Obama threatens Syrian president with more Terrorist Attacks

UPDATE: 2014, Feb. 16th

Source: Press TV

US President Barack Obama has threatened that he will step up pressure on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Obama’s threat came after he hosted King Abdullah II of Jordan at the Sunnylands retreat in Palm Springs, California, where the two discussed, among other things, the unrest in Syria.

The US president said on Friday that he and his royal guest had decided they should take steps “to apply more pressure to the Assad regime.”

“We are going to need a political transition in that region,” Obama said in what sounded like a veiled reference to the announced goal of removing President Assad.

"There will be some intermediate steps that we can take to apply more pressure to the Assad regime, and we’re going to be continuing to work with all the parties concerned to try to move forward on a diplomatic solution,” he said, without specifying what those steps might be.

Several reports have shown over the past year that the US has been covertly training insurgents in Jordan to fight against the Syrian government.

Reports have also revealed that the US shipped weapons to Jordan in order to arm the foreign-backed militant groups.

During the meeting with Jordan’s king, Obama also pledged $1 billion in loan guarantees to Jordan and a renewal of a five-year aid package, which is worth $660 million a year and expires in September.

Shortly after the Geneva II talks between representatives of the Syrian government and the foreign-backed opposition ended with no deals on February 1, insurgents said that Washington had increased direct funding to their commanders in Jordan in order to ramp up pressure on Assad’s government before the next round of talks.

“From now until the next round of talks in Geneva, Assad will be under real pressure — he will feel more pressure from opposition forces,” a militant commander cited a US official as saying.

The “next round of talks in Geneva,” to which the US official had referred, broke off without any results on Saturday as both the Syrian opposition and government officials confirmed that they have been unable to make any progress, with each side sticking to its own position.

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End arms supply to Syria militants: Iran Envoy

Foreign-backed militants in Syria (file photo)

Source: Press TV

Iranian ambassador to Lebanon has renewed call for an end to foreign arms and financial aid to foreign-sponsored militants fighting against the Syrian government.

“If there is really a political will in the UN and the international community for the settlement of the Syria crisis, the flow of money and arms to terrorists in Syria from outside must be stopped so that there will be a possibility for an end to violence and the start of true negotiations,” Ghazanfar Roknabadi said in a meeting with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly.

The UN official, for his part, underlined the need for addressing issues related to the Syrian refugees, urging that practical measures should be taken to find a political solution to Syria crisis.

Syria has been plagued by deadly crisis since March 2011.

Saudi Arabia has been the main supplier of weapons and funds to foreign-backed militants inside Syria. The United States is also said to have stepped up its financial support for the militants.

This comes as the second round of negotiations between the Syrian government and the foreign-backed opposition in the Swiss city of Geneva hit a deadlock due to sharp differences between the two sides.

UN-Arab League Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said on Saturday that talks to resolve the Syrian crisis broke off without any result and no date has been yet set for another round.

The Syrian delegation says fighting terrorism should be the top priority. But the opposition insists that formation of a transitional government and resignation of President Bashar al-Assad must come first.

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UPDATE: 2014 Feb 16

McCain urges Syria military intervention

Source: Press TV

Hawkish US Senator John McCain has called on the Obama administration to employ its already-devised plan of military intervention against the Syrian government.

“The only way to achieve success at Geneva is to change the balance of power on the ground,” McCain said in a statement on Saturday, referring to the failure of the so-called Syria peace talks in Geneva.

“There are options far short of an Iraq-style invasion that can, and should, be employed to change the calculation of the Syrian regime, stem the violence, and ultimately achieve a negotiated political solution,” he added.

The second round of negotiations ended on Saturday without any concrete results about the unrest in Syria.

“The second round of Syria peace talks ended today with no progress toward a negotiated political settlement to the conflict and UN Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi recognizing that failure is looming,” McCain said.

“After three weeks of talks, we are moving further and further away from a peaceful political solution,” he argued.

The Arizona Republican senator also criticized President Barack Obama for allowing Russia to put pressure on him.

“Russia has recently prevented the passage of a much-needed UN resolution on bringing aid to desperate Syrian civilians,” he said. “Such actions indicate that the Russian government is simply not a partner for peace in Syria and cannot be relied on to help secure a successful outcome.”

During a press conference on Friday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said there is no military solution for the crisis in Syria.

“The crisis in Syria is a crisis. The circumstances on the ground are horrific that is why we have to bring the parties together to try to compel them towards a negotiated political settlement because there isn’t a military solution here,” Carney said.

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At least 40 killed over 70 injured in three blasts that rocked Aleppo

 

Photo from twitter.com user @NMSyria

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/aleppo-blast-government-center-553/

Syrian state TV reports of three powerful explosions in downtown Aleppo, the financial hub and largest city of the country. Reportedly the blasts were caused by car bombs that terrorists delivered to the city’s main square.

Later, terrorists struck again, blowing up a fourth car, this time near a municipal palace in Baba Amr quarter, reports Lebanese Al-Manar TV station.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that activists on the ground report 40 fatalities and 72 injured in the terror act, most of them military servicemen.

The Saadallah al-Jabri square in central Aleppo where the first three explosions took place is currently controlled by government forces.

Most of the victims of the blasts are civilians. Luckily enough, the three cars on Saadallah al-Jabri square went off early in the morning when the municipal buildings were empty. The House of Officers has reportedly been completely destroyed. Rescuers continue to clear up the debris and the number of victims may grow.

Terror acts like this are not common in Aleppo. The first one happened in February, when two suicide car bombers attacked security compounds in Aleppo's industrial center killing 28 people. Since then, there have only been two similar attacks.

­‘Syria reminiscent of Afghanistan 1979’

­The extensive use of explosives in Syria indicates an increasing strength of jihadist groups, including Al-Qaeda, in Syria, believes Khuram Iqbal, co-author of Pakistan Terrorism Ground Zero. The presence of Islamic radicals in Syria has been admitted by the UN and various international agencies.

“What’s happening in Syria these days reminds me of Afghanistan back in 1979, when the Western democracies supported international jihad against the Soviet Union. Back then the Western capitals were able to confront the Soviet Union, but the long-term consequences were really devastating for the regional and international peace,” recalls Iqbal, warning against supporting rebel movements because of unpredictable consequences.

Explosive terrorist acts on the streets of Syrian cities do not bring considerable tactical advantage to the rebel groups because they risk losing any popular support in the country and on the part of the international community, Iqbal believes.

Syria vows to fight ‘escalated terrorist attacks’ as first UN observers arrive

A handout image released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows smoke billowing in the Aleppo district of Izaa where SANA said gunmen fanned out the area and opened fire at random in Syria's second largest city Aleppo on April 14, 2012. (AFP Photo / HO / SANA)

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/news/un-observer-mission-syria-attacks-100/

The Syrian army pledged to continue fighting armed rebels in anticipation of the arrival of a team of UN observers, as “armed terrorists” have “hysterically escalated” their attacks following the official halt of all military operations.

The first six observers arrived in Damascus late Sunday, a UN spokesman said. The other 24 are expected to follow in coming days.

The observers will be monitoring the shaky ceasefire that came into force on Thursday. Aggressions against civilians, army personnel, military checkpoints and private and public properties have all escalated since then, a Syrian military source says. The onslaught came “in conjunction with the UNSC resolution to send international observers to monitor the [ceasefire],” the official SANA news agency reported on Sunday.

"Out of their duty to protect the security of the homeland and citizens, the authorities will prevent these armed terrorist groups from continuing their criminal aggressions and acts of killings,” the source said.

Over the last few days, dozens of ceasefire violations have been reported from both sides. Opposition activists said that Syrian government shelled the city of Homs on Sunday, claiming at least three people were killed in the attack.

Referring to the latest violence, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he was “very much concerned about what has happened” in Syria since the UNSC adopted Resolution 2042 on sending a mission of unarmed UN observers to the troubled country.

The document was based on the 6-point peace plan, brokered by UN-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan.

The plan was aimed at stopping the violence in Syria which has taken the lives of 9,000 people, according to the UN.

They will be “on the ground in blue helmets tomorrow,” said Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi. “They will be quickly augmented by up to 25 to 30 from the region and elsewhere.”

The team was dispatched to Syria as soon as the UN Security Council unanimously approved the advance mission on Saturday. The observers are tasked with establishing and maintaining contact with both sides of the conflict, and reporting on ceasefire compliance until a full mission is deployed. The UNSC is expected to approve a full scale observer mission of about 250 people next week.

Kamel Wazne, a political analyst in Beirut believes that the whole peace initiative is now under threat. And that is not because the Syrian authorities or the rebels oppose the peace, he said, but because Syria’s neighbors like Qatar and Saudi Arabia would very much like to see the bloodshed to continue.

“Probably, we have seen and witnessed, in the past couple days, a major unrest from other terrorist organizations entering from Arab countries into Syria and causing all this havoc against the stability of Syria,” he explained. “Today was a major escalation, an attack and a lot of assassinations by the opposition against civilians and Syrian officials, mostly military men. And this is happening more often now then before.”