Free Republic

More than 1,000 killed in Syria, most of them civilians, in sectarian violence Almost 750 civilians were killed, mostly in close-range shootings, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, stated.

Syrian forces loyal to the new government in Damascus have engaged in heavy fighting with remnants of the ousted Assad regime in a coastal area in the country's north-west. Dozens of people have reportedly been killed in the clashes in Latakia province, close to a Russian-controlled airbase. A curfew has been announced until Friday morning. They are some of the most violent attacks on forces linked to Syria's Islamist government since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December. Clashes continue in coastal areas that form the heartland of the Alawite community and are a stronghold of the Assad family. State...

Syria’s former media chief and top aide to Bashar al-Assad said that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have “tricked” the ousted Syrian president in his final days as leader. Speaking to Mazeej Studios, a podcast produced by Saudi channel Al Arabiya, Kamel Saqr said that Assad was in Moscow in late November, just over a week before Syrian rebels captured Damascus. According to him, the rebels had already captured much of Aleppo by the time Assad met Putin on Friday 29 November. There, Saqr said Assad asked for Putin’s support in helping Iran transport equipment and support to strengthen his...

BASHAR al-Assad has broken his silence to claim Vladimir Putin forced him into a cowardly escape from Syria - but he wanted to stay and fight. The ousted tyrant released a statement from Moscow, insisting he had to flee after the Russian base he was hiding in began to be bombed. Assad dished out fighting talk from the safety of his bolthole in the Russian capital, saying the only course of action had been to stay and fight - before he then left. The statement was published today on the Syrian presidency's Telegram channel and was Assad's first public comment...

Syria's former President Bashar al-Assad appears to say he never intended to flee to Russia - in what is purported to be his first statement since the fall of Damascus eight days ago. Assad's reported statement was put on the Telegram channel belonging to the Syrian presidency on Monday, although it is not clear who currently controls the channel. In it he says that, as the Syrian capital fell to rebels, he went to the Russian military base in his stronghold in the Latakia province "to oversee combat operations" only to see that Syrian troops had abandoned positions. The Hmeimim...

Israel took advantage of the effective evaporation of Syria’s regular armed forces before a rebel offensive to launch a massive strike campaign called Operation Bashan Arrow aimed at destroying 320 of the most valuable remaining military assets and supporting military-industrial facilities of its oldest enduring military adversary While 350 Israeli combat aircraft conducted airstrikes targeting Syrian warplanes, helicopters, missile launchers, air defense systems, tanks, ammunitions depots, chemical weapons stores, and munition factories, on December 9 Israel’s Navy also launched a naval sortie likely involving its Haifa-based Sa’ar 4.5 missile boats (and/or larger Sa’ar-5 and Sa’ar-6 missile corvettes) targeting Syrian Navy...

Syrian insurgents fighting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have launched attacks in the central province of Hama, threatening to cut off government troops from a key route linking the capital, Damascus, with rebel-held Aleppo. The army was engaging in “violent confrontations” with armed groups in Hama, the Syrian state news agency, Sana, reported. Separately, a longtime independent war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said on Tuesday morning that rebel factions in the province had managed to seize several “towns in the last few hours”. “Syrian and Russian air forces carried out dozens of strikes on the area,”...

Reported Israeli naval strikes against warehouses inside the Russian controlled Hmeimim base in Latakia, W Syria, shortly after an Iranian shipment arrived at the base

A Kuwaiti paper reveals another monstrous Obama betrayal. We thought the Obama administration could stoop no lower when it was revealed that the administration transferred $1.7 billion in untraceable cash to the Islamic Republic as ransom for the release of four Americans hostages they were holding. We were wrong. In its twilight weeks, the administration gave its consent to allow the Iranians to receive 116 metric tons of natural uranium from Russia as compensation for its export of tons of reactor coolant. According to experts familiar with the transaction, the uranium could be enriched to weapons-grade sufficient for the production...

Assad Regime trumpets sell that the Iranian weapons (which IDF blew up) were "milk." Last time it was "coffee" Roi Kais Tweeted Dec 28, 2021: The trumpets of the Assad regime are already echoing on social media that the containers contained "milk powder," small tanks of engine oil, reels of glue, "materials for service purposes" and car tires. Last time it was "coffee."

Two airstrikes on the key port of Latakia, Syria, in the same month have raised eyebrows. A report in The Wall Street Journal noted not only that Syria has accused Israel of the strike on the port this week, but also that a US official indicated that the Iranian presence at the facility “put a big target on civilian infrastructure that would not be targeted otherwise.” The fires at the port burned throughout the day on December 28, showing that whatever was destroyed at the port was flammable and likely composed of munitions or other dangerous cargo transported from Iran...

Fires erupted in Syria's Latakia Port's container storage area following an Israeli missile attack, Syrian state media reported on Tuesday. The attack, the second in December, damaged facades of a hospital, some residential buildings and shops "The Israeli "aggression" caused big materialistic damages and assessing its results is still a work in progress", the Syrian defence ministry said in a statement. Israel has mounted frequent attacks against what it has described as Iranian targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces including Lebanon's Hezbollah have deployed over the last decade to support President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's war. Live footage aired by...

Sources from the port of Latakia confirmed to Syrian television that the Israeli attack on the port at dawn yesterday, Tuesday, was intended for the shipment of Iranian weapons that arrived at the port and were hidden among food products using a commercial ship that hoisted the Panama flag. Sources noted that the shipment was attacked as soon as it arrived at the container yard at the port and was completely destroyed, noting that three workers were injured.

Syrian media reported that an Israeli air raid caused fire and destruction in the port of Latakia, with the country’s military saying FIVE explosions were heard. Israel is yet to comment on the incident. [one minute video]

BREAKING!!! Syria: Israel has attacked in the port of Latakia - Video VIDEO The Israeli attack tonight (according to Syrian Arab sources) was carried out from Lebanese airspace. In an air strike, at least eight missiles were fired at three targets in western Syria. According to the Syrian media, the GNA systems were able to intercept most of the missiles. So far, the media in Syria has not reported whether there are any casualties. It should be mentioned that according to information earlier today, it was said that the Syrian communications networks reported the movement of certain weapons systems that...

Most important Earthquake Data: Magnitude : 6.8 Local Time (conversion only below land) : Unknown GMT/UTC Time : 2020-01-24 17:55:16 Depth (Hypocenter) : 10 km Depth and Magnitude updates in the list below. Beirut - Weak shaking Kayseri - All Chandeliers were shaking for 5 or 10 seconds Kayseri - Approximately one minute. No property damage. Kayseri - Approximately one minute. No property damage. Tripoli - Shaking lasted approximately 30 seconds. Enough to shake the chandelier. latakia - i was laying down and saw a ceiling light swing then i felt myself shake slightly, it lasted about 30 seconds Jdeideh...

BEIRUT/QAMISHLI, Syria, (Reuters) - The Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been holding negotiations at a Russian airbase in Syria, a Syrian Kurdish politician told Reuters on Sunday, expressing hope for a deal that would halt a Turkish attack. Ahmed Suleiman, a senior member of the Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party in Syria, said the talks were being held at Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Latakia. He did not say if he or his party - which is independent from the SDF - had a role in the negotiations. Asked about Suleiman's comments, the head of the SDF media...

The Israeli army has stated that all intelligence on the Russian aircraft downed in Latakia on Monday will be shared with Moscow. The Israeli army statement said when the Syrian air defense systems fired the missiles that downed the Russian aircraft, Israeli Air Force had already returned to Israeli air field. The Israeli army argued that the incident had been caused by the Syrian air defense systems’ “extensive and inaccurate” fire. The statement said, “The Syrian anti-air batteries fired indiscriminately and from what we understand, did not bother to ensure that no Russian planes were in the air.” The Israeli...

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has expressed his outrage to Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman after 15 Russian servicemen died when their plane was shot down by Syrian air defenses during a sudden Israeli air attack. Russia's Defense Ministry says 4 Israeli F-16's used the larger Russian IL-20 plane as a decoy for their attack on the northern Syria city of Latakia. Russia says it reserves the right to an "adequate response"....

Syrian antiaircraft missiles shot down a Russian military aircraft carrying 15 service members off the Syrian coast Monday night, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Moscow angrily blamed the Israeli military for what appeared to be a case of friendly fire, saying the Iraelis were conducting air raids in the area and had given only a minute’s warning, too little for the Il-20 surveillance plane to fly out of harm’s way.