Winter Storm Hits Syria

Almost 2.3 millions refugees have left Syria since 2011, arriving in neighbouring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. And, the number is consistently increasing in even in the cold and freezing conditions.

Syria and the countries nearby are undergoing the worst winter storm in years. Snow hit some areas of Lebanon, Turkey and northern Syria overnight Tuesday as sharp winds and cold, heavy rains came in a combination, causing misery for hundreds of thousands in camps and shanties.

The United Nations said on Wednesday that it is extremely concerned for Syria’s refugees as snow and freezing temperatures descended on the region.

Aid agencies, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Lebanese army rushed to distribute kits containing plastic sheeting and blankets to the newcomers, but poorly funded humanitarian groups are struggling to meet the overwhelming needs.

“I don’t know where to go,” said a man, “I don’t know where to take my children. It’s much worse than last year, and it’s only the beginning.” There is no heating inside the damp tents and poor quality of coal provided is not even enough to lighten the inside of the tent once the rain starts.

Roberta Russo, a UNHCR spokeswoman, said the agency’s top priority was refugees at higher altitudes, where snow was falling, but she said assistance would be expanded where possible.
“We are extremely concerned about the onset of winter,” Russo said. “We are giving out blankets and materials. But as long as people remain in tents, there’s only so much you can do.”

I would like to conclude hoping that god gives strength to the hundreds of thousands of people to survive the harshness of freezing temperatures and overcome the toughest time of there lives.

How & Why Russia Helped Syria

Since the Syrian civil war began in Syria, Russia has played a strategic role in the unfolding of the crisis to the world. 

And few months back Obama and his foreign policy team have been looking for a way to avoid the military response that Obama, himself, threatened a year ago if Bashar al Assad employed chemical weapons against the “rebels” trying to oust him from his seat of absolute power in Syria.

Of course, Obama gave Assad plenty of time to relocate any of his really important war materiel to places not on Obama’s announced target list.  Yes, chemical weapons are not selective and civilians become “collateral damage.”  Yes, should chemical weapons fall into the hands of the forces opposing Assad, there is the potential for a catastrophic escalation of deaths. 

Russia is an ally of Assad so they wouldn’t be supplying the rebels with war making materiel.  This means only that the current momentum of the civil war favors Assad.

And then Obama opened his mouth, and as Obama, himself, said, the calculus changed.  If America lobbed a hundred or so missiles at Syrian targets, the momentum of the Syrian civil war would change, and not to the benefit of Assad. 

And if Assad had a problem, then so did Russia and Putin.  

Russia has always wanted a warm water port.  If Assad were to lose, and these radicals might eventually control chemical weapons and water port in the region around Syria, is enough to give Russian security forces nightmares.  Russia wanted to prevent Assad losing control of Syria, and thus losing both their warm water port and a naval base in the always volatile eastern Mediterranean.  They also wanted to prevent wild-eyed Muslim fanatics from taking control of Assad’s stockpile of chemical weapons.

So, Russia came up with an idea that if Syria destroys all its chemical weapons then there will be no chance of radicals getting a hand on chemical weapon. Further, there was another benefit that after the destruction of chemical weapons USA will not be able to attack Syria.

And, Then there will be full chance of victory of Assad's government with no USA and ally interference.

Thus, Putin gave Assad his thoughts about the destruction of Syrian chemical weapon and after quite a few round of discussion it was finally resolved that chemical weapons will be destroyed.

Fighters Against Bashar al-Assad

It is believed that there are about 1,000 armed opposition groups in Syria, commanding an estimated amount of 100,000 fighters i.e. about 0.45% of total population in Syria.Many of these groups are small and operate at local level, but some of them have developed themselves as a power full organisation with effect throughout the country. They have formed alliances with other group that share a similar agenda. The Syrian Crisis website looks at most prominent of them.

Main Rebel Groups :-                           

SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL OF THE FREE SYRIAN ARMY

• Leader: Brig Gen Salim Idris

Formed in August 2011 by army deserters based in Turkey, led by Col Riad al-Asaad.Its banner was soon adopted by armed groups that began appearing across the country. The SMC has 30 members, six representing each of five "fronts" in Syria - Northern (Aleppo and Idlib), Eastern (Raqqa, Deir al-Zour and Hassaka), Western (Hama, Latakia and Tartus), Central (Homs and Rastan) and Southern (Damascus, Deraa and Suwaida).

SMC ASSOCIATE

Martyrs of Syria Brigades

• Leader: Jamal Maarouf

• The group was formed in late 2011 in Idlib province. Its operations are still focused in north-western Syria.

 Northern Storm Brigade

• The Northern Storm Brigade is a group that controls an important border crossing between Syria and Turkey.

 Ahrar Souriya Brigade

• Set up by Col Qassem Saad al-Din, a former air force pilot from the northern town of Rastan.

SYRIAN ISLAMIC LIBERATION FRONT (SILF)

• Leader: Ahmed Issa (Suqour al-Sham)

The Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (SILF) is a loose alliance formed in September 2012 by about 20 rebel groups. They claim they have about 40,000 fighters. The SILF is active in Idlib, Aleppo, Damascus, Homs and Deir al-Zour provinces. The SILF has described itself as "the largest of the revolutionary coalitions" and it makes up the bulk of the SMC's fighting force.

ASSOCIATES

Farouq Brigades

• Leader: Osama Juneidi

• First emerged in late-2011, and was involved in a failed rebel effort to repel a government offensive on the Baba Amr district of Homs in February 2012.

 Suqour al-Sham

• Leader: Sheikh Ahmed Issa

• One the more hardline groups in the SILF, was formed in the Jabal al-Zawiya region of the north-western province of Idlib in September 2011.

 Liwa al-Tawhid

• Leader: Abdul Aziz Salama

• Formed in July 2012 to unite the many separate fighting groups operating in the northern Aleppo countryside. It joined the SILF in January 2013.

 Liwa al-Fath

• Liwa al-Fath (Battalion of Conquest) operates mainly in the city of Aleppo and the surrounding countryside, as well as in Hassaka and Raqqa provinces, to the east. The group seeks to establish a "free Syria".

JAYSH AL-ISLAM

• Leader: Zahran Alloush (Liwa al-Islam)

Zahran Alloush, whose group Liwa al-Islam is the most prominent and powerful member of the alliance, said it had been formed to "achieve unity among the units of the mujahideen and avoid the effects produced by the divisions within the National Coalition". More than 30 of the brigades in Jaysh al-Islam were already operating under the banner of Liwa al-Islam.
 

ASSOCIATES 

Liwa al-Islam

• Leader: Zahran Alloush

• Founded in mid-2011. The group rose to prominence after claiming it was behind the bombing of the National Security Bureau's headquarters in Damascus in July 2012, which killed several senior security officials including the defence minister and President Assad's brother-in-law.

SYRIAN ISLAMIC FRONT (SIF)

• Leader: Hassan Abboud (Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya)

The Syrian Islamic Front is a coalition of 11 hardline Islamist groups formed in December 2012. At the time, it suggested it had control of nearly 30,000 fighters. The SIF has remained independent and refuses to come under the umbrella of the SMC, but co-operates with SMC affiliates on the battlefield.  The largest and dominant faction in the SIF is Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya, whose leader Hassan Abboud, also known as Abu Abdullah al-Hamawi, is the SIF's president. He was imprisoned by the Syrian authorities after taking part in the insurgency in neighbouring Iraq but released in early 2011 as part of an amnesty.

ASSOCIATES

Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya

• Leader: Hassan Abboud

• First emerged in the north-western province of Idlib in late 2011 as Ahrar al-Sham and has since made a major impact on the battlefield. The group claimed to operate 83 units across Syria. The group operates a "technical division" that carries out cyber-attacks and a "relief office" that runs social services and carries out public works in Raqqa and Aleppo.

Independent Groups :-

Ahfad al-Rasoul Brigades

• Leaders: Abu Osama al-Julani, Mohammed al-Ali and Maher al-Nuami

• The Ahfad al-Rasoul (Grandsons of the Prophet) Brigades are an alliance of more than 40 moderate Islamist groups formed in 2012. They operate across Syria.

 Asala wa al-Tanmiya Front

• It is a moderate Islamist alliance formed in November 2012. Its fighters are organised across five "fronts" covering most of Syria, but their presence is strongest in Aleppo.

 Durou al-Thawra Commission

• It is an SMC-linked alliance of a few dozen small armed factions, most of them in Idlib and Hama provinces. It was set up in 2012.

 Tajammu Ansar al-Islam

• Tajammu Ansar al-Islam (Gathering of the Supporters of Islam) was formed in mid-2012 by seven Damascus-based Islamist groups. However, it has since suffered several splits.

 Yarmouk Martyrs' Brigade

• The Yarmouk Martyrs' Brigade is a moderate Islamist group linked to the SMC that was formed in the southern province of Deraa in August 2012. In March and May 2013 fighters briefly detained UN peacekeepers patrolling the demilitarised area.

 National Unity Brigades

• It claims to have several units located in almost all of Syria's provinces. Formed in August 2012 and top operate "for the sake of a civil, democratic state for all ethnicities and social identities".

Al-Nusra Front

• Leader: Abu Mohammed al-Julani

• Its fighters are active in 11 of Syria's 14 provinces, particularly Idlib, Aleppo and Deir al-Zour. Initially, the group was blamed for dozens of suicide bombings in major city centres, killing many civilians. Al-Nusra has sought to build popular support by providing social services and carrying out public works.

 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS)

• Leader: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

• The group is active mostly in northern and eastern provinces of Syria. It has assumed joint control of municipalities in Aleppo, Idlib and Raqqa provinces. ISIS has taken part in a number of major rebel operations.

 Jaysh al-Muhajirin wa al-Ansar

• Jaysh al-Muhajirin wa al-Ansar (Army of the Emigrants and Helpers) is a group comprising hundreds of mostly foreign fighters, many of them from the North Caucasus, that was formed in March 2013.

 Popular Protection Units (YPG)

• Political leader: Salih Muslim (PYD)

• The YPG emerged as a force in the summer of 2012 when the Syrian army withdrew from Kurdish areas and it sought to provide security. The Syrian rebels and the Turkish government have accused the Kurdish group of acting as an Assad proxy.

Ongoing Process Destruction of Chemical Weapons in Syria

After the Ghouta chemical attack, during the G20 summit on September 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama discussed the idea of putting Syria's chemical weapons under international control.

On September 14 2013 Syria agreed to the proposal and became member of OPCM. This committed Syria to not use chemical weapons, to destroy its chemical weapons within 10 years, and to convert or destroy all of its chemical weapons production facilities.
This is an ongoing process and Syria need the help of the rest of the world.

Are we ready to help them, If yes then lets unite and help Syria to face the most tragic days of the nation.

Link for Details

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