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SYRIAN REBELS SAY they have broken a three-week government siege of second city Aleppo, turning the tables on Russian-backed regime forces who are now on the defensive.
To the northeast, a Western-backed alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters scored a major victory against the Islamic State group in the town of Manbij after a fierce two-month battle.
The developments have rocked the key northern province of Aleppo, a microcosm of Syria’s chaotic multi-front war that has killed more than 280,000 people.
Rebel and regime forces have fought for control of the provincial capital since mid-2012, transforming the former economic powerhouse into a divided, bombed-out city.
Opposition fighters, Islamists and jihadists have waged fierce assaults since July 31 to end the siege by government forces of some 250,000 people in Aleppo’s eastern districts.
Rebel groups successfully broke the siege by opening a new route into the city from the southwest, opposition officials said.
“Rebels break Aleppo’s siege,” tweeted the Istanbul-based opposition National Coalition.
Ramussa
Islamist faction Ahrar al-Sham said rebels had seized control of Ramussa on the southwestern edges of the city and thereby “opened the route to Aleppo”.
But state television said late Saturday the army had regained control of several key points in a military complex south of Aleppo that rebels overran earlier.
“Our armed forces took control of the part of the artillery school that had been seized by terrorists… while (rebel) groups withdrew from points in the armament school,” it said, quoting a military source.
Al-Manar, the television station of the Lebanese group Hezbollah which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces, denied that Ramussa had fallen or that the siege had been broken.
The battle south of Aleppo has been accompanied by media campaigns often publishing conflicting information.
‘A good omen’
Riad Hijab, head of the broad opposition body the High Negotiations Committee, tweeted: “The liberation of Ramussa and the breaking of the siege are a good omen for Syria’s revolution.”
An AFP journalist in eastern Aleppo city said residents were on the streets and shooting celebratory gunfire into the air.
“Days ago, I was only thinking about how to get a bite to eat,” said Ahmad Adna, a 46-year-old resident of eastern Aleppo.
“Now I’m more optimistic after the (rebel) Army of Conquest’s advance. I hope today will be the last day of the siege.”
- © AFP 2016.
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Russia is there to obliterate all of ISIS and that includes those Syrian rebels who like to behead 12 yr old boys with blunt knives.
Russia is there to project Russian power and protect Russian interests
Better than America that financed the rebels giving more power to Islamists
@ jester, and when the USA and Britain get involved are they looking after Syria’s interest or there’s?
There is no such thing as moderate rebels – just a war by Syrian and Russian forces against radical Islam -
Extremely rare moment an American politician tells the truth about the Syrian war.
US Senator We Have Never Done Anything More Loathsome or Despicable Than What Were Doing in Syria.”
Senator Richard Black and Janice Kortkamp discuss the shameful situation in Syria, where the US government is actively arming and funding Al Nusra (Al Qaeda) and “conduits” (“moderates”), blending them together, and then using this model to exterminate the Syrian population.
It should be noted that the mass media machine is seemingly losing its effect, as more and more prominent and senior figures (e.g Robert Fisk) are calling a spade a spade, or a “moderate” a terrorist. It just goes to show that you can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but never all of the people all of the time.
Senator Black : Member of republican party. University of Florida, United States Army War College, United States Marine Corps, United States Army.
Read more:
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/07/us-senator-we-have-never-done-anything.html
France’s Former Foreign Minister: UK Government Prepared War in Syria Two Years Before 2011 Protests
France’s Former Foreign Minister, Roland Dumas, has stated in a televised program on LCP that UK government officials had told him about preparations for war in Syria two years prior to the start of the 2011 protests and conflict. The reason given for this war is the Syrian government’s anti-Israel stance that made Syria a target for Western-backed regime change.
https://youtu.be/GUdWQ1rUmvM
Agreed Pádraig Ó Raghaill.
They will just moderately eat your liver while still alive or ‘moderatey’ behead your kids with a blunt pen knife..other than that they are really lovely fellows.
Great guys to share a shisa pipe with.
@Pat O’Dwyer
“The reason given for this war is the Syrian government’s anti-Israel stance that made Syria a target for Western-backed regime change.”
Another reason–> https://www.scribd.com/doc/155650153/A-Strategy-for-Israel-in-the-Nineteen-Eighties-Oded-Yinon
its called the nargile in Syria Chlorines
The best hope the Christians have in Syria not to be massacred is from Russia and Assad
Israel is best hope for the Druse not to be wiped out if the Syrian Rebels win
Absolutely bang on there Padraig. TS not something widely understood due to media terminology. Even the FSA – the so called Free Syrian Army said that if they got any power the first thing they would do is implement Sharia Law. It really is just war between the last secular government in the region and fundamental Islam.
It’s hard I suppose when most go off of TV history and in the moment at that, Patrick. If you have a good knowledge of history you can see through the American propaganda, alas, so many just see America as some kind of shining light instead of a nefarious superpower with want of empire. We know the media lost all ethics years ago and have no clue what investigate reporting even is.
“By far the most effective branch of political education, which in this connection is best expressed by the word ‘propaganda’, is carried on by the Press. The Press is the chief means employed in the process of political ‘enlightenment.’ ~ Adolf Hitler.”
@ Avina: Honest question . Are you a tool or a fool ?
Udo Ulfkotte, a former editor of one of Germany’s main daily publications, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Whether you want to admit it or not, CIA control of the media in the U.S. and abroad is not conspiracy theory, it is conspiracy fact.
http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2014/10/08/non-official-cover-respected-german-journalist-blows-whistle-on-how-the-cia-controls-the-media/
he could also be a pool
The Jihadis wont be allowed to stay in the Artillery School….the Russian airforce will make it extremely hazardous for them….
Some state(s) are financing these headhacker gangs extremely generously…many are wearing gopro cameras, new uniforms, boots etc and they are also using drones and have unlimited weapons and ammunition, fuses, explosives etc.
and they get the dole too!
“residents were on the streets and shooting celebratory gunfire into the air”
So, men women and children have guns?
If the residents have guns then they are not residents, but fighters
“Days ago, I was only thinking about how to get a bite to eat,” said Ahmad Adna, a 46-year-old resident of eastern Aleppo.
Did they magically produce food so everyone can have a full belly?
This amateur propaganda BS might work over there, but on this side of the world, i sincerely hope we are more sceptical
pull the other one, most of us aren`t buying the americanised propaganda
Youtube puts the lie to all or at least a lot of the propagada…
Great news for the starving civilian population.
So you support radical Islam, how wonderful of you.
So being happy that the siege that indiscriminately starved innocent civilians has been broken is automatically support for radical Islam?
You mean the same rebels that have been blocking the safe passage roots out of the conflict, yep that would be the radical Islamists.
Let’s also forget that Russia has been flying aid in on a regular basis, with one of the helicopters only shot down the other day.
America is arming rebels to fight Russia and Syria as they want the country destabilised. They did and are doing the same thing in the Ukraine.
@Padraig.
I’m happy to see starving people receiving food supplies.
Video showed Syrians dancing on the bodies of the Russian crewmen….not a clever thing to do.
So it’s America arming rebels to de-stabilise Ukraine?? That’s a new take on it….
If you class supporting neo-nazis not a bad thing, and ethnic cleansing then all the power to you
There are Ukrainian ultranationalists just as there are Russian ultranationalists, and there are thugs on both sides, but last time I checked it wasn’t US boots on the ground in Ukraine….
What do you think was going through the heads of the population in allepo, when the government that had been bombing them for 4 years suddenly offered them amnesty??
I wouldn’t have trusted it for a second
They are supported by the US Avina – proxy is how America like to roll.
You mean the myriad that travelled and found some idea of safety, probably a great relief.
@ Avina : NEO – Western Coup in Ukraine an Ongoing Disaster
One of America’s most enduring political barbs is, “When you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.” The Western Ukraine coup has become a new version of that barb. No matter how the West tries to paint Russia as responsible for the implosion of Ukraine, it is the US, EU, and NATO color revolution Kiev coup that is the pure villain in this sad story.
Ukraine has joined the growing list of Western rape and pillage victims, intended victims or collateral damage ones under the guise of spreading freedom and democracy…like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/08/03/neo-western-coup-in-ukraine-an-ongoing-disaster/
I give up, in all honesty, Pat, it is like trying to hammer a wooden peg into concrete. It’s just the CNN generation, would not know an in-depth history reading list if it broke their toes.
Padraig, you’re conveniently overlooking Russia’s proxies (and troops – let’s not forget the amnesia brigade) on the ground in East Ukraine, not to mention Crimea.
What was the result of the Verkhovna Rada vota again? How many voted against? Will I tell you?
No matter how you try and dress it up, Russia were the main aggressor here.
For the record, I think the people of East Ukraine and Crimea deserve the right to self-determination the same as everybody else, but not at the barrel of a gun.
If you want to talk about history shall we mention the 1994 orange revolution too?
You have a limited understanding of the Ukraine and the Crimea history, Avina, hell you can even read my article about it.
http://www.tworoundcorners.com/crimea-escape-persecution-returning-home/
I could not have put this article together without the dedicated work of a few authors. One such Author is Jake Rudnitsky, below is an excerpt from The Exiled 2004.
“The blatant falsifications, combined with an extremely well-funded and coordinated protest movement, have brought us where we are today, gearing for another round. The protests have come under fire as an American-funded coup, particularly in the Russian media. And there’s some truth to it — the US has been bringing in Serbs and Georgians experienced in non-violent revolution to train Ukrainians for at least a year. One exit poll — the one finding most heavily in favour of Yushchenko — was funded by the US. The smoothness and professionalism of the protest, from the instant availability of giant blocks of Styrofoam to pitch the tents on to the network of food distribution and medical points, is probably a result of American logistical planning. It’s certainly hard to imagine Ukrainians having their act together that well. The whole orange theme and all those ready-made flags also smack of American marketing concepts, particularly Burson-Marstellar.”
@ Avina : At the barrel of a gun ? An Irish friend of mine lives in Crimea. He told me 97 % of the people there , if there was a referendum there tomorrow would vote to join Russia rather than remain under the US imposed Nazi dominated Government in Kiev.
Pádraig, i just followed you on Twitter, i`m very interested i what you have to say
Padraig…i clicked on your article…impressive.
I hope you can stand my anti-American system stance, Mother, and I am a little politically incorrect but welcome you to the fold.
A sincere cheers, Peter, although we sometimes have differing views, I feel your understanding of history is far broader than my own, from what you often have to say.
Pádraig Ó Raghaill
You always post excellent links and excerpts – really enjoy reading them. I just ordered ‘The Exiled’ on the strength of that excerpt.
Thank you.
@Padraig
“The protests have come under fire as an American-funded coup, particularly in the Russian media”
There’s part of the problem – the Russian media is entirely Kremlin-controlled.
Since you seem to have tried to gloss over it, the fact of the matter (which I’ve no doubt wasn’t reported by the Kremlin media) is that in February 2014, 328 democratically elected members of the Verkhovna Rada voted to remove Yanukovych from office, and 0 (yes, a big fat zero) voted against his removal.
If this was completely orchestrated by the CIA then they must be a lot more competent than I had given them credit for!
You also seem to have glossed over the 1994 Orange Revolution too – if this was ‘CIA orchestrated’ too, they seem to have upped their game quite considerably between 2004 and 2014!
ah here you may as well be felating the man Chlorines, ease back a bit
@Pat
I have no doubt that if a referendum was carried out in the morning the people of Crimea would side with Russia. The thing is though, opinion poll after opinion poll prior to 2014 indicated that the people of Crimea favoured greater autonomy within Ukraine or full independence, with unification with Russia only a distant third choice, yet neither of these options even made it onto the ballot paper for the sham referendum. Why not?
Remind me again, how many countries recognise the validity of that referendum?
Avina, go to my article, read and watch the video, read the text and for the love of all that is good, read the mentioned books and the article authors. You give far too much credit to a ‘diplomatic Ukraine’ it has always been one fascist group over another and the Crimeans have been persecuted for years.
You are also defending a nation that went to war over, orchestrated lies, more than once. Hell, do you not know what the Bay of Pigs was or even what really caused the Cuban Missile Crysis. Not even mentioning the Middle East and the crap that started there in the 60′s. America is far more nefarious than you are giving them credit for.
You also seem to not understand much about Russia. Do you know their TV has more robust political debates than the US? Russia, since the two terrible leaders of Kruschev and Gorbachev and now the very forward thinking Putin have no wish for unneeded aggression for Russia. It is the same as China, they are after capitalism and prosperity for their countries. I implore you to visit Russia, it is far from perfect (like the US) but it is noting what people think it is.
Hell, we can go back further and the money flowing to Germany and Russia from US sources. History is not about yesterday, it is not about tomorrow but it is about 200 years in the past and 200 years into the future. When you understand long games, you start to understand conflicts in a much better context. We can go to 1920-1922: Arabs, both Shiite and Sunni, revolt against British control of Iraq, to find the beginnings of the Middle East conflicts and how the Saudi family was installed that exacerbated the entire narrative.
Now I am off to bed, as a silly wife must be in the city at 7am for one of them mini marathon things, now there is the height of silliness. Goodnight all.
US Has Killed More Than 20 Million People in 37 “Victim Nations” Since World War II
http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-has-killed-more-than-20-million-people-in-37-victim-nations-since-world-war-ii/5492051
We wont always agree but theres a certain passion in your article that i admire and i am inclined to be a Russophile and sceptical of US machinations worldwide.
I would be the first to acknowledge that the people of Ukraine have been plagued by corrupt officials and politicians of all hues for donkey’s years – that’s in large part what the revolutions of 2004 and 2014 were both about, and there’s no doubt that corruption still features large in Ukraine. Ukrainian democracy (like most democracies) is far from perfect, but trying to dismiss a 328 to zero vote because you don’t like the result is nonsense.
I’ve visited Russia and I found it a wonderful place with lovely people, but they deserve far better than Putin.
On another note, your ’200 years in the past’ comment is merely acknowledging the machinations of international geopolitics – hardly groundbreaking news! I don’t think anyone is naive enough to be blind to the various powerplays which have gone on in the past, are currently ongoing, and will undoubtedly go on in the future (at least until the human race is no more).
Avina, i think you have bitten off more than you can chew mate, dealing with Pádraig,he doesn`t get his news and information from western media and ad backed sitres on the web, he digs deeper,
If i tied you up in knots during the week, this lad, i feel is gonna stick an apple in your mouth and slow roast you – quit while you are behind,
you have some of the most worn out and debunked info from the web, that i have seen in a long whil.
@ Avina: Honest question . Are you a tool or a fool ? i
Udo Ulfkotte, a former editor of one of Germany’s main daily publications, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Whether you want to admit it or not, CIA control of the media in the U.S. and abroad is not conspiracy theory, it is conspiracy fact.
http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2014/10/08/non-official-cover-respected-german-journalist-blows-whistle-on-how-the-cia-controls-the-media/
I would simply LOVE to visit so many places in Russia…
Two of the most significant battles of WW2 took place in the Crimea…Battle 1 – the storming of the Tatar ditch and the taking of the Kerch penninsula and Sevastopol, Battle 2 – the retaking of Simferopol and Sevasastopol which led to the epic evacuation by sea of the German survivors and enormous losses on both sides. Battle 1 involved the use of the largest gun ( on rails ) and the largest self propelled howitzers ever built.
The Crimean Tatars were caught between the ultimate rock and a hard place following the occupation of the Crimea by the Axis forces ( German and Romanian ). They didnt become “hilfsfreiwillige” (volunteer helpers ) as did so many Ukrainians and Russians…they didnt form several divisions of “SS” men for the Germans as did the Ukrainains…..
And they didnt form an army to fight for the Germans as did the Cossacks under Russian General Andrei Vlasov ( the Vlasov Army )….the Tatars were forced to work for the Germans as slaves…for food..for life….and for this Stalin had them deported en masse to Kazakhstan where they had to build their own shacks on being dumped from the trains.
The above potted history of the Tatars is not a copy and paste job….
@Mother
you hardly tied me up in knots – I’m still waiting for you to provide a link to the report on which your entire argument was based after you got confused between an opinion piece and an official report!!
As you said yourself, you have to dig a bit deeper than merely taking an agenda-driven website at face value.
Get back to me with that link and we can talk….
Pat, I have no doubt that western media is less than perfect, and the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes of what we hear. Your problem is that you dismiss western media out of hand whilst simultaneously accepting the truth of ‘alternative’ and Russian media unquestioningly, which is a ridiculous approach to take, particularly as most of it is state controlled! Why the double standards?
If you applied the same level of scrutiny to Russian media as you do to western media your outlook and conclusions may be very different.
Do you think ‘CIA controlled media’ fabricated the Verkhovna Rada 328 votes to 0 story? I’m sure they put a slant on it, but come on…
@ Padraig : Just read your article on Crimea. Brilliant.
We support Assad for now as the alternative is Islamist extremists funded by the US/NATO and Israel
Well done and congratulations to my Muslim brothers! ‘ashant!
Oh you’re not an atheist any more, Tar Dick? Forgot what account you were logged in with? Loser.
Oh great, Liam Egan is here to stalk me again.
You’re an enormous loser with nothing to look forward to in life but trolling.
bit harsh there Dane
‘Muslim brothers’
Lol.
This from someone who actively argues against religious education in schools.
The dopey fůcktard loses track of what accounts he’s logged into when trolling
Hi Liam / Dain.
jaysus Dane youve kicked it up a notch
Won’t someone please think of the children before posting all these spelling mistakes.
Lousy.
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