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NGOs fall victim to Syrian “Oppostion” that many of them once supported

Observatory in the crosshairs for its coverage
December 31, 2013 – By Marlin Dick – The Daily Star

BEIRUT: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, one of the leading sources of information about the war in Syria, has received death threats over its work from members of the opposition, the group said Monday.

The Observatory, which is based in the United Kingdom and relies on a range of sources from inside the country, said it was being targeted by a “methodical campaign” by activists that reminded it of the methods of the Syrian regime.

The organization provides nearly hourly updates of armed clashes between the warring parties, as well as the shelling and airstrikes conducted by government forces, and the acts of violence undertaken by some rebel groups, particularly when they target civilians.

It has also publicized the grisly videos of summary executions conducted by the most hard-line rebel groups, such as the Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Observatory said it had recently received a large number of messages of intimidation and death threats, sent to both its official Facebook page and the accounts of a number of activists working with the group.

Observatory director Rami Abdel-Rahman told AFP that the threats originated from Islamist extremists, declining to specify which ones.

“These groups are trying to locate our sources in the regions under their control,” he said, particularly in the north and east of the country, as well as in parts of Damascus province.

“These sources are being threatened,” he said.

However, the Observatory has come in for harsh criticism by mainstream opposition supporters, particularly in the wake of two recent incidents in the province of rural Damascus.

These took place in Adra, an industrial suburb in Damascus, and near the town of Nabk, in the Qalamoun mountains north of the capital.

In Adra, which was stormed by rebel units earlier this month, the Observatory said that more than a dozen civilians – mainly from minority religious sects such as Alawites and Druze – had been slaughtered during the offensive.

But pro-opposition sources quickly countered the version of events. They said that the rebels, which included the hard-line Nusra Front Al-Qaeda affiliate, did kill people in Adra, a sprawling industrial area that also contains a notorious prison. …more

December 31, 2013   No Comments

Regime Rhetorically addresses torture allegations after pressure from Rights Community

Bahrain says probing torture claims by men jailed in bombs case
30 December, 2013 – Reuters

Bahrain said on Tuesday it was investigating torture claims by three men jailed for 15 years for two homemade-bomb attacks – including one during last year’s Formula 1 car race.

On Sunday, five men – including two who were tried in absentia – were convicted by a court for their role in the blasts, which destroyed several vehicles but caused no injuries, according to the Gulf Arab state’s official BNA news agency.

BNA said the men had admitted being behind the bombings but the men’s lawyer, Jassim Sarhan, told Reuters they pleaded not guilty to involvement in the attacks and told the court their confessions during questioning were obtained under torture.

“The Kingdom of Bahrain does not and will not tolerate any form of torture or mistreatment. The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) did receive complaints from the defendants,” the government’s Information Affairs Authority (IAA) said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

“The SIU takes these allegations very seriously and have looked into these claims. Their investigation is currently ongoing. We can’t give further information until the investigation is completed.”

Bahrain, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, has been in political turmoil since a 2011 uprising led by majority Shi’ites who demand more say in running the kingdom, which is ruled by the Sunni Muslim al-Khalifa dynasty.

Widespread and excessive force, including confessions under torture, was detailed in a report by an international human rights commission led by Cherif Bassiouni, a prominent Egyptian-American jurist.

The Bahrain government says it has taken steps to address security forces actions, but activists say abuses continue.

The SIU was set up as part of the Bassiouni commission’s recommendations.

The Manama government quelled the 2011 revolt in the island kingdom, but almost daily protests and small-scale clashes continue, and bomb attacks have been increasing since mid-2012. …source

December 31, 2013   No Comments

Russian press calls for intensified efforts against Saudi backed Terrorism ahead of Sochi

Russian press calls for crackdown on terror
30 December, 2013 – BCC

Commentators in Russian newspapers call for a tough response to terrorism, saying there could be further attacks with the Winter Olympics due to begin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in six weeks.

Two deadly blasts in the southern Russian town of Volgograd – one which ripped a trolleybus apart during Monday’s rush hour and another at the railway station on Sunday – are being given widespread coverage by the media, with suspicion falling on Islamist hardliners.

While one paper quotes security experts as suggesting the station attack was the result of a failure of the special services, a commentator in another believes Russia needs to deal with Arab countries allegedly supporting Islamic terrorism within the country.

A writer in a tabloid says the state should be tough not only with terrorists, but with their families who fail to report preparations of attacks.
‘Unfriendly measures’

The pro-government daily Izvestiya quotes security experts as attributing the railway station blast to a failure of the special services. They suggest various remedies, including the stepping up of intelligence gathering, ending uncontrolled migration, as well as surveillance of women who have recently converted to Islam.

The terrorist underground has changed its tactics, and Russia needs to react as soon as possible, the experts are quoted as saying.

Kirill Benediktov, writing in Izvestiya, expects further attempted terrorist attacks in Russia until the Olympics in Sochi are over, and believes the attacks are intended to discredit Russia.

”There is no doubt that the Salafist regimes of the Persian Gulf, primarily Saudi Arabia, have been supporting Islamic terrorism in Russia… Russia is now strong enough to afford unfriendly measures towards the regimes that have been using the Wahhabi fifth column in order to destabilise the situation in our country,” says Benediktov.

Galina Khizreyeva, a specialist in radical Islamism at the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies, is quoted by the popular daily Moskovskiy Komsomolets as saying that Volgograd is vulnerable to attack and that people there are not yet fully aware of the danger. …more

December 31, 2013   No Comments

Saudi backed Terrorists Carry-out Bloody attacks in Russian City

Saudi Funded Terrorists Carry-out Heinous Attacks on Russian Civilians
30 Decemebr, 2013 – by Kumar Moses – LankaWeb

Saudi Arabia had its plans to subjugate Syria and expand its hegemonic presence in the Middle East. However, they collapsed when Russia brokered a peace deal backed by warships and nuclear submarines in the Mediterranean. Arabian leaders offered several bribes to the Russians but failed to implement their evil plan. Powerful Prince Bandar, head of Saudi intelligence, then threatened the Russian President to disrupt Sochi Winter Olympics.

In his own words to President Putin Prince Bandar said, “I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us.”

“These groups (Chechnyan terrorists) do not scare us. We use them in the face of the Syrian regime but they will have no role in Syria’s political future.”

True to his word, Saudi operated Islamic terrorist groups have carried out two disgusting terrorist attacks in the same manner they attacked London transport system in July 2005 (7/7). In two separate Islamic terror suicide bomb attacks, dozens of Russian civilians have died. This comes just weeks to Sochi Olympics. It is a clear act of vengeance by Saudi Arabia in punishing Russia for brokering a peace deal in Syria (ruled by a Shia Muslim) and Iran (largest Shia Muslim nation).

Saudi Arabia has emerged as the Mecca of Terrorism. Its terrorist operations range from Indonesia to USA and Russia to Africa crisscrossing the world. With rapid increases in defence expenditure, Saudi Arabia is now the world’s top defence spender after USA, China and Russia. Saudis have made it clear to pursue nuclear ambitions either on its own accord or through Pakistani nuclear weapons technology. It must be stopped before it unleashes terror as a political tool against the civilized world. …source

December 31, 2013   No Comments

Saudi Intelligence Chief Bandar, follows through with Terrorist Attacks in Russia

Bandar-controlled terrorists threaten Russia
28 October, 2013 – PressTV

During his recent visit to Moscow, some weeks ago, Saudi intelligence chief Bandar bin Sultan told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Saudi-controlled militants in the Caucasus will not disrupt the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi only if Russia backed away from its support for Syria. Putin reportedly rejected the proposal.

“We know that you have supported the Chechen terrorist groups for a decade. And that support, which you have frankly talked about just now, is completely incompatible with the common objectives of fighting global terrorism that you mentioned”, Putin is said to have answered.

There are good reasons for Bandar and the Saudi ruling family to be angry at Russia (and lately at the US, too). Saudi Arabia´s plans against Shiites and the Axis of Resistance in the Middle East have been undermined by Russian policies in Syria, Iran and elsewhere. Bandar planned to overthrow Bashar al Assad in Syria through a US attack and the action of terrorist groups there, to isolate and destroy Hezbollah and to push Washington into a confrontation with Tehran.

However, Bandar clearly misunderstood Russia, Iran and Hezbollah and their determination to support their Syrian ally and to defeat his plans. Russia deployed a powerful fleet in Eastern Mediterranean and made it clear that it was willing to support and protect Syria.

Therefore, Bandar could try to take revenge on Russia through his terrorist tools. This is of course insane, but his threats to Russia (and now to the US) are themselves evidence of his insanity and stupidity and led the world public opinion to understand that the Saudi regime itself is a real problem for the region and the world. …more

December 31, 2013   No Comments

Bahrain Regime Steps-up Misinformation Campaign to Spin Fiction of Armed Insurrection

Bahrain says weapons seized, car bomb defused
30 December, 2013 – By REEM KHALIFA – Associated Press

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) – Bahraini officials seized stocks of weapons, including some being smuggled in by sea, and defused a car bomb during two days of security raids in the restless Gulf nation, the country’s public security chief said Monday.

Authorities also announced the capture of a speedboat allegedly smuggling out 13 people, including one Saudi, wanted in connection with security cases in Bahrain. They were carrying passports, different types of currency, phones and personal belongings, according to a government statement.

Bahrain is a small island kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia that hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. More than 65 people have been killed in violence since protests led by the country’s Shiite majority began in February 2011 calling for a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled nation.

Bahrain accuses Shiite powerhouse Iran of aiding the uprising. Tehran denies the accusations.

“Bahrain is still facing systematic terrorism from many parties,” government spokeswoman Sameera Rajab said.

Public Security Chief Tareq al-Hassan said operations carried out Saturday and Sunday led to the seizure of plastic explosives, detonators, bombs, automatic rifles and ammunition. The weapons were found in a warehouse and onboard a boat intercepted as it was heading to the country, he said.

Included in the cache discovered onboard the boat, which was first detected in international waters off Bahrain’s northeastern coast, were “50 Iranian made hand bombs” and nearly 300 commercial detonators marked “Made in Syria,” according to a government statement.

Iran is the main regional backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government.

The car bomb authorities dismantled was discovered in the busy central district of Hoora in the capital, Manama, the government said.

…more

December 31, 2013   No Comments