TODAY’S FEATURES

Assad Interview “Terrorists, American Lies, and Chemical Weapons”

Clashes In Old Customs Area, Dar’aa Near Jordan Border

Coalition Reacts to Insurgent Break-Away

Video: Regime Snipers Use Wounded Man as Bait in Aleppo

A 10-minute clip of insurgents claiming that pro-regime shabiha are using a wounded man as bait in an attempt to kill others in Aleppo:

Video: Protest in Raqqa After Islamic State of Iraq Removed Cross From Church

Footage shows a protest in Raqqa, after the Islamic State of Iraq and Ash Sham removed a cross from a church before burning it.

Jenan Moussa has more information and a photograph:

A pro-ISIS twitter user says that the removal of the cross is a commandment of the Prophet:

Russian Deputy FM: Syria’s Chemical Weapons Won’t Be Brought To Russia For Destruction

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday that Russia would help with the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons but the weapons would be dismantled in Syria.

“We consider it optimal that the annihilation [of the chemical weapons] is carried out on Syrian territory, the more so because the convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons, to which Syria has become a party, forbids the transfer of chemical weapons across state borders,” Ryabkov told reporters at the Russia Arms Expo 2013.

Video: Insurgents Rescue Wounded Fighter from Battlefield in Aleppo Province

Regime Bombards Besieged Neighborhoods Of Homs

Smoke rises from Homs:

Regime forces on Thursday continue to bombard besieged neighborhoods in Homs including the Old City and Al Khalidiyeh.

A surface-to-surface missile hits Al Khalidiyeh:

The bombardment comes amid clashes between the Free Syrian Army and regime forces, as regime forces attempt to overrun insurgent-held areas. Assad’s forces have failed to completely control Homs, despite a months-long siege and extreme shelling, airstrikes and ground invasions.

All Is Well: Prime Minister Promises More Tourism

Meeting the Higher Council of Tourism on Wednesday, Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi said that the Government is working on reactivating and bolstering the tourism sector in Syria and rehabilitating tourist institutions.

Al-Halqi admitted that the tourist sector has suffered huge damage from attacks by “terrorist groups”, bit saod tje Gpverm,emt was keen to revive tourism while fighting corruption.

Casualties

The Local Coordination Committees claim 76 people were killed on Wednesday, including 24 in Aleppo Province, 17 in Damascus and its suburbs, and 14 in Daraa Province.

The Violations Documentation Center puts the number of dead at 74,021 since the conflict began in March 2011, an increase of 87 from Wednesday. Of the dead, 55,441 are civilians, a rise of 44 from yesterday.

Summary

SUMMARY: At one point on Wednesday, the rush of videos of regime airstrikes was so quick that EA’s Joanna Paraszczuk complained, “I can’t keep up.”

The footage documented assaults from the Damascus suburbs to Idlib Province in the northwest to Daraa Province in the south. The Local Coordination Committees summarized at the end of the day:

The committees have documented 446 points of shelling in Syria.

Air strikes by warplanes were recorded in 45 points. Explosive barrels were dropped in Saraqeb, Hebet, Tal Daman, Nafer, Maaret Hermeh, Jabal Al Shaikhin [in] Idlib Province, and Shaikh Mustafa in Aleppo [Province].

Surface-to-surface missiles have targeted Mouadamiyeh in Damascus Suburb. Cluster Bombs were dropped in Ibn Wardan Palace, Jardanieh, Rasm Al Ward in Hama Province. Artillery shelling was recorded in 145 points, followed by rocket shelling in 133 points, and mortar shelling was recorded in 112 points across Syria.

In some cases, the bombs and rockets were in support of continuing regime efforts to reclaim territory — as in Moadamiyyat Ash Sham, near Damascus — but in most, they were simply an attempt to push back insurgents who continue to attack Syrian positions.

The destruction in Moadamiyyat Ash Sham:

In the town, the risk of starvation is rising. A series of videos and photographs on Wednesday documented local doctors and paramedics trying to treat malnourished children: