Konflikten i Syrien

Charles Lister
‏@Charles_Lister
PT: I’m now hearing [unconfirmed] reports that Ahrar al-Sham have reversed & agreed to sign the #Riyadh statement. Unclear if it’s amended.

The interview with the purported FSB defector advanced the idea that Russia may be exporting its extremists, detailing how Russian security services have recruited Muslims to infiltrate extremist groups in Europe and materially supported their advancement within these organizations.

When asked if Russian agents could be involved in the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Yevgeniy said there was “complicity in acts of terrorism.” He continued, “And the complicity could be direct or indirect. By analyzing their connections, one, of course, will be able to see the ties leading to Russia. Primarily Russia could benefit from this, and the Russian security services had all the possibilities to organize this.”

On the Russian periphery, it is widely believed that Russia has used the Islamic State as an opportunity to get rid of domestic jihadis.

“In spring 2014, local information networks provided credible information that individuals affiliated with Russian security forces were recruiting potential jihadists in Pankisi and in the Northern Caucasus to travel to Syria,” says Giga Bokeria, a former Georgian national security adviser. “They were promising financing for trips, and assistance acquiring weapons.”

Pankisi is a remote, mountainous Georgian region bordering Russia with a local population of Georgian Muslims, known as Kists. Omar al-Shishani, one of the Islamic State’s top commanders, is from Pankisi.

But people in states close to Russia say American and other Western officials have been reluctant to accept information on Russian involvement in recruitment for extremist groups despite the use of explicitly anti-American rhetoric as incitement for enlistment.

“More than 80 percent of ISIS’s weapons are Russian-made,” offers Danylyuk. “In Syria and Iraq we are witnessing the same form of hidden aggression as in Ukraine.”

Foreign Ministry: Generous support for terrorist organizations contributes to continued terrorists’ crimes

Damascus, SANA-Syria reaffirmed its determination to continue to combat terrorism, calling on the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General to condemn the recent terrorist attacks on the city of Aleppo and to shoulder their responsibilities in combating terrorism and drying up its sources.

In two identical letters addressed to the UN Secretary General and Chairman of the UN Security Council on Thursday, the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said that the terrorist organizations targeted on the 7th and 9th of December the city of Aleppo with random shells, claiming the lives of dozens of citizens and injuring many others.

“In this regard, the government of the Syrian Arab Republic would like to inform the United Nations Secretary-General and President of the UN Security Council that the terrorist crimes referred to are a continuation of the series of terrorist crimes that have been targeting civilians in various Syrian cities and villages for nearly five years as terrorists do not differentiate between children, women, men, elderly or patients in their attacks.”

The ministry added that the generous support of some countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have contributed to the continuation of terrorists’ crimes

The ministry concluded its letter by stating that the Syrian government emphasizes the need for states to perform their duties and deliver on their humanitarian commitments to combat terrorism, stressing the need to adopt deterrent measures against countries which support terrorism in order to maintain peace and security in the region and the world.

De hundratals soldaterna som Turkiet skickat till Bashiqa, nära ett IS-kontrollerat område i norra Irak, har fått den irakiska ledningen att se rött. Bagdad har hotat med att ta frågan till FN:s säkerhetsråd om inte soldater dras tillbaka.

– Vad de sysslar med i Bashiqa och i lägret är utbildning. Deras tillbakadragande är uteslutet, sade Erdogan på en presskonferens sent i torsdags.