Fighting erupts in Syria amid Russian airstrikes, activists say

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Source: AP

Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes battled insurgents in central Syria on Wednesday in the first major ground fighting since Moscow began launching air raids on militants last week, activists said.

The fighting comes as the Russian airstrikes appear to have emboldened Syrian troops to launch a ground offensive after suffering a string of setbacks in northwestern Syria over the past few months.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a government offensive began on four fronts early Wednesday in the northwestern provinces of Idlib and neighboring Hama. Observatory director Rami Abdurrahman said it is "the most intense fighting in months."

Activist Ahmad al-Ahmad, who is currently in Idlib, said government troops are "heavily" shelling central areas after rebels attacked an army post and destroyed a tank.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-syria-russian-airstrikes-20151007-story.html

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1. Report: Turkey offers to coordinate air campaigns with Russia

Russia says Turkey has offered to help coordinate military aircraft activities relating to Syria.

It comes as tensions have risen after Turkey accused Russian of violating its airspace.

On Tuesday Moscow announced its planes had flown around 20 sorties in its air operation to support the Syrian army. It has admitted straying briefly into Turkish airspace by mistake.

Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov welcomed the idea of Turkish cooperation:

http://www.albawaba.com/news/report-turkey-offers-coordinate-air-campaigns-russia-751906

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2. Russian warplanes in Syria destroy US-trained rebels' weapons depots: commander

Beirut: Russian air strikes have destroyed the main weapons depots of a US-trained rebel group in Syria, their commander said on Wednesday, in an expansion of Russian attacks on insurgents backed by foreign enemies of President Bashar al-Assad.

The Liwa Suqour al-Jabal, whose fighters have attended military training organised by the Central Intelligence Agency in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, was also hit last week by Russian raids as Moscow began its air campaign in support of Damascus.

New strikes targeted the group's main weapons depots in western Aleppo province and completely destroyed them late on Tuesday, its commander Hassan Haj Ali told Reuters on Wednesday via internet messaging service.

"These were considered the principal depots of the Liwa," he said in an audio recording obtained separately.

http://www.theage.com.au/world/russian-warplanes-in-syria-destroy-ustrained-rebels-weapons-depots-commander-20151007-gk3qtd.html

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3. Free Syrian Army Ready for Contacts With Russia

CAIRO (Sputnik) — The FSA is an armed Syrian opposition faction, considered "moderate opposition" by Western countries, fighting the regular Syrian army currently remaining loyal to President Bashar Assad since the beginning of a four-year civil war. On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was prepared to contact the FSA and asked Washington for information regarding the group.

"We welcome [Russia's readiness to establish contacts with the FSA] and do not object to the meetings with Russian officials, but on the condition of ceasing airstrikes on positions of FSA units and the civilian population," Masri said.

He added that FSA leaders have been ready for dialogue with Moscow since the beginning of the civil war and have put forward proposals to send a high-level delegation to the Russian capital.

http://sputniknews.com/world/20151007/1028138560/syria-assad-russia-coordination.html

[uawchild]

5. Moderate opposition?

from your post: "The FSA is an armed Syrian opposition faction, considered "moderate opposition" by Western countries"

Ok, what do we western countries consider to be moderate these days? Does the "moderate opposition" have a platform or constitution or any other online statements defining their moderation that we all can read? Does the moderate opposition allow any religion to be practiced (moderate Saudi Arabia, for example does not.)? Does it give full equal rights to women? (cough The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not) Does the moderate opposition approve routine flogging and beheadings as part of their penal code? Are gay citizens protected? Or, like the Gulf States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that semi-openly fund them, does the moderate opposition hold what are really societal views that are immensely repressive?

Rhetorical question, I know. Joe Biden said it best : "Once again the outspoken US Vice President Joe Biden has been forced to apologise for blunt remarks, this time accusing America's Sunni allies in the Middle East of supporting militant extremists in Syria."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29528482

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6. FSA is one of the groups that we theoretically supported.

Last edited Wed Oct 7, 2015, 05:36 PM - Edit history (1)

Russia (Lavrov) said they are OK and can join the political process to transition Assad out.

I have seen some back and forth on it, but it all seems like talk still AFAIK.

"Moderate" is like "Terrorist", it does not denote anything about them, it tells you we support them. If we don't support them they are called something else. There is no other meaning the way the government uses it, because the parties it has been attached to are hardly ever moderate, generally they are rebels and revolutionairies, who are by definition not moderate.

The Baathist regime is the only participant in Syria that I know of that treats women reasonably well, or did, and the Kurds do. I am hoping the Baathists and the Kurds will work things out when this is over, but who knows?

The answer is no, most of the moderate opposition is fundamentalist now, and they won't be nice to women and gays, nor will ISIL, which is just a large armed gang for all practical purposes, thriving in the vacuum between Iraq & Syria.

The Syrian Kurds are the only groups I am aware of there that might treat gays right, they are pretty progressive politically.

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7. Saudis, Wahhabis, Al Qaeda, cannibals: all moderates. Secular dictators: evil.

Hope that clears it up.

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4. Iraq may request Russian airstrikes on Islamic State soon-official

BAGHDAD, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Iraq may request Russian airstrikes against Islamic State on its soil soon and wants Moscow to have a bigger role than the United States in the war against the group, the head of parliament's defence and security committee told Reuters on Wednesday.

"We might be forced to ask Russia to launch air strikes in Iraq soon. I think the upcoming few days or weeks Iraq will be forced to ask Russia to launch air strikes and that depends on their success in Syria," said Hakim al-Zamili. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Toby Chopra)

http://www.trust.org/item/20151007102251-wumqs/