US-Russian Ceasefire Deal Goes Into Effect In Southwest Syria

A U.S.-Russian brokered ceasefire in southwest Syria was holding several hours after it took effect according to Reuters, the latest international attempt to restore peace in the six-year Syrian war. The truce, which took effect across southwest Syria on Sunday at noon Damascus time (09:00 GMT), extends to Syrian government forces and rebel groups in the provinces of Deraa, Quneitra, and Sweida where western-backed rebels control swathes of territory and form a center of the insurgency south of the capital Damascus.

Last week, shortly after the first meeting between Trump and Putin, the United States, Russia and Jordan announced they had reached a ceasefire and "de-escalation agreement" with the aim of paving the way for a robust truce to deliver aid to war-torn areas and end hostilities; it will be enforced by the three countries’ militaries.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters that "calm was prevailing" with no air strikes or clashes in the southwest since the truce began at noon on Sunday.

"The situation is relatively calm," said Suhaib al-Ruhail, a spokesman for the Alwiyat al-Furqan rebel group in the Quneitra area. Another rebel official, in Deraa city, said there had been no significant fighting. It was quiet on the main Manshiya front near the border with Jordan, which he said had been the site of some of the heaviest army bombing in recent weeks. A witness in Deraa said he had not seen warplanes in the sky or heard any fighting since noon.

Separately, a Syrian official indicated that Damascus approved of the ceasefire deal, describing the government"s silence over it as a "sign of satisfaction".

"We welcome any step that would cease the fire and pave the way for peaceful solutions," the government official told Reuters.

Free Syrian Army fighter near an anti-air craft machine gun in Quneitra, Syria July 8, 2017.

So far so good, however this won"t be the first time that a Syrian ceasefire agreement was implemented, only to crumble shortly after, especially with the tide of Syria"s proxy war turning in Assad"s favor over the past year: with the help of Russian air power and Iranian-backed militias, Assad"s government has put rebels on the back foot over the last year. Furthermore, the wide array of mostly Sunni rebels which include jihadist factions and other groups supported by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies, have suffered a potentially terminal drop in support following the Qatar diplomatic scandal, which has made it virtually impossible for either Saudi Arabia or Qatar to continue providing logistical and financial support to the Syrian rebel groups.

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President Vladimir Putin, who discussed the issue with Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Hamburg, called the ceasefire agreement “a breakthrough, to a certain extent,” noting that the deal was made possible by Washington’s “more pragmatic stance” on working with Russia. While little is known about how the truce will play out on the ground, it is understood that Russian, American, and Jordanian forces will be deployed to the area to stabilize the situation.

“In the first stage, Russian military police, as well as the Americans and the Jordanians, will ensure security around this de-escalation zone covered by the ceasefire,” Lavrov explained.

Trump addressed the ceasefire on Sunday, tweeting "We negotiated a ceasefire in parts of Syria which will save lives. Now it is time to move forward in working constructively with Russia!"

...We negotiated a ceasefire in parts of Syria which will save lives. Now it is time to move forward in working constructively with Russia!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2017

The deal marks the first peace-making effort in the Syrian war by the U.S. government under Trump, appearing to give him a diplomatic achievement at his first meeting with Putin. 

According to Reuters, Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that the ceasefire agreement clearly states that “Russia, Jordan, and the United States are committed to Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as UN Security Council resolutions that pave the way to political reconciliation” and added that deal includes "securing humanitarian access and setting up contacts between the opposition in the region and a monitoring center that is being established in Jordan"s capital."

Free Syrian Army fighters rest inside a room in Quneitra, Syria July 8, 2017.

The United Nations, in turn, has stated that it appreciates the international effort being made to bring lasting peace to this part of Syria. “This is a step in the right direction,” UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy told reporters in Damascus, as cited by Reuters. “All of this leads to supporting the political process,” he added.

Under the memorandum, all hostilities between government forces and the armed opposition should cease within the safe zones. Extremist groups, including Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra  will be separated from the ‘moderate’ opposition in security zones set up in the cities of Idlib, Latakia, and Homs, as well as parts of Aleppo.  Checkpoints and observation posts will be installed along the de-escalation lines within the safe zones, which should provide free movement for unarmed civilians and humanitarian access to areas under the control of the guarantor states.

Syrian Army Gains Control of Jordanian and Iraq Border Areas

(image: © AP Photo/ Raad Adayle)

On Friday, the Syrian Army, along with allied forces, announced it reached Iraqi border areas northeast of al-Tanf – taking control after eliminating pockets of terrorist fighters in the area.

Commander of Russian forces in Syria General Sergey Surovikin said “(t)he offensive along the western bank of the Euphrates is gaining momentum in the northeast of the Aleppo province.”

“Units of the Syrian armed forces and people’s militia have driven out militants of ISIL from…Maskanah, Ramtan, Shatna and approached the city of Tabqa.”

“They have gained control of the Jira airport, which has strategic importance.” In the last month alone, Russian warplanes carried out 1,268 sorties, destroying 3,200 terrorist facilities.

Government forces are advancing in other areas, including the eastern Qalamoun mountains and strategic heights near Palmyra, expanding safe zones around the Damascus/Palmyra highway and Tiyas airbase.

Control over the Shaer gas field was established, along with Syria’s border with Jordan, a major accomplishment.

It closes off an avenue for US-backed terrorists to enter southern Syria through the Hashemite Kingdom, complicit with Washington’s aggression on the Syrian Arab Republic.

General Surovikin announced what happened, saying “(a)s part of the advance of the Syrian army and militia on Daesh’s positions, control over 105 kilometers of the Syrian-Jordanian border has been restored.”

“The efforts of government forces on establishing full control over the Syrian-Jordanian border and the border with Iraq continue.”

A day earlier article quoted Surovikin, saying US-led coalition forces are undermining anti-terrorism operations by “striking the Syrian military (and) allowing IS militants to leave encircled areas unhindered.”

“The coalition air forces and the (terrorists they support, masquerading as moderate rebels) blocked the way of the government forces, tasked with defeating (ISIS).”

“This is a violation of the sovereign right of Syria to protect it borders.” It’s a flagrant breach of international law.

Russia, Iran and Hezbollah are on the side of the angels, aiding Syrian forces combat terrorism – America and its rogue allies their enemies, supporting the scourge they claim to oppose.

WHITE HELMETS: Terrorist Whistleblower Exposes Staged Chemical Weapon Attacks

By: 21st Century Wire | 

On the back of reports that the White Helmets had recently, sent a team to Ariha in Idlib, with the intention of staging another chemical weapon attack, Syrian Arab News Agency has focused on interviews with captured terrorist fighters. These NATO and Gulf state-armed terrorist testimony adds another layer to the ever increasing evidence that the NATO and Gulf state-multi-million-funded White Helmets are nothing more than “Al Qaeda with a facelift”, designed to fabricate the intervention-supporting narratives on behalf of the US, UK & their NATO/Gulf state partners.

Aleppo, SANA – Terrorist, Walid Hendi confessed to taking part in fabricating videos and photos for a Turkish TV channel while working with the so-called “White Helmets” that depict neighborhoods and areas in Aleppo being attacked with chemical weapons in order to blame the Syrian Arab Army.

In confessions broadcast by the Syrian TV on Saturday evening, al-Hendi said that he joined the “White Helmets” three years ago in return for receiving funds from the so-called “local council” and financers from Arab Gulf countries.

Hendi said that they were told that there will be chemical attacks, and they were given protective clothing and they staged a fake chemical attack that was filmed by a Turkish channel, adding that they were filmed by two people called Ibrhaim al-Haj and Mohammad al-Sayyed as they sounded sirens and brought stretchers to transport supposedly injured people, with the intent of posting these videos online and accusing the Syrian Arab Army of carrying out a chemical attack.

The terrorist also confessed to taking part in fabricating videos and photos depicting alleged attacks several times.

A Russian diplomatic and military source had revealed on May 4th that reporters working for Qatar’s al-Jazeera TV filmed a fake chemical attack against civilians in Idleb province in order to blame the Syrian Army.

In turn, terrorist, Imad Abdeljawad said in similar confessions that terrorists in Aleppo possessed toxic chemicals and that he took part in transporting them.

Abdeljawad said that he was asked to transport what were claimed to be cleaning agents from al-Sukkari neighborhood to al-Ameriya neighborhood to cover up the fact that they were actually transporting dangerous chemicals, adding that after unloading materials from two cars and starting with the third, they wanted to know what materials they were transporting because their smells were agitating, particularly since he suffered asthma.

He went on to say that he saw people in silvery clothing, protective masks, and long boots transporting the materials to a basement, and they looked through windows and saw them opening barrels and pouring a liquid from them into cylinders, and when the man in charge of the terrorists noticed that Abdeljawad and his cohorts were watching he expelled them and prevented them from bearing arms.

Back in January, army engineering units uncovered, while combing the Old City neighborhoods in Aleppo, an amount of chemical materials of Saudi origin left behind by terrorists, which included sulfur, chlorine, and other materials.

Russia Ready To Send Ground Troops To Syria: FARS

Iran news agency FARS reports that according to Syrian military sources, Moscow has informed Damascus of its preparedness to dispatch ground troops to Syria.

FARS - which like most US media should always be taken with a gran of salt - quotes the Al-Hadath news, according to whose sources Russia has announced that in case of the Syrian army"s request it is ready to send ground forces to Syria. The sources said that special Russian forces are prepared to be deployed in regions which are experiencing the most pressures by the terrorist groups.

They added that the technical aspects of the plan have been studied and prepared by Russia, saying that the plan can be implemented upon Russian President Vladimir Putin"s order after Damascus" official request.

A Russian daily reported earlier this month that the country"s soldiers are about to shoulder the responsibility of restoring security to the Christian-populated regions during the Syrian Army"s imminent anti-terrorism operations in Northern Hama.

FARS adds that according to Russian Izvestia, the Russian units will help popular forces in Hama province to restore security to the town of Mahradeh, whose population are mainly Christians.  The daily added that terrorists are under the Syrian Army"s siege from all directions.

There have been fierce clashes between the government forces and militants near Hahradeh since April 4th. "Informed sources" believe that the army intends to complete the siege of the terrorists in Northern Hama to clean the region up to the border with Idlib province.

A deployment of Russian troops in Syria may coincide with a deployment of US ground forces to Syria. Two weeks ago, Bloomberg reported that Trump"s national security advisor, H.R. McMaster was planning on sending between 10,000 and 50,000 troops to Syria. Needless to say, a showdown between thousands of Russian and US troops in Syria is unlikely to have a happy ending.