Syria rebels ‘down fighter jet’ in Idlib province
Footage on al-Arabiya TV shows what appears to be smoke in the sky and a person parachuting – This footage has not been independently verified
Unconfirmed reports say Syrian rebels have shot down an air force fighter jet in the north-western province of Idlib.
Amateur footage broadcast by Arabic satellite TV stations of the purported incident showed smoke billowing and two figures parachuting to the ground.
Opposition sources also said 20 people, including eight children, were killed as security forces bombarded Idlib.
Meanwhile, a rights group alleged that Syrian forces may be targeting civilians queuing for bread in Aleppo.
The UN Security Council is set to meet on Thursday to discuss the humanitarian situation in Syria.
But according to reports, the US, Russia and China will be absent from the meeting of foreign ministers from council member nations, making decisive action unlikely to result.
‘Allahu Akbar’
In the footage of the apparent downing of the plane shown on al-Arabiya satellite station, smoke billows in the sky and then pilots are seen parachuting down to the ground.
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Meanwhile, celebrating rebels shout “Allahu Akbar” (God is great). The video’s authenticity cannot be verified.
The news agency AFP later quoted the head of the rebel military council in Idlib as saying the two pilots had been captured.
The identity of the rebels behind the purported attack is unclear, with the video’s narrator saying the rebels come from the Syrian Martyrs’ Brigade and al-Arabiya suggesting they are from the Free Syrian Army.
In recent weeks, the Syrian rebels say they have shot down another fighter jet and a helicopter gunship.
The UK-based opposition activist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said on Thursday that 20 people, including eight children and nine women, were killed in bombardments by security forces in the Abu al-Zohur area of Idlib.
It said the bombardment was in response to rebel attacks.
The reports of casualties cannot be independently verified.
Separately, the director of the main hospital used to treat security personnel has told AFP he estimates more than 8,000 members of the security forces have died since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011.
The director, a doctor who also holds the rank of general, works at the Tishrin facility in Damascus and spoke on condition of anonymity. His estimates cannot be independently confirmed.
The director of Tishrin military hospital, shown here, estimates 8,000 security personnel have been killed“I estimate that at least 8,000 soldiers and members of the security forces have been killed since the beginning of the crisis,” the director told AFP.
“Every day, we receive an average of 15 to 20 bodies of soldiers and members of security forces, with the numbers increasing since the beginning of the year,” he was quoted as saying.
He said about 60% of victims were killed by gunfire, 35% in explosions including anti-tank rockets, while 5% were “slaughtered or beheaded”.
The UN estimates that overall, more than 18,000 people have died in the conflict since it began.
‘Recklessly indiscriminate’
Clashes were said to be continuing elsewhere in the country on Thursday, with activists reporting pre-dawn fighting in the eastern suburbs of the capital, Damascus.
Activists also said fierce fighting was continuing in the bitterly contested commercial city of Aleppo.
Meanwhile, US-based group Human Rights Watch allege that Syrian government forces have killed civilians queueing for bread in Aleppo province.
It said the attacks on or near at least 10 bakeries in the last three weeks are “recklessly indiscriminate” and “suggest that government forces have been targeting civilians” – both war crimes.
One attack on 16 August killed up to 60 people, while another on 21 August killed at least 23, Human Rights Watch says.
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#syria People Fear For Their Lives Every Minute Of The Day
Posted on September 1, 2012 by robbyball | Edit
‘People Fear For Their Lives Every Minute Of The Day’
huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/31/syria-crisis-aid_n_1846676.html
daniellestern Danielle Stern
Humanitarian situation in Syria worsening dramatically http://t.co/GIuHZhzO
‘US voters don’t care for Iran or Syria‘
spanishny Roberto C M
Nor Mexico RT@RT_com ’US voters don’t care for #Iranor Syria‘http://t.co/n0AyVNgf
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120-Nations Back Iran’s Nuclear Bid, but Not Syria criticizing the Obama America
Posted on September 1, 2012 by robbyball | Edit
Iran Criticizes Egypt’s New Leader Over SyriaComments – New York Times #Iran #Iranelection
nytimes.com/2012/09/01/world/middleeast/iran-crit…es-egypts-mohamed-morsi-over-syria-comments.html
nytimes The New York Times
Nonaligned Nations Back Iran’s Nuclear Bid, but Not Syria http://t.co/SWI6z84X
Nonaligned Nations Back Iran’s Nuclear Bid, but Not Syria
By THOMAS ERDBRINK
Published: August 31, 2012
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TEHRAN — The 120-nation Nonaligned Movement handed its hostIran a diplomatic victory on Friday, unanimously decreeing support for the disputed Iranian nuclear energy program and criticizing the American-led attempt to isolate and punish Iran with unilateral economic sanctions.
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Summit Meeting in Iran Disrupted by Rebukes of Syria (August 31, 2012)
Selected Excerpts of Morsi’s Speech(August 31, 2012)
Threat to Syrian Civilians Is Growing, Officials Say (August 31, 2012)
But the group’s communiqué, issued by Iranian state news media at the end of its annual meeting, omitted any mention of support for Syria, Iran’s vital Middle East ally, which appeared to reflect a view among many members that the Syrian government’s attempt to crush the uprising there was indefensible.
The conspicuous omission of Syria from the document, called the Tehran Declaration, followed a dramatic day of maneuvering by Iran’s delegation to secure some kind of support for Syria’s government, diplomats said, as the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his aides were criticizing foreign backing of the Syrian insurgency.
Nonetheless for Iran, the final result of the Nonaligned Movement’s meeting, the biggest international gathering in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, amounted to the strongest expression of support for Iran’s nuclear energy rights in its showdown with the West. The unanimous backing of the final document undercut the American argument that Iran was an isolated outlier nation.
The Tehran Declaration document not only emphasizes Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy but acknowledges the right to ownership of a full nuclear fuel cycle, which means uranium enrichment — a matter of deep dispute.
The United Nations Security Council has repeatedly demanded a halt to all Iranian uranium enrichment until Iran can allay suspicions that it is seeking the ability to makenuclear weapons. The United States has led a Western effort to punish Iran with increasingly onerous economic sanctions while Iran defies the Security Council’s demands.
