“US & Middle East Officials”: Elite Syrian Unit Moving Chemical Weapons “To Up to %0 Sites”
SUMMARY: The Assad regime has declared, in a letter to the United Nations, that it “has signed the legislative decree providing for the accession of Syria to the Convention…on chemical weapons of 1992”.
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said, “The Syrian authorities have expressed their commitment to observe the obligations entailed by the convention even before its entry into force for Syria.”
The letter paves the way — in theory — for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons stocks to an international body, a proposal made by Russia on Monday.
Meanwhile, President Assad told Russian TV channel that Damascus had long ago made a proposal to rid the Middle East of weapons of mass destruction to “stabilize the situation in our region”: “We are always thinking about stability.”
Assad denied that his regime was considering the handover of chemical weapons because of the threat of US airstrikes: “What really pushed us to that, it was only the Russian proposal and the talks we held with the Russian side. I want to repeat that if it had not been for the Russian proposal, we would never have considered that issue….That is simply American propaganda.”
As the interview was broadcast, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was discussing Moscow’s proposal with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva.
The talks offered little in public beyond general rhetoric, with Lavrov’s spokesman saying the two men considered “the logistics, process and agenda for the days ahead and they agreed on a shared goal of achieving a framework for the path forward. The entire delegation will reconvene tomorrow morning.”
The Russian proposal has been met by a French draft resolution — to be put to the United Nations Security Council — which criticizes the Assad regime for the use of chemical weapons, mandates comprehensive inspections and take-over of the stocks, and provides for force if Damascus does not comply.
Moscow has indicated it will veto any such resolution in the Security Council.
Video: Friday Protests In Al Waer Neighborhood, Homs
Opposition flags are waved at this week’s Friday protest in the Al Waer neighborhood of Homs. The neighborhood — densely populated with civilians — has seen extensive regime shelling and attacks in recent months.
Activists on Friday report that regime forces are bombarding Homs old city with mortar shells and large caliber machine guns, amid clashes with the Free Syrian Army insurgents in the area.
Videos: Friday Protests In Aleppo
In Aleppo’s Marjeh District, protesters — including a group of young boys — wave Opposition flags and call for the downfall of the Assad regime:
Over in Tariq Al Bab, Islamist flags (though not that of the Islamic State of Iraq and Ash Sham) were the only banners to be seen at protests outside the Al Aqsa Martyrs Mosque:
Some protesters outside the Ali Ibn Abi Talib mosque chant in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and Ash Sham. Others carries Free Syrian Army flags:
In this footage, a white flag representing the call for an Islamic State can be seen:
Lavrov Says He Will Meet Kerry, Brahimi Again Before End September
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Friday that a further meeting is planned with US Secretary of State, John Kerry and UN Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi before the end of September.
“We agreed to meet at the [UN] General Assembly, to see where we are [in relation to the Syrian chemical weapons issue and the prospects of the Geneva 2 conference], and we will also see what the Syrians think…we believe that we will be able to speak more specifically with you in New York,” Lavrov told a press conference.
Videos: Houses Burn As Regime Strikes On Damascus Suburbs Continue
The regime continues its bombardment of the Damascus suburbs — including neighborhoods and towns hit in the August 21 chemical weapons attacks.
Fires in civilian homes in Barzeh, Damascus after an airstrike:
Ongoing shelling in Muadamiyyat Ash Sham, West Ghouta:
HRW Accuses Assad Regime Of Mass Killing In Al Bayda And Baniyas
Human Rights Watch on Friday accused the Syrian government and pro-government forces of a mass killing of at least 248 people in al-Bayda and Baniyas, a Sunni antigovernment enclave within the largely Alawite and pro-government Tartous Province, on May 2 and 3, 2013.
In a new report, HRW list 167 people killed in al-Bayda and 81 in Baniyas. HRW say most were executed after military clashes ended and opposition fighters had retreated.
According to the report, on the morning of May 2, regime forces and pro-government militias clashed with insurgents in al-Bayda. At around 1 p.m., after local insurgents retreated, at regime and pro-regime forces entered the town and searched houses. They entered homes, separated men from women, rounded up the men of each neighborhood in one spot, and executed them by shooting them at close range, HRW said, based on witness interviews.
Among those killed were women and children, including infants.
A witness in Bayda told HRW:
Suddenly we heard gunshots. I started screaming to my father-in-law, “The men are gone, Abu Muhammad, the men.” I ran to the window and saw around 20 soldiers leave the apartment next door. As soon as they left, we broke out of the apartment where they had left us and rushed to the apartment where they had taken the men. I first saw my husband’s body by the door. Then I found Sa`id’s body in the hallway. The remaining three were in a room on top of each other. Each of the men had three bullets in him.
“US & Middle East Officials”: Elite Syrian Unit Moving Chemical Weapons “To Up to %0 Sites”
“American and Middle Eastern officials”, using The Wall Street Journal, claim Syria’ elite Unit 450 has been moving stocks of chemical agents and munitions to as many as 50 sites to make them harder to track.
The assertion follows President Assad’s assertion on Thursday that Damascus is ready, in principle, to hand over chemical weapons stocks.
The Journal does not further identify the “Middle Eastern officials” accusing Syria of deception, but clues in the report indicate they are Israeli.
American and Israeli intelligence agencies still believe they know where most of the Assad regime’s chemical weapons are located, but with less confidence than six months ago, the US officials said.
Unit 450 is a branch of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center that manages the chemical weapons program. It was accused earlier this month by the French Government of complicity in the August 21 attacks that killed at least 1,360 people near Damascus.
Casualties
The Local Coordination Committees claim that at least 94 people were killed on Thursday, including 27 in Daraa Province and 26 in Aleppo Province.
The Violations Documentation Center puts the number of dead at 72,897 since the conflict began in March 2011, an increase of 106 from Thursday. Of the dead, 54,823 are civilians, a rise of 34 from yesterday.
