PHOTO: Conflict map of Aleppo, with regime-held areas in pink and insurgent-held areas in green
LATEST: Head of Opposition Coalition — Support Us Against the “Terrorists” in Iraq and Syria
WEDNESDAY FEATURE
Inspectors — “Likely” That Chemical Weapons Attacks Carried Out in Hama and Idlib Provinces
Regime warplanes continued to pound insurgent-held areas of Aleppo on Tuesday, killing at least 66 people in and near the city.
A day after 30 people were killed in the barrel-bombing of a market in Sukary, opposition media reported strikes and shelling of neighborhoods such as al-Haidariya and Masaken Hanano.
Aleppo has been divided since July 2012, when insurgents took over areas in the east of Syria’s largest city.
The Local Coordination Committees said 92 people were killed across Syria on Tuesday, including four women and nine children.
Head of Opposition Coalition: Support Us Against the “Terrorists” in Iraq and Syria
The head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, Ahmed Jarba, has linked the insurgency in Iraq to a call to support the fight in Syria against the Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham:
The heroes of the Free Syrian Army and the Arab tribes in Deir Ezzor are fighting ISIS terrorists. They have fought for 4 months, and it their steadfastness that prevents the establishment of a terrorist state stretching from Mosul in Iraq to Raqqa in Syria.
I would like to remind those who promised us assistance and didn’t follow through (that this) is a push for terrorists to win. And I ask here: Will there be a strike against ISIS in Iraq to push ISIS back into Syria? Will sectarian militias be left to do evil in Iraq and Syria? Will dealing with ISIS be an arbitrary process as per usual, or it will be based on a strategic plan to rid us of this cancer called ISIS?
Turkey Did Not Remove Jabhat al-Nusra from Terrorist List
Some Turkish media incorrectly reported on Wednesday that Ankara reversed its decision to put the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra on a terrorist list, after only 16 days.
In fact, Jabhat al-Nusra is still on the list. It was moved to another Chapter of the declaration approved by the Cabinet, with its designation changed from “Al Qa’eda in Iraq” to “Al Qa’eda-affiliated organizations”.
Activists: 50+ Killed in Airstrike on Shajara in Southern Syria
Activists claim that a regime airstrike on a refugee camp in Shajara in Daraa Province killed more than 50 people on Tuesday night:
Video: Syrian Military’s Defense in Idlib Province
State TV promotes the defense of Jisr al-Shughour in northwest Syria, near the Turkish border:
Insurgents hold most of the territory in Idlib Province and have recently stepped up attacks on Jisr al-Shughour.
Russia: We Have Regime Approval for Humanitarian Aid
Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, said on Tuesday that Moscow has won the Assad regime’s approval for humanitarian aid to millions of Syrians.
Churkin said four border crossings from Iraq, Jordan, and Turkey would be opened under the plan presented to other members of the UN Security Council.
The Ambassador declined to explain the “far-reaching formula” that Damascus accepted, but diplomats said it involves using international monitors to inspect aid convoys.
The Security Council passed a resolution on February 22 demanding that aid be allowed into Syria, but Russia prevented any clause for enforcement.
The Assad regime has been maintaining sieges on towns and villages, including parts of Damascus and its suburbs. Both the regime and insurgents have been trying to cut off the opposing side in and near Aleppo.
The UN says that 75% of food aid and 85% of medicines now go to regime-held areas because of Damascus’ warning that all assistance will be blocked if deliveries go to insurgent-held neighborhoods.
According to the UN, about 9.3 million people in Syria — more than 40% of the pre-conflict population — need assistance. Almost 2.9 million Syrians are refugees.
Regime Hails “Liberation” of Northern Latakia Province
The Assad regime continues to headline last weekend’s re-capture of villages in northern Latakia Province in western Syria, proclaiming reconstruction and joy among returning residents.
Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi told the Cabinet that infrastructure was being repaired in Kassab, near the Turkish border, “pointing out that the Syrian people will achieve victory and reconstruct Syria thanks to their unity and determination to carry out national reconciliations”.
Insurgents took Kassab and surrounding villages in an offensive in late March.
State news agency SANA publishes a photo essay, “Marvelous Samra Village Returns to Lap of Homeland“. There are lots of pictures of sea and hills, but curiously no people.
