PHOTO: Aftermath of a Russian airstrike on Maarat al-Num’an in Idlib Province, January 2016


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Amid Regime’s Sieges, Deputy Foreign Minister Receives Head of World Food Program


The opposition Local Coordination Committees documented another 118 deaths across Syria on Wednesday, as Russia bombed both opposition and Islamic State-held areas.

The LCC said 52 people were killed in Deir ez-Zor Province in eastern Syria, most of them in the villages of Mheimida and Hseinia. The Russians have been trying to assist Syrian forces in Deir ez-Zor city, surrounded and facing an Islamic State offensive that began on January 16.

Another 43 people died in Aleppo Province, most from Russian attacks.

Among the dead were 11 women and 10 children.

The LCC has recorded more than 100 deaths on each of three days since last Friday. More than 200 people have been slain in Deir ez-Zor Province alone.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a press conference that Russia had rejected a request by US Secretary of State John Kerry for a halt to bombing of opposition-held territory:

We proposed to the US to organize daily coordination but there is no answer. And then they say: “You’re bombing the wrong people.” I’m at a loss. This is not a serious, adult-like talk.

The Violations Documentation Center has given details of the deaths of more than 1,600 civilians since Russia began its bombing campaign on September 30.

Aftermath of Russian attacks on Kafrzita in Hama Province:

The latest Russian attacks come just before the start of “peace talks” promoted by Moscow, the UN, and the US, which are scheduled in Geneva on Friday. It is still uncertain whether the main opposition-rebel bloc will attend, is it is citing the failure to establish ceasefires, detainee releases, and access to humanitarian aid for besieged areas.

See Syria Daily, Jan 27: No Opposition-Rebel Bloc at “Peace Talks” on Friday

Russian State outlet Sputnik News covered up Moscow’s attacks on Wednesday, attributing them to the Syrian air force and falsely labeling opposition-held areas as held by the Islamic State:

In the city of Aleppo, Syrian Air Force fighter jets destroyed positions held by Daesh militants in the neighborhoods of al-Rashedin, al-Lairamoun, Bustan al-Bacha, Bani Zaid, Karem al-Maysar and al-Sheikh Said, as well as a number of strategic areas in the eastern part of the province.


Residents in Regime-Held Homs Protest Corruption and Lack of Security

Residents of a district of regime-held Homs have demonstrated over corruption and a lack of security, following a series of deadly explosions.

Protesters in Zahraa gathering on Tuesday evening after twin bombings, claimed by the Islamic State, killed more than two dozen people. It was the 19th explosion in the mainly-Alawite quarter.

A statement on a pro-Assad Facebook page said:

Every official should be held to account for their work and [offending] officials should always appear on television to face the people.

Legal action must be taken against corrupt individuals, whether they are military or civil, even if they [occupy] the highest seat in the city.

The statement called for security measures to crack down on lawlessness in Homs and “clean out the city, meter-by-meter”:

A force must be formed to impose security and [ensure that] everyone who falls short is held to account because the law is absent, the judiciary is asleep and everyone is taking advantage of this situation to fill their bellies.

Homs needs a faithful man, not one with the mentality of a thief.

Some demonstrators burned tires in the road. While condemning local officials as “liars”, the protesters made clear that they still supported the regime and President Assad: “We sacrifice our blood and our souls for you, o Bashar.”


Russian Drone Footage of Captured Sheikh Miskeen

Russian drone footage of the town of Sheikh Miskeen, south of Damascus, captured earlier this week by the Syrian military:

See Syria Daily, Jan 26: Regime Captures Key Town South of Damascus


Rebels and Jabhat al-Nusra Redeploying for Fight Near Aleppo

Rebel factions and the jihadists of Jabhat al-Nusra are redeploying in an effort to shift stalemated frontlines near Aleppo city.

Earlier this week, Nusra moved forces to positions in opposition-held parts of the divided city, taking over checkpoints that had been manned by rebel groups. Meanwhile, those groups moved outside the city to the battlefronts to the west and south.

From October, foreign-led regime forces — supported by intense Russian airstrikes — have tried to gain territory on the fronts. They have taken villages and the town of al-Hader but have failed so far to reach the Aleppo-to-Damascus highway.

The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, one of the largest rebel groups, said on Wednesday evening that it was handing over checkpoints and reploying around Aleppo “in coordination with other factions”.

A spokesperson said the redeployment was because of the cut-off of foreign backing, notably from the US: “While the number of stationed members is over 5000, the Movement has had no support for over eight months.”

He said Nour al-Din al-Zenki was being subjected to “foreign pressures because of its independent decisions” and because it “works according to the principles of the revolution and does not allow interference in its internal affairs”.

However, local sources indicated the move was not just a reaction to the US-led pressure but also a coordinated step for forthcoming military operations.


Russian Airtrikes Damage Bakery Which Was to Serve 18,000 People

Russian warplanes have severely damaged a British-funded bakery in Idlib Province in northern Syria, a few hours before it was to start providing food for 18,000 people.

The jets fired two rockets into a a residential apartment near the bakery, killing members of two families and injuring more than 100 people, in the village of Hazano on January 20.

Since the start of its bombing on September 30, Moscow’s attacks have struck mosques, schools, hospitals, bakeries, markets, and a water treatment plant.

A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed the attack on the bakery. Hazano is one of 37 civilian communities in Syria receiving funding from the Department for International Development to develop civilian governance in opposition-held areas.

The £17.7 million ($25.4 million) project seeks to give more than 1.1 million Syrians clean water, education and health facilities, bakeries, and road construction.


Jabhat al-Nusra to Cut Ties with Al Qa’eda?

Pro-rebel activists are claiming that the jihadist faction Jabhat al-Nusra, after a series of meetings with rebel groups, is considering a cutting of ties with Al Qa’eda.

The activists said that pressure for a political reconciliation has grown as both rebels and Jabhat al-Nusra face regime offensives bolstered by Russian airstrikes, Iranian forces, Hezbollah units, and foreign militias. They said that the meetings agreed on a Sharia system, protecting fighters fighters while rejecting a secular State.

Another report said agreement was reached on the need for battlefield co-operation, but that discussion of the political issues would continue.

Local correspondents explain to EA that there are “two scenarios” in talks about unity:

1. Jabhat al-Nusra leaves Al Qa’eda and joins a new united group.

2. Jabhat al-Nusra joins a new group that has no ties to any organization or State, cutting Al Qa’eda ties with this step. Joulani seems to prefer this.

The correspondents added that “this depends on Ahrar [leading faction Ahrar al-Sham], because without Ahrar the new group won’t be strong enough”.

They said that Jabhat al-Nusra leader al-Joulani said that he would not demand leadership, accepting a leader from Ahrar al-Sham.

Rebels and foreign backers such as Saudi Arabia tried to detach Jabhat al-Nusra from Al Qa’eda last year; however, Nusra leader Abu Mohammad al-Joulani pointedly rejected the step in an interview with Al Jazeera.


Turkey Repeats Rejection of both Assad and Kurdish PYD

The Turkish Government has reiterated its rejection of both the Assad regime and the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), just before “peace talks” in Geneva.

The National Security Council issued a statement after a seven-hour meeting on Wednesday, declaring that “a solution to the atrocities in the country cannot be achieved with the President Bashar al-Assad, or the Democratic Union Party (PYD) terrorist organization, which is the Syrian wing of the [Turkish Kurdish insurgency [PKK]”.

Earlier this week, both Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Mevlut Cavusoglu threatened a boycott of the Geneva talks if PYD representatives attended.

It was reported on Tuesday that PYD leader Saleh Muslim was invited, but UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Wednesday that no approach had been made.

Turkey’s NSC also reiterated its determination to continue support to the Turkmen minority in northwestern Syria, who have been attacked by Russian airstrikes in support of a Syrian military offensive in northern Latakia Province.

The Russian operations led to the downing of one of Moscow’s warplanes by Turkish jets near the Syrian-Turkish border on November 24.