Syrian Civil War (Graphic Photos/Vid Not Allowed)

[Faravahar]

Russia and Assad stages rebel attack on Castello road during the truce:

Just go joint your terrorist brethren in ISIS/FSA etc already. You're gagging for it.

 

[Hindustani78]

Smoke rises from reported opposition fire from buildings in an eastern government-held neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo as clashes erupted in an area designated as a humanitarian corridor for civilians to leave the embattles city, an AFP journalist said, despite an announced pause in the Syrian army's Russian-backed offensive.




The United Nations had hoped to use the ceasefire to evacuate seriously wounded people, and possibly deliver aid.

Heavy clashes erupted between regime and rebel forces in Syria's divided city of Aleppo after a "humanitarian" ceasefire announced by government ally Russia expired before the UN could evacuate wounded civilians from rebel-held areas.

Moscow had extended the unilateral "humanitarian pause" into a third day until 1600 GMT Saturday but announced no further renewal, as fierce fighting broke in several areas along the front line dividing the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Three people were wounded by shelling of the rebel-held Salaheddin and Al-Mashhad districts, they said, adding that the first air strikes since the end of the truce hit the opposition-controlled district of Sheikh Saeed where there was also heavy fighting.

An AFP correspondent in rebel-held eastern districts also reported sounds of fighting and artillery fire.

Neither residents nor rebels of opposition-held districts heeded calls from Syria's army and Moscow to leave during the ceasefire, after weeks of devastating bombardment and a three-month government siege.

The pause began on Thursday, and came after Moscow announced a temporary halt to the Syrian army's campaign to recapture the divided city.

The army opened eight corridors for evacuations, but just a handful of people crossed through a single passage, with the others remaining deserted.

“Members of popular civil committees from regime districts entered the eastern neighbourhoods to try to evacuate the injured but failed,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said earlier Saturday.

Syrian state media and Russian authorities have accused rebels in the east of preventing civilians from leaving and using them as "human shields".

Guarantees not received

More than 2,000 civilians have been wounded since the army launched its offensive to drive the rebels out of the eastern districts they have held since 2012. Nearly 500 people have been killed.

The United Nations had hoped to use the ceasefire to evacuate seriously wounded people, and possibly deliver aid.

But a UN official said Saturday the requisite security guarantees had not been received.

"You have various parties to the conflict and those with influence and they all have to be on the same page on this and they are not," said David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian office.

The UN had drawn up a four-day plan that was to start with two days of medical evacuations to west Aleppo, rebel-held Idlib province, and Turkey, and continue with more evacuations as well as aid deliveries.

No aid has entered Aleppo since July 7 and food rations will run out by the end of the month, UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned Thursday.

The UN had asked Moscow to consider extending the pause until Monday evening.

'No third option'

Moscow accuses rebels of preventing civilians from leaving, with senior Russian military official Sergei Rudskoi accusing them of "using the ceasefire in their interests".

"We are seeing them massing around Aleppo and preparing for another breakthrough into the city's western neighbourhoods."

Russia is a key ally of Syria's government and began a military intervention in support of President Bashar al-Assad last September.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview set to air Saturday that the intervention was meant to "liberate" Syria and keep Assad in power.

"Either Assad is in Damascus, or Al-Nusra is," he said, referring to former Al-Qaeda affiliate the Fateh al-Sham Front. "There is no third option here."

The Observatory said earlier both rebels and regime forces appeared to be reinforcing their positions.

"The regime and the rebels are both bolstering their forces, which raises fears of a massive military operation if the ceasefire fails," Abdel Rahman said.

Elsewhere in Aleppo province, Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels were shelling the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces coalition in several villages.

Turkey considers the Kurdish militia that leads the SDF to be a "terrorist" organisation, and began an operation in Syria in August targeting both it and the Islamic State group.

On Friday, a UN human rights council resolution called for "a comprehensive, independent special inquiry into the events in Aleppo".

It also demanded that warring parties provide unrestricted humanitarian access to desperate civilians and "end immediately all bombardments and military flights over Aleppo city".

On Saturday, the White House condemned the Assad regime's "defiance" of international norms after United Nations experts found the Syrian army had conducted three chemical weapons attacks against its own people in 2014 and 2015.

"The Syrian regime has violated the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council Resolution 2118 by using industrial chlorine as a weapon against its own people," National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

The US is working to bring those responsible to account, he added.

 

[mike2000 is back]

Dozens of SAS experts in Menbij ? Right ?

Not just in Menbij, Our Special forces are in Iraq, Syria and troops in Jordan as well. As I said, the region is a mess. Don't even know who or what we are fighting for anymore, as the region is a total mess. Lol

War within a war indeed.

It has also created some weird alliances.

Regional powers are even more involved than world powers.

Total mess

Who should we even bomb(confused)?

Just bomb everything on sight

 

[Hindustani78]

The war in Middle East is due to the blocking system.

NATO Vs CSTO .

You have forget to wrote about the role which is being played by the Chinese.

 

[Hurshid Celebi]

Not just in Menbij

Thanks comrade. You see, Turks are aware. Remember good old days SAS operating together with Turkish Maroons In Northern Iraq.

 

[mike2000 is back]

The war in Middle East is due to the blocking system.

NATO Vs CSTO .

You have forget to wrote about the role which is being played by the Chinese.

What are you even talking about??

 

[Hindustani78]

What are you even talking about??

i am talking about the real war which is going on in West Asia.

 

[mike2000 is back]

i am talking about the real war which is going on in West Asia.

That will then be mainly between Russia(who has always considered Central Asia as its sphere of influence) and a resurgent China who increasingly has more to offer economically(and comes with influence) to these small central Asian countries. NATO doesn't really have much core interests/focus in that region per se.

Anyway, thread is about Syrian conflict. So was confused when you talking about central Asia and stuffs.

 

[Hurshid Celebi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/790244254887149572

 

[T-72]

Putin needs to take Aleppo soon, within these next couple of weeks ideally.

If the Americans elect Hillary, the rebels can expect an intimidate ramping up of lethal aid as well as more visible diplomatic support from the 'west'

Obama will have no problem escalating this proxy war over the winter if he's merely passing the baton to the next, (albeit a way more hawkish) person from his team.

Trump, meanwhile, has said that he'd go as far as meeting Putin personally before he officially assumes office (while Obama completes his term) for a detente.

I hope Russia/Syria take Aleppo asap, that would be a much better position to negotiate from should the Americans elect crooked neocon Hillary.

 

[flamer84]

Don't even know who or what we are fighting for anymore, as the region is a total mess

1.Turkey wanted a MB system in power,now it only wants to save face and to prevent a Kurdish state

2.Saudis and gulf allies wanted an Iranian proxy goverment out .

3.Russia wanted its only remaining ME ally to stand but it also uses Syria as a bargaining chip for the more important problem(for them) of Ukraine.

4.EU countries thought that they could install a democracy on western values (the most deluded bunch)

5.Iran expands its influence throughout chaos,in fact Iran is the only one thriving due to the chaos in the ME.

6.US wants to fight against salafi terrorism but also to gain something on the ground,mainly to stop Iran in becoming to powerful.

 

[Serpentine]

5.Iran expands its influence throughout chaos,in fact Iran is the only one thriving due to the chaos in the ME.

I don't see Iran 'thriving' because of Syrian or Iraqi wars. Maybe you meant economically after lifting of sanctions?

 

[flamer84]

I don't see Iran 'thriving' because of Syrian or Iraqi wars. Maybe you meant economically after lifting of sanctions?

It's thriving by expanding its clout.Where was Iran 10-12 years ago as a power breaker in the region? Now it has a hand in the cookie jar all over the ME,you have to talk with Iran about Syria,about Iraq,it bogged the Saudis in their own Vietnam in Yemen.

 

[Beyonder]

1.Turkey wanted a MB system in power,now it only wants to save face and to prevent a Kurdish state

2.Saudis and gulf allies wanted an Iranian proxy goverment out .

3.Russia wanted its only remaining ME ally to stand but it also uses Syria as a bargaining chip for the more important problem(for them) of Ukraine.

4.EU countries thought that they could install a democracy on western values (the most deluded bunch)

5.Iran expands its influence throughout chaos,in fact Iran is the only one thriving due to the chaos in the ME.

6.US wants to fight against salafi terrorism but also to gain something on the ground,mainly to stop Iran in becoming to powerful.

And,of course,you missed the most obvious culprit....Israel.

 

[flamer84]

And,of course,you missed the most obvious culprit....Israel.

Truth be told,they didn't really do much.They're waiting on the sidelines to pick up the scrapps when it suits them.I know this goes against the all powerfull,all evil zionist theory but that's the way I see it.