Thousands of Locals From Daraa and al-Quneitra Join Syrian Army

Local observers believe that the number of new recruits will eventually exceed 50,000.

SouthFront
By SouthFront
Syrian Arab Army

More than 3,800 civilians and former fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) from the southern governorates of Daraa and al-Quneitra have joined the ranks of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) so far, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on August 10. Daraa and al-Quneitra joined the reconciliation process last month and the radical

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Russia: US-backed Syrian Rebels Preparing Another Chemical Weapons “Provocation” in Syria

Major General Igor Konashenkov said Russia has intelligence that the Free Syrian Army is going to stage a “chemical attack” in the village of Haql al-Jafara to accuse the Syrian government of conducting it.

SouthFront
By SouthFront
In this Sunday, July 29, 2012 photo, Free Syrian Army soldiers are seen at the border town of Azaz, some 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Turkpix)

The US-backed Free Syrian Army and the US Special Operations Forces are preparing a “chemical weapons” provocation in the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, Major General Igor Konashenkov said on June 11. According to Konashenkov, the US-led forces are going to stage a “chemical attack” in the village of Haql al-Jafara to accuse the Syrian

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US, UK and France Are Establishing New Military Bases in Northern Syria

The coalition of the US, UK and France are establishing new military bases throughout Northern Syria in support of its Kurdish-majority proxy army, angering nearby Turkey and cementing the coalition’s hold over Syria’s most oil rich region.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
Syria | US Troops

Despite the fact that President Trump recently considered withdrawing U.S. forces from Syria, the United States— along with its allies the United Kingdom and France— are doubling down and expanding their military presence in Northeastern Syria by establishing new military bases near the town of Manbij. Reports of the bases first broke last month,

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“First Responder” White Helmets Reemerge as Experts in Defusing Explosives in Syria’s Afrin

Defusing explosives and mines, as the White Helmets say they’ve done in Afrin, is normally performed by specialized military experts, not paramedic first-responders who have claimed – falsely – to have been trained by the Red Cross.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
A member of the White Helmets works a skidsteer emblazoned with the White Helmets logo in the recent captured city of Afrin, Syria. (Photo: The White Helmets/Twitter)

DAMASCUS, SYRIA – After being banned by the Kurds in 2015, the White Helmets – the controversial “humanitarian” group that exclusively accompanies particular Western and Turkish-backed terrorist groups – have announced their return to the city of Afrin. The move follows the city’s takeover by the Turkish military and Turkish-backed rebels linked to

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Ghouta, Raqqa, Aleppo: Ceasefire Decisions and Humanitarian Unconcern

Last year’s campaign to retake Raqqa saw U.S. forces fire more artillery rounds into that city than during the entire invasion of Iraq and resulted in over 3,000 civilians deaths. At that time, the U.S. rejected UN calls for a ceasefire.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
Black smoke rises from a US airstrike on the eastern side of Raqqa, Syria, July 26, 2017. (AP/Hussein Malla)

NEW YORK -- A UN-brokered ceasefire has once again been established, now for the sixth time, in Syria and, like most of those that preceded it, has now been broken. The current ceasefire sought to end fighting in Eastern Ghouta, an area near the Syrian capital of Damascus that has long been controlled by militant U.S.-Saudi backed rebels seeking to

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The Last Days of Jobar Mark the End of the Proxy War in Syria

Jobar, once a bustling suburb of Damascus, became one of the last strongholds for a number of entrenched rebel factions. As those groups lash out in their final death throes, their impending fall represents the end of an era.

Steven Sahiounie
By Steven Sahiounie
A Syrian army soldier walks on a street in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, August 24, 2013. (AP Photo)

BEIRUT (Analysis) -- There are only two areas in Syria today that are not under government control. Jobar is one of them, and it is situated east of the historic “Old City” section in the capital Damascus. The terrorists -- each group of whom is named and described individually below --  firmly embedded themselves in Jobar from the early days of

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