The officer said 13 pilots had signed a pledge this week saying they would form "a crew of suicide martyrs to foil the US warplanes".
The Assad loyalist, in his 30s and serving with the Syrian army's air defence section 10 miles from the capital, said: "If the US and British armies launch a single rocket we will launch three or four, and if their warplanes raid our skies they will face hell fire.
"If we are unable to shoot down their warplanes with artillery, we have military pilots who are ready to attack these foreign warplanes by their own warplanes and blow them up in the air."
The Guardian has been unable to verify the information. The officer has been in contact with the paper on several occasions over the last 12 months during which time he provided reliable information about battles between the troops of Bashar al-Assad and rebel groups. He has declined to provide accounts of events where he has not served.
He claimed: "We have more than 8,000 suicide martyrs within the Syrian army, ready to carry out martyrdom operations at any moment to stop the Americans and the British. I myself am ready to blow myself up against US aircraft carriers to stop them attacking Syria and its people."
Speaking about the chemical attack last week on the outskirts of Damascus, he denied the involvement of government forces and said news of the gassing had come as a shock.
"Why would we use chemical weapons in Al Ghouta, when we have government forces where the attack happened? Over the last few days we have launched a military operation called Capital Shield to protect Damascus and its countryside. We managed to get 75% of the way through the process, but then we were shocked to learn about the chemical weapons in Al Ghouta."
He said the morale of the Syrian army was high. "They have to know that Iran and Hezbollah fighters will be fighting with us, hand-in-hand. We have an alliance of protection. We are the resistance axe in the Arab world.
"We are ready for anything. Only God can take our souls, not America or Britain. The US and UK have been threatening us for more than two years now, they think we would care, but they are stupid to think so. We have been fighting the most criminal terrorists in the world and we have not given up or become tired.
"The Syrian army is at the highest state of alert now. We have taken all measures to avoid the air onslaught and all our rockets are ready now to be launched. We are expecting the US and British forces to attack specific targets, so the Syrian army has changed most of its positions and many barracks and brigades have been moved to different sites."
Reuters news agency said Assad's forces appeared to have evacuated most personnel from army and security command headquarters in central Damascus in preparation for a western military strike.
"It is unbelievable what is happening now in Syria," the officer said. "Lots of Syrian men are flocking to checkpoints asking to join the army to fight for Syria, though some of them were previously with the opposition."
He added: "They say that when Syria is under foreign attack we will fight with the Syrian army and forget about everything. In Damascus, we have registered over 4,000 civilian volunteers in the last 48 hours. We have sent them to training camps to learn how to use different weapons and to form people committees [pro-regime home guards] to protect the streets and districts of the capital, as the Syrian army will be busy dealing with the US warplanes.
"The whole army will be in a state of alert and we will need these people to protect our back, keep security and stop things slipping to chaos.
"Damascus residents are living a normal life and are not scared of any attack. Rockets and mortars are falling on the capital districts every day even in the poshest areas, so they can't be shaken any more if US rockets strike.
"People get used to the war and they do not need to make any more preparations. Today I could see long bread queues in many areas in Damascus, and that may be because of the US threats. People are worried if the US and British forces launch their attack against Syria they can't go out during the air raids."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/28/syrian-army-kamikaze-against-west-assad
28/8/12
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- Με πιλότους-καμικάζι θα αντεπιτεθεί η Συρία. Η εφημερίδα δηλώνει, πάντως, ότι δεν μπόρεσε να διασταυρώσει την πληροφορία
Η βρετανική εφημερίδα επικαλείται αξιωματικό του συριακού στρατού που υποστηρίζει ότι 13 πιλότοι σχημάτισαν «πλήρωμα μαρτύρων αυτοκτονίας για να επιτεθούν στα πολεμικά αεροσκάφη των ΗΠΑ»...
Το ενδεχόμενο να χρησιμοποιήσει πιλότους-καμικάζι, όπως η Ιαπωνία στο Β΄ Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο, εξετάζει η Συρία σύμφωνα με την βρετανική εφημερίδα Guardian που επικαλείται αξιωματικό του συριακού στρατού.Ο αξιωματικός που υπηρετεί σε μονάδα αντιαεροπορικών κοντά στη Δαμασκό, είπε, μάλιστα, ότι 13 πιλότοι υπέγραψαν «δήλωση» στην οποία δέχθηκαν να σχηματίσουν «πλήρωμα μαρτύρων αυτοκτονίας για να επιτεθούν στα πολεμικά αεροσκάφη των ΗΠΑ».
«Αν οι ΗΠΑ και η Βρετανία εξαπολύσουν έστω και έναν πύραυλο, εμείς θα απαντήσουμε με τρείς ή τέσσερις και αν τα πολεμικά αεροσκάφη τους εισβάλλουν στον εναέριο χώρο μας τότε θα αντιμετωπίσουν κόλαση φωτιάς» δήλωσε ο πιστός στον Άσαντ 30χρονος αξιωματικός.
«Ακόμα και αν δεν μπορούσε να καταρρίψουμε τα αεροσκάφη τους με αντιαεροπορικά πυρά, έχουμε πιλότους που είναι έτοιμοι να επιτεθούν σε αυτά τα ξένα αεροπλάνα με τα δικά τους μαχητικά και να τα τινάξουν στον αέρα» συμπλήρωσε.
Η εφημερίδα δηλώνει, πάντως, ότι δεν μπόρεσε να διασταυρώσει την πληροφορία, προσθέτοντας, όμως, ότι ο συγκεκριμένος αξιωματικός έχει επικοινωνήσει πολλές φορές τους τελευταίους 12 μήνες προσφέροντας αξιόπιστες πληροφορίες για συγκρούσεις ανάμεσα σε αντάρτες και τις δυνάμεις του Άσαντ.
protothema.gr
29/8/13
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NATO air forces unable to do Syria real harm...
ReplyDeleteNATO hasn’t enough airplanes and cruise missiles near Syria to inflict decisive damage on the country’s military, senior Russian military expert Konstantin Sivkov said. US-led forces entering Syria would mean total war in the Middle East, he told RT.
During the Syrian civil war there has been little harm caused to the the country’s air defense systems, which continue to function quite effectively, said Sivkov, who is first vice president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems and a former officer of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
Syria is not Libya
Even in Libya, where much weaker air defenses largely remained inactive, NATO air forces had to waste additional resources to be sure not to come under fire from ground forces, and this prevented the invaders from gaining total control of the Libyan skies, Sivkov said.
The Syrian situation is different altogether, he added.
“The current NATO forces, mostly American, present in the region cannot do serious harm to the Syrian state and army,” Sivkov said.
Media reports say that the US Navy has two air carriers with about 120 jets that could be directly involved in the assault on Syria. Altogether, NATO has about 280 cruise missiles on warships and submarines near Syria.
According to Sivkov’s calculations, even without active countermeasures on the behalf of the Syrian armed forces, this would be enough for the US-led forces to destroy only about 30 or 35 targets inside the country. In case these targets were shielded by short-range anti-aircraft systems such as the Pantsir-S1, the likelihood of targets being destroyed would be three or four times less.
“That means that at the moment NATO cannot do decisive damage, changing the balance of power in Syria,” Sivkov said.
“According to my estimates, if NATO wants to destroy Syria’s military infrastructure and make sure that the Islamists get the upper hand in the conflict, the alliance needs to concentrate in the region about three times more air forces and about four times more cruise missiles. That would be enough to suppress Syria’s air defenses and destroy its military potential,” Sivkov said, adding that bringing additional forces to the region would take Western forces about a month.....http://rt.com/op-edge/syria-nato-invasion-sivkov-156/
29/8/13
Assad says Syria will defend itself against aggression...
ReplyDeleteSyrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday that Syria would defend itself against any aggression following reports that the United States and its allies were preparing military action in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack.
"The threats of direct aggression against Syria will only increase our commitment to our deep-rooted principles and the independent will of our people. Syria will defend itself in the face of any aggression," state television quoted Assad as telling a delegation of Yemeni politicians.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/assad-says-syria-will-defend-itself-against-aggression.aspx?pageID=238&nID=53459&NewsCatID=352
29/8/13