Saturday, September 8, 2012

#Syria Live: Insurgent Al Farouk Brigade says it killed leader of group that kidnapped 2 Euro journos n July


 Live: Insurgent Al Farouk Brigade says it killed leader of group that kidnapped 2 Euro journos n July  | 

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting Escalates in Aleppo and Damascus

Claimed footage of Free Syrian Army fighters inside the Hanano army barracks in Aleppo in Syria

1059 GMT: Syria. Iraq's Ministry of Interior claim that four rockets fired from Syria landed on the Iraqi town of al-Qaim near a refugee centre, killing a 4-year-old girl.
The Ministry declared, "Although Iraq has taken a neutral position in the Syrian conflict ... our brave forces are ready to respond in case (of) repetition of such attack."
1055 GMT: Syria. Electronic Intifada claims:
Palestinian refugees fleeing to Lebanon from Syria are only permitted to stay for one week; after that, they have to renew their permits which cost $33 for each person above the age of 10. The fee, as little as it may be, is difficult to come up with in a place like Lebanon where Palestinians are banned from work.
1035 GMT: Syria. Military officials and witnesses have said that regime troops, backed by tanks and helicopters, have repelled insurgents after a 20-hour battle at the Hanano military base in east Aleppo.
"There are a lot of victims on both sides," a witness said. A military official said soldiers destroyed six armoured vehicles used by insurgents to transport weapons seized in the barracks.
The Hanano base serves as a weapons storage depot, a conscript recruitment center and also houses the headquarters of the local branch of the military police and anti-riot police.
Insurgents have posted a video of weapons they claim to have taken from the base.
1015 GMT: Syria. Claimed footage of prisoners taken by insurgents as they occupied the Hanano army base in Aleppo:
Syrian military sources have insisted to a journalist from Iran's Press TV reporter that they still control the facility.
0725 GMT: Syria. The Cluster Munition Coalition claims regime forces have almost certainly used cluster bombs.
The CMC said it had collected pictures and footage from Syrian activists showing fragments of cluster munitions at least two sites. Stephen Goose of the CMC and Human Rights Watch told reporters, "We think the evidence is compelling that the Syrian government forces have used cluster munitions."
The Brown Moses blog has posted information and pictures of the possible use of cluster bombs.
0718 GMT: Syria. Members of the Al Farouk Brigade claim they have killed the leader of an extremist group alleged to have kidnapped two European journalists in July.
Abu Muhammad al Shami al Absi and his fighters attracted international notice after two photographers, one Dutch and one British, were freed by other insurgents after being held for a week. The journalists said several of their captors spoke English with British accents.
0715 GMT: Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood's website sets the priority for the international travel of one of its members, President Morsi:
Dr. Yasser Ali, Egypt’s Presidential spokesman, affirmed that President Mohamed Morsi’s European tour in Belgium and Italy towards the end of next week is mainly aimed at attracting international investment to set up projects in Egypt.
"These investments will create more job opportunities in Egypt."
The tour also aims to promote relations between Egypt and the European Union, and to assure Europe and the whole world that Egypt’s new political administration is determined to protect and facilitate investment.
In a statement, the Presidential spokesman further said, "President Morsi will explain to European officials the concrete steps Egypt has taken in areas of political, administrative and economic reform.
0555 GMT: Syria. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have met today on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in the Russian port of Vladivostok.
No details of the talks emerged, as Clinton and Lavrov signed an agreement to expand cooperation in the Antarctic between scientists and rescue missions.
0545 GMT: Syria. Last night, as we discussed the day's developments, James Miller looked ahead:
Free Syrian Army hammering regime in Aleppo today. Expect to see lots of airstrikes tomorrow, after the regime has a chance to figure out what hit them. 
Prediction: 150 civilians dead today, 200-300 civilians dead tomorrow. 
So how is that evaluation looking this morning? The Local Coordination Committees report that 140 people were slain by security forces on Friday, including 44 in Damasus and its suburbs and 30 in and near Aleppo.
Meanwhile, AFP speaks with Free Syrian Army officers to describe the escalation in Syria's largest city:
"Today we are raiding the Hanano military base because there are a lot of army soldiers, snipers and shabiha [pro-regime] mercenaries there," says Abu Omar, a field commander....
"Several brigades are taking part in this offensive," he told AFP, standing in a covered alley way.
Fighting escalated in the city of Aleppo when opposition fighters launched an attack against a military base while war planes and artillery pounded areas under their control.
Commander Omar says the goal of the new offensive is to liberate Hanano, cut strategic supply lines and put a stop to shelling attacks that have caused high civilian casualties in the commercial city.
FSA media coordinator Abdullah Yasser says the assault aims to take down one of three main positions used by the army to shell rebel-held areas concentrated in the east of Aleppo.
"Hanano is one of the main places from which they are shooting so taking it over could be a turning point for us," he tells AFP.