Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Lost battles do not mean Syria war lost (Bashar al-Assad)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Wednesday that setbacks are a normal part of any war and do not mean the conflict is lost, in his first comments after several regime defeats.

"Today we are fighting a war, not a battle. War is not one battle, but a series of many battles," he said at a rare public appearance on Syria's Martyrs Day.

"We are not talking about tens or hundreds but thousands of battles and... it is the nature of battles for there to be advances and retreats, victories and losses, ups and downs."

The comments from Assad at an appearance at a Damascus school were his first since a string of regime losses, particularly in northwestern Idlib province.

In the last few weeks, rebel forces including Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front have seized Idlib's provincial capital, the strategic town of Jisr al-Shughur, and a military base in the area.

The losses in the province, along with rebel advances in the south, have worried some in government-held areas and prompted speculation about the strength of the regime's forces.

But Assad urged his supporters to remain confident in the face of setbacks.

He warned against "the spread of a spirit of frustration or despair at a loss here or there."

"In battles... anything can change except for faith in the fighter and the fighter's faith in victory," he said.

"So when there are setbacks, we must do our duty as a society and give the army morale and not wait for it to give us morale."

 AFP
alarabiya.net
6/5/15
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5 comments :

  1. Syrian president promises to send reinforcements to Idlib province...

    Syrian President Bashar Assad has met with the families of soldiers who died in combat and veterans of the Syrian army in Damascus, SANA news agency reported on Wednesday.

    At the meeting, Assad has expressed hope that "the Syrian army will win." "We entered war, and it consists not of one, but of many battles. Military situation is always changing, but our faith in the Syrian fighter and upcoming victory is constant," he said.

    The Syrian president promised to send reinforcements to the Idlib province 320 kilometers north from Damascus, where government forces are fighting with Jaish al-Fath extremist group.

    "The army will soon come to help the defenders of a hospital in Jisr Ash-Shughur," Assad said. Jisr Ash-Shughur was seized by militants on April 25.
    http://tass.ru/en/world/793266
    6/5/15

    ReplyDelete
  2. Obama said in a letter to US Congress that the United States will continue the sanctions against Syrian individuals and entities as part of the national emergency actions against Damascus...

    WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States will continue the sanctions against Syrian individuals and entities as part of the national emergency actions against Damascus, US President Barack Obama said in a letter to US Congress.

    “I have determined that it is necessary to continue in effect the national emergency declared with respect to this [US national security] threat and to maintain in force the [anti-Syrian] sanctions to address this national emergency,” Obama said on Wednesday.

    On May 11, 2004, Obama issued an Executive Order that declared a national emergency with respect to the actions of the Syrian government and imposed sanctions on individuals and entities.....http://sptnkne.ws/hZT
    7/5/15

    ReplyDelete
  3. Syrian army kills dozens of rebels near Lebanon border: Manar TV...

    (Reuters) - Syrian army bombing in the mountainous area along the border with Lebanon killed dozens of insurgents and helped Hezbollah fighters reclaim territory there known as the Qarna Heights, the Shi'ite Muslim group's Manar television said on Thursday.

    The al Qaeda-linked rebels, encamped in the Qalamoun mountains, have been attacking the Syrian army and fighters from Hezbollah, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, which has sent hundreds to fight alongside his forces.

    Hezbollah's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Tuesday that his forces and Syrian allies would clear the rebels out of the strategic border region north of the capital Damascus that insurgents use as a main supply route for arms and fighters.

    Although Nasrallah did not disclose when his fighters would start a major assault in the Qalamoun area, his group announced on Wednesday its fighters had hit a gathering of militants on the Syrian side of the border, inflicting heavy casualties.

    Hezbollah also said on Wednesday its fighters had seized part of a strategic hilltop in Lebanon's eastern border area known as Kherbat al Nahla that overlooks Syrian side of the Qalamoun region.
    Reuters

    ReplyDelete
  4. Syrian Army, Lebanese Resistance Totally Control Assal Al-Ward Barrens...

    Syrian army and the Lebanese resistance have launched an operation against the terrorist insurgents in Assal al-Ward barrens in al-Qalamoun.

    The Syrian army and the Lebanese resistance fighters controlled al-Qarna height which consists of three hills the insurgents were using as hideouts, sources told al-Manar.

    The sources reported collapse within the ranks of the terrorists, noting that dozens of them were killed and injured.

    The Syrian army and the Lebanese resistance totally control an area of 45 km of Assal al-Ward barrens, the sources said.

    The Syrian army have been engaged in several military operations across Syria to cleanse the country from the foreign-backed Takfiri insurgents who have been since the year of 2011 commiting crims against Syrian civilians and soldiers.
    Source: Al Manar TV
    7/5/15

    ReplyDelete
  5. US: Safe zones in Syria linked to Turkey’s steps ...

    The U.S. military’s top-ranking officer says contingency plans have been drawn up for a safe zone in consultation with Turkey, while a senior Pentagon official has told Hürriyet that this is conditional on Turkey’s steps on plans to train Syrian rebels, which remains a source of tension between the two countries.

    “We’ve been planning for such a contingency for some time,” General Martin Dempsey told members of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee on May 6.

    Dempsey said U.S. forces were capable of carving out a buffer zone in Syria but it was a “major political decision” and would mean troops stationed elsewhere would not be available for other missions.

    “It’s practical militarily, but it would be a significant policy decision to do so,” he said.

    He also said that for “this to be practical and effective, it would have to involve regional partners.”

    Turkey has long called for a safe area to be set up along the Syrian-Turkish border to protect civilians, but President Barack Obama’s administration has yet to endorse the idea.............hurriyetdailynews.com
    8/4/15

    ReplyDelete

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