Syria warns West against intervention

3 May 2013 Last updated at 15:32

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Syria conflict: 'Dozens executed' in village


This picture provided by
activists purports to show Syrian soldiers at the scene of the killings

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Syria
conflict

• Obama's tough options
  
• Timeline: Syria's bloodiest days
  
• Syria's chemical stockpile
  
• Chemical weapons probe
  

More than 40 people have been killed
by government forces in a village in north-western Syria, activists say.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Violations Documentation Centre
both listed the names of people they said were executed in al-Bayda, near the
port of Baniyas, on Thursday.

An online video appears to show seven bodies in pools of blood, but state
media made no mention of any incidents.

The main opposition group accused the government of a "large-scale
massacre".

"It is time for the world to intervene and put an end to the grievous crimes
of the Assad regime," the National Coalition said in a statement.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama said the US would look at all options to
end the conflict in Syria, after his Defence Secretary, Chuck Hagel, said
Washington was rethinking its opposition to arming the rebels.

Mr Obama said he would not rush into a decision, and wanted to ensure action
did not make the situation in Syria more deadly or complex.
Alawite region

The Syrian Observatory, a UK-based activist group that monitors human rights
violations on both sides of the conflict via a network of contacts, said at
least 50 people had been "summarily executed, shot to death, stabbed or set on
fire" in al-Bayda.

The killings were carried out by government troops, supported by
pro-government militiamen known as "shabiha", it added.

"Dozens of civilians from al-Bayda have gone missing, and we don't know
whether they have been arrested, killed or fled," said the group's director,
Rami Abdul Rahman.

"Many villagers have fled to Sunni districts in southern Baniyas, as there is
no refuge for them in Alawite areas."

Mr Abdul Rahman said troops were still in al-Bayda on Friday, conducting
house-to-house searches. Telephone and internet services to the village had been
cut, he added, making it difficult to verify reports.

Al-Bayda is reportedly a predominantly Sunni Muslim village located in an
area dominated by President Bashar al-Assad's minority Alawite sect.

Syria's majority Sunni community has been at the forefront of the revolt
against the state, during which more than 70,000 people have died.
====================================
Why hasn't Russia stepped in , they are big mates with Syria and could at least try to talk to Assad about the merciless way his Soldiers are behaving.
The US and Britain daren't intervene knowing Assad has chemical weapons , even the United Nations are turning a blind eye.

Britain lays out plan for arming Syrian rebels amid fears of 'likely'
chemical weapons attack


Exclusive: Britain has proposed "fully exempting" Syria's National Coalition
from a European Union arms embargo allowing rebels to be armed in order to
protect Syrian civilians from a "likely" chemical weapons attack.








David Cameron, left, and Bashar
al-Assad Photo:
AP/Bloomberg







By Bruno Waterfield,
Brussels

2:49PM BST 08 May 2013





A confidential paper, seen by The Daily Telegraph, sets out the case
for two "options" allowing Britain and France to start supplying arms to the
official Syrian opposition as early as June.



"The situation in Syria is deteriorating sharply. With the likely use of
chemical weapons and the growth of extremism, the conflict has entered an even
more dangerous phase," the paper argues.


"We must consider all the options, [including] the ability to give further
assistance to the moderate Syrian opposition. It will also protect civilians,
and save lives. Crucially, it will ensure we can respond flexibly to a major
escalation in the conflict, such as chemical weapons attacks."


The proposal will be discussed by foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels
on 27 May where it will run into opposition led by Germany which also has the
backing of Baroness Ashton and her EU diplomatic service.


UK diplomats have stressed that while Britain supports lifting the embargo,
no decision has yet been taken to arm the rebels in London.



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  in wake of air strikes
  05 May 2013
  

Syria Arms Embargo Options


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On Wednesday, David Cameron said he would discuss the Syria situation with
Vladimir Putin in Russia on Friday.

"There's an urgent need to start a proper negotiation to force a political
transition and to bring this conflict to an end, and I will be flying to Sochi
on Friday to meet with President Putin to discuss this issue further," Mr
Cameron told the House of Commons.

The first option in the British policy paper, clearly the preferred choice of
the Government, is to "fully exempt the National Coalition from the arms
embargo".

"The embargo on Syria was created in order to prevent the Assad regime from
brutalising its own people," the paper said.

"There is a strong argument that the embargo should not apply to the National
Coalition, which has not been responsible for the systematic and oppressive
violence against civilians perpetrated by the regime. This approach is
consistent with the approach member states have adopted thus far with regards to
financial and trade sanctions."

The second option tabled by Britain is for the EU to "remove 'non-lethal'
language to allow lethal equipment to be supplied to the Coalition".

"This would allow lethal equipment also to be provided, but no other changes
would be made. Specifically, lethal equipment would still have to be 'intended
for the protection of civilians'," the paper said.

"This would allow the EU to send a clear message to Assad that all options
are on the table, thereby increasing the pressure on him to come to the
negotiating table."

In order to overcome German and wider EU fears that arms meant for the
moderate Syrian opposition would end up in the hands of extremists, the British
proposal suggests "safeguards" to ensure the National Coalition keeps control of
military aid.

"Clearly we must ensure the National Coalition makes good on its commitments.
If the EU were to amend the arms embargo, we would need to rigorously assess,
monitor and review how any equipment was used in consultation with the National
Coalition," the paper said.

"We are clear that we want to ensure any equipment provided is used only by
those for whom it is intended, and is used for the right reason: protecting
civilians. We are also clear that international law must be rigorously applied."


Earlier on Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Italy
seeking to build on fresh momentum to halt the carnage in Syria, holding
whirlwind talks with top Italian, Israeli and Jordanian officials.

During marathon meetings in Moscow lasting into the early hours of Wednesday,
Mr Kerry agreed with Russian leaders to convene a new international conference
to try to find a way to end the 26-month Syrian conflict.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Mr Kerry said they hoped they
could convene an international conference by the end of May to build on the
Geneva accord agreed by world powers last June for a peaceful solution in Syria.


In Rome, as well as meeting with members of the new Italian government led by
Prime Minister Enrico Letta, Kerry will have talks with Israel's chief
negotiator on Middle East peace, Tzipi Livni, and Jordanian Foreign Minister
Nasser Judeh.

The Geneva agreement, which bogged down almost as soon as it was signed, set
out a path toward a transitional government without ever spelling out the fate
of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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Syria

• 
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In Syria





Latest Israeli air strike targets Syrian
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Children describe terror of Syria conflict







One million Syrian refugees should be 'wake up
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===========================
What is Cameron letting Britain in for now??? There are so may rebel groups no one knows who's who. Israel seem to be in control and I fail to see why Brtiain is at the forefront all the time . Obviously Cameron is looking for Kudos but yet again . doesn't have a clue.

Hizbollah Warns Syria Supplying 'New Weapons'


The group leader's claims come as a UK minister calls for
its military wing to be designated as a terrorist organisation.


12:03am UK,
Friday 10 May 2013

Hizbollah says it will gain new weapons from the Syrian
regime

• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hizbollah says it will gain an arsenal of "sophisticated" weapons
  from Syria following Israeli strikes on the capital Damascus.
  
  The claim was made by the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, as Britain warned
  it would push the EU to designate Hizbollah's military wing as a terrorist
  organisation.
  
  It follows a series of raids and air strikes around Damascus which Israeli
  sources, quoted by Reuters, said were designed to take out "game-changing"
  Iranian missiles destined for use by Hizbollah.
  
  Lebanon's Shi'ite group fought a war with Israel in 2006 and is a staunch
  ally of Syrian President Bashar al Assad in his struggle against a two-year
  revolt.
  
  "If the aim of your attack was to prevent the strengthening of the
  resistance's capabilities, then Syria will give the resistance sophisticated
  weapons the like of which it hasn't seen before," Nasrallah said in a televised
  speech.
  Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivers his
  speech
  "The resistance is prepared to accept any sophisticated weaponry, even if it
  was to break the equilibrium (in the region).
  
  "We are worthy of having such weapons and we would use them to defend our
  people, our country and our holy sites."
  
  The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to comment
  on Mr Nasrallah's speech.
  
  Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for the country's foreign ministry, said: "We don't
  respond to words. We respond to action."
  
  Meanwhile, a Foreign Office minister told the House of Commons that Hizbollah
  should be redesignated after it attacked a bus at an airport in Bulgaria last
  year, killing five Israeli tourists as well as the driver.
  
  Alistair Burt called for Europe to deliver a "robust response" and told MPs
  the EU would meet in the next month to discuss the UK's proposals.
  
  He said the dilemma facing governments was that Hizbollah's political wing -
  rather than its military arm - played a "pragmatic" role in Lebanon, ensuring
  the country's southern border with Israel remained relatively quiet.
  
  In the aftermath of the Israeli strikes, Syrian state media quoted unnamed
  sources as saying Damascus had given the go-ahead to launch operations against
  Israel from the Golan - a key battleground between President Assad's forces and
  rebel fighters.
  
  There have been no clear signs of any increased military activity in the
  area.
  
  In other developments, Israeli security forces told the Associated Press they
  have asked Russia to cancel the imminent sale of an advanced air defence
  system.
  
  Meanwhile, President Assad's regime said it welcomed efforts by the United States and Russia to
  bring all sides in the Syrian civil war together for talks.
  
  Fighting was reported in Aleppo and Idlib in northern Syria, as government
  forces attacked rebel positions, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human
  Rights
  

Vladimir Putin: a man the West can do business with?


David Cameron’s meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Sochi may
be fraught with mind games, but it could help bring an end to the civil war in
Syria








President Putin and military
officials in Moscow’s Red Square yesterday at the Victory Parade celebrating the
Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany Photo:
Reuters






By Con Coughlin

8:19PM BST 09 May 2013

55 Comments




When David Cameron arrives at the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday for
talks with Vladimir Putin, he would be well advised to bring a good book with
him to while away the time.


There is nothing Russia’s whimsical leader likes more than to play mind games
with visiting dignitaries. During his first encounter with Angela Merkel, Mr
Putin brought his Labrador Koni to the meeting because he had heard that the
German Chancellor was afraid of dogs. Koni, by all accounts a gentle creature
who wouldn’t hurt a fly, sat dutifully at her master’s side throughout the
session; but it was said to have been a deeply unnerving experience for Mrs
Merkel, who has suffered a phobia of dogs since she was bitten as a young girl.



And Mr Putin was up to his psychological tricks again this week when John
Kerry, the US Secretary of State, arrived in Moscow for vital talks on the
deepening crisis in Syria. Rather than making the envoy of the world’s most
powerful nation feel at ease, Mr Putin kept him waiting in a Kremlin ante-room
for three hours before the meeting started, and then proceeded to fiddle
continuously with his pen while Mr Kerry set out his arguments for robust
intervention in Syria to end the bloodshed.


It is now Mr Cameron’s turn to try his hand at reasoning with the Russian
president and, if the recent problematic history of Anglo-Russian relations is
anything to go by, the Prime Minister should be prepared for some awkward
moments.


There has, admittedly, been an improvement in the atmosphere between Moscow
and London since the infamous occasion back in the summer of 2008 when Sergei
Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, treated David Miliband, his British opposite
number at the time, to a foul-mouthed tirade of abuse – including liberal use of
the F-word – after the foreign secretary had the temerity to criticise Russia’s
unprovoked invasion of Georgia that summer.



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Mr Cameron managed to spend a pleasant afternoon with the Russian president
during last summer’s Olympic Games in London, when the world’s most famous
martial arts fan took time out from talks at Downing Street to attend the
closing stages of the judo competition at the ExCel Arena in east London. By all
accounts, Mr Putin had a thoroughly enjoyable day, especially after one of the
Russian competitors won gold. Mr Cameron will no doubt be hoping that, given the
seriousness of the subject matter to be discussed, the friendly accord the two
men established last summer will continue.

Before leaving for Russia, the Prime Minister told the Commons that British
intelligence assessments showed President Bashar al-Assad’s regime had used the
nerve agent sarin against protesters. For this reason, Mr Cameron is rightly
concerned that, unless Moscow can be persuaded to back the West’s plans to
arrange a ceasefire, the conflict risks spiralling out of control.

The savage cycle of violence between regime loyalists and opposition forces –
which include a fair proportion of al-Qaeda jihadists – has so far resulted in
an estimated 70,000 civilian deaths. But this week’s Israeli air strikes against
a shipment of Iranian missiles destined for Hizbollah in neighbouring Lebanon
illustrated how the Syrian conflict could easily engulf the wider region.

While there is now consensus among major Western powers that a policy of
inaction on Syria is no longer an option, attempts by the US, Britain and France
to stem the blood-letting have so far been stymied by the Kremlin’s refusal to
abandon the Assad regime, Moscow’s long-standing regional ally.

Russia’s intransigence over Syria is driven as much by a determination to
hang on to its vital naval facility at Tartus – its only military base outside
the old Soviet Union – as ongoing concerns about the West’s intentions. Paranoia
has been the dominant emotion driving Russian dealings with the outside world
since Peter the Great, and the West’s triumphalist response to the collapse of
the Soviet Union in the late 1980s only served to reinforce the belief among
ordinary Russians that the West was determined to heap further humiliation on
their country.

The accession of many former Soviet states in Eastern Europe to Western
institutions such as the EU and NATO confirmed this sense of isolation. Thus
when Mr Putin’s distinctive brand of rugged nationalism first made its mark in
Moscow more than a decade ago, most Russians were delighted to have a leader who
was prepared to stand up to the West.

And this desire to re-establish Russia’s position as one of the world’s
pre-eminent powers helps to explain Mr Putin’s uncompromising approach to
dealing with any challenge to his authority. When the Russian oligarch Mikhail
Khodorkovsky made the mistake of publicly criticising Mr Putin’s autocratic
style, he found himself sentenced to a long prison term in Siberia. The all-girl
punk band Pussy Riot received similarly harsh treatment when they dared to
criticise the president in a protest song.

Mr Putin’s dislike of dissent and his creation of what many have labelled a
mafia state have caused thousands of wealthy Russians to flee the country, with
Britain becoming such a popular destination that the capital is now known fondly
as Londongrad.

But just as Mr Putin seems impervious to criticism of Russia’s human rights
record, so he is determined not to let long-standing Russian allies such as
Syria fall into the clutches of his Western rivals. Indeed, given his aggressive
determination to defend Russian interests at all costs, there will be many
people in Britain wondering why Mr Cameron is even bothering to make the trip,
irrespective of the welcome he receives. The answer lies in Moscow’s growing
realisation that the crisis in Syria could have serious implications for its
regional interests, particularly if Islamist elements within the rebel movement
were to achieve their goal of replacing the Assad regime.

One of the few areas where Mr Putin is willing to cooperate with the West is
over the threat posed by Islamist militants. The Kremlin was quick to offer its
assistance to American counter-terrorism officials after two brothers from
Chechnya were accused of plotting the recent bomb attacks against the Boston
marathon. And despite Moscow’s initial reluctance to side with the West in the
stand-off with Iran over its nuclear programme, Russia has recently backed UN
efforts to hold Tehran to account for refusing to freeze its uranium enrichment
programme.

If Russia and the West can cooperate on such a toxic issue as Iran’s nuclear
programme, then why not Syria? Certainly, in recent weeks there appears to have
been a subtle shift in Moscow’s position, with Russian officials talking about
their desire to support the Syrian people, rather than the Assad regime itself.


And despite the inauspicious start to Mr Kerry’s talks with Mr Putin this
week, the American envoy’s aides say that good progress was made, with both
sides agreeing they had a common interest in reviving former UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s peace plan, whereby an interim government
comprising representatives of the Assad regime and the rebels agree to run the
country until a lasting political settlement is reached.

For such an arrangement to work, Russia would have to take on the unenviable
task of persuading the Assad clan to end its genocidal assault on the Syrian
people, while the Western powers would have the equally daunting job of
persuading the rebels – minus their al-Qaeda supporters – to lay down their
weapons.

Given the horrors that have already afflicted the country during the past two
years, it is a big ask to expect these two implacable foes to agree to a
ceasefire. But with Russian support, the plan might just be made to work, and
the awful suffering of the Syrian people brought to an end.

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Vladimir Putin

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In Vladimir Putin




Victory Day in Moscow





Pussy Riot demonstrations






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In pictures: Russia's man of action







Vladimir Putin rides a Harley



If Putin plays mind games . Boris would have been a better Representative, he is far more astute than Cameron and Putin would have been taken in by his boyish looks and manner.

Panda! I think you're developing an obsession with Boris!
You really do love that man, don't you?

wjk wrote: Panda! I think you're developing an obsession with Boris!
You really do love that man, don't you?

Actually wjk, I watched a programme on BBC 2 last night and even his Sister slagged him off Max Hastings was interviewed, Ian Hislop , they were all critical , said he had lied to Parliament about an affair, was very ambitious and beneath the buffoon lies a razor sharp intellect. His Father thinks he would make a good PM and all agreed the public like him and that is half the battle. I like his writing and some of the expressions like " slightly sandpaper the truth"

10 May 2013 Last updated at 17:54

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Turkey claims evidence of Syrian chemical weapons
use


Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
patients brought to Turkey showed signs of chemical weapons injuries

Continue
reading the main story

Syria
conflict

• No easy answers
  
• Israel's 'red line'
  
• Obama's options
  
• Bloodiest days
  

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan has told US media he has evidence that Syria employed chemical weapons
against opposition forces.

He cited as proof the discovery of missile remains and added that Syrian
patients brought to Turkey "were wounded by these chemical weapons".

Mr Erdogan rejected the idea that the weapons could have been used by
rebels.

This contradicts an earlier claim by a UN expert who said there were
"concrete suspicions" that rebels used nerve gas.

Carla del Ponte, who serves on the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said
testimony from victims strongly suggested that opposition fighters had used
sarin, an extremely potent chemical nerve agent - although there was "no
incontrovertible proof".

However, the commission later stressed that it had "not reached conclusive
findings" as to their use by any parties.
Red line
'crossed'
Mr Erdogan said he did not think that the rebels had access to chemical
weapons.

"There is no way I can believe in this now," he said in an interview with
American broadcaster NBC.

"First of all, how are they going to obtain this? And who will give this to
them? But if it exists, we are against this. We are against whoever holds the
weapons."

He said Turkish intelligence had determined that the government of President
Bashar al-Assad had used at least 200 chemical missiles.

Continue reading the main story
Chemical weapons in 20th century

• Chemical agents used as weapons was first introduced by Germany in WWI
  
• Mustard gas has been used in several wars including by British forces in
  Russian Civil War of 1919, Soviet forces in China in 1930s, Spanish and Italian
  troops in North Africa
  
• Sarin was invented by a German scientist in the 1930s in preparation for
  WWII
  
• Iraq's former leader Saddam Hussein used nerve agents such as sarin and
  mustard gas on Kurds in 1987-8 and on Iran 1980-8
  
• Japanese militant sect Aum Shinrikyo used sarin nerve agent in a Tokyo
  subway in 1995
  

"We have the remainders of these missiles, there are
pictures and then there are intelligence reports," he said.

"And there are patients who are brought to our hospitals who were wounded by
these chemical weapons."

He did not give details on the type of chemical weapons he believed Syria had
used.

Last month, the White House said intelligence agencies believed "with varying
degrees of confidence" that Syria has used chemical weapons against rebels.

President Barack Obama warned that chemical weapons use would be a "red line"
for possible intervention, but said existent intelligence did not represent
sufficient proof.

The Turkish prime minister, however, said he believed that Syria had crossed
the red line "a long time ago".

Mr Erdogan, who is due to meet Mr Obama next week, called on the US to take
stronger action.

"We want the United States to assume more responsibilities and take further
steps. And what sort of steps they will take, we are going to talk about
this".
'Limited but persuasive'
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron has held talks in Moscow with
Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of Syria's closest allies.

Continue reading the main story
Action Group for Syria agreement

• All parties must recommit to ending violence and immediately implement UN
  envoy Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan
  
• Transitional government formed on basis of mutual consent; can include
  officials serving under President Assad and opposition members
  
• Syrians will determine future of the country; all groups allowed to join
  national dialogue
  
• Constitutional order and legal system to be reviewed; changes subject to
  popular approval
  
• All parties must engage genuinely with Mr Annan to work towards a Syrian-led
  settlement
  

• Final
  communique
  

Mr Cameron said the two countries had made "real
progress" in discussions he described as "substantive, purposeful and
frank".

He said they had a "common interest" in stabilising Syria and preventing the
growth of extremism.

Mr Cameron also welcomed a recent agreement by Russia to convene an
international conference to find a political solution to the crisis.

The conference will try to persuade Mr Assad and the opposition to accept the
establishment of a transitional government.

In a separate development, a senior US official confirmed that the US
ambassador to Syria briefly crossed into Syrian territory on Thursday, more than
a year after the US embassy suspended operations in Damascus and pulled out its
diplomats.

The official told the BBC that Robert Ford was at the Syria-Turkey border to
help deliver meals to Syrian opposition forces and discuss "the situation on the
ground".

The official added that the visit had no legal implications because
Washington "has always continued to say that he remains the ambassador to the
Syrian people, and that the regime is illegitimate".

More than 70,000 people are believed to have died since the Syrian conflict
erupted in March 2011.

Syria: Bombings In Turkish Town Near Border


No one has claimed responsibility, but an attack in
February at a nearby border post was blamed on Syrian intelligence agents.


2:40pm UK,
Saturday 11 May 2013

The explosions damaged the town hall and a post
office

The attacks took place near the Syrian
border

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  At least 18 people have been killed and many others injured in a
  series of explosions in a Turkish town close to the border with Syria.
  
  The Hurriyet newspaper quoted the interior minister as saying the explosions
  in Reyhanli were caused by two car bombs.
  
  The town hall and a post office were reportedly hit.
  
  "We are going to launch an inquiry into all this, so that everything becomes
  clear," Interior Minister Muammer Guler said.
  
  Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said at least 15 ambulances were helping
  the injured. There was no immediate information on the identities of the
  victims.
  
  Reyhanli, a town of about 60,000 people, lies just a few miles from the
  Cilvegozu crossing opposite Syria's Bab al-Hawa border post.
  
  The border area has witnessed a number of attacks as the conflict in Syria
  has spilt over into Turkey, a one-time ally of President Bashar al-Assad but now
  one of its harshest critics.
  
  In February, Turkey blamed a car bomb attack at Cilvegozu, which killed 17
  people and wounded another 30, on Syrian intelligence agents.
  
  Four Syrians and a Turk are in custody in connection with the February
  attack.
  
  Most of the victims of that blast were Syrians who were waiting to be
  processed before they entered Turkey and a Syrian opposition faction said the
  blast narrowly missed 13 leaders of their group.
  
  Turkey has taken in around 400,000 refugees as well as Syrian army defectors
  and repeatedly called on the international community to act on the unfolding
  crisis.
  
  Turkey's Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said immediately after the latest
  attack that the country would take necessary measures to protect itself.
  
  "No one should attempt to test Turkey's power. Our security forces will take
  all necessary measures," he told reporters during a visit to Berlin.
  
  There was no immediate indication who may have carried out the bombings on
  Saturday.
  
  Kurdish militants, who recently agreed a ceasefire with the government, have
  also carried out such attacks in the south of the country.
  

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Syria's civil war spills into Turkey after two deadly car bombs


Syria's civil war spilt over into southern Turkey on Saturday when two car
bombs exploded in the heart of the border town of Reyhanli, killing at least 40
people.









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By Justin Vela, Istanbul and
David Blair

8:19PM BST 11 May 2013




It was the bloodiest incident on Turkish soil since the start of Syria's
uprising in 2011. While stopping short of a blunt accusation, the government
pointed the finger at President Bashar al-Assad's regime.


"With their secret services and armed groups, they are certainly one of the
usual suspects to instigate and carry out such an outrageous plot," said Bulent
Arinc, the Turkish deputy prime minister.


One bomb exploded outside the town hall; the second detonated 15 minutes
later beside a post office. The two blasts inflicted a scene of devastation in
the commercial centre of Reyhanli, a town of 60,000 people, filling the streets
with rubble, reducing buildings to twisted wrecks, and leaving bodies lying amid
smoking debris.


A matter of hours later, there was a third explosion on the edge of the town,
although there were reports of it being unrelated.


^{A woman cries at the scene of one of the explosions
(AP)}



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Reyhanli is in Hatay province near the Cilvegozu frontier crossing with
Syria. The adjacent Syrian province of Idlib has experienced heavy fighting
between rebels and the Assad regime, causing thousands of refugees to flee over
the border, raising tensions with the Turks.

After the explosions, Turks vented their anger by vandalising cars with
Syrian number plates and attacking some refugees.

Aref al-Karez, a 22-year-old Syrian, was a few streets away when the first
bomb exploded. He said that some Turks went "crazy", adding: "Any people from
Turkey that caught a Syrian person, there was a fight."


^{Fire fighters and police inspect the area after an explosion in Hatay,
Reyhanli District (Photo: EPA)}

Police fired guns in the air as they tried to restore order. Mr Karez said
that he was staying in his apartment in the town and was too afraid to go out.
"No Syrians are walking the roads," he said. He had planned to leave Reyhanli
and travel to another town, but Mr Karez said that no Turkish taxi driver would
take him.

Mr Karez said that large numbers of people were crossing the border between
Syria and Turkey illegally, suggesting that the attackers might have followed
this route.

"A lot of people get into Turkey – I don't have a passport, I don't have
anything, I just go over the border," he said. "I think intelligence agents from
the regime got into Turkey, took a bomb, and put it in the cars."

^{Residents carry a wounded woman to safety in Reyhanli
(AFP)}

Another Syrian, who gave his name only as Mahmoud, said that tensions had
been rising between Turks and refugees in Reyhanli for several weeks before the
bombs. A few days ago, a young Syrian man had burned the Turkish national flag
in the town's main square.

Mahmoud was collecting the names of those killed. The youngest identified
victim was Noora Ladh, a five-year-old Syrian girl who was in the town as a
refugee.

Turkey has openly supported the Syrian rebels, allowing them bases to arm,
train and recruit.

^{Smoke rises from the site of an
explosion in the town of Reyhanli (Reuters)}

In the past, Syrian forces have fired artillery shells and mortar bombs over
the border, killing five Turks in the village of Akcakale last October. If
yesterday's incident was the work of the Assad regime, however, it would mark
its first use of car bombs.

"We know that the Syrian refugees have become a target of the Syrian regime,"
said Mr Arinc. "Reyhanli was not chosen by coincidence".

In the past, Turkey has retaliated for cross-border shelling by bombarding
Syrian territory. Mr Arinc promised that Turkey would "do whatever is necessary"
in response to yesterday's attack.

Ahmet Davutoglu, the foreign minister, reinforced that message during a visit
to Berlin, saying: "There may be those who want to sabotage Turkey's peace, but
we will not allow that."

As a member of Nato, Turkey would be entitled to summon the aid of its
allies, including Britain. However, Turkey's armed forces are far more powerful
than Syria's.

Turkey is also the target of an insurgency waged by guerrillas from the
Kurdish minority. They have carried out many bombings in the past, raising the
possibility that Kurdish rebels might have planted the latest bombs.

The Syrian National Coalition, an opposition alliance, implicitly blamed
President Assad, saying the "heinous terrorist acts" were designed to "take
revenge on the Turkish people and punish them for their honourable support for
the Syrian people".

Under the black flag of al-Qaeda, the Syrian city ruled by gangs of
extremists


The black flag of al-Qaeda flies high over Raqqa’s main square in front of
the smart new governor’s palace, its former occupant last seen in their prison.
Their fighters, clad also in black, patrol the streets, or set up positions
behind sandbags.









Image 1 of 2
Fighters from Jabhat al-Nusrah,
the al-Qaeda affiliated group, are said to control Raqqa's streets Photo: David Rose



Image 1 of 2
Amar Abu Yasser, deputy head of
the Farouq Brigade in Raqqah, in his headquarters Photo: David Rose for the Telegraph












By Richard Spencer, and David
Rose

7:00AM BST 12 May 2013





The Islamists smashed up one of the two shops that sold alcohol. That much
was pretty inevitable, the locals agreed. The other off-licence had already
closed, as had the casino on the outskirts of town.


They brought in a radical cleric from Egypt to preach Friday prayers, and set
up a sharia court in the city’s new sports centre with the support of other
brigades. They had their fiefdom — an entire city to run only 60 miles from
Nato’S border.


Then, one night, 10 men came for Nagham and Nour al-Rifaie, two teenage
sisters from a well-known liberal family. They were at home with a family
friend, Yusra Omran, 30, and their male cousin, 32.


^{Nagham, centre, with her father Hassan
al-Rifaie and family friend Yusra Omran (David Rose for the Telegraph)}



“All these guys came in with guns and wearing masks and with handcuffs,” said
Nagham, 19, a civil engineering student. “They started searching everything, and
shouting.



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“They were saying, 'Put on more clothes than you are wearing, put on a
headscarf.’ I just said I’m wearing clothes and I’m not putting on a
headscarf’.”

The men took them to the sports centre. There the girls were charged with
being alone with a man and interrogated.

“The guy with us was so mean,” Miss Rifaie said. “He was speaking in a
horrible way, as if he was disgusted to be with us.”

In Raqqa, a once conservative but by all accounts not religious city, the
triumph of al-Qaeda’s Syrian arm, Jabhat
al-Nusra, would seem to be complete.

^{The town is largely under the control of
Jabhat al-Nusra, affiliated to al-Qaeda (David Rose for the Telegraph)}


Little known a year ago but suspected of having being founded by al-Qaeda in
Iraq, they have grown in stature, leading many of the rebels’ most successful
recent battles. Last month they publicly declared their loyalty to al-Qaeda’s
supreme leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Their new-found power is such that it is changing international calculations
over the conflict. After first being discouraged from action by their presence
in rebel ranks, Britain now has a revised diplomatic strategy.

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David Cameron put it to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin on Friday and will
discuss it this week with a nervous President Obama in Washington.

Mr Cameron’s officials now feel Jabhat al-Nusra has to be defeated by
actively supporting the less militant rebels, including with arms. Many of
Jabhat’s rival militias are being marginalised in cities like Raqqa across the
north. On Tuesday, Britain will seek to have Jabhat al-Nusra added to an
official list of sanctions at the United Nations.

^{Destroyed buildings near the Ahrar
al-Sham Brigade Headquarters in the centre of Al Raqqa. The base was targeted by
a regime airstrike last week (David Rose for the Telegraph)}

In taking Raqqa two months ago al-Qaeda achieved its greatest coup in the war
to date: it was the first provincial capital to fall outright to the rebels, and
allowed Jabhat to assume a leadership role over a large swathe of north-eastern
Syria, to the Iraqi border.

To many in it is a welcome development. “Jabhat are excellent for us,” said
Abdullah Mohammed, a man from the nearby village of Mansoura. “They deal with us
according to Islamic rules, so there are no problems. They are honest and they
run everything pretty well.”

As a police officer, Mr Mohammed said he was in a position to know the
difference between life under al-Qaeda and the Assad regime. He was in prison
when the revolution broke out – he had stopped a car for jumping a red light and
found to his cost it was being driven by a regime official.

He said he was in a cell with four members of President Bashar al-Assad’s
Alawite minority sect, and when the protests started the guards were taken away
to fight and the Alawite prisoners turned into guards.

Other locals too, particularly shopkeepers, say the all-pervasive corruption
of the Assad era has vanished with the regime’s men. “I like Jabhat,” said Ahmed
al-Hindy, who runs an optician’s shop. “They are better than the regime, at any
rate.”

^{An Islamic militant in the centre of Al Raqqa (David
Rose for the Telegraph)}

Part of it is money. Jabhat al-Nusra has always been well-funded compared to
other militias – most people assume due to wealthy backers in the Gulf, though
few have been able to track down the lines of the money supply.

Now they have control of good sources of income and can pay salaries. From
the city’s main flour mill, they supply the all-important bakeries, and they
have seized some of them too. At night, long queues of women form to buy their
daily ration under the watchful eyes of Jabhat guards.

They have also taken the oilfields in neighbouring Deir al-Zour province.
Production is hardly booming, but they are able to sell enough on the local
market to keep cash rolling in.

It is not all plain sailing, though. Even in Raqqa, no single militia is
all-powerful, even Jabhat, and they depend on an alliance with Ahrar al-Sham,
another radical Islamist group.

They also have to deal with a slew of other brigades with a variety of
ideologies.

The dynamic of Jabhat’s rise is being challenged out of both envy and fear,
leading to clashes.

Two senior rival militiamen have been assassinated in the last 10 days: Abu
Awad of the Farouq Brigade, and, on Thursday, the head of the Ahfad al-Rasool,
Abu al-Zein. In both cases the method was the same – three men in black and
masks drove up to the victims’ cars, shot them, then sped off.

Some say it could be a leftover squad of Assad’s Shabiha, but members of
their militias point out both were known for support for a civil state, not an
Islamic one.

Another militia leader, Abu Deeb of the Lions of Islam, was arrested after a
fight on Tuesday with Jabhat al-Nusra that brought the city to a brief
standstill. Different explanations have been given, but Abdullah al-Khalil, the
civilian who heads the town’s interim administration, said it was over control
of the town’s largest bakery.

“After Assad falls, there will be a second revolution, against Jabhat
al-Nusra,” said Amar Abu Yasser, a battalion leader with the Farouq Brigade. The
Farouq was once the most famous brigade in the Syrian revolution, spreading its
power from its base in Homs across the north of the country, where it still
operates several of the border crossings to Turkey, including Tal Abyad, the
nearest to Raqqa.

But its power and influence has been severely curbed by Jabhat al-Nusra. Abu
Azzam, the Farouq head at Tal Abyad, survived an assassination attempt when a
bomb was placed under his car.

^{The flag of Jabhat al-Nusra flying over
the Governer's Palace (David Rose for the Telegraph)}

“The problem is due to ideology,” said Mr Abu Yasser, until two years ago a
student of Arabic literature, now a tough, bearded warrior in fatigues and a
black turban. “There is a conflict between the black flag and the revolutionary
flag.” The green, white and black banner with three red stars made famous by the
revolution still flies in Raqqa, but in a secondary place.


“It is not wise to try to make an Islamic state here,” he went on. “There are
Christians, Alawites, Druze living here. It will just be a big problem.”

He also said Jabhat al-Nusra was not as honest and Muslim as it seemed. He
claimed it had stripped the town’s factories and smuggled their goods, including
nearly 200 tons of sugar, to Turkey for profit.

Jabhat has withdrawn into itself as tensions rise, and particularly since the
declaration of obedience to al-Qaeda was issued, which confirmed its status as
an internationally proscribed terrorist group.

It no longer gives interviews or defends itself from such allegations, and
has banned its men from talking to foreign journalists.

Those its men stop at checkpoints in the city are accused of being “foreign
spies”.

^{Graffiti is painted on a wall by members
of Civic Society, one of the more liberal youth organizations in Al Raqqa (David
Rose for the Telegraph)}

Some locals regarded as fanciful the idea that Farouq and other group would
ever again have the strength to rise up and throw out Jabhat. But most
proclaimed defiantly that Syria would not become a radical Islamic state.

“This is all just for the war,” said Mr al-Khalil, the town leader, who is
happy to cooperate with Jabhat as he tries to re-establish schools and keep the
water running.

A former human rights lawyer once jailed by the regime, he said he could
tolerate the black flags for now. “But I think the modern Islamic project will
win in the end,” he added, using a phrase commonly used to refer to a civil
state with a Muslim ethos, like booming Turkey next door. He added a refrain
repeated now across rebel Syria: it will be harder to keep the Islamists out if
the West does not come to the aid of this “modern” project.

As a follower of Abu Deeb, the arrested militia leader put it: “This is a
pact with the devil. We would rather ally with Obama than Jabhat.”

At first glance, Jabhat have tried to play safe. A small but visible minority
of women go without the hijab, or headscarf. The town’s handful of Christian
families have stayed put, for now: the churches are closed, but untouched.

But it may have made a major strategic error with its announcement of loyalty
to al-Qaeda. It did not cause a big stir in the West, where the link had been
assumed, but it shocked many who had begun to tolerate Jabhat’s presence.

Their main Islamist allies, Ahrar al-Sham, immediately denounced it. “It was
like a thunderbolt,” said Abu Abdullah, 40, an Ahrar al-Sham fighter outside
their main base, largely abandoned after being hit by Assad missiles. “It really
surprised me and is unacceptable. Our goal is just to liberate Syria. We don’t
care about other countries – we don’t want to go and fight in Iraq or anywhere.”


Then there was the arrest of Nagham al-Rifaie, Nour, 18, and their cousin and
friend. That was a “what the hell?” moment, said Mohammed Shuaib, a student who
has helped found a human rights discussion group, Haquna. It led a 500-strong
protest to the sharia court the morning after the arrest.

But by then the girls were already free. What happened is a glimmer of hope
to men like Mr Shuaib.

On arrival at the court, the girls were told they would immediately face two
judges, local worthies brought in by the ruling Islamist alliance. It was one
o’clock in the morning. Nagham was told to put a headscarf on. Again she
refused.

“They said to me, 'It’s a sharia court, you can’t go in without a headscarf’.
I said, 'That’s fine by me!’

“So we stood before the court with no headscarves on.”

One of the judges, a teacher called Mohammed al-Omar, referred them to the
charge sheet. “He said, 'It says you were alone with a man, what do you say.’ I
said, 'It is none of their business.’

“And he said, 'I agree’.”

The girls were freed immediately. They asked who the men who arrested them
were, but no one was able to provide an answer. Whether the rest of Raqqa will
escape so lightly, the girls could not say. “Things will become difficult,
that’s sure,” said Miss Rifaie, sitting in a coffee shop last week with her
father, himself a human rights activist, the two girls the only women present.
“The problem is with the people. Because of the regime, if someone speaks to
them who has power, they just sit there. But my father has taught me to have
opinions. So I cannot stop.”

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Even if Assad is toppled, with all these different religious sects fighting the Country will have been destroyed for nothing, almost a million innocents killed just like Iraq.

Syria: Civilians Come Under Fire From Rebels


Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall witnesses a crowd
of pro-regime demonstrators being shot at by rebels in Damascus.


7:29pm UK,
Wednesday 15 May 2013



Video: Syria: Sky Team Films Civilians
Under Fire

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor


We knew what was coming and so wore flak jackets and helmets. The
demonstrators knew what was coming, had no protection, and still walked straight
into the line of fire.


The demonstrators were predominantly Syrian Palestinians, many from the
Yarmouk district of Damascus who had fled when it was taken over by opposition
forces eight months ago.
This resident insisted the rebel fighters were
not Syrian nationals

Some screamed at us: "Please tell the world the truth! We don't want the
fighters here, we want the army to kill them!"


A few carried the portrait of President Assad, others the Syrian or
Palestinian flag.


One woman called the Free Syrian Army (FSA) "dogs" and said the men in
Yarmouk were not Syrians but from Chechnya and Afghanistan. We could not verify
this.


The armed men in Yarmouk had warned the demonstrators not to approach saying
they would open fire.


The fact that a few Syrian army soldiers were accompanying the demonstrators
made that a certainty.


About 1,000 people were in the demonstration. A few religious leaders and
women were in the front rows as they approached where the opposition forces had
a clear field of fire.


The shooting began almost immediately. A man went down, followed by others.
The army officer who had insisted on escorting us was hit by
shrapnel.
Civilian demonstrators flee the
gunfire

The demonstrators broke ranks and fled back across no man's land, some of the
women crying with fear.


As they passed us a man stopped and shouted that he was sure the fighters
were not Syrians but men paid to come to Damascus and kill people. Another man
shouted that they were "animals".


More soldiers arrived taking up positions facing the opposition forces. Heavy
machine gun fire rumbled around the area mixing with the crack of sniper's
bullets and the rattle of semi-automatic weapons.
Tim Marshall in Damascus


There were occasional explosions. The firefight went on for more than an
hour.


The army later claimed to have killed 10 fighters and said three soldiers
were injured along with at least five civilians.


I've been in areas held by Syrian FSA fighters where there was clearly
support for the opposition forces, but almost two years ago I first came across
areas where the FSA was feared by the population and the Syrian Army viewed as
liberators.


It's impossible to gauge the numbers of people who fall into the two camps.
All we could do was report what we saw on this day, in this place.

What an absolute bloody mess!
How can this situation be sorted out?

wjk wrote:What an absolute bloody mess!
How can this situation be sorted out?

morning wjk, it's not only a tragedy for the people living in other Countries as refugees , it's the destruction of the population and a beautiful ancient City.
I'ts not freedom fighters any more it's the different religious factions and the gun happy mob. After the invasion of Iraq and the destruction of the infrastructure ,trouble has flared again beteen Sunni and Shia. The UN is powerless, the Arab Nations don't want to get involved and the Americans don't want to get involved. It's only the gungho British Foreign Secretary who is advocating firm action. Havn't our Soldiers done enough ???? So many died and nothing was achieved.

Yes, lets pray our soldiers are not sent into another war that can't be won.
The innocent people in Syria must be in total despair at what has become of their beautiful country.

wjk wrote:Yes, lets pray our soldiers are not sent into another war that can't be won.
The innocent people in Syria must be in total despair at what has become of their beautiful country.

I don't know why it is called the Arab Spring ......Arab nightmare is more appropriate. When we were young , we knew nothing about the Middle East , it was only the OIL which changed the power base, but the population of the Countries have not benefitted, it's the Sheikhs.

Kurdish Women Fighters Battle In Syria


Kurdish female fighters are the hidden face of Syria's
armed rebellion against Bashar al Assad's government forces in Aleppo.


8:25am UK,
Monday 20 May 2013



Video: Syria: Women Fighters Battle
Regime

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By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent in Syria


A helicopter gunship passes overhead, soon followed by the "crump
crump" noise of weapon systems firing.


On the ground nobody moves, staying in the shadows waiting for the danger to
pass.


A soldier waves me forward and I enter a building. It is totally black inside
apart from the bright beams of sunlight streaming through sniper holes driven
into the ancient rock of this hilltop building.


The snipers take their positions overlooking their enemies' positions across
a clearing 200 yards away.
A female sniper takes up position


My eyes adjust to the dark as my nose adjusts to the fragrant feminine smell
of shampoo and conditioner inside the room.


It is a revelation. I had heard of these fighters but I didn't expect to meet
them so easily. A band of sisters. The most extraordinary latest development in
this awful war.


They are Kurds. A women's brigade tasked with defending their own people.


They are young and attractive and are basically professional soldiers. Some
have been part of the Kurdish militia since they were five years old.


"I have been a fighter since I can remember and I always will be," Delar
Perlar, the 23-year-old commander of the brigade, tells me.
Delar Perlar, commander of one of the women's
brigades

"We have martyrs from our group and we have injured girls. We are no
different to the men. We respect them and they respect us. We are no better or
worse than them, we are the same."


There are two known women's brigades in Aleppo and both fight for the rebel
side.


These are front line combatants in an increasingly entrenched war of
attrition that is seeing the government, for so long on the rocks, fighting
back.


The Kurdish fighters are growing. Some 4,000 new soldiers are apparently on
their way. Joining the increasingly sectarian conflict to provide security for
their ethic cousins.


The problem for the rebels is that they are now almost completely
dysfunctional.
Rebel fighters in Aleppo


There are so many groups with so many leaders ranging from committed
revolutionaries to jihadists with foreign backers, charlatan jihadists who want
local power, gangsters and uncontrollable foreign fighters.


It is a mess, and the government with support from Hezbollah and Iran is
reinvigorated, making or taking back new and old ground daily.


But the revolution is ongoing. Huge swathes of the country are outside
government control and the many, many people I meet are happy with that.


The rebels are now a total mix - some good, many bad, but there is a core
with some integrity.


"I am here to protect my people, to protect my family first and to make sure
that the revolution happens, then I will carry on and be part of the new Syria,"
says Janda Teoplin, a one-year veteran who looks only a few years older than my
12-year-old daughter.


"So you want to be a professional soldier?" I ask.


She laughs and replies, "I already am", and turns back to her huge sniper
rifle.

HEZBOLLAH HAS SAID THEY ARE INVOLVED IN THE BATTLE FOR AL QUSAIR WHICH IS NEAR DAMASCUS-TO-COAST ROAD.
HEZBOLLAH AREA IN BEIRUT AREA ATTACKED.

Badboy wrote:HEZBOLLAH HAS SAID THEY ARE INVOLVED IN THE BATTLE FOR AL QUSAIR WHICH IS NEAR DAMASCUS-TO-COAST ROAD.
HEZBOLLAH AREA IN BEIRUT AREA ATTACKED.

Badboy, there will be nothing left of Syria soon and what about the hundreds of thousands of Refugees, where are they going to go? It's so sad .

IF LEBANON IMPLOSES,ALL HELL WILL BE LET LOOSE,WESTERN POWERS MIGHT INTERVENE.

We in the West should keep our noses out of what is little more than a religious civil war. No matter who wins, or who we would support there will be no thanks from either side.

The entire Middle East is not worth the life of one of our soldiers.

malena stool wrote:We in the West should keep our noses out of what is little more than a religious civil war. No matter who wins, or who we would support there will be no thanks from either side.

The entire Middle East is not worth the life of one of our soldiers.

I agree malena, we don't even know whose who any more , so many factions fighting . Assad will not resign , nor will he be assassinated. What will happen to all the refugees, what have they got to return to, their Country is in ruins. Obama rightly does not want to involve the US in this , but Gung Ho
William Hague is arming Rebels when he doesn't know who the real Freedom Fighters are any more/

Syria: Britain Seeks To Solve Arms Deadlock


EU foreign ministers meet to discuss British and French
calls to ease sanctions so that weapons can be supplied to rebels.


4:01pm UK,
Monday 27 May 2013

William Hague (L) and Belgium's Foreign minister Didier
Reynders








Foreign Secretary William Hague has warned extremism could
flourish in Syria if the European Union refuses to ease an arms embargo.

Britain and France are pushing for the ban to be relaxed so that weapons can
be supplied to opponents of President Bashar al Assad.

Mr Hague, speaking in Brussels before a summit of EU foreign ministers,
insisted the current state of affairs cannot continue.

The EU embargo expires at the end of the month and Mr Hague indicated that
each country would be able to adopt its own approach if no common position could
be established to replace the current sanctions regime.

The UK and France have led calls for the embargo to be relaxed, but Mr Hague
acknowledged their position did not have universal support within
Europe.
There are fears weapons could get into the
hands of extremists
Mr Hague insisted that amending the embargo would force Mr Assad's regime to
take peace talks seriously.

He said: "In our view it's important to show that we are prepared to amend
our arms embargo so that the Assad regime gets a clear signal that it has to
negotiate seriously.

"Therefore for us amending the embargo is part of supporting the diplomatic
work to bring about the political solution."

Reza Afshar, the head of the Foreign Office's Syria team, wrote on Twitter
that the EU faced a "strategic decision".

"Give hope to political track on #Syria by amending arms embargo; or kill off
political track," his message read.

Anna Macdonald, head of arms control at Oxfam, warned that supplying weapons
would mean "adding fuel to the fire" in Syria.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We are concerned that supplying arms
to the opposition won't level the playing field, in fact it will fuel a deadly
arms race that will have even worse consequences for civilians."

Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said: "As William Hague meets EU
foreign ministers today, he should be asking both is it legal, and is it
advisable to send arms to Syria's rebels."

In a sign of the divisions within Europe on the issue, German foreign
minister Guido Westerwelle acknowledged: "The positions are far apart."

His Austrian counterpart Michael Spindelegger added: "We just received the
Nobel Peace Prize and to now go in the direction of intentionally getting
involved in a conflict with weapon deliveries, I think that is wrong."

Any decision on the embargo would require unanimity among the 27 member
states, with failure to reach an agreement leaving the UK and France free to put
in place their own sanctions allowing the supply of weapons to Syrian opposition
groups.

Syria: British Doctor Killed In Hospital Attack


A friend describes 26-year-old Isa Abdur Rahman as someone
who "would do anything to help others in need".


8:17pm UK,
Monday 27 May 2013




Video: British Doctor Killed In
Syria
Enlarge
Isa Abdur Rahman was killed in Idlib
province

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  By Charlotte Lomas, Sky News Reporter
  
  A young British doctor has been killed in an attack in northern
  Syria.
  
  Isa Abdur Rahman, 26, was working for the charity Hand in Hand for
  Syria and had been treating civilians at a field hospital in the
  northwestern Idlib province when a shell hit on Wednesday morning. He died of
  his injuries soon afterwards.
  
  The charity has blamed government forces for the attack, which also killed
  two civilians.
  
  Dr Abdur Rahman, who was married and from North London, had been working as a
  doctor in the country for almost a year, moving between refugee camps and secret
  clinics. He would perform operations on civilians injured by heavy shelling and
  aerial bombardment.
  
  He trained at Imperial College and worked at the Royal Free Hospital in
  London before volunteering in Syria. He was not a native Arabic speaker but in
  less than a year had mastered the language and was very popular with the local
  people.
  
  Dr Mahmoud al Akraa, a trustee of Hand in Hand for Syria and also a close
  friend of the young doctor, said he was a very likeable person.
  
  "Once you met Isa you never forgot him. He was so kind, so warm and so brave.
  He had the respect of everyone and would do anything to help others in need," he
  said.
  Forces loyal to Syria's President Assad carry
  their weapons through Aleppo
  "One time one of the refugee camps in Syria had cholera and no doctor would
  go in, except Isa. He would risk his life for others.
  
  "He worked up until midnight and would treat hundreds of patients each day.
  He would then sleep rough in a sleeping bag and often not wash for days."
  
  Doctors in Syria work under hugely challenging conditions. There is a severe
  shortage of resources and they face a daily danger of coming under attack. Many
  work in secret clinics hidden inside homes to avoid being targeted by government
  forces fighting to stop the opposition to President Bashar al Assad.
  
  Dr al Akraa said he had tried to persuade Isa to stay in the UK.
  
  "When Isa was back in London six weeks ago I tried to encourage him not to go
  back to Syria, that he was married, young and had so much to live for here," he
  said.
  
  "But he said no. He told me that people needed him and he would feel ashamed
  to let them down. He loved the people in Syria and they loved him."
  
  A fundraising page set up in Isa’s memory on the website Just Giving has already raised £25 000, with the
  total continuing to rise.
  
  Hand in Hand for Syria has said the money will fund the building of a field
  hospital in his name, in the Syrian city of Homs, which was his long-term
  ambition.
  
• Related Stories:
  

Panda wrote:

malena stool wrote:We in the West should keep our noses out of what is little more than a religious civil war. No matter who wins, or who we would support there will be no thanks from either side.

The entire Middle East is not worth the life of one of our soldiers.

I agree malena, we don't even know whose who any more , so many factions fighting . Assad will not resign , nor will he be assassinated. What will happen to all the refugees, what have they got to return to, their Country is in ruins. Obama rightly does not want to involve the US in this , but Gung Ho
William Hague is arming Rebels when he doesn't know who the real Freedom Fighters are any more/

I think countries such as Iraq and Libya have shown the futility of involving Western ideals in Middle Eastern culture and beliefs. The world was a safer place when Saddam and Gaddafi had the final say in what happened in their country. Israel has the right idea, offer them assistance wherever possible but leave them to their own devices until it threatens Israel's population, then be just as hard as they are.