LATEST
- US Jets Intervene Against Regime Warplanes for 1st Time…But Only Momentarily
- Renewed Clashes in Hasakah Between Regime and Kurdish Forces
- Rebels Block Pro-Assad Attack on Southwestern Aleppo Front
- Rebels Capture al-Rai in Northern Syria from Islamic State
THURSDAY FEATURES
Will This Injured Boy’s Iconic Photo Change Anything? Probably Not.
Almost 18,000 Die in Prisons Since 2011 — Amnesty
ORIGINAL ENTRY: UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has announced the suspension of the humanitarian program.
De Mistura abruptly cut short a Thursday meeting of the UN’s humanitarian task force. He then told reporters: “Not one single convoy in one month has reached any of the humanitarian besieged areas — not one single convoy. And why? Because of one thing: Fighting.”
The envoy continued:
I decided to use my privilege as chair to declare that there was no sense to have a humanitarian meeting today unless we got some action on the humanitarian side in Syria.
What we are hearing and seeing is only fighting, offensives, counteroffensives, rockets, barrel bombs, mortars, Hellfire cannons, napalm, chlorine, snipers, airstrikes, suicide bombers…
De Mistura said the the only aid in the past month was into regime areas in Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria, an area which has been surrounded by the Islamic State — with 100 airdrops from the UN’s World Food Program.
The Assad regime has obstructed efforts to bring assistance into opposition-held areas, and briefly imposed a siege on opposition districts in Aleppo city last month until a rebel counter-offensive broke the blockade.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia carried out more long-range bombing of northern Syria on Wednesday from its newly-established position in western Iran, as the US pondered whether to question if the deployment violates a UN Security Council resolution.
Airstrikes by Tu22-33M “Backfire” long-range bombers and Su-34 tactical bombers began on Monday, as Moscow announces its agreement with the Islamic Republic to use the Hamedan base in western Iran.
Russia’s Defense Ministry put out its line that the attacks were on the Islamic State and the jihadists of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra), but the announced location of the attacks — Idlib and Aleppo Provinces in northwest Syria as well as Deir ez-Zor Province in the northeast — indicated that rebel positions were also being targeted.
See also Syria Audio Analysis: Russia & Iran Step Up the War, as the US Watches
US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Wednesday that Government attorneys had not yet decided whether they believe Russia’s use of the Iranian base violates UN Security Resolution 2231.
The resolution was passed in July 2015, at the time of Iran’s nuclear deal with the 5+1 Powers. It bans arms-related transfers to the Islamic Republic without the advance permission of the Security Council.
“As I understand it, it’s not just supplying the Iranians certain weapons or certain offensive weaponry. It’s more complex than that,” Toner said. “Our lawyers are looking at it. We haven’t made an assessment.”
He added:
It’s not helpful because…it continues to complicate what is already a very dangerous situation.
And so our concerns remain very vivid. We’re trying to remain focused on…trying to get a cessation of hostilities back in place in Syria. And this doesn’t help it.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected any possibility that Moscow had violated the UN resolution: “There has been no supply, sale or transfer of fighter jets to Iran. The Russian Air Force uses these fighter jets with Iran’s approval in order to take part in the counter-terrorism operation [in Syria].”
Aftermath of bombing of Idlib city on Wednesday (Warning — Very Graphic Images of bodies):
Regime jets targeted this truck transporting children's milk in Maarit Anuman, killing driver & dumping milk on road pic.twitter.com/xgvo9bCk30
— هادي العبدالله Hadi (@HadiAlabdallah) August 18, 2016
Russia Destroys Another Hospital
The only hospital in a town in northern Aleppo Province was destroyed on Tuesday night by five Russian airstrikes, according to the head of the facility.
Abdelmanaam al-Shaykh of the al-Reeh al-Mursala Hospital in Daret Izza said four people were killed while “sick patients and injured people are being transferred to hospitals in pick up trucks, vans, service cars and some residents’ cars to hospitals in neighboring cities”.
The destruction leaves 400,000 people without any medical facility or ambulances. The nearest operational clinic is 50 km (31 miles) away.
The only other hospital in the town was bombed on February 26 and can only handle emergency cases.
Remains of what looks like a Tochka ballistic missile that struck Darat Izza in west rural #Aleppo several hours ago pic.twitter.com/Vfp3m5kLy0
— Sami (@Paradoxy13) August 18, 2016
(Map by Artur Rosinski of NewsMap)
20+ Barrel Bombs on Besieged Darayya on Thursday
More than 20 barrel bombs have been dropped on Friday in the continuing regime assault on the Damascus suburb of Darayya, according to activists.
The Syrian military has bombarded Darayya, southwest of the capital, with thousands of bombs, missiles, and artillery shells as ground forces attempt to overrun the area. However, while the pro-Assad forces have advanced, they have yet to break the resistance in the town, cut off since November 2012.
Regime warplanes have also struck Douma, northeast of Damascus, a regular target of attacks:
US Jets Intervene Against Regime Warplanes for 1st Time…But Only Momentarily
US jet fighters have intervened for the first time in the Syrian conflict against regime warplanes, but only momentarily.
Local sources confirmed claims on social media that the American aircraft tried to prevent regime bombing of Kurdish security forces amid a flare-up of fighting in Hasakah in eastern Syria (see below).
However, the Syrian air force resumed operations as soon as the US jets left the area.
The Kurdish militia YPG said it would “not be silent” over what it called it an act of aggression: “Every hand spattered with the blood of our people will be held to account through all possible and available means.”
YPG spokesman Redur Xelil said the regime airstrikes had caused casualties: “There are martyrs and wounded.”
Government forces were also bombarding Kurdish districts of Hasakah with artillery, according to Kurdish officials.
Claimed video of the aftermath of an airstrike:
Renewed Clashes in Hasakah Between Regime and Kurdish Forces
Renewed clashes are reported between regime and Kurdish forces in the eastern city of Hasakah.
The fighting began on Wednesday night, with pro-Assad activists claiming that Kurdish security forces, the Asayish, attacked a checkpoint of the pro-Assad militia National Defense Forces in the city center.
The Kurdish ANHA News says the regime units broke a ceasefire arranged after the initial clashes on Wednesday, attacking barricades of the Asayish throughout the city.
Kurdish media also asserted that the Syrian air force is bombing “residential areas”, which would be the first aerial intervention in the fighting.
The pro-Assad activists, citing a “military source”, say the NDF captured the al-Amal School amid firefights in the al-Nashwa district in the west of the city.
Kurdish forces have periodically fought with the Syrian military and militia in the city, which has been divided between the two sides since 2013.
Claimed footage of civilians fleeing Hasakah:
Rebels Block Pro-Assad Attack on Southwestern Aleppo Front
Rebels have blocked an attempt by pro-Assad forces to regain lost territory southwest of Aleppo city.
The Syrian military and foreign allies tried to move into the artillery base, one of the largest in the country, captured by the rebel bloc Jaish al-Fatah two weeks ago.
The attackers were able to enter the base but were soon forced to withdraw.
The pro-Assad forces had managed to regain about 25 buildings in the nearby 1070 housing complex to establish a position for Wednesday’s assault.
Rebels also reportedly pushed back an attack on al-Qarassi, further to the south (see map), destroying armored vehicles.
A rebel offensive from late July took significant positions on the southwestern Aleppo front and broke a month-long pro-Assad siege on opposition districts of Aleppo city. It also cut the southern ring road, hindering regime efforts to move men and supplies.
In the last 10 days, there has been little change in the frontlines. Rebels failed last weekend to capture a cement factory, used as a garrison by pro-Assad forces, on the ring road east of the town of Ramouseh.
Rebels Capture al-Rai in Northern Syria from Islamic State
Free Syrian Army units are claiming the capture of the town of al-Rai from the Islamic State.
The rebels began the assault on al-Rai, in northern Aleppo Province near the Turkish border, earlier this week.
The town has changed hands on several occasions, with ISIS occupying it in April.
Free Syrian Army fighters celebrating on Wednesday:
Reports earlier this week pointed to a race between rebels and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces — who completed the capture of the city of Manbij last weekend — to reach Jarablus on the Turkish border.
Map of the frontline between rebels and ISIS in northern Aleppo Province, with al-Rai on the right-hand side:
(Map by Artur Rosinski of NewsMap)
