Free Republic

The 79-year-old Flemish Norbertine Father Daniel Maes lives since 2010 in a Syrian monastery. He confirms that - quote - "it is partly thanks to Hezbollah that so many Christians and other Syrians are still alive. They came to our rescue in our darkest hours. And the same goes for the Syrian army and the Russians. If Putin hadn't come in 2015, Syria certainly would have ceased to exist." Father Maes confirms, that the coverage of the Syrian war is based on lies. He explains that President Bashar al-Assad is not the problem, but rather - quote - "our own...

"Macron said Assad, who enjoys support from Russia and Iran, was not the enemy of France and that, with Russia’s support, French foreign policy in Syria would focus on targeting jihadist groups, whose supporters have killed hundreds in France...." " Interesting article. Headline says it all.

Three-term Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a member of both the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees, has proposed legislation that would prohibit any U.S. assistance to terrorist organizations in Syria as well as to any organization working directly with them. Equally important, it would prohibit U.S. military sales and other forms of military cooperation with other countries that provide arms or financing to those terrorists and their collaborators. Gabbard’s “Stop Arming Terrorists Act” challenges for the first time in Congress a U.S. policy toward the conflict in the Syrian civil war that should have set off alarm bells long...

Turkish occupation army passed on Wednesday 11 military vehicles including 4 trucks loaded with canons to the Syrian lands.Turkish occupation army promoting its existence on the Syrian land and going further in its occupation, new reinforcements have been sent across the borders to the southern countryside of Azaz.Anadolu state agency said that 11 military vehicles including 4 trucks loaded with canons and ammunition have been sent to Syria, activists circulated footage of this convoy as” reinforcing the Turkish military units stationed at the borders with Syria.Reliable sources noted that the convoy headed towards the southern countryside of Azaz which...

Turkey and the Baath regime are preparing for a joint attack on Shehba and Efrîn. The Baath regime instated an embargo by closing off the Aleppo road, while the Turkish state started dispatching heavy weapons like tanks, artilleries and Howitzers and infatry units to the area. Turkey’s plans failed in Raqqa, and now they are preparing for a joint attack on Efrîn and Shehba with the Syrian Baath regime. The Turkish state moved heavy weapons like artilleries, mortars, tanks and Howitzers in large numbers for a possible attack on Shehba and Efrîn. The heavy weapons taken to Syrian territory were...

The Turkish army has dispatched military equipment and vehicles into Syria. The invading Turkish army has dispatched military vehicles and trucks loaded with tanks, howitzers and ammunition into Syrian soil through al-Bab al-Hawa Border Gate. Photo taken by a witness on the route of the Turkish truck convoy shows the shipment of Turkish tanks into Syria.

The Kremlin has denied accusations that military footage it used to showcased the Russian airforce in Syria was a repurposed U.S. clip from 2013. The footage appeared during an interview by U.S. director Oliver Stone during his latest program, "The Putin Interviews." The president told Stone that the video depicted a Russian attack on Islamic State militants, but researchers and viewers said that the clip was "almost identical" to U.S. military footage shot in Afghanistan.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman made his son his successor on Wednesday, removing his nephew as crown prince and giving the 31-year old almost unprecedented powers as the world's leading oil exporter implements transformational reforms....It said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a counter-terrorism chief admired in Washington for putting down an al Qaeda campaign of bombings in 2003-06, was relieved of all positions. Although Mohammed bin Salman's promotion was expected among close circles it came as a surprise at a time the kingdom is facing heightened tensions with Qatar and Iran and is locked in a war in Yemen. ..."Some people...

In Aleppo, up to two-thirds of the Christian population has left the city, about half has left the rest of the country. Jobs must be provided for those who remain, education to their children, and "spiritual support" so that they can continue the mission of "bearing witnesses to Christ" in a Muslim-majority country. Next week, the cardinal will meet with the pope.Rome (AsiaNews) - In recent weeks, "violence seems to have dropped" in Damascus and other areas of Syria, but not in “Raqqa and other parts of that province" where "heavy fighting" continues. Another critical area is "in the south,...

Full Title.............................American fighter jet shoots down armed Assad drone that was 'threatening' US troops - as tensions escalate days after Russia threatened to shoot back after F-18 shot down Syrian fighter jet................................CNN reports the drone dropped several weapons it was carrying near a position where coalition personnel are training and advising partner ground forces in the fight against ISIS. The armed pro-regime Shaheed-129 UAV was shot down by a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle at approximately 12:30 a.m. after it displayed hostile intent and advanced on Coalition forces,' according to a statement issued by Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalition fighting...

Assad does not want to be pushed into any deal by his sponsors. Neither do the Iranians or Hizb’allah. But the Russians have repeatedly signaled that they want the Syrian problem resolved. The reasons for this are not hard to see. The Russians, even though their arms sales have spiraled up thanks to their successful show of force in Syria, are bleeding money. They can ill afford to stay in Syria for very long. Furthermore, there are Russian casualties and this information, though suppressed has a way of getting around in Russia and undermines Putin's popularity. There is also the...

A van driver has died near Calais after refugees blockaded a motorway with tree trunks, causing a crash in which the vehicle caught fire. The vehicle, reportedly registered in Poland, ignited early on Tuesday morning after ploughing into a lorry that had been forced to stop because of the obstruction. French authorities said it was the first time such a makeshift roadblock had caused the death of a driver since the arrival of large numbers of refugees in the area in 2014. Refugees start to gather in Calais again, months after camp was closed Aid groups say several hundred people,...

'This is what they have to show for 30 years of missile development? Even Hezbollah can do better' Israeli analyst says security sources ‘amazed’ at poor performance: 3 missiles fell in Iraq, and only one hit its target Iran’s much-vaunted missile strike on Islamic State targets in Syria late Sunday was a flop, with six of the seven medium-range missiles it fired failing to hit their target, Israeli sources said Monday. Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary force in charge of the country’s missile program, said it launched six Zolfaghar ballistic missiles from the western provinces of Kermanshah and Kurdistan....

....but I suspect you'd be inclined to believe it if you read the following..... 'Russia last week deployed strategic nuclear bombers in the Caribbean, while Russian naval infantry simulated an air assault nearby. Russian heavy artillery also took part in a major live firing exercise in the Kaliningrad enclave, a few miles from Polish and Lithuanian NATO territory. This is typical of Russia's aggressive posture in the new Cold War.' Actually, I made all that up. Here is what actually happened, as reported in yesterday's (June 18 2017) Sunday Times: 'Russia's western enclave of Kaliningrad was surrounded on three sides...

U.S.-backed coalition forces shot down a pro-Syrian regime fighter jet on Sunday after it bombed the Syrian Democratic Forces-held town of Ja-Din, the coalition said. An initial attack by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad occurred at 4:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. ET), causing an unknown number of casualties and driving out SDF fighters, the coalition said in a statement. About two hours later, a Syrian jet dropped bombs and was "immediately" shot down by a U.S. war plane, the coalition said.

'We will not hesitate to defend ourselves': US military refuses to be cowed after Russia threatens to target every coalition plane or drone it finds west of the River Euphrates in Syria The US has said its troops will defend themselves from Russian attack in Syria That came after Russia said it would target US aircraft west of the Euphrates Moscow was furious after the US shot down Russia-backed Syrian military plane That happened Sunday, after the Syrian plane dropped bombs near US allies Captain Jeff Davis said US and coalition air operations would continue in Syria Russia claimed to...

SDF Spokesperson General Talal Silo stated that their forces would use their right to legitimate defense and retaliate if the regime forces continued their attacks on SDF positions. The spokesperson of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) General Talal Silo released a statement regarding the Syrian regime forces' attack on SDF positions near Tabqa. The statement said the following: “After the heroic resistance demonstrated by our troops and the allied forces against terrorism within the Wrath of Euphrates campaign launched by SDF that aims for isolating Raqqa city, and mainly after the Great Battle was started to liberate Raqqa city which...

Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation Statement of the Russian Defence Ministry concerning downing of the Syrian Su-22 near the town of Resafa On June 18, 2017 the American fighter F-18A belonging to the international coalition shot down the Su-22 aircraft of the Syrian Air Force, which was performing a combat mission supporting the government troops, which were conducting the offensive against the ISIS terrorists near the town of Resafa (40 km to the south-west of the city of Raqqa). As a result of the attack, the Syrian aircraft was destroyed. The pilot baled out over an ISIS-controlled area,...

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Monday it would view as targets any flying objects over Syria in the areas of the country where its air forces operate, Russian news agencies reported. The statement followed after a U.S. warplane shot down a Syrian army jet on Sunday in the southern Raqqa countryside, with Washington saying the jet had dropped bombs near U.S.-backed forces and Damascus saying the plane was downed while flying a mission against Islamic State militants. [nL8N1JF0YG] The Defense Ministry also said that it was suspending its interaction with the United States on preventing air incidents over Syria from...

The American Center for Law and Justice, an organization that works on behalf of persecuted Christians both in the United States and overseas, has scolded the United Nations Human Rights Council for ignoring the plight of Christians in Iraq and Syria. In a statement it released following its presentation to the UNHRC, the organization warned that ISIS is carrying out genocide against Christians and other minorities. “Through our affiliate, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), we made an oral intervention before the United Nations Human Rights Council on behalf of Christians facing genocide in the Middle East,” the...