Just International

Settlers Destroy More Than 7,500 Olive Trees

UN Report

19 October, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has revealed that the Jewish settlers continued their attacks against the Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the year where they destroyed more than 7500 olive trees.

Nearly half (48%) of the agricultural land in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) is planted with 8 million olive trees, the vast majority are in the West Bank, the report revealed, adding that the olive oil industry makes up 14% of the agricultural income for the oPt and supports the livelihoods of approximately 80,000 families.

OCHA report, issued on Thursday, stated that the olive harvest is an economic, social and cultural important occasion for the Palestinian society, while the occupation authorities deliberately prevented those who own agricultural fields located in the areas between the barrier and the Green Line or near the Jewish settlements in the West Bank to obtain permits allowing them to have access to their fields.

In 2011, 42% of applications for permits to access olive groves behind the Barrier submitted prior to the harvest season were rejected, compared to 39% in 2010, according to the report.

In the West Bank, over 7,500 olive trees belonging to Palestinians were damaged or destroyed by Israeli settlers between January and mid October 2012, some 2,000 fewer than during the equivalent period in 2011.

Only one of the 162 complaints regarding settler attacks against Palestinian trees monitored by the Israeli NGO Yesh Din since 2005 has so far led to the indictment of a suspect.

The report can be downloaded here(PDF)

Turkey Leads US-Sponsored Military Encirclement Of Syria

By Chris Marsden

18 October, 2012

@ WSWS.org

Despite widely reported concerns of blowback in Syria due to the arming of jihadist groups, a military build-up on Syria’s borders is proceeding apace.

Racep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamist government in Turkey is leading the way, using the pretext of stray mortar fire from Syria that killed five civilians to legitimise the deployment of 250 tanks, jets, helicopter gunships, troops, artillery emplacements and antiaircraft batteries on the border.

The Turkish Parliament recently granted war powers to Erdogan to send troops into Syria. Daily targeting of Syrian facilities was followed last week by the use of F16s to force down a civilian Syrian Airlines Airbus en route to Damascus from Moscow, with claims that it was carrying Russian weaponry.

Erdogan used the United Nations Security Council as a platform to attack Russia and China—“one or two members of the permanent five”—for vetoing anti-Syrian resolutions and demand an overhaul of the Security Council.

Turkey, along with the Gulf States led by Qatar, is also behind a push to unite Syria’s divided opposition forces, with the explicit aim of overcoming the qualms of the Western powers over arming the opposition and backing it militarily. There is an agreement to announce a joint leadership on November 4 at a conference in Qatar, just two days before the US presidential elections.

Foreign supporters “are telling us: ‘Sort yourselves out and unite, we need a clear and credible side to provide it with quality weapons,’” a source said.

Ensuring an effective command structure under the nominal discipline of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the actual control of Turkey and its allies requires the inclusion of rival military leaders Riad al-Asaad, Mustafa Sheikh and Mohammad Haj Ali (all defectors from the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad), as well as various leaders of provincial military councils inside Syria. Funds are also being funneled into the Local Coordinating Committees—hitherto held up by various ex-left groups around the world as being independent of the imperialist powers.

UN Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi is making great play of urging Iran to arrange a four-day cease-fire beginning October 25 to mark the Muslim religious holiday of Eid al-Adha. He is saying less about a proposal, more indicative of the UN’s role, to dispatch a 3,000-strong troop force to Syria.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Brahimi “has spent recent weeks quietly sounding out which countries would be willing to contribute soldiers” to such a force, ostensibly to be made operable following a future truce.

The direct involvement of US and British forces would be “unlikely”, given their role in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, so Brahimi “is thought to be looking at more nations that currently contribute to Unifil, the 15,000-strong mission set up to police Israel’s borders with Lebanon.”

These include Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Ireland—“one of which would be expected to play a leading role in the Syria peacekeeping force.”

The proposal was leaked by the Syrian National Council (SNC), with whom Brahami met in Turkey at the weekend. On Monday, the SNC was meeting for a two-day summit in the Qatari capital, Doha. Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, took the occasion to push for military intervention in Syria. He told reporters, “Any mission that is not well armed will not fulfil its aim. For this, it must have enough members and equipment to carry out its duty.”

The SNC’s 35-member general secretariat was meeting in Doha to discuss “the establishment of mechanisms to administer the areas which have been liberated” in Syria, according to sources.

Discussions of the direct involvement of European troops in Syria are in line with confirmed reports that the US and Britain have despatched military forces to Jordan, for the purported purpose of policing its border and preventing a spill-over of the conflict.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta acknowledged the move at an October 10 meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels. The US has repeatedly issued denials of a growing military presence in Turkey located at the Incirlik airbase, but Panetta confirmed that Washington had “worked with” Turkey on “humanitarian, as well as chemical and biological weapons issues.”

The next day, the Times of London and the New York Times reported that Britain too has upward of 150 soldiers and military advisors in Jordan. Jordanian military sources said France may also be involved.

Anonymous senior US defence officials told Reuters that most of those sent to Jordan were Army Special Operations forces, deployed at a military centre near Amman and moving “back and forth to the Syrian border” to gather intelligence and “plan joint Jordanian-US military manoeuvres.”

There is “talk of contingency plans for a quick pre-emptive strike if al Assad loses control over his stock of chemical weapons in the civil war,” Reuters added.

Turkey’s bellicose stand has produced widespread media reports that the US and other NATO powers risk being “dragged into” a wider regional war. This in part reflects real concerns and divisions within imperialist ruling circles and in part an effort to conceal the Western powers’ instrumental role in encouraging military conflict.

Attention has been drawn to the refusal of NATO to heed appeals by Turkey for it to invoke Article 5 of its charter authorising the military defence of a member nation. But despite this, NATO has publicly gone a long way towards endorsing Turkey’s actions.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters at the same Brussels summit that “obviously Turkey can rely on NATO solidarity… Taking into account the situation at our southeastern border, we have taken the steps necessary to make sure that we have all plans in place to protect and defend Turkey,” [emphasis added].

The previous day, a senior US defence official said, “We engage with Turkey to make sure that should the time come where Turkey needs help, we’re able to do what we can.”

In an indication of the type of discussions taking place in the corridors of power, several policy advisers have gone into print to outline their proposals for a proxy military intervention by Turkey to which the US could then lend overt support.

Jorge Benitez, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, urged in the October 15 Christian Science Monitor: “To preserve its credibility in Turkey and the region, NATO should offer radar aircraft and/or rapid reaction forces.”

“Too much attention has been focused on the question of invoking Article 5, the alliance’s mutual defence clause,” he added. Other options were available. Before the US-led war against Iraq in 2003, he noted, Turkey had requested a consultative meeting under Article 4 of the NATO treaty “to discuss how the alliance could help Turkey deter an attack from Iraq.”

Using this pretext, NATO approved Operation Display Deterrence, including the dispatch of four AWACS radar aircraft, five Patriot air defence batteries, equipment for chemical and biological defence, and “more than 1,000 ‘technically advanced and highly capable forces’ to support Turkey during the Iraq conflict.”

Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy published an article in the October 11 New York Times on a three-point strategy he called “the right way for Turkey to intervene in Syria.”

He urged Turkey to “continue the current pattern of shelling across the border every time Syria targets Turkey” in order to “weaken Syrian forces” and let the FSA “fill the vacuum;” to “combine shelling with cross-border raids to target Kurdish militants in Syria;” and, if things “get worse along the border,” to stage “a limited invasion to contain the crisis as it did in Cyprus in the 1970s.”

Syria News On 18th October, 2012

Armed Forces Inflict Heavy Losses Upon Terrorists in Several Provinces 

Oct 17, 2012

ROVINCES, (SANA) – The Armed Forces on Wednesday killed scores of terrorists and destroyed a car for one of their leaders in addition to destroying seven armored vehicles, a pickup equipped with Shilka machinegun, four vehicles equipped with DShK machineguns and two cars with mortars in the area linking al-Shaar and al-Sakhour roundabouts.

Another army unit killed many terrorists near al-Sakhour roundabout and destroyed a workshop for making explosive devices, burning six cars with all the terrorists inside them, in addition to destroying 3 armored vehicles equipped with mortars and 6 DShK-equipped vehicles.

Meanwhile, authorities clashed with terrorists driving a truck on Damascus – Aleppo road, killing many of them and seize large amount of Turkish-made explosives, C4, silver nitrates and sulfuric acid and they were hidden under food materials.

The seized materials also included advanced communication devices, two satellite transmission devices, weapons and night vision binoculars.

A unit of the Armed Forces carried out a qualitative operation against terrorists in al-Shaar roundabout in Aleppo city, killing scores of them and destroying 10 vehicles equipped with DShK machineguns and two cars equipped with missiles in addition to other two cars equipped with mortars.

The Armed Forces carried out a qualitative operation near Ba’adin crossroads in Aleppo city.

The operation resulted in destroying 3 cars equipped with machineguns and a stolen car and the killing of all the terrorists inside them.

The Armed Forces also carried out a qualitative operation against terrorists’ hideout in al-Sakhour area in Aleppo.

The operation resulted in destroying a DShK-equipped pick-up and the killing of 4 terrorists among them a non-Syrian terrorist.

Units of the Armed Forces killed scores of terrorists while cleaning al-Jabal and al-Safa areas in Aleppo city of the armed terrorist groups.

A terrorist was killed and eight others were injured during clashes between two armed terrorist groups  because of a dispute over  dividing  the loot in al-Sukkari area.

A unit of the armed forces targeted a gathering for terrorists in Al-Atareb, Aleppo countryside, killing scores of them, among them was sniper, Naser Abdul-Aziz al-Faren of Saudi nationality and rifleman Ismael al-Ridwan of Yemeni nationality.

Meanwhile, another army unit hit a position for terrorists at al-Bab area and Aziza village in Aleppo countryside, inflicting heavy losses among them.

The Army units stormed dens of terrorists to the north of Handarat, Shaala, Tal Rahal in Aleppo countryside, Al-Salehin, Tirkawi square in al-Nayrab destroying 4 cars equipped with machineguns and mortars, killing a number of terrorist and injuring many others.

Another unit of the army targeted gatherings of terrorists on Aleppo-al-Bab highway and at al-Sayyed Ali village in Mare’e, Tadef and Deir Hafer, destroying 10 cars equipped with DSHK machineguns.

Member of Damascus Governorate Executive Office Assassinated

An armed terrorist group assassinated citizen Mohammad Ayman Taja, member of Damascus Governorate Executive Office, in Rukn Eddin area in Damascus city.

A source at the Police Command in the province said that the terrorists opened fire on Taja as he was leaving his house in Rukn Eddin, causing his immediate death.

Leaders of Armed Groups Killed in Damascus Countryside

Units of the Armed Forces inflicted heavy losses upon the armed terrorist groups in al-Shifouniyeh and Jisreen towns in the eastern Ghouta in Damascus countryside.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the Armed Forces continue their operations to clear al-Shifouniyeh town in the eastern Ghouta, killing leaders of the armed terrorist groups and scores of their members.

The source added that terrorists Ahmad Khaybeh and Khaled al-Deirani were identified among the dead.

It said that an army unit killed a number of terrorists in Jisreen town, adding that terrorist Mohammad Walid al-Nabki was identified among the dead.

Armed Forces Restored Security and Stability to al-Jousiyeh Town in Homs Countryside

The armed Forces restored security and stability to al-Jousiyeh town in Qseir countryside in Homs from the armed terrorist groups, killing scores of terrorists.

A source in the province said that an army unit dismantled 20 explosive devices, weighed between 50 to 500 kg, planted by terrorists on the town roads.

It added that the bodies of terrorists Mohammad Oghlan and Mouayad Amer were identified among the dead.

Another army unit destroyed a base for launching missiles in al-Qseir countryside in Homs and killed a number of terrorists.

Bodies of terrorists Mustafa Shamsini and Abdel-Kafi Ahmad al-Aatr were identified among the dead.

Terrorists Eliminated, DShK-equipped Cars Destroyed in Idleb

Armed forces units carried out operations in Wadi al-Deif area in Ma’aret al-Nu’man, Idleb province, eliminating the members of three terrorist groups that attempted to attack the area.

The armed forces also destroyed a missile-launching platform, a mortar launcher, a number of cars equipped with DShK machineguns, in addition to seizing a variety of weapons carried by the terrorists.

An armed forces unit targeted a gathering of terrorists in the town of Kafernabel  in the western countryside of Ma’aret al-Nu’man, eliminating a number of terrorists and injuring others.

A military unit destroyed a number of DShK-equipped cars and killed dozens of terrorists in Bseida town in Ma’aret al-Nu’man in Idleb.

3 Explosive Device Workshops Discovered in Daraa

A military unit discovered three workshops for manufacturing explosive devices in Maraba town in Daraa countryside.

A source in the province said that the army unit seized large amount of gunpowder and explosives inside them.

It added that the Armed Forces also destroyed a SUV equipped with a DShK machinegun, killing scores of terrorists in the village.

The body of terrorist Mahmoud Ali al-Abboud, a leader of an armed terrorist group, was identified.

Terrorists Killed, Weapons Seized, 3 Explosive Devices Dismantled in Hama

The armed forces killed four terrorists and seized machineguns, pistols and grenades in al-Mzeiyraa town in al-Salamiyeh countryside in Hama.

A unit of the armed forces clashed with an armed terrorist group which attempted to attack citizens in Masoud village in the countryside of Hama, killing 4 terrorists and arrested others.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the army unit destroyed a car with all the terrorists inside and seized several machineguns and sniper rifles, in addition to amounts of ammunition.

Another army unit destroyed a car transferring terrorists and eliminated four  terrorists and arrested three others in Hama countryside.

Authorities stormed terrorists’ den in Masaud village in Salamiyeh countryside. Authorities arrested 4 of the terrorists and killed the rest and seized a machinegun-equipped car and an amount of weapons and ammunitions.

Units of military engineering dismantled three explosive devices, weighed around 100 kg, ready for remote detonation planted by the armed terrorist groups on the roads near al-Treimseh town in Mhardeh area in Hama.

A Number of Terrorists Killed in Deir Ezzor

A unit of the Armed Forces killed all members of an armed terrorist group near the National Hospital in al-Rushdiyeh neighborhood.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that that the body of terrorist Abdullah Abu Aaraj was identified among the dead. It added unit of the Armed Forces destroyed gatherings for terrorists and a booby-trapped tanker in Souq al-Jbeileh in the city.

 

Another army unit destroyed a field hospital in al-Sheikh Yasin neighborhood in Deir Ezzor.

Foreign and Expatriates Ministry: EU New Sanctions Contradict International Law

Oct 17, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)_An official source at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry on Wednesday said that ”In yet another move that proves the colonial mentality that some European countries insist on following in dealing with the events in Syria, the EU announced a new package of sanctions against Syria which target the livelihood of the Syrian people and various economic sectors that directly affect providing the basic needs for them.”

The source told SANA that the EU insistence on imposing unjustified economic sanctions has no legal or moral basis as they contradict the international law and depend on fabricated information that go against the EU claims of caring for the interests of the Syrian people, as the Syrian citizen is targeted in his livelihood and is turned into one receiving humanitarian aid.

”How can the EU justify its care for the wellbeing of the Syrians as it imposes sanctions targeting the sectors of energy, banks, transport and health, and prevent any the possibility of importing basic needs including the medical equipment and incurable diseases’ drugs?,” the source inquired.

The source added that ”the policy of imposing sanctions on Syria is a new episode of the political, financial and media support provided by European countries to the armed terrorist groups which are targeting the Syrian state and people, and is a direct support to the parties interested in prolonging the crisis that the international community agreed unanimously on settling through national dialogue among the Syrians as to preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria away from foreign interference.”

”Syria affirms that such unilateral, unethical sanctions won’t weaken the will of the Syrian people in preserving the dignity, stances and heritage of their country, and the Syrian government will do its duty to overcome these inhumane sanctions, ” the source concluded.

Al-Jaafari: Syria Fully Supports Tendency Toward an International Community Free from Using or Threatening to Use Force

Oct 17, 2012

NEW YORK, (SANA) – Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, on Tuesday stressed Syria’s full support to the global tendency aiming at building an international community that is free from using or threatening to use force, whether nuclear or traditional.

In a speech before the UN General Assembly’ First Committee on Disarmament and International Security Affairs, al-Jaafari said that the continued support made by major countries to Israel in the fields of traditional and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is a negative measure that doesn’t help building peace or establishing a region free from nuclear weapons.

Syria’s representative pointed out to the war waged against Syria by armed extremist organizations and mercenaries, urging the member countries to commit themselves to international agreements and stop smuggling weapons and materials, both lethal and non-lethal, through the borders of Syria’s neighboring countries.

“My country’s delegation stresses full support to the global tendency toward establishing an international society that is free of using force, whether nuclear or traditional, a community where the principles of the UN Charter stipulating for justice in dealing, equality in sovereignty and peace among nations and peoples prevail,” al-Jaafari said.

He added that ” Preserving national security is a right guaranteed by the UN Charter to all countries, it’s not a privilege to be used by some countries to circumvent the principle of Nuclear non-proliferation and to conduct double-standard criteria that hinder the process of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.”

Al-Jaafari said that the world is facing huge challenges, on top of which is the danger of WMD proliferation, especially as some countries are threatening to use these weapons to achieve political purposes and gains.

Syria’s representative said that “After more than four decades since the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was signed, it is very important that nuclear countries comply with the 6th article of the treaty, stipulating for working seriously to relieve the world from this danger.”

He underlined that the continued support made by major countries to Israel in the fields of providing various nuclear and cutting-edge traditional weapons and enabling it from manufacturing such weapons with ability to store them locally can’t help build peace or establish a region that is free of nuclear weapons.

Al-Jaafari underscored that some countries have been providing Israel with advanced nuclear technology for decades and violating their commitment to the first and second articles of the Non-Proliferation Treaty through protecting this Israeli nuclear anomaly in the region.

He highlighted that these violations enabled Israel to build nuclear weapons and delivery methods, which pose threats to the safety and security of the whole Middle East region and beyond it.

Al-Jaafari warned of the risks of the continuation of the international suspicious and inexcusable silence over Israel’s policies, as it moved from the policy of nuclear ambiguity, based on  US-Israeli understanding since the beginning of the 1960s,  to publicly declare its possession of nuclear weapons and  threatening to use them amidst a western silence that confirms the connivance of some states in protecting Israel from the repercussions of disavowal of the relevant international obligations,” he added.

Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations said that Syria expresses its deep concern that the NPT Review Conferences have not been able to set a specific and obligatory timetable for possessing nuclear weapons so far.

He stressed that what has been issued in the Review Conference for 2010 regarding the establishment of a the Middle East Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (MENWFZ) based on Review Conference of 1995 that necessitates the international community to work for achieving this goal through the need to pressure Israel to join NPT.

Al-Jaafari added that most world states are aspiring for convening this conference and making it a success, as it is due to be held at the end of the current year in Helsinki in Finland, yet Israel’s declaration in the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last month confirms its intention to shirk the resolution of Review Conference for 2010 and thus foiling Helsinki Conference.

Al-Jaafari called on the international community to put pressures on Israel to take part in the Conference and to join the NPT as a non-nuclear party.

He pointed out to the necessity that the conference adopt a comprehensive balanced work program which includes the formation of subsidiary bodies to negotiate eliminating all nuclear weapons according to a binding , unconditioned specific timetable.

“Syria confirms the inalienable right of the NPT’s member states, according to the provisions of article IV of the Treaty, to access the nuclear technology and employ this technology for peaceful purposes in cooperation with the IAEA,” he said, calling on the Agency to shoulder its responsibilities for facilitating the cooperation among the countries in the field of using the nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

He expressed Syria’s rejection of any attempt to interpret these texts  in a way that detracts this right or restricts its use.

On the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, al-Jaafari said that  some countries are involved in transporting these weapons to the terrorist groups, illegitimate armed groups and mercenaries with the aim of igniting crisis and undermining certain countries and areas to serve the geopolitical interests of other countries.

Al-Jaafari went on as saying “My country is witnessing grievous events due to the terrorist acts perpetrated by armed extremist groups , mercenaries and Jihadist groups  from Arab and regional countries that committed criminal acts based on takfiri and extremist irresponsible Fatwas.”

He added that these suicidal groups are using booby-trapped cars, explosive devices and all forms of small arms and light weapons to hit the  Syrian citizens, infrastructure and the state institutions with the aim of spreading panic and pushing sectarian war forwards and bringing foreign military intervention under the pretext of protecting civilians.

Al-Jaafari stressed that the terrorist attacks which hit Syria cannot be carried out without financial and weapon support or political and media coverage of the practices of the armed groups.

Syria’s Representative to the UN said, “Unfortunately, some Arab, regional and international states are providing facilitations to the armed terrorist groups to carry out terrorist attacks in Syria.”

Al-Jaafari called on the member states to shoulder their responsibilities and commit themselves to international conventions and treaties, in addition to stopping smuggling of weapons and all related materials whether they are lethal or ‘non-lethal’ across the borders to Syria.

People’s Assembly Condemns Illegal Infiltration of Two Kuwaiti Parliamentarians to Syria

Oct 17, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – The People’s Assembly condemned the illegal infiltration of the two members of the Kuwaiti Parliament, Walid al-Tabtabai and Jamaan al-Harbash into Syria through the Turkish territories on September 7th, 2012 and attempts to spread sedition among the united Syrian people.

Speaker of the People’s Assembly, Mohammad Jihad al-Lahham stressed the Assembly’s keenness to have best relations with the Kuwaiti Parliament to meet the aspirations of the Syrian and Kuwaiti peoples.

He said that the Assembly denounces this irresponsible behavior and looks forwards to an explanation by the Kuwaiti Parliament regarding the infiltration of the two MPs into the Syrian territories in the manner of takfiri terrorists , gunmen and weapons’ smugglers.

Lahham added that it had been better for the Kuwaiti Parliament to have sent an official delegation to inspect the reality of events in Syria, hold talks with members of the Syrian People’s Assembly and other political figures and present proposals that contribute to halting the bloodshed in Syria and bring all sides together to come to dialogue as it is the best way to overcome the current crisis and draw up the democratic future of Syria which has been guaranteed by the Constitution.

The People’s Assembly approved draft law on exempting electricity subscribers from fines if they paid their financial obligations by March 31st, 2013.

Members of the People’s Assembly stressed the necessity of providing facilitation for private companies and facilities to obtain electricity converters, particularly after the damage caused by the armed terrorist groups to high and medium voltage power transmission lines.

The Assembly also approved draft law on establishing the General Establishment for Seed Propagation.

The Assembly referred the report of the Legislative and Constitutional Committee on possibility of ratifying the agreement to establish a center for bilateral geopolitical, trade, economic, scientific, technical and financial cooperation signed between Syria and the International Center for Geopolitical Analysis and Trade Cooperation on August 3rd, 2012 in Moscow to the committees of Arab and international affairs for scrutiny.

The Assembly’s members raised questions regarding the possibility of establishing a university in Hasaka province and a sewage treatment plant in Salqeen city in Idleb to reduce pollution.

Cooperation Agreement Worth USD 300,000 to Assist Families Affected by Terrorist Acts Singed

Oct 17, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Ministry of Local Administration and the UN Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) signed a cooperation agreement to provide aid to the displaced, hosting and affected families due to the armed terrorist groups’ attacks.

The total budget of the agreement is initially estimated at USD 300,000 and it might reach USD 5 to 6 million by the end of 2012.

The agreement stipulates for carrying out maintenance and rehabilitation works for makeshift centers in the provinces, ensure basic materials and provide aid to affected and displaced families.

According to the agreement which came within the framework of the response plan signed by the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry and the UN organization working in Syria, monthly cash assistance will be provided for displaced citizens in the Syrian provinces to meet their needs.

Deputy Prime Minister for Services Affairs, Minister of Local Administration, Omar Ghalawanji on the Syrian side and the Head of the UNHCR Office in Syria, Tareq al-Kurdi signed the agreement.

Minister Ghalawanji said that the UN aid came to support Syria in current crisis which forced a large number of citizens to leave their houses to alternative places.

He hailed the Syrian government’s efforts to reduce the negative impact of the crisis and provide humanitarian aid for citizens, underlining the role of the international organizations working in Syria to help the Syrians overcome part of these negative repercussions, especially the UN Higher Commission for Refugees Affairs.

In turn , al-Kurdi stressed the Commission’s commitment to establish a database on the level of Syria and contribute to distributing aid in cooperation with the Syrian government, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the UNICEF to improve the economic and social situation of families affected by the current circumstances.

Putin: No-One Has the Right to Tell Russia How and to Whom it Exports Weapons if Exports Don’t Contradict UN Sanctions

Oct 17, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said that no-one has the right to tell Russia how and to whom it may export weapons if the exports don’t contradict UN sanctions.

In a speech on Wednesday, Putin said that Russia only signs agreements to export weapons and military equipment with legitimate authorities to boost the defensive capabilities of independent countries after careful study of the situation in the region in question, noting that not all exporters of weapons are so methodical.

Putin also said that unilateral or group sanctions outside the framework of the UN, particularly politicized sanctions, do not represent a rule for international law.

He also called for increasing the level of technical military cooperation among Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and Vietnam.

125 Citizens Released after Pledging Not to Take up Arms Again

Oct 17, 2012

PROVINCES, (SANA) – The juridical authorities in Aleppo on Wednesday released 109 citizens who got involved in recent events but commit no murders.

The citizens were released after they pledged not to take up weapons again or commit any act that might undermine Syria’s security

In the same context, 16 citizens who got involved in the recent events in the country and did not commit murder were released in Damascus Countryside.

Meeting the released citizens, Governor of Damascus Countryside, Hussein Makhlouf said that it is an opportunity for all those who have been misled to return to the right path and a call for those who are involved to turn themselves in.

He hailed the governorate’s efforts to facilitate procedures of releasing the misled citizens to go back to normal life and contribute to building their country.

The governor stressed that the governorate will take care of those who surrendered themselves and weapons to the authorities, solve their problems and help them find job opportunities to start again.

He indicated that the governorate of Damascus Countryside is working on communicating with all sides that reject violence and seek dialogue as a way to achieve legitimate rights.

He said that those who turn themselves in are contributing to reducing the bloodshed and the burden on authorities and the whole country in combating terrorism.

The released citizens said that the humane treatment while they were under arrest changed their convictions.

They asked for providing job opportunities for them and releasing some others in addition to calling upon the Ministry of National Reconciliation Affairs to reduce of the social consequences of the crisis in some areas in the governorate.

Earlier on Tuesday, 68 persons from Homs and its countryside who were misled into getting involved in recent events without shedding Syrian blood were released after turning themselves and their weapons in and pledging not to bear arms again.

Ahmadinejad Calls on All Countries to Help Find Solution to Crisis in Syria through National Dialogue and Accord

Oct 17, 2012

TEHRAN, (SANA) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on all countries to help resolve the crisis in Syria through dialogue and talks, saying that his recent talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan focused on achieving peace and stability in Syria and the developments in it.

In a press conference during his visit to Kuwait on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad said that those who love the Syrian people must work to establish groundwork for dialogue, peace and free elections, stressing that the future of Syria must be decided upon by the Syrians and that their choices must be respected.

He affirmed that national reconciliation and unity and ending violence is an urgent need, adding that no-one should work against the opinion of the Syrian people.

Ahmadinejad said that weapons and war cannot achieve a solution in Syria as they perpetuate violence and war and do not lead to a future, stressing that ending violence and holding dialogue to hold free elections is the right way to reach a solution.

The Iranian President also criticized suggestions and allegations that Iran poses a threat to security in the region, affirming that Iran considers the region’s security equal to its own security, and that it has been a protector of security in the Gulf area and regional countries across history.

He noted that lack of security in the region is only caused by the presence of foreign forces, which is proven by history, pointing out that the region’s peoples have coexisted for thousands of years.

Ahmadinejad also warned against plots by foreign sides for sowing disputes in the region to preserve their own presence in it.

Brahimi: Solution to Crisis in Syria Depends on Syrians

Oct 17, 2012

 

BEIRUT, (SANA) – The UN envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi reiterated that solution in Syria depends mainly on the Syrians, adding that his mission to find a solution to the crisis in Syria is based on Kofi Annan’s plan and Geneva statement.

In a press conference in Beirut, Brahimi said that “We deal with the problem depending on different visions, particularly Annan’s six-point plan and Geneva statement which has been agreed on by the UN Security Council members and the majority of countries of the region.

He said that he is holding talks with all sides to stop bloodshed in Syria and to establish a project for the Syrians and by the Syrians themselves to solve their problems. Brahimi added that the solution to the crisis in Syria lies in the hands of the Syrians since they are mainly concerned, with the possibility of providing international support by the UN.

He indicate that the neighboring countries are interested in solving the crisis, depending on the necessity of putting an end to the suffering of the Syrian people, not to mention their fear of the fact that the crisis will not remain within the Syrian borders forever, it might be solved or it will expand.

Regarding a ceasefire on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, Brahimi said “It bodes well as regards the Syrian government, and if the opposition responded positively to the proposal, it might be a small stride towards ceasefire and start talks about withdrawing heavy weapons and halt the flow of arms from outside to reach a political solution to the crisis in Syria.”

Russia’s EU Ambassador: EU Pretexts to Impose Sanctions against Syria and Iran Not Convincing

Oct 17, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA) – Russia’s European Union Ambassador, Vladimir Chizhov, stressed that the pretexts of the European Union to justify imposing additional sanctions against Syria and Iran are not convincing, adding that the sanctions against Belarus are not fruitful.

Interviewed by the Russian Interfax news agency, Chizhov commented on the EU decisions to expand sanctions imposed against Syria and Iran and prolonging sanctions against Belarus for another year as saying that the EU chose to adopt the tactic of imposing sanctions which Russia considered to be short-sighted and inappropriate.

He stressed that the UN Security Council is the only power to impose international sanctions and “we should not call other things as sanctions, rather they are unilateral restraints.”

Chizhov added that it is a must to take into account the need for a scenario to get out of the current situation and that he had no confidence in that the EU has that scenario if that side on which the sanctions are imposed changed its behavior.

He added using the sanctions as a tool for influence necessitates considering what might happen in case they failed and what is the next step, indicating the EU needs such strategic planning.

Interior Minister: Exerting More Efforts to Prevent Attempts to Destabilize Security of the Homeland

Oct 17, 2012

DAMASCUS COUNTRYSIDE, (SANA) – Interior Minister, General Mohammad al-Shaar called upon police officers for exerting more efforts to protect citizens and shoulder their responsibilities in confronting all attempts to destabilize the security of the homeland.

Meeting police officers in Damascus Countryside, Minister al-Shaar reviewed the recent events taking place in the country and the instigative campaigns launched by Arab and international sides to undermine Syria’s stability due to its national and pan-Arab stances, its support to the resistance and its rejection of domination policies and dictates.

He said the media campaign by some satellite channels aimed at stoking internal situation and affect the international public opinion through the support of foreign countries and the armed terrorist groups which kill and commit sabotage acts serving foreign agendas.

Bogdanov: Russia Calls its Arab Partners to Exert Pressure on Syrian Opposition to Accept UNSC Resolutions No 2042 and 2043

Oct 17, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA) – The Russian President’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, stressed that Russia does not support one side at the expense of the other in the Syrian crisis. Russia supports national reconciliation and launching comprehensive national dialogue to end the crisis.

In an interview with Russia Today Channel, Bogdanov pointed out that the international community has not abandoned the Syrian issue, on the contrary, there is a blatant interference in the Syrian internal affairs through sending weapons and fighters and encouraging the extremist opposition to oppose an peaceful settlement to the crisis in Syria within the framework of the comprehensive national dialogue.

He added that Russia is waiting for UN envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi’ visit to Moscow as he set his vision on the situation in Syria and indentified the means for the solution.

On the Russian proposal on forming a Syrian-Turkish security and military supervision committee  to supervise the situation and realize an atmosphere of mutual trust, Bogdanov said that Syria agreed on this proposal as means of political solution to get out of the crisis in Syria, while the Turks said the proposal came too late.

Bogdanov added that sending any peacekeeping force to Syria depends on the agreement of the Syrian leadership.

Syria, Cuba Discuss Medical Cooperation

Oct 17, 2012

 

DAMASCUS, (SANA)_Health Minister, Dr. Saad al-Nayef discussed with the Cuban ambassador in Damascus, Fernando Pérez Maza the health situation in Syria and the challenges facing it in light of the economic sanctions, and cooperation mechanisms to provide the special and hormone drugs to Syrian patients.

Al-Nayef said that the Ministry is working to provide the medical equipment and special drugs that local factories don’t produce, indicating that there would be an exchange of visits between the two countries to discuss exporting Syrian medicines to Cuba and importing Cuban medicines as to serve the common interests of the two countries.

Al-Nayef said that a Syrian delegation will visit Cuba to get a close look at the medical situation there.

For his part, the Cuban ambassador said that there is political and popular interest in Cuba in catering to the needs of the Syrians and putting their potential at the disposal of the Syrian government, considering it a first step towards developing trade and economic relations between the two countries.

He signaled the interest of the Cuban side to make the visit of the Syrian delegation coincide with the world international exhibition as the biggest advertising event showcasing Cuba’s medicine and medical equipment.

Fingerprint Youth Syria Honors Media and Diplomatic figures.. Mikdad: Those who Call for NATO or Foreign Interference Away from Wisdom

Oct 17, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)-Fingerprint Youth Syria group held a celebration Tuesday in honor for the diplomatic and Media fronts which confront the aggression on Syria.

Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad, in a speech at the celebration, affirmed that Syria will come out of the crisis victorious due to the determination of the Syrian Arab army, the popular support to it and the compass defined by President Bashar al-Assad represented by the national dialogue.

“The wise person comes to the dialogue table and stands against the killing of his people, but those who call for NATO or the foreign intervention against their people are away from the wisdom,” Mikdad said.

He added that enemies of Syria want to divide the homeland, stir up discord among the people in the interest of Israel, so they try to “slaughter” it because it is the only remaining center in the region and outside which defends the rights and stands against the western, colonial agendas.

Mikdad disapproved talks which say that the reason behind what is going on in Syria is its need for reform as this was being achieved and being sought by President al-Assad to overcome corruption and promote the situation up in Syria.

“The aggressions against the Syrian embassies in some capitals, among them burning the Syrian embassy in Cairo, were targeting to burn the Syrian will and silence the pure voice as well as the fair and noble stance to carry out US- backed Israeli plots,” Mikdad said.

He added that the Syrian diplomacy, based on morals and the Syrians’ interest in their central issues, particularly the Palestinian issue, will remain forever the real conscience that defends sovereignty, independence and the freedom of peoples.

Chairman of the Boards of the Group Anas Mohamad Younes, for his part, underlined that honoring the voices of right in media and the diplomatic corps comes as an appreciation by the Syrian youth to the sacrifices and the efforts they exerted to overcome the crisis.

Khalaf al-Miftah, General Director of al-Wihda Establishment for Printing and Distribution said that the awareness of the Syrian youth of the nature of the conspiracy against Syria makes ‘all of us” more determined to come out of the crisis.

Syria’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mihdi Dakhllalah said in a statement to SANA that away from the negative effects of the crisis in Syria which all talk about, the positive aspects Syria is passing through is that it possesses youth from the civil society which enjoy great role that expresses hidden energies which became an effective factor in the country.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate EU Making A Mockery Of Free Speech

By Kourosh Ziabari

18 October, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

Only three days after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its alleged role in promoting peace and reconciliation across the European continent, the European Union made the most undemocratic and non-peaceful decision one might think of by ordering the French-based satellite provider Eutelsat SA to take 19 Iranian TV channels, including the 24-hour English-language Press TV off air, denying millions of viewers across the world the opportunity to benefit from the alternative, critical standpoint of a group of media which had for long endeavored to challenge the Western mainstream media’s uncontested influence over the global public opinion.

The disputed move can be seen as the latest effort intended for pressuring and isolating Iran over its political independence and its steadfast resistance against the warmongerings and hawkish policies of the West is but a flagrant violation of the principles of free speech. This decision is made while the Europeans and American have constantly, since the World War II, been boasting of being the commander-in-chief and foremost pioneers of freedom speech and democracy. Albeit their claims are justifiable in the context that freedom of speech is allowed as long as it is used a pretext to lambaste and interfere in the internal affairs of unfriendly “others” such as Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria, which these Westerners very much like to capitalize on as the favorite villains to hit and attack.

It’s said that this controversial decision is in line with the unilateral sanctions imposed upon Iran by the European Union; however, the question which can be raised is that, can the belligerent states of the EU go as far as banning the television stations of a sovereign country which have been operating in compliance with the technical rules and regulations of the satellite providers? Are the satellite providers legally entitled to investigate the content of the programs of the TV stations which they give coverage to?

Mike Harris, the managing director of the Arizona-based AMT Capital Partners, a private equity investment banking firm believes that it was Israel, the uneasy and perturbed entity in the Middle East, which triggered and encouraged the ban on Iranian TV stations.

“Let’s look at who Eutelsat really is…. and let’s look at them for a moment because their CEO is a French-Israeli duel national citizen. If you look at the executive committee, they are all French-Israeli duel national citizens,” said Harris in an interview with Press TV.

Of course Israel will substantially gain from the removal of Iranian television stations from the Hot Bird frequencies. Press TV, Al-Alam and other Iranian channels on the Eutelsat’s blacklist were giving a robust, specialized and regular coverage to the atrocities committed by the United States, UK and their Middle East stooge and client state, Israel, and it was seemingly going beyond the pale. No other major media outlet in the world, with the influence, dexterity and proficiency of Press TV maintained such an anti-imperialism, anti-Zionism policy, and this could not be tolerated anymore, especially in the wake of the deep socioeconomic crisis and depression which the Western world is experiencing.

“Eutelsat is an intelligence operation as are most communications billing companies, mobile phone providers and the infamous ‘choke points’ that make sure all communication, all progress, all privacy is subject to what is allowed. Most of such ‘chokepoints,’ companies like ‘Google’ for one, are Israeli owned. Call it a coincidence,” wrote Gordon Duff in a recent article.

Since it was launched in July 2007, Press TV was under huge pressure by the Western states, especially the UK government, which finally realized its nightmarish dream of silencing Press TV by taking it off the Sky platform in January 2012 and imposing a fine of 100,000 pounds on the channel for what it called the violation of its broadcasting regulations.

“Ofcom is said to have close ties to Britain’s royal family. And the cables released by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks show that Press TV’s programs on the royal wedding, which many in the country described as extravagant, angered the royal family,” reported Press TV on January 20, 2012.

Now, with the intensification of EU’s anti-Iranian hostility which has been manifested this time in the punishment and penalization of a TV station whose only sin is being different from the corporate, Zionist-run media in policies and trajectory, it’s being proved more than before that the European Union did not reserve such a high-profile and prestigious award as the Nobel Peace Prize and that the decision made by the Swedish Nobel Committee was absolutely political, aimed at salvaging the crisis-stricken Europe from the socioeconomic predicament it’s drowning into. If the EU has contributed to global peace and fraternity, why can’t it tolerate the free and unrestricted operation of a progressive and independent media outlet?

EU Commission’s decision in taking Press TV and 18 other Iranian television stations off air is absolutely a violation of the freedom of speech, but let’s be frank: who will hold the culprits in this criminal action responsible? Perhaps none of the European leaders will react to this hostile and unjustifiable decision, because they are the first ones who will cheer and relish at the “imprisonment” of Iranian media which have always been a thorn on their side. It’s time for the international organizations, peace activists, human rights advocates and journalists around the world to voice their protest at this blatant and unashamed assault on free speech and put an end to the unending and inexplicable duplicity and hypocrisy of the West. ‘

Kourosh Ziabari is an Iranian Journalist

 

 

Approximately 50 % Of World’s Wetlands Lost During The 20th Century

By Marianne de Nazareth

18 October, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

How many of us have ever bothered about the wetlands of the world? To the common man a wetland is just a waste of ‘good’ land, and we never understood what the real use of wetlands are and how important it is to protect them. Unfortunately we humans sit up and take notice of issues with our planet only if we are affected by a problem and after we have destroyed a lot of the ecosystem. Now with the rationing of fresh water in most of our metropolises across India, we have come to realise how important it is to save our wetlands, carefully use our ground water and strongly protect our lakes and water bodies.

The world according to the new TEEB report ( The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) released at the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention for Biological Diversity (COP11) in Hyderabad needs to realise the vital economic and environmental role of wetlands, to halt further degradation and loss.

Countries across the world need to realise the key role that rapidly diminishing wetlands play in supporting human life and biodiversity. Water security is widely regarded as one the key natural resource challenges currently facing the world. Human drivers of ecosystem change, including destructive extractive industries, unsustainable agriculture and poorly managed urban expansion, are posing a threat to global freshwater biodiversity and water security for 80 per cent of the world’s population.

Global and local water cycles are strongly dependent on healthy and productive wetlands, which provide clean drinking water, irrigation for agriculture, and flood regulation, as well as supporting biodiversity and propping up industries such as fisheries and tourism in many countries. Yet, despite the high value of these ecosystem services, wetlands continue to be degraded or lost at an alarming pace. Half of the world’s wetlands were lost during the twentieth century – due mainly to factors such as intensive agriculture, unsustainable water extraction for domestic and industrial use, urbanization, infrastructure development and pollution. The continuing degradation of wetlands is resulting in significant economic burdens on communities, countries and businesses.

Inland wetlands cover at least 9.5 million km (about 6.5 per cent of the Earth’s land surface), while inland and coastal wetlands together cover a minimum of 12.8 million km. Between 1900 and 2003, the world lost an estimated 50 per cent of its wetlands, while recent coastal wetland loss in some places, notably East Asia, has been up to 1.6 per cent a year. This has led to situations such as the 20 per cent loss of mangrove forest coverage since 1980.

The main pressures on wetlands come from: Habitat loss, for example through wetland drainage for agriculture or infrastructure developments, driven by population growth and urbanization;

Over-exploitation, for example the unsustainable harvesting of fish; Excessive water withdrawals for use in, for example, irrigated agriculture; Nutrient loading from fertilizer use and urban waste water, which can lead to eutrophication – the excessive growth of algae that deprives other species of enough oxygen and can create dead zones; Climate change, which can alter ecosystem conditions through rising temperatures; Pollution, remarkably through extractive industries, invasive species and siltation.

Such pressures threaten wetlands’ natural infrastructure, which delivers a wider range of services and benefits than corresponding man-made infrastructure at a lower cost. Wetlands are a key factor in the global water cycle and in regulating local water availability and quality. They contribute to water purification, de-nitrification and detoxification, as well as to nutrient cycling, sediment transfer, and nutrient retention and exports. Wetlands can also provide waste water treatment and protection against coastal and river flooding.

For example, The Catskill / Delaware watershed provides about 90 per cent of the water used by New York City citizens. In 1997, a study showed that building a new water treatment plant would cost between US$6 and US$8 billion, whereas ensuring good water quality through measures to reduce pollution in the watershed would only cost US$1.5 billion. This study led to programmes to promote the sustainability of the watershed.

Wetlands also play a key role in the provision of food, and habitats and nurseries for fisheries. One example is the Amu Darya delta in Uzbekistan where Intensification and expansion of irrigation activities left only 10 per cent of the original wetlands. Yet a pilot restoration project initiated in the delta, with the support of community, government and donors which has led to increased incomes, more cattle, more hay production for use and sale, and an increase in fish consumption of 15 kilogrammes per week per family.

Wetlands can also be an important tourism and recreation sites and support local employment. For example In the Ibera Marshes in Argentina, conservation-based tourism activities have revived the economy of Colonia Carlos Pellegrini, near the Ramsar Site “Lagunas y Esteros del Iberá”, creating new jobs and allowing local inhabitants stay employed in the town rather than migrate to cities to look for work. Around 90 per cent of the population now works in the tourism sector. In order to favour local employment, the site managers provide local rangers and guides with training on working with guiding tourists. In addition, local communities receive support to establish municipal nature trails.

Biodiversity Wetlands are some of the most important biologically diverse areas in the world and provide essential habitats for many species. Coral reefs, peatlands, freshwater lakes, waterbirds, amphibians and wetland-dependent mammals such as hippopotamus, manatees and river dolphins are among those examples of biodiversity covered by the global Ramsar Convention network of “Wetlands of International Importance”, which comprises over 2,000 sites covering over 1.9 million km.

Wetlands also provide climate regulation, climate mitigation and adaptation, and carbon storage – for example in peatlands, mangroves and tidal marshes. Peatlands cover 3 per cent of the world’s land surface, about 400 million hectares (4 million km2), of which 50 million hectares are being drained and degraded, producing the equivalent of 6 per cent of all global Carbon Dioxide emissions. While vegetative wetlands occupy only 2 per cent of seabed area, they represent 50 per cent of carbon transfer from oceans to sediments, often referred to as ‘Coastal Blue Carbon’.

National and international policy makers should: Integrate the values of water and wetlands into decision making – for policies, regulation and land-use planning, incentives and investment, and enforcement; Regulate to protect wetlands from pressures that do not lead to improvements in public goods and overall societal benefits; Regulate to ensure that wetland ecosystem services options and benefits are fully considered as solutions to land- and water-use management objectives and development; Commit to and develop improved measurement and address knowledge gaps – using biodiversity and ecosystem services indicators and environmental accounts.

“Policies and decisions often do not take into account the many services that wetlands provide – thus leading to the rapid degradation and loss of wetlands globally,” said UN Under-Secretary General and UN Environment Programme Executive Director Achim Steiner.

“There is an urgent need to put wetlands and water-related ecosystem services at the heart of water management in order to meet the social, economic and environmental needs of a global population predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050,” he added.

“In 2008 the world’s governments at the Ramsar Convention’s 10th Conference of Parties stressed that for water management carrying on ‘business as usual’ is no longer an option”, said the Ramsar Convention’s Deputy Secretary General, Nick Davidson.

“This report tells us bluntly just how much more important than generally realized are our coastal and inland wetlands: for the huge value of the benefits they provide to everyone, particularly in continuing to deliver natural solutions for water – in the right quantity and quality, where and when we need it. If we continue to undervalue wetlands in our decisions for economic growth, we do at our increasing peril for people’s livelihoods and the world’s economies,” he added.

(Marianne de Nazareth is Independent media professional and adjunct faculty St. Joseph’s College and COMMITS, Bangalore)

Syria News On 17th October, 2012

Armed Forces Inflict Heavy Losses Upon Terrorists in Several Provinces

Oct 16, 2012

PROVINCES, (SANA) – The Armed Forces on Tuesday killed tens of terrorists and destroyed three DShK-equipped vehicles and an armored vehicle equipped with a missile launcher near the Sports Institute in Bustan al-Basha area in Aleppo city.

Units of the Armed Forces destroyed four buses for transferring terrorists, two DShK-equipped vehicles and two mortars in qualitative operations against terrorists’ gatherings near al-Yarmouk Club and al-Isharat crossroads in Bustan al-Basha in the city.

An army unit stormed terrorists’ dens and gatherings near Saad Bin Mouaz School and al-Orouba Club in Bustan al-Basha, killing many terrorists.

The operation resulted in destroying a mortar launcher, seven cars equipped machineguns, RPG launchers, BKC machineguns and three cars for carrying terrorists.

Another army unit of the armed forces destroyed a stolen ambulance and a car with all terrorists inside of them in Bustan al-Basha area in Aleppo city.

Meanwhile, authorities stormed two hideouts for terrorists in Bab al-Faraj and al-Midan in Aleppo city, seizing 11 pump-action rifles, 11 machineguns, 29 chargers, 3 pistols and 4 grenades.

An armed forces unit inflicted heavy losses upon terrorists in a number of operations targeting hideouts southeast of the Great Umayyad Mosque in the Old City, al-Zahrawi Souq, Bustan al-Qaser, al-Kallaseh, Bab al-Nairab and the Forensic Medicine School.

 

Internal security forces confronted an armed terrorist group that attempted to attack the Police Academy in Khan al-Assal area in Aleppo city, killing and injuring a number of terrorists.

An armed forces unit targetted terrorist hideouts in al-Khafseh village in Aleppo countryside, eliminating a number of them including Hamed Abdelaziz, a Qatari, and Abdelbari al-Sammid, an Egyptian.

Four cars equipped with DShK machineguns and two cars transporting weapons, munitions and gunmen were destroyed near al-Saqqaleh village west of the town of al-Bab.

The armed forces also carried out operations in Daret Azza, Ein Jara, al-Barkoum and al-Atareb, inflicting heavy losses in lives and equipment upon the terrorists.

An armed forces unit destroyed a convoy of cars transporting terrorists and munitions and three pickup trucks in an operation on the road between Kafer Amma and al-Ibzimo, resulting in the death of tens of terrorists.

Armed forces units attacked terrorist gatherings and hideouts in Kafer Nouran, al-Sheikh Ali crossroads, and Arnaz village, resulting in the destruction of two cars and two motorcycles used by the terrorists and eliminating tens of them.

Booby-Trapped car explosion in Hama Causes injuries to Two persons

A booby-trapped car blew up at Dhi Qar Square in Hama today. The car was loaded with a big quantity of explosives causing injuries to two persons and material damages.

A source in Hama told SANA reporter that a Chana-car was parked in Dhi Qar street at al-Arbae’en neighborhood near the Passports and immegraion center was exploded by remote control.

 Armed Forces Eliminate Terrorists in Damascus Countryside

The Armed Forces carried out qualitative operations against armed terrorist groups in al-Shoufiniyeh area and the surrounding villages in Damascus Countryside, eliminating a large number of terrorists.

A military unit killed all members of an an armed terrorist group in Jisreen town in the Eastern Ghouta, the body of terrorist Mohammad Taleb Darwish was identified.

Tunnel Used by Terrorists to Smuggle Weapons Uncovered, Workshop for Making Explosive Seized in Homs

The  Armed Forces eliminated a number of terrorists in it in Bab Hood neighborhood in Homs city.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the Armed Forces uncovered a tunnel linking Bab Hood neighborhood to Souq al-Hashish in Homs City.

It added that the tunnel was used by terrorists to smuggle weapons and ammunition.

Meanwhile, authorities seized a workshop for making explosive devices and large amounts of C4 explosives in al-Waar al-Jadeed neighborhood in Homs city.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the seized materials included 15 explosive devices set to be detonated and 25 explosive devices under preparation, three barrels of gunpowder and 150 kg of C4 explosives, in addition to BKC machineguns and ammunition.

The source said that an army units destroyed three DShK-equipped vehicles, killing all terrorists inside them in qualitative operations in al-Qseir countryside in Homs.

The operations resulted in killing scores of terrorists.

A unit of the Armed Forces eliminated a number of terrorists in Jorat al-Shayah neighborhood and destroyed terrorist gatherings in al-Qseir countryside in Homs.

On Monday, a unit of the Armed Forces on Monday clashed with armed terrorist groups in Taldao in Homs countryside, destroying 8 cars and killing all the terrorists inside them.

SANA reporter quoted a source in the province as saying that the Armed Forces killed scores of terrorists and injured others.

Terrorists Ahmad Abdeen, Fayez Talha al-Ekish, Diyab al-Ekish and Ziyad al-Ekish were identified among the wounded.

The source pointed out that a unit of the Armed Forces destroyed 2 boats in Quttina Lake in Homs countryside which were used by the armed terrorist groups to transport weapons, ammunition and terrorists.

It added that the Armed Forces killed all the terrorists inside them.

Another unit of the Armed Forces destroyed a bus and killed all the terrorists inside it in al-Sultanieh neighborhood in Homs city.

A unit of the Armed forces targeted an armed terrorist group at al-Hisn twon in Talkalakh, Homs, killing three terrorists and injuring many others. Among the killed terrorists were Khaled Isber and Khaled Bilal.

Terrorists Killed, Weapons Seized in Idleb

A unit of the Armed Forces clashed with an armed terrorist group which was attacking and intimidating the citizens in Um al-Ghar, al-aliya and al-Ghasanieh villages in Jisr al-Shughour area in Idleb.

The clash resulted in the killing and wounding a large number of terrorists.

The Armed Forces seized amounts of weapons and eliminated a number of terrorists in Bennsh, Maarshamsheh, al-Janoudiyeh and Tal Salmo in Idleb countryside.

Terrorists’ Hideouts Stormed in Hama

Armed Forces carried out a qualitative operation against terrorists’ hideouts in Jeb Suleiman village near al-Madiq Castle in Hama, killing a number of terrorists and wounding others.

Armed Forces Destroy Weapons Cache in Deir Ezzor

The Armed Forces Destroyed a weapons cache and killed all terrorists in it near al-Mutafawiqin School in al-Jbeileh neighborhood in Deir Ezzor.

The Armed Forces also eliminated several terrorists who tried to infiltrate into the neighborhood.

Decree on Holding Legislative Elections to Fill Vacant Parliamentary Seats on the First Saturday in December 2012

Oct 16, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday issued Decree No. 379 for 2012 setting the date for holding legislative elections to fill vacant parliamentary seats on the first Saturday in December 2012.

The five vacant parliamentary seats are distributed as follows:

– One seat for Idleb province.

– One seat for Hama province.

– Two seats for Aleppo province.

– One seat for Hasaka province.

Makdessi: We’re Waiting for Ibrahimi’s Arrival to Learn about Results of Recent Visits to Countries including Those That Influence Armed Groups

Oct 16, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Spokesman of the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry Dr. Jihad Makdessi affirmed that any initiative, regardless of its type, requires commitment by all sides in order for it to succeed.

In a statement to SANA on Tuesday, Makdessi said that the Syrian side is waiting for the arrival of UN Envoy to Syria Lakhdar al-Ibrahimi to learn about the results of his recent visits to a number of countries, including countries that have influence over armed groups.

He voiced hope that Ibrahimi will bring from these countries something to lead to the success of any constructive initiative, noting that Syria has already shown commitment to Arab and international initiatives that were ultimately foiled by armed groups and the countries that influence them.

Ibrahimi had called for a ceasefire in Syria on occasion of Eid al-Adha, according to his spokesman Ahmad Fawzi.

Fingerprint Youth Syria Honors Media and Diplomatic figures.. Mikdad: Those who Call for NATO or Foreign Interference Away from Wisdom

Oct 16, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)-Fingerprint Youth Syria group held a celebration Tuesday in honor for the diplomatic and Media fronts which confront the aggression on Syria.

Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad, in a speech at the celebration, affirmed that Syria will come out of the crisis victorious due to the determination of the Syrian Arab army, the popular support to it and the compass defined by President Bashar al-Assad represented by the national dialogue.

“The wise person comes to the dialogue table and stands against the killing of his people, but those who call for NATO or the foreign intervention against their people are away from the wisdom,” Mikdad said.

He added that enemies of Syria want to divide the homeland, stir up discord among the people in the interest of Israel, so they try to “slaughter” it because it is the only remaining center in the region and outside which defends the rights and stands against the western, colonial agendas.

Mikdad disapproved talks which say that the reason behind what is going on in Syria is its need for reform as this was being achieved and being sought by President al-Assad to overcome corruption and promote the situation up in Syria.

“The aggressions against the Syrian embassies in some capitals, among them burning the Syrian embassy in Cairo, were targeting to burn the Syrian will and silence the pure voice as well as the fair and noble stance to carry out US- backed Israeli plots,” Mikdad said.

He added that the Syrian diplomacy, based on morals and the Syrians’ interest in their central issues, particularly the Palestinian issue, will remain forever the real conscience that defends sovereignty, independence and the freedom of peoples.

Chairman of the Boards of the Group Anas Mohamad Younes, for his part, underlined that honoring the voices of right in media and the diplomatic corps comes as an appreciation by the Syrian youth to the sacrifices and the efforts they exerted to overcome the crisis.

Khalaf al-Miftah, General Director of al-Wihda Establishment for Printing and Distribution said that the awareness of the Syrian youth of the nature of the conspiracy against Syria makes ‘all of us” more determined to come out of the crisis.

Syria’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mihdi Dakhllalah said in a statement to SANA that away from the negative effects of the crisis in Syria which all talk about, the positive aspects Syria is passing through is that it possesses youth from the civil society which enjoy great role that expresses hidden energies which became an effective factor in the country.

Authorities Settle Cases of 68 persons involved in Events with no Crimes Committed against Syrians

Oct 16, 2012

HOMS, (SANA)-Sixty-Eight persons in Homs who were involved in the latest events and didn’t commit any crime against the Syrian people gave themselves up along with their weapons to the authorities on Tuesday. The authorities immediately settled their cases to return to their normal life.

A source in Homs told SANA reporter that the authorities released the persons whose cases were settled after they pledged not to bear any weapon or participate in any acts of chaos. The authorities lately settled the cases of hundreds of people who gave themselves up after they were aware of the volume of conspiracy against Syria.

President Ahmadinejad: Need for Halting Violence in Syria to Settle the Situation

Oct 16, 2012 TEHRAN, (SANA)-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran on Tuesday underlined the need for halting violence and realizing peace in Syria to settle the situation in the country.

Meeting Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the 12th Summit of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, President Ahmadinejad considered that there is no way except the national reconciliation, run free elections to settle the situation in Syria, saying “violence will not benefit any side.”

“The only way to resolve the issues in Syria is that the regional influential countries, including Iran and Turkey insist running free elections in Syria,” the Iranian President added, calling for respecting the Syrian people’s rights.

Al-Jaafari : Blatant Foreign Meddling in Syria’s Affairs Hinders Efforts for National Reconciliation and  Comprehensive National Dialogue

Oct 16, 2012

NEW YORK, (SANA) – Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, stressed the need for the Security Council (UNSC) to assume its responsibilities in implementing its resolutions regarding the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian and the Syrian Golan territories and regarding the issue of the Palestinian refugees.

In the statement of the Syrian Arab Republic during the UNSC’s session on Monday night which was dedicated to the situation in the Middle East, al-Jaafari called upon the UNSC to assume its responsibilities, deal seriously with the continuation of the Israeli occupation to the Syrian Golan for 45 years, and implement UN Resolution No. 497 for 1981 which was issued unanimously and that considers the Israeli decision of annexing the occupied Golan as null and void with no legal effect, along with all Israeli relevant decisions.

Al-Jaafari said “The UNSC’s refraining from shouldering its responsibilities in this regard for decades confirms the existence of an eclectic and selective view by some of the member states in the Council regarding the implementation of its resolutions when they are related to Israel”.

He stressed that the UN General Secretariat representatives are responsible more than any other for carrying out their role through briefing the UNSC regularly, honestly and transparently on the violations committed by Israel, the authority which is occupying the Syrian Golan.

He pointed out that Syria is providing the Secretariat with reports on these violations on regular bases, particularly the increasing cases of Syrian citizens abducted from the Syrian part of the ceasefire line, in addition to Israel’s implementation of wide-range military maneuvers in the occupied Syrian Golan.

Al-Jaafari stressed that the explosion of cluster bombs and mines planted by the Israeli occupation in the Golan has claimed the lives of 726 Syrian citizens, including 227 children, the latest of these incidents taking place on October 4th when two Syrian children no older than ten succumbed to wounds caused by the detonation of a landmine left by the Israeli occupation.

Al-Jaafari added that the Palestinian people have been waiting for six decades to be given the most basic rights such as establishing a free, independent state with full sovereignty on the Palestinian territories.

He pointed out that Israel is still defying the international legitimacy through its arrogance and aggressive policy, adding that Israel is curbing any opportunity to achieve peace in the region, benefitting from the direct protection offered by some influential countries in the UN Security Council.

“How many decades must pass on the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories before some sides acknowledge the necessity of moving seriously to end this occupation… How many innocent lives must be lost in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon before some sides are convinced that there is a tragedy that should be ended?” al-Jaafari asked.

Syria’s Permanent representative to the UN pointed out to the reports submitted by tens of fact-finding and investigation committees to the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council over decades, saying that these reports are enough to diagnose the scale of the Israeli aggression and terrorism against the countries and peoples of the region.

Al-Jaafari said that more than thousands of resolutions were issued by the UN bodies calling for ending the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories and condemning Israel’s systematic violations and aggressive practices, wondering if these reports aren’t enough to push these countries to stop their unlimited military, economic and political support to Israel.

He stressed that some sides which claim keenness on the stability and security of the region turn a blind eye to the Israeli continued threats against regional and international security and stability, wondering about some countries’ silence towards Israel’s possession of  nuclear weapons and its rejection to join the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT).

He pointed out that Israel refuses to confirm its participation in the Conference on a  “Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone” scheduled for next month, reminding the Council of Syria’s adherence to the establishment of this zone through proposing an initiative by the end of 2003 on freeing the region of weapons of mass destruction.

Al-Jaafari renewed warnings against the hectic attempts of some biased delegations supporting the continuation of the Israeli occupation to the Arab lands and aiming to weaken the well-known historical references in the item entitled “The situation in the Middle East” through forcing in other issues in the framework of its discussions.

He pointed out that these attempts aim to keep the UNSC deliberations regarding this particular item away from the main goal the item was established for, which is ending the Israeli occupation to the Arab occupied territories based on relevant UN resolutions, particularly no. 242, no. 338, and no. 497.

He stressed that some member states’ delegations are violating international law and the UN Charter by interfering in Syria’s internal affairs and trying to seize the Syrian people’s right of deciding their own future and choosing their political system, in addition to these countries’ attempts to foil all comprehensive national dialogue bids.

Al-Jaafari stressed that the blatant foreign meddling in Syria’s affairs hinders efforts for national reconciliation which aim to build the country by all the Syrians, in addition to some countries’ attempts to infringe upon Syria’s sovereignty through encouraging terrorism and providing logistical, political and financial support to the armed terrorist groups.

He concluded the statement by referring to the ironic paradox of the unanimous decision of the UNSC to combat terrorism in Mali, criticizing the way the Council or some of its members deal with terrorism affecting Syria differently despite the fact that the terrorism in Mali is the same as the terrorism targeting Syria through the borders of the neighboring countries.

Gatilov: Any Peace-keeping Process in Syria Should be Approved by Syrian Government

Oct 16, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA) – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Gennady Gatilov, on Tuesday said that any peace-keeping process in Syria should pass through the UN Security Council and be agreed upon by all sides, particularly the Syrian Government.

Gatilov said in a statement that the UN Security Council is the only body that can send peace-keeping forces to Syria.

He added that Russia holds continued communications with UN Envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, and invited him to hold consultations.

Earlier, Brahimi denied that he proposed sending peacekeeping forces as British media reports claimed.

Bogdanov: Russia Prepared to Offer Brahimi Suggestions for Plan to Resolve Crisis in Syria

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that Moscow is prepared to offer suggestions to Brahimi to make a plan for resolving the crisis in Syria.

In an interview with Novosti news agency, Bogdanov said that Moscow appreciates Brahimi’s determination to expedite finding political solutions to the Syrian crisis, particularly since he intends to employ the plan of his predecessor Kofi Annan and the closing statement of the workgroup meeting in Geneva.

He added that Brahimi doesn’t have a comprehensive plan yet, but he is talking with all relevant Syrian and international sides to clarify his vision on resolving the crisis.

Bogdanov reiterated Moscow’s call for the Security Council to issue a decision on Syria based on the Geneva statement, saying that Russia believes that doing so would help efforts for ending the violence in Syria, adding that Russia said this to its western partners repeatedly but they haven’t responded so far.

Bogdanov meeting Mufti Hassoun: Russia Continues Efforts to stop Violence in Syria

The Special Representative of the Russian President for the Middle East Affairs, Bogdanov discussed with Syria’s Grand Mufti, Dr. Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun the situation in Syria.

According to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Bogdanov underlined during the meeting that Russia continues its pivotal efforts to realize an immediate halt to the violence in Syria, settle the situations by the Syrians themselves peacefully and through national comprehensive dialogue.

Mufti Hassoun, for his part, underlined that Muslims and followers of other religions in Syria  are categorically rejecting ideologies of extremism and the terrorist ways which the armed terrorist group adopt, thanking Russia for its permanent support to Syria sovereignty and reject the foreign intervention.

The meeting comes within the Mufti’s participation in the 9th conference of the Central Religious Administration of Russia’s Muslims held in the city of Oufa.

Distribution of Relief from Armenian People to Affected Families in Aleppo Begins

Oct 16, 2012

ALEPPO, (SANA) – The Aleppo branch of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) began on Tuesday distributing the humanitarian relief provided by the Armenian people to Syrians to help them face the effects of terrorism and sanctions.

Governor of Aleppo Mohammad Walid Aqqad said this relief are a translation of the relations between the two friendly peoples, thanking the government and people of Armenia for their initiative.

In turn, Armenia’s Consul in Aleppo Karen Krikorian said that this relief is presented in this crisis by the Armenians to the Syrians who embraced the Armenian people during their ordeals.

Director of the Aleppo branch of SARC, Hael Assi, said that distribution of relief is carried out in cooperation with the Armenian Embassy and Armenian Orthodox Archdiocese, and that it will help meet the needs of families whose homes were damaged by terrorism.

The relief arrived on board an Armenian plane that landed in Aleppo on Monday evening carrying 14 tons of food relief.

Iran’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN: Iran Supports Brahimi’s Efforts to Solve Crisis in Syria Peacefully

Oct 16, 2012

TEHRAN, (SANA) – Iran’s Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaei reiterated his country’s support to the efforts of the UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to solve the crisis in Syria by peaceful means.

He warned that any foreign military intervention would make the crisis worse and threaten to destabilize the security of all countries of the region.

Iranian media quoted Khazaei at the UN Security Council meeting on Monday as saying that Iran will support Brahimi’s efforts, adding that his country believes that enhancing the peaceful political process under regional and international supervision and launching national dialogue between the Syrian government and opposition are the way out of the current crisis.

He described the current political and security circumstances in the Middle East as sensitive and serious, adding that threats to the region are mainly caused by from terrorism, extremism, militarization and the nuclear arsenal of Israel.

He indicated that any mistake in calculations or any wrong decision or military intervention in such circumstances will aggravate terrorism, extremism and sectarian conflicts.

Martyrs’ Families Honored in Hama

Oct 16, 2012

HAMA, (SANA) – A ceremony was held to honor 650 families of martyrs in Misyaf city and Ba’erin village in Hama in appreciation of their sons’ sacrifices to defend Syria.

Secretary of al-Baath Arab Socialist Party branch in Hama, Jihad Murad said that the event expresses gratitude for the families of the brave martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the homeland.

In turn, Governor of Hama Anas al-Naem said that the sacrifices of the martyrs will remain a beacon for coming generations, adding that the province will include schools for martyrs’ sons in its budget for the next year.

A number of clergymen who attended the ceremony said that honoring the martyrs’ families is a national duty and an oath that the blood of the martyrs will not go to waste.

Father George Ibrahim Mkhawel said that the conflict in the Arab arena and particularly in Syria is a conflict between real faith and takfiri mentality.

Citizen Ibrahim Wannous from Misyaf city, the father of three martyrs, expressed pride in the martyrdom of his sons to preserve the unity and stability of the homeland.

In turn, mother of martyr Captain Mohammad Mahmoud al-Saad called upon all Syrians to be united in the face of conspiracies hatched against Syria and its unity.

Later on, the governor listened to the demands of the martyrs’ families and promised that they will be fulfilled as soon as possible.

Minister of Religious Endowments: Terrorist Attack on the Grand Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo Adds up to Conspiracy against Syria

Oct 16, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) Mohammad Abdul-Sattar al-Sayyed, on Tuesday stressed that the terrorist attack by the armed terrorist groups on the Grand Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo has hurt all Syrians and it adds up to the conspiracy hatched against Syria.

In an interview with the Syrian Arab TV channel, al-Sayyed said that the misleading media targeting Syria is aimed at turning distorting facts, adding that the plot of burning Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem Mosque and burning the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo are one scheme carried out by the same sinful hand.

The Minister asserted that dialogue is the only way to reconciliation and ending the crisis in Syria after eliminating terrorism.

He hailed the decree issued by President Bashar al-Assad providing for forming a committee tasked with rehabilitating the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo.

Earlier, President Bashar al-Assad on Monday issued Presidential Decision No. 18 for 2012 on forming a committee to carry out maintenance and rehabilitation works of the Great Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo.The committee is headed by Governor of Aleppo , Mohammad Wahid Aqqad, and it consists of seven members.The decision set December 31st, 2013 as the deadline for completing the maintenance and rehabilitation works on.

General Command of Army and Armed Forces: Media Reports on Using Cluster Bombs by Syrian Army Untrue

Oct 16, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – The General Command  of the Army and the Armed Forces stressed on Monday that the misleading media outlets have recently published untrue news claiming the Syrian Arab Army has been using cluster bombs against armed terrorists.

In a statement, the General Command said the Syrian Army does not possess such bombs, stressing that those news are untrue and come in the framework of misleading media which is aimed at diverting the public opinion from the practices of the armed terrorist groups against civilians.

Lavrov Denies Claims on Using Cluster Bombs by Syria

Oct 16, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA) – Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, stressed on Monday that Syria does not use cluster bombs as human rights organizations claimed, adding that there is no evidence to prove these claims.

In a statement to journalists in Luxembourg, Lavrov pointed out that the Middle East and other countries are full of illegal weapons, adding that it is difficult to specify from where these weapons are transferred.

Lavrov: Moscow Will Demand Retrieval of Shipment Seized by Turkey From Syrian Plane

Earlier, Lavrov said that Moscow will formally demand the retrieval of the shipment seized by Turkey onboard the Syrian plane as there are no violations in its nature or documents.

In a statement after the meeting of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin with members of the Russian National Security Council, Lavrov said that Moscow is waiting for a reply from Ankara on preventing the Russian diplomats from communicating with the Russians onboard the plane while it was grounded.

Lavrov stressed that there are no secrets regarding the Syrian plane, adding that the plane was carrying radar electronic equipment of dual use and not banned by any international agreement

Russian Foreign Ministry: Journalist Kochneva who Disappeared in Syria is Ukrainian Living Permanently in Syria

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich stressed that journalist  Anhar Kochneva who is said to have disappeared in Syria is a Ukrainian citizen who lives permanently in Syria.

Lukashevich said in a statement that Kochneva has been in contact with several Russian TV channels, pointing out that the Russian Embassy in Damascus is exerting active efforts and coordinating with Ukrainian representatives to take necessary measures to free her.

In turn, the Ukrainian Presidential  Media office announced that President Viktor Yanukovych tasked the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to inquire about the situation of Kochneva’s disappearance and to protect the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens.

Churkin: Halt of violence Priority to the International community

The Russian Envoy to the UN Vitaly Churkin described the halt of violence in Syria as a priority for the international community, saying that Moscow relies on the mission of the UN Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and on the constructive participation of the international and regional players in finding a solution to the crisis as soon as possible.

“Geneva statement on the crisis in Syria is still important.. all responsible parties have to cooperate in order to reach a solution,” Itar Tass News Agency quoted Churkin as saying on Monday.

He called on the Syrian opposition to announce adherence to Geneva Action Group’s statement on Syria, referring that the Syrian government has expressed support to this statement.

“We expect similar steps by the Syrian opposition,” Churkin added.

Central Bank of Syria Denies Reports that it Stopped Interfering in the Syrian Market

Oct 15, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)-Governor of Central Bank of Syria Adib Mayaleh on Monday denied reports by the misleading media that the Bank has stopped to interfere and ordered the money-changing institutions to halt sale until further notice.

In a statement to SANA, Mayaleh reassured the Syrian citizens that the Central Bank has reserves of different currencies to meet the demands of the country and keep the price of Syrian pound, saying “the Central Bank of Syria is covering the trade market needs and others.”

Brahimi Denies He Suggested Sending Peacekeeping Force to Syria

Oct 15, 2012

BAGHDAD, (SANA) – UN Envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi on Monday dismissed reports alleging he suggested sending peacekeeping forces to Syria.

In a press conference held in Baghdad, Brahimi said “I didn’t propose such thing and I don’t know where this news came from, It certainly did not come from me.”

Earlier, Ahmad Fawzi, Spokesman for the UN Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi dismissed that Brahimi is setting a plan to deploy an international peacekeeping force in Syria, as the Sunday Telegraph reported earlier.

Answering a question on the creditability of a report published by the newspaper on Sunday, Fawzi said the report is baseless.

Ashton Voices Agreement with Russia over Seeking Peaceful Solution to Syrian Crisis and Supporting Brahimi’s Mission

Oct 15, 2012

LUXEMBURG, (SANA) – The European Union’s High Representative Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said on Monday that the EU shares Russia’s conviction that that solution in Syria must be peaceful.

The Italian news agency AKI said that Ashton made statements on the sideline of the regular meeting of EU foreign Ministers held on Monday in Luxemburg, with her statements commenting on the meetings between the ministers and their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, although she didn’t give many details about the discussions during that meeting.

Ashton said that they discussed with Lavrov the latest developments in Syria and that they stressed the need to seek a peaceful solution and support the mission of UN Envoy Lakhdar Ibrahimi.

She said that the EU understand Russia’s concerns, particularly regarding the deteriorating relations between Turkey and Syria, stressing the need to work on an immediate cessation of violence inside Syria and not allowing this violence to spread.

Press TV Ban Tantamount To Human Rights Violation

By Ismail Salami

17 October, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

The recent EU move to take Press TV off the air is to be seen as part of a continued process of media violation against this alternative channel.

On Monday, UK-based Eutelsat, which is run by Michel de Rosen, a Zionist Israeli-French, stopped carrying Press TV and some 18 other channels from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), a move which Gary Follows, Arqiva Head of Public Relations, says is a “result of reinforced EU Council sanctions and repeated requests by France’s broadcasting authority for the permanent switch-off of the Iranian channels.” UK-based Arqiva is the service supplier which held the IRIB contract.

The first attempts to deprive ever-increasing European audience of accessing Press TV started in the UK when British office of communication (Ofcom) initiated a shrewd ruse to get of rid of the channel and technically put an end to an alternative critical voice once and for all. To this end, they needed a political tool. And who could be a better choice than Maziar Bahari who had already filed a lawsuit against the channel for airing a 10-second soundbite, which was part of an interview with him in 2009.

In October 2011, Ofcom said Press TV had violated its broadcasting codes by airing the interview. The ruling led to the imposition of a 100,000 pound fine on the channels and its subsequent removal from the Sky platform. This was while in a number of future interviews with other media outlets, Bahari had readily confirmed what he had said in the 10-second soundbite, i.e. he was the person who had sent the footage.

Besides, Ofcom had come under intense criticism on the part of the British Royal family who had taken umbrage at Press TV for reporting and criticizing them for their extravagant lifestyle and support for the regional autocratic regimes. The office of the Royal Family had even sent letters to Press TV office on several occasions and urged them to stop criticizing the Queen. Therefore, the wound was an old one and far from healing and they had to prick their deadly venom into those whom they considered thorns in their sides.

On the other hand, Ofcom later claimed that the move was largely motivated by ministers. However, a WikiLeaks cable reveals how the Foreign Office told an American diplomat in 2010 that the government was “exploring ways to limit the operations of … Press TV”.

At the time, the department warned the US that: “UK law sets a very high standard for denying licenses to broadcasters. Licenses can only be denied in cases where national security is threatened, or if granting a license would be contrary to Britain’s obligations under international law. Currently neither of these standards can be met with respect to Press TV, but if further sanctions are imposed on Iran in the coming months a case may be able to be made on the second criterion.”

At all events, Germany followed suit and a court in Germany ordered the removal of the channel off a satellite platform despite two previous rulings issued in favor of the alternative channel.

So, the Munich media regulatory body, BLM, took Press TV off the satellite platform in April.

And third came French media regulator, the Conseil Superieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA) which kept repeating calls for removing the channel.

Press TV says, “This is not the first time that the West is trying to silence the alternative media and stop Iranian broadcasters from commenting on what is going on truly across the world. But this time what is most surprising is that the latest instance of media crackdown comes from the new Nobel Peace laureate.”

Sanctions against the Islamic Republic and exerting back-breaking pressures on people are per se illegal in the light of international laws. However, muzzling a media outlet and justifying this act in the name of sanctions is a source of shame for the EU. In fact, the EU’s incoherent perception and poor handling of truth is a move enormously to be deplored.

Needless to say, this is an egregious instance of the violation of human rights which the West moralizes about so vehemently. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” It is long since the intelligent international community has come to discern the paradoxical attitude of the West in defining the concept of freedom of speech and they have figured out for themselves how tolerant the West may be when the sanctities of the Muslims are shamelessly violated and how intolerant they can be when the truth is daringly thrown into their faces. Only recently the West kept silent on the anti-Islam movie and caricatures and even justified the blasphemy in the light of freedom of speech but when it came to Press TV, they were not only intolerant towards the alternative channel but they also put all their efforts into a seemingly long-entertained plot to silence the voice.

This is how freedom of speech is defined for the benefits of a privileged few and how the tentacles of Zionist imperialism are by slow gradation spread over an entirety beyond which hope is desperately turned into but a flickering ray for those who wish to hear the truth.

BUT truth will prevail.

Dr. Ismail Salami is an Iranian writer, Middle East expert, Iranologist and lexicographer. He writes extensively on the US and Middle East issues and his articles have been translated into a number of languages.

Who Attacked Malala Yousufzai?

By Abdus Sattar Ghazali

16 October, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

On October 7, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader, Imran Khan, led an anti-drone march to Waziristan to draw the world’s attention to the destruction and sufferings caused by the US drone attacks in Pakistan’s tribal regions. Imran Khan, who is sometimes dubbed as Taliban Khan by his opponents, was perhaps right to tell the marchers in the town of Tank that he had succeeded in conveying the message to the world community, the job the government and other political parties failed to do.

Imran Khan’s anti-drone march was joined by, among others, American and British peace activists. American delegation was led by Media Benjamin of CODEPINK who apologized to the people of Pakistan for their sufferings at the hands of the policies of the American leaders while speaking to the marchers.

Two days later, on October 9, Malala Yusufzai, school girl who was the main character of the US produced documentary Class Dismissed (2009), was attacked while returning from her school. She was critically injured with at least two other girls. Suddenly Pakistan’s print and electronic media unleashed an extensive and inflated coverage of this tragic attack that was reportedly claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.

As the US-client Zardari government focused all its attention to mobilize the fiercely anti-American masses against the Taliban, the Spokesperson of the US State Department, Victoria Nuland said that the US is encouraged with popular opinion against extremism in Pakistan after attack on Malala Yusufzai. However, she refused to answer a question about Imran Khan’s drive against drone attacks in Pakistan and his announcement to take it to the next level in the US. “We respect the right of peaceful protests, but I am not going to comment at all on intelligence matters,” Nuland remarked.

Many people are wondering why media is so selective and gave so much coverage to Malala while 100s of innocent Malalas and women have been killed by drone attacks but we don’t even find their names.

Tellingly, Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazal group chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that he condemns the attack on young Malala Yusufzai, but who will protest the deaths caused by drone strikes. “Why the attack on Malala is being blown up so much?” he remarked, adding that the attack on Malala Yousufzai was the result of wrong policies of the government.

He said that blood of humanity is dripping from the hand of those condemning this incident. Maulana said that people were protesting against the attack on Malala just because it was a pro-American stance. He urged the government to correct its policies and stop supporting the’ US stance’.

Leader of another leading political party, Jamaat-e-Islami, Syed Munawar Hasan, said that the power behind the attack on Malala Yuusufzai was the same as had been pressing Pakistan to launch military operation in the North Waziristan.

Addressing the Friday congregation at Mansoora mosque in Lahore, he likened the Malala attack to the fake video on stripping a Swat woman that became the basis for military operation in Swat. He said the western media was projecting the Malala incident in the same manner and even the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton had issued a statement on the matter.

Syed Munawar Hasan said the attack on Malala was most condemnable, but added that hundreds of innocent people were being killed in drone attacks and bomb blasts but the media generally ignored these.

Syed Munawar Hasan said that in fact, the US and several other powers were trying to destabilize and annihilate this country achieved in the name of Islam, and the military operations were a means to achieve the end by widening the gulf between the masses and the armed forces of the country.

He said that most of the schools demolished in Swat had been destroyed during curfew but Interior Minister Rehman Malik placed the responsibility on the Taliban. The things in the country could not be improved by following the US agenda, he added.

Lahore Times said there is a clear link between Peace March of Imran Khan to Waziristan (in which many foreign journalists participated) and attack on Malala. Peace March to Waziristan started worldwide new debates on drone attacks.

Malala’s US-connection

Malala Yusufzai came to lime light when she was profiled in Adam B Ellick’s 32-minute documentary – Class Dismissed – produced by the New York Times in 2009.

Malala was only 11 year old when this documentary was made. In the documentary she acts mature beyond her years. The documentary, which can be seen at the New York Times website and YouTube, shows her, along with her father and mother meeting with the late Richard Holbrooke, President Obama’s special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The documentary indicates that Malala played vital role in anti-Taliban military operation in Swat.

In 2011, Malala was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize. Later, Yousaf Raza Gilani, the prime minister at the time, awarded her Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize. In recent months, she led a delegation of children’s rights activists, sponsored by Unicef, that made presentations to provincial politicians in Peshawar.

Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America (www.journalofamerica.net) Email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com

Syria News On 16th October, 2012

Presidential Decision on Forming Committee to Rehabilitate Great Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo

Oct 15, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – President Bashar al-Assad on Monday issued Presidential Decision No. 18 for 2012 on forming a committee to carry out maintenance and rehabilitation works of the Great Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo.

The committee is headed by Governor of Aleppo , Mohammad Wahid Aqqad, and it consists of seven members.

The decision set December 31st, 2013 as the deadline for completing the maintenance and rehabilitation works on.

The committee members are:

– Aleppo Governor Mohammad Wahid Aqqad, Chairman

– Director General of Military Construction Establishment Gen. Riad Issa, member

– Director of Antiquities and Museums in Aleppo Yousef Kanjo, member

– Head of the Antiquities Institution Mohammad Qejeh, member

– Engineer Marwan Hamzeh from Engineering Department at Aleppo University, member

– Engineer Fadel Mzayek from Engineering Department at Aleppo University, member

– Engineer Mohammad Mesbah Baqi from Engineers’ Syndicate in Aleppo, member

– Engineer Mohammad Wahid Haddad from Aleppo Endowments Directorate, member

Levant Scholars Union, Endowments Ministry Denounce Attack on Great Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo

The Levant Scholars Union denounced on behalf of Arab and Islamic world the attack perpetrated by Al Qaeda on Great Umayyad Mosque.

In a statement, the Union condemned the attack that involved the desecration of the mosque and destroying a vault full of Quran copies which they scattered, in addition to damaging a sacred relic belonging to Prophet Mohammad.

The Union said the crimes of those who desecrated the mosque don’t involve political ends nor will it give them any influence or help them achieve the goals for which they snuck into Aleppo, stressing that the attack was an act of vengeance and a desecration of a prominent Islamic site committed by Al Qaeda, which is an alien entity that doesn’t have anything to do with the Islamic nation.

The statement wondered about the positions of Syria’s neighbors who turn a blind eye and ignore Islam which they claim to belong to.

The Union asserted that what happened in the Great Umayyad Mosque is part of the repeated attacks on Islamic Sanctities according to a methodical plan by Israel and its protector the United States.

The statement also lauded the decision by President al-Assad to form a committee to rehabilitate and restore the mosque quickly.

Ministry of Awkaf: Attack on the Great Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo a Desecration of Religion

Ministry of Islamic Endowments (Awkaf) said that the attack on the Great Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo by takfiri armed groups is a desecration of religion, considering it a grave indication of the ferocious campaign against the safety and dignity of the homeland.

In a statement on Monday, the Ministry said that the Great Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo was attacked by takfiri gangs that harmed its lofty stature as a great worshipping place, who destroyed its walls, burned its furniture and plundered its scientific and cultural riches that are unparalleled in the Arab world.”

The Ministry said that attack is part of repeated attacks against the Islamic sanctities, especially al-Quds, according to a methodical plan devised by the Zionists and the US.

The source added that the terrorist groups also made for the closet containing copies of the Holy Quran and smashed it, before making for the sacred relic that belonged to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) that was in the mosque.

”It stands to reason that this crime does not have a political goal,” the ministry said, ”The attack is intended to undercut the stature of the Mosque as one of the historic milestones and a renowned worshipping place.”

The ministry hailed President Bashar al-Assad’s decree to set up a special committee for rehabilitating the Mosque.

Terrorists Killed , Explosive Devices Dismantled in Several Provinces

Oct 15, 2012

PROVINCES, (SANA) – A military unit on Monday destroyed four cars used for transferring terrorists, weapons and ammunition and a car equipped with a machinegun, killing a number of terrorists in Bab al-Hadid area in Aleppo city.

In Aleppo city, the Armed Forces attacked terrorist gatherings near Walid Bilal Schoo;, Obeida bin al-Jarrah School, Kastal Harami Square, al-Zahrawi Souq, al-Tananir Square and other areas and inflicted heavy losses on the terrorists.

In Aleppo countryside, the Armed Forces destroyed a terrorist hideout in Oram al-Sughra and eliminated several terrorists.

The Armed Forces also attacked a terrorist gathering in Rif al-Muhandisin Farms in Aleppo countryside and destroyed a car loaded with weapons and terrorists.

Four citizens of one family, the father, mother and two sons were martyred after a mortar hit their house by a terrorist group led by terrorist Abdullah al-Hussein al-Takal, known as the Capitan at Katan area in al-Marja, Aleppo.

Terrorists Eliminated, Explosive Devices Dismantled in Damascus Countryside

A unit of the Armed Forces dismantled a number of explosive devices which were planted by armed terrorist groups on al-Asha’ri Farm road in the eastern Ghouta in Damascus Countryside.

An armed forces unit eliminated tens of terrorists and destroyed five cars they were using in the town of al-Shefouniye in the eastern part of al-Ghouta area in Damascus countryside.

Armed Forces Dismantle 2 Explosive Devices in Homs

Units of the armed forces in cooperation with the authorities dismantled two explosive devices which were planted by a terrorist group near the Sma’alil village turnpike on the Homs-Masyaf road.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the two devices weighed 25 kilograms each.

The authorities dismantled 5 explosive devices in the same area on Sunday.

Members of an Armed group Killed in al-Khaliyda, Homs

A unit of the armed forces today killed members of an armed group in al-Khaliydea in Homs, destroying mortar launcher and DSKH machinegun.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that another Army unit has been able to kill a number of snipers at Jourat al-Shaiyah near the National Hospital in Homs, destroying a number of terrorist dens, inflicting heavy losses upon them.

Three Terrorists Killed in Hama

A army unit carried out a qualitative operation against terrorists near Tal Melh crossroads in Mhardeh area in Hama, killing 3 of them.

Terrorists Eliminated in Deir Ezzor

A unit of the Armed Forces stormed a terrorist hideout in al-Jbeileh neighborhood in Deir Ezzor and eliminated all the terrorists inside it.

Terrorist Basel al-Mustafa was identified among the dead.

A unit of the armed forces killed members of an armed terrorist group at al-Madalja neighborhood in Deir Ezzor, among the terrorists killed was Basel al-Mustafa.

Another Army unit destroyed 3 DSHK-equipped cars and killed all the terrorists inside them at al-Hussaiynea area in the city.

Three Mortar Launchers Destroyed, Terrorists Eliminated in Idleb

An armed forces unit destroyed 3 mortar launchers and 3 pickup trucks along with the terrorists inside them in an operation at Wadi al-Deif area and the town of Hamdiye in Idleb countryside. Tens of terrorists were killed in this operation.

An armed forces unit destroyed gatherings of terrorists in Ma’ar Shamsha in the countryside of Ma’aret a;-Nu’man and in the villages of Ihsem, al-Bara and Sarja in Jabal al-Zawiya area, eliminating tens of terrorists.

The armed forces also destroyed a gathering of terrorist in Ma’artamsarin, a shoulder-mounted missile, and a pickup carrying terrorists on the Hesh-Hamdiye road.

Another unit destroyed a gathering of terrorists in the town of Saraqeb, eliminating all the terrorists inside it.

Terrorists Killed, Weapons Seized in Daraa Countryside

Units of the Armed Forces destroyed a number of cars used by armed terrorist groups and killed scores of terrorists, some of them of non-Syrian nationalities in Daraa countryside.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that terrorists Abdul-Aziz al-Shummari, of Saudi nationality and al-Mo’tasen Billah Mohammad Shdeid, of Libyan nationality along with terrorists Farouq Salah al-Akeedi, Abdul-Majeed Motlaq al-Majareesh, Ali Hassan al-Houshan and Waleed Adnan al-Zahri were identified among the dead in Muhajja area in Daraa countryside.

The source said that the army destroyed several cars and terrorists command centers and arrested scores of terrorists, adding that a number of IEDs, weighting between 25-100 kg, were dismantled.

The army also seized RPG launchers, machineguns and night-vision binoculars in the areas of Ain Basha, Karm Basha and Nabe’ al-Sakhr in Daraa countryside.

The Armed Forces killed scores of terrorists, among them was Kamal Ahmad al-Houri.

General Command of Army and Armed Forces: Media Reports on Using Cluster Bombs by Syrian Army Untrue

Oct 15, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – The General Command  of the Army and the Armed Forces stressed on Monday that the misleading media outlets have recently published untrue news claiming the Syrian Arab Army has been using cluster bombs against terrorists.

In a statement, the General Command said the Syrian Army does not possess such bombs, stressing that those news are untrue and come in the framework of misleading media which is aimed at diverting the public opinion from the practices of the armed terrorist groups against civilians.

Lavrov Denies Claims on Using Cluster Bombs by Syria

Oct 15, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA) – Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, stressed on Monday that Syria does not use cluster bombs as human rights organizations claimed, adding that there is no evidence to prove these claims.

In a statement to journalists in Luxembourg, Lavrov pointed out that the Middle East and other countries are full of illegal weapons, adding that it is difficult to specify from where these weapons are transferred.

Lavrov: Moscow Will Demand Retrieval of Shipment Seized by Turkey From Syrian Plane

Earlier, Lavrov said that Moscow will formally demand the retrieval of the shipment seized by Turkey onboard the Syrian plane as there are no violations in its nature or documents.

In a statement after the meeting of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin with members of the Russian National Security Council, Lavrov said that Moscow is waiting for a reply from Ankara on preventing the Russian diplomats from communicating with the Russians onboard the plane while it was grounded.

Lavrov stressed that there are no secrets regarding the Syrian plane, adding that the plane was carrying radar electronic equipment of dual use and not banned by any international agreement

Russian Foreign Ministry: Journalist Kochneva who Disappeared in Syria is Ukrainian Living Permanently in Syria

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich stressed that journalist  Anhar Kochneva who is said to have disappeared in Syria is a Ukrainian citizen who lives permanently in Syria.

Lukashevich said in a statement that Kochneva has been in contact with several Russian TV channels, pointing out that the Russian Embassy in Damascus is exerting active efforts and coordinating with Ukrainian representatives to take necessary measures to free her.

In turn, the Ukrainian Presidential  Media office announced that President Viktor Yanukovych tasked the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to inquire about the situation of Kochneva’s disappearance and to protect the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens.

Churkin: Halt of violence Priority to the International community

The Russian Envoy to the UN Vitaly Churkin described the halt of violence in Syria as a priority for the international community, saying that Moscow relies on the mission of the UN Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and on the constructive participation of the international and regional players in finding a solution to the crisis as soon as possible.

“Geneva statement on the crisis in Syria is still important.. all responsible parties have to cooperate in order to reach a solution,” Itar Tass News Agency quoted Churkin as saying on Monday.

He called on the Syrian opposition to announce adherence to Geneva Action Group’s statement on Syria, referring that the Syrian government has expressed support to this statement.

“We expect similar steps by the Syrian opposition,” Churkin added.

Al-Halqi: Optimistic about the Future…Working to Reach Free, Strong and Renewed Syria

Oct 15, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)_Prime Minister, Dr. Wael al-Halqi expressed pride in the steadfastness of the Syrian people and their rallying around the armed forces in confronting terrorism and conspiracies.

During his meeting on Monday with head of the General Union of Syrian Women, Majida Quteit, and members of the Union’s executive office, al-Halqi said “We are optimistic about the future, and working with our people and NGOs to get past the current situation and achieve the national reconciliation to paving the way from the post-crisis area and build a free, strong and renewed Syria.”

Al-Halqi reviewed the government’s efforts in rehabilitating the infrastructure, public and private properties targeted by armed terrorist groups, pointing out that these attacks harmed the sectors of health, transport and energy, not to mention historical sites and worshipping places, the latest of which was the attack on the Great Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo.

He added that the economic situation is good despite the sanctions, and all goods are available in good quantities.

Al-Halqi discussed with Quteit and members of the Union the activities of the Union and its effective role under the current events in caring for the affected families.

The meetings also tackled the Union’s work and the status of its service and development projects, especially those related to childhood development programs and women empowerment.

Al-Halqi also hailed the role of the Union in the construction and development process, underlining the government’s support to it as to enhance its role.

People’s Assembly Discusses Law of Regulating the Dental Association’s  Work

Oct 15, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)_ During a session on Monday chaired by Speaker Mohammad Jihad al-Lahham, the People’s Assembly discussed the law on regulating the Dental Association’s work to be ratified later.

The members’ speeches emphasized the importance of amending the law of regulating the Association’s work as to be consistent with the new constitution and to cope with scientific development and the profession’s requirements, and achieves the best services for citizens.

Member Fadia Deeb underlined the importance of enacting a law that regulates the work of the Association in light of the development that Syria is witnessing, especially that the new constitutions has granted independence to unions so that it became imperative to amend the unions’ work law.

Member Safwan al-Qurabi underlined the importance of redrafting a new and modern law that takes into consideration all important issues in dentistry, as the number of doctors doubled and the nature of problems changed.

The Assembly also agreed to a request on the resignation of the Member Sattam al-Dandah who was nominated as Syria’s ambassador to Iraq.

The Assembly also referred the members’ questions for review.

Women, Family and Children Rights Committee at People’s Assembly Discusses Work, Objectives

The Committee of Women, Family and Children’s Rights at the People’s Assembly discussed its work plan, objectives and means to bolster its work to preserve the rights of women, Family and Children.

Head of the committee, Nahed al-Moallem, said that the committee aims at empowering women politically, culturally, socially and economically in addition to consolidate the role of women in Arab and international conferences.

She added that the committee also aims at preserving and protecting the rights if children as stipulated in the UN Children’s rights law, stressing the need to establishing Family care centers in cooperation with the Syrian Commission for Family Affairs (SCFA) in all provinces.

Women, Family and Children Rights Committee is one of four permanent committees established by the People’s Assembly in last June.

Minister of Education to (ISESCO): Organization’s Activities Concerning Syria without its Agreement Unwelcome

Oct 15, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Minister of Education, Dr. Hazwan al-Wiz, on Monday said that the activities of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) which discussed issues and files concerning Syria and called on Syrians

In a letter to ISESCO Director-General, Dr. Abdul-Aziz bin Othman Altwaijri, Minister al-Wiz said that the organization’s activities violate its charter and affect the relationship between Syria and the organization.

He pointed out that in spite of  the current crisis which is hindering reform and development, the Syrian educational and scientific institutions are still playing their roles in constructing and spreading knowledge to the Syrian people.

He called on the ISESCO not to interfere in the Syrian internal affairs and not to be biased to sides linked to schemes and plots that have aggressive dimensions.

The Minister also called on the organization to depend on the information and facts which come from authentic sources offered by the Syrian authorities through official and periodical letters to the international sides and humanitarian organizations.

After the suspension of Syria’s membership, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO)  organized activities describing them as ’emergency activities’ in coordination with some Arab states to discuss issues concerning Syria.

Central Bank of Syria Denies Reports that it Stopped Interfering in the Syrian Market

Oct 15, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)-Governor of Central Bank of Syria Adib Mayaleh on Monday denied reports by the misleading media that the Bank has stopped to interfere and ordered the money-changing institutions to halt sale until further notice.

In a statement to SANA, Mayaleh reassured the Syrian citizens that the Central Bank has reserves of different currencies to meet the demands of the country and keep the price of Syrian pound, saying “the Central Bank of Syria is covering the trade market needs and others.”

Brahimi Denies He Suggested Sending Peacekeeping Force to Syria

Oct 15, 2012

BAGHDAD, (SANA) – UN Envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi on Monday dismissed reports alleging he suggested sending peacekeeping forces to Syria.

In a press conference held in Baghdad, Brahimi said “I didn’t propose such thing and I don’t know where this news came from, It certainly did not come from me.”

Earlier, Ahmad Fawzi, Spokesman for the UN Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi dismissed that Brahimi is setting a plan to deploy an international peacekeeping force in Syria, as the Sunday Telegraph reported earlier.

Answering a question on the creditability of a report published by the newspaper on Sunday, Fawzi said the report is baseless.

Ashton Voices Agreement with Russia over Seeking Peaceful Solution to Syrian Crisis and Supporting Brahimi’s Mission

Oct 15, 2012

LUXEMBURG, (SANA) – The European Union’s High Representative Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said on Monday that the EU shares Russia’s conviction that that solution in Syria must be peaceful.

The Italian news agency AKI said that Ashton made statements on the sideline of the regular meeting of EU foreign Ministers held on Monday in Luxemburg, with her statements commenting on the meetings between the ministers and their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, although she didn’t give many details about the discussions during that meeting.

Ashton said that they discussed with Lavrov the latest developments in Syria and that they stressed the need to seek a peaceful solution and support the mission of UN Envoy Lakhdar Ibrahimi.

She said that the EU understand Russia’s concerns, particularly regarding the deteriorating relations between Turkey and Syria, stressing the need to work on an immediate cessation of violence inside Syria and not allowing this violence to spread.

NY Times Quoting Officials: Petraeus Deeply Involved in Supplying Gunmen in Syria

Oct 15, 2012

WASHINGTON, (SANA) – U.S. officials and Middle Eastern diplomats said that US President Barak Obama and senior officials of his administration are aware that the arms flow from Saudi Arabia and Qatar to Syria arrives to the hands of hard-line “Islamic” jihadists.

In a news report published on Sunday under the title ” Rebel Arms Flow Is Said to Benefit Jihadists in Syria,” the newspaper said that according to classified assessments of the crisis in Syria submitted to U.S. officials, ” the United States is providing intelligence and other support for shipments of secondhand light weapons like rifles and grenades into Syria, mainly orchestrated from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The shipments organized from Qatar, in particular, are largely going to hard-line Islamists”.

The newspaper quoted officials of countries in the region as saying that director of the Central Intelligence Agency, David H. Petraeus has been deeply involved in trying to steer the supply effort. The newspaper added that one Middle Eastern diplomat who has dealt extensively with the C.I.A. on the issue said that Petraeus’s goal was to oversee the process of “vetting, and then shaping, an opposition that the U.S. thinks it can work with.”

” According to American and Arab officials, the C.I.A. has sent officers to Turkey to help direct the aid, but the agency has been hampered by a lack of good intelligence about many rebel figures and factions,” NY Times said.

The newspaper questioned the White House’s strategy of minimal and indirect intervention in Syria, adding that it is sowing the seeds of future insurgencies hostile to the United States.

“American officials have been trying to understand why hard-line Islamists have received the lion’s share of the arms shipped to the Syrian opposition through the shadowy pipeline with roots in Qatar, and, to a lesser degree, Saudi Arabia.

The officials, voicing frustration, say there is no central clearinghouse for the shipments, and no effective way of vetting the groups that ultimately receive them. Those problems were central concerns for Petraeus, when he traveled secretly to Turkey last month.” The newspaper reported.

The newspaper quoted a Middle Eastern diplomat whose government has supported the Syrian gunmen as saying that his country’s political leadership was discouraged by the lack of organization and the ineffectiveness of the disjointed Syrian opposition movement. The disorganization is strengthening the hand of Islamic extremist groups in Syria, some with ties or affiliations with Al Qaeda.

“In several towns along the Turkey-Syria border, rebel commanders can be found seeking weapons and meeting with shadowy intermediaries, in a chaotic atmosphere where the true identities and affiliations of any party can be extremely difficult to ascertain. Moreover, the rebels often adapt their language and appearance in ways they hope will appeal to those distributing weapons.

For instance, many rebels have grown the long, scraggly beards favored by hard-line Salafi Muslims after hearing that Qatar was more inclined to give weapons to Islamists. The Saudis and Qataris are themselves relying on intermediaries — some of them Lebanese — who have struggled to make sense of the complex affiliations of the rebels they deal with.” The newspaper concluded.

Syria News On 15th Oct, 2012

Four Workers Martyred, Others Injured in Terrorist Attack against a Bus in Homs

Oct 15, 2012

PROVINCES, (SANA) – An armed terrorist group on Sunday targeted a bus carrying workers with an explosive device near al-Aabrini crossroad on Zaydal – al-Jaberiyeh road to the east of Homs city, killing 4 workers and injuring 20 others, a source in the province said.

The source added that the engineering units dismantled 12 explosive devices of various weights planted by terrorists on Zaydal-al-Jaberiyeh road in Homs countryside.

The Armed Forces targeted a terrorists’ gathering in the city of al-Rastan in Homs province, killing and injuring dozens of the terrorists.

SANA reporter was informed by a source in the province that terrorists Mahmoud Obeid, Iyad Idrees, Mahmoud Shahhoud, Samer Rahmoun and a terrorist of Tunisian nationality nicknamed Abu al-Qaqa’a were identified among the dead.

Another army unit clashed with and eliminated an armed terrorist group in al-Dayabyeh town in al-Qseir countryside, among the killed terrorists was the leader of the group, terrorist Abdul-Salam Harba.

Authorities clashed with an armed terrorist group in al-Husn area in Homs countryside, killing scores of terrorists, among them was terrorists Nizar Mirza, the leader of the terrorist group.

Armed Forces Destroy Terrorists’ Hideouts, Anti-aircraft Missiles

A unit of the Armed Forces on Sunday destroyed terrorists’ hideouts and a number of anti-aircraft missiles near al-Zeraa school and al-Inzarat neighborhood in Masaken Hanana in Aleppo City.

The army members also killed scores of terrorists in the area.

Also, amilitary unit destroyed two cars equipped with DShK machineguns, two large trucks supplied with a mortar launcherand eight cars for carrying terrorists, killing dozens of them near Issam al-Ghadiri School in al-Halwaniyeh in Aleppo.

Authorities foil attempt to detonate booby-trapped truck loaded with about 3 tons of explosives near al-Layramoon Roundabout in Aleppo city.

Another military unit targeted terrorists’ gatherings in Bab al-Nairab and near the Park in Aleppo, destroying four mortar launchers and ten vehicles for carrying terrorists and killing tens of them including terrorist groups’ leaders.

The body of terrorist Ahmad Abdul-Rahman nicknamed with Sheikh al-Jabal, of non-Syrian nationality, was identified.

Units of the armed forces destroyed 4 dens for armed terrorists and two cars equipped with DShK machineguns, and several vehicles loaded with weapons and ammunitions in qualitative operations near al-Ajazeh roundabout and the Sports Institute in Bustan al-Basha in Aleppo city, killing and injuring scores of terrorists.

A unit of the armed forces destroyed three cars carrying weapons and ammunition in a qualitative operation that left several terrorists killed near al-Sroubian pool in Bustan al-Basha in Aleppo.

The terrorist Mohammad Mahmoud al-Sukhni, leader of a terrorist group, was killed, along with all his group’s members in a qualitative operation by the armed forces near al-Marjeh roundabout in Aleppo.

In Aleppo countryside, a unit of the Armed Forces attacked a terrorist gathering in Arab Fattoumeh area and destroyed five pick-ups and killed all terrorists in them.

Among the killed terrorists were Riad al-Sarhan, the leader, of Egyptian nationality, Azz Eddin al-Masri, RPG shooter, of Egyptian nationality, and Khalil Abdul-Aziz, sniper, of Saudi nationality.

A number of terrorists were killed in a explosive device explosion in Khan al-Assal area and five cars and a truck loaded with weapons and ammunitions were destroyed.

In Aleppo city, the Armed Forces carried out qualitative operations attacking terrorist gatherings near Antakia Gate in the old City of Aleppo, Kastal Harami, al-Hatab and al-Tananir squares, al-Ahrar square in al-Kallaseh and al-Haj Bridge. Heavy losses were inflicted on the terrorists.

The Armed Forces attacked terrorist gatherings in al-Jandoul, al-Fursan, Deir Hafer, Ein Jara and Kafar Naha areas leading to killing and wounding tens of terrorists and destroying their DShK-equipped  vehicles.

A Citizen Injured in Explosive Device Blast in Mazzeh, Damascus

Citizen Ayman Yousef Wannous was injured in a blast of an explosive device planted by an armed terrorist group inside a car near al-Fatah Mosque in al-Mazzeh area in Damascus city.

SANA reporter was informed that Wannous, who works for al-Azmena private magazine, was severely injured.

The reporter added that Wannous was admitted to the hospital to receive treatment.

Army Units Clean Some Towns in Eastern Ghota in Damascus Countryside from Armed Terrorist Groups

Units of the Armed Forces cleared towns of Zbdeen, Deir al-Assafir, Shaba’a, Muhamadiyeh and Jisreen in the Eastern Ghota in Damascus Countryside of armed terrorist groups.

Army Eliminates Scores of Terrorists in Idleb

The Armed Forces eliminated large numbers of terrorists during qualitative operations carried out in several areas in Idleb province.

A source in the province told SANA that the army targeted terrorists’ gatherings in the areas of Saraqib, Jabal al-Zawya, al-Alyah, al-Ghassanyeh and al-Zi’inyeh, eliminating large numbers of the terrorists and destroying a Mortar and DShK-equipped cars.

 

The source added that the army killed scores of terrorists in Heish town in Idleb countryside, destroying rocket launchers and dozens of DShK-equipped cars.

A unit of the Armed Forces clashed with an armed terrorist group in al-Doweila area in Idleb countryside, eliminating all of the group’s members.

Among the killed terrorists was Salaheddin Ayyoub, leader of the so-called “Mohammad’s Soldiers Battalion”.

A Civilian Martyred, Two Others Injured by Terrorist’s Gunfire in Hama

An armed terrorist group opened fire on civilians in al-Aaydeen Camp in Hama City, Killing a civilian and injuring two others.

An official source told SANA reporter that terrorists were shooting citizens in the Camp from their Taxi car causing the martyrdom of civilian Rashid Saadi and the injury of two others.

Authorities Arrest Terrorists in Hama City

The authorities in Hama city arrested two terrorists, one of them disguised as a woman, who were planting an explosive device in al-Hader area in the city.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the authorities seized a bag including 15 kilo grams of highly explosive materials attached to batteries and a number of detonators.

The source added that the authorities clashed with a terrorist group which tried to cover the two terrorists while planting the explosive device and eliminated two members.

A Number of Terrorists Eliminated, Weapons Seized in Countryside of Hama

The authorities carried out a qualitative operation against terrorists near Kafr al-Ton crossroad in the countryside of Hama, Killing some of them and seizing their weapons.

Armed Forces Eliminate Terrorists in Deir Ezzor

A unit of the Armed Forces targeted on Sunday a number of terrorists gathering near al-Orfi Mosque in Bor Said street in Deri Ezzor city and killed several of them.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that a unit of the Armed Forces eliminated a gathering of terrorists in al-Takaya Street in al-Jbeilieh area and arrested one of the most wanted terrorists and eliminated an armed terrorist group near al-Rawdah Mosque.

Meanwhile, a terrorist was killed while he was planting an explosive device in Cinema Fouad Street.

Authorities eliminate a number of terrorists in Hama Countryside, Seize Weapons

The authorities in Hama province eliminated several terrorists in a qualitative operation against an armed terrorist group.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that machineguns and ammunitions were seized.

In Idleb province, the Armed Forces eliminated large numbers of terrorists in Hish town and destroyed missile launchers and tens of DShK-equipped vehicles.

Armed Forces Confront Terrorists Trying to Infiltrate into Prophet Younes mountain top

A unit of the Armed Forces confronted an armed terrorist group that tried to infiltrate into Prophet Younes Mountain top in Lattakia countryside and eliminated tens of them and injured others.

SANA reporter quoted a source in the province as saying that large amounts of ammunitions were seized including machinguns, NATO sniper rifles and RPG launchers.

Authorities Inflict Heavy Losses Upon Terrorists in Hasaka

Authorities clashed with an armed terrorist group in al-Kantari area on Hasaka-Raqqa road, inflicting heavy losses upon terrorists.

A source in the province told SANA that scores of terrorists were killed, adding that the authorities confiscated a DShK-equipped pick-up, 2 PKC machineguns and large amounts of munitions.

Salehi and Brahimi Stress Need to End Crisis in Syria Peacefully

Oct 14, 2012

TEHRAN, (SANA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi reiterated his country’s call for resolving the crisis in Syria through peaceful means, hoping that UN Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi will be able to cooperate with regional and other influential countries and carry out his task of finding a peaceful solution and ending the crisis by the Syrians themselves.

In a joint press conference with Brahimi held on Sunday in Tehran, Salehi said that the Syrian government has repeatedly showed willingness to realize the demands of its people and took the necessary steps in this regard, affirming that the Syrian people are free and democratic and have the right to elections and choosing a People’s Assembly, constitution and laws based on their own opinions.

He said that Iran’s viewpoint regarding the crisis in Syria matches Brahimi’s in that violence and killing must stop before any other step, adding “unfortunately, every day passes and a number of innocents are killed in Syria, which isn’t in the interest of Syria nor the region nor the Islamic nation nor the international community.”

Salehi said that the faster the crisis in Syria is resolved, the better, adding that Iran is prepared to cooperate fully with Brahimi to find a suitable solution.

He noted that the UN has specific qualities and ideas, and that the responsibilities shouldered by Brahimi place him in a neutral and non-biased position, stressing that non-bias may be questioned but Brhaimi represents a neutral side and can take effective steps.

Salehi also pointed out to the suggestion Iran presented during the ministerial committee meeting in New York, stressing that any other ideas will be within the agenda of resolving the crisis.

He concluded by saying that Brahimi is working hard to bring differing opinions closer together, hoping that he will be able to present a suggestion that resolves the crisis in Syria in the future.

For his part, Brahimi said that the UN is fully aware of the critical nature of the situation in Syria and the need to resolve it quickly, noting that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls for the cessation of violence every day.

He said that Ki-moon calls on daily basis for stopping the flow of weapons to all sides in Syria and pressing all influential countries to call for an end to violence and seeking peaceful solutions to the real issues.

Brahimi stressed the need to resolve these real issues in peaceful ways, affirming that the UN is ready to offer help to bring viewpoints closer and help the Syrians resolve their problems.

He said that he’s looking forward to continuing talks with Iran along with other countries in the region that affect what is happening in Syria and are affected by it, thanking Iran for the document it presented in New York.

Brahimi concluded by hoping that all these ideas would unite in a single project that end the suffering of the Syrian people and resolves the crisis properly in a manner that serves the interests of the Syrians.

People’s Assembly Passes Bill on Law for Biosecurity of Genetically-Modified Life Forms and Products

Oct 14, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – During a session on Sunday chaired by Speaker Mohammad Jihad al-Lahham, the People’s Assembly passed a bill on the law of biosecurity of genetically-modified life forms and their products.

The law aims to guarantee the health of humans, animals, plants and protect the environment by setting guidelines for the import, export, transportation, production, circulation and use of genetically-modified life forms and their products, in addition to setting a framework for research and development in genetic engineering.

The law also seeks to keep up with advances in genetic engineering, particularly in the field of agriculture such as the production of high-yield crops or ones that can survive in soils with high salinity, in addition to monitoring the use of genetic technology according to the standards and regulations of biosecurity.

Agriculture Minister Sobhi al-Abdullah pointed out that the Establishment for the Procurement of Agricultural Production Requirement, an affiliate of the Agricultural Scientific Research Agency, is currently doing work in the field of modern biotechnology to help develop the agricultural sector.

The Assembly referred a number of legislative decrees and bills to the appropriate committees for processing and study, including a bill on ratifying the cooperation agreement signed by Syria and the International Center for Geopolitical Analysis and Commercial Cooperation in Moscow, and a bill on exempting people with overdue electricity bills from interests and fines.

The Assembly also referred members’ written questions to the appropriate authorities, with the questions dealing with various issues including educational hospitals, postponing the debts of what farmers to the Agricultural Banks, reinstating workers who were fired or who quit their jobs and were not convicted of anything, amending the basic workers law.

The session was adjourned until 12 PM on Monday.

SYP 1 Billion Allocated to Compensate Damages to Citizens’ Properties Caused by Terrorism in 2012, SYP 30 Billion More to Be Allocated in 2013

Oct 14, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Deputy Prime Minister for Services Affairs, Minister of Local Administration Omar Ghalawanji said that SYP 1 billion has been allocated to the building committee established in September 23rd to compensate for the damages caused to uninsured private properties affected by terrorism in 2012.

During the first meeting of the committee on Sunday, Ghalawanji, who chaired the committee, said that half of the money will come from the budget of the Local Administration Ministry and the other half from the state general budget, adding that SYP 30 billion has been allocated to the committee and will become available to it by the start of 2013.

Ghalawanji reviewed the committee task which include setting basis and criteria for compensating damages, taking necessary steps for rehabilitating damaged infrastructure and utilities, and providing humanitarian relief to affected citizens.

He pointed out that his Ministry requested sub committees in provinces to finish documenting actual damage to private properties and put the data in charts within a week, adding that the issues of raising the values and the cap of compensations and finding mechanisms for compensating owners of vehicles damaged by terrorism are being discussed.

Ghalawanji called for presenting accurate reports on repairs that have been completed and their costs, noting that no repairs should be made in hotspots or unsafe areas until they are fully cleared of terrorists.

Regarding humanitarian relief, Ghalawanji underlined the efforts made by his Ministry in cooperation with international organizations such as the UNHCR, WFP, UNDP and UNICEF.

During the meeting, it was decided that damages estimated anywhere between SYP 30,000 and 250,000 receive 40% compensation, while damages estimated between 250,000 and 350,000 will be compensated with 100,000, with damages over 300,000 receiving a 30% compensation of no less than 100,000 and no more than 1.5 million.

Damages estimates at over 1.5 million will be presented to the Prime Ministry, and an advance payment of 50%  of the estimated damages will be given to affected citizens.

Governors are also authorized to allocate extra funds from the sums other than the funds from the allocated budget of this project when needed, given that the extra funds don’t exceed 20% of the value of the funds allocated to them.

The committee also discussed requests from the ministries of interior, electricity, health, education and national reconciliation on the committee’s work in rehabilitating infrastructure and utilities.

Booby-trapped Car Explodes on al-Mazzeh Highway Causing Material Damage Only

Oct 14, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – A suicide terrorist blew up his booby-trapped car on al-Mazzeh Highway in the early morning on Sunday, resulting in material damage only.

An official source told SANA reporter that the explosion was carried out by a Kia Rio car loaded with large amounts of explosives, causing material damage only and no casualties.

Based on Principle of Reciprocity, Syria Decides to Not Allow Turkish Civilian Planes to Fly Over Syria as of Midnight of October 13

Oct 14, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry announced that based on the Turkish government’s decision to not allow Syrian civilian planes to fly over Turkey, and based on the principle of reciprocity, the Syrian government decided to not allow Turkish civilian planes to fly over the territories of the Syrian Arab Republic as of midnight of Saturday, 13/10/2012.

In a press statement issued on Saturday evening, the Ministry said that the Syrian government regrets the Turkish government’s escalatory decision which primarily targets the interests of the Syrian people.

Petroleum Minister Discusses Means of Increasing and Maintaining Production

Oct 14, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Saiid Hneidi discussed on Sunday with heads of petroleum workers’ trade unions means for increasing and maintaining production and dealing with difficulties facing workers.

Discussions focused on workers’ demands and the difficulties hindering their work, in addition to issues related to equipment maintenance, increasing workers’ compensation, extending contracts, exchanging technical expertise, and increasing fuel allocations for some provinces.

Minister Hneidi noted that the petroleum sector was targeted heavily by terrorists due to its importance and impact on national economy and citizens’ livelihood, while some countries targeted this sector through sanctions, affirming that his Ministry is exerting huge efforts to circumvent these sanctions.

He lauded the efforts of workers in the petroleum sector who are working around the clock under the difficult circumstances to maintain production and provide citizens’ fuel requirements.

The Minister also affirmed that all the points raised in the meeting will be studied and the applicable suggestions will be implemented, and that other issues such as the difficulty some workers are facing in reaching their workplaces due to terrorism will also be tackled.

Lebanon Keen on Syria’s Security and Stability, Lebanese Foreign Minister Says

Oct 14, 2012

BEIRUT, (SANA)- Lebanese Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Adnan Mansour, stressed Lebanon’s keenness on the security and stability in Syria due to the geographical position and distinguished historical relations between the two countries.

In a statement to the Lebanese An-Nahar newspaper published on Sunday, Mansour said that there are some who want to exploit the events in Syria to undermine the situation in Lebanon and other countries, pointing out to the necessity of that Lebanon has to control its borders with Syria to prevent the infiltration of gunmen into or out of Syria.

He stressed that the Lebanese army is doing its duty in this regard, but it doesn’t prevent the infiltration of the armed members into Syria.

Minister Mansour added that the repercussions of the situation in Syria will influence the whole region, particularly Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.

He called for fortifying the Lebanese internal front and national awareness to foil any attempt to undermine Lebanon’s security.