August – September War on Syria has begun. 30.000 Flee Kurdish Region
By Christof Lehmann
Over 30.000 refugees from Syria´s northern, predominantly Kurdish region have fled to the Kurdish Administrated Region of Iraq over the last days, informs the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Since the beginning of August, the region has been under sustained attacks from Western- and Gulf Arab-backed al-Qaeda brigades, including Jabhat al-Nusrah and The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.
Foreign-backed insurgents in Southern Syria have received major arms deliveries from Saudi Arabia via Jordan, including advanced Konkurs anti-tank missiles, while the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin E. Dempsey visited the Hashemite Kingdon.
The renewed campaign in Northern Syria and the expected major campaign in the South have been systematically prepared while the United States and allies have stalled Russian and Syrian initiatives to hold the international conference on Syria in Geneva.
More than 30.000 have fled, said UNHCR Spokesman. A spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Peter Kessler, has stated that the estimated number of of refugees which have fled the northern region of Syria is larger than 30.000 and that an estimated 5.000 were fleeing the region per day.
The numbers have not been independently corroborated and are, according to some eyewitnesses nsnbc international has spoken to, not unlikely to be exaggerated.
The UNHCR spokesperson said, that the United Nations has dispatched 2.100 tents, two prefabricated warehouses as well as water containers to the Kurdish Administrated Region (KAR) of Iraq.
The exodus is, according to Kessler, the biggest since November 2012, when approximately 9.000 Syrians were displaced and crossed into neighboring Turkey. The unconventional war which has been waged against Syria since 2011 has according to the United Nations cost more than 100.000 lives while an estimated 1.9 million have been displaced. The vast majority of both those who have been killed and those who have been displaced since 2011 are elderly as well as women and children.
Analysts Forecast Military Campaign in August and September. A major military campaign by foreign-backed insurgents has been expected to take place in August and September 2013. On 7 July nsnbc international published a report under the title “Syrian “Opposition” Prepares Political and Military August / September Campaign”.
Ahmed Assi Jaber
nsnbc international reported, that reliable intelligence strongly indicated that the Syrian political and military opposition was preparing a major military campaign to take place in August and September. The major military campaign would be conducted, among others, with the purpose to create a situation on the ground, that would appear to justify calls humanitarian corridors, a no-fly zone and eventually a military intervention.
The election of the Saudi-backed, new head of the opposition, Ahmed Assi Jaber would lend the foreign-backed insurgency the appearance of a coherent political and military front.
The August / September campaign was initiated on 5 August, when militants from al-Qaeda´s Jabhat al-Nusrah mounted a military campaign in the Tal Abyad district of the Raqqa Govenorate in the predominantly Kurdish region of northern Syria.
In one of the attacks, the Jabhat al-Nusrah insurgents murdered an estimated 330 women, elderly men as well as scores of children while kidnapping hundreds.
The mass kidnapping and related terrorist attacks elicited international condemnation while the governments of the USA as well as the Western and Arab governments of the UK, France, Israel, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan failed to condemn the war crime.
Yesterday, al-Qaeda brigades began shelling areas in the predominantly Kurdish town of Ras al-Ayn with mortars as well as with artillery. The barrage was reportedly initiated prior to an infantry assault which led to clashes between al-Qaeda brigades and Kurdish self-defense forces.
Northern Syria targeted after EU lifted Ban on Import of Syrian Oil from Rebel Held Territories to Finance Opposition. One of the primary objectives with the military campaign in the North of Syria is to gain and secure control over the region’s oil fields. Most of Syria´s known oil resources are located in the North of the country in the region near Deir Ez-Zor.
In April 2013 the EU lifted its ban on the import of Syrian oil from “rebel held territory to finance the opposition”.
In April 2013 the EU lifted its ban on the import of Syrian oil from “rebel held territory to finance the opposition”.
In 2010, prior to the onset of the attempted subversion in 2011, Syria produced approximately 380.000 barrels of oil per day and exported almost exclusively to the European Union. On Monday, 22 April 2013, the EU lifted its oil embargo on Syria to provide more economic support to the insurgents who are fighting the Syrian Arab Army. After the decision, an official statement from the EU Council said:
“The decision will allow for crude exports from rebel-held territory, the import of oil and gas production technology, and investments in the Syrian oil industry.”
The EU´s 27 Foreign Ministers had agreed that any export or investment initiatives will be taken in close coordination with the leaders of the Syrian opposition. Ahead of the meeting, the German Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle stated to international media:
“We wish for good economic development in the areas controlled by the opposition, therefore we lift the sanctions which hinder the moderate opposition forces work.”
The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague described the decision to lift the ban as a means of helping in all ways possible, saying:
“The security situation is so difficult, that much of this will be difficult to do, but it is important for us to send the signal that we are open to helping in other ways, in all ways possible.”
SAA cleans out Deir Ez-Zor
An Exodus of Syria´s Kurdish Noncombatants could yield Strategic Advantage for Syrian Armed Forces. Although the recent exodus of predominantly elderly, women and children from northern Syria, to the Kurdish Administrated Region of Iraq is tragic from a humanitarian perspective, it eases operations for the Syrian Arab Army.
With the civilian, noncombatant population evacuated to safety, joint operations including air force, infantry and special operations forces as well as armored brigades and artillery can be conducted more safely, without risking casualties of civilians.
On 13 August, or example, the Syrian Arab Army conducted successful operations in Deir Ez-Zor, ousting al-Qaeda brigades from the city and inflicting major casualties on the insurgents. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Army foiled a major infiltration attempt of insurgents from Syria into Iraq, also inflicting heavy casualties on the insurgents. The mass exodus from the region could yield major strategic advantages, although it is taking a toll on the country´s economy.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mashaal Al Zaben met with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey.
US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dempsey, arrives in Jordan as insurgents in Southern Syria receive major arms delivery from Saudi Arabia. On 15 August 2013 the official website of the US Department of Defense (DoD) reported, that the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army General Martin E. Dempsey has “capped a four-day Middle East trip with a visit to deployed U.S. troops partnering with Jordanian forces”.
According to the DoD, the USA has deployed some 200 plus troops in Jordan under the U.S. Central Command Forward, Jordan, which is a deployed element that coordinates between U.S. and Jordanian forces.
Moreover, the USA has deployed staff of U.S. organizations, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. State Department, as well as roughly 1.000 members of the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force in Jordan.
The DoD also informs, that “The team Jordan also includes liaison officers linking them to the services, special operation forces, the U.S. Embassy in Jordan, USAID, Britain, Canada and France. Its primary focus is planning for Syria”.
The appearance of the United States´ Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin E. Dempsey in Jordan coincided with a major weapons delivery from Saudi Arabia to insurgents in Syria. On 18 August, nsnbc international reported, that a major weapons delivery from Saudi Arabia has recently been provided for armed terrorist groups in Southern Syria. Both the “Syrian Opposition” and Western diplomatic and intelligence sources admitted, that the weapons delivery via Saudi Arabia has taken place in direct coordination with U.S. Intelligence. The arms deliveries reportedly include sophisticated weaponry such as Russian built Konkurs anti-tank missiles. Reportedly, some of the weapons, including the anti-tank missiles have already been smuggled into Syria.
Onset of August / September Campaign in Southern Syria to be expected soon. The onset of the long-planned August / September military campaign in the southern part of Syria is by many analysts expected to take place soon. Earlier this year, nsnbc International published a report, based on a Palestinian intelligence source, who reported that approximately 300 U.S. Special Forces are training insurgents in the region around the Jordanian Border town al-Mafraq.
The U.S. Special Forces are reportedly training the insurgents in operations such as “the safe handling of captured chemical weapons”.
Other specialties of training strongly indicate that the USA is preparing direct military action against high profile military and political targets in Syria. Reportedly, the US troops are training insurgents in cooperation with the US Air Force during air raids, such as pinpointing targets with lasers.
Analysts assess US assurances to “hold international conference in Syria as soon as possible” as a deliberate stalling strategy while preparing major military and political campaign. A growing number of independent international analysts begin to assess US assurances towards Russia, that the US is doing everything it can to hold the long overdue international conference on Syria “as soon as possible” as deliberate stalling strategy, while the anti-Syrian alliance systematically prepared the renewed military campaign against Syria in the North and the South of the country.
The stalling strategy has become so overtly grotesque, that it has led to the publication of articles such as “Kerry and the Caravan of Lies”.
Russia´s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov has repeatedly stressed that the Russian and the Syrian governments are ready to take part in the international conference without preconditions, but that he does not see the same willingness among the opposition.
The Russian position with regard to the stalling strategy is that the United States´statements, that it does not deliver weapons to the terrorists, does not exempt the United States from the full responsibility for the conduct and crimes which are being committed by the terrorist in Syria.
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This article was originally published in nsnbc http://nsnbc.me/
Images courtesy nsnbc
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About the Author
Dr. Christof Lehmann is the founder and editor of nsnbc. He is a psychologist and independent political consultant on conflict and conflict resolution and a wide range of other political issues. His work with traumatized victims of conflict has led him to also pursue the work as political consultant. He is a lifelong activist for peace and justice, human rights, Palestinians rights to self-determination in Palestine, and he is working on the establishment of international institutions for the prosecution of all war crimes, also those committed by privileged nations. On 28 August 2011 he started his blog nsnbc, appalled by misrepresentations of the aggression against Libya and Syria. In March 2013 he turned nsnbc into a daily, independent, international on-line newspaper. He can be contacted at nsnbc international at nsnbc.wordpress@gmail.com
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