Russian bombs triggering mass Aleppo exodus, Syria conference told

[uhnope]

Source: Guardian UK

Increasingly intensive Russian airstrikes are pushing tens of thousands of Syrians from the city of Aleppo towards the Turkish border, Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu has said, predicting a fresh exodus even as Europe struggles to respond to the existing refugee crisis.

After a week of the most intensive bombardment of the five-year war, opposition forces in northern Syria say they are losing their grip on Aleppo, with forces loyal to the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, in control of most of the countryside immediately to the north. Davutoğlu said up to 70,000 people were fleeing the area, and the city was threatened with a “siege of starvation”.

Speaking at a conference in London on Thursday that raised more than $10bn (£6.85bn) in aid pledges, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, called on the regime and its supporters to halt their bombardment of opposition-held areas, saying they “clearly signalled the intention to seek a military solution rather than enable a political one”.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/04/russian-bombs-trigger-mass-aleppo-exodus-syria-conference-told

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more desperate refugees, more families crammed into boats, more dead babies washing up on the shore. Thanks, Assad & Putin

[nyabingi]

1. So it's all Assad and Putin's fault

and not the hundreds of thousands of jihadists the US, Saudis, Turks, etc. have been sending to Syria?

Turkey is the prime facilitator of ISIS in Syria so their rat-faced Prime Minister just needs to sit down and shut up.

[LittleBlue]

2. +1

[Xolodno]

3. According to him....

..everything is Putin's fault. If he was gone, we would be shitting unicorns and farting rainbows.

He doesn't get it. Putin is atrocious on rights, his competitors oft have mysterious consequences happen to them, etc. But at the end of the day, he is the recognized leader of Russia. And like many leaders that are "less than exemplary", you have to work with him. He was crucial in the Iran deal and like it or not, he is one of the main players on the Syria table.

Its pretty obvious what Putin wants, Assad stays (at least temporarily until they can vet another puppet dictator), all rebels stand down and surrender back to Assad.

Turkey and the House of Saud maybe preparing to clean up the mess they created (and Turkey is certainly going to go to near genocide levels against the Kurds...not that he cares as it doesn't involve Putin), but.....

....the other question is, what happens when they meet Syrian and Iranian troops? That's the big question. If they fight, this proxy war get uglier...particularly if Assad asks for help (Air Cover) to expel foreign invaders. If they don't and just hold? How do they reintegrate all of Syria? Then maybe that's the deal, gain territory as a bargaining chip.

[nyabingi]

5. Good observations on Putin and

the situation in Syria in general.

I think the US and its allies are ultimately looking to break Iraq and Syria up into smaller, weaker, easier-to-control countries that can be used to secure a foothold across this energy-rich region. Vice president Biden has stated this and many of the right-wing/neocon think tanks have been talking this way for a while, and it seems that that is what we're going for.

If the US actually begins an open invasion of Syria, it could get really ugly fast and all hell could break loose. I'm not certain that Obama is going to green light all-out war with Russia and Iran at this point, so this is why we are trying to scrape together talks to lend legitimacy to the "rebels" (who are mainly ones selected by the Saudis). I don't think the Russians are going to go along with this and they can see that the only reason we're talking ceasefire now is so that the jihadists can be regrouped and rearmed.

It will be tough reintegrating Syria because many of the people who've fled may not want to return if they feel there is still danger present, and I don't think the "anti-ISIS coalition" is going to stop attacking, even if they take a break for a decade or so. Turkey is one of the major problems in the region and as long as we refuse to confront Erdogan and his conservative/Islamic autocracy, Syria is going to be under siege (especially now since Turkey and others are benefiting from the pilfered oil coming out of Syria).

[Xolodno]

7. I don't forsee US Troops on the ground in significant

...numbers in Syria, well, let me caveat that. Under a Democratic President. They know the populace is war weary. Under a Republican...all they have to do is sing "onward Christian Soldiers"....and the evangelicals will be lining up.

I'm going to guess there is some serious frustration at the CIA as of late. Ukraine is a bust as far as controlling energy deposits, pipelines, etc. and the pro-west government is well on its way of upholding the tradition of corruption. I wouldn't be surprised if the western side fell into civil war with itself. And the pipeline through Syria, is obviously also a "pipe-dream" at this point. They've failed at opening up Europe to energy from the US (remember, they were talking about repealing laws to export energy) and the Sunni allied nations.

Reality is, Russia is going to continue having a significant role in providing Europe with energy. And to the ire of the House of Saud, will have the lions share in China...and perhaps later, SE Asia.

And I agree, the talks were there primarily to allow the rebels to resupply and dig in...oldest trick in the book. And why should Russia agree to the terms of a ceasefire with them? As of now, their bombing runs are helping Syrian and Iranian troops regain territory. And if people think they are being very indiscriminate with their bombing now, wait until the rebels finally surrender and they are forced to confront ISIS head on. ISIS is primarily a foreign army.

And I agree Turkey is a problem. In addition to harassing another NATO ally (Greece)...Edrogan wants to be a dictator. His military adventurism really complicates things and when his nose gets bloodied, he runs behind the skirt of NATO. With friends like that.....

[Little Tich]

6. Putin should stop bombing civilians and give back Crimea. n/t