Syrian Civil War (Graphic Photos/Vid Not Allowed)
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Good to see them defecting. True Syrian patriots should not be fighting for the Al-Assad regime but more often than not conscripts (mostly youth) have no choice.
Poorly designed ID's indeed.
It's the flag of the Ba'ath Party.
Flag of the Ba'ath Party - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It's the Ba'ath Party's flag. The Palestinian flag is based on the flag of the Arab Revolt. Almost identical. Only the propositions are slightly different.
Palestinian flag - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Arab Revolt flag is not a Hashemite flag. It's a newly created flag based on past Pan-Arab colors.
The Pan-Arab colors are black, white, green and red. Individually, each of the four Pan-Arab colors were intended to represent a certain Arab dynasty, or era.[4] The black was the color of the banner of Muhammad and the Rashidun Caliphate; white was used by the Umayyad Caliphate; green was used by the Fatimid Caliphate; and red was the flag held by the Khawarij.[5] The four colors derived their potency from a verse by 14th century Iraqi poet Safi Al-Din Al-Hilli: « White are our acts, black our battles, green our fields, and red our swords ».[6]
Pan-Arab colors - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
P.S: The Abbasid Caliphate (longest ruling caliphate and second biggest in history after the Umayyad Caliphate) used black as their color too.
Hashemites have various symbols and used various flags throughout the time.
This is the traditional banner of Hijazi Hashemites, now also used by Jordan for obvious reasons.
In a press statement and a Facebook post, the Royal Court said the flag has been the banner of the Hashemite family for centuries. With its original dark red colour pattern, the banner was first hoisted by Al Sharif Abu Nami in 1515, and then raised by Prince Abdullah in 1920, as he led his soldiers to Maan during the Great Arab Revolt.
King presents Hashemite flag to Jordan Armed Forces | Jordan Times
That specific flag is 500 years old. Other ones were used in the past as well.
@Ahmed Jo
I should know this history better than most.
Why is that man so short?
Dr.Thrax
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No one really knows the US's motive for actually doing anything (maybe just trying to cover their arses + get Iraqi support), but the USAF has a very, very strict engagement policy. Kurds on the ground would rather have French or British AFs covering them, because they'll bomb just about anything they are told to (similar to most other "professional" AFs who seem to not care.) Despite all the casualties coalition has done, if USAF had not had its strict engagement policy, thousands of civilians would have died by now.
Using Al-Masdar as a source...you must be new here.
Rebels have stepped up shelling on Fua'a and Kufraya (and seems like they're hitting military targets now), and they've started advancing. As for your claims of 60,000 civilians in those two enclaves @Serpentine, most civilians evacuated with army in Idlib, but some still remain, and some of them (4 women at least) died due to rebel shelling. There were never 60,000 in those towns btw.
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Alienoz_TR
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In new sign of Assad’s troubles, Syria’s Druze turn away from president
BEIRUT — During four years of civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could count on the country’s Druze to keep quiet. Like other religious minorities, the Druze community tended to back the strongman, fearing their fate could be worse under the rebels, who are mostly Sunni Muslims.
Recently, however, the Druze have been defying Assad's government. Many are refusing compulsory military service. Increasingly, Druze spiritual leaders are criticizing the embattled president and urging their community to adopt a neutral stance in the conflict.
The Druze are a tiny group in Syria — about 700,000 people in a country with a pre-war population of 24 million. But their pivot away from Assad is a sign of the mounting difficulties facing the authoritarian ruler as the war drags on.
In northwestern Syria, a coalition of rebels known as the Army of Conquest has made startling advances in recent months. Along the southern border with Jordan and in more central areas like Palmyra, other opposition groups including the Islamic State have pushed deeper into government-held territory. Now, analysts and many Syrians speculate that Assad’s hold on power is slipping.
[Assad’s regime is at increasing risk amid surge of rebel attacks]
Druze leaders do not portray their shift as a total break with Assad. Most Druze have refrained from joining the rebels, fearing that their ranks are filled with radical Sunni Islamists.
But analysts say the Druze population’s changing attitude is significant because religious minorities have formed an important part of Assad’s base, with many of their members serving in the military and government-run paramilitary groups. Assad belongs to a minority Muslim group, the Alawites, in this majority Sunni Muslim nation.
“What the Druze are showing is that groups that have been in the regime's orbit are feeling they're on their own in this war, that they can't rely on the government,” said Andrew Tabler, a Middle East expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
The Druze are a small but influential community spread across Syria, Israel and Lebanon. Their faith, which dates to the 11th century, includes elements found in Islam, Christianity and Buddhism, and they have long been targets of extremist Muslims. Known as tough mountain dwellers, the Druze have a history of rebellions, including revolts against their former Ottoman and colonial French rulers. In Syria, most of them reside in Sweida, a province south of the capital, Damascus, that borders Jordan.
The Druze are not a monolith; after the uprising against Assad began in 2011, some joined the rebels. But the majority have remained effectively aligned with Assad.
Over the last year, however, the Druze have become increasingly disillusioned with Assad as the war has taken a growing toll on the population and in particular on the armed forces. More than 230,000 people have died in the conflict.
The Druze have bristled at the government's campaign to shore up the army — which has included large-scale mobilizations of reservists and mass arrests of draft-dodgers. Large numbers of Druze have refused military service, according to analysts. That has deprived the military of manpower at a critical moment.
Desertions and draft-dodging are also increasing among other minorities that usually side with the government, such as Christians and Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
The Druze, as well as other minorities, are increasingly nervous that the government will be unable — and perhaps unwilling — to protect them from the advancing rebels.
In Sweida, a Druze spiritual leader, Wahid al-Balous, has raised a militia of thousands of men that is independent of the government and is intended to defend the Druze, according to analysts and local residents. Such a move would have been almost unthinkable a year ago, when momentum in the war appeared to be on Assad’s side.
Attempts at reconciliation
The government has responded gingerly to the acts of defiance. Last month, Assad issued a decree guaranteeing that if Druze men from Sweida joined the military, they would only have to serve in the province, which has been mostly peaceful.
Balous, however, rebuffed the president's offer, saying in a speech that military service is “strictly forbidden for young men.” The spiritual leader could not be reached for comment.
Kheder Khaddour, a Syria analyst and visiting scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said the government has not retaliated against the Druze because it doesn't want to make new enemies at a moment when it is already under intense pressure on the battlefield.
In other conciliatory steps, Assad's government has scaled back efforts to dragoon men in Sweida into the military and has provided arms and training to other recently formed Druze militias, according to residents and analysts.
But the aid seems to have won the government little gratitude from the militias.
“The Druze of Sweida and in Lebanon only need themselves to defend their land, homes, families and dignity,” said Ismat Aridi, 60, a leader of a militia in Sweida that has received government support.
The Druze have good reasons for their concerns about their safety. The rebels have advanced so much that analysts and diplomats believe the government may soon have to pull back its defenses from outlying areas like Sweida to a strategic corridor linking Damascus with key government strongholds along the western coast and the border with Lebanon.
Assad’s main allies, Russia and Iran, are pressuring him to focus on securing that corridor, even if that means abandoning other areas, say analysts and diplomats.
Druze leaders are calling for neutrality in order to signal to the rebels that they are not their enemies while also not alienating the government, said Malek Abou al-Kheir, a Druze journalist from southern Syria who is critical of the government.
“They know that the regime is not a true ally," Kheir said.
A group of moderate rebels, known as the Southern Front, says that it has assured the Druze that it will protect them should government forces withdraw from Sweida.
“They know that we will do more to protect them than Assad ever will,” said Marwan Ahmad, a Druze and former colonel in the Syrian army who is now a member of the rebel coalition.
But declarations of neutrality may not save the Druze if extremists from the Islamic State or Jabhat al-Nusra — Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate — seize their ancestral lands. Both groups condemn the Druze as apostates. Last month, militants from Jabhat al-Nusra gunned downmore than 20 Druze in northern Syria in what was said to be a property dispute.
In new sign of Assad’s troubles, Syria’s Druze turn away from president - The Washington Post
BEIRUT — During four years of civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could count on the country’s Druze to keep quiet. Like other religious minorities, the Druze community tended to back the strongman, fearing their fate could be worse under the rebels, who are mostly Sunni Muslims.
Recently, however, the Druze have been defying Assad's government. Many are refusing compulsory military service. Increasingly, Druze spiritual leaders are criticizing the embattled president and urging their community to adopt a neutral stance in the conflict.
The Druze are a tiny group in Syria — about 700,000 people in a country with a pre-war population of 24 million. But their pivot away from Assad is a sign of the mounting difficulties facing the authoritarian ruler as the war drags on.
In northwestern Syria, a coalition of rebels known as the Army of Conquest has made startling advances in recent months. Along the southern border with Jordan and in more central areas like Palmyra, other opposition groups including the Islamic State have pushed deeper into government-held territory. Now, analysts and many Syrians speculate that Assad’s hold on power is slipping.
[Assad’s regime is at increasing risk amid surge of rebel attacks]
Druze leaders do not portray their shift as a total break with Assad. Most Druze have refrained from joining the rebels, fearing that their ranks are filled with radical Sunni Islamists.
But analysts say the Druze population’s changing attitude is significant because religious minorities have formed an important part of Assad’s base, with many of their members serving in the military and government-run paramilitary groups. Assad belongs to a minority Muslim group, the Alawites, in this majority Sunni Muslim nation.
“What the Druze are showing is that groups that have been in the regime's orbit are feeling they're on their own in this war, that they can't rely on the government,” said Andrew Tabler, a Middle East expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
The Druze are a small but influential community spread across Syria, Israel and Lebanon. Their faith, which dates to the 11th century, includes elements found in Islam, Christianity and Buddhism, and they have long been targets of extremist Muslims. Known as tough mountain dwellers, the Druze have a history of rebellions, including revolts against their former Ottoman and colonial French rulers. In Syria, most of them reside in Sweida, a province south of the capital, Damascus, that borders Jordan.
The Druze are not a monolith; after the uprising against Assad began in 2011, some joined the rebels. But the majority have remained effectively aligned with Assad.
Over the last year, however, the Druze have become increasingly disillusioned with Assad as the war has taken a growing toll on the population and in particular on the armed forces. More than 230,000 people have died in the conflict.
The Druze have bristled at the government's campaign to shore up the army — which has included large-scale mobilizations of reservists and mass arrests of draft-dodgers. Large numbers of Druze have refused military service, according to analysts. That has deprived the military of manpower at a critical moment.
Desertions and draft-dodging are also increasing among other minorities that usually side with the government, such as Christians and Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
The Druze, as well as other minorities, are increasingly nervous that the government will be unable — and perhaps unwilling — to protect them from the advancing rebels.
In Sweida, a Druze spiritual leader, Wahid al-Balous, has raised a militia of thousands of men that is independent of the government and is intended to defend the Druze, according to analysts and local residents. Such a move would have been almost unthinkable a year ago, when momentum in the war appeared to be on Assad’s side.
Attempts at reconciliation
The government has responded gingerly to the acts of defiance. Last month, Assad issued a decree guaranteeing that if Druze men from Sweida joined the military, they would only have to serve in the province, which has been mostly peaceful.
Balous, however, rebuffed the president's offer, saying in a speech that military service is “strictly forbidden for young men.” The spiritual leader could not be reached for comment.
Kheder Khaddour, a Syria analyst and visiting scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said the government has not retaliated against the Druze because it doesn't want to make new enemies at a moment when it is already under intense pressure on the battlefield.
In other conciliatory steps, Assad's government has scaled back efforts to dragoon men in Sweida into the military and has provided arms and training to other recently formed Druze militias, according to residents and analysts.
But the aid seems to have won the government little gratitude from the militias.
“The Druze of Sweida and in Lebanon only need themselves to defend their land, homes, families and dignity,” said Ismat Aridi, 60, a leader of a militia in Sweida that has received government support.
The Druze have good reasons for their concerns about their safety. The rebels have advanced so much that analysts and diplomats believe the government may soon have to pull back its defenses from outlying areas like Sweida to a strategic corridor linking Damascus with key government strongholds along the western coast and the border with Lebanon.
Assad’s main allies, Russia and Iran, are pressuring him to focus on securing that corridor, even if that means abandoning other areas, say analysts and diplomats.
Druze leaders are calling for neutrality in order to signal to the rebels that they are not their enemies while also not alienating the government, said Malek Abou al-Kheir, a Druze journalist from southern Syria who is critical of the government.
“They know that the regime is not a true ally," Kheir said.
A group of moderate rebels, known as the Southern Front, says that it has assured the Druze that it will protect them should government forces withdraw from Sweida.
“They know that we will do more to protect them than Assad ever will,” said Marwan Ahmad, a Druze and former colonel in the Syrian army who is now a member of the rebel coalition.
But declarations of neutrality may not save the Druze if extremists from the Islamic State or Jabhat al-Nusra — Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate — seize their ancestral lands. Both groups condemn the Druze as apostates. Last month, militants from Jabhat al-Nusra gunned downmore than 20 Druze in northern Syria in what was said to be a property dispute.
In new sign of Assad’s troubles, Syria’s Druze turn away from president - The Washington Post
Alienoz_TR
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Double IS suicide attack against PKK in Ayn al-Arab.
In one case, 5 PKK terrorists killed. For the other case, no details yet.
---
Another bombing in Suruc, Turkey. 31 PKK sympathizers killed, 100 more wounded. No one claimed the respınsibility. Those who were killed/wounded were going to Ayn al Arab/Kobane to assist PKK/YPG.
In one case, 5 PKK terrorists killed. For the other case, no details yet.
---
Another bombing in Suruc, Turkey. 31 PKK sympathizers killed, 100 more wounded. No one claimed the respınsibility. Those who were killed/wounded were going to Ayn al Arab/Kobane to assist PKK/YPG.
Dr.Thrax
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Oryx Blog: From the Ukraine to Syria, Russian Orlan-10 and Eleron-3SV drones in Syria's skiesTwo Russian drones shot down/crashed in Syria, Latakia yday:
Orlan-10:
Eleron-3SV:
Dr.Thrax
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Video of a barrel bomb being dropped in Dara'a - it shakes around violently, which is clearly inaccurate. Seems like it didn't detonate. Very "accurate."
Life in rebel-held Idlib:
Fateh Halab (Which does NOT include Nusra) || Noor al Deen al Zinki Movement || Destruction of a 122mm howitzer on the entrance of New Aleppo with a TOW missile.
Leaflet dropped on Raqqa by Coalition; shows 2 YPG fighters, an FSA fighter, and a YPJ fighter (I'm assuming because the fighter is a female.) What's written on the path is "Freedom will rise/shine.)
Also what's interesting to note: YPG/YPJ seem to be armed with AKs and armored vests only, while the FSA fighter is armed with an M4 and a combat helmet, which is ironic since YPG has received more support.
Assad's army using artillery in the streets of Damascus - knowing very well counter battery fire will most likely come and cause collateral damage (rebels think they're fighting an organized army at this point, one that would set up shop in a clearing, not in the middle of a road.)
Life in rebel-held Idlib:
Fateh Halab (Which does NOT include Nusra) || Noor al Deen al Zinki Movement || Destruction of a 122mm howitzer on the entrance of New Aleppo with a TOW missile.
Leaflet dropped on Raqqa by Coalition; shows 2 YPG fighters, an FSA fighter, and a YPJ fighter (I'm assuming because the fighter is a female.) What's written on the path is "Freedom will rise/shine.)
Also what's interesting to note: YPG/YPJ seem to be armed with AKs and armored vests only, while the FSA fighter is armed with an M4 and a combat helmet, which is ironic since YPG has received more support.
Assad's army using artillery in the streets of Damascus - knowing very well counter battery fire will most likely come and cause collateral damage (rebels think they're fighting an organized army at this point, one that would set up shop in a clearing, not in the middle of a road.)
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Mahmoud_EGY
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how can they support rebels then bomb them and it is hard to believe that they would help assadAnalyzed CC strikes data:
4273 strikes total
over 2000 strikes in support of Kurds vs. ISIS
over 1000 strikes in support of Iraqi Shias vs. ISIS
~ 500 strikes in support of Assad vs. ISIS
~ 50 strikes in support of Assad vs. rebels
less than 50 strikes in support of rebels vs. ISIS
0 strikes in in support of rebels vs. Assad
Dr.Thrax
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I think 500 included Nusra in rebels in that statement, since Nusra got bombed multiple times, and even an Ahrar al Sham HQ got bombed once (mistaken identity or US just being arseholes.)
Mahmoud_EGY
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do you think el nusra are not extremists ?
bsruzm
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I highly disagree with you on that.
Dr.Thrax
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The majority of them? No. The ones who hold an relevant power in the organization? Yes, unfortunately. It would have been better for revolution if they just left AQ and its ideology altogether.
I mean, they're just trying to cover their arse, I don't see any other motive for it, and that doesn't seem good enough to spend a few billion on fighting a few thousand idiots, but then again this is 'Murica we're talking about here.
bsruzm
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I am not sure misunderstood or not but cover their a*s, what for?
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