Syria regime warns against any foreign ground 'aggression'

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Source: AFP

DAMASCUS (AFP) - Syria's government warned Saturday that its forces would resist any foreign ground intervention after reports that Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which both support rebel forces, could send in troops.

"Any ground intervention on Syrian territory without government authorisation would amount to an aggression that must be resisted," Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said at a news conference in Damascus.

"Let no one think they can attack Syria or violate its sovereignty because I assure you any aggressor will return to their country in a wooden coffin, whether they be Saudis or Turks," he warned.

Riyadh on Thursday left open the possibility of deploying soldiers, offering to "contribute positively" if the US-led coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group decided on ground action.

Read more: http://www.france24.com/en/20160206-syria-regime-warns-against-foreign-ground-aggression

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1. Syria signals no ceasefire before borders with Turkey, Jordan shut

Syria's foreign minister signalled on Saturday a ceasefire would be difficult or impossible before the borders with Turkey and Jordan were sealed, and before a list of terrorist groups operating in Syria is agreed.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, speaking in a televised news conference, said he was citing his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who had said "a ceasefire would not be possible before the borders with Turkey and Jordan are controlled, and before agreement on lists of terrorist organisations, it is difficult to achieve that".

Rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad have received supplies via both Turkey and Jordan.

http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-crisis-syria-ceasefire-idINKCN0VF0D7?rpc=401

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2. IS losses much of Syrian border areas with Turkey as gov't troops advance

DAMASCUS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) group has lost over two thirds of the border towns under its control on the Syrian-Turkish borderline, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen said in a report on Saturday.

The IS presence has started to shrink since the beginning of last year, as the group's control of 250 km of the Syrian-Turkish borders in early 2015 was reduced to 70 km.

The IS borders with Turkey had stretched from the city of Ras al-Ein in the northeast, all the way through the city of Tal Abyad and Kurdish city of Ayn al-Arab, or Kobane, to the city of Jarablus to reach the town of Azaz in the northern province of Aleppo, according to the report.

"The group had used those border cities to bring in arms and fighters before losing much of these conduits," the report, adding that the IS now has three crossings with Turkey; the first is west of Jarablus city near the town of Halwaniyey, this crossing is rugged from the Turkish side, but the group uses it to get medical and military supplies. This conduit is guarded by highly-trained IS fighters connected directly with the leadership of the group.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-02/06/c_135081420.htm

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3. "This conduit is guarded by highly-trained IS fighters connected directly with the leadership"

Since we know where the 3 border crossings are, why aren't we bombing them? Do we have some kind of agreement with Russia?

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6. Deep questions, both of them. I'm afraid I don't know the answers.

But bombing border crossings is generally something you want to be very circumspect about, after all half of it is not yours.

I think the Russians want the border crossings open, so I don't think they will bomb them now, but I believe they did bomb some of them when they were going after the oil caravans.

We generally keep our bombing over to the East where the Kurds and IS are mostly.

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4. Iran mocks Saudi offer to send ground troops to Syria

The head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard said on Saturday Saudi Arabia lacked the courage to go through with a plan to send ground troops to Syria, and warned they would be wiped out if they went in.

Mohammad Ali Jafari's blunt words on the Fars news agency were Iran's first official reaction to a statement from its regional rival Saudi Arabia this week that it was ready to join ground operations in Syria if a U.S.-led military alliance decided to start them.

&quot The Saudis) have made such a claim but I don't think they are brave enough to do so ... Even if they send troops, they would be definitely defeated ... it would be suicide,” Jafari was quoted as saying.

Iran has already sent forces to Syria to back its ally President Bashar al-Assad in his country's five-year-old civil war. Washington and its allies have backed rebels fighting Assad and say he must eventually step down.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iran-saudi-idUSKCN0VF08C

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5. The Pentagon: Carter Will Discuss Ground Operations in Syria With Mohammad bin Salman

While the White House announced President Barack Obama’s welcoming of Saudi Arabia’s announcement that it is prepared to send ground troops to fight ISIS in Syria, a military source at the US Department of Defense told Asharq Al-Awsat yesterday that the Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter is determined to discuss the details of the military plan and the new role of Saudi ground troops in the fight against ISIS with his Saudi counterpart Prince Mohammed bin Salman at their next meeting in Brussels.

The spokesman for the White House Josh Ernest yesterday said that “We welcome this initiative by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” and added that Carter will discuss accelerating efforts to fight ISIS and details of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to this with Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the defence ministers of other countries (a total of 24 ministers) in Brussels next week. He expressed “his hope” that “other countries take similar steps to speed up the campaign against ISIS”.

Meanwhile, the President of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces Khaled Khoja told Asharq Al-Awsat that “intervention by friends, especially Arab friends, to support the Syrian resistance and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) was necessary since the beginning of direct confrontations between the FSA and Shiite militias on the one hand, and against ISIS on the other. After the Russian intervention, however, this matter has become crucial.”

On the other hand, an official at the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s office refused to comment on the possibility of a Saudi-Turkish initiative through Turkish territory, however he said in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat that there is close cooperation between the two sides about the Syrian people and there is an agreement not to leave them alone to be killed. He also pointed out that the Turkish chief of staff was part of the Turkish delegation that recently visited Saudi Arabia and that this demonstrates the “great understanding” between the two countries.

http://english.aawsat.com/2016/02/article55347324/the-pentagon-carter-will-discuss-ground-operations-in-syria-with-mohammad-bin-salman

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7. K & R N/T

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8. Turkey's triple disaster

As if the housing of 2.5 million Syrian refugees, a dangerous escalation with Russia, and jitters over a string of Kurdish victories on its southern border were not enough, Turkey woke to another nightmare this week as thousands of Syrians massed at the Turkish border.

The new exodus is a result of the surprisingly swift advance of Russian-backed regime forces towards Aleppo this week. Aided by an intense Russian air campaign, forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar el-Assad were able to break the three-year rebel siege of Shia villages Nubul and Zahra and encircle Syria’s second largest city, Aleppo. While no longer the bustling commercial centre that it once was, Aleppo and the surrounding villages are still home to half a million Syrians and remain the nerve centre for Syrian opposition activity.

Overnight, 20,000 Syrians had fled to the Bab al-Salam (Öncüpinar) border crossing on Friday, with Turkish and United Nations officials predicting tens of thousands more to come if the fighting in Aleppo intensifies.

While Turkey has not yet allowed in the new wave of refugees, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu pledged on Friday that Turkey would not leave them without food or shelter. Turkish government aid agencies are scrambling to build capacity, identify vacancies in existing refugee camps in the area and provide a registration system for the newcomers. Plans are underway to open the border crossing on Monday, which incidentally coincides with a snap visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Ankara to discuss the joint action plan on refugees between Turkey and the European Union.

But the sudden inflow of new refugees is only part of the problem for Ankara. A larger issue is the fact that the carefully-designed Russian-Syrian offensive this week has cut off the main supply routes from Turkey into the rebel-held areas of Aleppo. The coterie of Sunni rebel groups – from moderate wings of the Free Syrian Army to the more jihadist Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhra al-Nusra - control an area running from eastern Aleppo towards the Turkish border. The Russian-Syrian offensive has made east-west cut across the rebel-held areas, effectively blocking the opposition from reaching their supply lines south of the Turkish border.

http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_turkeys_triple_disaster5086

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9. Kerry 'blames opposition' for continued Syria bombing, say aid workers

Syrian aid workers said Kerry told them on sidelines of donor conference that 'opposition will be decimated' and to expect 3 months of bombing

US Secretary of State John Kerry told aid workers involved with Syria, hours after the Geneva peace talks fell apart, that the country should expect another three months of bombing that would “decimate” the opposition.

During a conversation on the sidelines of this week’s Syria donor conference in London, sources say, Kerry blamed the Syrian opposition for leaving the talks and paving the way for a joint offensive by the Syrian government and Russia on Aleppo.

“‘He said, ‘Don’t blame me – go and blame your opposition,’” one of the aid workers, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her organisation, told MEE.

Kerry told reporters on Friday, as tens of thousands fled the Syrian government and Russian bombardment of Aleppo, that both Russia and Iran, another of Syria's allies, have told him that they are prepared for a ceasefire in Syria.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/opposition-blame-syrian-bombing-kerry-tells-aid-workers-1808021537

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10. Syrian Kurds begin diplomatic push with Moscow office

Qamishli (Syria) (AFP) - Syrian Kurdish separatists have announced plans to open "representation" offices in several capitals, starting next week with Damascus regime ally Moscow, an official told AFP on Saturday.

"The autonomous Syrian Kurdish region will open an office in Moscow on February 10 and is preparing to open another in Berlin, with Washington, Paris and Arab countries coming later," said Amina Oussi, deputy head of the Hasakeh committee for external relations.

"These representation offices aim to secure recognition for the autonomous Kurdish region" in Syria, she said.

In November 2013, Kurdish groups in the northeast of the war-ravaged country announced the establishment of a transitional autonomous administration after making key territorial gains against jihadists.

http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-kurds-begin-diplomatic-push-moscow-office-153833127.html