Reply With QuoteEven if they don't exist I'm sure some third party will magic them up.Originally Posted by Gofer Blue
| + Visit Cardiff FC for Latest News, Transfer Gossip, Fixtures and Match Results |
Whilst the Syrians are celebrating in Syria and in the UK and elsewhere, I get the horrible feeling that the euphoria will be temporary because it surely won't be long before the other factions there will fall out with this HTS group in a power struggle. The scenes are so reminiscent of Iraq – the pulling down of statues, ransacking the presidential properties etc.
The Syrian family who we look after are obviously pleased that the butcher Assad has gone but they are not so naive to assume that everything will be sweetness and light from now on. I spoke with them today and they have no intention of returning to Syria, certainly not until they see what happens in the coming months and years. In any case their children are growing up here and only the eldest has any significant memories of Syria. I suspect that many other Syrian refugee families feel the same.
There are plenty of unintended consequences of the overthrow of the Assad regime. The Russians are worried about the fate of the bases they have there and then there is Israel with its eyes on the Golan Heights. This is an extract from the BBC News website tonight ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c77jrrxxn07o ):
Israel is especially concerned about who might get their hands on Bashar al-Assad's alleged arsenal of chemical weapons.
The leader of the Syrian rebellion is Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani. His family roots are in the occupied Golan Heights, where thousands of Israeli settlers now live alongside about 20,000 Syrians, most of them Druze, who stayed on after it was captured.
Israel will have no intention of giving that land up and is determined to protect its citizens.
During the 2011 Syrian uprising, Israel made the calculation that Assad, despite being an ally of both Iran and Hezbollah, was a better bet than what might follow his regime.
Israel will now be trying to calculate what comes next in Syria. Like everyone, it can only guess.
Definitely a situation to keep an eye on! Our Syrian family still have relatives over there with whom they are in constant contact by phone, so thus we get first hand info from folk who are “on the ground” as they say.
Even if they don't exist I'm sure some third party will magic them up.
I saw a car in whitchurch driving around last night waving Syrian flags.
Is there a good trustworthy summary of who this new group is?
I blieve they are (or have links to ) ISIS.
I found this article on the web:
https://www.csis.org/programs/former...s/hayat-tahrir
The authors claim to be a non-partisan organisation. It seems the HTS are playing down their past connections to ISIS and giving assurances to minority groups that they will not be singled out. Time will tell.
IDF has bombed suspected chemical weapons sites in Syria to prevent such weapons getting into the wrong hands:
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Saar said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was only making "a very limited and temporary step" taken for "security reasons".
He also claimed that Israel had no interest in meddling in internal Syrian affairs and was concerned only with defending its citizens.
Defence Minister Israel Katz meanwhile said the Israeli military would "destroy heavy strategic weapons" - including missile and air defence systems.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, said on Monday that the Israeli military had conducted overnight strikes on multiple locations spanning coastal and southern Syria.
"Since the initial hours after the announcement of the fall of the former regime, Israel began launching intensive air strikes, deliberately destroying weapons and ammunitions depots," it said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gxplxy550o
The law of unintended consequences strikes again. I see that the AFD in Germany are calling for the repatriation of Syrian refugees now that the Assad regime has been overthrown and it's "ok" for them to return. Whilst a number of refugees may well decide to go back, many families have made new lives in Germany and their children will be well established there. Also the future of Syria is very unclear. Our Syrian refugee family have mixed feelings about the situation - obviously joy that Assad is no longer in charge but apprehension about the on-going situation. They are Muslims of course but they are aware that the fate of people of other faiths especially Christians is less certain than even their's.
I guess the same might apply in Turkey but watching Al Jazeera it doesn't appear that that many Syrians are leaving at the moment.
Hopefully we won't see the same approach in the U.K. by Farage et al! Our Syrian family are well established, Mum and Dad have jobs and the kids are doing well in school.
I see Israel is now employing its right to self defence to attack the Syrian Navy.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/...ees-live-today
Interesting where the largest groups of Syrian refugees are concentrated, and also that the UN data suggests a lot of refugees returned to Syria in the first half of 2024 (although maybe not to places where the former regime was still in power?).
The UK comes nowhere near the Top 10 for countries 'hosting' Syrian refugees. Best current estimates for the UK are around 30,000 (down from a peak of 47,000 a few years ago).
No surprise that various states and parties are exploiting the current situation to further their own agendas - Turkey, Israel, USA and German neo-Nazis at the top of the list.
Also more evidence this week that when western states designate organisations as 'terrorist' it has very little to do with their words and actions and everything to do with cynical politicking! Hypocrisy being worn like a badge of honour!
Maajid Nawaz has an interesting take if you like to triangulate your data.
Who doesn't like to triangulate their data.
The Guardian/BBC brigade like their info unadulterated
What, they don't check with Maajid Nawaz first? Madness!The Guardian/BBC brigade like their info unadulterated
Some choice videos circulating social media of the moderate rebels, rounding people up and just simply executing them. Business as usual isn't it. To be noted, Joe Bidens regime involved. The whole middle east is just a basket case.
Why triangulate when you can strangulate opposing sources of information?
I guess the tracks you lay are your own.
What happened to Assad’s army in Damascus? Where did they go? Do they just go home, burn all their army clothes and hang out with the wife n kids? Same goes for his former government people….
The government people are still working, not sure about the army.
There were a lot of TV reports showing Assad military getting out of their uniforms and putting on civilian clothes, and melting into the crowds. They were demoralised, hadn't been paid for months (apart from the bodyguards and torturers) and could read the tea leaves better than anyone on here.
The fall of the Assad regime
On 8 December 2024, Jalali acknowledged the fall of President Assad's Baathist government and announced that he was extending his hand to the opposition, emphasizing the preservation of state institutions. Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the leader of Tahrir al-Sham, announced that al-Jalali would head the government on an interim basis until the formalization of a new governing arrangement. Later that day, al-Jalali called for democratic elections to be held so the Syrian people could choose their new leaders. He stated that the Tahrir al-Sham Front contacted the leaders, and the armed men promised that there would be no repression. Al-Jalali also said that he and 18 other ministers had made their decision to stay in Damascus and not leave the country. On the same day, a video was published showing al-Jalali being escorted in Damascus by Tahrir al-Sham militia.
The following day, Mohammed al-Bashir was appointed as new Prime Minister of the Syrian Transitional Government and al-Jalali withdrew from his duties.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Ghazi_al-Jalali
It was all prearranged according to Maajid Nawaz.
Great, now for Iran and Russia to follow suit, the world will be a much safer place
You can add Afghanistan and Israel to that list too.
Israel now encroaching into Syria territory. ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgm9w2ym39go )
It's supposedly a temporary thing, to ensure the security of the border. I rather think it will not be temporary and will lead to fresh conflict in the future when Syria gets back on its feet and decides to restore the pre December 2024 situation with regards the border.
It may decide to restore the pre 1967 situation with regards to the border - in line with UN resolutions and international law.
That would cause a meltdown in some capitals (not just Tel Aviv).
Posting Permissions
