Tag Archive for Syrian rebels

| March 9, 2013
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21 UN peacekeepers, kidnapped by Syrian rebels, were release to Jordan

21 Filipino UN workers safely crossed on Saturday from southern Syria, where they were held since Wednesday after being captured by rebels, into neighboring Jordan.

By Reuters

 

Twenty-one United Nations peacekeepers captured by Syrian rebels and held for three days in a southern Syrian village crossed safely into neighboring Jordan on Saturday, rebels and a UN official in Damascus said.

A UN peacekeepers vehicle in Syria, March 9, 2013

A UN peacekeepers vehicle in Syria, March 9, 2013 – Photo: AFP

The Filipino peacekeepers were taken by the Martyrs of Yarmouk rebel brigade to the border, about 10 km (6 miles) south of the village of Jamla where they had been held since being captured on Wednesday.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 8, 2013
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8 UN soldiers abandon post in Syria and march into Israel

In fear of additional kidnappings, peacekeepers were ordered by their commander to abandon their post in Syria then the IDF soldiers meet them at border crossing.

Yoav Zitun

 

Two days after 21 Filipino UN peacekeepers were kidnapped by Syrian rebels in the village of Jamlah, situated less than a mile from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, eight other UN monitors from the Philippines abandoned their position on Friday and crossed the border into Israel.

UN position in Syria – Photo: AP

The soldiers, who belong to a UN force that has patrolled a ceasefire line between Israel and Syria for nearly four decades, were ordered by their commander to abandon the post for fear rebels may attempt to capture more peacekeepers. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 7, 2013
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The UNSC demands immediate & unconditional release of UN Hostages

20 UN peacekeepers detained in Golan Heights by member of ‘Martyrs of Yarmouk’ saying hostages would not be released until Assad’s forces withdraw from Golan village of Jamla

News agencies

 

The United Nations said about 20 peacekeepers had been detained by around 30 armed fighters in the Golan Heights on the border between Syria and Israel on Wednesday and that it has sent a team to resolve the situation.

כוח אודו"ף של האו"ם. מסייע למשטר אסד? (צילום: רויטרס)

UNDOF force in the Golan Heights – Photo: Reuters

The UN’s Security Council demanded their immediate and unconditional release.

The United Nations confirmation came in response to YouTube videos purporting to show Syrian rebels with the seized convoy. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 6, 2013
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Mere Feet From IDF, Syrian Jihadis with Antiaircraft Gun Watch & Film

Apparently Assad has lost control of the area as rebel Syrian gunmen’s video, on Golan border, shows IDF patrol passing by just a few dozen feet away.

By Gil Ronen

 

Syrian jihadist rebels from the Al Furkan Regiments have posted an Internet video that shows them just a few dozen feet away from an IDF patrol, on the Israel-Syria border.

IDF patrol seen from rebel positionAccording to Yoni Alper of Terror Watch, the video was shot next to a UN position and a man seen may be a UN soldier.

The location of the video is Kakhtania, which is a part of Kuneitra, on the Golan Heights. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| February 28, 2013
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U.S. to train rebels to bring about post-Assad Syria

White House spokesman says humanitarian assistance will be provided to the Syrian people & combat training will be offered to the Syrian opposition.

By Reuters

 

The United States is planning to offer Syrian rebels combat training, the New York times reported on Wednesday.

Free Syrian Army fighters, take their positions as they observe the Syrian army forces base

Free Syrian Army fighters, take their positions as they observe the Syrian army forces base of Wadi al-Deif in Idlib province, Syria, Tuesday Feb. 26, 2013. – Photo: AP

According to the report, an offer of training assistance is expected to come from Secretary of State John Kerry when he meets with Syrian opposition leaders in Rome on Thursday. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| February 26, 2013
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With Assad loosing control, Israel plans against security threats

Prof. Mordechai Kedar: In the long term Assad’s regime may be replaced by a gov’t more amenable to peace with Israel. But before he falls, Assad might transfer his large stock of WMD to Hezbollah.

JTA SPECIAL REPORT: THE SYRIA SPILLOVER By Ben Sales

 

KATZRIN, Israel  — For nearly 40 years, Israel’s border with Syria has been, perhaps improbably, its quietest.

The two countries technically have been in a state of war since the cease-fire that ended the 1973 Yom Kippur War. But over the past four decades, while Israel’s other borders occasionally have exploded with missile salvos, intifadas, shooting incidents and cross-border terrorist attacks, the Syrian frontier on the Golan Heights has stayed largely peaceful. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| February 5, 2013
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Syria won’t retaliate against Israel reports Syrian defense minister on state TV

Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij reported Israel’s alleged airstrike was part of a plan to aid in destroying Syria internally, and calls Syrian rebels Israel’s “tools”. Furthermore, al-Freij said Israel & their “armed gangs coordinated together to target the research center.”

News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

Syria’s defense minister signaled Monday that his country would not hit back at Israel over last week’s airstrike inside Syria, claiming the Israeli raid was actually in retaliation for his regime’s offensive against local rebels, whom he called “tools” of the Jewish state. The remarks suggest the regime’s military options might be severely constrained after 22 months of fighting an uprising that has depleted its weapons and stretched troops thin.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| January 9, 2013
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Syria trades civilian prisoners for rebel-held Iranian Revolutionary Guardsmen

Assad’s regime releases over 2000 civilian prisoners in exchange for 48 Iranians captured last August by fighting Syrian rebels.

By REUTERS

 

Syrian rebels freed 48 Iranian hostages on Wednesday in exchange for the release of more than 2,000 civilian prisoners held by the Syrian government, the head of a Turkish aid agency which helped broker the deal said.

zqzqzqzqThe Syrian rebel al-Baraa brigade seized the Iranians in early August and initially threatened to kill them, saying they were members of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sent to fight for Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Islamic Republic, one of Assad’s closest allies, denied this, saying they were Shi’ite Muslim pilgrims visiting shrines, and it asked Turkey and Qatar to use their connections with Syrian insurgents to help secure their release.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| January 5, 2013
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Israeli Arab fighting Assad’s regime ‘can’t go home’

Israeli Arab who entered Syria to join rebel forces says they burned his passport & now refuse to allow him to return home.

Hassan Shaalan

 

An Israeli Arab who crossed the border from Turkey to Syria and joined the rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad‘s regime told his family he is having trouble returning to Israel because the rebels burned his passport.

Rebels in Aleppo – Photo: AFP

The man claimed the rebels told him “whoever joins us does not return to his family.”

A relative of the young Arab Israeli told Ynet, “He called me a month ago and said he and his friend were pleased with their move (joining the rebels). Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| December 24, 2012
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Germany Reports: elite Israeli, American, French units in Syria to take WMD

Opposition activists tell Al-Jazeera poisonous ‘Sarin-like gas’ sprayed by Assad’s forces in Homs neighborhood kills 7.

German weekly says elite French, American & I.D.F. units operating deep inside Syria will take control of Assad’s chemical arms arsenals.

By Ynet

 

Seven people were killed in Homs’ rebel-held neighborhood of al-Bayyada when they inhaled a poisonous gas sprayed by Syrian Army forces, opposition activists told Al-Jazeera early Monday.

Syrian treated for gas inhalation

Syrian treated for gas inhalation – Screenshot

According to the activists, scores of others suffered from side effects, including nausea, relaxed muscles, blurred vision, and breathing difficulties.

Residents said they did not know the nature of the gas sprayed. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| December 23, 2012
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Israeli Defense Expert: Syria’s Chemical Weapons Are Secure

Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal is secure for now, says an Israel defense official, Amos Gilad.

At some point, the various splinter groups may begin to also fight each other. But for now, they are still united against a common enemy: Assad.

By Chana Ya’ar

 

According to Defense Ministry military expert Amos Gilad, for the moment, there appears to be a balance of power between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and opposition forces.

בסיס נשק כימי בספירה. קרבות ניטשו סביב המקום

Syrian Chemical weapon base

It is that delicate balance that is keeping the chemical weapons in check, Gilad told listeners in an interview broadcast Sunday morning on IDF Army Radio.  Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| December 23, 2012
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2 Christian towns threatened by Islamists: Attack Assad or be killed

UN investigators described the 21-month conflict as “overtly sectarian in nature” as armed Islamists threaten Christians with death if they don’t fight Assad.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

Heavily-armed Islamists, many linked with Al Qaeda, have deepened their presence in the Syrian uprising and threaten Christians with death if they don’t work against Assad.

A resident holds prayer beads near buildings, damaged by missiles fired by a Syrian fighter jet near

A resident holds prayer beads near buildings, damaged by missiles fired by a Syrian fighter jet near – Reuters

They warned two Christian towns on Saturday they will be attacked if they do not evict regime forces, as the new Greek Orthodox patriarch said Syria’s often-fearful Christians will stay put and urged a peaceful end to the conflict, according to AFP.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| December 20, 2012
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Echoing Jordanian warnings, UN agrees: Syria, battleground of ‘foreign fighters’

Jordanian officials say that jihadists are hijacking the Syrian revolution & may target Israel next.

UN also says Hezbollah fighting on behalf of Assad.

By Reuters

 

United Nations human rights investigators warned Thursday that fighters from around the world have filtered into Syria to join a civil war that has split along sectarian lines, increasingly pitting the ruling Alawite community against the majority Sunni Muslims.

The warning comes after senior Jordanian officials warned this week that Syria may devolve into a “black hole that sucks Jihadists from around the world.”

Damage in Syria Dec 18

A woman walks past a house destroyed by an airstrike by Syrian government forces.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| December 18, 2012
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Syrian Jihadi leader to local Christians: ‘Convert to Islam or die’

Syria Rebel supporter Ahmad Al Baghdadi Al Hassani’s comments  indicate the growing anti-Christian sentiment in the Muslim world

By jn1.tv

 

VIDEO – Jihadi leader Ahmad Al Baghdadi Al Hassani referred to Christians as polytheists and “friends of the Zionists.”

 (archives) Photo: AMG/TML Photos

In a recent Egyptian TV address, the extremist leader stressed that Christians must choose “Islam or death,” while their women and daughters may legitimately be regarded as wives of Muslims.

Al Hassani resides in Syria and supports the armed opposition.


Video courtesy of jn1.tv

 

View original Ynet publication at:  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4321181,00.html
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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| December 17, 2012
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Syria: Palestinians sheltering terrorists become ‘victims’

Syria’s Foreign Minister tells UN Chief Ban that Palestinians shouldn’t offer ‘shelter or assistance to terrorist groups’ 

Reuters

 

According to state television, Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Moallem told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that Palestinians living in the country should not offer “shelter or assistance to terrorist groups” in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus.

הלחימה נמשכת. שכונת מגורים אחרי הפצצה של צבא אסד (צילום: רויטרס)

Bombing aftermath – Photo: Reuters

Moallem’s comments came after Ban’s spokesman said the secretary general was concerned at reports of an air strike by President Bashar Assad’s forces on Yarmouk refugee camp on Sunday in which 25 people were reportedly killed.

Sunday’s air strike on Yarmouk, carried out by the Syrian military, was the first against the country’s Palestinian refugee camps, whose residents are divided over the 21-month conflict between rebels and regime forces. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
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