BRKG Intense fighting reported inside Damascus city limits

Syrian rebels seize strategic checkpoint between Aleppo and Turkey after a 10-hour battle, rebel officer says - @AFP

4 hours ago from blogs.aljazeera.com by editor

Syrian regime forces continue assault on city of Aleppo with shells and machine gun fire - @AJELive

5 hours ago from blogs.aljazeera.com by editor

@ZeinakhodrAljaz tweeted:
France to ask for urgent #UN Security Council ministerial meeting on #Syria to try to end diplomatic deadlock and prevent further bloodshed

5 hours ago from twitter.com by editor

-------------

Ringuette: RT @cswift2: VIDEO: Fear and hunger on the streets of #Aleppo. #BBC @BBCiPannell report. #Syria http://t.co/DC9DMIW0
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:53:31 AM

Short vid, huge bread lines and soldiers in the street:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19046790


Peggybinn: RT @EANewsFeed: #Syria 1st-Hand: From #Aleppo - Most food shops closed in districts w fighting; residents "desperate & hungry" http://t.co/iyGp6LIL
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:52:42 AM

0826 GMT: Syria. The BBC's Ian Pannell reports from Aleppo:

A hole-in-the-wall bakery had just reopened its doors after being closed for more than a day. Most food shops in the turbulent districts are now closed.

Rebel fighters tried to marshal the crowds as hundreds of hungry and increasingly desperate residents clamoured for the thin round loaves.

Suriya had finally reached the front of the queue and the middle-aged mother thrust her hand through the railings outside the bakery, grasping for the bread. Like many poor Syrians she has a large family to feed and with no fresh fruit or vegetables available this is her only chance to get food.

"A lot of poor people are suffering from a lack of food and water," she complained. "Many are going to bed hungry."

Pannell also writes, amid bodies, from a school being used as an insurgent base:

She was the girl with no name. When we returned to the rebel base, she was lying on her back on the floor, where she appeared to be sleeping. The teenager had a pale complexion and wore a pretty red dress, her lower body draped in a blanket.

I noticed our translator, sat at her side, was crying. I had been wrong, the girl was not sleeping - she was dead, killed in a government artillery strike, the blanket masking her wounds.

"Who is she?" I asked. No one knew. She had been found in the road near to where the shell had landed.

http://www.enduringamerica.com/home...erage-is-aleppo-a-nail-in-assads-co.html#0826

CGTech said:

I watched one video this morning, was the most graphic i had ever seen... children, CHILDREN.... literally blown in half by the shelling... My God.... what have we come to as the human race... come quickly Lord!

Click to expand...

I know. I can't post those things anymore.

------------

rightnowio_feed: RT @MahirZeynalov: Turkey deployed a convoy of 20 vehicles... http://t.co/XhWqmyXa #Syria #FSA #Aleppo #Damascus #Salah via @khalidkhan787
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:04:46 AM

Khalid Khan: RT @MahirZeynalov Turkey deployed a convoy of 20 vehicles carrying troops, missile batteries to Syria border today. http://t.co/OukL3PCE
Jul 30, 2012, 14:04 UTC


Go to this link, not only to see the Turkish vehicles, but scroll down and look at what those guys are running away from:

http://www.rightnow.io/breaking-news/syria_bn_1343611348693.html



nescdem: RT @AlaaSarraj: Events in #Aleppo shouldn't take our attention away from #DeriEzzor. Reports of #Iran|ian fighters (via #Iraq border) 2 join #Assad forces
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:03:04 AM

H_K1981: Predict how many seconds/minutes left for electricity to cut, and win a one way ticket to #Aleppo #Syria and an accommodation in salahiddin.
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:02:37 AM

AslanMediaLive: #Syrian activists: helicopter gunship shelling in #Aleppo's Salaheddin, Sakhour and Al Sukkari districts on Monday via @NisreenAJE #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:00:36 AM

ezzomo: “@markito0171: #Syria #Assad warplanes shelled the town of #DeirHafer S/E of #Aleppo http://t.co/B1y2qsZ8”
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:00:07 AM

Syrian charge d'affaires in London resigns, UK Foreign Office says - @Reuters

23 mins ago by editor

-----------

lisanmubin: We are awaiting the defection of #Assad ambassador to Paris. Come on! You're wasting time. #Syria #France #Damascus #Aleppo
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:26:59 AM

BSS_Syria: RT @NasserJudeh: @WilliamJHague @LaurentFabius situation in #Aleppo tragic and alarming. Humanitarian fallout continues to be felt strongly here in #jordan
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:25:02 AM

SyrianEliii10: RT @OksanaBoyko_RT: 3 Syrian Airways pilots ambushed by rebels on airport highway in #Damascus ystrd. 2 Sunnis let go, Alawi pilot killed #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:30:01 AM

lisanmubin: @AJA @ChahdaJalal: Deputy of the head of #Syria diplomatic mission to Nigeria defects. #Damascus
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:21:51 AM

WilliamsJon: Anatolia: SNC warns #Aleppo a "humanitarian crisis". Claims parts of city besieged: "Army barring fuel, medical & basic food items" #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:32:11 AM

nori_soupz: My family's home in Der Ezzor was hit by a RPG, aH they were able to evacuate the central city beforehand, please keep them in ur dua #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:31:58 AM

JudieHOMS: My mother just showed me a picture of what we observed was the ruins of my grandmother's house. I didn't swear because it is Ramadan. #syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:31:43 AM

zimmee: RT @Tommy_Herzliya: Unconfirmed reports that #Syria killed new #Saudi intel chief Bandar al Sultan. If true hell will break loose http://t.co/YeUxJ5B5
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:31:18 AM

horrible slaughter of children.

war is hell. lest we become to fond of it. i cant remember who said it but its a truism that is missed in the west for the most part these days. not to damper any liget outrage over the murderous bastard ass-ad. as he must be taken out. But keeping it in perspective, compared to the total war the west eat itself with 70 years ago. this is rather tame. besides the full slaughter of German civilians due to carpet bombing. even Italy ie the carpet bombing of Foggia in the big one, wasted over 20 thousand in 2 days children woman included. i'm no passivist by any means just keepin it real. we didn't have twitter then so few outside the killing zone were made aware even so, the evil on the other side had to be destroyed.
war is hell.
prayers for the wee ones.

Official: Greece sending 1,800 more guards to Turkey border as Syria refugee crisis grows - @AP

48 mins ago by editor

----------

MiddleEast_BRK: #FSA says attacked #Assad convoy between #Idlib and #Aleppo with IEDs, destroying 2 tanks, forcing the rest to pull back. @lukeharding1968
Monday, July 30, 2012 12:02:13 PM

sonjay_1: RT @OksanaBoyko_RT: Commander of #Syria army unit in #Aleppo - detained rebels all had identical bundles of 25,000 Syrian pounds
Monday, July 30, 2012 12:02:07 PM

sonjay_1: RT @OksanaBoyko_RT: Commander of #Syria army unit in #Aleppo - detained group of 300 revels. Some 240 are around 20 years old or younger
Monday, July 30, 2012 12:01:59 PM

Guerrilla_Tweet: #FSA #Aleppo #Syria threaten2"make Russia pay"-Terror bombing n Russian cities?watch min 1.56 http://t.co/mbOJfhwJ @RT_com @KremlinRussia_E
Monday, July 30, 2012 12:01:04 PM

English subtitles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7i-1n-C0MU&feature=youtu.be


oneway2011_ly: RT “@UN_News_Centre: #Syria - in wake of field visit, head of UN observers voices concern over #Aleppo http://t.co/oHTYVDd9”
Monday, July 30, 2012 12:01:01 PM

Blah blah....... article:

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42587&Cr=Syria&Cr1=

gsDetermination: RT @JudieHOMS: Video showing Adunia reporter from #Aleppo, accidentally admitting the presence of Iranians w/ the Syrian Mafia #syria http://t.co/SBxxk0sC
Monday, July 30, 2012 11:59:50 AM

MiddleEast_BRK: #FSA says captured 8 tanks, 10 apc in tonight's 9-hour attack and conquest of #Assad regime military base north of #Aleppo
Monday, July 30, 2012 11:59:24 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tRLxD7pFuw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Let them wipe each other out. All of these videos show morons repeating "allahu akbar" more frequently than the doodle bops change frames on their stupid show.

The hula akbar group would gladly slit your throat saying the same thing. Savages will meet savagery. I have no good sentiments for these invading "rebels". We did so well with Iraq, this one is bound to be just as good.

LightEcho said:

Let them wipe each other out. All of these videos show morons repeating "allahu akbar" more frequently than the doodle bops change frames on their stupid show.

The hula akbar group would gladly slit your throat saying the same thing. Savages will meet savagery. I have no good sentiments for these invading "rebels". We did so well with Iraq, this one is bound to be just as good.

Click to expand...

I know. I'm just waiting to see what really sparks off the regional war now.

I'll post updates, no biggie. It's a learning tool to watch it, IMO.

mzkitty said:

zimmee: RT @Tommy_Herzliya: Unconfirmed reports that #Syria killed new #Saudi intel chief Bandar al Sultan. If true hell will break loose http://t.co/YeUxJ5B5
Monday, July 30, 2012 10:31:18 AM

Click to expand...

This is huge if true. Dutch also has an article about it in his WoW thread. Here are 2 more links about it but it's basically the same stuff we've already seen:

http://hamsayeh.net/world/2078-unco...-dies-of-his-injuries-after-a-bomb-blast.html

http://counterpsyops.com/2012/07/24...udi-deputy-intelligence-chief-killed-payback/

War is hell indeed. Sometimes it has to be fought. It's the kids who suffer the most,and that is heartbreaking for anyone with compassion, and/or who has kids of their own.

My Adonai said:

War is hell indeed. Sometimes it has to be fought. It's the kids who suffer the most,and that is heartbreaking for anyone with compassion, and/or who has kids of their own.

Click to expand...

It is sad. And these kids grow up to be like their parents... mostly. This is a paternalistic culture. The men are responsible for driving the culture. Women submit or get stoned. Children grow into it. Let these idiot men shoot each other up. Sorry to have a hardened position on this but these beasts are firm in their choices. Some places are hell holes to escape from. If they do not want escape, they pay the consequences and their families suffer.

And if they escape, shame on the fools for trying to recreate that hell hole in other countries!

gi_syrian: #Aleppo:we fought the whole world in al Salah al din, so far there are bodies from Yemen,Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine.
Monday, July 30, 2012 3:33:55 PM

pastorbrianrobe: RT @KeirranSpence92: CONFIRMED via Sky News : #FSA are using T-55 tanks and BMP-2 APC's in Battle for #Aleppo #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 3:33:22 PM

Hamoud1984: RT @MaryamSaleh_: The cousin of someone I know was standing in her parents kitchen in #Aleppo. She was shot by a sniper & killed, leaving behind 4 children
Monday, July 30, 2012 3:33:17 PM

DissidentView: RT @GGatilov: Situation is really critical in #Aleppo. It is clear that biased media by all means try to do work for the opposition when the latter fails.
Monday, July 30, 2012 3:31:44 PM

Unknown7771: RT @markito0171: #Syria #Aleppo: #FSA in control of the entire of #Saladin neighborhood 30/07/2012 http://t.co/qMKzTM5p
Monday, July 30, 2012 3:31:01 PM

rayanalyse: #Syria, as the #terror of the #Armed_Forces and the #shahida enters #Aleppo, the #FSA faces an impossible fight and the people brutality.
Monday, July 30, 2012 3:30:43 PM

mocushe: “@Psypherize: #Assad's army is shooting at ambulances in #Aleppo. #Syria”. >> por eso no leo noticias =/
Monday, July 30, 2012 3:30:39 PM

chamsyria: RT @cswift2: VIDEO. A must watch > Hard-hitting #BBC report from #Aleppo #Syria by @BBCiPannell & @dcinfocus http://t.co/L8HZYli5
Monday, July 30, 2012 3:29:54 PM

DONSYRIA: #Syria #Damascus Suburbs: Saida Zainab: Shelling resumes, targeting the farms of Housh Al-Hokuma, Al-Wahsh, and Hajira
Monday, July 30, 2012 3:19:58 PM

Bader_Alb: LCC: 90 martyrs in #syria 2day so far including 1 women & 4 children, 26 of them in #Damascus in Hejereya massacre !
Monday, July 30, 2012 3:14:22 PM

hr4everyone: RT @OksanaBoyko_RT: Firas Safi - #Syria Airlines pilot assassinated in #Damascus - was among best experts on flying Airbus, ppl say killed b/c of being Alawi
Monday, July 30, 2012 3:09:33 PM

Mmkkk317: RT @7__r: Two explosions, probably missiles from the helicopter. #Damascus
Monday, July 30, 2012 3:08:26 PM

yasmeenmobayed: RT @SyrianSmurf: 3 little girls from #JabalAlzawiyah were martyred yesterday in Moadamiya, #Damascus. There are no safe areas in #Syria anymore.
Monday, July 30, 2012 4:53:37 PM

pineappleEXP28g: RT @OksanaBoyko_RT: Sustained machine-gun fire heard in #Damascus #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 4:53:00 PM

DRK_Attendorn: RT @icrc_dc: In #Aleppo and #Damascus, access to water a priority - latest update from #Syria - http://t.co/jzlZ6sJD
Monday, July 30, 2012 4:52:06 PM

SyriaTweetEn: RT @SyrianSmurf: Mass grave found in Moadamiya #Damascus w/ 16 unidentifiable bodies. Raising the death toll during this offensive in the city to 106. #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:03:12 PM

AnasAlaoui: RT @anasqtiesh: Syrian tweeps in #Aleppo reporting loud gunfire and horrific clashes in the city. #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:04:36 PM

Lubes: Jesus f*cking Christ. #Aleppo #c4news
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:04:09 PM

TurtleWoman777: http://t.co/MQdoTrKC #Syrian #helicopter #gunships hit #Aleppo #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:03:21 PM


Syrian helicopter gunships hit Aleppo

Iskander Kat
July 31, 2012 6:23AM

GOVERNMENT forces have attacked rebel-held districts in Aleppo with helicopter gunships and pounded them with shelling on the third day of a pitched battle for Syria's commercial capital.

The fighting has sent some 200,000 civilians fleeing the northern city, according to the UN, which warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe, while France said it would call an urgent UN Security Council meeting on Syria.

The head of the UN observer mission inside Syria said he personally had witnessed heavy shelling of Homs, Syria's third largest city, on a field visit on Sunday during which UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the convoy came under small-arms fire by unknown assailants.

The army's offensive in Aleppo was focused on Salaheddin district in the southwest, a stronghold of the rebel Free Syrian Army, said the Syrian Revolution General Commission.

The army said later that it had overrun Salaheddin, although the rebels denied the claim.

Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi, head of the Free Syrian Army military council for Aleppo, insisted government troops had "not progressed one metre (yard)," and that the rebels still controlled "between 35 and 40 per cent of Aleppo."

Inside the embattled district, whole streets and buildings were damaged, and electricity cables dangled between them, an AFP correspondent reported.

While battles raged nearby, about 200 people waited in a queue to buy their daily bread from a rebel-controlled bakery.

Just outside of Aleppo, rebels seized a strategic checkpoint after a 10-hour battle, another AFP correspondent reported.

By securing the checkpoint, about five kilometres northwest of Aleppo, the rebels now control a direct route between the Turkish border and the commercial capital.

The AFP correspondent said the rebels captured seven tanks and armoured vehicles, and destroyed an eighth vehicle.

The Syrian Observatory for human Rights said the rebels had been able to make use of the captured armour. "Rebels used a tank they had captured from the army to target the military airport," the Britain-based watchdog said.

UN mission chief Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye said he was "deeply concerned about the ongoing violence from both sides in Aleppo".

"My observers there have reported an upsurge in the violence, with helicopters, tanks and artillery being used," the Senegalese general said.

"It is imperative that both sides respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians."

There was renewed fighting in Homs province on Monday, in which the Syrian Observatory reported five rebel fighters and four civilians killed.

They were among 41 people the watchdog was able to confirm killed nationwide, although it admitted it had no immediate accurate figures for Aleppo.

http://m.theaustralian.com.au/news/...ships-hit-aleppo/story-fn3dxix6-1226439067643

For links see article source....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/30/world/meast/syria-unrest/

Syrian rebels push to grab territory outside Aleppo
From Ivan Watson, CNN
updated 4:24 PM EDT, Mon July 30, 2012

Watch this video
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Rebels use seized army tanks to attack a military base, a commander says
NEW: At least 85 people are killed in violence across Syria, opposition activists say
An Al Jazeera correspondent is wounded during fighting in Aleppo, his co-workers say
Syria's top diplomat in London has left his post, according to British officials

Are you in Syria? Share your stories, videos and photos with the world on CNN iReport.

Northern Syria (CNN) -- Rebels pushed to grab territory around Aleppo on Monday as fighting raged within the northern city.

Hours after capturing a government military base on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syrian rebels said they were using tanks they seized in earlier fighting to attack a military airfield north of the hotly contested metropolis, which has seen more than a week of bloody clashes.

Free Syrian Army Cmdr. Ahmed Afesh told CNN rebels were using tanks they confiscated from the Syrian army to shell the air base outside Azaz. The border town is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Aleppo.

Rebels were also securing control of the main highway that runs to Turkey from Aleppo, the commercial center of the country.

Battle scars were clear along the road. Near the military base that rebels seized -- a former restaurant -- the wreckage of an armored personnel carrier was smoldering. Inside, there were shell casings and abandoned army uniforms. Rebels were moving out cases of ammunition they had seized.

New heavy equipment captured during the battle for the base -- including four tanks in good condition -- was a boost for rebels, who have said that their weapons have been outmatched by the Syrian army's.

As the relentless battle for Syria's largest city continued Monday, Al Jazeera correspondent Omar Khashram was wounded during heavy fighting in a central Aleppo neighborhood. A cameraman and driver working with Khashram, who was being treated in a hospital in Turkey, told CNN that shrapnel from a shell penetrated gaps in the correspondent's flak jacket in Aleppo's Salahuddin neighborhood.

U.N. observers have reported a surge in violence in Aleppo, with helicopters, tanks and artillery being used, mission head Lt. Gen. Babacar Gaye said Monday.

Regime forces launched missiles and shelled from attack helicopters, opposition activists said.

Aleppo, Syria's commercial and cultural hub, has seen a mass exodus amid the violence. About 200,000 people in and around the city have fled shelling and heavy weapon fire in the past two days, Valerie Amos, the U.N.'s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said Sunday.

In several neighborhoods, those who remained were left without phone, Internet or electricity service as tanks shelled the city, according to Deama, an activist in Aleppo. CNN isn't using her full name because disclosing it could put her in danger.

"We're afraid they are going to do something worse. Usually, they will cut off connections and isolate these neighborhoods more when they are about to make something worse," Deama said Monday.

Residents also faced bread and flour shortages, she said. Bakeries were shuttered.

"This is like punishment from the regime. They want to make people hungry," she said.

There were conflicting reports Monday on who controlled the major Aleppo neighborhood of Salahuddin, which rebels had claimed days earlier. Both opposition fighters and the regime said Monday they had taken over Salahuddin.

At least 85 people were killed across Syria on Monday, including 25 in Aleppo, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria.

With no end to the country's 16-month crisis in sight, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said his country will take more action to try to stop the bloodshed.

"As France is taking over the presidency of the U.N. Security Council on August 1, we are going to ask -- before the end of the week -- for a meeting of the Security Council, probably at a ministerial level ... to try and stop the massacres and prepare for the political transition," Fabius told French RTL radio on Monday.

Watch a prisoner exchange in Syria
Rastan: Shattered city in Syria
Filmmaker documents violence in Syria
Showdown in Syria Showdown in Syria

Video: The changing mission of U.N. in Syria

Also on Monday, the top diplomat at the Syrian Embassy in London resigned his post, the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office said. Charge d'Affaires Khaled al-Ayoubi told British officials that he was "no longer willing to represent a regime that has committed such violent and oppressive acts against its own people," the office said in a statement.

Earlier Monday, a Syrian brigadier general -- who is also a deputy police chief of Latakia -- defected to Turkey, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. An additional 11 Syrian officers also defected overnight, the ministry said. The total number of Syrians who have fled to Turkey has reached 43,500.

Meanwhile, fighting words continued between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime and opponents near and far.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem gave ominous words Sunday about the battle for Aleppo, vowing that rebels would not gain control of the city.

"Since last week, (opposition fighters) planned for whatever they called the 'great Damascus battle,' but they have failed after one week," Moallem said, referring to a rebel offensive beaten back earlier this month. "That's why they moved to Aleppo, and I can assure you that they will fail."

He made his comments during a trip to Iran, one of his nation's few remaining allies.

But U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta predicted Sunday that the Syrian regime's violent crackdown in Aleppo will prove "a nail in Assad's coffin" by turning even more people against al-Assad and his government.

Nabil Elaraby, the head of the Arab League, said Sunday that the league believes war crimes are being committed in the city.

Blog: A bloody mess could get messier

With reports of incessant attacks rocking Aleppo, the head of a prominent Syrian opposition group pleaded over the weekend for world allies to help arm rebels with "weapons that will allow us to stop tanks and planes."

"Our friends and allies will bear responsibility for the terrifying massacres that will happen in Aleppo if they don't move soon," Abdulbaset Sieda, head of the Syrian National Council, said Saturday.

Read more: Syria rebels appear more capable, yet still outgunned

The Syrian crisis started in March 2011, after al-Assad's regime violently cracked down on peaceful protests seeking his ouster. The Assad family has ruled Syria for more than four decades.

More than 20,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in the conflict, the LCC said. Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said almost 17,000 people have died.

On Monday, Ban said armed vehicles had protected the head of the U.N. observer mission and others in his convoy during an attack Sunday.

"The situation is getting worse and worse, and I'm deeply concerned. ... Now we really need the united international community's action and political will to resolve this issue as soon as possible," Ban told reporters Monday.

Read more: After the fall of the House of Assad, could Syria be worse?

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom, Salma Abdelaziz, Yesim Comert, Holly Yan and Saskya Vandoorne and journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy contributed to this report.

ThordurRunolfs: RT @ByeByeAssad: @les_politiques @heal_da you are so right, the #FSA are Mercs from Mars shipped in to #Aleppo on #Nato spaceships from bases in #Qatar
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:28:45 PM

hussainturi: RT @peterson__scott: In #Aleppo, exhausted medic tells me: "All the world is against the #Syrian people. We are not terrorists, we are men" http://t.co/C2AjO0GH
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:32:46 PM

RonanLTynan: #Aleppo #Syria #Assad's use of helicopter gunship and tanks in built up areas is a war crime. #UN #US #EU arm opposition or intervene
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:32:46 PM

johnsmth348: Paul Wolfowitz baying for blood in Syria. He's such a tough guy. Send your son to soldier there, tough guy. #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:35:18 PM

GuPoyraz: United States, Qatar, Saudi Arabia New Ottomans, Wahabists: What a nightmare! #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:35:17 PM

Al_Sununu: The humanitarian situation is deteriorating fast in #Aleppo due to lack of medical staff & lack of sustainable supply of food. #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:35:17 PM

melissachemam: The most retweeted link tonight? @BBCWorld: #Syria: @BBCiPannell and cameraman @dcinfocus report on violence in Aleppo http://t.co/vqOecuJp
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:34:46 PM

OksanaBoyko_RT: RT @57UN: The cute #Syria kitten was rescued by an #FSA member after an #Assad shelling bombardment yesterday. It's #Caturday?! http://t.co/U0k3Z8V0
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:57:15 PM



Mahmoudhomsi: “@AssadPresident: Wish my wife would defect. She's annoying the shit out of me right now. #syria”
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:57:07 PM

Rainatta: “@NormanChase721:"Turkish military reinforcements moving toward the Syrian border, reports on reinforcements in Jordan also" #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:56:53 PM

Ali_W_Hasan: When I went out from my friends house it feeled strange to see the street totally empty.. Usually men stay out guarding it #Damascus #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:56:45 PM

C__T__W: RT @Raniaab: FSA fighting regime, criminals operating under their banner, while also competing for $, supplies. http://t.co/4ba6prL0 #syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:56:44 PM

timberblind: RT @LtHussamov: "@syriancommando #Iran-ian Official: The 3rd US and Zionist Defeat in front of Resistance Is Imminent in #Syria" very soon inshallah
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:56:32 PM

timberblind: RT @LtHussamov: "@syriancommando #Iran-ian Official: The 3rd US and Zionist Defeat in front of Resistance Is Imminent in #Syria" very soon inshallah
Monday, July 30, 2012 5:56:32 PM


well ,I guess we know how they feel about us now.

thanks MzKitty for the work you doing, you right this is a learning experence for us here.

Mathidiot: RT @i_magpie: Remember, Assad forces aren’t only attacking #Aleppo but all cities & towns across #Syria.
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:07:30 PM

OsmanSolo: The #UN says some 20,000 Syrians have fled #Aleppo in the last 24 hrs alone. #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:09:51 PM

YallaIr7al: RT @alepsyria: People in #Aleppo are staying indoors not just for safety but anxiously waiting to hear the outcome of the battle. Almost all want FSA win
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:11:24 PM

Memonite: RT @OhSweetArabia: BREAKING; #SYRIA; HUGE explosions going off now in #Damascus, heavy clashes and shelling, several injuries are present. People screaming
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:19:12 PM

Unknown7771: RT @Ugariti_Homsi: Clashes in #Damascus right now between the FSA and the regime army. #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:18:48 PM

Unknown7771: RT @Ugariti_Homsi: The FSA in #Damascus is coming back to life again. Pray for them. #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:18:03 PM

Unknown7771: RT @IbnOmar2005: Now this is something...The #Assad regime shelling various parts of #Damascus from the Qasiyoon Mountain. May God... http://t.co/b44ERQxe
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:17:53 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60Qu7b_AA1c

Reborn said:

This is huge if true. Dutch also has an article about it in his WoW thread. Here are 2 more links about it but it's basically the same stuff we've already seen:

http://hamsayeh.net/world/2078-unco...-dies-of-his-injuries-after-a-bomb-blast.html

http://counterpsyops.com/2012/07/24...udi-deputy-intelligence-chief-killed-payback/

Click to expand...

I don't understand why Syria would make such a statement, they have everything to lose and very little to gain over this announcement?

Possibly Iran's Republican Guards are behind this announcement to throw the Saudis a curve ball and to take some of the heat off of Iran’s nuclear programs...

SIRR1

Hmmmm:

NOWARFORISRAEL: @andersoncooper @AC360 #Israel lobby pushing #Syrian regime change to weaken #Iran http://t.co/Me1MLXvy #syria #damascus #allepo #ac360 #CNN
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:35:13 PM


masahascha: RT @luliakoujah: My cousin's neighbor in #Damascus has 25+ ppl staying with them in 1 home. Every1 is trying to find safety but that doesnt exist in #Syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:38:41 PM

masahascha: RT @luliakoujah: I heard the sound of a bomb while talking on the phone with my cousin in #Damascus #Syria. Constantly living in fear:/
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:38:16 PM

ammaralnakeeb: Is hearing boomb sound #syria #damascus
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:36:01 PM

i_magpie: Unbelievable destruction!!! #Homs #Syria #AssadCrimes http://t.co/VtrUj0vi
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:46:58 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoKRrpLmcEQ


vieux_chat: #Syrie #Alep #Syria #Aleppo battle leaves locals scrambling for food: http://t.co/g1NtyUAP via @youtube
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:46:16 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhozM8JGMck&feature=youtu.be


blackbeard32011: RT @HamaEcho: Destruction in Mashad neighbourhood of #Aleppo today. #Syria http://t.co/l01s3avr
Monday, July 30, 2012 8:47:40 PM

http://www.rt.com/news/british-jihadists-fighting-syria-360/

‘British-born jihadists fighting Assad in Syria’ – captured photographer

Published: 30 July, 2012, 08:01
Armed members of the Free Syrian Army are seen in the western border town of Zabadani in this undated still image taken from amateur video obtained by Reuters (Reuters / Reuters TV)

Armed members of the Free Syrian Army are seen in the western border town of Zabadani in this undated still image taken from amateur video obtained by Reuters (Reuters / Reuters TV)
TRENDS: Syria unrest

TAGS: Conflict, Politics, War, Syria

Radical Islamists with “British accents” are among the coalition forces looking to topple Bashar Assad, says Jeroen Oerlemans, a photographer who was held hostage in Syria for a week. The UK Foreign Office has launched an investigation.

Oerlemans, a famous Dutch photo journalist, and John Cantlie, another photographer from the UK, were captured by a group of between 30 and 100 anti-Assad fighters when crossing the Syrian border from Turkey last week. They were then blindfolded.

"One of the black jihadists freaked out and shouted: 'These are journalists and now they will see we are preparing an international jihad in this place.'" Oerlemans told NRC Handelsblatt newspaper. He said that none of the fighters was Syrian.

"They all claimed they came from countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh and Chechnya and they said there was some vague 'emir' at the head of the group."

About 40 per cent of the militants spoke English. In fact, several apparently talked with recognizable regional British accents, from Birmingham and London.

The two photographers suspected that a ransom would be demanded for their release and tried to escape. Oerlemans was shot twice in the leg during the failed attempt and Cantlie, who has so far not spoken to any media, was wounded in the arm.

The pair’s ordeal ended when the Free Syrian Army, the main anti-Assad force, demanded that their nominal allies hand them over.

"They took us with them like a bunch of gangsters," Oerlemans said, "Shooting in the air as we rode out of there.”

The Free Syrian Army released the men and the two are now resting in Turkey. They expect to travel home in the coming days.

If it is confirmed, Oerleman’s story will add to reports that Syria has become a magnet for radical Islamists, who are there either as mercenaries or because of ideology.

"As soon as Assad has fallen, these fighters want to introduce Islamic law, Sharia, in Syria," said Oerlemans.

There are no words

It's true, Buckster, they have amped up Jihad all over the world lately. Iraq, Afghanistan, Indonesia, India..... I'm forgetting some too. That's what this is.

And we are in their cross-hairs right now.

They're crazy, remember?

mzkitty said:

It's true, Buckster, they have amped up Jihad all over the world lately. Iraq, Afghanistan, Indonesia, India..... I'm forgetting some too. That's what this is.

And we are in their cross-hairs right now.

They're crazy, remember?

Click to expand...

The craziest thing is that "we", the west, are funding and supporting them. They can't be stopped, because of "us". The irony.

Buckster said:

The craziest thing is that "we", the west, are funding and supporting them. They can't be stopped, because of "us". The irony.

Click to expand...

Another reason I hate the money system we use. Time to clean up the mess.

------------

Penny_G: RT @anarvirji: A gripping, haunting account of life in #Damascus, written by the amazing John Wreford #syria http://t.co/064PwG4M
Monday, July 30, 2012 9:48:52 PM


Diary from Damascus (John Wreford)
Posted on 07/28/2012 by Juan

John Wreford writes at Yourmiddleeast.com

Photographer John Wreford has lived in Syria for many years and still remains in his house in Damascus’ Old City. Here, he gives a very personal account of the last couple of weeks’ events.

A warm summer evening sitting in a central Damascus restaurant overlooking the city, the mountain of Qasyun lit like a Christmas tree, we were under no illusion all was well in Syria. But here in the capital life went on almost as usual. We discussed how things the last week or so had calmed down, then for a moment we paused for thought, the calm before the storm perhaps.

No more than a few days later the storm well and truly blew into town. For months, the opposition and regime had been battling each other in the outer suburbs of Damascus. The sounds of shelling and artillery echoed across the city, peaceful protestors were still coming out in large numbers, more and more clashes could be heard, but by and large everything tended to take place in certain areas.

It was pretty well known that the Free Syrian Army had been moving into Damascus and was encamped in the more militant neighbourhoods such as Midan and Kfra Souseh. But many of us felt able to go about life as usual despite knowing that sooner or later things would change. From Sunday we felt that change. The war had been on the doorstep but was now passing over the threshold, more explosions, more shooting, the awful sounds moving closer and closer, the continuous drone of helicopters that had become a regular feature over recent weeks.

Where I live in the Old City between Bab Touma and Bab Salam, ancient houses in a warren of alleyways, things were calm, children playing in the streets and many preparing for Ramadan. I would sit on my roof early morning and in the evening, able to get more of a fix on where the sounds of gunfire may be coming from. I can see very little, four large satellite dishes prostrated toward Mecca have seen to that. Monday through Tuesday the fighting became more intense, my house shook as a helicopter was shot down in Qaboun and at one point a couple of stray bullets whizzed through the air above my head, the sound like an email being despatched from an iPhone. The explosions and gunfire continued all through the night.

I woke up on Wednesday to more of the same. I felt safe enough near my house but the thought of what was happening elsewhere in the city was stomach churning. How can we know what weapons are creating those sounds, what carnage they can be causing? Then a couple of very loud bangs, from some distance but I felt a shudder. A car bomb had exploded outside the law courts a couple of weeks earlier and it felt much the same, it seemed already I was learning the difference between car bomb and artillery. Soon the television news was reporting on the attack on the security meeting and possible deaths of government ministers. I left the house and as I arrived in Qamaria, near my home, the shopkeepers were excitedly rushing from shop to shop with updates on the unfolding events. Some were just staring at the screens in almost disbelief, the attack happening in one of the most secure areas of Damascus, a stone’s throw from the presidential office and American embassy.

The sounds continued, the crackle and pop of God knows what. Then while on the phone stressing that this little corner of the Old City was going about its business as usual, I watched two armed men climb onto the roof of a house a couple of streets away. I went downstairs and told the neighbours’ children to go inside. I walked around the alleys close to my house. I have always considered my immediate neighbours as loyal to the regime. They seemed ok with the gunmen on the roof, and the children were soon back playing in the street. It’s this last point that gives me cause not to trust their judgment.

Back in Qamaria people were closing their shops early, some had already preferred to stay the previous night in their shops. As the sun was setting I checked the roof again, the gunmen had made themselves comfortable and had hung flags to indicate they were from the regime. A little after dark a couple of loud explosions, some distance away, and then the electricity was cut. Suddenly several bursts of gunfire from somewhere in the neighbourhood, then quiet again, for the next couple of hours it was calm, the neighbours preferred to chat in the alley under the still working lamp. The power returned just before midnight, then at two am a whizz and explosion in one of the surrounding alleyways, then quiet again.

That Wednesday in Damascus, it seemed as though all hell had broken loose, so much happening in so many places. People were finding it difficult to process the overload of events, only pulling themselves away from the television news to answer the phone from a friend or relative, first trying to find out if everyone was safe then updating on the latest bulletin, with rumour and conspiracy as ever rife.

The dawn broke on Thursday with the familiar awful sounds of war, the hollow thud of what no doubt must be tank fire, somewhere east of the Old City, Qaboun maybe. Helicopters circling high above the city. Slowly people came back out onto the streets, not many, only locals, gathering in small groups discussing the night’s events. Very few shops opened, some shop owners preferring to stay the night in their shops rather than risk the journey home. Never have I seen the Old City like this, it’s the last Thursday before the holy month of Ramadan and the streets would normally be crowded with shoppers. Hushed tones and nervous expressions, glances to the sky as another explosion echoed. As the day passed the noise of fighting seemed less intense, the news coming from the outside suburbs though was horrific. Those who could find room elsewhere were trying their best to leave for safer areas, many extended family members had already moved in with others, my neighbour has all his relatives from Harasta now living with him. The small house must have a dozen or more living there now. Another neighbour borrowed bedding from me.

The rubbish was already piling up in the streets, the refuse collectors had not turned up at all and it doesn’t take long for the smell in the Damascus summer heat to become offensive. Late afternoon I visited the vegetable market on the other side of Straight Street. The usual thriving souk was deserted, little fruit or vegetables available, rumours of panic buying had already circulated around the wider city. Most likely the suppliers were simply unable to get through, or not willing to try. We know which areas are having the worst problems and we can call ahead to get details but the journey between is an unknown quantity, few people prepared to risk it. By six in the evening the few shops open were closing. In the year and a half of the on-going crisis the Old City has never felt this way. The only guest eating in the city’s most prestigious restaurant was the manager.

Thursday night passed with relative calm, probably for many the first chance of some sleep, but just before 7.30 on Friday morning the drum-like sound of artillery shakes me literally from my sleep, a few minutes later another salvo of several blasts, then quiet again. I tried to convince myself that the neighbourhoods where the shells must be landing would now be empty of its inhabitants and the battle was between two warring armies, in my mind those horrific images from wars past, Lebanon, Yugoslavia, Chechnya.

The next 24 hours would see the start of Ramadan, in Syria such an important and happy time, the time for families to come together, more about the food than the fast. Syria is overwhelmingly Muslim but moderate, Ramadan is more a cultural celebration, more like Christmas in Europe. For many it’s the only time they go to the Mosque, that is until the beginning of the revolution when the mosque became the only place a crowd were able to gather. The fast is more often than not followed by a feast with visiting family and friends all through the night, going out to restaurants for the pre dawn meal of Suhur. By the time Abu Tableh comes around banging his drum in the early hours most have not even gone to bed.

This year was always going to be different, food prices have risen and the cost of cooking gas has trebled. There were little sign of any preparation. The pounding of suburbs east of the city continued on and off all day, several large explosions too.

The Old City was almost completely deserted, a few grocery shops open, a few shopkeepers who had not been home in days. The only people about were local residents. Generally things were calmer around most of the city, the rubbish that had not been collected for a couple of days and was beginning to reek was being cleared. Raslan, Osama and Hasan – the kids in my alley – were using wheelbarrows to cart it off elsewhere. As night fell there were still echoes of what was going on further away, a gun battle that sounded quite close only lasted a few minutes, then very little.

The rest of the week passed relatively peacefully. We can still hear the sound of clashes and explosions from time to time but for the most part things feel better, for how long we do not know.

So many Syrians are suffering now, so many are scared, so many would like to leave but have no option but to stay. For now I will also stay, as long as I can. My heart goes out to every single Syrian who has been effected by this terrible conflict, and so many have.

Ramadan is underway and people are determined to carry on regardless, the mood is sombre and not one of celebration as it should be. More people are out and about, the rubbish is being collected, the markets have food. But still people are afraid, everyone knows there is more to come, many are leaving. Most are just praying for peace.

http://www.juancole.com/2012/07/dia...mpaign=Feed:+juancole/ymbn+(Informed+Comment)

Buckster said:

The craziest thing is that "we", the west, are funding and supporting them. They can't be stopped, because of "us". The irony.

Click to expand...

The irony is deeper.

In the west, religions like Christianity and Judaism are under attack by the left, the government and judicial systems while Islam and Sharia are being protected and lauded by those same entities.

IMHO, the coming war is not only epic in scope but Biblical in nature.

Mike

mt4design said:

The irony is deeper.

In the west, religions like Christianity and Judaism are under attack by the left, the government and judicial systems while Islam and Sharia are being protected and lauded by those same entities.

IMHO, the coming war is not only epic in scope but Biblical in nature.

Mike

Click to expand...

Unless we do something about it now. I think we're out of time.

Unless everyone just wants to sit and watch it all happen.

Think you'll be allowed to do that though?


Hmmmm............

Training jihadis for war in hot zones has gone on since the USSR was in Afghanistan.

That's how OBL ended up there iirc.

The difference is the western converts and the fact the US seems to keep giving them learning grounds.

And if its the resistance probably more than that

nine11inreverse: #WW3 = #SYRIA #DAMASCUS #CIVILwar 17000 #DEAD #ASSAD #FRIENDSofSYRIA #FREEsyrianARMY = #GLOBALISTS war...“@Join____Us: http://t.co/Ncrz5a8G”
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 12:20:22 AM

DamascusTribune: Yet a new massacre in #Yalda neigh. suburbs of #Damascus, #Syria. 7 people were executed with hands tied to their backs http://t.co/no0GNgjz
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 12:14:27 AM

SteveLussier: RT @plemochoe: There's a level of #damascus society that has decisions to make. The démission of the London chargé may have been a signal #syria
Monday, July 30, 2012 11:55:38 PM

JMarkland25: RT @DamascusSYR: #News Syria diplomat defects in London - Los Angeles Times http://t.co/PUi5GQyo #Syria #Damascus
Monday, July 30, 2012 11:30:34 PM

Rradiodh: #USA #Turkey to join forces on #Syria... #Damascus #Assad http://t.co/CHrFjNUm
Monday, July 30, 2012 11:16:34 PM

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4262478,00.html

rana_kapoor: RT @AnonymousSyria: I believe there are more than one helicopter flying over #Aleppo right now. Of course shooting. #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 12:52:33 AM

hlk01: #Syria's former safe havens no longer a refuge http://t.co/38bLSQtI #Damascus #Aleppo
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 12:50:03 AM

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 | 07:56 Beirut

Syria's former safe havens no longer a refuge
July 31, 2012

Syrian families seek refuge in a school after they were displaced from Houla. (AFP/SNN) - picture at link.

For 16 months, Syria's two biggest cities Damascus and Aleppo were seen as safe havens from the country's bloodshed, but deadly fighting over the past two weeks is forcing people who took refuge there to flee yet again.

Displaced at least twice since fleeing the flashpoint central city of Homs in March, one family was now looking to escape Damascus and possibly return home, after the capital was engulfed in violence last week.

"We fled Homs in March, after my sister, an activist, was detained," said an 18-year-old who gave her name as Alma. "We went to Lebanon to start with, but there was no help and we couldn't afford to stay."

The family moved to Rokn Eddin in Damascus, once considered Syria's most secure city.

But the neighborhood has been the scene of intense clashes for the past fortnight between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels fighting to topple his autocratic regime.

"We just don't know where to go any more," she said, adding that many Homs families who moved to Damascus have decided to go back to their beleaguered city.

"I went to the bus stop today and saw hundreds queue for transport to Homs," she told AFP.

"I suppose they must feel that if they are going to live in danger, they might as well be home."

Tens of thousands of people fleeing the violence in Syria have taken refuge in neighboring countries, notably Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

As of last week, at least 1.5 million people were listed as internally displaced as a result of the conflict, according to Guillaume Charron of the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

In Aleppo, Syria's commercial capital, fierce clashes broke out on Saturday between the army and rebels, triggering an exodus of about 200,000 people in the course of two days, according to the United Nations.

An unknown number remain trapped or displaced within the city.

On Saturday, Leila (also not her real name) and her family spent the entire day below ground, as regime forces battled rebels holed up in the adjacent district of Salaheddin.

"We were in the basement the whole day while jets were bombing overhead. We could hear the sounds of shelling and gunfire. It was unbearable," she said.

As shelling and fighting dragged on the next morning, Leila, her mother and two siblings decided to make the harrowing drive from the southwestern suburb toward her grandmother's house near the city center.

But her father stayed behind. "He refused to leave our home empty," Leila said.

"We are now officially refugees, but thank God we are in a better situation than those who are in the streets," she said. "I just want to get back home as soon as possible."

Moving from one district to another is a "gamble," said an activist working with a network of Aleppo volunteers organizing food and shelter who gave his name as Abu Leila.

"All movement is within Aleppo," he said. "There is nowhere left for these people except the safer neighborhoods."

Abu Leila estimates that as many as 70,000 people are currently being sheltered in schools, university dorms and charity centers.

"The rest either have relatives and friends to shelter them, or they are still in parks and streets waiting for help."

The volunteer network maintains an interactive Google map of shelters in Aleppo, where they work around the clock to take care of the displaced. On Monday alone, five schools opened their doors.

"It's amazing. Yesterday there was a wedding in one of those schools," he said, where a common humanitarian crisis has brought together people of all backgrounds.

In the makeshift shelters, "there is no problem between the supporters of the government and the opposition. They are all in the same position," he said.

But the spirit of charity is not infinite, and shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies are taking their toll on all levels of society.

"In the first days there was a huge rush of all citizens to donate food, clothing, anything they had. Since the situation is going worse that support is decreasing because people are worried about their own future," Abu Leila said.

Paul Stromberg, deputy representative of the UN refugee body in Damascus, said that the recent upheaval in the capital and Aleppo has left family networks and a culture of hospitality under duress.

"There is a lot of tension," he said. Communities may perceive a sudden population influx as "a problem spilling over, not people."

Moreover, the rebels are not welcome everywhere, "because the residents are becoming the targets of shelling," said Abu Leila.

"You see a tweet that a neighborhood is liberated—that means that neighborhood is becoming a scene of war."

In turn, he points out, the army bombards rebel-held areas "without any consideration for civilians."

"Aleppo and Damascus are the last refuges of the Syrian population," the young activist said.

"Any further escalation in these two cities, like the one that happened in Hama or Homs, would be a giant humanitarian crisis. In a word, a genocide."

To read more: http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=423776&MID=149&PID=2#ixzz22AnTLeGa

mt4design said:

The irony is deeper.

In the west, religions like Christianity and Judaism are under attack by the left, the government and judicial systems while Islam and Sharia are being protected and lauded by those same entities.

IMHO, the coming war is not only epic in scope but Biblical in nature.

Mike

Click to expand...

Absolutely... This world is so far gone that only God can help us now...

EANewsFeed: #Syria Videos: #FreeSyrianArmy attacks on Salhin & Hanano police stations in #Aleppo today http://t.co/5yqAiF8B | #p2 #tcot #Mar15
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:06:25 AM

NuffSilence: DRAMATIC VIDEO: #FSA cleared up the feared and despised Salheen police station: http://t.co/BgVD0cqC #Aleppo #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:06:21 AM

ebarcala: RT @petergelling: Inside #Syria: #Assad is arming the Christians of #Aleppo to fight Islamists http://t.co/CY9sFpYK @GlobalPost
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:06:12 AM

Hmmm, didn't the Christian community there refuse weapons a day or so ago? ^^^^^

h_lovatt: Footage showing #FSA control of al-Nirab police station in #Aleppo, high govt casualties, possible executions? http://t.co/OQCA93cM
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:05:41 AM

AmnestyScotland: New Amnesty report on #Aleppo to be published tomorrow. Will show roots of present crackdown lie in months of violent repression #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:05:21 AM

db_s_turbosnail: RT @zaidbenjamin: #BREAKING: Syrian Army Third Regiment is in its way to #Aleppo - Abdel Jabar Ekidi The head of #Aleppo's Military Council #Syria #Assad
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:05:12 AM

AndreVerzaal: RT @Bambuser_Alert: LIVE NOW: Inside police station in #Aleppo, #Syria with Free Syrian Army, #FSA: http://t.co/0GOQArZQ
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:05:05 AM

AndreVerzaal: RT @Bambuser_Alert: LIVE NOW: Shelling and gunfire in #Aleppo, #Syria: http://t.co/jAo7RyZd
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:04:20 AM

AhmadAlKhuder: #FSA ordering the police station officers (Saliheen) to surrender in #Aleppo | #Syria http://t.co/TTj6rIhJ
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:04:19 AM

Refugees: RT @ZeinakhodrAljaz: #UN : thousands of frightened residents taking shelter in schools, mosques and public buildings inn #Aleppo #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:43:15 AM

JmoregJuan: RT @HamaEcho: Brigadier General Ali Nasr was killed in #Aleppo. He is the head of the Salheen police station. #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:42:57 AM

OksanaBoyko_RT: #Syria has some of the world purest Arabian horses. Trade, training suspended b/c of violence, threats #Damascus http://t.co/bG9PVmsl
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:44:36 AM

terror66613: RT @Syrian_Thinker: #Damascus Suburbs - Zamala: The Coordination asking people to use shelters & prepare the first-aid kits; the city is being shelled!! #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:39:22 AM

EAli1: RT @OksanaBoyko_RT: Met taxi driver in #Damascus 33yo, 6 kids from 2 women. Unhappy with #Syria govt b/c in Germany, he says, govt pays "salary" for every kid
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:36:20 AM

GRAFIXEL: RT @Syrian_Thinker: #Damascus Suburbs - A helicopter firing 3 missiles to the civilians properties! http://t.co/duGGkSsL #Syria #Mar15
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:31:59 AM

All of these are on the Aleppo grid:

Mostafa_242: ASS-sad you May Rest in Pieces #Aleppo #Damascus #Syria . .,,,
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:29:03 PM

machkhatib: RT @Nora0315: Zaino Berri: Leader of shabeeha in Aleppo who slaughtered children, tortured men, and raped women. #Aleppo #Syria - http://t.co/UW8ly2eM
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:54:34 PM

Colinth1: RT @syrianguy4: #Syria #Aleppo what i'm afraid of is that the #SFA would kill every one who's a members of the Barri family-i'm one but not an Ass(ad) thug
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:57:38 PM

Sandreler: RT @javierespinosa2: walking at night through the streets of #Aleppo,I think this battle is going to last many weeks or even months,it's a huge city #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:57:27 PM

MoJondy: RT @alepsyria: I've personally almost got stabbed by a Barri bastard. This family is officially the dirtiest in #Aleppo. Crime is their only way of life
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:57:02 PM

nmobayed: RT @alepsyria: It seems like Assad is relying on the air force more and more in the #Aleppo battle. I think FSA can win on the ground hands down
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:57:01 PM

TaimSyria: #Aleppo Shabiha Chief Captured After He Killed 15 Freedom #FSA Fighters 7-31-12 - YouTube http://t.co/TwdSDWAn @CNN @BBCNEWS @SKYNEWS #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:56:09 PM

ShadowFauxRedux: RT @Psypherize: If I had the chance I would've executed Zaino Berri and his thugs, and I would ****ing enjoy it. #Syria #Aleppo
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:55:55 PM

Aziza23: Did this #FSA Commander in Marga, #Aleppo just call Alawites "Dogs?" That is what I heard. http://t.co/F6oAmf5l #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:55:37 PM

r_apel: RT @Alexblx: FROM INSIDE #Aleppo "If there's 1 family outside the #Assad & #Makhlouf family that should be executed its #Barri family" @alepsyria #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:55:34 PM

redleaflet: RT @YallaIr7al: There will be no tears in #Aleppo for the #Barri’s Only Halabi’s who endured their terror will truly understand this #Syria #BarriExecution
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:55:31 PM

shafzibit: I'd never heard of Zaino #Berri until today- what was he accused of specifically? #Aleppo
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:55:03 PM

SallyMisa: RT @MajdArar: By the way #Barri are not pro-assad civilians but rather Shabiha killing protesters with knives & guns. #Syria #Aleppo
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 2:54:57 PM

LaCeldabierta: Livestream from #Aleppo http://t.co/TIH8Odpp #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 3:05:39 PM

ETA: I did not click on any of these links.....



SalamHafez: Judging from their Skype updates, rebels seems to be taking out one by one the heads of Shabiha in #Aleppo #Syria Few graphic videos 2
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:56:08 PM

3AB1: #FSA & #AlQaeda in #Aleppo executing a chief in #Barre clan.When their families are massacred the blame lies with them http://t.co/lPk34Ven
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:51:44 PM

timecat5: " [#FSA] execute elders of Berri Tribe in #Aleppo" ...In American language exchange 'Elder" with "Godfather" then add + "gov.spy" #FSA #CNN
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:52:51 PM

Brown_Moses: Aleppo - Zaino Berri, Shabiha Leader, Captured And Executed http://t.co/TwGbnl6A #syria #aleppo
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:50:50 PM

3arabiSouri: GRAPHIC: #FSA terrorists kidnap, torture & execute elders of Berri Tribe in #Aleppo to ignite a civil war: http://t.co/Y5xpC1Lb #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:48:26 PM

breakingnewssy: #Breaking_News: #Aleppo: Mahmoud Hassoun, the #Syrian Mufti’s brother, gets abducted near #Osama Bin Zeid mosque http://t.co/pnhxi6lb
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:47:21 PM

AnonymousSyria: #Assad ignored #FSA in #Aleppo for months, and now he has one military airport in the countryside, which will be taken very soon. #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:46:50 PM

h_l_jenkins: "Do you know what is the punishment for Drs & nurses working here? They burn them" http://t.co/77OM0vql @peterson__scott in #Aleppo #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:45:28 PM

Soldatovich: @SaintJust88 I think #Aleppo residents have been fighting and killing #FSA for days, it's just a revenge by #FSA.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:55:23 PM

BSyria: The FSA didn't kill "pro regime" militia. It killed pro regime KILLERS. #Barri #Aleppo
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:54:59 PM

garretpustay: Fighting continues in #Aleppo for a fourth day with heavy clashes in the Salaheddin district. Heavy fighting also near intelligence HQ.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:53:24 PM

Holy Crap!!! I did watch this one. Insane, you are warned. I'm not embedding it; click at your own risk.



Hey_Joud: RT @SyriaTribune: The cold blooded killing of a number of tribal leaders in #Aleppo #syria by opposition rebels puts the city on hot tin https://t.co/qghKO8RB
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:21:15 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey-0H7Y3v_I

2011feb17: RT @iyad_elbaghdadi: Someone from #Aleppo please give me some background about the Barri's and why everyone is happy the #FSA finished them off. #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:39:00 PM

Lost4DrJack: MT @NuffSilence FSA treacherously killed by Barri gangs today ambush despite earlier truce http://t.co/jTK8qS8X #Aleppo #Syria That's why.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:38:34 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkGGRqRD-Rk

Dead guys being loaded gently into a truck and covered up ^^^^^^^^

Fanua: RT @latimesworld: Flight from Aleppo, Syria: Bodies, shelling and chaos http://t.co/XFlYD7Jy #Syria #Aleppo
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:38:55 PM

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/wor...ource=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=99665

nescdem: RT @RazanSpeaks: The bro in law of @freeCritic2000 was killed today in #Aleppo by Bashar's murderous gangs. And all ppl can talk about is Barri's execution.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:37:39 PM

Hevallo: RT @AnonymousSyria: Again: #FSA should be trained in human rights and international war laws http://t.co/TYPVSR5e #Syria #Aleppo
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:37:28 PM

Dustbowl_Pal: #Syria|n rebel's still split over executions which took place in #Aleppo today
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:57:07 PM

GreenAgainstNWO: Terrorists killed a clan leader, Shaaban Berri and some of his men in #Aleppo, 40,000 clanners volunteered to fight FSA http://t.co/HOHzaK2G
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:54:42 PM

lisanmubin: #Assad is fulfilling his promise to #Damascus, #Aleppo businessmen: If you give up on me I will hand you the country rubble. #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 6:04:09 PM

AnonymousSyria: Something like Q&A press conference about the attack on Barry HQ today http://t.co/71fscSLI #Aleppo #Syria #FSA
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:56:13 PM

Youtube, but it's in Arabic ^^^^^^^^

Agent938: #Aleppo was filled with shabiha gangs #Syria.#FSA Now it is cleaned up.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:53:47 PM

lisanmubin: After #Aleppo events today, human rights conscience is expected to wake up from its deep coma. #Assad massacres not worth waking. #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:53:00 PM

MichaelOrton: This is what war looks like. Deadly. Serious. Business. At the #Aleppo police station via @LizSly http://t.co/VYuOzo0j
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:52:33 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kVcxUbM7PU&feature=youtu.be

timecat5: Actually...what occurred today in #Aleppo to the Shabiha was NOT against any law. Though next time maybe a 'nicer' way. Spies get shot. #FSA
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 6:35:38 PM

SteveLussier: RT @Nervana_1: So far the best report from inside #Aleppo by @peterson__scott #Syria http://t.co/Nqyf76fe
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 6:33:39 PM

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Midd...lse-Syrian-tanks-civilians-dodge-shells-video

ProAssad: RT @Zinvor: Syrian-Armenians in #Aleppo distribute food to refugees who have been displaced by the conflict. Proud of them! #Syria http://t.co/V5xwGA0H
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 6:31:08 PM

Report: Syrian rebels acquire surface-to-air missiles - @Reuters

11 mins ago from www.reuters.com by editor

---------

Syrian rebels acquire surface-to-air missiles: report

Aleppo rebels say they stand firm in "regime's grave"
Mon, Jul 30 2012

WASHINGTON | Tue Jul 31, 2012 7:40pm EDT

(Reuters) - Rebels fighting to depose Syrian president Bashar al Assad have for the first time acquired a small supply of surface-to-air missiles, according to a news report that a Western official did not dispute.

NBC News reported Tuesday night that the rebel Free Syrian Army had obtained nearly two dozen of the weapons, which were delivered to them via neighboring Turkey, whose moderate Islamist government has been demanding Assad's departure with increasing vehemence.

Indications are that the U.S. government, which has said it opposes arming the rebels, is not responsible for the delivery of the missiles.

But some U.S. government sources have been saying for weeks that Arab governments seeking to oust Assad, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have been pressing for such missiles, also known as MANPADs, for man-portable air-defense systems, to be supplied to the rebels.

In recent days, air operations against the rebels by Syrian government forces appear to have been stepped up, particularly around the contested city of Aleppo, making the rebels' need for MANPADs more urgent.

Precisely what kind of MANPADs have been delivered to Syrian rebels is unclear and NBC News did not provide details. Such weapons range from the primitive to highly sophisticated.

And even if the rebels do have the weapons, it is unclear whether they have the training to operate them effectively against Assad's air forces in the immediate future.

Some conservative U.S. lawmakers, such as Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, have criticized the administration of President Barack Obama for moving too slowly to assist the rebels and have suggested the U.S. government become directly involved in arming Assad's opponents.

The White House, at least until now, has taken a considerably more cautious approach.

As of last month, U.S. officials warned that if any Middle Eastern nation was "even considering giving arms to the Syrian opposition," it ought to "take a measured approach and think twice about providing arms that could have unintended consequences."

Nonetheless, even at that time, U.S. and allied officials acknowledged that officials of Saudi Arabia and Qatar were discussing whether surface-to-air missiles might help Syrian rebels bring down Russian-made helicopters and other aircraft the Syrian army was using to move troops between trouble spots.

Following the fall of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, some intelligence experts estimated that as many as 10,000-15,000 MANPADs sets were looted from Libyan government stockpiles. The whereabouts of most of these are unknown.

Many U.S. officials have been wary of the notion of arming Syrian rebels with MANPADs, noting that they could be easily turned on targets other than the Syrian government, including civilian airliners.

After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, the CIA, with Saudi backing, provided sophisticated shoulder-fired Stinger missiles to Islamic militants seeking to oust Soviet troops.

The missiles proved deadly against Soviet helicopter gunships, but subsequently became a major headache for U.S. and western counter-terrorism agencies when anti-Soviet militants morphed into anti-Western militants.

Recent intelligence and news reporting has suggested a growing number of militants, including some affiliated with al Qaeda, have traveled to Syria to try to join anti-Assad forces. U.S. officials have said, however, that they do not believe the militants yet play a dominant role in the Syrian opposition.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/31/us-usa-syria-missiles-idUSBRE86U1T920120731

freesyriannow: FSA is dealing with mass murderers who killed 22000 and bombed cities, we don't need lectures about human rights #Syria #Aleppo #hama
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 9:51:31 PM

freesyriannow: Weapons given to FSA are enough to continue the fight but not enough to win, the purpose is to destroy Syria #Syria #Aleppo #hama #Mar15
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 9:45:29 PM

Net_News_Global: RT @Ali_W_Hasan: #Aleppo is about to go on fire as I expect, the following days will carry news of blood.. It will turn ugly.. #Damascus #Syria
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 9:43:08 PM

mog7546: @nescdem It's been a long time waiting. Any news on an UNconfirmed attack at the Army base in #Aleppo ???
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 9:42:54 PM

syrian_media: Expect a significant increase in #fsa deaths in #aleppo #syria as the Berri family members unlease their fury at the #salafist fsa filth
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:05:53 PM

Chris_Sedlmair: RT @syrian_media: The Berri tribes of #aleppo #syria have requested that d#syria|n army withdraw their troops... http://t.co/sTdF8tBE
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:04:52 PM

Fegleh: RT @Karol_en_Red: Well documented Crime against Humanity. #TheHagie > RT "@Fegleh: Thoughts on the Bari Execution? #Aleppo #Syria #Shabiha #FSA"
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:04:02 PM

GeorgeSyrian: RT @bannblue: The #FSA are currently attacking the headquarters of the #Syrian army in #Aleppo.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:08:45 PM

OhSweetArabia: BREAKING & CONFIRMED; Regime forces are planting several landmines in #Aleppo, #FSA state they will re-use them if they find them
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:05:26 PM