Islamic Front – Army Of Islam

General Authority of Moral Guidance

Media Office

Review of the most important newspapers headlines

about Syria

The Guardian:

-The refugee challenge: can you break into Fortress Europe? - interactive

Interactive, 14 Jan 2014: As EU governments have made it harder to seek refuge in Europe, the flow of refugees fleeing the world's most desperate conflicts is increasing. We invite you to make the choices real refugees have to make and find out what it's really like to look for safety in Fortress Europe -WikiLeaks party's Syria visit is a damaging and misguided PR coup

14 Jan 2014: Antony Loewenstein: The WikiLeaks party's 'fact finding mission' in Syria, and its meeting with Bashar al-Assad, amounts to little more than a propaganda coup – and does nothing to push for true peace -Turkish police raid aid agency's offices in 'crackdown on al-Qaida'

14 Jan 2014: One person held in raid on Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) in Kilis, bordering Syria, amid police operations in six cities

The Times:

-We have to help Syria rebels, MPs tell Cameron

David Cameron has come under fresh pressure to consider arming Syrian rebels after demands from a cross-party group of MPs to “redress the military disadvantage” in the conflict. In a letter in The Times today, signed by politicians from all three main parties, MPs call on the “Geneva II” Syrian peace conference next week to “chart the transition to a Syria free of Assad’s rule”

-Assad forces exploit rebel weaknesses in bid to

seize Aleppo

President Assad’s troops have exploited ferocious infighting between rebels and foreign jihadists allied to al-Qaeda to gain lost ground in and around the key northern city of Aleppo, potentially tipping the balance of the three-year conflict. In a major setback for anti-regime forces, troops loyal to the regime have consolidated recent gains around the country’s largest city, conquering new approaches and threatening rebel supply routes from Turkey. -The UN now supports three quarters of the

country’s 20 million population

Sir, This month’s Geneva II conference must focus exclusively on the needs and wishes of the Syrian people, whose call for freedom has been brutally suppressed since 2011. To bring about a just,

sustainable resolution to the conflict it must address two fundamental, interlinked issues. First, it must chart the transition to a Syria free of Assad’s rule. The diplomatic success on removing chemical weapons must not deflect focus from the core challenge: a dictator whose regime continues to kill, maim and drive from their ruined towns countless thousands using conventional weapons. Secondly, Geneva II must

The Independent:

-Russia and US unite to push for Syria ceasefire as

Kerry and Lavrov meet in Paris

The US and Russia have discussed a ceasefire in

Syria and the delivery of humanitarian aid to

besieged rebel-held areas, as the civil war between

rival rebel groups intensifies.

-'You need to go to Geneva': Opposition source

reveals threat made by Britain and US over Syria

peace talks

Britain and the US have threatened to withdraw

support from the Syrian rebels unless they attend

forthcoming peace talks, a senior member of the

opposition to Bashar al-Assad's regime has claimed.

The New York Times:

-Kerry Urges Syrian Rebels to Go to Peace Meeting

ROME — Secretary of State John Kerry told the

Syrian opposition that support for the group could

be reduced if it decided not to attend the coming

peace conference in Switzerland, Western officials

said on Tuesday.

-Syrians May Allow the Delivery of Some Aid

PARIS — The Syrian government has told Russia

that it is prepared to allow the delivery of

humanitarian aid to some besieged areas in Syria,

including East Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus where

160,000 people have been without assistance for a

year, Russian and American diplomats said on

Monday.

-Syria Rebels Turn Against Most Radical Group

Tied to Al Qaeda

BEIRUT, Lebanon — As a government warplane

soared over the northern Syrian city of Raqqa

recently, a fighter from the Islamic State of Iraq and

Syria, the country’s most radical group linked to Al

Qaeda, watched from behind an antiaircraft gun

mounted on a pickup truck. Fighters and activists

from rival insurgent factions urged him to fire. He

did not.

TIME:

-Syria’s Humanitarian Disaster: How Aid Has

Become a Weapon of War

Syria has become the world’s worst humanitarian

catastrophe. More than 2 million Syrians have fled

the country, another 6.5 million inside Syria are no

longer living in their own homes and three-quarters

of the population are expected to need

humanitarian aid in 2014.

-Syria’s Deadly ‘Barrel Bombs’: Assad Regime

Uses Devastating, Makeshift Weapon

As the Syrian opposition tears itself apart in the

country’s rebel-dominated north, the regime of

President Bashar Assad is wasting no time pushing

for advantage near the capital.

The moment of barrel falling in Daraya city,

southwest of Damascus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_emb

edded&v=tBw0CCBj3EA

Washington Post:

-Starvation reported at Palestinian camp in Syria

BEIRUT — Disturbing images of emaciated children

and elderly people who appear to have died of

hunger are emerging from a Palestinian refugee

camp on the edge of Damascus, where thousands

are at risk of starvation after months of living under

siege, U.N. officials and camp residents said

Tuesday.

-U.S., Russia call for trust-building ahead of Syria talks, spar over whether to invite Iran

PARIS — The top U.S. and Russian diplomats

sparred publicly here Monday over whether Iran

should be invited to attend Syria peace negotiations,

while the special U.N. envoy hosting the talks again

agreed with Russia that Iran should be included.

-UN returns to Kuwait in search of new Syria aid

KUWAIT CITY — Relief aid officials are hoping

wealthy Gulf states and other international donors

gathering for a major fundraising drive in Kuwait

will step up their giving to help Syrians affected by

the country’s civil war, warning that conditions are

fast deteriorating as refugee numbers grow and

prospects for a cease-fire remain elusive.

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