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Ghouta bombing won’t stop as army keeps up pressure
[DAWN] SYRIA continues to mass its armed forces around the east Ghouta enclave of Damascus, including army units commanded by Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad Leveler of Latakia... ’s brother Maher and by Colonel Soheil Hassan, the "Tiger" whose military victories across the country have made him legendary among Assad’s supporters. Instead of moving by night ‐ the traditional tactic adopted by the army in the war ‐ vast quantities of Syrian armour have been humming along the highways to the capital in broad daylight from Aleppo and Homs in the north, from Deraa in the south, and from the countryside of Damascus itself. The Syrian authorities want them to be seen, to show the Salafist tough guys of Ghouta know how their battle will end. Despite Russia’s veto at the UN on Thursday night, however, negotiations have continued between three rebel groups and the Syrian army ‐ under the direct mediation of the Russians ‐ to establish "humanitarian corridors" and "escape routes" for the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside Ghouta, the vast area of suburban slums and farmland held by Islamist and other rebel groups since 2013. Almost identical talks took place between Islamists and the government over eastern Aleppo before its fall in Dec 2016. Bloodshed and negotiations have long been a feature of the Syrian war. But despite the West’s rhetoric ‐ and the UN’s constant refrain that the civilians of eastern Ghouta are experiencing "hell on earth" ‐ the massive Syrian and Russian bombardment is going to continue. The Islamist Nusra faction, the "child" of Al Qaeda of 9/11 infamy, appears to be more reluctant to surrender to the Syrians ‐ even if allowed to leave with its light weapons ‐ than Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... ’s favourite militia, the Jaish al-Islam  ...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful..., or Qatar  ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...’s proxy "Rahman Legion". There are even suggestions that the Saudi- and Qatari-supported factions are arguing with each other ‐ even now, inside Ghouta ‐ about the Gulf dispute between the Saudis and Qataris. Posted by: Fred 2018-02-26 |
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