Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub and a traditional bastion of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
A Free Syrian Army soldier rips a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad at the Bab Al-Salam border crossing to Turkey on Sunday. Dozens of Turkish truck drivers on Saturday, July 21, accused Free Syrian Army rebels of having burned and looted their lorries as they captured Syria's Bab al-Hawa post, near Aleppo, from government troops.
In this photo released by the Shaam News Network, a truck burns after shelling in the Erbeen suburb of Damascus on Saturday, July 21.
Refugees fleeing the violence in Syria arrive by bus in Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday.
Turkish soldiers stand guard at the Cilvegozu border gate in Reyhanly that connects to Syria's Bab al-Hawa post. An estimated 120,000 people have fled Syria to Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan.
Burned-out trucks at the Bab al-Hawa Syrian border post with Turkey on Friday, July 20. Syrian rebels seized control of the post after a fierce battle with Syrian troops, an AFP photographer at the scene reported.
Syrian soldiers celebrate in the al-Midan area in Damascus on Friday. Syrian regime forces routed rebel fighters from the Damascus neighbourhood of Midan, Syrian state television reported, saying troops had "cleaned" the district of "terrorists."
Journalists are shown a dead body on a government tour of the al-Midan area in Damascus on Friday.
Members of Syria security forces rest in the al-Midan area in Damascus on Friday.
Syrian army soldiers hang their national flag in a partially destroyed neighborhood in the al-Midan area in Damascus.
Smoke hangs in the air in a partially destroyed neighborhood in the al-Midan area in Damascus.
Members of Syria security forces pose for photographers in the al-Midan area in Damascus after driving out the rebel fighters.
Syrian residents take goods from a truck that rebels captured at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on Friday.
A picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency on July 19 shows Syrian General Fahd al-Freij meeting with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus after his swearing-in ceremony as defense minister. A man holds up a picture of President Bashar al-Assad at a former police station in Atareb after clashes between Syrian soldiers and Free Syrain Army near Aleppo on Thursday, July 19. Rebels seized control of border crossings with Iraq on Thursday, dealing a new blow to al-Assad, as China and Russia dismayed the West by blocking U.N. action against his regime.
People walk along the street in Atareb amidst damage caused by clashed between Syrian soldiers and the Free Syrian Army.
A Syrian man checks the former police station of Syrian regime after a clash at Atareb on Thursday.
Smoke ascends from from alleged shelling of the Syrian village of Jebata al-Khashab as seen from the hill village of Buqaata in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Thursday.
The death toll in Syria on July 12 reached 287, making it the bloodiest day in Syria since the uprising began. As it has done consistently, Syrian state television blamed "armed terrorist groups" for the killings.
A Syrian woman sits with her grandson outside a damaged building after attacks in the Syrian village of Treimsa on July 13, 2012. More than 200 people were massacred in the town, according to activists.
A Syrian demonstrator holds an opposition flag during a protest in Damascus on July 2, 2012. There have been increasing reports of violence in the Syrian capital.
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad waves as he arrives for a speech to Syria's parliament in Damascus on June 3, 2012. The embattled president denied that government forces were behind the "outrageous" massacre in Houla.
People gather at a mass burial on May 26, 2012 for victims reportedly killed during an artillery barrage from Syrian forces in Houla. The attack left at least 108 people dead, including nearly 50 children, according to the United Nations.
Members of the Free Syrian Army return to Qusayr on May 12, 2012 after an attack on Syrian regime forces in the village of Nizareer, near the Lebanese border in Homs.
A U.N. observer speaks with Syrian rebels and civilians in the village of Azzara on May 4, 2012, days before the country's parlianemtary polls were held against a backdrop of unrest.
Thousands of Syrians wave their national flag and hold portraits of President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, right, during a rally to show support for their leader on March 29, 2012 in Damascus.
Syrian rebel fighters man a checkpoint leading into the town of Taftanaz in the rebel stronghold province of Idlib on March 20, 2012.
A Free Syrian Army rebel mounts his steed in the Al-Shatouria village near the Turkish border in northwestern Syria on March 16, 2012, a year after the uprising began. The Free Syrian Army is an armed opposition group made up largely of military defectors.
Syrian refugees walk across a field before crossing into Turkey on March 14, 2012. International mediator Kofi Annan called for an immediate halt to the killing of civilians in Syria as he arrived in Turkey for talks on the crisis.
A day after the twin suicide bombings, Syrian mourners pray over the coffins of the 44 people killed during a mass funeral in Damascus.
A Syrian man who was wounded in a suicide attack rests at a hospital in Damascus on December 23, 2011. Suicide bombers hit two security service bases in the Syrian capital, killing dozens of people. Arab foreign ministers attend an emergency meeting at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on October 16, 2011, to discuss the crisis in Syria.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to the media in Washington on August 18, 2011. Clinton said U.S. sanctions on Syrian oil "strike at the heart of the Syrian regime."
Syrian youths wave national flags while army troops drive out of Daraa on May 5, 2011. During a week-long military lockdown of the town, dozens of people were reportedly killed in what activists described as "indiscriminate" shelling on the city.
Syrians in Damascus protest in the street on March 25, 2011, after clashes with government forces in Daraa left several dead.
Supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rally on April 1 in Istanbul, Turkey, as delegates from dozens of countries gather to push for ways to end the deadly violence in Syria. The United Nations estimates more than 10,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the crisis in March 2011. The conflict is now being labeled a civil war by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Showdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaHIDE CAPTION
<<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 >>> Photos: Showdown in Syria At the time, observers responded with skepticism. "There's a lack of coordination amongst the insiders, and they represent the outsiders, not the insiders," said former U.S. ambassador to Syria Edward Djerejian. "It's not a coherent opposition leadership."

What we need to know about Syria

Another scenario sees Syria descend into a chaotic and bloody sectarian conflict, pitting Syria's majority Sunni Muslims against the ruling Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, and embroiling its Christian, Druze and other minority groups too. Such a conflict risks destabilizing the wider region.

The recent defection of two key Sunni figures, Tlas and Syria's ambassador to Iraq, Nawaf Fares, means all al-Assad has left is a narrow Alawite bloc with shrinking public support, Joshi said.

If the regime collapses, the Alawites could retreat to strongholds in the northwest of the country around Latakia and attempt to reconstitute a state there, he said. Syria's Kurds could also seek greater autonomy, a move which would worry Turkey, which has a troubled relationship with its own Kurdish population.

However, Rime Allaf, an associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank, argues against making too much of Syria's sectarian tensions.

The regime "has been using the sectarian line, but the opposition and the rebels have increasingly repeated that they do not view it in those terms," she said. "So it's not the Alawites who are crumbling, it's a regime. ... It means many people within that regime, whatever religious denomination they are, they don't necessarily agree with the way things are happening."

Sectarianism aside, the large number of militia groups that have taken up arms across Syria will present a "significant challenge" to the country's future stability whoever ends up in power, Joshi said.

They range from the pro-government Shabiha militia groups, blamed by opposition activists for many of the more brutal attacks on civilians, to rebel hardline Islamist groups and local networks that have formed to protect their villages.

At the same time, the rebel Free Syrian Army, largely composed of soldiers who defected from the al-Assad regime, is more a loose organization of armed groups than a coherent military body, said Joshi.

Faces of the Free Syrian Army

He predicts that whatever Syrian government results from the conflict will not be in charge of its whole territory, a problem made worse by the porous nature of the country's borders. If the Syrian National Council ultimately does take charge, it may struggle to contain the worst excesses of the militia groups, he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said this month that it considers the conflict a "non-international armed conflict" -- or a civil war -- but some analysts say international forces are in fact involved.

Opposition forces are being "quite well-armed and probably trained by external clandestine forces from the Gulf states and probably from Turkey," Plesch said. Questions should also be asked about some European and North American involvement, he added.

At the same time, Syria's neighbors, which include Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon, all have a stake in how the conflict plays out and exert varying degrees of influence within Syria.

Part of the international community's unease stems from Syria's position as a regional powerhouse. "Syria really is the epicenter of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the international community's confrontation with Iran," said Plesch.

Another concern to those watching from the wings is Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons.

Syria's foreign ministry said Monday that the country has chemical weapons that it would be willing to use against foreign attackers, although it sought to roll back the message Tuesday.

Its remarks led to strong warnings from U.S. officials, including President Barack Obama, who said such a move would be a "tragic mistake."

Obama administration officials are now holding regular high-level meetings to discuss the ongoing situation in Syria and begin thinking about U.S. priorities in a post-Assad era, a senior U.S. official told CNN Monday. The Obama administration has also stepped up its discussions with Israel, Jordan and Turkey about Syria's chemical weapons arsenal

The al-Assad regime "probably has the largest and most advanced chemical warfare program in the Arab world," according to Michael Eisenstadt, senior fellow and director of the military and security studies program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

A Syrian town's 'street of death'

But there is good reason to be skeptical that this arsenal would ever be used, Joshi said. Syrian commanders would not want to be held individually responsible with no regime to protect them, he said. Commanders are also well aware that the risk of such weapons getting into the hands of allies such as Hezbollah would likely induce external intervention, particularly from Israel.

For some observers, the international community's increasing focus on Syria's weapons stockpile also conjures unwelcome echoes of the run-up to the Iraq war.

Syrian allies China and Russia, who last week blocked another United Nations Security Council resolution for new sanctions if Syrian government forces don't stop attacks against civilians, are opposed to the kind of foreign intervention seen in Iraq as well as in Libya last year.

Moscow indicated Tuesday that Damascus should refrain from making use of chemical weapons in line with its ratification of Geneva protocols. "Russia's policy is based on the understanding that Syrian authorities will continue to strictly follow their international obligations," the foreign ministry said.

As for al-Assad, if he is forced from power, his personal fate will likely depend on whether he remains in Syria, and in whose hands.

A new regime might want to prosecute him for alleged war crimes or it might decide it would be more advantageous to allow him to go into exile, said Plesch.

Al-Assad's options for exile appear limited, with much of the world outraged by the thousands of civilian deaths resulting from his regime's crackdown on what it calls "armed terrorists." Plesch speculates that a country that is "not quite Russia," such as Moldova or South Ossetia, could offer a haven.

Alternatively, al-Assad could hang on to power for months yet, if regime forces and the Free Syrian Army continue to battle without a decisive victory on either side and the international community declines to step in.

So long as Russia and China continue to block tougher U.N. Security Council action on Syria, foreign intervention seems unlikely.

And although U.S. officicals have led calls for an end to the conflict, Plesch suggests that a prolonged conflict in Syria might not be the "worst option" from an Israeli or American militarist point of view, because neutralizing Syria would have the effect of isolating Hezbollah, and to a degree Hamas, from Iran, an ally of Damascus.

"If you are a Western security planner who thinks it's highly likely that there has to be a military confrontation with Iran sooner or later, then keeping Syria off the board is probably one of the things that's quite desirable to do," he said.

Why Syria could get even uglier

CNN's Holly Yan, Barbara Starr and Pam Benson contributed to this report.

==================================
Assad has reportedly asked Russia for a Loan, maybe his assets abroad have been confiscated like Gadaffi's were.! I read
a while ago that he has a safe passage to Russia if he cannot hold on to power.

4 August 2012 Last updated at 16:51 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page


Some 48 Iranian pilgrims have been kidnapped from a bus in the vicinity of a shrine near the Syrian capital Damascus, reports say.

Iranian diplomats blamed the abduction, from close to the Shia shrine of Sayyida Zainab, on "armed groups".

Syrian state television later gave the same account of the incident.

Meanwhile, fresh fighting has been reported around Damascus, and in the northern city of Aleppo, where rebels are trying to secure their positions.

The Iranian consul in Damascus said the whereabouts of the abducted pilgrims was known.

Syrian state-run news agency Sana said the Iranians had been kidnapped by "armed terrorist groups" and that Syrian authorities were "working to handle the situation".

Thousands of Iranians travel each year to Syria to visit the pilgrimage site in the mostly Shia district of Sayyida Zainab, which has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks.

There have been several other reports of groups of Iranian pilgrims being kidnapped in Syria in recent months, with most later being freed.

In May, 11 Lebanese Shia pilgrims were abducted in Syria while returning from Iran.

They were released after being held for three days, but the incident sparked violence across Lebanon, where the crisis in Syria has heightened sectarian tensions.

Guerrilla warfare

Meanwhile, fresh fighting was reported in Syria's two biggest cities on Saturday.

Most areas of Aleppo where rebels are entrenched have been bombarded by government forces and clashes have been reported in several districts.

Video footage posted by activists showed a military jet flying over what they said was the rebel-held quarter of Salah al-Din followed by a loud explosion.



Activists reported clashes in several areas too, including around the officers' club and a political security headquarters.

Government forces seem to now be pushing harder in the crucial battle for Aleppo, the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut reports.

Syrian state television reported that troops had inflicted huge losses on what it called "terrorist mercenaries" in Salah al-Din and in other nearby areas too, our correspondent adds.

Kim Sengupta of the UK's Independent newspaper earlier told the BBC from Aleppo that there are two front lines in the city, one in Salah al-Din and one near Aleppo's ancient iron gate.

There have been skirmishes in which rebels have done rather well, he says, seizing three police stations and retaking a fourth on Friday, and rebels are "incrementally" increasing the size of the area they hold.

The rebels have "remarkable" defence capability in Salah al-Din where government tanks had been trying to enter, but as an area full of narrow twisting lanes, it is perfect for guerrilla warfare, he adds.

However, the full thrust of the armour and the artillery from the regime side has not been seen yet, he adds.

The battle for the key strategic city of Aleppo has been fierce in recent days
The focus of the fighting is also on the southern edge of Damascus where shelling and gunfire were reported from the Tadamon quarter, despite it having been earlier stormed by government forces, says the BBC's Jim Muir, reporting from Beirut.

Shooting and explosions were also being heard in some central parts of the capital, and activists reported clashes too on the western side of the city, in and around Dumar.

'One-sided'

Earlier, Russia and China condemned a UN General Assembly resolution passed on Friday which criticised the Security Council for failing to halt the violence in Syria.

Moscow's UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, told reporters the resolution was one-sided and supported the armed opposition.

Western nations praised the resolution, which passed by 133 votes to 12 with 31 abstentions.

It criticises both the UN's own Security Council and the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for its use of violence.

The assembly debated the resolution, which was proposed by Saudi Arabia, shortly after the resignation of UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan and the failure of his six-point peace plan.

Activists say more than 20,000 people - mostly civilians - have died in 17 months of unrest.
================
You have to ask why any Iranians would travel to war torn Syria.!!

The Syrian army claims it has seized the last rebel-held strongholds in the capital, Damascus, as regime forces continue to bombard the northern city of Aleppo.

A brigadier general, who did not give his name, is reported to have told journalists in Damascus that the district of Tadamun had been retaken and the military was in control of all of the capital.

"We have cleansed all the districts of Damascus, from al Midan to Mazzeh, from al Hajar al Aswad to Qadam ... to Tadamun," he said.

An anti-regime activist, Lena al Shami, was quoted as saying the rebel Free Syrian Army had withdrawn from Tadaman and would focus on "hit-and-run tactics against important regime targets".

As the violence continued, 47 Iranian pilgrims were abducted by gunmen just outside Damascus.

No group has yet claimed responsibility, although Iranian state media blamed the rebels fighting the Assad regime.

Fresh, intense fighting erupted in Damascus over two weeks ago as rebel fighters seized several districts, forcing thousands of residents to flee.

In Aleppo, Abdel Jabar Oqaida, commander of the FSA there, said the Salaheddin district had "come under the heaviest bombardment since the battle began" on July 20 but that loyalists had "not managed to advance".

Since the bombardment began, President Bashar al Assad's forces have been using jets and artillery to target positions within the city, and military observers have predicted a prolonged battle for the commercial hub.

Yesterday, a senior government security member warned that "the battle for Aleppo has not yet begun, and what is happening now is just the appetizer ... The main course will come later."

The official said more reinforcements had arrived and that at least 20,000 troops were now on the ground - but he added: "The other side are also sending reinforcements."

Because of restrictions on the movement of journalists in Syria, none of the claims can be independently verified.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says July was the deadliest month since the uprising against President Assad's regime erupted in March 2011.

The watchdog claims 4,239 people, the vast majority civilians, died last month, bringing the overall toll since March 2011 to more than 21,000.

CNN) -- A standoff loomed Sunday between Syrian rebels and government forces near Aleppo as the battle for control of the most populous city intensified and the regime deployed heavy weapons to drive out the fighters.

Government artillery and helicopter gunships pounded rebel positions, according to opposition activists.

"The buzzing of the warplanes don't stop," said Bashir Al-Hajji, a spokesman for a Free Syrian Army brigade in Aleppo. "But we already started to move forward from the eastern neighborhoods and God willing, the fight will be over soon and we will be victorious."

Al-Hajji said clashes have raged for hours at various spots near the Aleppo city center, including close to the presidential palace. He said he is in the Industrial City of Aleppo, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the city of Aleppo, which is the commercial capital.

Rebel fighters said they have surrounded the highest point in Aleppo, where regime forces are holed up.


The battle for Aleppo, Syria intensifies
Syria rebels capture regime's weapons
Reporter in Syria: Intense shelling
Onslaught of violence continues in Syria Two large columns of government troops are heading toward the city, according to Free Syrian Army fighters.

Members of the Free Syrian Army are trying to stop the approaching troops by attacking them in Idlib province, said Mohamed Said, an Aleppo spokesman for the Syrian Revolution General Commission.

As rebels scrambled to fend off regime forces in Aleppo, more gunfire erupted in other parts of Syria, with at least 26 killed nationwide Sunday, the opposition Local Coordination Committees said.

The deaths incluced three executions in the Damascus area and six executions in Aleppo, the group said.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the situation may get worse in Aleppo, describing it as "the epicenter of a vicious battle between the Syrian government and those who wish to replace it."

Rebels in Aleppo exude gritty confidence and possess growing clout. They say they are in charge of significant parts of the city and are working to wrest control of the entire sprawling metropolis from the better-equipped forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The regime reported deaths, injuries and the capture of "terrorists" -- who Syria has consistently said are behind attacks -- in several neighborhoods of Aleppo on Saturday.

Opposition activists, meanwhile, said al-Assad's forces had unleashed persistent and powerful bombs and shelling, while rebels have launched their own attacks in multiple neighborhoods.

That includes a brazen push Friday to seize a state-run broadcasting building in Aleppo. Rebels pushed into the radio and TV complex, and took over parts of it, before eventually withdrawing because of snipers and military shelling, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.

Syria's civil war is hardly confined to Aleppo.

On state TV, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime said dozens of "terrorists" were killed or injured in an explosion at an ammunition and improvised explosive device storage site in Homs.


A license to fund Syria
Is U.N. fiddling while Syria burns?
How to stop al Qaeda in Syria
Secret support for Syrian opposition Around Syria's capital, "armed terrorists" attacked a bus carrying 48 Iranian Shiite pilgrims and kidnapped them, Iranian state media said. Syrian state media also reported the abduction and said it is under investigation.

It is unclear whether the hijacking is linked to the uprising against the Syrian government. The Iranian government is an ally of the al-Assad regime, which has been fighting a rebel movement dominated by Sunnis.

Iran is asking Turkey to step in to help free the pilgrims, according to IRNA, Tehran's state media.

In a phone call to his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi asked for "prompt intervention of Ankara" to help release the pilgrims, IRNA said Saturday.

Turkey has tense relations with the Syrian regime and is sympathetic to the rebels. Television network Al Arabiya aired video purporting to show the pilgrims detained by Syrian rebels.

In the video, a commander of the Free Syrian Army says the 48 people abducted are revolutionary guards and not pilgrims. CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Roughly 17,000 people have died since the Syrian conflict first flared in March 2011, when government forces began cracking down on protesters, Ban said last month. Opposition activists put the toll at more than 20,000.

The violence has intensified during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began July 21 in Syria and ends this month, the Red Cross said.

Meanwhile, the Syrian envoy to the United Nations, Bashar al-Jaafari, said his family received numerous death threats in the United States. He has reported the threats to U.S. officials, according to Syrian state media.

Hillary Clinton plans to visit Turkey on Saturday to discuss the Syrian crisis, the State Department said.

CNN's Saad Abedine contributed to this report.

6 August 2012 Last updated at 08:37 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

Syria TV 'hit by bomb attack' in Damascus
A bomb has exploded on the third floor of the Syrian state TV and radio building in the capital, Damascus, Syrian television reports.

Three people have been wounded, the reports say.

State TV continued broadcasting and pro-government TV channel al-Ikhbariya showed pictures of staff looking after an injured colleague.

In June, gunmen attacked the offices of al-Ikhbariya TV, south of Damascus, killing seven people.

State television is based at Umawiyeen Square in central Damascus.

A BBC Arabic reporter in the capital said the explosion had "ripped the floor" but had left the transmission of the three Syrian channels unaffected.

Rebel forces took over several areas of Damascus in recent weeks, but the army has since regained control of the city.

More than 20,000 troops are also aiming to wrest control of Syria's second city, Aleppo, from the rebels.

Having surrounded the country's commercial capital, tanks have tried to push into two key rebel-held areas, Salah al-Din and Saif al-Dawla, which lie on the main road into the city.

(CNN) -- The battle for Syria's most populous city raged and intensified Sunday, with heavy shelling in Aleppo, according to opposition activists.

The Syrian regime used warplanes in the siege, they said.

Heavy shelling was reported in several neighborhoods in northern and central Aleppo, including Hanano, Shaar, Marjeh and Haidariyeh.

A video posted by one activist showed a large plume of smoke rising from a building close to the citadel, a central building and the city's highest point.

Heavy clashes were under way between rebels and regime forces in neighborhoods near the citadel, opposition activists said.

"The buzzing of the warplanes don't stop," said Bashir Al-Hajji, a spokesman for a Free Syrian Army brigade in Aleppo. "But we already started to move forward from the eastern neighborhoods, and God willing, the fight will be over soon and we will be victorious."


A Syrian rebel prepares his weapon as a group of Free Syrian Army fighters head toward the fighting with Syrian Army soldiers in the Salah ad-Din neighborhood of central Aleppo on Sunday, August 5.
Syrians evacuate a civilian wounded in shelling in the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, August 4. Syria's armed forces pounded Aleppo's rebel-held Salah ad-Din district with air and ground fire as violence also raged in the Shaar and Sukkari districts, according to reporters in the area and a rebel commander.
A vehicle burns as Syrians walk through debris from clashes between Syrian armed forces and rebels in the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, August 4.
A boy plays on the gun of a destroyed Syrian army tank partially covered in the rubble of the destroyed Azaz mosques, north of the restive city of Aleppo, on Thursday, August 2.
Smoke rises from Al-Safsaf in Homs on Friday, August 3. A boy plays with an AK-47 rifle owned by his father in Azaz, some 29 miles north of Aleppo on Friday, August 3. Syrians climb on an abandoned Syrian army tank north of Aleppo on Thursday, August 2.
A man looks at a destroyed Syrian army compound in Azaz, 29 miles north of Aleppo on Friday, August 3.
A Syrian refugee walks at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, on Friday, August 3.
People and a member of the Free Syrian Army commute on Wednesday, August 1, past a building on the outskirts of Idlib that was hit by rocket fire Tuesday night by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Unrest spread across other volatile regions of the country as al-Assad's forces shelled targets and launched raids in and around Damascus, Homs, Daraa and Deir Ezzor.
A woman and child on Wednesday walk through rubble of a building destroyed by shelling from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo.
Demonstrators hold an opposition flag during a protest Wednesday against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.
Syrian girls on Wednesday walk past a Syrian army tank captured two days earlier by rebel fighters at a checkpoint in the village of Anadan. The strategic checkpoint secures the rebel fighters free movement between the northern city of Aleppo and Turkey.
Rebel Free Syrian Army fighters capture a policeman who they allege is a "Shabiha" or pro-regime militiaman, on Tuesday, July 31, as the rebels overrun a police station in Aleppo.
Rebel fighters load an anti-aircraft machine gun on an armored vehicle in Atareb, east of Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo, on Tuesday, July 31.
Syrian boys run near a building hit by bullets and fire in Atareb. A member of the Free Syrian Army fires at forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad in a district of Aleppo called Salah Edinne on Tuesday.
A member of the Free Syrian Army carries an injured civilian to safety in Aleppo's district of Salah Edinne on Tuesday.
Members of the Free Syrian Army learn that a tank belonging to forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad is heading to the area.
A Syrian boy carries bags of bread as people wait outside a bakery near Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo. A photo released by Syrian Arab News Agency depicts damaged buildings in Homs on Monday, July 30.
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes position Sunday, July 29, in Aleppo as people flee shelling. Intense clashes have been under way for more than a week between the regime and rebels in Aleppo, Syria's commercial and cultural center. Parts of Syria's largest city saw the fiercest clashes yet in the country's 16-month crisis on Saturday, July 28. About 200,000 people have fled fighting in Aleppo and surrounding areas in the past two days, a U.N. official says.
Fighting leaves vehicles damaged Saturday in the southwestern city of Daraa.
Syrians carry the body of a man allegedly killed in the bombardment of Sukari, southwest of Aleppo, by Syrian regime forces on July 27.
Destruction appears widespread in Homs on Friday, July 27, in a handout photo from the Syrian opposition Shaam News Network.
A Syrian opposition fighter takes aim during clashes with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Wednesday, July 25. Family and friends mourn over the body of Usame Mircan, who they say was killed by a Syrian government sniper in Aleppo on Wednesday.
Usame Mircan's mother grieves after he was killed during fighting in Aleppo.
The bodies of men killed during clashes between Syrian rebel fighters and goverment forces lie on the Aleppo street on Thursday, July 26.
Fighters from the Syrian opposition rest at a former primary school in Aleppo on Wednesday.
Residents take cover as fighters from the Syrian opposition clash with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Wednesday.
Syrian rebels guard a checkpoint in Aleppo on Wednesday.
A damaged portrait of President Bashar al-Assad sits among piles of debris at a checkpoint manned by Syrian rebels in Aleppo on Wednesday.
Syrian rebels drive through Selehattin near Aleppo during clashes with government forces on Monday, July 23.
A Syrian rebel runs through the streets of Selehattin during an attack on a municipal building. The rebel Free Syrian Army says it is attempting to "liberate" several districts of Aleppo.
Syrian rebels work to find snipers during clashes Monday between the opposition and government forces in Selehattin.
Syrian rebels make their way down a street Monday in Selehattin near Aleppo. If they gain control of Aleppo, it would mark a pivotal point in the Syrian crisis. Syrian rebels take cover behind sandbags during fighting Monday at the entrance to the city of Selehattin.
On Sunday, July 22, a Syrian refugee looks out from a bus as he arrives at a refugee camp in Turkey opposite the Syrian commercial crossing point Bab al-Hawa.
Syrian refugees flee from a refugee camp nicknamed "Container City" on the Turkish-Syrian border in Kilis province, southern Turkey, on Sunday.
A mortar shell falls toward the Syrian village of Jbatha Al-khashab, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Damascus. It's seen from the Israeli side of the border, in the Golan Heights.
Smoke from artillery shelling rises above Jbatha Al-khashab.
An armed Syrian rebel wearing the jersey of FC Barcelona rests with comrades near the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday. The rebel Free Syrian Army announced the start of the battle to "liberate" Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub and a traditional bastion of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
A Free Syrian Army soldier rips a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad at the Bab Al-Salam border crossing to Turkey on Sunday. Dozens of Turkish truck drivers on Saturday, July 21, accused Free Syrian Army rebels of having burned and looted their lorries as they captured Syria's Bab al-Hawa post, near Aleppo, from government troops.
In this photo released by the Shaam News Network, a truck burns after shelling in the Erbeen suburb of Damascus on Saturday, July 21.
Refugees fleeing the violence in Syria arrive by bus in Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday.
Turkish soldiers stand guard at the Cilvegozu border gate in Reyhanly that connects to Syria's Bab al-Hawa post. An estimated 120,000 people have fled Syria to Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan.
Burned-out trucks at the Bab al-Hawa Syrian border post with Turkey on Friday, July 20. Syrian rebels seized control of the post after a fierce battle with Syrian troops, an AFP photographer at the scene reported.
Syrian soldiers celebrate in the al-Midan area in Damascus on Friday. Syrian regime forces routed rebel fighters from the Damascus neighbourhood of Midan, Syrian state television reported, saying troops had "cleaned" the district of "terrorists."
Journalists are shown a dead body on a government tour of the al-Midan area in Damascus on Friday.
Members of Syria security forces rest in the al-Midan area in Damascus on Friday.
Syrian army soldiers hang their national flag in a partially destroyed neighborhood in the al-Midan area in Damascus.
Smoke hangs in the air in a partially destroyed neighborhood in the al-Midan area in Damascus.
Members of Syria security forces pose for photographers in the al-Midan area in Damascus after driving out the rebel fighters.
Syrian residents take goods from a truck that rebels captured at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on Friday.
A picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency on July 19 shows Syrian General Fahd al-Freij meeting with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus after his swearing-in ceremony as defense minister. A man holds up a picture of President Bashar al-Assad at a former police station in Atareb after clashes between Syrian soldiers and Free Syrain Army near Aleppo on Thursday, July 19. Rebels seized control of border crossings with Iraq on Thursday, dealing a new blow to al-Assad, as China and Russia dismayed the West by blocking U.N. action against his regime.
People walk along the street in Atareb amidst damage caused by clashed between Syrian soldiers and the Free Syrian Army.
A Syrian man checks the former police station of Syrian regime after a clash at Atareb on Thursday.
Smoke ascends from from alleged shelling of the Syrian village of Jebata al-Khashab as seen from the hill village of Buqaata in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Thursday.
The death toll in Syria on July 12 reached 287, making it the bloodiest day in Syria since the uprising began. As it has done consistently, Syrian state television blamed "armed terrorist groups" for the killings.
A Syrian woman sits with her grandson outside a damaged building after attacks in the Syrian village of Treimsa on July 13, 2012. More than 200 people were massacred in the town, according to activists.
A Syrian demonstrator holds an opposition flag during a protest in Damascus on July 2, 2012. There have been increasing reports of violence in the Syrian capital.
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad waves as he arrives for a speech to Syria's parliament in Damascus on June 3, 2012. The embattled president denied that government forces were behind the "outrageous" massacre in Houla.
People gather at a mass burial on May 26, 2012 for victims reportedly killed during an artillery barrage from Syrian forces in Houla. The attack left at least 108 people dead, including nearly 50 children, according to the United Nations.
Members of the Free Syrian Army return to Qusayr on May 12, 2012 after an attack on Syrian regime forces in the village of Nizareer, near the Lebanese border in Homs.
A U.N. observer speaks with Syrian rebels and civilians in the village of Azzara on May 4, 2012, days before the country's parlianemtary polls were held against a backdrop of unrest.
Thousands of Syrians wave their national flag and hold portraits of President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, right, during a rally to show support for their leader on March 29, 2012 in Damascus.
Syrian rebel fighters man a checkpoint leading into the town of Taftanaz in the rebel stronghold province of Idlib on March 20, 2012.
A Free Syrian Army rebel mounts his steed in the Al-Shatouria village near the Turkish border in northwestern Syria on March 16, 2012, a year after the uprising began. The Free Syrian Army is an armed opposition group made up largely of military defectors.
Syrian refugees walk across a field before crossing into Turkey on March 14, 2012. International mediator Kofi Annan called for an immediate halt to the killing of civilians in Syria as he arrived in Turkey for talks on the crisis.
A day after the twin suicide bombings, Syrian mourners pray over the coffins of the 44 people killed during a mass funeral in Damascus.
A Syrian man who was wounded in a suicide attack rests at a hospital in Damascus on December 23, 2011. Suicide bombers hit two security service bases in the Syrian capital, killing dozens of people. Arab foreign ministers attend an emergency meeting at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on October 16, 2011, to discuss the crisis in Syria.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to the media in Washington on August 18, 2011. Clinton said U.S. sanctions on Syrian oil "strike at the heart of the Syrian regime."
Syrian youths wave national flags while army troops drive out of Daraa on May 5, 2011. During a week-long military lockdown of the town, dozens of people were reportedly killed in what activists described as "indiscriminate" shelling on the city.
Syrians in Damascus protest in the street on March 25, 2011, after clashes with government forces in Daraa left several dead.
Supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rally on April 1 in Istanbul, Turkey, as delegates from dozens of countries gather to push for ways to end the deadly violence in Syria. The United Nations estimates more than 10,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the crisis in March 2011. The conflict is now being labeled a civil war by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Showdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaShowdown in SyriaHIDE CAPTION
<<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 >>> Photos: Showdown in Syria
The battle for Aleppo, Syria intensifies
Syria rebels capture regime's weapons
Reporter in Syria: Intense shelling Al-Hajji said clashes raged for hours at various spots near the city center, including close to the presidential palace. He said he is in the Industrial City of Aleppo, about 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the city of Aleppo, which is the commercial capital.

Members of the Free Syrian Army tried to stop approaching troops by attacking them in Idlib province, said Mohamed Said, an Aleppo spokesman for the Syrian Revolution General Commission.

As rebels scrambled to fend off regime forces in Aleppo, more gunfire erupted in other parts of Syria, with at least 124 killed nationwide Sunday, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.

The deaths included 59 in Damascus and its suburbs and 25 in Aleppo, the group said.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the situation may get worse in Aleppo, describing it as "the epicenter of a vicious battle between the Syrian government and those who wish to replace it."

Rebels in Aleppo exude gritty confidence and possess growing clout. They say they are in charge of significant parts of the city and are working to wrest control of the entire sprawling metropolis from the better-equipped forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The regime reported deaths, injuries and the capture of "terrorists" -- who Syria has consistently said are behind attacks -- in several neighborhoods of Aleppo on Saturday.

On Sunday, state-run news agency SANA said Syrian forces were continuing to chase "Gulf and Turkish militias" in Aleppo neighborhoods.

Rebels have launched their own attacks in multiple neighborhoods.

That included a brazen push Friday to seize a state-run broadcasting building. Rebels pushed into the radio and TV complex, and took over parts of it, before eventually withdrawing because of snipers and military shelling, the LCC said.

Around Syria's capital, "armed terrorists" attacked a bus carrying 48 Iranian Shiite pilgrims and kidnapped them, Iranian state media said. Syrian state media also reported the abduction and said it is under investigation.


A license to fund Syria
Is U.N. fiddling while Syria burns?
How to stop al Qaeda in Syria
Secret support for Syrian opposition It is unclear whether the hijacking is linked to the uprising against the Syrian government. The Iranian government is an ally of the al-Assad regime, which has been fighting a rebel movement dominated by Sunnis.

Iran is asking Turkey to step in to help free the pilgrims, according to IRNA, Tehran's state media.

In a phone call to his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi asked for the "prompt intervention of Ankara" to help release the pilgrims, IRNA said Saturday.

Turkey has tense relations with the Syrian regime and is sympathetic to the rebels. Television network Al Arabiya aired video purporting to show the pilgrims detained by Syrian rebels.

In the video, a commander of the Free Syrian Army says the 48 people abducted are revolutionary guards and not pilgrims. CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi insisted that "Iran has no military personnel in Syria. Syria has a very strong army and enjoys the support of the people," according to Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency.

And Kazem Jalali, a member of the country's national security commission, said Sunday that the abducted pilgrims had traveled to Syria individually and not through official channels, according to Iran's IRNA news agency.

Roughly 17,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict first flared in March 2011, when government forces began cracking down on protesters, Ban said last month. Opposition activists put the toll at more than 20,000.

The violence has intensified during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began July 21 in Syria and ends this month, the Red Cross said.

Meanwhile, the Syrian envoy to the United Nations, Bashar al-Jaafari, said his family received numerous death threats in the United States. He has reported the threats to U.S. officials, according to Syrian state media.

CNN's Saad Abedine, Yousuf Basil and Amir Ahmed contributed to this report.