Konflikten i Syrien

The report also added that more than 50 percent of the weaponry used by IS was manufactured by China and Russia, largely from equipment captured from the government of Iraq and Syria.

[http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-weapons-supplied-syrian-rebels-ended-islamic-state-report-1943415862

If you’re looking for a single, simple explanation for the rise of the Islamic State that flatters your pre-existing politics, you’ve hit pay dirt.

Hawks and anti-imperialists alike are flogging a recently declassified U.S. intelligence report. Depending on who’s spinning it, the report either proves that Washington ignored dire warnings about the rise of ISIS or that the U.S. was in a secret alliance that fueled the jihadi army’s rise.

A guided anti-tank missile ended up in the hands of ISIS terrorists less than two months after the US government purchased it in late 2015 — highlighting weaknesses in the oversight and regulation of America’s covert arms programs, according to information published Thursday by an arms monitoring group called Conflict Armament Research (CAR).

Though the report says the missile was purchased by the US Army using a contractor, BuzzFeed News has learned that the real customer appears to have been the CIA. It was part of the spy agency’s top secret operation to arm rebels in Syria to fight the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The missile ended up in the hands of ISIS fighters in Iraq, according to the report.

The CIA declined to comment on the Obama-era program to back Syrian rebels, which was canceled by President Trump in July. The Pentagon did not provide information in time for publication.

Arms provided by the United States and Saudi Arabia to Syrian opposition groups frequently ended up in the hands of Islamic State, an arms monitoring group that analysed weapons found on the battlefield said on Thursday.

Conflict Armament Research (CAR) said most Islamic State weapons were looted from the Iraqi and Syrian armies. But some were originally provided by other countries, mainly the United States and Saudi Arabia, to Syrian opposition groups fighting against President Bashar al-Assad.

"These findings are a stark reminder of the contradictions inherent in supplying weapons into armed conflicts in which multiple competing and overlapping non-state armed groups operate," the group said in a 200-page report.
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In one case, it took only two months for Islamic State fighters in Iraq to get their hands on a guided anti-tank missile the United States bought from a European country and supplied to a Syrian opposition group.

All of the items were made in EU states, and in most cases the United States broke contractual clauses prohibiting retransfers by giving the weapons to armed groups in Syria.

"Evidence collected by CAR indicates that the United States has repeatedly diverted EU-manufactured weapons and ammunition to opposition forces in the Syrian conflict. IS forces rapidly gained custody of significant quantities of this materiel."

The remaining US military presence in Syria after the victory over the Islamic State (terror group, outlawed in Russia) arouses concerns, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Geneva office and other Geneva-based international organizations Alexei Borodavkin said.

"We believe that after the victory over the IS there is no need for the US-led coalition to further remain in Syria, especially given that they had not been invited there," the diplomat said. "So, we are calling on the Americans to pack their rucksacks and go." "But apparently, this is not part of their plans, and this arouses concerns," he said.
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The Syrian opposition should abandon its demand for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, he said.

When commenting on the outcome of the eighth round of the intra-Syrian talks, she said that "their position is based on the demand for Bashar al-Assad’s immediate resignation." "They have reiterated it many times in Geneva while talking to reporters. The same absurd, unrealistic and irresponsible demand is mentioned in their document adopted at the second opposition conference in Riyadh.

"First of all, the opposition itself, as well as its sponsors, should understand that those opposing President Bashar al-Assad should abandon such demands," Borodavkin noted.

Det verkar som om flygturerna mellan #Damaskus och #Baghdad har återupptagits...