Syria warns West against intervention

Syria: EU Lifts Arms Embargo On Rebel Groups


Foreign Secretary William Hague denies Britain has any
immediate plans to send weapons to forces fighting against the regime.


5:55am UK,
Tuesday 28 May 2013



Video: William Hague (L) had pushed for
an end to the arms embargo
Enlarge
Arming the rebels is currently banned

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  Foreign Secretary William Hague has said there are no immediate
  plans to send weapons to Syrian rebels after the EU decided to end its arms
  embargo.
  
  Britain and France had pushed for the ban on supplying the opposition forces
  fighting Bashar al Assad's regime to be lifted and the failure of ministers to
  agree an extension to the embargo during 12 hours of talks means it will now end
  on June 1.
  
  Mr Hague said after the meeting on Monday the decision "sends a very strong
  message from Europe to the Assad regime".
  
  Sky's foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall said the decision would make little
  difference in the short term.
  
  "Already there are many sides arming the two sides that are fighting. Qatar
  and Saudi Arabia are pouring arms into the opposition," he said.
  
  "What it means though, firstly, is that the idea of the united European
  foreign policy has bitten the dust.
  
  "I suspect at some point, the British and the French will go ahead and try to
  arm some of the many, many groups there are in opposition in Syria."
  
  Diplomats said there had been an agreement that EU governments would refrain
  from sending arms to Syria for now.
  
  Financial and economic sanctions against the Assad government were extended
  for another year at the meeting.
  
  Several of the 27 EU nations were reticent about more weapons being sent into
  a conflict zone that has already seen the deaths of nearly 100,000 people.
  
  "Quite a lot of arms are already going to the wrong hands," said Dutch
  Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans. "The parties to the conflict don't have a
  shortage of arms, frankly."
  
  In a statement, Mr Hague acknowledged "it was a difficult decision for some
  countries".
  
  "It was important for Europe to send a clear signal to the Assad regime that
  it has to negotiate seriously, and that all options remain on the table if it
  refuses to do so. Tonight EU nations have done just that," he said.
  
  "The other elements of EU sanctions on the Assad regime will be retained. EU
  nations also agreed a common framework for those member states who, in the
  future, may decide to supply military equipment to the Syrian National
  Coalition.
  
  "These agreed safeguards would ensure that any such equipment would only be
  supplied to the National Coalition, for the protection of civilians."
  
  Before the meeting, 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."
  

Syria: Russia to send anti-aircraft missiles to stop Western 'hotheads'


Russia vowed to deliver a sophisticated anti-aircraft missile system to
Bashar al-Assad after expressing anger over British-led moves to arm Syria's
rebels.

































By Tom Parfitt, Moscow and
Damien McElroy

9:25PM BST 28 May 2013




Moscow said it was being forced to send the S-300 system to Syria's president to
prevent Western "hotheads" from intervening in the country's civil war.



It came after Britain succeeded in persuading the
European Union not to renew an embargo on supplying weapons to
Syria's opposition forces. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said the late
night deal meant Britain could begin arming the rebels from now.


However, the move sparked fury in Russia, which has been
implacably opposed to Western efforts to unseat Mr Assad.


Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said it could amount to a
violation of international law.


"In essence, this is an illegitimate decision and principle - to seriously
discuss at an official level the theme of delivering or not delivering weapons
to non-state parties contradicts all norms of international law," he said.




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Sergei Ryabkov, Mr Lavrov's deputy, declared the EU's decision would force
Russia to ship a sophisticated air defence system to Mr Assad's regime.

"I can only say that we are going ahead with it," Mr Ryabkov said. "We
believe that such steps go a long way to restraining some 'hot-heads' from
exploring scenarios in which this conflict could be given an international
character with participation of outside forces."

Syria’s government criticised the announcement, denouncing it as an
“obstruction” to peace efforts.

The S-300 system has been described as a "game-changer" in the conflict and
could help the Assad regime resist Western pressure. Russia said it would prove
a "stabilising factor" in Syria.

As fears grew of an arms race in the region, Israel added to the growing
sense of escalation by saying it would not stand by while the S-300 missiles
were deployed.

"As far as we are concerned, that is a threat," Moshe Yaalon, the Israeli
defence minister, said. "At this stage I can't say there is an escalation. The
shipments have not been sent on their way yet. And I hope that they will not be
sent.

"If God forbid they do reach Syria, we will know what to do."

The EU arms embargo on supplying weapons to Syria's rebels had been in place
since May 2011. It was due to be renewed at the end of this month, but it was
allowed to lapse following late-night negotiations in Brussels on Monday.

As part of the deal, Britain and France had apparently agreed to delay any
arms shipments until August. However, Mr Hague insisted that Britain could begin
supplying weapons much sooner.

"We have said we have made our own commitments that at this stage as we work
for the Geneva conference we are not taking any decision to send any arms to
anyone," he said. "But that is not related to a date of August 1.

"I don't want anyone to think that therefore there is any automatic decision
after August 1 or that we are excluded from doing so beforehand."

Downing Street said the pledge to provide military support to rebels should
help force the regime of Mr Assad to negotiate at an international conference
due to open next month in Geneva.

"The prime minister's view is that it is right that we have the flexibility
to respond if Assad's regime refused to negotiate. What we are doing is sending
a signal, loud and clear, to the regime," a spokesman said.

The White House said that it backed the drive by Britain and France to ensure
that Syrian rebels were capable of taking on the regime, which has launched an
offensive to retake opposition territory in the run-up to an international peace
conference next month. The Pentagon has been asked to draw plans for a
no-fly-zone which would be enforced by US, British and French fighter jets, the Daily Beast reported.

The White House refused to comment on the plan but said that "all options are
on the table" with regards to Syria.

However, Russia said the decision placed the peace conference - and
particularly the Assad regime's participation in it - in serious jeopardy.

Mr Ryabkov accused the EU of "double standards" while Mr Lavrov said a "whole
range of activities" were being undertaken to disrupt the idea of convening the
conference. The British Government's strong stance on arming the rebels came
under rare criticism from the Labour Party, with Douglas Alexander calling for a
promise that MPs would be given a say on shipments.

"Syria is awash with arms, and today it remains unclear how escalating the
conflict with British-supplied weapons would help bring about a peaceful
political transition after two years of increasing violence," he said.

Meanwhile the Syrian rebels said they were in danger of suffering
catastrophic defeats if shipments were delayed until August or later. Any help
that eventually comes from London or Paris would be too little, too late, Gen
Salim Idris, the head of the Supreme Military Council said.

"We are very disappointed," he said. "They lift the arms embargo and I don't
know what they are waiting for."

New video footage obtained by the BBC appeared to show the
Syrian regime had carried out a massacre in two Syrian villages last month,
contradicting government claims it had attacked "terrorists" operating in the
area.

A mother of two said she had seen dozens of men, women and children in
al-Bayda in early May. State media reported that 40 opposition fighters were
killed in the assault in al-Bayda and nearby Banias in Tartous province but
Syrian human rights activists and eyewitnesses claim that more than 200 died in
a sectarian assault by official forces.

Fighters Killed In Syria-Lebanon Border Clash


The violence was the worst clash on Lebanese territory
since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict more than two years ago.


4:07pm UK,
Sunday 02 June 2013

Forces of Syrian President Bashar al Assad in Arjoun
village near Qusair

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Several fighters have been killed in an clash between Hizbollah
fighters and Syrian rebel forces in Lebanon's eastern border region with Syria,
Lebanese security sources say.

One source said 15 rebels were killed in an apparent ambush east of the Bekaa
Valley town of Baalbek.

The exact number cannot be confirmed until bodies are retrieved from the
remote and rugged border area.

One Hizbollah fighter also died in the overnight fighting near Ain el-Jaouze
in a 'finger' of Lebanese territory which extends into Syria.

It was the worst clash on Lebanese territory since the outbreak of the
conflict more than two years ago.
The aftermath of fighting in the al Barak area
near Qusair.
There has previously been deadly fighting in the northern Lebanese city of
Tripoli and rockets have hit the Bekaa Valley and southern Beirut.

Guerrillas from Shi'ite Muslim Hizbollah, which supports the Iranian-backed
President Bashar al Assad, are fighting alongside his army to drive rebels from
the Syrian border town of Qusair.

Lebanese Sunni Muslim fighters have joined the anti-Assad revolt.

Syrian rebels have said they will carry out attacks inside Lebanon in
response to Hizbollah's support for Mr Assad's assault on Qusair, a strategic
town for rebel weapons supplies and fighters coming into Syria from Lebanon.

The United Nations says up to 1,500 wounded people might be trapped inside
Qusair and warned all sides that they would be held accountable for the
suffering of civilians.

Security Council diplomats said Russia had blocked a council declaration of
alarm over the two-week siege of Qusair, arguing that the council had done
nothing when the town was first taken over by anti-Assad fighters.
A damaged mosque in Arjoun village near Qusair
town
The draft statement also urged forces loyal to Assad and rebels trying to
oust him "to do their utmost to avoid civilian casualties and for the Syrian
Government to exercise its responsibility to protect civilians".

International aid groups have called for the evacuation of civilians trapped
in Qusair.

"Civilians and the wounded are at risk of paying an even heavier price as the
fighting continues," said Robert Mardini, head of Middle East operations for the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) .

He called for restraint on all sides, adding that the ICRC had already
requested access to the town.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Moallem later said on state TV that the
government will allow the Red Cross into Qusair "as soon as military operations
are over".

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has suggested a proposed
peace conference could take place in July.

He said the Syrian government and the opposition must attend what he called
"the last chance" for a negotiated solution.

And Pope Francis said he was deeply concerned for "the defenceless
population" and kidnap victims caught up in the fighting in Syria.

"The plight of war brings with it tragic consequences: death, destruction,
enormous damage to the economy and the environment, and the scourge of
kidnappings," Francis added as he delivered the Angelus prayer in St Peter's
Square.

Syrian Forces Accused Of Attacks On Schools


Schools have become the target of Syrian forces as children
are "interrogated and attacked", a new report claims.


6:26am UK,
Thursday 06 June 2013



Video: Syrian Children Suffer In Civil
War
Enlarge
Window is apparently blown out by a shell

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• 
  
  
  
  
  
  Syrian forces have been accused of shelling schools and
  interrogating students in a report released by Human Rights Watch.
  
  The 33-page document, Safe No More, is based on interviews with dozens of
  Syrians who have fled the country since the uprising began in March 2011.
  
  The report says students have been beaten for alleged anti-government
  activity and had their classrooms turned into military bases, detention centres
  and sniper posts by both Syrian armed forces and opposition fighters.
  
  Footage released by the group appears to show terrified students in Dael
  caught up in a shelling raid. Many of the youngsters scream as loud explosions
  are heard in the background.
  
  Another video appears to show damage caused by tanks at a school elsewhere in
  the town. One room is on fire and huge holes can be seen in walls throughout the
  building.
  An upper room in a school after an apparent
  attack by government forces
  "Syrian children have had to face things in the horrors of war that no child
  should have to bear - (they have been) interrogated, targeted and attacked,"
  said Priyanka Motaparthy, children's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch and
  author of the report.
  
  "Schools should be havens but in a country that once valued schooling, many
  Syrian children aren't even getting basic education and are losing out on their
  future."
  
  According to the children's charity UNICEF, at least one in five schools in
  Syria no longer function, with thousands destroyed, damaged or turned into
  shelters for people left homeless by the fighting.
  Damage to a school wall in Syria
  
  Somaya, 14, from Damascus, said she saw government security forces and
  militia open fire at peaceful student demonstrations.
  
  "They threw me on the ground but I managed to get away," she said. "They shot
  at us. One girl got shot in her hand. All the girls ran."
  
  Salma, also 14, from Daraa, said troops fired on her school twice in mid-2012
  while pupils were still in lessons.
  
  "When the tank entered the (grounds), it hit the walls of the school with
  machine guns," she recalled. "Students got down to shelter. We spent half an
  hour or an hour there underneath our desks."
  A girl at a school set up for Syrian refugees
  in Jordan
  According to UN figures, 93% of all eligible children were enrolled primary
  education and 68% were in secondary education before the fierce fighting began.
  Around 95% of Syrians could read by the age of 24.
  
  Mr Motaparthy said: "Both government forces and opposition armed groups have
  a responsibility to protect children's lives and their right to education.
  
  "By using schools for military purposes, they are putting children in harm's
  way and destroying their hopes for their future."
  
• Related Stories
  
• Syria: Assad Regime Seizes Control Of Qusair
  
• Syria: France Has 'Proof' Chemical Weapons Used
  
• Syria: EU Lifts Arms Embargo On Rebel Groups
  
• Syrian Civil War Ravaging Ancient Historic Sites
  

Syrian civil war has become three-way conflict, says al-Qaeda's leader


Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has urged jihadists fighting in Syria to
unite and fight for the establishment of an anti-US government, stating the
civil war had become a three-way conflict.








A Syrian army soldier exits his
tank in the southwestern neighborhood of the Syrian city of Qusayr Photo: AFP/GETTY
IMAGES






By Barney Henderson, and
agencies

11:33AM BST 06 Jun 2013





In a newly-released audio message posted on Islamist websites, Zawahiri said:
"Unite, listen and agree that you shall not lay down your arms and leave your
trenches until the establishment in the Levant of an Islamic state that will
restore the caliphate.


"The United States, it associates and allies want you to sacrifice your blood
... to bring down the criminal Alawite regime and install a government in its
pay and to preserve Israel's security," he said in the message posted on
Islamist websites on Thursday.


"The jihad in the Levant should work to establish a combatant Islamic
caliphate that continues to make sacrifices ... until the banner of jihad and
Islam is hoisted."


It was not immediately possible to verify the recording, which made no
reference to victory on Wednesday of Assad forces in the besieged town of
Qusayr, suggesting it was recorded before the campaign to retake the town began
more than two weeks ago.






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  08 Jun 2012
  

^{Al-Qaeda's chief Ayman al-Zawahiri. Picture: AFP/Getty}

Zawahiri succeeded Osama bin Laden as leader of the terrorist organisation,
after the US raid to kill bin Laden at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in
May 2011.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad
belongs to the Alawite sect of Shiite Islam, while the divided rebels fighting
to oust his regime are mainly Sunni Muslims, including the jihadist Al-Nusra
Front.

Zawahiri warned Syrians not to play into the hands of the United States
which, he said, wanted to turn their Jihad into a "Western tool against Iran".


Zawahri also said the only way to solve the Palestinian problem was through
Jihad. "There is no solution for Palestine except Jihad," he said.

"Every free Muslim in Palestine should unite with his Muslim brothers to
implement Sharia (Islamic law) and rule by it, and make it a reference above all
references, and to liberate Palestine in order to set up an Islamic state, even
if the West hates that and calls it terrorism and extremism," he added.

Zawahri's last audio message was in April, when he also urged Muslims to
unite and support Jihad to create a state governed by Islamic law.

War in Syria: ‘Vienna deals fatal blow to its Golan mission’

7 June 2013


Die Presse, 7 June 2013
Following fierce fighting between rebels and Syrian government troops near the Israeli border, Austria has decided to pull its peacekeepers out of the Golan Heights, reports Die Presse.
The danger to the 380 Austrian soldiers, serving in the Golan as part of a 1,000-strong contingent of UN soldiers overseeing the 1973 ceasefire between Syria and Israel, has reached an "unacceptable level", said Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger.
The withdrawal, which should take place within two to four weeks, risks putting a definitive end to the UN mission in the Golan Heights, writes the daily. Israel has requested that the mission be kept in place.

US: Syrian Regime Has Used Chemical Weapons

Syria has crossed what Barack Obama has called a "red line" in the crisis which is set to put pressure on G8 leaders to act.

6:42am UK, Friday 14 June 2013



Video: Syria Accused Of Chemical Warfare
By Sky News US Team
The White House has said it has conclusive evidence that Syrian President Bashar al Assad's forces have used chemical weapons against opposition fighters.
After months of investigation, Obama administration officials said the weapons have been used "on a small-scale" to kill up to 150 people, crossing what President Barack Obama had marked as a "red line" for US intervention in the conflict.
Mr Obama's deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, said the president had decided to provide "direct military support" to the opposition in light of the evidence.
But he did not specify whether the support would include lethal aid, such as weapons, which would mark a reversal of Mr Obama's resistance to arming the rebels.
Mr Rhodes said the shift came after an intelligence community assessment showed "the Assad regime has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year".
"The intelligence community estimates that 100 to 150 people have died from detected chemical weapons attacks in Syria to date; however, casualty data is likely incomplete," he added.
An unverified video made in April of an apparent chemical weapons victim
US officials said they have seen no evidence that opposition fighters have used such weapons.
So far, American policy has focused entirely on providing the opposition with non-lethal assistance and humanitarian aid.
The White House said the US would "make decisions on our own timeline" and would share its intelligence with the international community and the United Nations.
"We are working with allies to present a credible, evidentiary case to share with the international community and the public," Mr Rhodes said.
Mr Obama will discuss the assessments, along with wider problems in Syria, next week during the G8 summit in Northern Ireland.
Mr Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin - Mr Assad's closest international ally - will hold a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the summit, where the US leader is expected to press his Russian counterpart to drop his political and military support for the Syrian government.
The fighting has raged in Syria since March 2011
"We believe that Russia and all members of the international community should be concerned about the use of chemical weapons," Mr Rhodes said.
Mr Rhodes stressed the US was still working towards a political settlement, seeking to bring together the regime and the opposition for peace talks.
Syria has been locked in a bloody civil war for more than two years. The UN estimates more than 93,000 people have been killed.
Peaceful protests against Mr Assad turned into an armed rebellion and then morphed into civil war.
Since the start of the demonstrations, the average monthly number of documented killings has risen from around 1,000 per month in the summer of 2011 to an average of more than 5,000 per month since last July.
At its height from July to October 2012, the number of killings rose above 6,000 per month.

REBELS HAVE OVERRUN A MILITARY BASE NEAR HAMA?

G8 Summit: PM Says Syria Will Top Agenda

The conflict in Syria will be high on the agenda at next week's G8 meeting, says David Cameron after a pre-summit conference call.

2:22am UK, Saturday 15 June 2013




Video: Syria Denies Using Chemical Weapons
Enlarge

• Email
  

David Cameron has discussed the conflict in Syria in a video conference call with world leaders, saying the issue will be "up front and centre" at next week's G8 summit in Northern Ireland.
The hour-long conference took place after the White House claimed that President Bashar al Assad's regime had crossed a "red line" by using "multiple" chemical weapons against opposition forces in Syria.
Mr Cameron was joined by US President Barack Mr Obama, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: "Three days before a working dinner on foreign policy, they discussed the situation in Syria and how G8 countries should all agree to work on together a political transition to end the conflict.
"They also talked about Libya - another topic for Monday's dinner - and the other leaders supported the PM's objective to identify practical ways that G8 countries could help Prime Minister Ali Zeidan to entrench democracy and build security in Libya."
Mr Zeidan is one of a number of leaders that Mr Cameron has invited to join the G8 in Lough Erne on Tuesday.
An unverified video made in April of an apparent chemical weapons victim
Earlier, Mr Cameron said he backed Washington's "candid assessment" that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons, leaving international leaders facing "difficult" questions.
Syria's Foreign Ministry has accused the US of lying about chemical weapons to give it an "excuse" to intervene in the country's civil war.
While Mr Obama has approved arming moderate Syrian rebels for the first time in response to the development, Mr Cameron restated the British Government's position that no decision has yet been taken on the issue of weapons.
Russia, Syria's closest ally, has said a US decision to arm rebels opposed to Mr Assad might stoke violence in the Middle East.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his American counterpart, John Kerry, that military support "risks escalating (violence) in the region, while accusations against Damascus of the use of chemical weapons by the United States are not backed up by verified facts", according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Mr Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold bilateral talks on Monday evening ahead of the summit.
Mr Putin and Mr Obama are to meet for talks on Monday
Today, Mr Cameron will host a series of meetings in London to encourage practical action on tax, trade and transparency - driving growth and making a difference to people's lives.
Addressing the Open For Growth conference, the Prime Minister will say that eight years after the UK last hosted the G8, increased aid has tackled the symptoms of poverty and led to huge advances in developing countries.
But he will say it has failed to tackle the root causes of poverty: corruption, weak governance and institutions which lead to conflict and violence.
Mr Cameron will also meet leaders from the overseas territories and Crown dependencies in Downing Street to discuss what they will do to tackle tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.
He will tell leaders from Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Anguilla, Montserrat, Turks & Caicos Islands, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man that they need to play their part in ensuring that the UK gets its own house in order.
The Prime Minister will welcome the commitments made so far - joining our pilot on automatic information exchange and drawing up action plans that will require companies to have adequate and accurate information on who owns them and who controls them.
Mr Cameron is making international tax compliance another key issue
But he will argue there is no point in dealing with tax evasion in one country if the problem is simply displaced to another.
He will stress that lower taxes are only sustainable if what is owed is actually paid - and if the rules to achieve this are set and enforced fairly to create a level playing field right across the world.
Labour leader Ed Miliband welcomed the move and said Mr Cameron must be prepared, if necessary, to get tough with any countries which refuse to comply.
"Britain, which has responsibility for arguably the biggest network of tax havens in the world, needs to use all its considerable legal power and authority to ensure all the UK overseas territories and Crown dependencies which act as tax havens sign up," he told The Independent.

Syria: Cameron Wants Extremists 'Driven Out'

The Prime Minister tells Sky's Dermot Murnaghan that al Qaeda-linked extremists could prevail in Syria if Britain fails to act.

6:20pm UK, Saturday 15 June 2013





Video: PM Wants Extremists Out Of Syria
Enlarge

• [email=?subject=Shared from Sky News:]Email[/email]
  
   
  

David Cameron has told Sky News he wants to see al Qaeda-linked extremists driven out of Syria.
Speaking to Sky's Dermot Murnaghan, the Prime Minister warned that "dangerous" militants could prevail in Syria if Britain fails to help other opposition fighters.
The PM was speaking ahead of next week's G8 summit, where the Syrian civil war is likely to dominate the agenda.
Mr Cameron said: "I want to help the Syrian opposition to succeed and my argument is this: Yes, there are elements of the Syrian opposition that are deeply unsavoury, that are very dangerous, very extremist, and I want nothing to do with them.

"I'd like them driven out of Syria; they're linked to al Qaeda. But there are elements of the Syrian opposition who want to see a free, democratic, pluralistic Syria that respects the rights of minorities, including Christians, and we should be working with them."
Mr Cameron also confirmed that MPs are likely to be given a vote before Britain sends any military aid to Syria.
His comments come after former prime minister Tony Blair insisted the West must intervene against the Syrian government to prevent "catastrophic consequences".
Mr Blair urged Britain to help the US arm opposition forces fighting President Bashar al Assad and his regime.
The US has vowed to take action in Syria after obtaining what it believes is proof the Assad regime has used chemical weapons to kill up to 150 rebels.
An unverified image from April of an apparent chemical weapons victim
Syria's Foreign Ministry has accused the US of lying to give it an "excuse" to intervene in the civil war, which has now raged for more than two years.
But the Obama administration has promised to provide "direct military support" to the opposition, and is also considering a no-fly zone as it looks at various options for intervention.
This could mean destroying Syria's sophisticated Russian-built air defences, which would thrust it into action of the sort taken by Nato in Libya to topple Colonel Gaddafi.
But Moscow could prove a roadblock. The Kremlin has already dismissed US evidence about nerve gas and could use its veto in the UN Security Council.
Russia has already voted three times to stop resolutions that could be used to threaten force against Mr Assad.

William Hague: It would be wrong to rule out arming Syrian rebels
The Foreign Secretary has refused to rule out arming the Syrian rebels despite a chorus of warnings from senior Tories, foreign leaders, a former Army chief and church leaders.  

 





By Peter Dominiczak, Political Correspondent
8:49AM BST 17 Jun 2013

53 Comments

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Mr Hague was only prepared to say that the UK Government will not arm the rebels “as things stand”.
It comes after Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, warned that arming rebels would be disastrous because Britain would be “pressing weapons into the hands of maniacs”
And President Vladimir Putin of Russia, whose nation provides arms to the Assad regime, criticised the Prime Minister for considering arming rebels who “eat the organs” of their enemies.
Mr Hague warned that the crisis in Syria is “the worst human tragedy of our time” that is "on a trajectory to get worse”.
However, when pressed on Mr Johnson’s warning that it would be “madness” to arm the rebels Mr Hague said: “We haven’t taken any decision about it but we don’t rule any option out. We shouldn’t rule any option out because who knows how serious this crisis will become, how it will develop over the coming months or years.
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“This has now been going on for nearly two-and-a-half years. We really shouldn’t be in the business of ruling out any options.
“There are no palatable options, I want to be clear with the whole country about that.”
David Cameron faces growing political opposition at home amid suggestions that he is in favour of joining the Americans in helping to assist rebels. He has been warned that he could be defeated in the Commons if he tries to win a parliamentary agreement for Britain to arm the rebels.
Mr Cameron clashed with the Russian president at a Downing Street press conference on Sunday.
Asked by reporters whether he had “blood on his hands” for arming the Assad regime, Mr Putin said that his nation had acted in accordance with international law by delivering arms to the Syrian government.
He added: “I believe you will not deny the fact that one should hardly back those who kill their enemies and eat their organs – all that is filmed. Do you want to support these people? Do you want to supply arms to these people?”
The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg also cautioned Mr Cameron against arming the Free Syrian Army, saying that if it were a good idea, Britain would have done it already. The former head of the Army, Lord Dannatt, said he feared any such assistance would lead Britain into further intervention, while the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, urged Mr Cameron to “tread very warily”.
In a round of TV interviews at Lough Erne, Mr Cameron said: "Let's be clear - I am as worried as anybody else about elements of the Syrian opposition, who are extremists, who support terrorism and who are a great danger to our world.
"The question is what do we do about it? My argument is that we shouldn't accept that the only alternative to Assad is terrorism and violence.
"We should be on the side of Syrians who want a democratic and peaceful future for their country and one without the man who is currently using chemical weapons against them.
"What we can try and do here at the G8 is have further pressure for the peace conference and the transition that is needed to bring this conflict to an end."
The Prime Minister added: "We haven't made a decision to give any arms to the Syrian opposition but what we do need to do is bring about this peace conference and this transition, so that people in Syria can have a government that represents them, rather than a government that's trying to butcher them.
"What we are doing right now is helping the official Syrian opposition - people who have signed up to democracy and human rights, who want that sort of future for Syria.
"We are advising them, helping them and we are assisting them - and we should.
“President Assad wants us to think that the only alternative to him is extremism and violence. Yet there are millions of people in Syria who want a peaceful and democratic future. We should be on their side."









Telegraph dispatch from Raqqa, Syria

Latest Israeli air strike targets Syrian rockets

The 8-year-old on Syria's frontline

Syria conflict photos
  

Intervening in Syria is a terrible idea – but we might just have to
By Benedict BroganWorldLast updated: June 17th, 2013
321 CommentsComment on this article

Fighters loyal to the Free Syrian Army on the outskirts of Idlib. (Photo: Getty)
The advantages that come from our alliance with the US also bring a heavy responsibility
Hard times can do terrible things to a nation’s mojo. Poverty makes it difficult, if not impossible, to contemplate foreign adventures. Populations grow weary of being asked to spend money abroad when there is so little at home. Spendthrift kings have bankrupted themselves, or introduced income taxes and sinking funds, to finance their military campaigns. In 2013, Britain’s ability to project its strength remains surprisingly robust, yet while the military body is willing, the political spirit is weak.
It took just a suggestion from David Cameron that we might support the rebellion in Syria for all manner of voices to rise in protest. Iraq, Afghanistan and austerity have made our political classes averse to foreign entanglements. When I interviewed him in Afghanistan last week, Philip Hammond aptly described the public’s unease at the prospect of another interminable commitment as the “Vietnam phenomenon”. The case made by those opposing any involvement in Syria is turbocharged by the intractability of a sectarian conflict in which we have only a passing strategic interest. Most find it baffling that the Prime Minister could countenance involving himself in such a mess.
The Coalition – for the most part – looks askance at the experience of its predecessors. A decade on from the Iraq war, most of our politicians have developed an aversion to anything that smacks of Tony Blair’s ambitions to enforce a new world order of democracy from 30,000ft. On the Conservative side, there are still those such as George Osborne who have never felt a need to apologise for their support for George Bush’s war, and still think it was the right thing to do. But even the Chancellor understands the poisonous politics of that legacy. Mr Cameron, who has eschewed any kind of grandiose vision for a foreign policy, has limited himself to some modest guiding principles. His support for “spreading freedom and democracy” is mitigated by a recognition of “the complexities of human nature” and a “healthy scepticism of grand schemes to remake the world”. It came as a surprise when he threw in his lot with Nicolas Sarkozy and persuaded the Americans to underwrite militarily his plan to save the rebellion in Libya and help force out Muammar Gaddafi. It carried considerable risk, yet with hindsight proved to be a discrete, achievable objective that resolved itself fast enough to allow the allies to get out before it got complicated.
In Afghanistan, the handover of responsibility for security in the entire country takes place this week. Nearly 12 years after British troops first went in to help clear out al-Qaeda and the Taliban, combat operations are over. A long mission that cost 444 British lives is ending because politicians decided they had had enough and called time. Mr Cameron said Britain would withdraw formally at the end of next year, although military and financial support to prop up the Afghan national security force will continue. Barack Obama will do the same, though on a slightly longer timetable.
When Mr Cameron made his choice, it was because he knew the Americans would too. What looked like unilateral action disguised a starker truth: that our military involvement in Afghanistan, as was the case in Iraq and Libya, could not continue without American cover. Even before austerity forced a substantial paring back of the Armed Forces, we knew that our ability to project our strength on a substantial scale and for a considerable duration remains impressive, but only when backed by American logistical might. We can keep small expeditionary forces in the field for a short time, but only when opposition is light and the coast is clear, as in Sierra Leone. Anything more ambitious requires support of the sort only the United States can provide. That neither China nor Russia, despite their vast numerical strength, could mount a sustained foreign intervention is scant comfort. Britain boasts the world’s fourth largest defence budget, yet can’t by itself do much with it.
It is this insight that I suspect is at the heart of Mr Cameron’s position on Syria. As his predecessors have done, he has understood quickly the price of our reliance on the US. The advantages that derive from that unique strategic relationship are not just special, they are vital. From intelligence sharing to cooperation on our nuclear deterrent, all the under-appreciated contributions that keep us in what Mr Cameron calls the global race stem from our ability to be able to call on American support that exceeds what we can offer them in material terms. A historic commonality of interests is expressed in a basic trade-off: in exchange for our moral and political support on the international stage, we secure privileged access to the vast resources of the world’s hyperpower.
It is a deal that all prime ministers have understood. It informs, no doubt, the Tory belief in a like-for-like replacement for Trident. Even when he refused to follow the US into Vietnam, Harold Wilson strained every sinew to offer the Johnson administration vocal political support. Margaret Thatcher set aside the embarrassment of the Grenada invasion in favour of the importance of the long-term partnership. Mr Blair stayed alongside Mr Bush on Iraq because he understood that whatever the cost, Britain had to be seen at all times to stand shoulder to shoulder with its principal ally. Gordon Brown understood the centrality of the relationship, to a point that was embarrassingly needy.
In each case, the choice was shaped less by the issue at hand than by a longer view, a certainty that one day, in circumstances we dare not imagine, the IOU that we hold might have to be cashed. It is an awareness that perhaps comes more easily to those on whose shoulders falls responsibility for the nation’s long-term security.
When we contemplate the political battle over Syria, then, we should consider what it is that motivates the Prime Minister. As he pointed out yesterday, he is not blind to the horrors that conflict presents, or the moral ambiguities of being on the same side as the Islamist murderers who increasingly dominate the opposition. The arguments advanced by Boris Johnson on this page yesterday – whatever his motivation might be – are impossible to dismiss. When the Defence Secretary told us on Saturday that the central lesson of Afghanistan was the importance of preparing the exit before you go in, it was hard not to think of Syria as precisely the kind of cul-de-sac he had in mind. And when he sketched out how, in future, governments wary of an adventure on that scale might consider the merits of intervening far earlier, at a lower cost in troops and cash, how can we not conclude that for Syria we are having this conversation far too late, or even that in some cases no opportunity for intervention presents itself before it is in fact too late?
The coalition against intervention in Syria appears to have all the arguments on its side. It is, by any measure, a terrible idea, and on current standings the Prime Minister would struggle to secure necessary support in the Commons. But Mr Cameron says he wants to save Britain from international relegation. In which case, membership of the league of front rank nations comes with a price that is sometimes quite awful. Going in could have consequences that, after Iraq and Afghanistan, we are all too familiar with. But we should acknowledge, as he evidently does, that sitting this one out carries a price as well. The global race is not just about economics. It is about the willingness of the few countries with the capacity to intervene to stand up and be counted when the need arises. Mr Cameron knows that the burden is always ours.
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G8: Syria Statement Omits Anti-Assad Calls

Summit leaders backed peace talks but in their statement there was no call for President Assad to go after resistance from Russia.

8:25pm UK, Tuesday 18 June 2013





Video: G8 Urges Peace Talks On Syria
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G8 leaders have agreed to work towards peace talks to end the Syrian civil war but their statement stopped short of demanding President Bashar al Assad's removal from power.
David Cameron said Mr Assad had "blood on his hands" and it was "unthinkable" that the longstanding leader could play a part in Syria's future.
But a seven-point plan the Prime Minister unveiled during a news conference following the two-day summit in Northern Ireland made no reference to Mr Assad's future due to resistance from Russia.
Tensions over Syria have dominated the G8 gathering in Lough Erne of some of the world's most powerful leaders.
It took place in the wake of an announcement by President Barack Obama that the US was ready to arm rebels seeking to oust Mr Assad, despite bitter opposition from Russia's president Vladimir Putin.
Moscow has been arming the regime and Mr Putin said he would not rule out sending fresh arms shipments to the embattled Syrian government.
Russia has been Mr Assad's most powerful supporter as his forces struggle to crush an uprising in which 93,000 people have
been killed since March 2011. He can also count on backing from Iran and Hizbollah in Lebanon.
The US, Turkey, and European and Gulf Arab states support the rebels, who have lost ground to Mr Assad's troops in recent weeks.
Mr Putin is standing firmly behind President Assad
Mr Putin warned against arming the rebels, saying that doing so could deliver weapons into the hands of the sort of people who killed Drummer Lee Rigby.
He drew a direct parallel with the "violent assassination" of the soldier in Woolwich as he set out his hostility to Western efforts to aid the opposition.
Earlier, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister told Sky News his country would not sign up to any statement that demanded Syria's president be replaced with a transitional government.
Mr Cameron insisted no decision had yet been made over arming the opposition, but said lifting an arms embargo had been important to "send a message".
He admitted it was "no secret that there were very different views around the G8 table".
"But we all share a vital interest in bringing this conflict to an end and helping the Syrian people to achieve the change they want so we agreed to work together on seven things".
These included pledging to rid Syria of terrorists and extremists, condemning the use of chemical weapons by anyone and supporting a future Syrian government that was neither Sunni, Alawite or Shiite and has the consent of all sides.
The G8 leaders also pledged nearly $1.5bn (£960m) of new money for humanitarian operations, including doubling the UK's contribution, and "maximise the diplomatic pressure to bring all sides to the table as soon as possible".
Mr Cameron said President Assad has 'blood on his hands'
And they aimed to work towards establishing a transitional governing body for Syria with full executive authority, and making sure the key institutions of state including military and security forces will remain intact through the transition and there is no vacuum.
The provision was being seen as a signal to Mr Assad's senior officers that there may be a future for them in a democratic Syria if they act now to eject the president.
He stressed the tone of the G8, which included a leaders' dinner on Monday night that was not attended by any officials or aides, had helped achieved significant progress on Syria.
"Reaching this agreement was not easy. It was made possible only by the frank, open, leader-to-leader discussion that was a key feature of this G8.
"Every leader around that table knows that words alone won't stop the suffering. The task now is turn to that into real action."
Meanwhile, the UK will help train 7,000 Libyan troops as the country seeks to rebuild following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.
Mr Cameron said some leaders at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland had offered to support the training efforts.
He said the troops would help Libyan prime minister Ali Zidan "take the fight to the extremists" in the country and the training mission would be paid for by the Libyan government.

The Worst Argument Yet for Intervening in Syria: If We Don’t, Other Countries Will Snigger At Britain
24 comments Alex Massie18 June 2013 10:33

We should, I suppose, be grateful to Benedict Brogan for his column today examining some of the reasons for why Britain should become more heavily involved in the Syrian civil war. Grateful, that is, because Mr Brogan’s article reveals how pitifully inadequate these reasons are. Here’s Mr Brogan’s conclusion:

The coalition against intervention in Syria appears to have all the arguments on its side. It is, by any measure, a terrible idea, and on current standings the Prime Minister would struggle to secure necessary support in the Commons. But Mr Cameron says he wants to save Britain from international relegation. In which case, membership of the league of front rank nations comes with a price that is sometimes quite awful. Going in could have consequences that, after Iraq and Afghanistan, we are all too familiar with. But we should acknowledge, as he evidently does, that sitting this one out carries a price as well. The global race is not just about economics. It is about the willingness of the few countries with the capacity to intervene to stand up and be counted when the need arises. Mr Cameron knows that the burden is always ours.

Is that it? Intervention is a terrible idea but we need to do it because otherwise other people will think Britain’s penis has shrivelled. Good god.

But when it comes to problems such as Syria Britain may have a voice but it does not, not really, have a foreign policy. We gave that up long ago. Indeed, Brogan’s argument is quite clear on this front:
As his predecessors have done, [Cameron] has understood quickly the price of our reliance on the US. The advantages that derive from that unique strategic relationship are not just special, they are vital. From intelligence sharing to cooperation on our nuclear deterrent, all the under-appreciated contributions that keep us in what Mr Cameron calls the global race stem from our ability to be able to call on American support that exceeds what we can offer them in material terms. A historic commonality of interests is expressed in a basic trade-off: in exchange for our moral and political support on the international stage, we secure privileged access to the vast resources of the world’s hyperpower.
It is a deal that all prime ministers have understood. It informs, no doubt, the Tory belief in a like-for-like replacement for Trident. Even when he refused to follow the US into Vietnam, Harold Wilson strained every sinew to offer the Johnson administration vocal political support. Margaret Thatcher set aside the embarrassment of the Grenada invasion in favour of the importance of the long-term partnership. Mr Blair stayed alongside Mr Bush on Iraq because he understood that whatever the cost, Britain had to be seen at all times to stand shoulder to shoulder with its principal ally. Gordon Brown understood the centrality of the relationship, to a point that was embarrassingly needy.

In other words, we cannot afford to upset the Americans, “whatever the cost”. If they want to do something then we need to do that something too, even if we might think it unwise, if we doubt our capacity to actually do that something or if we consider it contrary to our own national interest. The only thing that counts - the consideration that trumps all others – is remaining close to the Americans.
As it happens, we do gain a good deal from the Atlantic alliance but there remains something unseemly, something almost pathetic, about this kind of clinging neediness. And if we sacrifice our own independent judgement then how can we reasonably still claim to be in the Top League of Leading Nations?
It is a curious way of thinking. But, as Brogan has the honesty to admit, it is a view that governs other features of British policy too. The strongest argument for a like-for-like replacement for Trident rests upon the feeling that if Britain gives up, or reduces the potency of, its nuclear deterrent it signals to the rest of the world that we are no longer a Top Nation. The bomb is not a real weapon that might ever actually be used; it is instead a mid-life crisis status symbol that’s designed to impress the beholder but that, like a new sports car or a younger, trophy wife, signals something close to the opposite of what is intended.
If we’re going to become more heavily involved in Syria then fine, but let’s at least do so for the right reasons not because of some imagined historical responsibility or because Syria is a six-point fixture the losing of which will result in Britain being relegated from the top league. There may be worse arguments for doing something than this but it is hard, this morning, to think of any.

THE BATTLE FOR ALEPPO HAS BEGAN,IF I HEARD RIGHT EARLIER.

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Syria: rebels heed lesson of Qusayr to drive back Assad forces in Aleppo
Rebel leaders in Syria say they have repelled a promised regime attack on Aleppo and launched a counter-offensive after learning from their mistakes in the heavy defeat at the town of Qusayr.

A bus provides some cover from government snipers in the Bustan Al Basha district of Aleppo Photo: Will Wintercross


By Richard Spencer, Aleppo
11:39PM BST 23 Jun 2013


Syrian state media had announced that “Operation Northern Storm” would retake Aleppo “within days” after regime forces captured Qusayr at the beginning of June. Opposition figures said thousands of Lebanese Hizbollah fighters, along with Iranian advisers, were moved to the country’s second city to begin an advance.
However, after tank sallies north of the city were apparently repelled by rebel forces, there has been no sign of a major offensive. Armed with new anti-tank missiles and, according to one rebel, higher-end weapons from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the opposition has launched counter-attacks in the north-east and west of the city. “We advanced on the agricultural research centre,” said Mohammed Abdullah, 35, a fighter on one front in Bustan al-Basha, eastern Aleppo. The attack stalled when fighters were surrounded in a church and forced to retreat.
The operation is being called “The Battle of Qadisiyah”, after a 7th century battle in which the Arabs defeated the Persian empire, in reference to the Iranian advisers helping the Assad regime.

^{A rebel sniper takes aim on government troops in the Bustan Al Basha district of Aleppo (Will Wintercross)}
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“We are starting to attack the government,” said Col Abduljabar al-Oqaidi, a former regime colonel who leads the Aleppo military council. “The regime pushed forward in the north of the city, but the Free Syrian Army caused a lot of casualties and they went back to their bases.”
The defeat at Qusayr was the heaviest for the rebels since they were forced to withdraw from Baba al-Amr, the besieged district of Homs, in February last year. It prompted President Barack Obama to promise military assistance to the opposition. It also showed the rebels’ shortcomings in planning and co-ordination.
Just before the southern city fell, Col Oqaidi and Abdulqader al-Saleh, the charismatic head of the Tawhid Brigade and one of the revolution’s most celebrated fighters, led a rescue mission.
According to interviews with The Daily Telegraph and accounts since made public, it has emerged that the mission came close to a fiasco, nearly killing both leaders, which would have been a devastating blow to rebel morale.
State media at one stage claimed troops had killed Mr Saleh, though that was later withdrawn, and both men have now returned to Aleppo to marshal its defences.
The first casualties came when the convoy of rebels, with Mr Saleh at its head, hit a regime minefield, destroying three vehicles and killing nine men. By that stage, it was clear that the regime bombardment of Qusayr was like nothing the rebels had previously seen.
“My son rang me half an hour before he died and asked me for my forgiveness and to pray for his martyrdom,” said Atta Akrama, the father of one of the nine, Ziad, 27. “He said the shelling of the town was really bad.” Col Oqaidi added: “The firepower was overwhelming. I never saw such a thing in my life.”

^{Atta Akrana who's son, Ziad, was killed in the battle for Qusayr (Will Wintercross)}
When the column finally made it into town, they discovered the rebels inside were already planning to withdraw, an example of the lack of co-ordination that has bedevilled the opposition’s many different brigades. “A few of the commanders did not have the will to fight any more,” Col Oqaidi said. “They had lost morale.”
The defenders agreed to stay on, and the two groups put up resistance for five more days, but then agreed there was no option but retreat. They took with them thousands of casualties and civilians.
Videos, confirmed by accounts of participants now in Lebanon and in Aleppo, showed streams of dejected people, mainly men but some women and children, staggering through fields and orchards. They came under repeated attack before breaking into separate groups. The Aleppo convoy had to break through regime lines under shellfire.
Col Oqaidi said the battle for Aleppo, if it came, would be nothing like that for Qusayr. Aleppo is a major conurbation, with rebel forces well entrenched. It lies in the rebels’ Sunni heartlands, while Turkey, the rebels’ ally and one of the main conduits for their arms, is just 25 miles away. Qusayr lies close to Lebanon, the home of Hizbollah.
Weapons supplies and unity among the rebel groups remains key. Mr Abdullah, the Bustan al-Basha fighter, said the shortage of weapons meant they could make little headway against more than 4,000 regime troops. The front line there has barely moved in six months.
Col Oqaidi himself has resigned from the Revolutionary Military Council, headed by Gen Selim Idriss, complaining that weapons supplies are still being directed to brigades favoured by donors such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, rather than through a central command structure.
“Some new weapons have been supplied to different brigades,” he said, referring to reports that new anti-tank missiles and even some anti-aircraft missiles had been provided. “But Saudi and Qatar are still favouring their own groups.”
He said the most important lesson of Qusayr was now being put into practice — that it was pointless to wait for the enemy to come to you. “Attack is the best form of defence,” he said.

Home»News»World News»Middle East»SyriaSyria death toll tops 100,000
More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the country's uprising more than two years ago, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog said.

More than 5,000 children under the age of 16 have died in the Syrian civil war Photo: David Rose
By AFP, AP
10:04AM BST 26 Jun 2013
The Observatory said the toll now stands at 100,191 people, with at least 36,661 civilians killed, including more than 3,000 women and more than 5,000 children under the age of 16.

The group, which relies on a network of activists, doctors and lawyers on the ground throughout Syria, said 18,072 rebel fighters had been killed.

On the regime side, the group reported the deaths of at least 25,407 army soldiers, 17,311 pro-regime militia and 169 members of the Lebanese Shia group Hizbollah, which has dispatched fighters to battle alongside the Syrian army.

The group counted another 2,571 unidentified people killed in the fighting throughout the war-torn country up until June 24.

The figures are a testament to the levels of violence wracking the country, which has been ravaged by a civil war that began with peaceful demonstrations calling for regime change.

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The Syrian government responded with force to the demonstrations, starting a bloody spiral into violence that has left no part of the country untouched and raised concerns about regional destabilisation.

Susan Rice, the outgoing US ambassador to the UN, meanwhile said the UN Security Council's failure to take action to stop the conflict is "a moral and strategic disgrace that history will judge harshly."

Ms Rice blamed three double vetoes by Russia and China of resolutions aimed at pressuring Syria's President Bashar Assad to end the violence, even though they didn't contain sanctions.

She expressed hope that the Syrian people will ultimately be able to chart their own future "and certainly the United States is committed to supporting them in those efforts and we will remain so."

"I think we've seen in this region of the world and many other parts of the world that these struggles can be long and costly but rarely can I think of an instance in recent history where at the end of the day ... the unified aspirations of a people for freedom and to chart their own future are ultimately suppressed," she said.

Edited by Chris Irvine for telegraph.co.uk

DID I READ HERE OR IN GUARDIAN THAT THERE HAVE BEEN CLASHES IN SIDON BETWWEN LEBANONESE TROPS AND FOLLOWERS OF A SUNNI CLERIC?

Badboy wrote:DID I READ HERE OR IN GUARDIAN THAT THERE HAVE BEEN CLASHES IN SIDON BETWWEN LEBANONESE TROPS AND FOLLOWERS  OF A SUNNI CLERIC?

I don't remember seeing it Badboy.

BATTLE FOR HOMS SEEMS TO HAVE BEGAN;SAW ON ALJEZEERA

Badboy wrote:BATTLE FOR HOMS  SEEMS TO HAVE BEGAN;SAW ON ALJEZEERA

The war in Syria has damaged the infrastructure so much it will take many Years to rebuild the Country . In the meantime , what is going to happen to all the Refusees, they cannot stay in the Countries they fled to for years to come.

FORGOT TO MENTION,REBELS HAVE ADVANCED IN DERAA/DARAA

Badboy wrote:FORGOT TO MENTION,REBELS HAVE ADVANCED IN DERAA/DARAA

Hi Badboy, the loss of life and destruction has been horrendous and the Arab League, UN , and the US have been unable to stop the War. Life will never ne normal for the refugees.

SYRIAN REBELS BEHEAD PRIEST

The Vatican has confirmed the beheading of a Catholic priest in Syria.

Franciscan Father Francois Murad was killed by Syrian jihadists on June 23.

Catholic Online reports jihadits accused Father Francois of collaborating with the Assad regime.

The publication has obtained this video it believes shows his beheading.

According to a news release from the Vatican published by Catholic Online, Murad was killed in Gassanieh, in northern Syria, in the convent of the Custody of the Holy Land where he had taken refuge.

The news release states, “The circumstances of the death are not fully understood. According to local sources, the monastery where Fr. Murad was staying was attacked by militants linked to the jihadi group Jabhat al-Nusra.”

Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo, titular of the Syrian Catholic archeparchy in Hassaké-Nisibis said, “Lately, father Murad sent me some messages that clearly showed how conscious he was of living in a dangerous situation, and offered his life for peace in Syria and around the world. ”

http://www.wnd.com/2013/07/syrian-rebels-behead-priest/

AnnaEsse wrote:SYRIAN REBELS BEHEAD PRIEST

The Vatican has confirmed the beheading of a Catholic priest in Syria.

Franciscan Father Francois Murad was killed by Syrian jihadists on June 23.

Catholic Online reports jihadits accused Father Francois of collaborating with the Assad regime.

The publication has obtained this video it believes shows his beheading.

According to a news release from the Vatican published by Catholic Online, Murad was killed in Gassanieh, in northern Syria, in the convent of the Custody of the Holy Land where he had taken refuge.

The news release states, “The circumstances of the death are not fully understood. According to local sources, the monastery where Fr. Murad was staying was attacked by militants linked to the jihadi group Jabhat al-Nusra.”

Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo, titular of the Syrian Catholic archeparchy in Hassaké-Nisibis said, “Lately, father Murad sent me some messages that clearly showed how conscious he was of living in a dangerous situation, and offered his life for peace in Syria and around the world. ”

http://www.wnd.com/2013/07/syrian-rebels-behead-priest/

Oh AnnaEsse, that is dreadful what a barbaric way to die.   It was only recently I read that there was fear about what would happen to the Catholics , apparently Assad tolerated them.