Israeli warplanes struck a target near the Syrian port city of Latakia Thursday night according to senior Obama administration officials.
The target was a missile storage site. Middle eastern press outlets reported the explosions but the Israeli government has not confirmed they were responsible for the attack.
Israel had long said that they would take any step to stop Syria from providing weapons to Hezbollah or any other group designated as terrorists. The Israeli government has also said they would stop weapons that could be used to attack Israel from being taken into Lebanon.
Terrorist group Hezbollah has entered the Syrian civil war backing up the government forces of Bashir al-Assad. The attack is not the first time Israel has attacked weapons believed to be designated for Hezbollah. Israeli forces attacked a convoy in January transporting weapons from Syria to Lebanon.
The BBC is reporting that thousands of civilians trapped in the Damascus suburb of Musahamiya fled after rebel forces and government troops agreed to a temporary cease fire to let them leave.
However, reports say that the government went through the group of refugees and detained at least 500 men for questioning. This contradicts a statement from the Syrian Red Crescent that all men arrived at a government center for displaced citizens.
Sources in Muadhamiya told the BBC that many civilians are still hiding in the suburb out of fears of government troops.
The Syrian minister for social affairs says that anyone left behind in Muadhamiya is going to be considered a rebel fighter or terrorist.
The situation in the city had become so severe that Islamic leaders said it would be acceptable for citizens to eat cats, dogs and donkeys to survive when those animals are normally considered “unclean” for Muslims.
Arab and Western leaders are scheduled to meet with Syrian opposition leaders in London this week in an attempt to get them to the bargaining table.
A key group in the Syrian opposition, the Syrian National Council, is refusing to attend the next round of formal peace talks scheduled to take place in Geneva next month.
Foreign ministers of 11 nations are trying to lay the groundwork for what is being called the Geneva II conference. The leaders, which include representatives from the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, are reaffirming their position that any peace process should be political in nature and move away from the current Syrian regime.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sent a strong message to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad that he would have to step down if he wants peace to come to his country.
“I don’t know anybody who believes the opposition will ever consent to Bashar al-Assad being part of the government,” Kerry said after talks with Arab officials. “He has bombed and gassed people in his country.”
Assad recently told a Lebanese television station he saw no reason why he could not stand for re-election in 2014.
More than 100,000 people have died since the civil war began in 2011.
A second team of chemical weapons experts is heading to Syria to boost the efforts to destroy the country’s weapon stockpile.
Under the terms of a UN resolution all chemical weapons mixing and filling equipment in Syria must be destroyed by the beginning of November.
The head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said the Syrian government has submitted additional information updating the original weapons disclosure. He called the actions a “constructive beginning [of] a long and difficult process.”
Members of the OPCW reported on Sunday that members of the Syrian government were using cutting torches and angle grinders to destroy warheads, aerial bombs and equipment that could mix chemical weapons.
The U.S. and Russia reached an agreement on a draft resolution for ridding Syria of chemical weapons and have brought it to the full UN Security Council.
UN diplomats said a vote in the 15-member Security Council could take place on Friday and break a deadlock in the UN over how to deal with Syria. Russia and China have blocked Western-led resolutions against the al-Assad government three times. Continue reading →
The United Nations confirmed on Thursday they have received the necessary paperwork from the Syrian government to become a part of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The CWC outlaws production and use of chemical weapons.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Russian TV that his administration would be submitting weapons data within one month of signing the papers to join the CWC. Continue reading →
The U.N. inspection team has reportedly collected a “wealth” of evidence regarding the use of chemical weapons by the government of Bashir al-Assad…but will not actually make a direct accusation against it.
Three U.N. diplomats connected to the investigation have told Foreign Policy magazine the team will present a very strong circumstantial case pointing strongly in the direction of the Syrian government. Continue reading →
The United Nations’ refugee agency has reported the total number of Syrians fleeing the country’s civil war has climbed to over 2 million.
The number includes only those who have registered as refugees with U.N. related organizations so the number could be higher. The total has risen more than one million in the last six months. Continue reading →
The U.K. Is preparing a resolution to submit to the U.N. Security Council opening the door to possible military intervention against the al-Assad government for use of chemical weapons on civilians.
Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain’s National Security Council had unanimously supported action against Syria. The resolution will be presented today at a meeting of the five permanent members of the Security Council. Continue reading →
The Arab League has officially blamed the Syrian government for the chemical weapons attack that killed over 300 civilians one week ago.
The group held an emergency meeting on Tuesday and called for the United Nations Security Council to “overcome their differences” and take action against those who committed “this heinous crime”. The ministerial level of the League is meeting next week to discuss next steps against Syria. Continue reading →
