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Four shipments have been sent in the last 8 months, according to the Wall Street Journal, including a shipment of more than 30,000 tons in May.Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his state-owned oil company are sending large shipments of diesel fuel to Syria to power Damascus' tanks and other military vehicles used in the ongoing crackdown on rebels.
The fuel deals have been negotiated between oil company Petroleos de Venezuela and Sytrol, Syria's state oil-marketing firm, which is facing sanctions from the United States and the European Union. Credit: Newsmax
The activists and witnesses say troops shelled the village of Treimsa with tanks and helicopters before storming the area. A rebel leader put the death toll at more than 200. State-run Syrian media say troops battled an armed group in the area and, as in previous mass killings, blamed the massacre on those it calls terrorists.
Thursday's reported massacre comes as the United Nations Security Council debates imposing tough new sanctions on the Syrian government if it keeps attacking the opposition and civilians with heavy weapons. The Western-backed resolution also leaves the door open to possible military intervention. But Russia is threatening to veto the resolution. It wants to simply extend the mandate of the U.N. observer mission in Syria for another three months.
Moscow has been one of Syria's closest allies and has vetoed previous U.N. action. The Syrian ambassador to Iraq, Nawaf Fares, who has defected to join the opposition, is urging Syrian soldiers to join him. He says there is no honor in killing one's own people. Fares is the highest-ranking Syrian official to switch sides since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 16 months ago.
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If confirmed, it would be the worst single incident of violence in 16 months of conflict in which rebels are fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad and diplomacy to halt the bloodshed has been stymied by jostling between world powers. The Revolution Leadership Council of Hama told Reuters the Sunni Muslim village of Taramseh was subjected on Thursday to a barrage of heavy weapons fire before pro-government Alawite militiamen swept in and killed victims one by one. "More than 220 people fell today in Taramseh. They died from bombardment by tanks and helicopters, artillery shelling and summary executions," the regional opposition group said in a statement on Thursday evening.
Syrian state television said three security personnel had been killed in fighting in Taramseh and it accused "armed terrorist groups" of committing a massacre there. Fadi Sameh, an opposition activist from Taramseh, said he had left the town before the reported killing spree but was in touch with residents. "It appears that Alawite militiamen from surrounding villages descended on Taramseh after its rebel defenders pulled out, and started killing the people. Whole houses have been destroyed and burned from the shelling. "Every family in the town seems to have members killed. We have names of men, women and children from countless families," he said, adding many of the bodies were taken to a local mosque.
Ahmed, another local activist, told Reuters: "So far, we have 20 victims recorded with names and 60 bodies at a mosque. There are more bodies in the fields, bodies in the rivers and in houses ... People were trying to flee from the time the shelling started and whole families were killed trying to escape." The reports could not be independently confirmed. Syrian authorities severely limit access for independent journalists.
Seventy-eight people were shot or stabbed dead or burned alive in the village of Mazraat al-Qubeir, a Sunni hamlet, by fighters of Assad's Alawite sect on June 6, and 108 men, women and children were massacred in the town of Houla on May 25. Most of Assad's political and military establishment are minority Alawites, who form a branch of Shi'ite Islam. The revolt and the fighters behind it, and the street protesters who launched the revolt in March 2011, are mostly Sunni Muslims. While the insurgents have been unable to match the Syrian army's firepower, they have established footholds in towns, cities and villages across Syria, often prompting Assad's forces to respond fiercely with helicopter gunships and artillery.
DEFECTING AMBASSADOR CONDEMNS ASSAD
One Syrian rebel fighter told the French News Agency the fighting is the "turning point" in the 17-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. Activists said Monday the fighting had spread to several neighborhoods and into the center of the city. Residents are fleeing neighborhoods under attack and government armored vehicles line the roads leading into and out of southern Damascus. The spread of fighting came as U.N. peace mediator Kofi Annan was going to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has resisted Western calls to increase pressure on Assad. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday accused the West of using 'blackmail" to pressure Moscow into backing a stronger U.N. resolution against Syria.
Lavrov said that tying the threat of sanctions to a measure that would extend the U.N. observer mission in Syria is a "dangerous approach." He also rejected suggestions that Russia is protecting the Syrian president. "Of course you've heard the mantra many times that Moscow holds the key to the Syrian solution," Lavrov said. "When we ask them what they mean by that, they tell us, 'you should convince Assad to resign on his own will.' But this is unrealistic, I've already said that." "It is not a question of our allegiances, sympathies or dislikes," he said. "He will simply not go. Not because we defend him, but simply because he has a very, very substantial part of the population behind him.''
The U.N. Security Council is considering tough new sanctions on Syria, as a deadline looms for renewing its observer mission in the country. But Russia has threatened to once again veto any sanctions, saying it wants only to extend the observer mandate for three months. "It is unacceptable to use monitors as a bargaining chip," Lavrov said.
UN fears crisis
Meanwhile, a top United Nations official warned Monday that many more Syrians will die if donors do not contribute added funds for humanitarian aid to Syria. We need more money," said John Ging, operations director for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "If we do not get more money, people will die and there will be more humanitarian suffering."
Ging said the Syrian government is generally honoring an agreement it signed with the United Nations six weeks ago to expand humanitarian aid.
He said aid agencies delivered food to 500,000 people last month. Ging said he expects aid to reach 850,000 people this month. But he said the gap between the needs and the means is widening.
The United Nations has appealed for $180 million for its humanitarian operations inside Syria. In addition, it is asking for $193 million to assist a growing number of refugees in neighboring countries. Each of these appeals is only 20 percent funded. Humanitarian efforts are further hampered, Ging said, by the Syrian government's refusal to grant visas to international staff from nations its sees as hostile. He said the Syrian government will not issue visas to U.N. staff who are citizens of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and France.
Civil war
The most senior Syrian politician to defect to the opposition has told the BBC the regime will not hesitate to use chemical weapons if it is cornered. Nawaf Fares, ex-ambassador to Iraq, said unconfirmed reports indicated such weapons might have already been used. The comments were made as clashes were reported in Baghdad Street, central Damascus, and fighting spread in suburbs around the city. Syria peace envoy Kofi Annan is due to hold talks with Russia's president.
Russia is a key ally of Syria and the meeting comes amid mounting pressure for tougher international action against the country. Syria has been in turmoil since March last year when an uprising against the government of President Bashar al-Assad began. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is due in Beijing for talks with the Chinese leadership, which has joined Russia in vetoing sanctions. Diplomat efforts come as UN officials complained of huge obstacles put in the way of its aid operation in Syria.
'Wounded wolf'
Syria is known to have a significant stockpile of chemical weapons. There have been growing concerns in neighbouring countries and among Western governments about the security of such weapons should the regime fall. Asked if he thought President Assad might use chemical weapons against the opposition, Mr Fares told BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner in an interview in Qatar that he would not rule it out, describing Mr Assad as "a wounded wolf and cornered". "There is information, unconfirmed information of course, that chemical weapons have been used partially in the city of Homs," he said.
Mr Fares's claim that Sunni Muslim militants in al-Qaeda are collaborating with a regime dominated by those from the minority Allawite sect will surprise many. Challenged on his view that al-Qaeda was collaborating with the regime despite this, Mr Fares said: "There is enough evidence in history that lots of enemies meet when their interests meet." He added: "Al-Qaeda is searching for space to move and means of support, the regime is looking for ways to terrorise the Syrian people." Mr Fares is the most prominent politician to defect since the uprising against President Assad began. He has held senior positions in the ruling Baath Party and powerful security services, and served as governor in several provinces.
'Elements of blackmail'
The secret order, referred to as an intelligence "finding," allows for clandestine support by the CIA and other agencies. It was unclear when the president signed the authorization for Syria, but the sources said it was within the past several months. The Obama administration has said it will step up its assistance to the opposition in the wake of last month's failure by the U.N. Security Council to agree on tougher sanctions against al-Assad's regime. Exactly what type of support the finding authorizes is also unclear. The Obama administration has ruled out arming the rebels for now, providing only nonlethal assistance, such as communications equipment. Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department approved a license allowing the Washington Syrian Support Group to provide direct financial assistance to the Free Syrian Army. The Washington-based representative of the Free Syrian Army is allowed to conduct financial transactions on the rebel group's behalf but is not allowed to send military equipment.
During the war in Libya, Obama signed a similar directive authorizing covert assistance for rebels in the battle against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The Obama administration has resisted arming the opposition, in part, because U.S. officials don't know enough about the rebels. U.S. officials have told CNN that Washington is cooperating with countries that are arming the rebels, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to help find groups worthy of aid. Diplomatic sources have also said the United States is providing intelligence on Syrian troop movements, which is then passed to rebel groups. Foreign policy experts on Wednesday urged the Obama administration to increase its support of the armed opposition.
Testifying before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Andrew Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy argued the United States should start arming the Syrian opposition, but only under the right conditions. "At this point, given the direction of the conflict, I think that what we need to do is assess which groups could we and should we arm at what point, and make that decision," Tabler told the Senate panel. "I think that we're actually at that decision, given where the conflict is going." James Dobbins of the Rand Corporation agreed. "The time has come to consider and pick those groups that are most consistent with our interest and our vision for the future and begin to advantage them in terms of the internal politics, by providing assistance, including perhaps money as well as arms and advice," Dobbins said.
Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel now with the Brookings Institution, recommended arming the opposition, but in a "wise way." "We need to do it in a way that, first of all, we understand who we're supporting and what their intentions are," Indyk said. The State Department said Wednesday the United States has set aside $25 million for "nonlethal" assistance to the Syrian opposition, with another $64 million in humanitarian assistance for the Syrian people. The humanitarian aid, which includes funding for the World Food Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other aid agencies, helps support the tens of thousands of refugees streaming across Syria's borders to neighboring Turkey and Jordan.
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Obama's order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence "finding," broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad. This and other developments signal a shift toward growing, albeit still circumscribed, support for Assad's armed opponents - a shift that intensified following last month's failure of the U.N. Security Council to agree on tougher sanctions against the Damascus government. The White House is for now apparently stopping short of giving the rebels lethal weapons, even as some U.S. allies do just that.
But U.S. and European officials have said that there have been noticeable improvements in the coherence and effectiveness of Syrian rebel groups in the past few weeks. That represents a significant change in assessments of the rebels by Western officials, who previously characterized Assad's opponents as a disorganized, almost chaotic, rabble. Precisely when Obama signed the secret intelligence authorization, an action not previously reported, could not be determined. The full extent of clandestine support that agencies like the CIA might be providing also is unclear. White House spokesman Tommy Vietor declined comment.
'NERVE CENTER'
A U.S. government source acknowledged that under provisions of the presidential finding, the United States was collaborating with a secret command center operated by Turkey and its allies. Last week, Reuters reported that, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Turkey had established a secret base near the Syrian border to help direct vital military and communications support to Assad's opponents. This "nerve center" is in Adana, a city in southern Turkey about 60 miles from the Syrian border, which is also home to Incirlik, a U.S. air base where U.S. military and intelligence agencies maintain a substantial presence. Turkey's moderate Islamist government has been demanding Assad's departure with growing vehemence.
Turkish authorities are said by current and former U.S. government officials to be increasingly involved in providing Syrian rebels with training and possibly equipment. European government sources said wealthy families in Saudi Arabia and Qatar were providing significant financing to the rebels. Senior officials of the Saudi and Qatari governments have publicly called for Assad's departure. On Tuesday, NBC News reported that the Free Syrian Army had obtained nearly two dozen surface-to-air missiles, weapons that could be used against Assad's helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Syrian government armed forces have employed such air power more extensively in recent days. NBC said the shoulder-fired missiles, also known as MANPADs, had been delivered to the rebels via Turkey.
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In the latest such strike, a Syrian Air Force jet bombed the rebel-held town of Azaz near the Turkish border, killing at least 50 people and wounding more than 100. Rebel commanders and activists say their buyers are now scouring the arms black markets in the region to get the shoulder-fired missiles that can counter the government airstrikes. According to opposition activist Tony al-Taieb, who works with the rebel military council in Aleppo, representatives with cash from rich Syrian exiles are negotiating to buy the portable surface-to-air missiles, often called SAMS or MANPADS, for Man-Portable-Air-Defense-System. Dont believe everything you hear about the Qataris and Saudis supplying us with heavier weaponry, al-Taieb says. We are getting hardly anything from them.
Al-Taieb said acquiring as many MANPADS missile systems as possible was now the highest priority for the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the umbrella organization for many of the rebel brigades that have been trying to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the past 18 months. He said the government airstrikes on Aleppo, Azaz, Tel Rifat and villages such as Akhtarin and other settlements closer to the Turkish border were apparently designed to menace the rebel enclave in the region and disrupt rebel supply routes from Turkey. Military analysts say shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles can turn the tide of battle in an insurgency war like the one in Syria.
The example most often cited is the Afghan Mujahedeen insurgency against the Soviet Army in Afghanistan 25 years ago. Many military analysts say U.S.-supplied Stinger portable missiles downed dozens of Moscows feared Hind attack helicopters and helped the Afghan guerrillas defeat the Soviets. According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, many of the casualties in the town of Azaz were women and children buried under piles of rubble. Opposition activists in Azaz said the death toll would likely rise to 25.
Rebel commanders say portable surface-to-air missiles could help them defend towns such as Azaz and even give them the advantage in Aleppo, where forces loyal to President Assad managed to uproot rebels from parts of the city after eight days of bloody fighting. We need a no-fly zone and, failing that, anti-aircraft missiles, says Zaher Sherkat, a 32-year-old commander of the rebel Abu Bakr brigade. The unit is now down to about 120 fighters after losing 20 men in the Aleppo fighting. We have had 20 martyrs from my brigade and about 30 wounded, he says.
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