Syria warns West against intervention

Syria: Aleppo Bombings Kill At Least 34


State media says bombings in Syria's second city caused huge destruction - a week after opposition fighters intensified fighting.


8:47pm UK, Wednesday 03 October 2012



Video: Syrian state TV shows the aftermath of the attacks in Aleppo
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At least 34 people have been killed in a wave of suicide bombings in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

The attacks occurred in a series of three car bombings near an officers' club in the north of the country.

State media say the bombing caused massive destruction, further trapping scores more under the rubber. The number of dead is expected to rise.

One shaken resident told state-run Ikhbariya TV: "It was like a series of earthquakes. It was terrifying, terrifying."

Local activist Mohammad Saeed said the explosions went off minutes apart at one of the city's main squares. He said the blasts were followed by clashes and heavy gunfire.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the attacks, adding a fourth car bomb went off in the Bab Jnein area near the Chamber of Commerce, causing an unspecified number of casualties there.

The conflict in Syria has now been going on for 18 months - with opponents to President Bashar al Assad's regime targeting security agencies and soldiers more regularly.

There had been unsubstantiated rumours that Mr Assad had been in the city.

Last week Syrian opposition fighters launched a new more intense campaign to take Aleppo.

Syria has apologised to Turkey for the fatalities , the mortar bomb was not aiming for Turkey, it was an accident.

Will there be anything left of Syria when this is over, an old Country with much heritage. I have never been to the Middle East but apparently Damascus is/was a beautiful old City.

Turkey 'Returns Fire' After Shell From Syria


Turkish troops are reported to have fired into Syria for a second day, responding to another shell strike from the Syrians.


10:02pm UK, Friday 05 October 2012

A Turkish soldier on the country's border with Syria

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Turkey has reportedly returned fire after a shell fired from Syria landed on its territory close to their common border.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said the shell from Syria came down near the Turkish village of Asagipulluyaz in Hatay province.

It quoted the province's governor as saying that Turkish troops "responded with fire" after the mortar landed in a rural area. No one was reported hurt.

Turkish artillery has fired at targets in Syria for two days after a mortar from Syria killed five civilians in a Turkish border town.

Turkey's parliament also voted on Thursday to allow cross-border military operations in Syria. Turkey, a member of Nato, preserves its right to hit back if shelling continues, Turkish officials have warned.

The US has expressed support for Turkey's response.

"The United States condemns the violence and the aggressive actions of the Syrians," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

"The Turks have taken some actions that are designed to ensure that their sovereignty is no longer violated by Syrian aggression and we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them as they take those actions. They are certainly appropriate."

The uprising against Syrian President Bashar al Assad began in March 2011 and has gradually developed into a bloody civil war - estimated to have killed more than 30,000 people.

USA IS WORRIED ABOUT WORRIED ABOUT WAR BETWEEN TURKEY AND SYRIA AFTER MORE SHELLING BY BY SYRIA INTO TURKEY WITH TURKEY RESPONDING..

Badboy wrote:USA IS WORRIED ABOUT WORRIED ABOUT WAR BETWEEN TURKEY AND SYRIA AFTER MORE SHELLING BY BY SYRIA INTO TURKEY WITH TURKEY RESPONDING..

At the moment Turkey is reluctant to go to war without NATO help, neither does Syria want a War with Turkey, it has enough to do fighting the rebels. I know Turkey retaliated the first time, when was the latest shelling in to Turkey.? The problem is, the rebels might be doing the shelling to force Turkey to retaliate. Apparently Turkey has a very good Army, weaponry etc.

7 October 2012 Last updated at 20:32










Turkey responds to Syrian mortar fire in Akcakale





The BBC's James Reynolds says the border at Akcakale feels like "a front line"

Continue reading the main story

Syria conflict

• Turkey-Syria tensions
  
• Assad heartland
  
• Bombed from above
  
• Guide to conflict
  

Turkish artillery has returned fire on Syria for a fifth day after a mortar landed in a border village.

Five people were killed in a similar incident, reportedly in the same street in the village, Akcakale, last week.

Turkey has been firing daily into Syria since Wednesday's deaths, as apparently stray munitions fall on its territory.

In Damascus, a policeman died when a car bomb went off in the car park of the police headquarters in the Syrian capital, state media reported.

The building in the Fahameh area of the city was said to have been damaged in the bombing, described as a "terrorist attack" by the Sana news agency.

Witnesses reported hearing heavy gunfire after the explosion.
Warplanes
During the day, fighting intensified in Syria's second city Aleppo, with fierce battles in two rebel-held neighbourhoods.

AFP news agency reported that warplanes were bombarding the districts of Bab al-Hadid and Shaar.

Syrian forces are also said to be on the offensive in Damascus and Homs.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports said rebels had captured a government outpost near the Turkish border province of Hatay.

Clashes in the area in recent days have led to several mortar bombs landing on the Turkish side from Syria, prompting Turkish forces to return fire.

The rebels are fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government in an uprising that began in March last year.

According to activists, more than 30,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Assad began. The UN estimates that at least 20,000 have died.

'Grave impact'
Sunday's shell in Akcakale landed in the grounds of a public building near the centre of the village, but there were no casualties as people had already been evacuated, Turkish NTV said.

Media and local officials said Turkey immediately returned fire. An Associated Press journalist said at least six mortars could be heard.

Wednesday's incident in Akcakale triggered international condemnation.

The UN Security Council said the incident showed the "grave impact" of the Syrian crisis on "regional peace and stability".

Turkey's retaliation was the first time Ankara had taken military action across the border since the Syrian uprising began.

And on the next day, Turkey's parliament authorised troops to launch cross-border operations and strike at Syrian targets for a period of one year.

On Friday, Turkey moved tanks and anti-aircraft missiles into Akcakale, though Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country did not want war.

It could be Syria is using these border incidents to entice Turkey to take action. Hoping this could unify the Syrian population against an aggressive response from the Turks.

8 October 2012 Last updated at 21:06

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'Saudi weapons' seen at Syria rebel base





The BBC was not allowed to see the contents of this crate, found in a rebel base in Aleppo

Continue reading the main story

Syria conflict

• Turkey-Syria tensions
  
• Assad heartland
  
• Bombed from above
  
• Guide to conflict
  

BBC News has uncovered evidence that weapons intended for the Saudi military have been diverted to Syrian rebels.

Three crates from an arms manufacturer - addressed to Saudi Arabia - have been seen in a base being used by rebel fighters in the city of Aleppo.

How the small crates reached Aleppo is unknown, and the BBC was not allowed to film their contents. Saudi Arabia has refused to comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, a big blast has been heard in a suburb of the capital, Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, said the attack was targeting a branch of the air force intelligence agency in Harasta.

There are no reports of casualties so far. Fighting is reported to be continuing in the area.

Turkey is calling for "international action" on Syria after a sixth consecutive day of cross-border shelling.

Turkey returned fire across the border on Monday after a Syrian shell fell on its territory.

Turkey would continue to do everything necessary to protect its borders, President Abdullah Gul said on Monday, adding that the "worst-case scenarios" were now taking place in Syria.

No-one was hurt in the latest incident, near the town of Altinozu, in Hatay province, the Turkish semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

Last week, a Syrian shell killed five Turkish civilians in the border town of Akcakale.

Meanwhile, fighting has intensified around the central Syrian city of Homs.

Syrian troops launched an assault on Homs, advancing into a rebel-held district after four days of bombardment.

"The army is in the midst of trying to cleanse the last rebel districts of the city of Homs," a Syrian army commander told the Associated Press news agency.
Unknown route
Continue reading the main story
Syria weapons boxes

• Label lists factory as LCW, in eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk
  
• LCW stands for Luhansk Cartridge Works, a major ammunition manufacturer, founded in 1895
  
• In Soviet times, the factory mainly supplied cartridges for army use but has diversified into sports and hunting markets
  
• One of its key exports is the 7.62mm cartridge used in the AK-47 semi-automatic rifle and its modifications - used by both the Syrian army and rebels
  

The crates of ammunition found in an Aleppo mosque were made by the Ukrainian firm Dastan, which specialises in naval weapons and missile complexes.

What was in the crates is unknown, says the BBC's Ian Pannell, who has been in Aleppo, as is how they ended up there.

But their presence clearly suggests that someone in the Gulf is actively helping the rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, our correspondent says.

When contacted by the BBC, Saudi officials refused to comment.

The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner says Saudi Arabia generally prefers to conduct its foreign affairs through low-key, behind-the-scenes discretion.

The apparent discovery of Saudi ammunition in a Syrian mosque could attract unwelcome attention, he adds.

Privately, opposition sources have confirmed to the BBC that they are receiving assistance from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The New York Times reports that Saudi and Qatari officials are sending small arms to the rebels, but are holding off sending heavier equipment, such as shoulder-fired missiles.

This is in part because they have been discouraged by the United States, which fears the heavier weapons could end up in the hands of terrorists, the newspaper says.

Meanwhile, in a speech on foreign policy on Monday, US presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said that if elected, he would back Western-friendly elements among the Syrian rebels.

Extracts of his speech released by his campaign include the following pledge on Syria: "I will work with our partners to identify and organize those members of the opposition who share our values and ensure they obtain the arms they need to defeat Assad's tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets."

The UN has warned of rising tensions and has urged those supplying weapons to both sides to stop doing so.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said tensions were increasing in the region, adding that he was "deeply concerned" by the continued flow of arms to both sides, despite international embargoes.

"I urge again those countries providing arms to stop doing so. Militarisation only aggravates the situation," he told the World Forum for Democracy, in the French city of Strasbourg.

Syria is not on the agenda at this week's meeting of Nato foreign ministers, but in an interview with the BBC, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Turkey - a Nato member - could count on solidarity.

Nato had no intention of interfering militarily in Syria, he said, but plans were in place to protect and defend Turkey if necessary.

A TOWN CALLED BDAMA/BDANA HAS FALLEN TO REBELS

9 October 2012 Last updated at 12:53

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Syria rebels bomb Air Force Intelligence complex


Video footage taken by activists in Harasta, which could not be verified, showed a large explosion
Continue reading the main story

Syria conflict

• No-man's land
  
• Turkey-Syria tensions
  
• Assad heartland
  
• Bombed from above
  

Rebels have carried out a suicide bomb attack overnight on an intelligence agency compound in a suburb of the Syrian capital, Damascus, reports say.

The al-Nusra Front, a jihadist militant group, said explosives-filled vehicles had been blown up outside the Air Force Intelligence complex in Harasta.

Residents said there were several huge blasts, followed by fierce clashes.

One activist group said dozens of people were killed and expressed fears for the fate of the agency's prisoners.

Human rights activists say hundreds of opponents of President Bashar al-Assad have been detained and tortured by Air Force Intelligence (AFI) across the country since the uprising began in March 2011.

AFI is seen by some as the elite agency of Syria's intelligence empire.

Though smaller than Military Intelligence, in the past it has played a leading role in operations against Islamist opposition groups, as well as covert actions abroad, and has a reputation for brutality.
'Citadel of repression'
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

The fate of hundreds of prisoners being held in the basements of the [Air Force Intelligence complex] is still unknown”

End Quote Rami Abdul Rahman Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
A statement issued by the al-Nusra Front said it had targeted the AFI "because it is one of the most notorious security divisions, and a citadel of repression whose extent is known only to God".

The group, which has claimed to be behind a series of deadly bombings since January, said a vehicle packed with nine tonnes of explosives had been driven up to the AFI compound in Harasta and blown up.

Twenty-five minutes later, another al-Nusra Front fighter blew up a one-tonne bomb hidden inside an ambulance, targeting survivors, it added. The fighters then fired mortars at the complex, the statement said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group, reported that several large explosions had shaken homes overnight in Harasta, as well as in the nearby suburbs of Jobar and Qabun.

The blasts were followed by violent clashes in several parts of Harasta, with government forces firing heavy weapons and mortars, it added.

SOHR head Rami Abdul Rahman told the AFP news agency that dozens of people had been killed in the suicide attacks.

The al-Nusra Front has said it was behind many of the bombings that have rocked Syria this year
"The fate of hundreds of prisoners being held in the basements of the [security complex] is still unknown," he added. "The regime has not said a word about what happened last night."

The SOHR is one of the most prominent organisations documenting and reporting incidents and casualties in the Syrian conflict. The group says its reports are impartial, though its information cannot be verified.

A Syrian official told the Associated Press that a suicide bomber had detonated a car bomb near the AFI complex, while pro-government al-Ikhbariya TV reported that the blast was followed by clashes.
'Unbearable' conflict
Elsewhere on Tuesday, government forces continued to attack rebel strongholds in the central city of Homs.

State TV reported that soldiers had secured large parts of the Khalidiya district and were now "pursuing the remnants of the terrorists".

Military aircraft and artillery have been targeting the Homs district of Khalidiya
News of the violence came as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the Syrian government to immediately declare a unilateral ceasefire, and the opposition to abide by it.

"It is unbearable for the Syrian people to continue like this," he told a joint news conference in Paris with French President Francois Hollande.

Mr Ban also called on countries to stop supplying weapons to both sides.

On Monday, the BBC found evidence that weapons intended for the Saudi military have been found at a base used by Syrian rebels.

The BBC's Ian Pannell saw crates from a Ukrainian arms manufacturer - addressed to Saudi Arabia - at a rebel camp in the city of Aleppo.

Meanwhile, Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said the alliance has "all necessary plans in place to protect and defend Turkey if necessary", amid escalating tensions on its border with Syria.

Turkish and Syrian government forces have been exchanging artillery fire since Syrian shells killed five Turkish civilians last week

Two Terrorism Arrests At Heathrow Airport


A man and a woman are held by counter terrorism officers after landing at Britain's busiest airport.


6:05am UK, Wednesday 10 October 2012

The two people were held by officers at Heathrow Airport

• Two people have been arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of committing terrorism offences.
  

A man and a woman were held at 8.30pm on Tuesday after arriving on a flight from Egypt into the airport.

The pair, both aged 26, were arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

They were taken to a central London police station where they remain in custody.

The arrests are part of an investigation into travel to Syria in support of alleged terrorist activity.

Officers are searching two addresses in east London under the Terrorism Act in connection with their inquiries

Heathrow Terror Suspect May Be NHS Doctor


2:45pm UK, Wednesday 10 October 2012




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Police are investigating whether a UK man who was held on suspicion of terror offences is an NHS doctor who led a militant group.

Officers are looking into whether the suspect, who was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday, is a doctor who took a sabbatical to head the group, which shot, wounded and kidnapped a British photographer in Syria.

The 26-year-old suspect was arrested along with a British woman of the same age after arriving on a flight from Egypt into the airport.

The pair were held on suspicion of travelling to Syria to support terrorist activities.

Scotland Yard confirmed one line of enquiry was whether they were involved in the abduction of photographer John Cantlie, who had worked for The Sunday Times, and Dutchman Jeroen Oerlemans.

Both were held captive for a week, and Mr Cantlie later said one of his kidnappers had claimed to be an NHS doctor. The doctor ended up treating the photographer, who was later freed.

The suspects were taken by officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command to a central London police station, where they remain in custody.

In recent months, concerns have been raised that foreign nationals are travelling to Syria with the intention of supporting jihadist movements.

In August, Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, said a number of people in his constituency were travelling to the Middle Eastern state - and he expected this to increase.

Syria: Assad's Power Base Begins To Waver


Bashar al Assad has always had the support of the Alawites, who dominate Syria's ruling class - but that might be about to change.


2:09pm UK, Wednesday 10 October 2012

The Alawites fear that if Assad falls, they may suffer reprisals

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  Tim Marshall
  
  Foreign Affairs Editor
  
  More from Tim | Follow Tim on Twitter
  
  
  The first cracks may be appearing in the previously rock solid Alawite core of the Assad regime in Syria.
  
  The outer layers of the power structure had already splintered, but until now the core held together in the belief that, if Bashar al Assad goes down, the entire community of 1.3 million Alawites would go with him. That may now be changing.
  
  Syria's ruling class is dominated by the Alawis, an offshoot of Shia Islam.
  
  They are at the highest levels in intelligence, government, business and media. Their rise to power began with the 1970 coup engineered by Mr Assad's father Hafez.
  
  Until then, they were bottom of the social structure, with many Syrians considering them not to be Muslims.
  
  The Alawites fear that in the short term, if Mr Assad falls, they may suffer reprisals, and in the longer term, a return to their previous status.
  
  This has held the various Alawi factions together. But recent weeks have made it clearer that the rebellion will not be completely crushed, and with Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia continuing to support the rebels, the long-term outlook for the regime is not good.
  Mr Sharaa has been named as a potential interim leader
  The first signs have appeared that some within the Alawi community are looking for a way to salvage a degree of power in a post-Assad Syria.
  
  All sides are aware of what happened in Iraq after the removal of Saddam Hussein and the dismantling of the entire Baath Party structure and so want to avoid a similar catastrophe in Syria which is also ruled by the Baath.
  
  This month, the leader of the SNC opposition alliance, Abdulbaset Sieda, said he would not oppose a role for members of the Baath Party in the future so long as they had not participated in killings during the uprising.
  
  This is a softening of a previous position and he even went so far as to name vice president Farouk al Sharaa as a potential interim leader if Mr Assad steps down. The Turkish government weighed in with similar comments.
  
  Mr Sharaa is a Sunni, as are the vast majority of those involved in fighting the Assad government.
  
  However, he is also a senior figure in the regime, and the suggestion that he may have a role to play is a hint that others, including Alawites, might too.
  
  There have always been a few Alawites involved in opposition to the government - some have even participated in the fighting.
  
  This week, the AFP news agency reported that a man using the pseudonym Abu Jabal said he represented a group called the Free Alawis and called on all Alawites to join the uprising. How many people are in the Free Alawi group is unknown.
  
  The Alawi tribes originated in the Latakia region and are split into four confederations, the Kalbiyah, Khaiyatin, Haddadin and Matawirah. These are then each sub divided into clans. The Assads are from the Numailatiyaa clan of the Matawirah tribe.
  The main square in Aleppo in Syria's north last week
  Recently, there have been reports, so far unsubstantiated, of clashes between Alawi clans in the Latakia and Homs regions.
  
  If true, this might signal the tensions with the debate within the community over continuing to support the Assads, or make a break and do a deal with the opposition.
  
  That would require a coup d'etat engineered by Alawi insiders in conjunction with Sunni dominated military units and the opposition.
  
  These are only tenuous signs of the regime cracking, but they are worth watching as is Vladimir Putin's visit to Turkey on October 14, where he will meet Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.
  
  If the Russians decide to ditch Mr Assad, Russia will be a key player in facilitating his removal and offering him a place to go where he would be safe from the International Criminal Court.
  
  That is one scenario, but there are others including the war grinding on with various outcomes, among them even the withdrawal of all Mr Assad's forces to Latakia where he would try to rule an Alawite statelet.
  
• 
  

10 October 2012 Last updated at 21:05





Syrian passenger plane forced to land in Turkey





The BBC's James Reynolds said Turkish officials believe the passenger plane may have been carrying non-civilian cargo, which could mean weapons

Continue reading the main story
Turkish fighter jets have forced a Syrian passenger plane to land at Ankara's airport amid high tension between the two neighbours.

The plane, which was travelling from Moscow, was intercepted on intelligence that it was carrying "non-civilian cargo", Turkey's foreign minister said.

He added that Turkey was determined to stop any transfer of weapons to the Syrian government through its airspace.

It comes as Syria and Turkey continue to trade cross-border artillery fire.

The Airbus A320 airliner was carrying 35 passengers, far fewer than its 180 passenger capacity.

The aircraft was escorted by Turkish jets to the capital's Esenboga airport for security checks, and the passengers have disembarked.
US task force
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told state-run television that Ankara had received information that the plane could be carrying "certain equipment in breach of civil aviation rules".

Meanwhile, the Turkish authorities have declared Syrian airspace to be unsafe and are preventing Turkish aircraft from flying over the country, the foreign ministry said.

The BBC's James Reynolds in southern Turkey says that Ankara clearly wants to show its own population and Syria that it is taking the threat posed by Syria extremely seriously.

If weapons are going to Syria, the Turkish government might worry that they will be fired back into its territory, our correspondent says.

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkey's top military commander warned Syria that Ankara would respond with greater force if Syria continued its cross-border shelling.

Five Turkish civilians were killed by Syrian mortar fire last week, prompting Turkey to fire into Syria for the first time since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 19 months ago.

Meanwhile, the US has confirmed reports it has established a military task force in Jordan.

It is monitoring the security of Syria's chemical and biological weapons as well as helping with the aid effort.

U.S. sends troops to Jordan to monitor Syrian chemical weapons sites



By the CNN Wire Staff
October 11, 2012 -- Updated 1343 GMT (2143 HKT)



A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sits on rubble along a street in the Saif al-Dawla district of Aleppo on Tuesday.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• State media says bus entering Syria from Lebanon attacked by "terrorist" group
  
• A senior Jordanian military official disputes Leon Panetta's account
  
• U.S. defense chief says 150 Special Operations Forces troops are in Jordan
  
• The United States is concerned about Syria's large stockpile of chemical weapons
  

Read a version of this story in Arabic.

(CNN) -- The United States deployed troops to Jordan to help monitor Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons and determine what efforts to take if violence spreads to neighboring nations, the U.S. defense chief said.

The announcement follows recent news that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces moved some of the weapons for security reasons. Reports have emerged that rebels are focusing their efforts on capturing some of the storage sites.

"We continue to be concerned about security at those sites," U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Wednesday after a meeting of NATO ministers in Brussels, Belgium.

"We want to ensure that security is maintained and we want to be very sure that those (weapons) do not fall into the wrong hands."

Roughly 150 U.S. Army special operations soldiers have been working with Jordanian forces to monitor the chemical and biological weapons sites in Syria while trying to determine how to respond should an issue arise, according to the defense chief.







Syrian troops surrender in vital town











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Syrian writer was beaten, humiliated





Romney supports arming Syrian rebels?
CNN reported in June that U.S. Special Operations Forces were training and advising Jordanian troops on a range of specific military tasks they might need to undertake if unrest in Syria spills into Jordan or poses a threat to that country. That information came from Defense Department officials who did not want to be named.

Panetta now has publicly acknowledged the troop deployment.

"We have a group of our forces there, working to help them build a headquarters and to ensure that we make the relationship between the United States and Jordan a strong one so we can deal with all of the possible consequences," he said.

"We've also been working with them to try to develop their own military and operational capabilities in the event of any contingency there."

A senior Jordanian military official denied Panetta's claims, according to the state-run PETRA news agency.

The American troops are in the country for an annual training exercise, the official from the Jordanian armed forces general command told the news agency.

There has been growing international concern about the fate of the weapons should the civil war escalate or if the weapons fall into the hands of rebels.

President Barack Obama warned al-Assad and "other players on the ground" -- presumably rebels -- that any attempt to move or use the chemical and biological weapons would be crossing a "red line" and would prompt a swift U.S. military response.

The United States also has been working with Turkey as part of its effort to monitor the weapons sites.

"They are obviously concerned about the (weapons storage) sites as well," Panetta said. "So we've worked with them to do what we can to monitor the situation."

Syria is believed to have one of the "largest and most advanced chemical warfare" programs in the Arab world, said Michael Eisenstadt, director of the military and security studies program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

In other developments:













Syrian rebels take up positions inside a building during clashes with government forces in Aleppo on Saturday, October 6. Click through the gallery to view images of the fighting in October. See photographs of the fighting in September.
cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":true,"x":18,"y":1,"pos":1,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}


Syrian members of the Al-Saiqa rebel brigade clean weapons on Saturday before going to the front line in Aleppo.
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A Syrian rebel runs across a heavily damaged street to dodge sniper fire during clashes on Saturday.
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Syrian rebels patrol a neighborhood in Aleppo on Friday, October 5.
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A Syrian demonstrator shouts during an anti-regime protest in Aleppo on Friday. Tensions rippled across Turkey a day after Syrian shells struck a Turkish border town and killed five people.
cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":18,"y":1,"pos":5,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}


A Syrian rebel takes position during clashes with government forces in Aleppo on Friday.
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An injured Free Syrian Army fighter rests after receiving treatment at Dar al Shifa hospital in Aleppo on Thursday, October 4.
cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":18,"y":1,"pos":7,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}


A child covers his wounds from a Syrian army sniper at Dar al Shifa hospital on Thursday.
cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":18,"y":1,"pos":8,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}


A Free Syrian Army figther cries after one of his friends was injured in fighting with government forces outside the Dar El Shifa hospital on Thursday.
cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":18,"y":1,"pos":9,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}


A Dar El Shifa worker cleans the floor outside the hospital in Aleppo on Thursday.
cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":18,"y":1,"pos":10,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}


Syrian rebel fighters look at a multirocket launcher in Tal Abyadh, a Syrian town close to the Turkish border, on Thursday.
cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":18,"y":1,"pos":11,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}


Rebels climb the stairs of a destroyed building Thursday in Tal Abyadh.
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Smoke rises from the explosion area after several Syrian shells crashed inside the town of Akcakale in Turkey, killing at least five people on Wednesday, October 3. It wasn't the first deadly cross-border incident between the two neighbors during the 18-month-long uprising in Syria.
cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":18,"y":1,"pos":13,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}


A police officer is injured in Wednesday's attack on Akcakale in Turkey's Sanliurfa province.
cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":18,"y":1,"pos":14,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}


Three car bombs destroyed the area around a military officers' club and a hotel in Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday. At least 40 people were killed and 90 wounded, most of them soldiers, a monitoring group said.
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Car bomb explosions on Wednesday left a crater in the ground.
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A nurse helps treat a 7-year-old girl who's neck was badly wounded by shrapnel at the Dar Al Shifaa hospital in Aleppo on Monday, October 1.
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Friends lay a rebel fighter on a gurney after he was shot in the chest during heavy battles in the Midan neighborhood on Monday.
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Photos: Showdown in Syria


Turkey's foreign minister defends search

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu defended the search of an airplane en route from Moscow to Damascus, saying Turkey would not allow weapons for the Syrian government to be transported through its airspace.

"We are resolutely ready to control weapons supplies to the regime, which kills the civilian population," Davutoglu said Thursday. "We are against having our airspace used for such purpose."

His comments followed reports that Russia was demanding answers from Turkey. There were 17 Russians aboard the plane, according to the state-run Itar-Tass news agency.

Vladimir Ivanovsky, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, arrived at the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Thursday for meetings.

Turkey forced the airliner to land Wednesday in Ankara, saying it had received intelligence that the plane was carrying weapons bound for Syria. Turkish officials seized 10 boxes believed to be parts for military communications equipment, according to TRT, an official Turkish news agency.

The plane was allowed to leave for Syria a short time later, TRT reported.

Syrian Minister of Transportation Mahmoud Said descried the incident as a "Turkish piracy operation," according to state TV. Turkey used "excessive military force," he said, by having two F-16 fighters fly close to the Syrian plane and risk the passengers' lives.

He also complained that Turkish officials forced the plane to land in a military-controlled part of Ankara airport, and he suggested that the Turks had tried to force the pilot and passengers to sign a statement saying the plane was grounded because of a technical problem. They refused, he told state TV.

Syrian TV also interviewed crew member Heitham Kassir, who said 10 armed Turkish officials entered the plane and searched cargo and the passengers' luggage.

Kassir said Turkish authorities found electrical equipment, which they took, and they handcuffed the pilots and took them out of the plane. They "threw us at the ground," Kassir said, showing a state TV interviewer bruises and scratches on his arm.

Said also described the forced landing as an act of piracy in a telephone interview with Lebanon's Hezbollah-run Al Manar TV.

Tensions between Turkey and Syria have boiled over in recent months, with Istanbul accusing Damascus of shelling its border towns where thousands of refugees have fled from the fighting. Turkish forces fired in retaliation and authorized its troops to venture beyond its borders.

Syria and Turkey once enjoyed warm relations that included visa-free travel and robust trade between the countries.

But relations ruptured as al-Assad's government waged its bloody and unrelenting crackdown on anti-government demonstrators.

Russia, a trade partner of Syria, and China have repeatedly blocked U.N. Security Council efforts to try to end the carnage. Russia's Foreign Ministry has said the conflict must be decided by the Syrian people.

Opposition: Homs under fire

Al-Assad's forces shelled the flashpoint city of Homs in western Syria early Thursday for a third day, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Government troops and rebels have battled on and off for control of the city in the months following the start of the conflict.

At least three government troops were killed and a number of rebels were wounded in the latest fighting, the Syrian Observatory said.

So far Thursday, 26 people have been killed, including 19 in Damascus and its suburbs. There has been renewed shelling by helicopters, mortars and artillery on the eastern Ghouta cities, according to figures provided by the opposition. Three people have died in Tadamon, nine in Daraa, five in Homs, two in Aleppo, one in Deir Ezzor and three in Idlib, they said.

Bus attack reported

Eight people were killed and eight were wounded when an armed terrorist group attacked a bus carrying Syrian workers coming from Lebanon near the al-Aarida border crossing, state TV SANA reported Thursday.

CNN can't confirm reports of violence or casualty counts as access to the country by international journalists has been severely restricted.

if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}

CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali contributed to this report.



258
Comments »

Syrian Plane 'Carried Russian Munitions'


Turkish officials are examining Russian-made equipment seized on a plane that was apparently destined for the Syrian military.


7:20pm UK, Thursday 11 October 2012



Video: The passenger plane was en route to Damascus from Moscow
Enlarge






By Holly Williams, Sky Correspondent

A Syrian plane forced to land in Ankara was carrying Russian-made munitions destined for Damascus, Turkey's Prime Minister has said.

Tayyip Erdogan said the cache was being carried on board a passenger plane from Moscow, which was forced to land in Ankara.

It's believed the arms were destined for Syria's defence ministry.

The Airbus A320, which had 37 passengers on board, was escorted to Ankara airport by F-16 fighter jets, where the Turkish authorities seized some of its cargo.

"We are determined to control weapons transfers to a regime that carries out such brutal massacres against civilians," said Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

None of the plane's passengers was arrested, and all were allowed to travel on to Syria.

The Syrian authorities said the plane was carrying civilian electrical equipment - and described the interception as an act of piracy.
The Airbus A320 had 37 passengers on board.
Russia's ambassador to Turkey was also summoned to the country's foreign ministry after the forced landing.

The Russian government complained that the passengers were not given consular access, food or access to a doctor. It said in a statement that the lives and safety of the passengers had been placed under threat.

The incident is a ratcheting-up of regional tensions surrounding Syria's civil war. Russia is a long-term ally of Syria, and has backed the Assad regime in its bloody civil conflict with the country's opposition.

Russia and China have vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions which would have imposed sanctions against the Syrian government.

Turkey, which shares a 900 km-long border with Syria, has emerged as one of the Assad regime's fiercest critics, despite their close relationship prior to the Arab Spring.

Turkey openly backs the Syrian opposition, providing support for rebel fighters, and housing more than 80,000 registered Syrian refugees.

In recent weeks, Turkish border villages have been repeatedly hit by shells fired from Syria. Last week in the town of Akcakale a mortar bomb killed five civilians, including a mother and her three children.

The incident prompted the Turkish parliament to vote to authorise military action against Syria if necessary. The Turkish military has repeatedly fired back across the border in recent days.

Some fear that skirmishes on the border could escalate into a regional war, though any conflict with Syria would be deeply unpopular with the Turkish public, and Turkey's government has repeatedly said that it has no desire for an armed conflict with its neighbour.

But Turkish officials are clearly frustrated by their inability to prevent the chaos of Syria's conflict from spilling over its own borders.

In August the Turkish Foreign Minister said his country could take no more than 100,000 Syrian refugees, and called on the UN to set up new camps in a "safe haven" inside Syria.

However, it is unclear how such a safe haven could be established without a no-fly zone and greater international involvement in the Syrian civil war.

The United States, Britain and other Western powers have so far avoided direct intervention in the Syrian conflict, which opposition groups estimate has already cost more than 30,000 lives.

12 October 2012 Last updated at 16:21
Syria: Rebels 'seize air defence base' near Aleppo
Rebels and government have been fighting for Aleppo since July
Continue reading the main story

Syria conflict

• No-man's land
  
• Turkey-Syria tensions
  
• Assad heartland
  
• Bombed from above
  

Syrian rebels have taken an air defence base from government forces near the northern city of Aleppo, activists say.

The al-Taaneh base lies east of Aleppo, where fighting between the two sides has raged for months.

In Aleppo itself, state media said soldiers destroyed 14 rebel pick-up trucks mounted with machine-guns.

Meanwhile in the row over Turkey's interception of a Syria-bound plane, Russia said the aircraft was legally carrying radar parts.

Turkey's prime minister earlier said Russian-made defence equipment had been found on board - a claim which Syria branded a lie, challenging Ankara to put the seized items on public display.

On the border tensions continued, with Turkey reportedly scrambling fighter jets after an air attack on a Syrian frontier town by government forces.

Relations deteriorated sharply last week after the deaths of five Turkish civilians in shelling from across the border.
'Rockets destroyed'
The base at Taaneh is said to be part of a large defensive network across the country.

Video posted online showed rebels inside the base, inspecting lines of large missiles, AP reported.

A spokesman for the Revolutionary Council in Aleppo, Abu Firas, told the Guardian website that soon after the rebels' operation to take the base "the regime began to shell the base with planes and destroyed most of the rockets and radars inside".

"The planes also shelled many districts inside Aleppo and the countryside," he said.

The reported taking of the air base and renewed border flare-up came a day after what the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said was one of the most deadly days across Syria, with some 250 deaths.

Rebel fighters are said to have the town of Maarat al-Numan, on the to Aleppo from Hama
The Syrian national news agency Sana also reported fighting across the country with dozens of "mercenary terrorists" killed, Reuters news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency said on Friday it was preparing to help hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees this winter.

According to UN figures, 340,000 Syrians have already fled to neighbouring countries - a figure that is expected to double by the end of the year.

Officials say they will make $64m (£40m) available to provide fuel, food, shelter and warm clothing for refugees, who are mostly living in camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.

They say they hope to extend help to refugees who are still in Syria as well.

I AM NOT SURE ABOUT THIS,THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SHELLING INTO TURKEY KILLING 5 CIVILIANS

Badboy wrote:I AM NOT SURE ABOUT THIS,THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SHELLING INTO TURKEY KILLING 5 CIVILIANS

There was Badboy , including a young Boy. The Turks retaliated and although they want the U.N. or Nato to act, they also

don't want to start a full blown War. Damascus, one of the Oldest Cities is mostly a pile of rubble now , hundreds of thousands fled the Country and are in Refugee Camps........look no further than Iraq to see the permanent damage done to these middle east Countries.

I THOUGHT THAT WAS TODAY,BUT IT WAS LAST WEEK,IT SEEMS TURKEY IS FIRING INTO SYRIA.
ALL CONFUSING.

Syrian Crisis: UN Envoy Holds Talks In Turkey


Officials meet in Turkey for talks on the Syrian conflict, amid ongoing tensions between Damascus and its northern neighbour.


1:42pm UK, Saturday 13 October 2012



Video: Envoy Holds Syria Talks In Turkey
Enlarge

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  The UN's envoy on Syria is meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday to discuss the 19-month-long Syrian civil war.
  
  Lakhdar Brahimi travelled to Istanbul from Saudi Arabia amid growing tensions between Syria and its northern neighbour Turkey.
  
  On Wednesday, Turkey intercepted a Syrian passenger plane en route from Moscow to Damascus and seized what it said was military equipment on board.
  
  Syria denounced the move as air piracy and Russia has said the cargo was radar parts that complied with international law.
  Lakhdar Brahimi (L) held talks with Saudi King Abdullah (R) on Friday
  Tensions between Damascus and its larger neighbour have soared since a shell fired from the Syrian side killed five Turkish civilians in a border village on October 3.
  
  The Syrian army has been battling to restore its supply lines between the capital and second city Aleppo since rebels captured a key town on the main highway earlier this week
  
  Mr Davutoglu will also meet separately in Istanbul with Arab leaders and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle later.
  
• 
  

Mr Davutoglu will also meet separately in Istanbul with Arab leaders and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle later."


Is this the EU trying to prove they deserved the Nobel Peace Prize? Is Germany the only Country capable of negotiating in the Middle East?, the Germans scuppered the EADS/BAE deal because they wanted to be top dog .....when is the EU going to wake up to what is happening!!!

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var ap_headline = "Turkish PM slams UN Security Council over Syria ";

Oct 13, 10:06 AM EDT Turkish PM slams UN Security Council over Syria By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press

AP Photo World Video googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('rectangle_body'); }); AP_Tacoda_AMS_DDC_addPair("SECTION", "INTERNATIONAL; MIDDLE EAST") AP_Tacoda_AMS_DDC("http://te.ap.org/tte/blank.gif", "1.0") Documents Indictment of Monzer al-Kassar Latest Syria News Turkish PM slams UN Security Council over Syria Hospital in Syrian city barely copes with wounded Israeli paper: Premier talked peace with Syria School helps traumatized Syrian kids heal Civil war leaves Syrian economy, cities in ruins var mytd = document.getElementById('mytd'); var mydiv = document.getElementById('spnrefmoneymarkets'); if (mytd != null) {mytd.innerHTML = spnrefmoneymarkets.innerHTML; mydiv.innerHTML = ''}; Buy AP Photo Reprints // var urlArray=document.URL.split("?"); // document.write(" "); ISTANBUL (AP) -- Turkey's prime minister sharply criticized the U.N. Security Council on Saturday for its failure to agree on decisive steps to end the 19-month civil war in Syria. Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an international conference in Istanbul that the world was witnessing a humanitarian tragedy in Syria. "If we wait for one or two of the permanent members ... then the future of Syria will be in danger," said Erdogan, according to an official translator. Russia and China - two of the five permanent members of the Security Council - have vetoed resolutions that sought to put concerted pressure on Damascus to end the conflict and agree to a political transition. Erdogan called for a reform of the Security Council, which he called an "unequal, unfair system" that didn't represent the will of most countries. He spoke as Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was meeting with Arab and European leaders amid growing tensions between Turkey and its southern neighbor Syria. Davutoglu held talks early Saturday with Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby and was due to meet later with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and the U.N.'s envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi. On Wednesday, Turkey intercepted a Syrian passenger plane en route from Moscow to Damascus and seized what it said was military equipment on board. Syria denounced the move as air piracy, while Russia said the cargo was radar parts that complied with international law. Activists said Saturday army troops have clashed with rebel units on several fronts around the country where a peaceful uprising against the regime of President Bashar Assad last year became a bloody civil war. More than 32,000 people have been killed since the revolt started in March 2011, according to activists. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled the fighting that has devastated whole neighborhoods in Syria's cities and towns. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said Saturday regime forces were pounding the rebel stronghold of Homs in central Syria with mortars and artillery. The southern province of Daraa, the birthplace of the revolt, also sustained shelling by the Syrian army throughout Saturday. Fighting between army troops and rebels raged around Idlib province and in and around the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest city and a former business hub. Earlier, Syria's state-run news agency reported that Damascus supported a proposal by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to find a "mechanism of direct security communication between Syria and Turkey." SANA reported that Syrian government officials and Russia's ambassador in Damascus discussed ways to establish a joint Syrian-Turkish security committee that would "control the security situation on both sides of the border in the framework of respecting the national sovereignty of the two countries." Turkey has made no comment on the proposal, and it is unclear whether Moscow has presented it to the Turkish government yet. ---- Barbara Surk in Beirut contributed to this report. © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

y item" border=0]

Oct 13, 10:06 AM EDT Turkish PM slams UN Security Council over Syria By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press

AP Photo World Video googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('rectangle_body'); }); AP_Tacoda_AMS_DDC_addPair("SECTION", "INTERNATIONAL; MIDDLE EAST") AP_Tacoda_AMS_DDC("http://te.ap.org/tte/blank.gif", "1.0") Documents Indictment of Monzer al-Kassar Latest Syria News Turkish PM slams UN Security Council over Syria Hospital in Syrian city barely copes with wounded Israeli paper: Premier talked peace with Syria School helps traumatized Syrian kids heal Civil war leaves Syrian economy, cities in ruins var mytd = document.getElementById('mytd'); var mydiv = document.getElementById('spnrefmoneymarkets'); if (mytd != null) {mytd.innerHTML = spnrefmoneymarkets.innerHTML; mydiv.innerHTML = ''}; Buy AP Photo Reprints // var urlArray=document.URL.split("?"); // document.write(" "); ISTANBUL (AP) -- Turkey's prime minister sharply criticized the U.N. Security Council on Saturday for its failure to agree on decisive steps to end the 19-month civil war in Syria. Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an international conference in Istanbul that the world was witnessing a humanitarian tragedy in Syria. "If we wait for one or two of the permanent members ... then the future of Syria will be in danger," said Erdogan, according to an official translator. Russia and China - two of the five permanent members of the Security Council - have vetoed resolutions that sought to put concerted pressure on Damascus to end the conflict and agree to a political transition. Erdogan called for a reform of the Security Council, which he called an "unequal, unfair system" that didn't represent the will of most countries. He spoke as Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was meeting with Arab and European leaders amid growing tensions between Turkey and its southern neighbor Syria. Davutoglu held talks early Saturday with Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby and was due to meet later with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and the U.N.'s envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi. On Wednesday, Turkey intercepted a Syrian passenger plane en route from Moscow to Damascus and seized what it said was military equipment on board. Syria denounced the move as air piracy, while Russia said the cargo was radar parts that complied with international law. Activists said Saturday army troops have clashed with rebel units on several fronts around the country where a peaceful uprising against the regime of President Bashar Assad last year became a bloody civil war. More than 32,000 people have been killed since the revolt started in March 2011, according to activists. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled the fighting that has devastated whole neighborhoods in Syria's cities and towns. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said Saturday regime forces were pounding the rebel stronghold of Homs in central Syria with mortars and artillery. The southern province of Daraa, the birthplace of the revolt, also sustained shelling by the Syrian army throughout Saturday. Fighting between army troops and rebels raged around Idlib province and in and around the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest city and a former business hub. Earlier, Syria's state-run news agency reported that Damascus supported a proposal by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to find a "mechanism of direct security communication between Syria and Turkey." SANA reported that Syrian government officials and Russia's ambassador in Damascus discussed ways to establish a joint Syrian-Turkish security committee that would "control the security situation on both sides of the border in the framework of respecting the national sovereignty of the two countries." Turkey has made no comment on the proposal, and it is unclear whether Moscow has presented it to the Turkish government yet. ---- Barbara Surk in Beirut contributed to this report. © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

[/quote]