LEBANON, SYRIA - MILITANTS IN ARSAL, LEBANON

Militants set Lebanese policemen free to solicit cease-fire talks  August 05, 2014, Tuesday/ 14:54:20/ AP / REUTERS / / BEIRUT  Hard-line militants, who seized the Lebanese town of Arsal at the weekend, released three policemen on Tuesday as a “goodwill gesture” to allow Sunni Muslim clerics to broker a deal to end four days of fighting near the Syrian border.  At least 16 Lebanese soldiers and dozens of civilians and militants have been killed in the fighting in Arsal in the most serious spillover yet in three years of civil war in Syria.  The militants are still believed to be holding about 40 members of the security forces - both soldiers and policemen.   ...  Lebanese security officials say the fighters include members of al-Qaeda's Syria branch, the Nusra Front, and an al-Qaeda splinter group, the Islamic State, which has seized swathes of land in Syria and Iraq.  Although Lebanon - a country of about 4 million, bordering Israel - has avoided the full-scale war afflicting Syria and Iraq, regional conflicts have rekindled decades-old tensions. Tripoli [Libya] has seen frequent clashes between local Sunni Muslims and members of the Shiite-derived Alawite minority, and on Monday night fighting broke out after news that several Sunni clerics had been wounded as they entered Arsal to try to broker a ceasefire between the army and the militants.  Men blocked several Tripoli roads on Tuesday, and most shops were closed and streets empty after militants opened fire on a bus carrying soldiers, wounding at least six. ...  While Lebanon has officially tried to distance itself from Syria's conflict, its powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah has sent fighters to aid President Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite. Assad, like Hezbollah, is backed by Shiite power Iran.  The rebels fighting to overthrow Assad are overwhelmingly Sunni and have received support from regional Sunni powers including Saudi Arabia. Rocket fire, suicide attacks and gun battles connected to Syria's war have plagued Lebanon and the conflict has worsened Lebanon's perennial political deadlock between officials divided largely along sectarian lines.  More than 170,000 people have been killed in Syria's war, which started in 2011 as a peaceful protest movement, then degenerated into civil war after a government crackdown.  Violence went on unabated in Syria, where air strikes at the weekend in Damascus killed at least 64 people, a monitoring group said. Fighting regularly claims more than 150 lives a day.  EXTRACTS ONLY - FULL @ TODAY'S ZAMAN  - HERE

* Fighters challenging the Lebanese security forces include:

1. al-Qaeda (Syria branch)
2. al-Nusra Front (aka al-Jabhat an Nusra); and
3. Islamic State (al-Qaeda splinter group)

which have been seizing territory in both Syria and Iraq.

[ Tripoli, Libya - Sunni vs Shiite-derived  (Alawite) minority ]

Arsal, Lebanon (border town):


* Militants holding 40 - soldiers and police.
* 16 Lebanese soldiers killed
* Dozens civilians and militants killed

* Militants release x3 policemen (Sunni clerics to mediate between parties)



Lebanon -  powerful Shiite movement (Hezbollah)

President Assad (Syria) is also Shiite (Alawite)

Rebels in Syria seeking to overthrow Assad are mainly Sunni
(and rebels are backed by other countries, including Saudi Arabia).

Hezbollah have sent fighters to help Assad in Syria

Hezbollah and Assad (both Shiite) are helped by IRAN.

Iran official religion is:  Shia Islam.

170,000 killed in Syria since 2011

US - Syria - Caution from Russia

A Plea for Caution From Russia What Putin Has to Say to Americans About Syria By VLADIMIR V. PUTIN Published: September 11, 2013 MOSCOW — RECENT events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies. Relations between us have passed through different stages. We stood against each other during the cold war. But we were also allies once, and defeated the Nazis together. The universal international organization — the United Nations — was then established to prevent such devastation from ever happening again. The United Nations’ founders understood that decisions affecting war and peace should happen only by consensus, and with America’s consent the veto by Security Council permanent members was enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The profound wisdom of this has underpinned the stability of international relations for decades. No one wants the United Nations to suffer the fate of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it lacked real leverage. This is possible if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorization. The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance. Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country. There are few champions of democracy in Syria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government. The United States State Department has designated Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the opposition, as terrorist organizations. This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world. Mercenaries from Arab countries fighting there, and hundreds of militants from Western countries and even Russia, are an issue of our deep concern. Might they not return to our countries with experience acquired in Syria? After all, after fighting in Libya, extremists moved on to Mali. This threatens us all. From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law. We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not. Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression. No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists. Reports that militants are preparing another attack — this time against Israel — cannot be ignored. It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan “you’re either with us or against us.” But force has proved ineffective and pointless. Afghanistan is reeling, and no one can say what will happen after international forces withdraw. Libya is divided into tribes and clans. In Iraq the civil war continues, with dozens killed each day. In the United States, many draw an analogy between Iraq and Syria, and ask why their government would want to repeat recent mistakes. No matter how targeted the strikes or how sophisticated the weapons, civilian casualties are inevitable, including the elderly and children, whom the strikes are meant to protect. The world reacts by asking: if you cannot count on international law, then you must find other ways to ensure your security. Thus a growing number of countries seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction. This is logical: if you have the bomb, no one will touch you. We are left with talk of the need to strengthen nonproliferation, when in reality this is being eroded. We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement. A new opportunity to avoid military action has emerged in the past few days. The United States, Russia and all members of the international community must take advantage of the Syrian government’s willingness to place its chemical arsenal under international control for subsequent destruction. Judging by the statements of President Obama, the United States sees this as an alternative to military action. I welcome the president’s interest in continuing the dialogue with Russia on Syria. We must work together to keep this hope alive, as we agreed to at the Group of 8 meeting in Lough Erne in Northern Ireland in June, and steer the discussion back toward negotiations. If we can avoid force against Syria, this will improve the atmosphere in international affairs and strengthen mutual trust. It will be our shared success and open the door to cooperation on other critical issues. My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/opinion/putin-plea-for-caution-from-russia-on-syria.html?_r=0 Discovered an old NYT article via twitter. I'm not up-to-date. Just started watching this stuff, so it's some good info for me. Not big on the religious references. I see the UN as just another way for the US to exert influence and dominate, because their various defence and trade allies will always vote with the US. US has always interfered with internal conflicts in other countries, so it should hardly be a surprise if they want to interfere in Syria. So Syria fighting is about multiple extremist religious factions having a go at the government in a quest for religious (?) supremacy and, pretty much, that's all it is? US has designated al-Nusra Front and al-Qaeda 'terrorist'. These religious groups (along with Arab mercenaries), aim to spread conflict to other regions, currently battle it out in Syria. Yet opposition groups in Syria have been supplied with foreign weapons. Who by?  I think the US were wanting to arm the opposition, but I'd need to look that up. Looks like these religious fighters also have an eye on Israel. So basically, if the US is going to make an 'exception' of itself and if the UN veto counts for nothing, the UN may meet the same fate as the League of Nations. Meanwhile, where there is a lack of confidence in the UN, arms proliferation takes place. So it looks like the US were planning on attacking Syria? Funny how they're now planning on attacking Russia.  .......................................................................... Well, there's already a precedent for ignoring the UN and for being the 'exception', so they may as well disband the UN because the UN is a farce. The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the ... Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The operation was not authorised by the United Nations and was the first time that NATO used military force without the approval of the UN Security Council and against a sovereign nation that did not pose a threat to members of the alliance.   The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999. The official NATO operation code name was Operation Allied Force; the United States called it Operation Noble Anvil, while in Yugoslavia the operation was named "Merciful Angel"... [wikipedia] Dig those code names. Not only did Clinton and NATO disregard the UN, Clinton disregarded the US congress as well: Clinton needed a new mission for NATO. The Soviet Union had collapsed and if you recall, the NATO Treaty was a collective security agreement between member nations that if one NATO nation were attacked by the Soviet Union (CCCP), other NATO members would go to its defense.  In violation of International law, the NATO Treaty, the UN Charter and without the approval of Congress, Clinton and his administration, along with Serb-hating Madeline Albright, Wesley Clark, Richard Holbrooke and the rest of the Clinton gang, bombed tiny Yugoslavia that did not attack us or any NATO nation, was never a threat to us, nor did it have weapons of mass destruction. [here] The precedent is set: International law, NATO, the UN, the UN Charter and the US Congress are meaningless shams.

TWITTER - BREAKING NEWS - ASSASSINATION - SYRIA

TWITTER - BREAKING NEWS SYRIA - ASSASSINATION - IED BOMB

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Nusra_Front
source re following:

Jabat an Nusra means:   'al-Nusra Front'

Al-Nusra Front is described as a Sunni Fundamentalist 'Salafi Jihaddist' organistion - for specifics see here.

Wikipedia indicates that:

In 2011, Salafi jihadists were actively involved with protests against King Abdullah II of Jordan, and the kidnapping followed by a swift murder of Italian peace activist Vittorio Arrigoni in Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Salafist jihadists groups include Al Qaeda ... [as above here]

Caucasus Emirate

In the North Caucasus region of Russia, the Caucasus Emirate retains a hard-line Salafist-takfiri jihadist ideology:

Tawhid / Monotheism in Islam

Reject practice of the following:

• Shirk [idolatry]
• taqlid [belief in fundamentals of faith with own insight]
• Ijtihad [independent reasoning interpretation of Islamic law] 
• Bid'ah [newly invented beliefs or action]

Endorse:

Complete separation between Muslim and Non-Muslim

by propagating Al Wala' Wal Bara' :

[No idea what this is.  Relates to 'one hand' pleasing to the Messenger and the 'other hand' (ie non believers)  is not.]

and declaring takfir 

[excommunication - unbeliever or kafir (infidel)] 

against any Muslim who is a mushrik (polytheist) and does not return to the observance of tawhid [doctrine of oneness .. monotheism/Islam]

and the strict literal interpretation of the Quran and the Sunnah 

["Sunnah is the way of life prescribed as normative for Muslims on the basis of the teachings and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and interpretations of the Quran"]  ...

SYRIA

In Syria, the group Jabhat al-Nusra has been described as possessing "a hard-line Salafi-Jihadist ideology" and being one of "the most effective" groups fighting the regime.

[source - wikipedia - as above]
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Seems like big news.

But unsure whether to post this or not, for two reasons:

1.  Could not see news report apart from Twitter, so maybe it's a hoax?
2.  Group sounds a really scary to me, to be honest.