{"id":14965,"date":"2012-06-17T07:59:31","date_gmt":"2012-06-17T11:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=14965"},"modified":"2012-06-18T00:01:57","modified_gmt":"2012-06-18T04:01:57","slug":"un-suspends-mission-as-syria-becomes-regional-proxy-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/un-suspends-mission-as-syria-becomes-regional-proxy-war\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Suspends Mission as Syria Becomes Regional Proxy War"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In Syria’s Sectarian Battle, Who Are The Alawites?<\/a> : NPR<\/p>\n

Renee Montagne talks with Professor Joshua Landis about the Alawite sect in Syria. The minority group is the power base for President Bashar Assad’s government. Landis is director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

UN monitors enter Haffa, amid massacre fears<\/a> – BBC with video footage. Only a handful of residents could be seen and one man said 26,000 people had fled. Homs continues to be hit with artillery fire. In Douma,<\/a> about 15 km (10 miles) from Damascus, activists said tanks had entered the city outskirts and government forces were battling rebel fighters. At least two people were killed and 15 wounded, they added.<\/p>\n

UN Mission ceases operations:<\/a><\/p>\n

Norwegian Gen Robert Mood, the head of the UN Stabilisation Mission (UNSMIS), said that he had little choice but to suspend the mission. Escalating violence across Syria over the past 10 days had prevented the teams from carrying out their mandate to verify events on the ground. They have repeatedly been attacked by pro-government supporters, driving them back in recent days from the village of Al Heffa, which had been under assault all week until all its residents fled. \u201cThe lack of willingness by the parties to seek a peaceful transition, and the push toward advancing military positions is increasing the losses on both sides: innocent civilians, men, women and children are being killed every day,\u201d General Mood said. \u201cIt is also posing significant risks to our observers.\u201d But he emphasized that he was only suspending the mission, not ending it, and would evaluate daily the chances for resuming its activities. NYTimes<\/a><\/p>\n

Wash Post:<\/a> The monitors have provided a steady diet of raw information, however incomplete, linking the Syrian government and pro-government militias to some of the worst atrocities, including the massacre of 108 civilians in Houla, where the monitors said they found fresh tank tracks and evidence of government shelling.<\/p>\n

The findings have largely undercut claims by Syria\u2019s chief defenders, China and Russia, that Syrian government forces have played no role in mass killings, and secured their support for a Security Council statement condemning Syria for its role in the Houla massacre. The monitors have also documented multiple abuses by armed opposition groups and flagged concerns about the emergence of violent extremists groups in
\nSyria….<\/p>\n

Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, meanwhile, has questioned the viability of the U.N. monitors. In a closed-door meeting this week, she likened them to \u201c300 sitting ducks in a shooting gallery, one IED away from a disaster,\u201d according to a diplomat who was present.<\/p>\n

The UK foreign secretary said the decision called into question the mission’s viability. William Hague blamed the government of President Bashar al-Assad for the worsening situation. In a statement, he said the suspension of patrols and restriction of staff movements “underlines the extent of the deterioration of security and stability in Syria, and calls into serious question the viability of the UN Mission<\/a>“.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Syria becoming wider global, regional proxy war<\/a> – Reuters — it seems clear both sides believe that if they can continue the fight and convince their foreign backers that they have a credible chance of victory – or at least survival – then they will continue to receive outside support…..<\/p>\n

Bashar al-Assads SEctarain Strategy for the War<\/a>, by \"\"\"\"Daniel DePetris<\/p>\n

As of today, men thought to be deeply wedded to Assad\u2019s regime murdered seventy-eight of al-Qubair\u2019s residents. All of the victims were Sunni Muslims, the majority demographic in Syria that composes most of the uprising against President Assad.\u00a0The men who perpetrated the crime, at least from initial UN reports, were Alawites from neighboring villages, the same sectarian grouping that the Syrian regime depends on for cohesion within its inner ranks<\/p>\n

What the massacres in Houla and al-Qubair reveal, besides the inhumanity that war can cause, is that Bashar al-Assad is knowingly driving the conflict into just the type of sectarian onslaught that ruined its Iraqi neighbor five years earlier.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Russia denies discussing Syria’s post-Assad future<\/a>
\nBy Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press \/ June 15, 2012<\/p>\n

Sergey Lavrov denied Thursday’s statement by U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland that Moscow and Washington “are continuing to talk about a post-Assad transition strategy.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Syria rebels retreat from key northern town<\/a> by Liz Sly<\/p>\n

BEIRUT \u2014 Syrian government forces seized control of the northern town of Haffah on Wednesday after rebels retreated in the face of a withering offensive that saw the army rely heavily on combat helicopters for the first time.<\/p>\n

Syrian government forces seized control of the northern town of Haffah on Wednesday after rebels retreated in the face of a withering offensive that saw the army rely heavily on combat helicopters for the first time.<\/p>\n

The fall of Haffah after an eight-day battle marked a setback for the rebel Free Syrian Army, which in recent weeks has been steadily asserting its presence across large swaths of the north and center of the country. Haffah, a mostly Sunni hillside town near the strategic port city of Latakia, had marked the westernmost expansion of the rebels\u2019 reach, giving them a foothold in the regime\u2019s Alawite heartland.<\/p>\n

Syrian forces pushed out scores of rebels holed up in a rebellious area near the Mediterranean coast Wednesday and state television claimed they retook control of the region following eight days of fierce shelling and clashes.<\/p>\n

Syrian forces pushed out scores of rebels holed up in a rebellious area near the Mediterranean coast Wednesday and state television claimed they retook control of the region following eight days of fierce shelling and clashes.<\/p>\n

A look at the Syrian uprising one year later. Thousands of Syrians have died and President Bashar al-Assad remains in power, despite numerous calls by the international community for him to step down.<\/p>\n

Click Here to View Full Graphic Story<\/p>\n

A look at the Syrian uprising one year later. Thousands of Syrians have died and President Bashar al-Assad remains in power, despite numerous calls by the international community for him to step down.<\/p>\n

But in recent days, government troops have launched an intensified offensive against rebel strongholds across the country, apparently buoyed by continued indications of Russian support and the failure of international diplomatic efforts to come up with an alternative to a failed U.N. cease-fire plan.<\/p>\n

Neighborhoods in the city of Homs came under bombardment for a fifth day, and in the far east, troops were reportedly pushing into the town of Deir al-Zour…..<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

U.S. official: Russia sends troops to Syria as peace hopes fade<\/a> By Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News, and msnbc.com news services, June 15, 2012<\/p>\n

Russia is sending armed troops to Syria amid escalating violence there, United States military officials told NBC News Friday, in a move certain to frustrate Western efforts to put pressure on the regime of President Bashir Assad.<\/p>\n

Moscow has sent a ship carrying a small contingent of combat forces to guard Russia\u2019s deep-water port and military base at the Syrian city of Tartus, the US officials said.<\/p>\n

The U.S. officials also said Russia has not sent additional attack helicopters to the Syrian government, but replacement parts for the Russian helicopters the Syrians are already flying.<\/p>\n

It comes after the conflict was declared by France on Wednesday to be a full-blown civil war.<\/p>\n

The head of the U.N. observers in Syria said Friday a recent spike in bloodshed is derailing the mission to monitor and defuse more than a year of violence and could prompt the unarmed force to pull out.<\/p>\n

Samir Aita, After the Fall of the Assad Regime\u00a0 ???? ??????<\/a> ???? ??? ???? ?????? ???????<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Iraqi Opinion Poll: The People Want Electricity, They Don\u2019t Care If A Dictator Brings It<\/a> – Niqash<\/p>\n

A recent opinion poll showed some inconsistencies. Iraqis think the current PM \u2018acts like a dictator\u2019. But they also think the country is going in the right direction. Are they about to give up their democratic rights for uninterrupted power supply? By Cathrin Schaer \/ Berlin
\nFrom One Hell To Another: Visiting A Syrian Refugee Camp In Kurdistan<\/a> – Niqash<\/p>\n

Recently the conflict in Syria has been called a civil war. And Syrian-Kurdish youth are fleeing their homes for neighbouring Iraqi Kurdistan. There, they arrive in dedicated camps where their dreams of a new life are doomed under dusty, canvas walls. By Abdul-Khaleq Dosky \/ Dohuk<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Blast damages Shiite Muslim shrine outside Damascus, Syria<\/a>
\nJune 14, 2012 | 7:20 am<\/p>\n

BEIRUT — A bomb-laden car driven by a suicide attacker exploded Thursday near a major Shiite Muslim shrine outside the Syrian capital of Damascus, injuring 14 people and damaging part of the shrine, according to Syrian state media and news agency reports.<\/p>\n

It was the latest in a series of car bombs that have killed scores of Syrians and elevated tensions in the country’s two largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, where the bombings have been the most dramatic manifestation of the more than yearlong insurrection. Authorities have blamed Al Qaeda-linked Islamic militants from Syria and other nations, including neighboring Iraq and Jordan, for previous suicide bombings.<\/p>\n

It was unclear if the intended target of Thursday\u2019s strike was a nearby police station or the golden-domed Sayyida Zainab shrine, the Associated Press reported. The shrine is one of Shiite Islam\u2019s holiest and most magnificent sites and a favored destination of Shiite pilgrims, especially Iranians. It is said to be the burial place of a revered granddaughter of the prophet Muhammad.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Terror zone shift: Syrian insurgents ‘try to set up new belt of strongholds’<\/a>
\nJun 14, 2012, Russian RT<\/p>\n

While Homs is nearly under control of the government, terrorists and insurgents try to escape north and east. The Syrian militarys strategic task is to keep them from building a new belt of strongholds on Syrian territory along the Turkish border.<\/p>\n

Consultant and peace activist Christoph R. Hrstel told RT that his information is directly obtained from Syrian security personnel of various origins personally taking part in battles and other operations, and\/or close relatives of such personnel some are even well-known people.<\/p>\n

The information reaches me through a partner in Turkey. I counter-check all information obtained this way as best as possible under the circumstances, Hrstel said.
\nHe gives an outline of the militarys activities from Syria.<\/p>\n

House-to-house clearing is almost complete, but is continuing in nearby Rastan and the city district of Khaldiyeh.<\/p>\n

Insurgents and terrorists are escaping now in the direction of Hafeh, where safety was restored only last weekend. But now insurgents and terrorist forces from the Turkey-Idlib area are gathering there, joined by the escaping forces from Rastan, Homs and Khaldiyeh.<\/p>\n

These forces now try to set up a new stronghold in Hafeh as a replacement for the lost base in Homs. Hafeh is an important and vital crossing point into Turkey and exit to Idlib, from where more transfer routes lead further east to terrorist camps in Turkey.<\/p>\n

Syrian officials on the new frontline stretching from Hafeh to Hassakah in north-eastern Syria are trying to prevent the establishment of a buffer zone on its soil close to the Turkish border. According to these officials, the new leadership of the Syrian National Council (SNC) have called on Kurdish groups to join the rebels in Hassakah but local tribal leaders appear to have rejected the idea for the moment.<\/p>\n

The Syrian Army is carrying on with house-to-house operations and has destroyed a massive amount s of stockpile of smuggled weapons and communication devices. They claim to have killed more than 1200 insurgents and terrorists in recent days and at the same time are concentrating on preventing the establishment of the aforementioned terror zone in the Hafeh-Hassakah border belt.<\/p>\n

The terrorist influx from camps in Turkey causes repeated clashes in Azaz, a town opposite Turkeys border town Kilis, north of Aleppo. A month ago, around 3000 infiltrators were located on the Idlib-Azaz line and the Syrian army killed or captured 800 of them in Azaz alone. The rest were situated in Idlib, and though they were taken out a month ago, the continuous terrorist influx from the Turkish camps makes Idlib and Azaz another front line.<\/p>\n

Azaz is a crucial gateway to Aleppo. There appears to be a belt being established by insurgents stretching from Hafeh to Idlib, via Aleppo and Azaz to Hassakah.<\/p>\n

One of the most terrible developments of this war is that terrorists are forcing civilian males to stay together and fight against security forces. They offer money, shoot family members if they don’t co-operate and even go so far as to transfer family members of forced fighters to Turkey. If civilian males continue to refuse to fight side by side with the terrorists and insurgents, these civilians are not let go but sometimes shot summarily, sometimes whole families, as happened in Houla.<\/p>\n

Terrorists are using psychological pressure to force some civilians to carry improvised explosives by taking hostages. As an example, they take a family hostage and order the father to drive his car very close to military checkpoints or military tanks, then they explode the car by remote control from a distance. That is what happened in Rastan yesterday. A civilian car fully loaded with explosives was blown up by remote control right next to two tanks. The incident was brought to light by the wife and surviving sons of the car-bomb driver’s kidnapped family.<\/p>\n

All in all, the new Hafeh-Hassakah line will be crucial from now on. Hafeh can be considered as important as Hama, but situated at the western end of the mountain line. It is another vital point on escape and supply routes to and from Turkey and possibly a new stronghold for insurgents and terrorists.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

‘Russia does not sell combat helicopters to Syria’ – Lavrov<\/a><\/p>\n

Responding to claims made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Foreign Minister stated that Russia complies with international law and is merely fulfilling previous obligations with Syria related to air-defense systems.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Should Columbia<\/em> University have admitted Syrian dictator Assad’s former press aide?<\/a> Christian Science Monitor<\/cite>?<\/p>\n

Habib Malik Calls on Obama to Protect Endangered Minorities in Syria and throughout Middle East<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0WASHINGTON and ZURICH, June 15, 2012 \/PRNewswire-USNewswire\/ — Professor Habib Malik of the Lebanese American University has called on the United States and its European allies to “draw a thick red line” around religious liberty as it responds to the ongoing violence in Syria and the Middle East, and to provide “active protection” for minority rights in the region.<\/p>\n

Mr. Malik issued this call this week at CSI’s 2012 conference series on The Future of Religious Minorities in the Middle East. (See www.formime.ch for a video of Malik’s lecture.) Malik is a professor of history and the author of Islamism and the Future of Christians in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

In Syria, Malik warned that the “first wave” of opposition leaders has been replaced by a “militant Islamist grouping” that engages in kidnappings and beheadings, including attacks on religious pilgrims. Given these attacks, Malik said it is impossible to “take seriously” the opposition Syrian National Council’s assurances to Syrian religious minorities, given on June 10, that they will be protected after the regime falls.<\/p>\n

Malik faulted Western powers for promoting their “democracy” agenda with the help of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, whom Malik termed “fanatic states” and “arch-repressors” that are “financing and supporting a militant Sunni Salafi Wahabi replacement in Syria and indeed anywhere else in the region they can manage it.”<\/p>\n

Malik said that “if present trends continue,” the “better-funded and better-organized” Islamist parties are likely to rise to power in most of the Middle Eastern countries undergoing political change, with adverse consequences for Christians and other non-Muslim communities.<\/p>\n

“Without these Christian communities,” he said, “pluralism is all but dead in the Middle East, and along with it, any real chances for genuine freedoms and democracy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

George Saghir on the Syrian Economy<\/a> (in Arabic in al-Iqtisadi)<\/p>\n

???? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ???????<\/p>\n

????? ??????: 2012-06-06<\/p>\n

??? ???? ???? – ???? ????? ????????? ?? ???????? ??????? ?????????<\/p>\n

???? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? “??? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ????????”.<\/p>\n

??? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ???????? ???????? ???? ????? ?? ?????.<\/p>\n

WILL TURKEY FORCE OBAMA’S HAND ON SYRIA?<\/a>
\nBy Soner Cagaptay, CNN Global Public Square, June 14, 2012<\/p>\n

Washington’s ties with Ankara have improved significantly in recent years thanks to a personal relationship between President Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two leaders have been in frequent contact, building a rapport that has translated into closer Turkish support for the U.S., including Ankara’s 2011 decision to participate in NATO’s crucial missile defense project.<\/p>\n

Yet a crisis could be waiting in Syria.<\/p>\n

Ankara and Washington both abhor the Syrian regime’s brutal crackdown on demonstrators. But according to some reports, Ankara is hosting the Syrian opposition and possibly even helping arm it.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Obama’s cautious policy on Syria appears to be driven by a desire to avoid three things: the political unknown after Bashar al-Assad, war in an election year, and a new military campaign in a Muslim country.<\/p>\n

Erdogan might find it increasingly difficult to tolerate Obama’s “wait-and-see” strategy. For the Turks, slaughter in Syria is not an overseas affair, but rather a tragedy close to home that they cannot ignore….<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Communist Parties win 11 Seats in Syrian Parliamentary Elections<\/a>,” By S. Saleh Waziruddin<\/p>\n

On Turkish border, doctors keep medical aid flowing to Syria<\/a>– Reuters –<\/p>\n

…. From a small, windowless basement apartment in Turkey’s southern Hatay province a few hundred meters from the border, Omar now gathers drugs and medical supplies from all over Turkey to be smuggled to colleagues inside Syria.<\/p>\n

The slick operation, set up by a union of expatriate Syrian doctors and involving some 60 smugglers, is only one of a large network of informal supply chains along the Syrian border that serve as a lifeline to those caught up in the violence.<\/p>\n

“They need everything. All their supplies have been destroyed. Assad’s army has destroyed four of our stores and four field hospitals. This is only in our area. They are destroying many others elsewhere,” said Omar.<\/p>\n

Donations come mainly from Syrian doctors living in Gulf Arab countries or in Europe, and the amounts vary significantly. Omar said they received a quarter of a million dollars one month but then only $50,000 the next. Last month they got $30,000.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Syria’s Sectarian Battle, Who Are The Alawites? : NPR Renee Montagne talks with Professor Joshua Landis about the Alawite sect in Syria. The minority group is the power base for President Bashar Assad’s government. Landis is director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. UN monitors enter Haffa, amid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-syria-revolution-2011"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nUN Suspends Mission as Syria Becomes Regional Proxy War - Syria Comment<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/un-suspends-mission-as-syria-becomes-regional-proxy-war\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UN Suspends Mission as Syria Becomes Regional Proxy War - Syria Comment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Syria’s Sectarian Battle, Who Are The Alawites? : NPR Renee Montagne talks with Professor Joshua Landis about the Alawite sect in Syria. 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