DAMASCUS BOMBED

Twin blasts in Syrian capital leave 27 dead, 97 wounded

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/232093.html

At least 27 people, including civilians, have been killed and more than 97 others injured in two car bomb attacks in Al-Qasaa and Duwar al- Jamarek areas in the Syrian capital, health minister says.

"Twenty-seven people, mostly civilians, were killed and 97 others wounded in the two explosions," Wael al-Halaqi said. 

One bomb planted in a car went off outside the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Headquarters and another explosion hit a security police building in Damascus, according to the Syrian state TV. 

“Terrorists” have been blamed by the Syrian state TV for the blasts, but no further details have been released yet. 

This is not the first time that the Syrian cities have been targeted by bomb attacks. Bombings in Damascus and other cities in the past few months have left scores of people dead. 

The latest development comes as the UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, is set to send a team to Damascus to discuss a new international monitoring mission. The Syrian government said on Friday that it will cooperate with Annan to end the year-long unrest in the country. 

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011 and many people, including security forces, have lost their lives in the violence. 

The West and the Syrian opposition accuse the government of killing the protesters. But Damascus blames ''outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups'' for the unrest, insisting that it is being orchestrated from abroad. 




Damascus march 17 2012
Car bomb attack kills two in Aleppo city in Syria

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/232290.html

A car bomb attack has targeted a neighborhood in the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo, killing two people and injuring several others, state media say.

Syrian state media said two people were killed and 30 others wounded when terrorists carried out the car bombing between two residential buildings in Aleppo on Sunday. 

The latest bomb attack in Aleppo was carried out one day after the Syrian Interior Ministry said 27 people were killed and at least 140 others were injured in two car bombings in the capital, Damascus, on Saturday. 

Meanwhile, a bridge was destroyed in an explosion in the southwestern Syrian city of Dara’a on Sunday. 

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011. 

On February 10, Syrian officials said 28 people were killed and dozens of others were injured in two car bombings at security compounds in Aleppo. 

On February 20, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that “some foreign countries” are fueling the turmoil in Syria by supporting and funding “armed terrorist groups fighting against the government.”


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Saudi Arabia arms Syrian rebels via Jordan – report

http://rt.com/news/rebels-jordan-syria-arab-833/ 

Saudi Arabia has reportedly sent military equipment to the Free Syrian Army in an attempt “to stop bloodshed by President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime” via Jordan, with the latter officially denying the delivery.

Information that the military aid was sent came from an unnamed high-level Arab diplomat speaking to Agence France-Presse.

However, the Jordanian government has rejected Saturday reports that it allowed Saudi weapons for Syria to transit its territory. Government spokesman Rakan al-Majali told United Press International that the reports were baseless, according to the Jordan News Agency. Jordan borders Syria in the north, with over 65 per cent of its trade transits coming across that border. Around 80,000 Syrians have fled to Jordan since March 2011, according to estimates by local officials.

Earlier this week Adnan Hassan Mahmoud, Syria’s Minister of Information, said that some countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which support Syrian "terrorist" groups and provide them with weapons and money, are accomplices in the "terrorism" targeting the Syrian people, and that it is these countries that are responsible for the shedding of Syrian blood.

“We’ve grown accustomed to the bloody escalation of these terrorist groups in committing massacres, murdering citizens and attacking public and private establishments which proceeds international meetings,” Hassan Mahmoud said.

The accusations were reiterated on Syrian state TV following two powerful bomb blasts that killed at least 27 and wounded dozens more in Damascus. Programs showed the injured being taken to hospital, with one victim asking if this was “the assistance promised by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.” “Saudi Arabia is sending us terrorists,” another resident said on TV.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal claimed earlier this month that the Syrian opposition has the right to arm itself to protect itself. “Weapons used to target homes are used in wars with enemies,” he noted.

A number of Arab countries, Quatar and Kuwait among them, have already put forward the intention to deliver arms to the Syrian rebels, but if the arms deliveries via Jordan are confirmed, Saudi Arabia would be the first to put words into actions.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia and other members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG) – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates – closed its embassy in Damascus and recalled all of its diplomats.

France, US arming Syrian rebels with anti-aircraft missiles – report

Published: 29 February, 2012, 20:02
Edited: 01 March, 2012, 06:15     http://rt.com/news/syria-arms-us-france-531/

A general in the opposition militia known as the Free Syria Army has told journalists that the rebels have received French and American military assistance, amid reports of worsening violence in the stricken nation.

In Homs on Tuesday, a general claiming to be from the rebel group appeared on camera and told a journalist from Reuters news agency that “French and American assistance has reached us and is with us.” When asked to elaborate on the nature of the assistance he added, "We now have weapons and anti-aircraft missiles and, God willing, with all of that we will defeat Bashar [President Assad]."

The international community maintains it is committed to finding a political solution to the conflict and had rejected the idea of military intervention. However, there are growing suspicions that it has been supplying the opposition with weapons indirectly.   

This is not the first report of the US covertly supplying the opposition with arms. In December, FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds said she believed the US had been training the Syrian opposition in neighboring Turkey and supplying arms to the country from Incirlik military base close to the Turkish-Syrian border.

In addition, Qatar and Saudi Arabia reportedly held secret meetings to offer financial support to the Syrian rebels to buy weapons.

Political foot-dragging

Thus far the international community has been unable to reach agreement on a resolution to the Syrian conflict. At an emergency meeting called by the UN in Brussels on Tuesday, the Syrian ambassador accused the UN Security Council of purposely stalling and fueling the flames of terrorism in the country.

The UN has shown consistent support for the opposition movement, with both the Security Council and General Assembly repeatedly calling for the ouster of President Assad.

Gunboat diplomacy: America launches Persian Gulf surge

http://rt.com/news/america-persian-gulf-surge-831/ 

Washington is planning to deploy even more ships, subs and choppers to the Persian Gulf despite the fact that it already stations aircraft carriers in the region. This was confirmed by Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan W. Greenert.

Speaking during a Friday breakfast in Washington, Greenert told reporters about the bold plans to deploy more patrol boats, minesweepers, Sea Stallion helicopters and drone subs – all keeping an eye on Iran, which is clearly uncomfortable with being surrounded by the warships of a hostile country. 

While Greenert had already announced plans to up the number of minesweepers in the region to eight on Wednesday, his latest statements shine a light on the Navy’s long-term perspective. 

First of all, Greenert talked about deploying five more patrol boats equipped with Gatling guns and close-range missiles capable of hitting Iranian shores from four miles away. 

“It’s like being in an alley with a rifle and maybe what you need is a sawed-off shotgun,” he said, talking about the Gatling guns. 

Secondly, the Navy is planning on sending torpedoes that can compensate for the “turbidity” and “particulate” drags of the Gulf waters, as Greenert put it. 

Thirdly, Drone minesweeping submarines, or as Greenert called them “some underwater unmanned neutralization autonomous units.”

And finally, more aircraft carriers, though this is still to be discussed with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. 

All these new vessels will arrive equipped the latest infrared and electro-optical visibility systems to help navigate through the foggy Gulf even at night. In the meantime, BAE Systems, one of the Pentagon's military contractors, is working on a new Gatling/laser gun mashup. While Greenert said nothing on equipping the patrol boats in question with these guns, Iran had earlier promised to block the Strait of Hormuz, which is used to transport about a fifth of the world’s oil, in retaliation against sanctions imposed by the US and the EU with the intention of forcing Iran to quit its nuclear program. 

In January, General Michael Dempsey, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that Iran has the capability to block the Strait of Hormuz for a certain period of time, and that the US must be prepared to reopen it by force. 

Greenert openly admitted that America’s naval presence in the region is already superior to Iran's. So why deploy so much weaponry and equipment to region? Are Obama and his military advisors already covertly thinking about a military solution to the Iranian crisis? Or is it just the implementation of Dempsey’s call for preparedness? 

With the Pentagon asking for an additional $100 million to beef up its military presence in the Persian Gulf, it seems like the US is increasingly leaning towards military action. Although President Obama did insist on using sanctions and diplomacy to force Tehran to quit its controversial nuclear program, he admitted that “no options are off the table.”

'Hana Shalabi’s health deteriorates in Israeli jail' 

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/232295.html 

Palestinian activists say the health of female prisoner Hana Shalabi who has been held in an Israeli jail for over a month is deteriorating.

Shalabi has reportedly been on a hunger strike since February 16, when she was re-arrested at her home in the occupied West Bank. 

The 29-year-old female Palestinian prisoner has been under “administrative detention” and her lawyer says she has been placed in “solitary confinement as punishment for the hunger strike.” 

Shalabi is one of the detainees re-arrested by Israeli forces over the past few weeks. The detainees were freed from Israeli jails in October and December of last year under a deal mediated by Egypt to free 1,027 Palestinian inmates in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. 

Palestinian people held a demonstration in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) on Saturday to express solidarity with Shalabi. 

On February 28, Palestinian demonstrators also gathered outside the UN office in Gaza City to demand the release of Shalabi. A similar demonstration was also held outside the Red Cross office in the West Bank city of Ramallah.