Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commander Shot Dead In Syria

[longknife]

by Agence France Presse

What a bit of irony this is. It's like have our chief of Navy Seals or the Delta Force Commander taken out while visiting somewhere. This guy was supposed to be the best Iran has to offer.

Assailants shot dead a senior Iranian official in Syria while he was travel ling by road towards the Lebanese capital overnight, the Iranian authorities said on Thursday.

The Iranian embassy in Beirut said "armed terrorists" killed a man it identified as Hessam Khoshnevis, adding that he had been involved in reconstruction work in Lebanon

. [Read this to mean he was working on giving arms to those rebels who support Iranian goals.]

Read more: Iranian Commander Killed In Syria - Business Insider

 

[BecauseIKnow]

He died in an airstrike

 

[waltky]

Malaki `fraid Syrian war gonna destabilize the wider Middle East...

Iraq PM warns Syria war could spread
Feb 27,`13 -- Iraq's prime minister warned Wednesday that a victory for rebels in the Syrian civil war would create a new extremist haven and destabilize the wider Middle East, sparking sectarian wars in his own country and in Lebanon.

Nouri al-Maliki stopped short of voicing outright support for Syrian President Bashar Assad's embattled regime. But his comments in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press marked one of his strongest warnings yet about the turmoil that the collapse of the Syrian government could create.

The prime minister's remarks reflect fears by many Shiite Muslims in Iraq and elsewhere that Sunni Muslims would come to dominate Syria should Assad be toppled, and his statements could provide a measure of moral support for those fighting to keep Assad in power. "If the world does not agree to support a peaceful solution through dialogue ... then I see no light at the end of the tunnel," al-Maliki said in his office in a Saddam Hussein-era palace inside Baghdad's heavily guarded Green Zone. "Neither the opposition nor the regime can finish each other off," he continued. "The most dangerous thing in this process is that if the opposition is victorious, there will be a civil war in Lebanon, divisions in Jordan and a sectarian war in Iraq."

The Iraqi leader's comments come as his government confronts growing tensions of its own between the Shiite majority and an increasingly restive Sunni minority nearly a decade after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The war in Syria has sharp sectarian overtones, with predominantly Sunni rebels fighting a regime dominated by Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Rebel groups have increasingly embraced radical Islamic ideologies, and some of their greatest battlefield successes have been carried out by Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida-affiliated group which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization. Assad's main allies are Shiite Iran and the Shiite militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah also warned Wednesday against sectarian infighting in Lebanon related to the Syrian civil war. "There are some who are working night and day and pushing the country toward civil and religious strife, and specifically Sunni-Shiite strife," Nasrallah said on the group's Al-Manar TV. If this were to happen, he said, it would "destroy everyone and burn down the entire country." Nasrallah denied accusations by the Syrian opposition that members of the group were fighting alongside forces loyal to the Assad regime, and reiterated that some Shiites in villages along the Lebanese-Syrian border, including Hezbollah members, have taken up arms in self-defense against Sunni gunmen.

MORE

See also:

U.S. weighing nonlethal aid to Syrian opposition
February 27, 2013 -- Changes are under discussion with allies, too, a senior administration official says; The United States may remove restrictions on "dual-use" equipment, another source says; Sources say the United States is not considering providing weapons; "They are doing a redefinition of what is lethal," the source says

Washington (CNN) -- The Obama administration is moving toward increasing aid to the Syrian opposition, including providing nonlethal military equipment and possibly strategic military training, sources told CNN Tuesday. The changes are under discussion with allies as well, as part Secretary of State John Kerry's meetings this week in Europe, a senior administration official said. The sources said the United States is not considering providing weapons. The administration is also moving toward giving humanitarian aid directly to the Syrian Opposition Coalition, the official said, adding that this was already happening in limited amounts. The consideration was first reported on Tuesday by The Washington Post.

The United States is also looking to remove restrictions on "dual-use" equipment, such as those involving communications, body armor, flak jackets, night-vision equipment and military vehicles, according to another source familiar with the policy discussions. Such items are defensive in nature, but they could be used to aid in combat. The training would be intended to help rebels allocate resources and set objectives, strategize and possibly train a potential police force, the source said. "They are doing a redefinition of what is lethal," the source said. "They have been working on this for a while." The source said the United States is also helping the new Syrian government in exile get on its feet by developing government institutions, strategic communications and outreach.

The increase is being done in coordination with the Europeans. A senior European diplomat said that though the European Union is not lifting its arms embargo against Syria, its members are moving to loosen restrictions on nonlethal military aid -- including night-vision goggles, body armor and possible military training. Each EU nation would decide on its own what to supply, the official said. In meetings on his first official trip, Kerry has focused on Syria. He met Tuesday with German officials and with Russia's foreign minister. Their two-hour discussion included Syria, said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. On Thursday, Kerry travels to Rome for a meeting of countries supporting the opposition.

Kerry was involved in an effort to keep the Syrian opposition -- upset by the government's attacks on Aleppo and a perceived lack of movement by other countries to prevent it -- from following through on an announced boycott of the Rome meeting. The U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, flew Sunday to Cairo to talk to the opposition and Kerry spoke Monday by phone with the group. By Monday evening, the group announced it would attend Thursday's meetings. "We are determined that the Syrian opposition is not going to be dangling in the wind wondering where the support is or if it is coming, and we are determined to change the calculation on the ground for President (Bashar al-Assad)," Kerrry said Monday in London.

More http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/26/us/us-syria-military/index.html

 

[waltky]

A million Syrians flee to avoid the war...

UN: number of Syrian refugees reaches 1 million
Mar 6,`13 -- The number of Syrians who have fled their war-ravaged country and are seeking assistance has now topped the 1 million mark, the U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday, warning that Syria is heading toward a "full-scale disaster."

In Syria, activists said rebels completed their takeover of the northern city of Raqqa after seizing two key security buildings there. If confirmed, it would be the first major city to fall completely into rebel hands since Syria's conflict began nearly two years ago. The U.N., meanwhile, said about 20 peacekeepers in a force that monitors the cease-fire between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights were detained Wednesday by about 30 armed fighters. U.N. deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said the U.N. observers were stopped near an observation post which sustained damage and was evacuated last weekend following heavy combat.

In Geneva, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, said that the figure of 1 million refugees is based on reports from his agency's field offices in countries neighboring Syria that have provided safe haven for refugees escaping the civil war. "With a million people in flight, millions more displaced internally, and thousands of people continuing to cross the border every day, Syria is spiraling toward full-scale disaster," Guterres said. Syria's population is about 22 million.

In addition, several hundred thousand Syrians who have fled their country have not yet registered as refugees, suggesting the total number well exceeds 1 million, said Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency. Syria's uprising began in March 2011 with protests against President Bashar Assad's authoritarian rule. When the government cracked down on demonstrators, the opposition took up arms and the conflict turned into a full-blown civil war. The U.N. estimates that more than 70,000 people have been killed. The pace of refugees fleeing the battered country has picked up dramatically over the past three months.

In Lebanon, 19-year-old Bushra, a mother of two, became the millionth Syrian refugee registered in the region since the conflict began. Since fleeing the fighting in central city of Homs a few weeks ago, Bushra has lived in the Lebanon's restive city of Tripoli, squeezed into a room with 20 other people. "Our life conditions are very bad, it is very expensive here (in Lebanon) and we cannot find any work," Bushra, who asked to be identified with her first name for fear of government reprisals, told reporters at a UNHCR registration center in Tripoli in northern Lebanon.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Rebels are still trying to destroy the system built by President Assad's father...

Syria conflict: Neither side is backing down
15 March 2013 - Two years ago, the town of Deraa in southern Syria was convulsed by a series of angry, but peaceful demonstrations. The regime of President Bashar al-Assad answered them with force.

Far from being crushed, the movement spread, and as more protesters died it became an armed insurgency. Now it is a civil war, and it is destroying Syria. Casualty figures are rising, fast. The UK's Department for International Development points out that since the start of this year more people have been killed than in the entire first year of the conflict. The exodus of Syrians is also speeding up. More than one million are refugees. The strain of absorbing them, and periodic border clashes, risk destabilising Syria's neighbours. Worst case scenarios include a regional war. Britain, France and the United States are getting closer to supporting the rebels with weapons and military training. But it's a risky strategy which could make matters worse, not better.

Assad's view

The view from the president's palace in Damascus is not as bad as foreigners might imagine, and many rebels would like. Britain estimates that his main allies Iran and Russia have increased their levels of military and financial support to the regime since late last year. The belief that President Assad's men are getting a sharper military edge over the armed opposition is one of the reasons why Britain and France are pressing their European Union partners to lift their arms embargo to Syria.

At the beginning of the uprising two years ago the Assad regime blamed a conspiracy by foreign elements, including al-Qaeda. Since the protests turned into a civil war, foreign jihadists in small but significant numbers have entered Syria to join the fight against it. They are effective fighters, but paradoxically the president might take some comfort from their presence. Mr Assad could be sensing he is scoring points in the West - as he has in Russia - with his argument that, if he goes, Syria's future could be dominated by Sunni Muslim extremists.

Rebel view

See also:

Opposition source: Syrian rebels get U.S.-organized training in Jordan
March 15, 2013 -- An opposition group reports 144 deaths -- 22 allegedly by torture -- on Friday; Syrian rebel spokesman: Syrian rebels received U.S.-organized training in Jordan; The spokesman won't specify whether trainers were U.S. military personnel or contractors; White House spokesman: The U.S. doesn't "provide lethal aid to the Syrian opposition"

The first Syrian rebels trained by U.S. military and intelligence officers in Jordan returned to Syria on Thursday, a senior rebel spokesman told CNN. About 300 rebel fighters received specialized training in Jordan in the use of various weapons, including anti-tank, anti-aircraft and other types of advanced systems, the spokesman said. More rebel fighters are currently undergoing training. Syrian rebels' efforts to topple President Bashar al-Assad have claimed more than 60,000 lives since the fighting began in March 2011. Another 940,000 have fled the country and more than 10% of Syria's 20 million residents have been forced to move elsewhere inside the country, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has said.

Asked about the rebel spokesman's claims, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the United States doesn't "provide lethal aid to the Syrian opposition." "But we do provide assistance that has continually ramped up ... and we're constantly reviewing our assistance programs to the Syrian people through humanitarian aid and to the Syrian opposition," Carney told CNN on Friday afternoon. Syrian rebels' efforts to topple President Bashar al-Assad have claimed more than 60,000 lives since the fighting began in March 2011. At least 144 more deaths were reported Friday by the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a network of opposition activists. That figure includes 13 women, 12 children and 22 people who were tortured, according to the group. Some 59 of those fatalities were in and around Damascus, with another 28 in Daraa province.

Another 940,000 people have fled the country and more than 10% of Syria's 20 million residents have been forced to move elsewhere inside the country, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has said. The conflict began with demands for political reform after the Arab Spring movement that swept the Middle East and Africa, but devolved into civil war when the al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators. "We are doing everything we can with our international partners to help bring about a post-Assad Syria," said Carney, the White House spokesman. "Assad has the blood of his own people on his hands. He in no way can be a part of Syria's future. The Syrian people have spoken on that issue."

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/15/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html