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And next, Syria?

Casually Red said:
He openly backs Al Qaeda and is on record just recently as refusing to call them terrorists . Despite their incessant persecution of Druze in Syria . He's also regularly called for them to join the very jihadists persecuting them , and even travelled to turkey to meet Al Qaeda leaders to try and secure concessions for them , fruitlessly . Convert or die was the message he got . . The events in sweida, we're it seems the Druze have now joined the Syrian army and NDF en masse , appear to be a massive fuck off to him from the Syrian Druze . It also seems he's made a big miscalculation as regards the jihadists along the Syrian and Lebanese border , we're he was confident of them making a drive on Damascus . The SAA and HB have pretty much tanked them in the past month and driven them out of their mountain strongholds in arsal , badly wrong footing him on that prediction .
Other Druze leaders in Lebanon are now calling on all Druze to go to Syria to fight the rebels . While he's been pressuring Druze religious leaders to keep quiet about the persecution . Events seem to have overtaken him .
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Jumblatt always seems to find a way to survive & even thrive - he's a wily old fucker. There's a bit about the 'convert or die' & Jumblatt's attempt to mediate here on Syria Direct (which seems to come out of Jordan).
 
butchersapron said:
Please watch the video i posted earlier. If i have any credit with anyone please spend it on this hour.
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Thanks for sharing that. Very good, & very difficult at times - it's hard watching parents mourning kids - fuck knows how it feels to bury them.

It's good to see an emphasis on the citizens, rather than the armed groups - as an outside observer, it's easy to get caught up in the militias/contra gangs headlines and forget about the people they're supposed to represent. It was interesting to see Saleh & Omar Aziz, writers & activists referred to previously on here. As Aziz says, there are comparisons with the Paris Commune - in terms of the mass movement operating without a single leading ideology, in terms of the revolutionary reality coming to be as the state withdrew, in terms of the organisation through local councils, in terms of the anti-state/internationalism, and also in terms of the violent revanchist repression - like the Third Republic, Assad has responded by trying to eliminate an entire class, having identified them as foreign enemies.

I feel like I should have a more substantive, concrete response than words. I feel like I should be expressing genuine support, useful solidarity. But all I've got is 'Good film, that'.
 
Good little round up on the druze and the various internal conflicts here - good news on the way the southern front is proceeding on this issue as well:

Revolutionary Forces Throughout Syria condemn Nusra’s massacre of Druze Villagers

To further reassure the Druze, seventeen major rebel factions in the south (15 FSA, one Islamic Front and one independent brigade) put out another statement condemning the killing and stressing that the FSA is opposed to the revolution becoming a sectarian war ( ).
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In a notable development, the Southern Front called a temporary halt to its offensive to seize the al-Thala airbase. The airbase is close to Base 52 and was the next obvious target; the FSA launched its attack several days ago, but Nusra’s crime came in the middle of it; the airbase borders Daraa and Suweida, and many of the defenders were local Druze. Given the conflicting views within Suweida, the FSA made a political decision specifically in light of Nusra’s actions to negotiate with the Druze first. Sources told EA Worldview (http://eaworldview.com/2015/06/syri...-islamic-state-in-key-town-on-turkish-border/) that the Southern Front “had orders to retreat for two reasons”:
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The timing was bad, especially after Jabhat al-Nusra committed a massacre in Idlib, killing 23 Druze, given that most of the fighters defending al-Thala are Druze —- even though Jabhat al-Nusra is not participating in our offensive.
There have been negotiations with the Druze in the south to withdraw their people from the airbase. These negotiations were ongoing as the offensive started.

This decision shows a strongly political mode of thinking by the southern FSA leadership, indicating how seriously it takes its continuous declarations about the anti-sectarian nature of the Syrian revolution.
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butchersapron said:
This looks great = produced by a Spanish anarchist collective, concentrating on the attempts at self-management within the revolution (all those who think rebels = ISIS or AQ dare not enter) - PLEASE DON'T put this on twitter btw:

edit: horrible REALLY non safe for work stuff from 25 mins in.

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cheers for that: brutal viewing but necessary
 
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/281b30fa-14ff-11e5-9509-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3dUPMdzRV

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is blocking oil sales to northern Syria, activists say, unleashing an economic weapon that could cause food shortages and hospital shutdowns, and may undermine the rebels’ fight against the jihadi force.
The blockade also shows how heavily dependent even the group’s enemies are on the crude it produces, and how much influence that allows the jihadis to wield.

“We are facing the threat of a famine if the fuel supply remains cut,” said activist Tareq Abdelhaq, from Syria’s northern Idlib province. “Power, water and farming are all run on generators here now.”
Isis controls the oil-rich eastern region of Syria that has become its stronghold as it pushes to spread its so-called caliphate across the country and neighbouring Iraq. Rebels say Isis is using the blockade to weaken their fight against its advance into northern Aleppo province....
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They don't mention Al-Qaeda's affiliate, probably because they control the territory and told them to make the sign
 
According to Al Masdar a joint offensive by the Southern Front and Jabhat Al Nusra yesterday against the druze areas came badly unstuck when faced with pretty determined resistance from the SAA and the Druze militias . Very intense firefights and artillery exchanges that lasted for hours ..8 in the morning until nightfall ..around 5 towns near the Golan . Helicopter gunships entering the fray too . All assaults driven off for the time being in a joint Druze and army defence .
Which appears to be a repeat of the actions of the past few days . Major assaults that went nowhere, all driven off .
A few days prior to that the SAA recaptured 2 strategic hills that initially fell to the rebels offensive and lifted the siege of the Druze city of Hadar .
 
JAN barely exist in the south, i wonder how they managed to not only line up with the SF who have expelled them from pretty much everywhere but also present an active battlefield presence. Who could benefit from presenting all rebels - esp the non-islamist SF - as islamists i wonder? Cheers for the - as usual - well reffed post.
 
Also according to Al masdar it seems the operation to retake Palmyra from daesh has now begun too . Elite Syrian troops of the Tiger brigades and desert hawks are moving in on the north and west of the town , taking ground and holding it after heavy exchanges with the daesh . Hope that goes well .
 
Where's your link?

Oddly enough, a quick look through your site establishes that it has a record of smearing the non-islamist Southern front as islamist. In fact, it openly lies about them - see this nonsense about the military base they captured the other week - it just openly lies that they are JAN.
 
Again according to the reports on Al masdar news, it seems the SAA have now retaken the gas fields around Palmyra as well as a number of other sites, leaving IS now only in control of the main road . In return , according to BBC reports , IS have started laying mines and explosives around the ancient ruins . Which looks to me like they're being held hostage should an assault on the city commence .
Which looks pretty likely . While the western media have been gleefully promoting a series of setbacks for the Syrian forces and yet again predicting imminent collapse, they've said barely a word about the highly successful campaign in Qalamoun aimed at securing the Lebanese border . which has seen IS, al nusra, FSA etc completely routed from their mountain bases and which is almost over . That's going to free up over 70,000 experienced and successful troops very shortly . Which will undoubtedly lead to further offensives . Palmyra may well be top of the list if recent events are anything to go by .
 
butchersapron said:
This looks great = produced by a Spanish anarchist collective, concentrating on the attempts at self-management within the revolution (all those who think rebels = ISIS or AQ dare not enter) - PLEASE DON'T put this on twitter btw:

edit: horrible REALLY non safe for work stuff from 25 mins in.

Click to expand...

Definitely not safe for work. I've seen a lot of dead bodies but that dad crying over his kids who'd been gassed.

Fuck! Everyone should watch that.
 
butchersapron said:
Reports from various usually reliable sources that YPG, FSA and allies have taken the brigade 93 military base held by ISIS - if true this would indicate rapid moves towards raqqa. Let me find a map - here we are, need to zoom out a bit. To repeat though, not confirmed.
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Twitter chatter seems to suggest ISIS are hot-tailing it back to Raqqa

edit: or maybe not
 
Last edited:
Suggestions since last night that ISIS have ordered all Kurds to leave raqqa (not sure if city or what they still control of the governate) within 48 hours or be killed. Lots of pics of people obv fleeing from somewhere, but can't be sure where or when.
 
Actually, after having a think, maybe i can think of one, but it may be a strech - maybe they want to encourage the elements within the YPG (currently fighting 30 or so miles north of the city with FSA and other allies) who want to push onto raqqa, to attack before adequate preparations and prerequisites are put in place. I expect there are serious internal discussions going on in the YPG as to what the next moves are - maybe they are trying to take advantage of that.
 
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