LATEST: Security Officials: Jabhat al-Nusra Kill 14-Year-Old in Lebanon

On Tuesday morning, as some Syrians went to the polls in the country’s first multi-candidate Presidential election, we predicted that Bashar Assad would be re-elected with 90% of the vote.

We were slightly wrong: the President was declared the victor on Wednesday with 88.7% of the ballots, receiving more than 10.3 million votes, in his defeat of two nominal challengers.

As expected, the regime’s media proclaimed a high turnout — more than 73% — in the areas where Syrians could participate. State TV showed people cheering and dancing in Damascus, Qamishli in the Kurdish northeast of Syria, the Druze city of Suweida in the south, Baniyas on the Mediterranean, and the divided city of Aleppo.

The unexpected was the headline statement of President Assad;s office. Amid reports that several people were killed by celebratory gunfire, they said on Facebook:

Our expression of joy and enthusiasm, stemming from our national feeling, won’t justify shooting fire in the air which poses a threat to the citizens’ lives.

Our heroic soldiers, while on duty defending Homeland and fighting terrorism are worthier of each bullet fired in the air in expression of joy of any occasion and event.

The Syrian opposition and foreign powers denounced the vote as a “farce”. The European Union said, “These elections are illegitimate and undermine the political efforts to find a solution to this horrific conflict,” while US Secretary of State John Kerry called the ballot a “great big zero”:

They are meaningless, and they are meaningless because you can’t have an election where millions of your people don’t even have the ability to vote, where they don’t have the ability to contest the election, and they have no choice.

On the other side, Iran’s Foreign Ministry proclaimed, “Undoubtedly, this election, which was held with a competitive approach and within the framework of democratic components, heralds a new stage of stability and national reconciliation in the country.”

(Photo: AFP)


Security Officials: Jabhat al-Nusra Kill 14-Year-Old in Lebanon

Jabhat al-Nusra killed a 14-year-old Syrian on Thursday in east Lebanon, according to Lebanese security sources.

The sources said a car with Jabhat al-Nusra’s black flag threw the young man’s body onto a side road near the border town of Arsal. A note reading “This is the punishment of he who curses God” was found next to the corpse.

The officials said the teenager worked for a gas station and argued with the insurgents Wednesday night while they were filling water canisters. The fighters later abducted the victim.

Last weekend, sources said three teens were briefly kidnapped and abused in Arsal by Jabhat al-Nusra, over an incident linked to the trading of cigarettes.

Chemical Weapons Inspectors: Assad Regime Will Miss Deadline for Handover

The head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Sigrid Kaag, said on Wednesday that the Assad regime will not meet the June 30 deadline to hand over chemical weapons.

Kaag spoke to reporters after a briefing of the UN Security Council.

More than 7% of Syria’s declared stocks remain in the country and is currently held at a single site, but cannot be moved due to “volatile security conditions”, according to Kaag:

We call on all member states to exercise their influence to ensure the immediate removal of the remaining chemicals….

The urgency, the time, the pressure to remove the remaining 7.2% is very, very critical and I’ll be back in Damascus the next few days to pursue that conversation.

She said the convoy removing the stocks must pass through Adra, northeast of Damascus, en route to the port city of Latakia.

Reports indicate the chemical weapons are at the Battalion 559 base, about 63 kilometers (39 miles) northeast of Damascus on a major road from Adra to Palmyra.

Claim: 7 Injured by Regime “Toxic Gases” on Irbeen, near Damascus

The Local Coordination Committees claim that seven people have been injured by “toxic gases” from regime shelling of Irbeen in Damascus Province.

Shaam News Network reports “a number of cases of suffocation“.

Videos of victims, with a doctor speaking about their symptoms:

Reports: 150 Kurdish Students Abducted By Islamic State of Iraq

Local journalists and activists say about 150 Kurdish students, kidnapped last week by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, are being held in Manbij in Aleppo Province.

The students were travelling from their villages to Aleppo city for final exams.

Some local sources said the students were sent to a workshop in Islamic law and would be released after the course was completed; however, others said ISIS was pursuing an exchange for its members held by the Kurdish militia YPG.

Others, however, think they’re being held to exchange for members of ISIS who are being detained by a Kurdish militia, known by its initials YPG, that’s loyal to the Kurdistan Workers Party.

A Kurdish official said some female students and villagers, including old men and young boys, had been let go becasue ISIS could not handle all the people it abducted.

Iran Makes Play for Turkish Support of “Diplomatic Resolution”

Iran has launched a public initiative to wean Turkey away from support of Syria’s opposition, with Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian asserting both Tehran and Ankara are determined to back a diplomatic resolution of the conflict.

Abdollahian cited quarterly discussions between Iranian and Turkish officials, “In this round of talks in Ankara we discussed the development of Egypt, Syria and Iraq.”

In September 2012, Iran’s Foreign Ministry pursued a “contact group” with Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia in support of a 9-point political and military plan, but the effort foundered when the Saudis refused to participate.

Insurgents Claim Capture of Regime Position in Qalamoun Region

Insurgents are claiming that they have struck back after regime forces took much of the Qalamoun region between Damascus and the Lebanese border, capturing a regime position near the village of Flita.

The opposition fighters posted video of seized anti-tank weapons and ammunition.

The Syrian military’s offensive, begun in November, took Qalamoun’s cities and towns such as Yabroud and Maaloula; however, insurgents remain in the countryside.