The Russian ceasefire in Aleppo, initially eight hours but since extended to 11, has now been extended through Saturday, insisting they want to support efforts to get civilians out of the Nusra Front-held eastern part of Aleppo. There were reports of skirmishes on the ground near one of the designated evacuation zones, but no Russian airstrikes.
The evacuations are slow going so far, with pro-rebel activists urging civilians not to leave, claiming the ceasefire is a Russian lie and that they’ll exterminate every civilian who tries to leave through the zones. The lack of formal UN involvement in the evacuation has also deterred many.
That may change, however, with UN humanitarian officials saying they’re planning a formal medical evacuation for wounded civilians on Friday, having received assurances that the ceasefire will last through that period. They did warn, however, that getting it organized that quickly will be difficult, and anything could still go wrong to stop it.
The US and EU have been pressuring Russia to halt all airstrikes against Aleppo permanently, while Russia has been urging them to get everyone away from the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front. While Russia has extended to ceasefire with an eye toward that happening, so far nothing is happening.
Don’t know who you can trust ? UN doesn’t want to act on a 8 hr bombing halt . Russia doesn’t want Al Nusra and ISIS to rearm . Terrorists are hiding as civilians . The Hostages will be killed if they try to leave and Russia will kill them if the don’t leave .
Excellent summary. I wonder is there a way to dislodge terrorists once they get to control the bunker they created — and have population hostage. The world will have to feed them, and the terrorists get the first dibs. I see a problem with the technology today. There is nothing to be done to isolate the weapon holding terrorist from civilians — or to cut off their communications. It does appear that Al-Qaeda in Aleppo is by far more sophisticated then ISIS.
It is a smart move to evacuate as many as possible and demonstrate the terrorists are hindering the process to keep as many people hostage as possible.
I agree. The evacuations are happening because Syrian army is taking ground offensive on two opposite sides, from the south and the north. Those are areas with a great deal of structures, convenient to Al-Nusra — such as a college, warehouses, etc. etc. A suburban area. Syrian Army is not taking too many chances, and advancing no more then a few hundred feet a day. But that is not the point — the point is, Al-Nusra cannot afford to stop manning these fronts — as if broken, Army is inside the city, and can protect itself by the same buildings Al-Nusra now holds. The point was — take as many resources away from the areas where the corridors are open — to allow trickle of people to come out.
The question remains, are any of other groups there independent? To my knowledge from earlier reports, all of them are under Al-Qaeda command. The population is just as much hostage here as in Mosul. Perhaps more.
The Human Rights Commission is a bizarre document, of course, political. However, it is also frighteningly naïve. When one considers the magnitude of tragedy that armed militants can bring when state institutions break down, and are overwhelmed by armed groups, one has to consider the consequences of not acting swiftly and decisively in the interest of preserving stability. Because for as long as you have a functional state, you can improve on its governance and democracy, but one cannot have a democracy without a state.
If international community in the form of UN Commission on Human Rights gives more rights to terrorists then to state — trying to bring about the end of terrorizing population — we have reached the end of civilized life. This may be the globalist heaven, the ability to destroy any smaller, and less protected state — but it is a nightmare for the mankind. Mankind is in fact too slow to grasp that we are dealing with a globalist restructuring of our institutions and even conscience.
I am very troubled by the direction the human rights crowd in UN is headed. It in effect made a rule that institutions of state cannot defend the population in the face of armed terrorist groups. The groups, without any defined constituency, representation or political goals — are not even equal in rights to the institutions and the laws of state. They are HIGHER. Period.
Thus, rights of groups that chose to perpetrate violence is considerably higher then the rights of the citizens of a country to defend the institutions, laws and the peace of their country! This is globalism on steroids! Naturally, this was all wrapped up into the suffering, and they are the moral arbiter of the guilt for suffering.
And the right to disrupt, start a revolution, violence against population on vast scale and with unprecedented brutality — has become in fact, the newest human right. The right of the population to be defended by its legitimate authority is NO longer recognized as legitimate. The commission has taken an extreme position that the rebels and the state are legally equal in their rights to use force, and are thus merely factions vying for power.
Population legal rights to protection, duties of the state institutions — after the first bullet is fired — do not exist. State, by this ruling, has no right to protect population in the face of armed groups that can at will occupy villages, townships or blocks of large cities. The commission actually told Syrian people today that their laws can be abrogated by force. And if armed groups have the patronage of other countries — the rights of these outside parties supersede the rights of population, that from that point on — have no voice or representation. In fact, it appears from the ruling that their only rights exist to the extent that the group that rules them — choses to give.
Holding people by force, executions, liquidation and torture — are not really ANY any more the concern of the state; the state ceases to exist the moment it is militarily challenged. Thus — any military action by the state, and anyone supporting the state — is by definition criminal. Any such military action is thus undertaken against the population — the population being defined as the rights-bearing “rebel” groups, and those in population that de facto became their subjects.
Of course, all this is wrapped up in the language of human suffering, etc. But there is no escaping — UN Agency is in business of violating UN Charter and the sovereignty of member states. The human rights are not rights in a vacuum, they must exist in the context of responsibility and accountability. And some idle prince — that is known for this advocacy for blasphemy — is here to preach the new globalist religion of supremacy of a chosen and exceptional, over the laws of states and other people.
Trump is amazingly prescient. In his document on Foreign Policy Strategy he makes a poignant case for the illusion of universal human rights. I just wish he had the capacity to be a bit more articulate, and make a his case to the American people — instead of engaging in a “debate”. He has described the delusions of the globalist nirvana — no borders, no country, no laws, individual ripped away from the bonds that tie to family, community, country.
And above all, as this Commission proves, globalist NATO block in UN still has the power to make many countries vote in favor of such a document, and it proved that it had just ONE more vote then the combined votes of “no” and “abstain” to pass. It is still by far easier for many countries to just vote for, or abstain from voting — for as long as they know that NATO block has one vote to prevail.
But the time is coming, when rationalizing away the “abstain” vote — will no longer be not just cowardly, but also against their own interests. They are setting precedents — and cannot in good conscience to rationalize their easy way out by abstaining. Lose of not — countries need to think much more seriously about the votes they cast.
The head of the Human Rights Commission is a Prince from Jordan, married into European elite, like his father before him. He was part of the UNPROFOR in former Yugoslavia — where he learned the ropes of lying in the interest of the globalist elite.
“Because for as long as you have a functional state, you can improve on its governance and democracy, but one cannot have a democracy without a state.”
Actually, democracy and state are opposites and enemies, and whenever the state is allowed to exist it inevitably grows until it strangles every last vestige of democracy.
Oct 21, 2016 Putin warns Americans: You’re being distracted!
Of all the internal problems the Presidential candidates could solve – Clinton harps on about “Russian aggression.” Going into Russophobic overdrive in recent days – it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see whose side the zio-media are on.
https://youtu.be/Nnqx6PYLqoQ