Syria warns West against intervention
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Sun 2 Dec - 10:02
Ban Ki-moon warns Syria has reached 'appalling heights of brutality'
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has said that the conflict in Syria has reached "appalling heights of brutality", as Syrian jets bombed rebel-held areas of Damascus and an internet blackout entered its third day.
Ban Ki-moon Photo: REUTERS
By Ruth Sherlock
12:05PM GMT 01 Dec 2012
At least 40,000 people have been killed during the 20-month-old uprising, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
UN chief Ban predicted that Syrian refugee numbers would surge to more than 700,000 by next month as more civilians fled the fighting in residential areas - up from 480,000 now.
International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi furthermore warned the country was in danger of becoming a "failed state" if a political settlement was not reached soon.
There was little sign of compromise on the ground, however, as Syrian government troops in Damascus mounted an offensive to cut off rebel held suburbs from the city centre.
Tanks shelled southwestern and northeastern outskirts of the capital and troops fought to retain control of the crucial airport highway, an area that the rebels had sought to seize control of earlier in the week.
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Syrian state television quoted a ministry of information statement saying the Damascus international airport was open on Saturday and that the road leading to it was safe. Opposition activists said clashes continued. EgyptAir and Emirates both suspended their flights to the city.
The escalation also sparked a communications blackout with the internet and phone lines failing for three days. Both sides blamed each other for the collapse. Google and Twitter said that they had reactivated a voice-tweet program, last used in 2011 when the internet was shut down in Egypt during its revolution, to allow Syrians affected to get messages out.
Rights groups have warned the communications drop off is a precursor to a wider offensive by government forces in the capital. Syrian security sources and diplomats say the government intends to block central Damascus from the restive suburbs.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has said that the conflict in Syria has reached "appalling heights of brutality", as Syrian jets bombed rebel-held areas of Damascus and an internet blackout entered its third day.
Ban Ki-moon Photo: REUTERS
By Ruth Sherlock
12:05PM GMT 01 Dec 2012
At least 40,000 people have been killed during the 20-month-old uprising, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
UN chief Ban predicted that Syrian refugee numbers would surge to more than 700,000 by next month as more civilians fled the fighting in residential areas - up from 480,000 now.
International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi furthermore warned the country was in danger of becoming a "failed state" if a political settlement was not reached soon.
There was little sign of compromise on the ground, however, as Syrian government troops in Damascus mounted an offensive to cut off rebel held suburbs from the city centre.
Tanks shelled southwestern and northeastern outskirts of the capital and troops fought to retain control of the crucial airport highway, an area that the rebels had sought to seize control of earlier in the week.
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Syrian state television quoted a ministry of information statement saying the Damascus international airport was open on Saturday and that the road leading to it was safe. Opposition activists said clashes continued. EgyptAir and Emirates both suspended their flights to the city.
The escalation also sparked a communications blackout with the internet and phone lines failing for three days. Both sides blamed each other for the collapse. Google and Twitter said that they had reactivated a voice-tweet program, last used in 2011 when the internet was shut down in Egypt during its revolution, to allow Syrians affected to get messages out.
Rights groups have warned the communications drop off is a precursor to a wider offensive by government forces in the capital. Syrian security sources and diplomats say the government intends to block central Damascus from the restive suburbs.
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Car Bomb Kills 15
Panda Sun 2 Dec - 16:23
Fifteen people have been killed in a car bomb attack in Syria, state media has reported.
"A terrorist attack struck the (government-held) Hamra district of Homs," the Sana news agency said, adding that a further 24 people had been wounded.
Amateur video footage posted online by opposition activists showed the bodies of at least three victims, including a woman buried in the rubble of a building as a car burned not far away.
Another video showed a car turned upside down on a pavement, as other vehicles blazed nearby.
A third video showed an injured child lying in hospital, crying in pain.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported fewer casualties.
"At least seven civilians were killed in a car bomb explosion near the sports stadium," it said, adding that many of the wounded were in a critical condition so the death toll was likely to rise.
Homs is Syria's third largest city and was one of the cradles of the armed uprising against the rule of President Bashar al Assad.
The city suffered devastating violence early this year but for the past six months the army has kept mainly Sunni Arab rebel-held districts around the centre under siege rather than launching an all-out assault.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Mon 3 Dec - 16:29
the Jordanian Minister has voiced his concern at the number of Syrians crossing the Border and says there are over 250,000 which is making it difficult not just to give them shelter but to feed them as well. He also says the refugees will probably have nothing to go back to, their homes having been destroyed and the infastructure severely damaged.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Tue 4 Dec - 16:24
Syria: '28 students killed' in rebel attack on Damascus school
A rebel mortar attack on a school outside Damascus on Tuesday killed 28 students and their teacher, a report has claimed.
Damaged houses are seen in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Nov 29, 2012. Photo: AFP PHOTO / JAVIER MANZANOJavier Manzano/AFP/Getty Images
2:52PM GMT 04 Dec 2012
The mortar smashed into Bteiha school in Wafideen camp about 20 kilometres (15 miles) northeast of Damascus, the report said.
Wafideen is home to some 25,000 people displaced from the Golan Heights by the Israeli occupation since 1967.
Reuters news agency quoted Syrian state media as saying 29 people had died in the attack. Other reports put the death toll at nine students and their teacher, with another 20 injured.
"They were killed by a mortar launched by terrorists," said Syrian state television, using the Assad regime's term for rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's forces in the country's raging civil war.
Battles east of Damascus have grown especially bloody in past days as troops try to push back rebels in the Eastern Ghouta region as they inch closer towards the capital.
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On Tuesday alone, a total of 16 people were killed in violence in the province of Damascus, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which also reported the killings in the Wafideen camp.
The Britain-based watchdog also reported raging battles on Tuesday at a checkpoint near the strategic road linking Damascus to the international airport.
The army meanwhile shelled several towns and villages in the outskirts of Damascus, both southwest and east of the capital, it said.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Thu 6 Dec - 7:18
Syria 'has loaded chemical weapons into bombs'
The Syrian regime has loaded the precursor chemicals for the nerve gas sarin into aerial bombs, according to a report from the United States.
Concerns have been raised that the Bashar al-Assad regime might turn to chemical weapons in the ongoing civil war Photo: REUTERS
1:33AM GMT 06 Dec 2012
NBC News quoted an unnamed US official as saying there was evidence that the bombs, loaded with the chemical weapon, could be dropped on the Syrian people from fighter planes once president Basah al-Assad gives the order.
If it proves to be true, the move would be a dramatic escalation in the conflict in Syria, which could lead to US involvement.
Earlier this week, US officials said the regime had begun mixing the chemicals to make the deadly sarin gas.
Sarin, used in two terrorist attacks in Japan in the 1990s, is a man-made nerve agent which can cause convulsions, respiratory failure and death.
The Syrian regime has never overtly admitted having chemical weapons, though it is believed by western analysts to have the biggest stocks in the Middle East. It has also denied it would ever use chemical weapons against its own people.
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The official told NBC News that the chemicals had now been put into bombs, although the bombs had not been loaded onto planes and Mr Assad had not ordered them to be used.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has reiterated that Mr Assad would be crossing "a red line" if he used chemical weapons against his people.
The Syrian regime has loaded the precursor chemicals for the nerve gas sarin into aerial bombs, according to a report from the United States.
Concerns have been raised that the Bashar al-Assad regime might turn to chemical weapons in the ongoing civil war Photo: REUTERS
1:33AM GMT 06 Dec 2012
NBC News quoted an unnamed US official as saying there was evidence that the bombs, loaded with the chemical weapon, could be dropped on the Syrian people from fighter planes once president Basah al-Assad gives the order.
If it proves to be true, the move would be a dramatic escalation in the conflict in Syria, which could lead to US involvement.
Earlier this week, US officials said the regime had begun mixing the chemicals to make the deadly sarin gas.
Sarin, used in two terrorist attacks in Japan in the 1990s, is a man-made nerve agent which can cause convulsions, respiratory failure and death.
The Syrian regime has never overtly admitted having chemical weapons, though it is believed by western analysts to have the biggest stocks in the Middle East. It has also denied it would ever use chemical weapons against its own people.
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The official told NBC News that the chemicals had now been put into bombs, although the bombs had not been loaded onto planes and Mr Assad had not ordered them to be used.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has reiterated that Mr Assad would be crossing "a red line" if he used chemical weapons against his people.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Fri 7 Dec - 7:18
'Zero hour': Syrian rebels prepare to mount Damascus attack
Syrian rebels are preparing to mount their ‘Zero Hour’ campaign to take Damascus, with fears the capital is facing total destruction in the coming months.
Rebel soldiers walk through the rubble of building in the northern Syrian city Aleppo Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
By Ruth Sherlock, Beirut
6:49PM GMT 06 Dec 2012
As rebels fought government troops on the outskirts of the capital, a Damascus based analyst told the Daily Telegraph that the fighting was likely to defeat the aspirations of both sides.
“There is the risk of the total destruction of Damascus,” said Peter Harling, Project Director with the Middle East Programme of the International Crisis Group. “The regime is well entrenched in some key parts of Damascus and the opposition is unable to come up with a political vision to offer an exit to the bulk of people fighting for the regime.
“We could see a repeat of the level of destruction that we have seen in other towns, but it would be worse this time: what transition do you get when you destroy the seat on power?”
As the rebels advance, the United States said they were “very concerned” that Bashar al-Assad’s regime would resort to using chemical weapons.
“I think there is no question that we remain very concerned, very concerned that as the opposition advances - in particular on Damascus - that the regime might very well consider the use of chemical weapons,” Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary said.
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“The intelligence that we have raises serious concerns that this is being considered.”
Unconfirmed reports on Wednesday confirmed that the military had loaded precursor chemicals for sarin nerve gas into aerial bombs for potential use.
In recent weeks, armed groups have won control in much of the north of the country and seized key positions in both the northern populous town of Aleppo and in the capital.
Government forces in Damascus fought to keep rebel groups at bay on Thursday, launching shelling attacks to the northeast and southwest of the capital, official and activist sources said.
Increasingly bullish, this week opposition activists launched a video titled ‘Zero Hour – Your Final Chance’, warning residents in the capital to “change sides” before it is too late.
The video, posted on Facebook, promises an imminent offensive that would seize central Damascus and “check mate” the Syrian president.
It gives instructions on how to react to the attack, and how best to survive: “No one will remain in their house during this hour … we will come out in the millions to all of the criminal Assad’s palaces … The floor will shake under Assad and his supporters’ feet,” narrates a voice backed by rousing music. “We invite all members of the Assad Army to defect in masses from this regime.”
Seeking to further boost their successes, commanders of the Free Syrian Army have gathered in Turkey to settle on a new organisational military structure that is intended to increase co-ordination between groups on the ground and improve weapons supply lines.
In another boost, Britain said that it will seek next week to amend an arms embargo on Syria to make it easier to help the rebels.
A Foreign Office official said the increased “practical support” that Britain envisaged would be training and non-lethal equipment. Items such as body armour and night-vision goggles are currently caught up in a European arms embargo aimed at stemming supplies to Assad forces.
Mr Harling however warned that the failure of the opposition’s political wing – first the Syrian National Council and now the National Coalition, to carry a strong message of forgiveness and conciliation to government loyalists means the plan to overthrow the capital is doomed to a bitter and bloody failure that could see Syria become a failed state.
“You can’t just let the armed groups play this out. As the regime is forced into a fighting retreat we could see new conflicts ignite ... and the political opposition is totally absent.”
Next week Syria’s international allies, including Britain, will meet for a ‘Friends of Syria’ conference in Morocco where they are expected to endorse the National Coalition with full political recognition, as well as substantial funds.
A Western diplomat monitoring the National Coalition as it tries to elect a leader said the group’s objectives have once again become lost to squabbling.
“The SNC knows it has been sidelined and so is trying as much as it can to sabotage the new project. There is a huge split in National Coalition and they won’t stop fighting.”
Syrian rebels are preparing to mount their ‘Zero Hour’ campaign to take Damascus, with fears the capital is facing total destruction in the coming months.
Rebel soldiers walk through the rubble of building in the northern Syrian city Aleppo Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
By Ruth Sherlock, Beirut
6:49PM GMT 06 Dec 2012
As rebels fought government troops on the outskirts of the capital, a Damascus based analyst told the Daily Telegraph that the fighting was likely to defeat the aspirations of both sides.
“There is the risk of the total destruction of Damascus,” said Peter Harling, Project Director with the Middle East Programme of the International Crisis Group. “The regime is well entrenched in some key parts of Damascus and the opposition is unable to come up with a political vision to offer an exit to the bulk of people fighting for the regime.
“We could see a repeat of the level of destruction that we have seen in other towns, but it would be worse this time: what transition do you get when you destroy the seat on power?”
As the rebels advance, the United States said they were “very concerned” that Bashar al-Assad’s regime would resort to using chemical weapons.
“I think there is no question that we remain very concerned, very concerned that as the opposition advances - in particular on Damascus - that the regime might very well consider the use of chemical weapons,” Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary said.
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“The intelligence that we have raises serious concerns that this is being considered.”
Unconfirmed reports on Wednesday confirmed that the military had loaded precursor chemicals for sarin nerve gas into aerial bombs for potential use.
In recent weeks, armed groups have won control in much of the north of the country and seized key positions in both the northern populous town of Aleppo and in the capital.
Government forces in Damascus fought to keep rebel groups at bay on Thursday, launching shelling attacks to the northeast and southwest of the capital, official and activist sources said.
Increasingly bullish, this week opposition activists launched a video titled ‘Zero Hour – Your Final Chance’, warning residents in the capital to “change sides” before it is too late.
The video, posted on Facebook, promises an imminent offensive that would seize central Damascus and “check mate” the Syrian president.
It gives instructions on how to react to the attack, and how best to survive: “No one will remain in their house during this hour … we will come out in the millions to all of the criminal Assad’s palaces … The floor will shake under Assad and his supporters’ feet,” narrates a voice backed by rousing music. “We invite all members of the Assad Army to defect in masses from this regime.”
Seeking to further boost their successes, commanders of the Free Syrian Army have gathered in Turkey to settle on a new organisational military structure that is intended to increase co-ordination between groups on the ground and improve weapons supply lines.
In another boost, Britain said that it will seek next week to amend an arms embargo on Syria to make it easier to help the rebels.
A Foreign Office official said the increased “practical support” that Britain envisaged would be training and non-lethal equipment. Items such as body armour and night-vision goggles are currently caught up in a European arms embargo aimed at stemming supplies to Assad forces.
Mr Harling however warned that the failure of the opposition’s political wing – first the Syrian National Council and now the National Coalition, to carry a strong message of forgiveness and conciliation to government loyalists means the plan to overthrow the capital is doomed to a bitter and bloody failure that could see Syria become a failed state.
“You can’t just let the armed groups play this out. As the regime is forced into a fighting retreat we could see new conflicts ignite ... and the political opposition is totally absent.”
Next week Syria’s international allies, including Britain, will meet for a ‘Friends of Syria’ conference in Morocco where they are expected to endorse the National Coalition with full political recognition, as well as substantial funds.
A Western diplomat monitoring the National Coalition as it tries to elect a leader said the group’s objectives have once again become lost to squabbling.
“The SNC knows it has been sidelined and so is trying as much as it can to sabotage the new project. There is a huge split in National Coalition and they won’t stop fighting.”
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
AnnaEsse Sun 9 Dec - 18:16
Aaron Burr كفري @SuperAaronBurr
You people know we're massing our military on Syria's border, right?
You people know we're massing our military on Syria's border, right?
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Tue 11 Dec - 7:27
Syrian rebels defy US and pledge allegiance to jihadi group
Rebel groups across Syria are defying the United States by pledging their allegiance to a group that Washington will designate today a terrorist organization for its alleged links to al-Qaeda.
Rebel fighters sit at a gun position in the Sheikh Suleiman base, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) northwest of the city of Aleppo. Photo: AFP/Getty
10:03PM GMT 10 Dec 2012
A total of 29 opposition groups, including fighting "brigades" and civilian committees, have signed a petition calling for mass demonstrations in support of Jabhat al-Nusra, an Islamist group which the White House believes is an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The petition is promoting the slogan "No to American intervention, for we are all Jabhat al-Nusra" and urges supporters to "raise the Jabhat al-Nusra flag" as a "thank you".
"These are the men for the people of Syria, these are the heroes who belong to us in religion, in blood and in revolution," read a statement widely circulated on Syrian opposition Facebook pages.
Jabhat al-Nusra made its mark early this year with a string of suicide bombings, a tactic it continues to use. Aided by fighters from abroad and Syrians who have returned from other wars in the Middle East, it has also led battles for a number of military bases and has secured a string of recent victories. Along with allied jihadist groups, it captured the Sheikh Suleiman base west of Aleppo yesterday morning, and has also dented the infrastructure of the regime in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Although Jabhat al-Nusra remains separate from the Free Syrian Army, many FSA leaders now recognise its strength and order their forces to cooperate with it.
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The decision to blacklist the group, which according to the Washington Post will be announced today, raises the prospect of a drawn-out, anti-American insurgency if and when the rebels succeed in forcing out President Bashar al-Assad .
The designation prohibits Americans from having any financial dealings with the group and freezes its assets in the US. Washington is taking the step as part of a new strategy to impose "shape" on the opposition it hopes will replace Mr Assad.
Even mainstream opposition activists expressed anger at what they claimed was America's last-minute attempt to "muscle in on their revolution".
"It is terrible timing on the part of the United States," said Mulham Jundi, who works with the opposition charity Watan Syria. "By calling Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists, the US is legitimising the Syrian regime's bombardment of cities like Aleppo. Now the government can say it is attacking terrorists."
The rise of Jabhat al-Nusra represents the Americans' worst fear – they refused to arm the rebels earlier in the conflict to avoid weapons falling into the hands of jihadists, only to find that in their absence, jihadi groups well-funded by supporters in the Gulf have risen to prominence.
The West attempted to rectify this at the weekend by backing the formation of a new FSA command structure at a meeting in Turkey. Its new leadership, which sidelines former commanders such as Gen Mustafa al-Sheikh and Col Riad al-Assad, includes senior figures without a regime background. Many are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood or even more radical Salafi movements, but are thought to be men with whom the West "can do business".
The command is seen as a prospective military wing of the new Syrian National Coalition, formed last month also under Western auspices in Qatar.
EU leaders including William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, met the heads of the coalition in Brussels yesterday, having already recognised it as "the legitimate representative of the aspirations of the Syrian people".
Opposition fighters inside Syria told The Daily Telegraph that the US announcement was too little too late, and that any attempts by the West to intervene in Syria would be rejected. "We don't support the new FSA military command," said Ous al-Arabi, a spokesman of the Deir al-Zour Revolutionary council.
"For Deir al-Zour province they have chosen people who are not representative. Jabhat al-Nusra is the strongest group here and they ignored that.
"The people are not going to accept intervention by the West now. You were watching us die, and now that we close to victory you want to intervene? You are not welcome."
Rebel groups across Syria are defying the United States by pledging their allegiance to a group that Washington will designate today a terrorist organization for its alleged links to al-Qaeda.
Rebel fighters sit at a gun position in the Sheikh Suleiman base, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) northwest of the city of Aleppo. Photo: AFP/Getty
10:03PM GMT 10 Dec 2012
A total of 29 opposition groups, including fighting "brigades" and civilian committees, have signed a petition calling for mass demonstrations in support of Jabhat al-Nusra, an Islamist group which the White House believes is an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The petition is promoting the slogan "No to American intervention, for we are all Jabhat al-Nusra" and urges supporters to "raise the Jabhat al-Nusra flag" as a "thank you".
"These are the men for the people of Syria, these are the heroes who belong to us in religion, in blood and in revolution," read a statement widely circulated on Syrian opposition Facebook pages.
Jabhat al-Nusra made its mark early this year with a string of suicide bombings, a tactic it continues to use. Aided by fighters from abroad and Syrians who have returned from other wars in the Middle East, it has also led battles for a number of military bases and has secured a string of recent victories. Along with allied jihadist groups, it captured the Sheikh Suleiman base west of Aleppo yesterday morning, and has also dented the infrastructure of the regime in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Although Jabhat al-Nusra remains separate from the Free Syrian Army, many FSA leaders now recognise its strength and order their forces to cooperate with it.
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The decision to blacklist the group, which according to the Washington Post will be announced today, raises the prospect of a drawn-out, anti-American insurgency if and when the rebels succeed in forcing out President Bashar al-Assad .
The designation prohibits Americans from having any financial dealings with the group and freezes its assets in the US. Washington is taking the step as part of a new strategy to impose "shape" on the opposition it hopes will replace Mr Assad.
Even mainstream opposition activists expressed anger at what they claimed was America's last-minute attempt to "muscle in on their revolution".
"It is terrible timing on the part of the United States," said Mulham Jundi, who works with the opposition charity Watan Syria. "By calling Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists, the US is legitimising the Syrian regime's bombardment of cities like Aleppo. Now the government can say it is attacking terrorists."
The rise of Jabhat al-Nusra represents the Americans' worst fear – they refused to arm the rebels earlier in the conflict to avoid weapons falling into the hands of jihadists, only to find that in their absence, jihadi groups well-funded by supporters in the Gulf have risen to prominence.
The West attempted to rectify this at the weekend by backing the formation of a new FSA command structure at a meeting in Turkey. Its new leadership, which sidelines former commanders such as Gen Mustafa al-Sheikh and Col Riad al-Assad, includes senior figures without a regime background. Many are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood or even more radical Salafi movements, but are thought to be men with whom the West "can do business".
The command is seen as a prospective military wing of the new Syrian National Coalition, formed last month also under Western auspices in Qatar.
EU leaders including William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, met the heads of the coalition in Brussels yesterday, having already recognised it as "the legitimate representative of the aspirations of the Syrian people".
Opposition fighters inside Syria told The Daily Telegraph that the US announcement was too little too late, and that any attempts by the West to intervene in Syria would be rejected. "We don't support the new FSA military command," said Ous al-Arabi, a spokesman of the Deir al-Zour Revolutionary council.
"For Deir al-Zour province they have chosen people who are not representative. Jabhat al-Nusra is the strongest group here and they ignored that.
"The people are not going to accept intervention by the West now. You were watching us die, and now that we close to victory you want to intervene? You are not welcome."
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Wed 12 Dec - 16:35
Syria Conflict: Explosion At Interior Ministry
3:57pm UK, Wednesday 12 December 2012
The Syrian interior ministry building in Damascus (File Pic)
3:57pm UK, Wednesday 12 December 2012
The Syrian interior ministry building in Damascus (File Pic)
A bomb has struck the interior ministry in Damascus, according to Syrian state TV.
The blast reportedly occurred at the main entrance to the building situated in the southwest district of Kafar Souseh - a battleground for rebels and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
"An explosion rocked the district of Kfar Sousa, and initial reports say a bomb targeted the main entrance to the interior ministry," state television said.
A resident who heard the blast said she head sirens and shouting after a "huge explosion".
Sky's foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall, who is in Damascus, said: "We think we heard it. It was an explosion much, much louder than most of the ones we hear. You could actually feel the shockwave
"There was a huge plume of white smoke near the government buildings.
"We hear the artillery firing every few minutes - it is a certain sort of boom. This was a much, much deeper sound and a much louder sound.
"I think that was the bomb that went off. The most likely thing would be a car bomb."
No details of the size of the bomb, the damage caused, or reports of any injuries have been disclosed.
The conflict, which has claimed the lives of of least 40,000 people since March 2011, has been centred in and around the capital in recent months - and it is not the first time government and national security buildings have been targeted.
On July 18, the president's brother-in-law Assef Shawket, defence chief Daoud Rajha, and general Hassan Turkmani, a former defence minister and senior military official, were all killed in a bomb attack at a meeting of senior security and government figures in Damascus.
And more recently, more than 50 people were killed after two car bombs went off in the eastern district of Jaramana on November 28.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Wed 12 Dec - 21:48
Syria fires Scud missiles on its own people
Syria's regime has fired Scud missiles on its own people for the first time in a sign of its increasing “desperation” to crush the rebellion.
Syria's regime has fired at least six Scud missiles on rebels, dramatically escalating the conflict. Photo: REUTERS
By Damien McElroy
5:44PM GMT 12 Dec 2012
In a significant escalation, Western officials said forces loyal to the regime had fired at least six of the Russian-designed ballistic missiles on rebel targets.
It means that President Bashar al-Assad has now used every weapon in his arsenal, short of a chemical attack, in an attempt to end the 21-month uprising.
A Foreign Office spokesman said reports indicated that the first Scud was launched on Monday and that more had been fired since.
“The trajectory and distance travelled suggest these were Scud-type missiles,” the spokesman said. “We condemn this in the strongest possible terms. It demonstrates the appalling brutality of the regime and its desperation to go to any lengths to deny his people their legitimate aspiration.”
Nato confirmed Wednesday night that surveillance had detected the launch of a number of missiles in Syria this week.
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“Allied intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets have detected the launch of a number of unguided, short-range ballistic missiles inside Syria this week. Trajectory and distance travelled indicate they were Scud-type missiles,” the Nato official said.
Scud missiles are medium-range weapons and notoriously inaccurate. Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator, used a Scud missile against rebels in Benghazi last year.
The last significant use in warfare was by Saddam Hussein in the Gulf conflict of 1991, including an attack on Tel Aviv.
Explanations for the deployment of the weapons varied from “ranging shots” for future chemical weapons attacks, to targeted acts of terror to quell the advancing insurgency. “The most likely explanation is that it indicates the diminishing capability of the regime’s air force to hit rebel areas, either because they are running out of pilots or the rebel air defences are doing too much damage,” said Benjamin Barry, a weapons expert at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, a London think tank.
Western officials have warned the Syrian regime that a chemical weapons attack could provoke military intervention to remove Mr Assad.
It is believed Syria had at least 48 Scud missiles at the outset of the crisis, meaning more than 10 per cent of its entire arsenal has now been used.
“The total [fired] is is probably north of six now,” a US official told the New York Times.
The targets were in areas controlled by the Free Syrian Army, the main armed insurgent group. Adam Holloway, a Conservative MP, said the attacks were a demonstration that the regime was cornered. “Assad must be getting desperate,” he said. “He put himself on a par with Saddam Hussein and, given the losses he’s suffered, it makes you think there is nothing he wouldn’t do.”
The news emerged as 114 countries held a summit in Morocco on Wednesday to recognise the Syrian Opposition Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, a move that could pave the way for arming the rebels. The coalition won the recognition of more than 100 countries.
Speaking at the meeting, William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, demanded greater “practical” support for the Syrian opposition.
He said Britain still wanted to see a negotiated transition of power from Mr Assad but for the first time declared that the UK would not limit the scope of its efforts to ensure Syrians were defended from government attack.
Intelligence reports indicating that the regime was prepared to use chemical weapons would provoke a tough response, he indicated.
“We do not rule out any option to save lives. The Assad regime should not doubt our resolve, or miscalculate how we would react to any use of chemical or biological weapons against the Syrian people,” he said.
“The next few months will determine whether a peaceful political transition can be agreed, or if Syria is to face more bloodshed.”
Mr Hague said British aid was being stepped up to provide equipment to sustain opposition areas, including communications equipment, electricity generator and water purification systems.
Technical experts from a stabilisation team had been deployed to nearby countries.
Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, said the opposition would need to build a military framework to safeguard against the rise of extremists linked to al-Qaeda before it was granted military aid.
In the final communiqué, more than 100 countries recognised a new Syrian opposition coalition, opening the way for greater humanitarian assistance to the forces fighting Bashar Assad and possibly even military aid, Mr Fabius said.
Qatar has called for opposition allies to provide surface-to-air missiles to rebels to stop aerial attacks by the regime.
Casualties were reported on Wednesday night at the Syrian ministry of interior after a series of car bombs exploded at the entrance to its building in Damascus.
Two separate explosions were also heard in the capital on Wednesday as a rebel advance moved towards the heart of the regime stronghold.
Syria's regime has fired Scud missiles on its own people for the first time in a sign of its increasing “desperation” to crush the rebellion.
Syria's regime has fired at least six Scud missiles on rebels, dramatically escalating the conflict. Photo: REUTERS
By Damien McElroy
5:44PM GMT 12 Dec 2012
In a significant escalation, Western officials said forces loyal to the regime had fired at least six of the Russian-designed ballistic missiles on rebel targets.
It means that President Bashar al-Assad has now used every weapon in his arsenal, short of a chemical attack, in an attempt to end the 21-month uprising.
A Foreign Office spokesman said reports indicated that the first Scud was launched on Monday and that more had been fired since.
“The trajectory and distance travelled suggest these were Scud-type missiles,” the spokesman said. “We condemn this in the strongest possible terms. It demonstrates the appalling brutality of the regime and its desperation to go to any lengths to deny his people their legitimate aspiration.”
Nato confirmed Wednesday night that surveillance had detected the launch of a number of missiles in Syria this week.
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“Allied intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets have detected the launch of a number of unguided, short-range ballistic missiles inside Syria this week. Trajectory and distance travelled indicate they were Scud-type missiles,” the Nato official said.
Scud missiles are medium-range weapons and notoriously inaccurate. Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator, used a Scud missile against rebels in Benghazi last year.
The last significant use in warfare was by Saddam Hussein in the Gulf conflict of 1991, including an attack on Tel Aviv.
Explanations for the deployment of the weapons varied from “ranging shots” for future chemical weapons attacks, to targeted acts of terror to quell the advancing insurgency. “The most likely explanation is that it indicates the diminishing capability of the regime’s air force to hit rebel areas, either because they are running out of pilots or the rebel air defences are doing too much damage,” said Benjamin Barry, a weapons expert at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, a London think tank.
Western officials have warned the Syrian regime that a chemical weapons attack could provoke military intervention to remove Mr Assad.
It is believed Syria had at least 48 Scud missiles at the outset of the crisis, meaning more than 10 per cent of its entire arsenal has now been used.
“The total [fired] is is probably north of six now,” a US official told the New York Times.
The targets were in areas controlled by the Free Syrian Army, the main armed insurgent group. Adam Holloway, a Conservative MP, said the attacks were a demonstration that the regime was cornered. “Assad must be getting desperate,” he said. “He put himself on a par with Saddam Hussein and, given the losses he’s suffered, it makes you think there is nothing he wouldn’t do.”
The news emerged as 114 countries held a summit in Morocco on Wednesday to recognise the Syrian Opposition Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, a move that could pave the way for arming the rebels. The coalition won the recognition of more than 100 countries.
Speaking at the meeting, William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, demanded greater “practical” support for the Syrian opposition.
He said Britain still wanted to see a negotiated transition of power from Mr Assad but for the first time declared that the UK would not limit the scope of its efforts to ensure Syrians were defended from government attack.
Intelligence reports indicating that the regime was prepared to use chemical weapons would provoke a tough response, he indicated.
“We do not rule out any option to save lives. The Assad regime should not doubt our resolve, or miscalculate how we would react to any use of chemical or biological weapons against the Syrian people,” he said.
“The next few months will determine whether a peaceful political transition can be agreed, or if Syria is to face more bloodshed.”
Mr Hague said British aid was being stepped up to provide equipment to sustain opposition areas, including communications equipment, electricity generator and water purification systems.
Technical experts from a stabilisation team had been deployed to nearby countries.
Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, said the opposition would need to build a military framework to safeguard against the rise of extremists linked to al-Qaeda before it was granted military aid.
In the final communiqué, more than 100 countries recognised a new Syrian opposition coalition, opening the way for greater humanitarian assistance to the forces fighting Bashar Assad and possibly even military aid, Mr Fabius said.
Qatar has called for opposition allies to provide surface-to-air missiles to rebels to stop aerial attacks by the regime.
Casualties were reported on Wednesday night at the Syrian ministry of interior after a series of car bombs exploded at the entrance to its building in Damascus.
Two separate explosions were also heard in the capital on Wednesday as a rebel advance moved towards the heart of the regime stronghold.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Badboy Sun 16 Dec - 17:21
AN ARMY BASE IN ALEPPO HAS FALLEN TO REBELS.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Sun 16 Dec - 17:33
Badboy wrote:AN ARMY BASE IN ALEPPO HAS FALLEN TO REBELS.
That's good news Badboy, probably more and more Soldiers will join the rebels. Have you got a link for this?
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Sun 16 Dec - 17:44
I just found this.........there is mention here about Aleppo. What the Hell is Palestine involved for......havn't they got enough to worry abouit.???
yria: Air Strike Hits Palestinian Refugee Camp
Palestinian victims were reportedly taking shelter in a mosque when it was attacked by military jets trying to force back rebels.
5:14pm UK, Sunday 16 December 2012
Anti-Assad protests on the outskirts of the capital Damascus
Syria's civil war has killed about 40,000
yria: Air Strike Hits Palestinian Refugee Camp
Palestinian victims were reportedly taking shelter in a mosque when it was attacked by military jets trying to force back rebels.
5:14pm UK, Sunday 16 December 2012
Anti-Assad protests on the outskirts of the capital Damascus
Syria's civil war has killed about 40,000
At least 25 people have been killed after Syrian fighter jets bombed a Palestinian refugee camp in the capital Damascus, according to opposition activists.
The attack on the Yarmouk camp was part of a campaign by President Bashar al Assad's military to force back rebel forces from a swathe of territory that runs from the east to the southwest of the city.
Opposition activists said the victims had been sheltering in a mosque when it was hit by a rocket fired by a Syrian fighter jet.
The deadly air strike came as rebel fighters in the northern city of Aleppo claimed they had taken an army infantry base, the latest in a series of military installations to fall into the hands of the opposition.
A commander of the Islamist Tawheed Brigade said his men helped take the building after five days of fighting.
"At least 100 soldiers have been taken prisoners and 150 decided to join us. The soldiers were all hungry because of the siege," he said.
The complex, known as Hanano Barracks, includes an army base, a recruiting centre and a military school.
Rebels took the army base near Aleppo after several days of fighting
Syria is home to more than 500,000 Palestinian refugees, most living in Yarmouk, and both Assad's government and the mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian rebels have enlisted and also armed Palestinians as the uprising has spread.
Heavy fighting broke out 12 days ago between Palestinians loyal to Assad and Syrian rebels, together with a brigade of Palestinian fighters known as Liwaa al Asifah (Storm Brigade).
Clashes flared again after the air strike as Palestinians from the pro-Assad Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) fought Syrian rebels and other Palestinians, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group.
Meanwhile, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement said there was no way the rebels would emerge victorious from the conflict.
"The situation in Syria is getting more complicated (but) anyone who thinks the armed opposition can settle the situation on the ground is very very very mistaken," Hassan Nasrallah said.
The Shia Muslim movement is a close ally of the Assad regime and has been accused of sending fighters to Syria to help battle the rebels.
About 40,000 Syrians have been killed since the uprising against Mr Assad's rule began 21 months ago.- Related Stories
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- Over Half A Million People Flee Syria Conflict
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Badboy Sun 16 Dec - 18:36
AFTER I LOOGED OUT OF HOTMAIL,MSN NEWS COMES UP,MY NEW COMPUTER EVERYTHING COMES UP DIFFERENTLY.Panda wrote:Badboy wrote:AN ARMY BASE IN ALEPPO HAS FALLEN TO REBELS.
That's good news Badboy, probably more and more Soldiers will join the rebels. Have you got a link for this?
I BELIEVE IT FELL TO AN ISLAMIST BRIGADE.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Badboy Sun 23 Dec - 21:42
60 PEOPLE HAVE DIED WHEN A BOMB HIT A BAKERY IN HALFAYA NEAR HAMA
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Sun 23 Dec - 21:58
At least 90 killed in air strike on rebel held Syrian town
At least 90 people were said to have been killed while queuing for bread on Sunday in an air raid against a rebel-held Syrian town in what activists said could be one of the deadliest episodes of the country's 21-month civil war.
Free Syrian Army fighters and residents carry the bodies of people killed by what activists said were missiles fired by a Syrian Air Force fighter jet from forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at a bakery in Halfaya Photo: REUTERS
By Robert Tait, Middle East Correspondent
7:21PM GMT 23 Dec 2012
The strike happened while around 1,000 people were waiting at a bakery in the town of Halfava in Syria's central Hama province, witnesses said, causing bloody scenes of carnage and devastation.
Video footage uploaded on YouTube showed dozens of bodies lying in the street among piles of rubble against a backdrop of blaring sirens and the anguished cries of women and children.
"When I got there, I could see piles of bodies all over the ground. There were women and children," Samer al-Hamawi, an activist in the town, told Reuters. "There are also dozens of wounded."
He said large crowds often gathered at the bakery because of irregular bread production resulting from fuel and flour shortages caused by the conflict between President Bashar Assad's forces and armed rebels.
"We hadn't received flour in around three days so everyone was going to the bakery today, and lots of them were women and children," he added. "I still don't know yet if my relatives are among the dead."
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One video showed a man frantically to dig out a moaning woman drenched in blood from a pile of rubble and dirt. Separate footage showed a boy in the middle of the road with both feet blown off.
The cameraman in one video is heard sobbing and saying: "God is great, God is great. It was a war plane, a war plane." In another video, a man is heard shouting: "Where are the Arabs, where is the world? Look at all of these bodies!" Some men with rifles strapped to their backs were seen raking through rubble in an effort to dig out the dead and wounded.
Rami Abdelrahman, of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the casualty figures were still unknown but added: "From looking at the videos I expect the death toll to be around or above 50, and not higher than 100. But for now I am keeping my estimate at dozens killed until we have more information."
Human Rights Watch recently accused Syrian government forces of not using enough precision to strike rebels in some instances while, at other times, deliberately targeting civilians.
The strike came after the observatory said the total death toll since the outbreak of fighting in March 2011 between the rebels and forces loyal to Mr Assad had reached 44,000.
It coincided with the arrival in Syria of the United Nations peace envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, who travelled from neighbouring Lebanon by road for safety reasons. Mr Brahimi, who also represents the Arab League, was reported to have decided against flying to Damascus because of fighting near the airport between government and rebel forces.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, predicted on Sunday that Mr Assad's regime may soon fall and said Israel and its allies were preparing for that event.
"We are monitoring developments in Syria, where there are dramatic developments almost daily," he told the weekly cabinet meeting. "We are cooperating with the US and, together with the international community, are taking the necessary measures to prepare ourselves for the possibility of far-reaching changes in the regime, with implications for the sensitive weapons systems there."
Israel and the US fear that Syria's chemical weapons stockpile could fall into the hands of hard-line Islamist rebels fighting Mr Assad or the Lebanese Shia group, Hizballah. However, a senior Israeli defence official, Amos Gilad, said the chemical weapons were still in the government's hands
At least 90 people were said to have been killed while queuing for bread on Sunday in an air raid against a rebel-held Syrian town in what activists said could be one of the deadliest episodes of the country's 21-month civil war.
Free Syrian Army fighters and residents carry the bodies of people killed by what activists said were missiles fired by a Syrian Air Force fighter jet from forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at a bakery in Halfaya Photo: REUTERS
By Robert Tait, Middle East Correspondent
7:21PM GMT 23 Dec 2012
The strike happened while around 1,000 people were waiting at a bakery in the town of Halfava in Syria's central Hama province, witnesses said, causing bloody scenes of carnage and devastation.
Video footage uploaded on YouTube showed dozens of bodies lying in the street among piles of rubble against a backdrop of blaring sirens and the anguished cries of women and children.
"When I got there, I could see piles of bodies all over the ground. There were women and children," Samer al-Hamawi, an activist in the town, told Reuters. "There are also dozens of wounded."
He said large crowds often gathered at the bakery because of irregular bread production resulting from fuel and flour shortages caused by the conflict between President Bashar Assad's forces and armed rebels.
"We hadn't received flour in around three days so everyone was going to the bakery today, and lots of them were women and children," he added. "I still don't know yet if my relatives are among the dead."
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20 Dec 2012
One video showed a man frantically to dig out a moaning woman drenched in blood from a pile of rubble and dirt. Separate footage showed a boy in the middle of the road with both feet blown off.
The cameraman in one video is heard sobbing and saying: "God is great, God is great. It was a war plane, a war plane." In another video, a man is heard shouting: "Where are the Arabs, where is the world? Look at all of these bodies!" Some men with rifles strapped to their backs were seen raking through rubble in an effort to dig out the dead and wounded.
Rami Abdelrahman, of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the casualty figures were still unknown but added: "From looking at the videos I expect the death toll to be around or above 50, and not higher than 100. But for now I am keeping my estimate at dozens killed until we have more information."
Human Rights Watch recently accused Syrian government forces of not using enough precision to strike rebels in some instances while, at other times, deliberately targeting civilians.
The strike came after the observatory said the total death toll since the outbreak of fighting in March 2011 between the rebels and forces loyal to Mr Assad had reached 44,000.
It coincided with the arrival in Syria of the United Nations peace envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, who travelled from neighbouring Lebanon by road for safety reasons. Mr Brahimi, who also represents the Arab League, was reported to have decided against flying to Damascus because of fighting near the airport between government and rebel forces.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, predicted on Sunday that Mr Assad's regime may soon fall and said Israel and its allies were preparing for that event.
"We are monitoring developments in Syria, where there are dramatic developments almost daily," he told the weekly cabinet meeting. "We are cooperating with the US and, together with the international community, are taking the necessary measures to prepare ourselves for the possibility of far-reaching changes in the regime, with implications for the sensitive weapons systems there."
Israel and the US fear that Syria's chemical weapons stockpile could fall into the hands of hard-line Islamist rebels fighting Mr Assad or the Lebanese Shia group, Hizballah. However, a senior Israeli defence official, Amos Gilad, said the chemical weapons were still in the government's hands
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Wed 26 Dec - 17:06
Head of Syria's military police becomes latest to defect to join the rebel uprising
The head of Syria's military police has defected from the army and declared allegiance to the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, according to a video and a Syrian security source.
By Telegraph Reporter
11:01AM GMT 26 Dec 2012
The high-level defection, while not a strategically significant development in the 21-month-old conflict, will be a blow to morale for Assad's forces, which are hitting back at a string of rebel advances across the country.
"I am General Abdelaziz Jassim al-Shalal, head of the military police. I have defected because of the deviation of the army from its primary duty of protecting the country and its transformation into gangs of killing and destruction," the officer said in a video published on YouTube.
A Syrian security source confirmed the defection but played down its significance.
"Shalal did defect but he was due to retire in a month and he only defected to play hero," the source said.
Wearing a camouflage uniform with red officer insignia on the shoulder, Shalal spoke from a desk in a room in an undisclosed location. Some rebel sources said he had fled to Turkey. It was not clear when Shalal had changed sides.
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"The army has destroyed cities and villages and has committed massacres against an unarmed population that took to the streets to demand freedom," he said. "Long live free Syria."
Meanwhile, more than 45,000 people have been killed in Syria since the outbreak in March 2011 of an anti-regime revolt that became a bloody insurgency after a brutal crackdown on dissent, a watchdog said Wednesday.
"In all we have documented the deaths of 45,048 people," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP, adding that more than 1,000 people were killed in the past week alone.
Giving a breakdown, he said those killed included "31,544 civilians, 1,511 defectors, 11,217 soldiers and 776 unidentified bodies."
The Observatory, which relies on a network of medics and activists on the ground, counts non-military combatants who have taken up arms against the regime as civilians.
The actual number of people killed in Syria's spiralling conflict is likely much higher.
"We believe the real number could be as high as 100,000," Abdel Rahman said.
"Many of the thousands missing in jails are feared dead. Both the army and rebel fighters are concealing many of their casualties," he added.
The Observatory does not include in its toll thousands of shabiha (pro-regime militiamen), people believed to be informants for the state, or foreign fighters who have joined the anti-regime insurgency.
Source: Reuters/AFP
The head of Syria's military police has defected from the army and declared allegiance to the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, according to a video and a Syrian security source.
By Telegraph Reporter
11:01AM GMT 26 Dec 2012
The high-level defection, while not a strategically significant development in the 21-month-old conflict, will be a blow to morale for Assad's forces, which are hitting back at a string of rebel advances across the country.
"I am General Abdelaziz Jassim al-Shalal, head of the military police. I have defected because of the deviation of the army from its primary duty of protecting the country and its transformation into gangs of killing and destruction," the officer said in a video published on YouTube.
A Syrian security source confirmed the defection but played down its significance.
"Shalal did defect but he was due to retire in a month and he only defected to play hero," the source said.
Wearing a camouflage uniform with red officer insignia on the shoulder, Shalal spoke from a desk in a room in an undisclosed location. Some rebel sources said he had fled to Turkey. It was not clear when Shalal had changed sides.
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23 Dec 2012
"The army has destroyed cities and villages and has committed massacres against an unarmed population that took to the streets to demand freedom," he said. "Long live free Syria."
Meanwhile, more than 45,000 people have been killed in Syria since the outbreak in March 2011 of an anti-regime revolt that became a bloody insurgency after a brutal crackdown on dissent, a watchdog said Wednesday.
"In all we have documented the deaths of 45,048 people," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP, adding that more than 1,000 people were killed in the past week alone.
Giving a breakdown, he said those killed included "31,544 civilians, 1,511 defectors, 11,217 soldiers and 776 unidentified bodies."
The Observatory, which relies on a network of medics and activists on the ground, counts non-military combatants who have taken up arms against the regime as civilians.
The actual number of people killed in Syria's spiralling conflict is likely much higher.
"We believe the real number could be as high as 100,000," Abdel Rahman said.
"Many of the thousands missing in jails are feared dead. Both the army and rebel fighters are concealing many of their casualties," he added.
The Observatory does not include in its toll thousands of shabiha (pro-regime militiamen), people believed to be informants for the state, or foreign fighters who have joined the anti-regime insurgency.
Source: Reuters/AFP
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Wed 26 Dec - 23:59
Civil War
Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil, who oversees the country’s economic affairs, led a delegation to Russia in August. Syria has asked its Soviet-era ally for financial assistance, though the Finance Ministry isn’t involved in official talks, Storchak said. More than 44,000 people have died in the war since March 2011, according to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“
Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil, who oversees the country’s economic affairs, led a delegation to Russia in August. Syria has asked its Soviet-era ally for financial assistance, though the Finance Ministry isn’t involved in official talks, Storchak said. More than 44,000 people have died in the war since March 2011, according to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Thu 27 Dec - 6:22
Syria's military police chief defects to join 'people's revolution'
The commander of Syria's military police has become one of the highest profile figures to defect from Bashar al-Assad's regime after claiming that the country's armed forces had been turned into "murderous gangs".
Shalal spoke from a desk in a room in an undisclosed location
By Ruth Sherlock, Beirut
5:52PM GMT 26 Dec 2012
Major General Abulaziz al-Shalal appeared in a video aired on Al Arabiya TV to say that he was leaving the "regime army" to join the "people's revolution".
Dozens of generals have defected since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011. In July, Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlass was the first member of Mr Assad's inner circle to break ranks and join the opposition.
However, Maj. Gen Shalal is one of the most senior and as the leader of the security branch charged with punishing disciplinary failures within the Syrian army, his decision is particularly embarrassing for the Syrian president.
"I, General Abdel Aziz Jassem al-Shalal, commander of Syrian military police, announce that I am defecting from the regime army, to join the people's revolution," the officer said in his video.
"The army has deviated from its essential mission, which is to protect the country, and it has morphed into murderous, destructive gangs."
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Israel 'preparing for collapse of Assad regime'
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The officer added that "the destruction of cities and villages, and the commission of massacres against our people, defenceless civilians, who took to the streets calling for freedom" had prompted him to defect.
It was unclear on Wednesday precisely where Maj. Gen Shalal had fled to. Some opposition sources said that he was smuggled across the border into Turkey in nighttime operation that lasted several hours.
The military police's role in Syria is to punish soldiers that have committed an offence whilst serving in the army, and to track down and arrest reservists that have failed to show up when called for the compulsory military draft.
"The main job of the military police was to raid houses and search for reservists and force them into the army," Dr Mousab Azzawi from the opposition Syrian Network for Human Rights said.
A Syrian security source confirmed Maj. Gen Shalal's defection to Reuters but played down its significance.
"Shalal did defect but he was due to retire in a month and he only defected to play hero," the source said.
Thousands of Syrian soldiers have joined the rebel opposition or just fled the country over the passed year, though the numbers and profile of the defectors has not yet reached a critical mass to topple the regime and most of the complex infrastructure of the government's multiple security and intelligence branches remains in place.
News of the defection came as the opposition watchdog the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 20 people, including eight children, where killed in a government shelling attack in an agricultural area of Raqqa province in the north of the country.
Amateur footage showed a row of a dozen corpses, including those of children lain out in a room. Blood splattered some of the victims' clothes and yells of despair could be heard in the background.
There were further signals yesterday that the regime was coming under heavy pressure. Syrian foreign ministry officials headed to Moscow amid reports of a US-Russian initiative for a transition in Syria.
Formerly a dependable international ally of President Assad, Russian President Vladimir Putin last week distanced himself from the regime by recognising that a "change [in leadership] is certainly on the agenda".
The talks are expected to also discuss proposals for ending Syria's 21-month-old crisis that have been apparently made by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi during his current visit to Damascus. Mr Brahimi is to Moscow on Saturday, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told ITAR-TASS on Wednesday.
The make up of the proposal is as yet unclear. Earlier in December, Mr Brahimi held tripartite meetings between Russia and the United States. His previous, failed proposal, centred on a transitional government that left open Assad's future role, which was deemed unacceptable by the opposition.
The diplomatic development came on a day when the war in Syria reached a new and grim death count of more 45,000 people according to the Syrian Observatory.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Sat 29 Dec - 18:28
29 December 2012 Last updated at 17:39
Syria faces 'hell' if no deal to end crisis - UN envoy
Mr Brahimi (right) was in Moscow at after visiting Syria this week
Continue reading the main story
Syria conflict
Syria faces a stark choice between a political solution to end 21 months of bloodshed or "hell", United Nations peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has warned.
Mr Brahimi, speaking after talks in Moscow, said the conflict had become more militarised and sectarian.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed talks were the only solution.
But he said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's removal could not be a condition for talks, as demanded by the Syrian opposition.
Mr Brahimi, who arrived in the Russian capital after talks in Damascus with President Assad, expressed concern at the escalation of the war.
It risked becoming "a mainly sectarian conflict, with dire consequences for the Syrian people," he said.
It also risked bringing chaos to the region with neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan overrun by refugees, he said.
The opposition says more than 44,000 people have been killed over the past 21 months
"The only alternative is really hell, or a political process, then we have got all of us to work ceaselessly for the political process," Mr Brahimi said.
"The magnitude of the problem that exists now and the magnitude of the problem that exists tomorrow cannot be ignored."
Mr Brahimi is trying to seek a way out of the crisis on the basis of a peace plan approved at an international conference in June, but which left President Assad's role unclear.
Both he and Mr Lavrov agreed that a negotiated end to the conflict was still possible but neither man gave indication of ways out of the impasse.
Mr Lavrov said the opposition's demand for Mr Assad's removal was "wrong" and their refusal to talk to the Assad government a "dead end".
On Friday, Mr Lavrov announced that Russia had agreed to hold talks with the Syrian opposition.
But the opposition rejected the offer and said Russia should apologise for backing Mr Assad.
Russia, as Mr Assad's main and most powerful international supporter, is a key player in finding a diplomatic solution.
Rebels have been fighting the Syrian government for 21 months. Opposition groups say more than 44,000 people have been killed.
Syria faces 'hell' if no deal to end crisis - UN envoy
Mr Brahimi (right) was in Moscow at after visiting Syria this week Continue reading the main story
Syria conflict
Syria faces a stark choice between a political solution to end 21 months of bloodshed or "hell", United Nations peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has warned.
Mr Brahimi, speaking after talks in Moscow, said the conflict had become more militarised and sectarian.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed talks were the only solution.
But he said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's removal could not be a condition for talks, as demanded by the Syrian opposition.
Mr Brahimi, who arrived in the Russian capital after talks in Damascus with President Assad, expressed concern at the escalation of the war.
It risked becoming "a mainly sectarian conflict, with dire consequences for the Syrian people," he said.
It also risked bringing chaos to the region with neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan overrun by refugees, he said.
The opposition says more than 44,000 people have been killed over the past 21 months "The only alternative is really hell, or a political process, then we have got all of us to work ceaselessly for the political process," Mr Brahimi said.
"The magnitude of the problem that exists now and the magnitude of the problem that exists tomorrow cannot be ignored."
Mr Brahimi is trying to seek a way out of the crisis on the basis of a peace plan approved at an international conference in June, but which left President Assad's role unclear.
Both he and Mr Lavrov agreed that a negotiated end to the conflict was still possible but neither man gave indication of ways out of the impasse.
Mr Lavrov said the opposition's demand for Mr Assad's removal was "wrong" and their refusal to talk to the Assad government a "dead end".
On Friday, Mr Lavrov announced that Russia had agreed to hold talks with the Syrian opposition.
But the opposition rejected the offer and said Russia should apologise for backing Mr Assad.
Russia, as Mr Assad's main and most powerful international supporter, is a key player in finding a diplomatic solution.
Rebels have been fighting the Syrian government for 21 months. Opposition groups say more than 44,000 people have been killed.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Sun 30 Dec - 12:30
Syria government forces retake Homs district
Footage emerged purporting to show government forces attacking Damascus suburbs
Continue reading the main story
Syria conflict
Syrian government forces have pushed rebel forces out of the Deir Baalbeh district of the city of Homs after several days of fierce fighting.
One activist group said that more than 200 civilians were killed by regime forces after the fighting, but the claim cannot be independently verified.
The death toll across Syria on Saturday was reported to be as high as 400.
The strategically important city of Homs has seen much of the heaviest fighting in Syria's 21-month conflict.
Residents of Deir Baalbeh were rounded up and forced into a petrochemical plant where they were summarily executed, according to the Local Coordination Committees (LCC), an opposition group based in Syria.
Women and children were among the dead, according to the LCC.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group, reported violence across Syria on Saturday, including in suburbs of the capital Damascus which have seen persistent clashes in recent weeks as the government attempts to wipe out the rebels' presence there.
The SOHR said it had not been able to get through to Deir Baalbeh to document the deaths there.
Risk of 'chaos'
The latest violence comes after United Nations peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned on Saturday of "hell" for Syria if no political solution was negotiated to the crisis.
Mr Brahimi, speaking after talks with the Russian foreign minister, said the conflict had become more militarised and sectarian.
It also risked bringing chaos to the region with neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan overrun by refugees, he said.
Mr Brahimi arrived in Cairo on Sunday for talks with the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
Opposition groups say more than 44,000 people have been killed since protests against Syria's government began in March 2011.
Earlier this month the UN's refugee agency said more than half a million Syrians had fled to neighbouring countries.
Footage emerged purporting to show government forces attacking Damascus suburbs
Continue reading the main story
Syria conflict
Syrian government forces have pushed rebel forces out of the Deir Baalbeh district of the city of Homs after several days of fierce fighting.
One activist group said that more than 200 civilians were killed by regime forces after the fighting, but the claim cannot be independently verified.
The death toll across Syria on Saturday was reported to be as high as 400.
The strategically important city of Homs has seen much of the heaviest fighting in Syria's 21-month conflict.
Residents of Deir Baalbeh were rounded up and forced into a petrochemical plant where they were summarily executed, according to the Local Coordination Committees (LCC), an opposition group based in Syria.
Women and children were among the dead, according to the LCC.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group, reported violence across Syria on Saturday, including in suburbs of the capital Damascus which have seen persistent clashes in recent weeks as the government attempts to wipe out the rebels' presence there.
The SOHR said it had not been able to get through to Deir Baalbeh to document the deaths there.
Risk of 'chaos'
The latest violence comes after United Nations peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned on Saturday of "hell" for Syria if no political solution was negotiated to the crisis.
Mr Brahimi, speaking after talks with the Russian foreign minister, said the conflict had become more militarised and sectarian.
It also risked bringing chaos to the region with neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan overrun by refugees, he said.
Mr Brahimi arrived in Cairo on Sunday for talks with the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
Opposition groups say more than 44,000 people have been killed since protests against Syria's government began in March 2011.
Earlier this month the UN's refugee agency said more than half a million Syrians had fled to neighbouring countries.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Wed 2 Jan - 19:14
Syria: Petrol Station Strike 'Kills Dozens'
Activists accuse the Syrian military of bombing a petrol station, as the UN puts the death toll from the conflict at 60,000.
3:39pm UK, Wednesday 02 January 2013
Video: 'Many Killed' In Syrian Petrol Station Blast
Enlarge
Activists accuse the Syrian military of bombing a petrol station, as the UN puts the death toll from the conflict at 60,000.
3:39pm UK, Wednesday 02 January 2013
Video: 'Many Killed' In Syrian Petrol Station Blast
Enlarge
Dozens of people have been killed after an air strike on a petrol station in the capital Damascus, according to opposition activists.
Mohammed Saeed, an activist who visited the site, said "tens of people were killed or wounded" in the strike, while "body parts could be seen on the ground".
Amateur video, which cannot be verified, showed block smoke billowing from the petrol station in the eastern suburb of Mleiha and casualties fleeing the scene.
Some activists said more than 30 people died in the strike, although the exact number was not confirmed.
Mr Saeed said drivers were waiting in line for fuel when the petrol station was targeted.
The blast happened in the Syrian capital, Damascus
Syria has been facing a fuel crisis and people often queue for hours to refuel.
Meanwhile, the UN said more than 60,000 people have died in the conflict in Syria since fighting began in March 2011.
Using data from seven different sources, it said the number of fatalities rose from 1,000 a month in the summer of 2011 to 5,000 a month within one year.
In the provinces of Homs and Damascus, around three-quarters of those who were killed were male.
Navi Pillay, the UN's human rights commissioner, described the number of casualties as "truly shocking" and "much higher than we expected".
"Cities, towns and villages have been, and are continuing to be, devastated by aerial attacks, shelling, tank fire, bomb attacks and street-to-street fighting," she said.
"Unless there is a quick resolution to the conflict, I fear thousands more will die or suffer terrible injuries as a result of those who harbour the obstinate belief that something can be achieved by more bloodshed, more torture and more mindless destruction."
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Panda Sun 6 Jan - 5:45
Syria conflict: Bashar al-Assad to give TV address
Tens of thousands have died and many more have fled their homes during Syria's conflict
Continue reading the main story
Syria conflict
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is to give a rare speech to the nation, state media say, as he continues to battle an uprising against his rule.
The address will cover "the latest developments in Syria and the region", according to the Sana news agency.
It comes amid fierce fighting close to the capital, Damascus.
The UN estimates that more than 60,000 people have been killed in the uprising against President Assad, which began in March 2011.
The speech will be Mr Assad's first public address since June.
In an interview with Russian TV in November - his last public comments - he said he would "live and die in Syria".
Since then opposition rebels have gained control of swathes of territory in northern Syria, and have formed a more inclusive leadership council which has been recognised by the US and the EU.
But opposition efforts to gain ground in and around major cities including Damascus have been met by stiff resistance and increasingly destructive air strikes.
On Saturday the activist Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported fierce fighting in Harasta and Daraya, suburbs of Damascus.
Diplomatic attempts to end the conflict in Syria have so far failed.
UN and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has been pushing a plan approved at an international conference in June that would create a transitional government.
But the plan leaves President Assad's role unclear. The Syrian opposition has insisted that Mr Assad must step down for the conflict to end.
Mr Brahimi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a week ago that a negotiated solution was the only option.
Tens of thousands have died and many more have fled their homes during Syria's conflict Continue reading the main story
Syria conflict
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is to give a rare speech to the nation, state media say, as he continues to battle an uprising against his rule.
The address will cover "the latest developments in Syria and the region", according to the Sana news agency.
It comes amid fierce fighting close to the capital, Damascus.
The UN estimates that more than 60,000 people have been killed in the uprising against President Assad, which began in March 2011.
The speech will be Mr Assad's first public address since June.
In an interview with Russian TV in November - his last public comments - he said he would "live and die in Syria".
Since then opposition rebels have gained control of swathes of territory in northern Syria, and have formed a more inclusive leadership council which has been recognised by the US and the EU.
But opposition efforts to gain ground in and around major cities including Damascus have been met by stiff resistance and increasingly destructive air strikes.
On Saturday the activist Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported fierce fighting in Harasta and Daraya, suburbs of Damascus.
Diplomatic attempts to end the conflict in Syria have so far failed.
UN and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has been pushing a plan approved at an international conference in June that would create a transitional government.
But the plan leaves President Assad's role unclear. The Syrian opposition has insisted that Mr Assad must step down for the conflict to end.
Mr Brahimi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a week ago that a negotiated solution was the only option.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Badboy Sun 6 Jan - 16:25
WILLIAM HAGUE HAS SAID THAT ASSAD'S SPEECH WAS HYPOCRITICAL AND ANGRILY CONDEMNED IT.
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Re: Syria warns West against intervention
Badboy Fri 11 Jan - 17:57
REBELS HAVE OVERRAN AN AIRFORCE BASE IN NORTH OF COUNTRY.
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