Regime media exaggerates with declaration of complete surrender in East Ghouta
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- US Military Pushes Back v. Trump: We’re Considering More Troops
- 2 Killed in Latest Russia-Regime Bombing of Idlib Province
- Opposition: 200,000 Iranians Given Syrian Passports
Pro-opposition sources report that about 800 sick and wounded people have been moved from Douma, the last town in the opposition enclave of East Ghouta near Syria’s capital Damascus.
The transfer is the outcome of days of talks between Jaish al-Islam, the rebel faction in Douma, and Russian officials. It follows more than five years of siege in which the Assad regime refused to allow seriously ill people out of East Ghouta for treatment.
Syrian State media and pro-Assad outlets, eager to declare a complete victory in the conquest of the oppostion area, have presented the evacuation as a surrender agreement. However, Jaish al-Islam officials said discussions are ongoing.
A regime military official confirmed that the surrender has not been obtained, saying some fighters were holding out and the army would use force unless they accepted capitulation: “They will all have to agree to the settlement in the end.”
A two-month pro-Assad offensive, enabled by Russian airstrikes breaking a de-escalation agreement and defying UN calls for a ceasefire, has killed more than 1,700 people, wounded thousands, and displaced tens of thousands. All other towns in East Ghouta, held by the opposition since 2012, have been forced to surrender.
See Besieged, Bombarded, Removed: Stories from East Ghouta
Footage of pro-Assad forces — and imwages of possible looting — amid devastation in Arbin:
Video: shows regime looting Irbin, East Ghouta pic.twitter.com/rWNdPAFLlC
— FSA News (@FSAPlatform) April 3, 2018
US Military Pushes Back v. Trump: We’re Considering More Troops
The US military has pushed back on Donald Trump’s sudden declaration, “We’re getting out of Syria”, with leaks to the media that it is considering the dispatch of more troops into the north of the country.
Trump made his statement during a speech in Ohio last Thursday, the same day that two troops — one American, one British — were killed by an improvised explosive device in Manbij in eastern Aleppo Province.
The US military is continuing to back the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Manbij, even as Turkey calls for their withdrawal east of the Euphrates River.
“Several US defense and administration officials” said the military has been working on plans to send dozens of additional troops. They said the work was being done before Trump’s address last week.
2 Killed in Latest Russia-Regime Bombing of Idlib Province
Two civilians have been killed and “many others wounded” by regime airstrikes on the marketplace in Ariha in Idlib Province in northwest Syria.
2 civilians have been killed and many other wounded by Assad regime airstrikes on the marketplace in Ariha city, rural Idlib. pic.twitter.com/VKQsGrFLhS
— Husam Hezaber (@HusamHezaber) April 3, 2018
Russia and the regime have renewed attacks after a relative lull while they concentrated on the takeover of East Ghouta near Damascus. Strikes over the weekend casued scores of casualties in northern Hama and Idlib Provinces.
Over the winter, a pro-Assad offensive — enabled by Russian aerial operations violating a de-escalation agreement — reclaimed part of southeast Idlib before the advance was halted with redeployment to East Ghouta.
2 civilians were killed, and 7 others injured so far, after brutal air raids on the popular market in #Areha City in #Idlib contryside. @SyriaCivilDefe teams worked to retrieve the victims, and continue the rescue operation. pic.twitter.com/EbWTMd37qI
— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) April 3, 2018
>Opposition: 200,000 Iranians Given Syrian Passports
The pro-opposition Zaman al-Wasl, citing “well-informed source”, says about 200,000 Iranians — most of them Revolutionary Guards — have obtained Syrian passports in the past few months.
The “Damascus-based source” said the Department of Immigration and Passports issued the documents after a confidential order by General Maher al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad’s brother.
The opposition has claimed that the Iranians and regime are pursuing demographic change, through forced removals and seizure of property in areas such as south Damascus.
“What is the Internet Research Agency? Facebook Shuts Hundreds of Accounts Linked to Russian Troll Factory –Newsweek 51m ago
”
http://www.newsweek.com/what-internet-research-agency-facebook-shuts-hundreds-accounts-linked-russia-870889
Any surprise that our ‘Irish’ friend in St. Petersburg has not shown up for a long time?
“the Russian accounts had collectively spent around $167,000 on ads since the start of 2015
suspended 30,000 allegedly fake accounts in the leadup to the French presidential election, “
CNN: “A person familiar with internal discussions on the issue told CNN on Tuesday the White House would likely push for a deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council — a political and economic union consisting of all the Arab states in the Persian Gulf except for Iraq — in an effort to secure territory in southern Syria so that it doesn’t fall to Iran. The agreement would utilize the minimum amount of US troops possible, the person said.”
Well, if Assad, an illegitimate president, is willing to give territory to Turkey and Iranians and Hezbollah, then why not to the US and the GCC?
“The pro-opposition Zaman al-Wasl, citing “well-informed source”, says about 200,000 Iranians — most of them Revolutionary Guards …”
If true this just shows that the new Mukhaberti death squad teams will be composed of Iranians or commanded by Iranian commanders. Not being Syrians, they have no compunction in kidnapping and murdering Syrians who oppose Assad.
General Mattis admits no evidence Assad has ever used sarin: http://www.newsweek.com/now-mattis-admits-there-was-no-evidence-assad-using-poison-gas-his-people-801542
“The statement by Secretary of Defense James Mattis was that the U.S. has “no evidence” that the Syrian government used the banned nerve agent Sarin against its own people.Mattis offered no temporal qualifications, which means that both the 2017 event in Khan Sheikhoun and the 2013 tragedy in Ghouta are unsolved cases in the eyes of the Defense Department and Defense Intelligence Agency.”
This is a false propaganda piece from February by Ian Wilkie, based on a flagrant distortion of Mattis’s comments: the Defense Secretary said clearly that the Assad regime had used sarin in the past (e.g. East Ghouta, Khan Sheikhoun) but was referring to a claim circulating at the start of February.
See How Pro-Assad and Russian Agitators Feed Disinformation Into the Mainstream
Razmjoo – lol – This snippet has been debunked over and over again. It is an out-of-context splicing of what Mattis said. Mattis at the time was referring to reports in the past 30 days hinting on Assad’s use of chemical WMDs. Mattis was not referring to the history of nerve agent use by Assad.
The fact that you have resurrected this talking point yet another time just shows your insincerity of participating on this forum – and your inability to remain honest in your debates.
Neither is bankrupt Newsweek anything to hang your coat upon, based on their more recent journalism.