LATEST: OPCW: Less Than 5% of Chemical Weapons Have Left Syria

WEDNESDAY FEATURES

Hassan Abboud (pictured), a leader in the Islamic Front bloc, has issued a detailed statement about the month-long battle between insurgents and the Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham.

Abboud, the head of the leading faction Ahrar al-Sham, blamed ISIS for starting the conflict by attacking the town of Atareb in Aleppo Province:

The spark of the recent events started when the armed groups decided to prevent convoys from reaching al-Atareb city and the (insurgents’) Regiment 46….ISIS attacked our headquarters, held control of our weapons and properties, killed our prisoners who refused to fight them when they were attacked because of their belief in Allah.

Abboud asserted, “We in the Islamic Movement of Ahrar Al-Sham and the Islamic Front have done all our efforts to contain the hard situation and to try to prevent any escalation….We have always called (on ISIS) to accept the Islamic Sharia as a judge between us.”

The statement follows ISIS’ rejection of an initiative by a Saudi cleric for reconciliation with the insurgents. The Islamic Front has said that it will accept the initiative, provided ISIS halts attacks and accepts the judgements of a Sharia court.

OPCW: Less Than 5% of Chemical Weapons Have Left Syria

The Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said on Wednesday that less than 5% of the most dangerous chemicals in the Assad regime’s arsenal have left Syria.

Just two shipments of around 16 metric tonnes each of Category 1 chemicals have left the port of Lattakia this month.

About 700 tonnes of chemicals were supposed to have left Syria by December 31.

Sources said that an OPCW Executive Council meeting in The Hague on Thursday will try to put pressure on Syrian authorities and “remind them of their obligations”.

All of the regime’s chemical stocks are supposed to be destroyed by June 30.

Video: Child Rescued from Rubble in Aleppo

Regime Bombardment on Darayya Continues “So Insurgents Can’t Return”

The Syrian military continues to bombard Darayya, southwest of Damascus, amid ongoing fighting between regime forces and insurgents for control of the suburb — activists report at least 22 bombs, including “barrel bombs”, dropped today:

Joanna Paraszczuk assesses:

There seems to be a massive push to demolishing territory in and near Darayya, flattening vast areas so that opposition forces cannot go there and fight back.

The airstrikes, including barrel bombs, means civilians are too scared to support or give shelter to opposition forces — who then have no place to go.

You can start to see how the regime’s strategy works on these areas that it cannot take by ground attacks.

Meanwhile, Darayya has taken on added importance as insurgents try to connect areas they control in West Ghouta with south Damascus, blocking the regime’s route south to Dara’a Province.


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There have also been airstrikes on Kafr Batna:

Claim: Russian-Speaking Fighters Being Trained in ISIS Camp in Iraq

Umma News claims that Russian-speaking fighters are being trained by the Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham in a camp in Iraq:

PR Video Hails Islamic State of Iraq’s Control of Manbij in Aleppo Province

Video from Manbij in Aleppo Province, re-taken by the Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham from insurgents earlier this month: