Tag Archives: Euphrates River

News, Politics, Government

On second anniversary of uprising, Syrian rebel chief vows not to give up

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The chief of Syria‘s main, Western-backed rebel group marked the second anniversary of the uprising against President Bashar Assad by pledging on Friday to continue fighting until the “criminal” regime is gone.

Gen. Salim Idris, the head of the Supreme Military Council, called on Syrian soldiers to join the rebels in a “fight for freedom and democracy” and said that his Free Syrian Army fighters “will not give up.”

In Damascus, authorities beefed up security measures as rebel groups called for stepped-up attacks on government troops and state institutions on the anniversary.

The revolt against Assad’s authoritarian rule began in March 2011 with protests in the southern city of Daraa, after troops arrested teenagers who scrawled anti-regime graffiti on a wall. It has since morphed into a civil war with an estimated 70,000 people killed, according to the U.N.

“We want (a) Syria where every Syrian can live in peace and liberty. This is our dream, this is what we are fighting for,” Idris said in a video address obtained by The Associated Press form the Council’s media office.

He spoke in an undisclosed location in northern Syria that is under rebel control.

“I know our battle is not so easy. We have to fight against planes, tanks and huge missiles,” Idris said. “But our will is still very strong. We will not stop until this criminal regime has gone.”

Idris, 55, studied in Germany and taught electronics at a Syrian military college before defecting to the rebel side in July.

In the past year, the rebels have made significant advances on the battlefield, capturing large swathes of land outside of major cities and controlling some areas in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria‘s largest city. They have also overrun major military bases, captured dams on the Euphrates River and came within a mile of the center of Damascus, the seat of Assad’s power.

However, they have long complained that their side is hampered by the failure of world powers to provide heavier arms to help them battle Assad’s better-equipped military and his airpower. The international community is reluctant to send weapons partly because of fears they may fall into the hands of extremists who have been gaining influence among the rebels.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the Obama administration was giving an additional $60 million in assistance to Syria‘s political opposition and would, for the first time, provide non-lethal aid directly to the rebels. None of the aid, which is to include an undetermined amount of food rations and medical supplies, has been sent yet.

On Friday, some anti-government groups called for stepped-up attacks to mark the uprising anniversary. The banned Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group urged supporters for a “week of action” on the occasion but didn’t specify what it would do.

A Damascus-based activist who identified himself as Abu Qais said regime troops increased patrols and security searches in the country’s capital. He spoke on condition his real name not be used for security concerns.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Lebanon, gunmen set fire to three fuel tankers …read more
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News, Politics, Government

Syrian rebels battle regime forces after capturing governor of northern province

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Syrian rebels battled pockets of regime loyalists in the northern city of Raqqa on Tuesday after capturing the governor of the northern province in fierce clashes overnight, activists said.

Rebel fighters pushed government troops from most of Raqqa, a city of some 500,000 people on the Euphrates River, on Monday. If the opposition manages to wrest all of Raqqa from the government, it would mark the first time an entire city has fallen into opposition hands, dealing both a strategic and a symbolic blow to President Bashar Assad‘s regime.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said opposition fighters captured the governor of Raqqa province, Hassan Jalili, after clashes overnight near the governor’s office in the provincial capital, also named Raqqa. The Observatory said the head of Assad’s ruling Baath party in the province was also in rebel custody.

Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman said Jalili is one of the highest-ranking officials to fall into rebel hands since the Syrian crisis began nearly two years ago.

Righting was still raging on Tuesday near an intelligence building in the city as well as several other places, he said, adding that “some of Raqqa is still under regime control.”

The Observatory said government warplanes carried out airstrikes on two targets in the city, causing an unspecified number of casualties. It also reported heavy fighting near an ammunition depot on the northern edge of the city.

Rebels have been making headway in Raqqa province for weeks, capturing the country’s largest dam west of the city. On Sunday, anti-Assad fighters stormed Raqqa city’s central prison, and after rebels swept regime forces from much of the provincial capital on Monday, euphoric residents poured into the main square and tore down a bronze statue of Assad’s late father, Hafez.

The Syrian conflict started two years ago as a popular uprising against Assad’s authoritarian rule, then turned into a full-blown civil war after the rebels took up arms to fight a government crackdown on dissent. The United Nations estimates that more than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

The relentless violence also has destroyed many of the country’s cities, forced hundreds of thousands of Syrian to seek refuge abroad.

The U.N. children’s agency said in a statement Tuesday that the fighting threatens the education of hundreds of thousands of Syrian children, and that 20 percent of the country’s schools have been damaged in the war or are being used to shelter refugees.

“The education system in Syria is reeling from the impact of violence,” said Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, the UNICEF Syria representative. “Syria once prided itself on the quality of its schools. Now it’s seeing the gains it made over the years rapidly reversed.”

A UNICEF assessment conducted in December 2012 determined that 2,400 schools have been damaged or destroyed and another 1,500 are being used to house displaced persons, the agency said in a statement.

Schools in Idlib, Aleppo and Daraa, where the fighting has been particularly intense, are among those most affected, the statement said, adding that more than 110 teachers and other school workers have been …read more
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Articles of Interest

Syria Needs Grow As UN Watches ‘Tragedy Unfold’ With Millions Out Of Reach

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

* “Watching tragedy unfold,” U.N. aid chief says
* Rebels say 3 million in their areas need help
* Amos says Syria still refusing aid via Turkey
* U.S. calls for “direct, cross-border delivery”
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, Feb 19 (Reuters) – The rebel-held north of Syria remains largely out of reach to aid operations, even though they have been stepped up elsewhere in the country torn by civil war, U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said on Tuesday.
“We are watching a humanitarian tragedy unfold before our eyes,” Amos told a news briefing. “We must do all we can to reassure the people that we care and that we will not let them down.”
Syrian opposition representatives told the United Nations this week that some three million people living throughout rebel-held territory require international assistance, she said.
The Syrian government still refuses to allow U.N. convoys to cross from Turkey into northern Syria, as most border crossings are controlled by the Free Syrian Army, she said.
Four million Syrians were deemed in need of aid late last year, but the situation has deteriorated since due to shelling, inflation, and shortages of food and medicine, she said.
Some 70,000 people have been killed in the nearly two-year-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad that has also sent 860,000 refugees fleeing abroad, according to the world body.
Typhoid has broken out in an rebel-held Deir al-Zor due to people drinking contaminated water from the Euphrates River, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
In the last few weeks, the U.N. refugee agency reached rebel-held Azaz with aid for the first time. WHO has delivered vaccines in many opposition-held areas, Amos said.
“Cross-line operations are difficult but they are …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

News, Politics, Government

Syrian rebels kill at least 40 government troops in battle for airport, activists say

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Syrian rebels fought pitched battles Wednesday against regime forces at a military base that protects a major airport in the country’s north in fighting that has left more than 40 government troops dead, opposition activists said.

Rebels have been attacking the civilian airport in the city of Aleppo for weeks, and now appear to have overrun the main defenses around the facility. But the airport itself, which stopped handling any flights weeks ago because of the fighting, still remains in regime hands.

Also Wednesday, Syria‘s former Foreign Ministry spokesman made his first comments since disappearing in December, saying he left the country because “of the polarization and violence that left no place for moderation and diplomacy.”

Jihad Makdissi, who was known for defending President Bashar Assad‘s regime in fluent English, said in a statement sent to the Abu-Dhabi-based Sky News Arabia that he did not go to Europe or the U.S. after leaving Syria. He did not say where he currently is, adding that “I have no secrets that anyone would want.”

In his statement Wednesday, Makdissi said the Syrian uprising has “legitimate demands.”

On Dec. 3, Lebanese security officials said Makdissi flew from Beirut to London. But it was not immediately clear whether he had defected.

After Sky News Arabia posted the letter on Wednesday, Makdissi posted his first tweet on his Twitter account since Nov. 25, saying in English “I confirm authenticity of the Press Release issued today.”

The fighting Aleppo’s international airport came a day after opposition fighters captured large parts of the nearby “Brigade 80” base and attacked another major air base, Nairab, adjacent to the airport after taking control of the al-Manara army checkpoint just outside it.

By Wednesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels were “almost fully in control” of the “Brigade 80” base. He said more than 40 government troops were killed in the fighting, including two brigadier generals, a colonel and two lieutenant colonels. The report could not be independently confirmed.

Heavy clashes were also still raging for control of the Nairab base as well as outside the civilian airport, which both have their own defenses in addition to the protection provided by Brigade 80.

Abdul-Rahman said the brigade is an air defense force that’s main task is to protect the international airport and the Nairab air base.

Syria‘s rebels have notched several of strategic victories in recent days, capturing a military air base in the province of Aleppo on Tuesday and the country’s largest dam on the Euphrates River the day before.

With the back-to-back blows to Assad’s regime, opposition fighters appear to be regaining some momentum in the nearly 2-year-old conflict, expanding their northern zone of control while at the same time pushing deeper into the heart of the capital, Damascus.

Activists reported clashes outside Damascus on Wednesday, with regime warplanes hitting several of the restive suburbs as part of a government offensive to dislodge opposition fighters from their strongholds around the capital. Fighter jets also carried out airstrikes on rebel positions in the central province of Homs, the …read more
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News, Politics, Government

Syrian troops, rebels clash in contested north

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Syrian activists say troops loyal to President Bashar Assad are battling rebels in the country’s heavily contested north along the border with Turkey.

The Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights activist group says Wednesday’s fighting is concentrated on areas around the city of Aleppo, Syria‘s largest urban center, and the northern Idlib province.

The fighting comes after opposition fighters’ scored several strategic victories in the area against the regime in Damascus, capturing a military air base in the province of Aleppo on Tuesday and the country’s largest dam on Euphrates River the day before.

Rebels control large parts of land they captured during 22 months of fighting in Syria‘s civil war, which the United Nations says has claimed nearly 70,000 lives.

…read more
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News, Politics, Government

Syrian rebels capture country's largest dam

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Syrian rebels have scored one of their biggest strategic victories since the country’s crisis began two years ago, capturing the nation’s largest dam and iconic industrial symbol of the Assad family’s four-decade rule.

Rebels led by the al-Qaida-linked militant group Jabhat al-Nusra now control much of the water flow in the country’s north and east, eliciting warnings from experts that any mistake in managing the dam may drown wide areas in Syria and Iraq.

A Syrian government official denied that the rebels on Monday captured the dam, saying that “heavy clashes are taking place around it.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. But amateur video released by activists showed gunmen walking around the facility’s operations rooms and employees apparently carrying on with their work as usual.

In the capital, Damascus, the rebels kept the battle going mostly in northeastern and southern neighborhoods as the fighting gets closer to the heart of President Bashar Assad‘s seat of power.

Monday’s capture of the al-Furat dam came after rebels seized two smaller dams on the Euphrates River, which flows from Turkey through Syria and into Iraq. Behind al-Furat dam lies Lake Assad, which at 640 square kilometers (247 square miles) is the country’s largest water reservoir.

The dam produces 880 megawatts of electricity, a small amount of the country’s production. Syria‘s electricity production relies on plants powered by natural gas and fuel oil.

Still, the capture handed the rebels control over water and electricity supplies for both government-held areas and large swaths of land the opposition has captured over the past 22 months of fighting.

“This is the most important dam in Syria. It is a strategic dam, and Lake Assad is one of the largest artificial lakes in the region,” said Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“It supplies many areas around Syria with electricity,” Abdul-Rahman said, citing the provinces of Raqqa, Hassaka and Aleppo in the north as well as Deir el-Zour in the east near the Iraqi border.

The dam, constructed in the late 1960s in cooperation with the Soviet Union, is located in a northeastern town once called Tabqa. After the dam was built, the town’s name changed to Thawra, Arabic for revolution, to mark the March 8, 1963 coup that brought …read more
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News, Politics, Government

Rebels fight regime troops for Syria's largest dam

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Activists say Syrian opposition fighters are battling troops loyal to President Bashar Assad for control of the country’s largest dam.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, a Britain-based anti-regime activist, says there are sporadic clashes taking place around the al-Furat dam on the Euphrates River in the northeastern province of Raqqa.

He says a group of Assad’s loyalists is held up Monday in the dam’s control room but that most of the regime troops stopped fighting the day before after the rebels overran the nearby town of al-Thawra.

The fall of al-Furat dam into the opposition hands would be a significant blow to the regime because it supplies water to much of Syria.

Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says the rebels already control two other dams on the Euphrates.

…read more
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