The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

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Singha
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

After a few hrs of confusion fud and aoa aoa from the camp's if the turko Saud kabila..things are clear now.

Rus arty directors , SF units and probably excess base protection units leaving...AF and navy staying....rightsizing to who is doing the real work.

Perhaps training if fwd observers and t90 tank crews are done now
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by IndraD »

As per CNN Russia is withdrawing troops when peace talks have started in Geneva, signalling that all warring faction should come to table .
But that is CNN.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by UlanBatori »

Putin is saying that Russian forces are starting to withdraw. Latakia base protection, probably the large number of Su-24s, leaving a few drones and air superiority craft, plus the occasional friendly vijit by the Tu-22s and cruise missiles.

IOW, any SAMs/AAs/MANPADs used from here on out cannot be blamed on Russia. Interesting that the announcement came 2 daus after the MANPAD attack on a Syrian a/c. Any retaliation is of course going 2 b done by the Syrian Army/Air Force, or the Iranians. Like in Houthistan.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Austin »

I have been saying this since beginning , Its easy to get into a war any one in power can use threats and terrorism as example and get into it but exitting a war is tough.

Recent example of US in Iraq and NATO in Afghanistan 15 yrs and counting getting bogged down of what was suppose to be quick war or Soviets in Afghanistan and India's own IPKF ops.

It's good that Russians have an exit strategy and have stuck their neck out and said so, they are fortunate to have low body bags while any one in ME has thousands to take home. Prolly they learnt from others and kept it minimal.

If the going is good then you are tempted to stay in as you think the strategy works and its great to say I was Right , if it's bad you are tempted to stay in due to H&D loss and get equal with your foe, tough choice
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

CNN lady in hijab reports from nusra areas these days.
Most of the time she records war crimes by SAA and sy/ruaf
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Austin »

Singha wrote:CNN lady in hijab reports from nusra areas these days.
Most of the time she records war crimes by SAA and sy/ruaf
ZNN reporting is just political motivation , Most of time you can safely ignore CNN
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Austin »

Russia says Syrian MiG-21 downed by MANPADS
Tim Ripley, London and Jeremy Binnie, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly

Image

Stills taken from a video released by the Syrian rebel group Jaish al-Islam on 12 March show the moment when a Syrian MiG-21 is seemingly hit by what the Russian MoD later said was a MANPADS missile. The missile's warhead appears to detonate slightly behind the aircraft, suggesting it had a proximity warhead: a feature seen only on more advanced MANPADS such as the Russian Igla-S and the latest FIM-92J version of the US-made Stinger. Source: Jaish al-Islam
A Syrian MiG-21 fighter-bomber has been shot down by rebels using a man-portable air defence system (MANPADS), the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

When it released its daily summary of breaches of the current ceasefire agreement on 13 March, the Russian MoD said the aircraft was shot down by a MANPADS near the town of Kafr Nabudah at 14.41 on 12 March. Kafr Nabudah is on the border of Hamah and Idlib provinces.

The MoD added that the MiG-21 "was performing airspace control tasks" when it was hit.

The pro-government Al-Masdar News website had already reported that the MiG-21 had just bombed rebel positions when it crashed and cited an unidentified source as saying it went down due to a technical problem, not hostile fire, and that the pilot was shot dead as he parachuted to the ground.

At least two rebel groups that operate in the area - Jaish al-Nasr and Jaish al-Islam - took credit for downing the aircraft and released videos of their fighters shooting into the air with light anti-aircraft guns.

No MANPADS could be seen in their videos, but the Jaish al-Islam footage showed an explosion coming from the back of a MiG-21 that was consistent with it being hit by a small, infrared-guided missile.

Another video released by the Step News Agency, an opposition source, showed what appeared to be a missile being launched from Kafr Nabudah, but did not include footage of the aircraft being hit.

The closest operational MiG-21 base to Kafr Nabudah is Hamah Air Base 40 km to the southeast
.
Last edited by Austin on 15 Mar 2016 09:11, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Austin »

I have yet to get over the CNN Fake " 'Syria Danny " actor report on CNN :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by deejay »

Bad news for TSJ. Really feel sad for all of US state machinery that their State Sponsored terrorists are getting it good from Gen Vlad. RuAf killing armed Turkmen from Turkey (that important NATO link :(( )

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/re ... n-latakia/
The Russian Air Force trapped several hundred Turkmen militants inside the dense Furniluk Forests of northern Latakia after launching a series of airstrikes near the Turkish city of Yayladagi on Monday afternoon. The Turkmen militants were caught by the Russian Air Force’s reconnaissance planes attempting to enter the Latakia Governorate from one of the Turkish border-crossings near Yayladagi.

Upon the entry of Jaysh Al-Turkmen and Jabhat Al-Nusra (Syrian Al-Qaeda group) into Syria, the Russian Air Force struck their convoy of vehicles in the Furniluk Forests, resulting in the rebel fighters scattering around the border in order to evade the powerful aerial assault.

When the Russian warplanes backed off, the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) would launch their own airstrikes over the Furniluk Forests, keeping up the pressure on the trapped rebel fighters. Making matters worse for the militants, the Syrian Arab Army’s 48th Special Forces Regiment – backed by the Syrian Resistance, the National Defense Forces (NDF), and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) – carried out a ground assault on the final villages located before the Turkish border-crossing into the city of Yayladagi.

Currently, the Syrian Armed Forces are only 7.5 km away from the Turkish border-crossing at Yayladagi; however, 3 km of that distance is empty forests.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/re ... n-latakia/ | Al-Masdar News
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Austin »

Interesting news of that Mig-21 hit by MANPAD

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160 ... -dead.html

"After the Syrian Air Force plane was hit, one pilot ejected and landed at the al-Magir village, which is controlled by the [government] army. The second pilot attempted an emergency landing at the Hama military airfield. The landing failed and the pilot died," the source explained.



So the second pilot was still trying to land the Mig-21 even when the first probably the rear one ejected ?

Deejay is that possible ? My understanding is if one guy punches out both get punched out ?
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by deejay »

^^^ The older aircraft are all individual ejection though the canopy will break off with the first ejection handle being pulled.

I have only flown Kirans (among aircraft with ejection seats) and in that it was individual ejection. So it is possible.

But the video being shown, has puff of smoke where the aircraft supposedly fell and it did not appear like an airfield.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by UlanBatori »

MiG-21 had just bombed rebel positions when it crashed and cited an unidentified source as saying it went down due to a technical problem, not hostile fire, and that the pilot was shot dead as he parachuted to the ground.
At least two rebel groups that operate in the area - Jaish al-Nasr and Jaish al-Islam - took credit for downing the aircraft and released videos of their fighters shooting into the air with light anti-aircraft guns.
There u go! Clearly a wedding party.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by TSJones »

** deleted **

This has no significance to this thread. Be mindful of not only what you post but also where you post.
Last edited by SSridhar on 15 Mar 2016 11:53, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Irrelevant to this thread
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by member_22733 »

What a jackass. If he did admit he did Fight against Syrian Regime he would have been given a medal for advancing unkills interests in that area and his sons and daughters get admitted to places like USC, Princeton, Stanford etc (Moooojahedeeeeens anyone :mrgreen:)

Edit: Baiting is workin..... keep at it.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by deejay »

Now that the Russian withdrawal is clear and no more Russian troops will be with Syrian troops on ground has been established, it is back to Operations Normal in Syria.

US bounty hunters it seems genuinely got their guy this time.
Elijah J. Magnier ‏@EjmAlrai now1 minute ago
This time it looks real:
#ISIS Omar al-Shishani has died, U.S. officials say. http://cnn.it/1RKdnvQ

Image
Russia will be thankful to the US. The dead rat was a Chechen after all. Details from our trustworthy SEEYENYEN

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/14/polit ... index.html
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

Image
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

news items not directly related to syrian war should preferably be posted in other threads. if its islamists involved there is a thread for it.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by member_22733 »

Singhaji, Pardon the OT:

He is our "Man from UNCLE". He is here on a mission. Reminds me of this song:

He is going the distance, he is going for speed...... (relevant part starts around 0:40)

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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by TSJones »

delete
Last edited by TSJones on 15 Mar 2016 11:13, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by member_22733 »

Did it occur to you that I was responding on how "relevant" your post was on this thread?

My last on this.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

key questions going forward :

- will Idlib become a islamic sunni emirate under proxy turkoman control? - it is a dagger right at the heart of syria with access to latakia, aleppo and homs
- SAA does not seem to have enough resources to fight ISIS on multiple prongs in east AND take on Idlib - they are having a hard time clearing out the last bit of latakia for now.
- Idlib is now seeing the start of a civil war between Nusra+ vs FSA+ as to who will be the king lion of the hill
- will anyone attack the ISIS in the stretch between azaz to jarablous? so far neither the JN or SDF has moved on this, is turkey sitting back until ISIS weakens and pulls troops south before unleashing a well fed and armed JN horde staging east from the azaz pocket and swarming at points across the international border? will YPG be able to counter this from east and west? .. a single unbroken land is a must for their rojava.
- will SDF be able to move further south and encircle raqqa and deir? they are static for 10 days now.
- after palmyra is taken, will Assad take the risk of moving a lot of his best forces toward deir to relieve the siege and leave his middle unprotected against various 'new syria armies' that would appear in vacant places.
- what is the main prong to arrive at raqqa from west - from khanasser , ithriyah or palmyra?
- can JN be driven out of artillery range of aleppo in west?
- what will be the YPG & local tribes posture wrt to future of lands east of river under its control?
- how soon can manbij, al bab, raqqa and deir be taken - the 4 biggest nests of the ISIS?
- will JN be allowed by western group to start a proxy terrorist war on syria ?

russia, iran and assad would like to see a unbroken syria perhaps with some compromise on rojava.

sunni kabila and their western backers would like to control the river from N-S using proxies and cut off assad from his shia allies in the east, then perhaps use JN and sanctions to keep him under pressure.

kurds wants their own country, but there are differences between their leaders - some are ok with assad, barzani clan seems allied to america , some hate iran, some hate baghdad...some are ok to tactically co-operate. and in meantime turkey continues to ravage PKK border areas daily.
I do not think the peshmerga want to share power or control with syrian kurds at all. even in sinjar there are hidden tensions. not sure of peshmerga-pkk relations and how they view iran.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Philip »

The former NATO C-in-C said that Putin's "withdrawal" was for the folll. reasons. Firstly,that Russia stands by its commitments (Support for Assad),unlike "other" nations (US).Yes.

Secondly,economic.War costs a lot and Russia's economy is under strain.Perfectly plausible.

Thirdly,to force the parties to the peace table and give politics and diplomacy a chance (everyone needs a breather).

What was not mentioned is that Putin has also demonstrated very amply the mil capability of Russia,which was written off by contemp analysts of the West,which came as a rude shock to them. Russian/Soviet era air power was far more lethal than that of the US.In addition,the Syrian army also showed commendable fortitude and aggression in evicting ISIS from sev. strongholds. Who were left in dosarray where the so-called "moderates" supported by the US/West,the Saudis and Turkey.They haven't an iceberg's chance in hell of ousting Assad with his Russian "insurance".

Therefore,the return to talks to find a compromise. Putin has scored a major victory.He has demonstrated to the world that he stands by his allies,has enormous mil capability and is ready to use it anywhere ,plus has forced the US in particular to work with Russia to find a suitable compromise.This to me is the biggest gain of the intervention. That the US and Russia are working together.If the two superpowers do so on many other hotspots,the world will be a safer place. The US however must not let its "tail wag the dog",meaning not to be twisted by rogue royals like the Saudis,Qataris etc. and oligarch entities like the UKR.The US and Russia can determine their spheres of influence and come to a tacit agreement on how to handle sensitive issues.

The announcement also will strike a positive chord back home,where Russians will be happy that they are not going to get enmeshed into a long war like Afghanistan.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... b]Vladimir Putin orders Russian military to begin withdrawal from Syria[/b]
Troops will begin pulling out from the country on Tuesday as Russian President says 'objectives have been achieved'
Laura Pitel, Nadia Beard
A Russian soldier guards a jet parked at Hemeimeem air base in Syria. Russian warplanes have mostly stayed on the ground since the cease-fire began AP

Vladimir Putin has announced that Russian troops will begin a partial withdrawal from Syria, in a surprise move that could herald a major shift in the conflict.

In a claim given a wary welcome by the Syrian opposition, the Russian President said that his five-month military campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad had “achieved its aims”, and ordered his Foreign Minister to “intensify” Moscow’s role in peace talks that have resumed in Geneva.

Announcing his decision in a televised meeting with ministers at the Kremlin, Mr Putin said he had ordered the withdrawal of “the main part of our military contingent” but said a Russian airbase and naval facility in the country would continue to operate.
russian-airstrikes.jpg
A Syrian boy carrying another injured boy away from the scene of a Russian air strike in Damascus in December 2015

The announcement comes as Syria marks the fifth anniversary of the uprising against President Assad. Moscow has been one of the staunchest allies of Damascus, and the Russian military intervention at the end of September shifted the momentum in the conflict in its favour.

The presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Mr Assad had agreed to the decision following a telephone conversation with Mr Putin. Syria’s state news agency quoted the Syrian President as saying that the collaboration between Russian and Syrian forces has secured “victories against terrorism and returned security to the country”.

While its intervention was officially launched to combat terrorist groups, Russia has been widely accused of using a relentless air campaign to target more moderate rebel groups as well as hundreds of civilian targets including schools and hospitals.
Read more
How the West got it wrong as the Syrian civil war developed


The latest announcement will be met with cynicism in Western capitals, where diplomats say that Mr Putin has proved to be a mercurial and untrustworthy partner not just in the Syria conflict but also in the war in Ukraine.

Mr Putin said that the withdrawal would begin on Tuesday but did not give a timeline for completion, nor did he specify how many planes and troops would be pulled out.
Russia’s airbase in Hmeymim, in Syria’s coastal Latakia province, and its naval facility in the Syrian port of Tartous would remain, he said. Russia’s UN ambassador said that Russia would continue the fight against “terrorists” – a term it has used to describe all those opposed to President Assad.

The official Syrian opposition, which had no prior warning, offered a cautious welcome. It said that, if implemented, a withdrawal would pile pressure on the Syrian government and give new impetus to the drive to reach a negotiated settlement.

Salim al-Muslat, spokesman for the rebel High Negotiations Committee, said: “If this is a serious step it will form a major element of pressure on the regime, because the Russian support prolonged the regime. Matters will change significantly as a result of that.”

The US also said that it had no advance knowledge of the announcement. A spokeswoman for the United Nations Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, refused to say whether he was aware of plans. Earlier in the day, Mr de Mistura warned that the only alternative to negotiations was a return to war. He is due to brief the UN Security Council on the developments from Geneva on Monday night.[/quote]
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by SSridhar »

TS Jones & Lokesh C, please lay off each other.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Philip »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... atest.html
Russia 'to pull its forces out of Syria'
Russian president Vladimir Mr Putin says he is instructing his armed forces to end their five-month campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad's regime

Raf Sanchez
By Raf Sanchez, Jerusalem, Roland Oliphant, Moscow and Richard Spencer
10:11PM GMT 14 Mar 2016

• Russia to end five month-long military campaign in Syria
• Says it will now focus on brokering peace deal
• Bombing campaign has "created the conditions for start of the peace process"
• Obama and Putin discuss next steps after Russian withdrawal

Vladimir Putin abruptly ordered the withdrawal of most Russian forces from Syria today in an unexpected and potentially significant moment in the five-year effort to end Syria's civil war.

The Russian president made the shock announcement at a meeting of government minsters on Monday and said that his country's forces should begin leaving Syria as early as Tuesday.

The decision caught the US and other Western countries off guard and came as negotiators from the Syrian regime and opposition forces gathered for the start of peace talks in Geneva.


Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Photo: EPA

If the withdrawal is carried out it could be a sign is Russia sincere in its claim it wants to end the fighting in Syria after a conflict that has killed 300,000 people and created millions of refugees.

However, analysts warned that Mr Putin's announcement would mean little if it did not lead to an end to Russian airstrikes against the opponents of Bashar al-Assad and on civilian areas.

Russia began bombing late last year with that stated aim of destroying "terrorist" groups inside Syria but in reality it focused its fire on propping up Mr Assad's embattled forces.

The Kremlin said Russia had achieved "a real turnabout in the fight against the terrorists in Syria" even though the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) still controls a third of the country.

Mr Putin said he believed Russia's mission in Syria had now been "largely fulfilled" and phoned Mr Assad to inform him that his troops were withdrawing.

Air strikes launched by the Russian regime struck Daret Ezza, Aleppo, Syria the morning of October 7, 2015. The blast hit a residential area, killing a mother and her two children. Daret Ezza is home to many civilians.Air strikes launched by the Russian regime struck Daret Ezza, Aleppo, Syria the morning of October 7, 2015. The blast hit a residential area, killing a mother and her two children. Daret Ezza is home to many civilians. Photo: NEWZULU/PA

"The effective work of our military created the conditions for the start of the peace process," Mr Putin said. "I believe the task set before the Ministry of Defence and armed forces has been largely fulfilled, so I am instructing the minister of defence to begin the withdrawal of the main part of our military contingent from Syria."

He also ordered Russia to "intensify" its efforts to broker a peace deal between the Assad regime and opposition groups.

Mr Putin did not give a timeline for the withdrawal and said that Russian troops would retain control of the port of Tartous and at the Hmeymim airbase in Syria's Latakia province.

Mr Putin discussed Russia's partial withdrawal with President Barack Obama on Monday night.

The White House said the two presidents discussed the next steps to resolve the conflict, and Mr Obama insisted that a "political transition" in Syria was needed.

Earlier on Monday, the US said it had received no warning of the move and officials said there were as yet no indications on the ground that Russian forces were preparing to withdraw. The White House had offered a cautious response to Mr Putin's announcement, saying it would wait "to see exactly what Russia's intentions are".

Germany welcomed the news, meanwhile, with foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier saying a Russian withdrawal "increases the pressure on President Assad to finally negotiate in a serious way".

A man cooks amid damage in the besieged area of HomsA man cooks amid damage in the besieged area of Homs Photo: REUTERS

The announcement was welcomed by the Syrian opposition, which said it would help pressure the regime into reaching a peace deal at the Geneva talks.

"If there is seriousness in implementing the withdrawal, it will give the talks a positive push," said Salim al-Muslat, spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee.

The Russian force in Syria has been estimated to number some 4,000 men, including airmen, logistical support, and marine infantry. While the Kremlin has not acknowledged it, there is also evidence that Russian artillery units have been active in the campaign.

The West and human rights groups have accused Russia of killing hundreds of civilians in its air raids, including the bombing of several hospitals.

"The question now is how long the withdrawal will take and what does Putin means by 'the main component' of Russia's military in Syria? If he doesn't mean the aerial component, and if the withdrawal takes months, this won't mean anything," said Michael Horowitz, a security analyst with the Levantine Group.

IS fighters on top of a military vehicle with anti-aircraft gunsIS fighters on top of a military vehicle with anti-aircraft guns Photo: Raqqa Media Center/AP

The move could give fresh impetus to the UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva, which began after the unexpected success of a ceasefire agreement that went into force last month.

Although there has been sporadic fighting since the truce began on February 26, the level of violence has fallen dramatically in Syria in the last three weeks.

The truce does not include Isil or the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda group in Syria, and the US, Britain and other coalition countries have continued bombing Isil forces.

Huge gulfs remain the opposition and the regime at the peace talks, including on the issue of a "political transition" in Syria.

The opposition demands that the transition include the immediate removal of Mr Assad, while the regime says it is limited to creating a new constitution and elections in which he would be allowed to stand.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Photo: JOSEPH EID/AFP

Meanwhile, the UN released new figures showing that the Syrian civil war has turned 2.4 million children into refugees.

The numbers were released by the United Nations children’s fund Unicef and a host of other agencies to mark five years since the first protests against the Assad regime began in 2011, triggering a wider uprising.

Tens of thousands of children are among the quarter of a million dead.

Children - including girls and many under-15s are being recruited as soldiers. Among the worst hit were those suffering from the latest tactic of imposing sieges on civilian areas, who were starting to die of starvation.

"Twice as many people now live under siege or in hard-to-reach areas compared with 2013,” Unicef said. “At least two million of those cut off from assistance are children, including more than 200,000 in areas under siege.”
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by vina »

Putin is SMART. The Americans have been juveniles in Syria. Putin played chess and Obama was the pigeon he played with. And the Americans have been completely outplayed.

The Russians have a solid hand in Syria now, withdrawing when they have achieved their aims, and not expending treasure and overstreching themselves. Now if Americans want to get in , they will be stepping in to a quicksand and spend huge amount of treasure , men and materiel .
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

Минобороны России ‏@mod_russia 2h2 hours ago
#SYRIA The personnel are loading equipment, logistics items and inventory into transport aviation aircraft
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by deejay »

Yesterday, a sandstorm hit Dier Ez Zor. SyAF and RuAF were not available and ISIS struck SAA positions. SAA held back and is now making significant progress.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/sy ... eir-ezzor/
Syrian Army liberates Jabal Thardeh and advances to Thayyem Oil Fields in Deir Ezzor

Minutes ago in the western countryside of the Deir Ezzor Governorate, the Syrian Arab Army’s 104th Airborne Brigade of the Republican Guard – alongside the 137th Brigade of the 17th Reserve Division, the National Defense Forces (NDF), and the Shaytat Tribesmen – liberated the Thardeh Mountains (Jabal Thardeh) after a violent battle with the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) this morning.

In addition to liberating the Thardeh Mountains, the Syrian Armed Forces also advanced to the Thayyem Oil Fields in western Deir Ezzor for the first time since mid-January when ISIS launched a large-scale offensive around the provincial capital.

The Syrian Armed Forces are currently involved in an intense battle with the ISIS terrorists that are positioned at the Thayyem Oil Fields; however, the aforementioned terrorist group is in a fragile state after sending many of their reserves to the Palmyra front.

Despite the Syrian Arab Army’s advance this morning, ISIS has been on the offensive on several occasions in the last few weeks, including a large-scale offensive in the provincial capital yesterday. Should the Syrian Armed Forces recapture the Thayyem Oil Fields from ISIS, they will be in position to strike the imperative city of Mohassan in southern Deir Ezzor.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/sy ... eir-ezzor/ | Al-Masdar News
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

are there any good estimates of how many ISIS in syria?

my wild guess is 25,000 . most of them have nowhere to go and will fight to the death. thats a lot of suicidal maniacs
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by deejay »

I think a week back I saw a tweet mentioning a similar no. of ISIS fighters (20K to 25K).

More on Russian withdrawal

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/fi ... ave-syria/
The Russian Defense Minister announced that the first batch of Russian military airplanes have departed from Syria after a six month deployment. According to the latest report from the Hmaymim Airfields in Jableh, the Russian SU-34 and TU-154 fighter jets have already departed from Syria this morning.

The second batch of fighter jets to depart from the Hmaymim Airfields are expected to leave later today. The total number of aerial assets that will be left in Syria is still unknown; however, the Russian Federation has confirmed that will still use the airfields in Jableh and naval repair facility in Tartous.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/fi ... ave-syria/ | Al-Masdar News
Edit: Video of Russian jets leaving Syria. They could be going anywhere but the video title says "Leaving Syria". Astounding, that yesterday evening's withdrawal announcement has already taken effect. Pretty quick or they were preparing for this for some time.

[youtube]F-s4_h3PHsE&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

people have tracked that tu154 back via iran. there were 6 x su34 which presumably all have left.
http://syria.liveuamap.com/en/2016/15-m ... he-russian

the 4xsu30s left a while ago and were replaced by 4xsu35 which will likely remain

that leaves how many of the frogfoots, fencers and hinds will remain.

if they want to keep up air support in the east I would imagine atleast 30 airframes would be required both for current ops and to defend against sudden offensives like khanasser + moves by JN in Idlib.

they need to equip and upgrade the SyAF with Frogfoots like was done in iraq.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

flawless perf by the expeditionary air group & bomber heavies so far - zero accidents in 5 months, 6000 sorties. busted a lot of myths about the capabilities of the Ruaf.

IAF should get over sulking on the rafale issue and send a study team over to moscow to figure out these medium scale expeditionary ops what is needed and what we lack, post mortem lessons will surely be logged. we have not even deployed any airpower outside our shores after UN ops in congo or korea I think!
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Austin »

Singha wrote:flawless perf by the expeditionary air group & bomber heavies so far - zero accidents in 5 months, 6000 sorties. busted a lot of myths about the capabilities of the Ruaf.
Statistics from Russian MOD

9,000 sorties, 400 localities freed: What Russia has achieved during its 5-month Syria operation

https://www.rt.com/news/335596-russia-s ... n-results/

"Backed by our aviation, Syrian forces have freed 400 populated areas and over 10,000 square kilometers [3,860 square miles] of territories,"
Shoigu said during a Kremlin meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Terrorists have been forced out from Latakia and Aleppo, and Palmyra has been "blocked," the military official reported to Putin, saying that military actions to free the UNESCO heritage site from militants continue. Hama and Homs Provinces in central Syria have been largely mopped up, and Kuweires airbase that had been besieged by terrorists for over three years was retaken.

Saying that Russia's Air Force in Syria has conducted more than 9,000 sorties starting from September 30, 2015, the Defense Minister added that for the first time massive strikes at a range over 1,500 kilometers [930 miles] with both air and ship-launched missiles have been conducted.

With Russia's support from the air, the Syrian army managed to retake control of oil and gas fields near Palmyra. Three large fields have already started functioning in normal mode, the minister added. In all, 209 oil production facilities and almost 3,000 oil delivery vehicles have been destroyed by Russia's airstrikes.

"As a result of airstrikes, terrorists' resources' provision has been largely cut," Shoigu told Putin, saying that petroleum trade routes with Turkey, as well as main routes of weapons provisions to terrorists have been blocked.

The Russian campaign also reduced the threat posed to Russia by Islamic militants, as over 2,000 fighters from Russia have been “eliminated” in Syria, including 17 field commanders.

To strengthen the progress achieved, Russian continues the aerial monitoring of the ceasefire’s observance.

“A fairly large number of unmanned aerial vehicles – over 70 – are being used for this purpose, as are all means of gathering intelligence, including electronic intelligence and our satellite constellation,” Shoigu stated.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

goes to show that things can get done at medium scale without the gigantic logistical setup that any form of american involvement entails...some of their camps in afghanistan were apparently strung out over 10km long with co-located airbases. but atleast the americans can "get stuff done" (albeit at great cost). UK and france are pretenders to the throne and cannot even do what rus has done so far.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

^^ great work JEM....did not realize it was you until the last line.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by JE Menon »

Thanks Drona. Coming from you, it means much.
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

AFP news agencyVerified account
‏@AFP
#BREAKING Russian planes to keep striking 'terrorist' targets: Russian official in Syria

Leith Abou Fadel ‏@leithfadel 1h1 hour ago
18 soldiers killed and 42 wounded in Palmyra today. Battle is getting really intense.

Leith Abou Fadel ‏@leithfadel 1h1 hour ago
Now, the official Tiger Forces page has just reported Russian airstrikes over Palmyra.

Leith Abou Fadel ‏@leithfadel 1h1 hour ago
Tiger Forces source: "Russian fighter jets bombing ISIS in Palmyra right now."
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

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DAMASCUS, March 15 -. RIA Novosti MiG-21 of the Air Force was shot down by Syria of portable air defense systems (MANPADS) "Stinger" American-made, told RIA Novosti on Tuesday, a Syrian military source.
Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed the day before appeared previously reported on March 12, MiG-21, the Syrian Air Force to operate in order to monitor the airspace and was shot down from MANPADS in the area of ​​the village of Chair-Nbuda in Hama province.
The soldiers of the Syrian army. Archival photo
© RIA Novosti. Ilya Pitalev | Buy image
Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the information about the collapse of the Syrian MiG-21
"The plane was shot down during the attack of terrorists in the province of Hama American MANPADS" Stinger, "" - the spokesman said.


РИА Новости http://ria.ru/syria_chronicle/20160315/ ... z42yDsbcQA
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIM-92_Stinger
Turkey: Stingers made under license by Roketsan
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Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc) - II

Post by Singha »

all the 4 UNESCO world heritage sites in syria are damaged by the revolution. they need to make a call on whether its worth it to keep losing precious manpower or call in the mozdok based backfires for a few sorties to level out the whole place.

western universities can fund the reconstruction of the rubble, they are the ones doing the most field trips and digs in the levant and egypt.
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