ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

ALMOST A YEAR and a half into Saudi Arabia’s U.S.-backed bombing campaign in Yemen, the humanitarian toll has become so extensive that the International Committee of the Red Cross has taken the unusual step of donating entire morgue units to Yemeni hospitals. “The hospitals were not able to cope,” said Rima Kamal, a Yemen-based spokesperson for the Red Cross. “You could have more than 20 dead people brought into one hospital on one single day. The morgue capacity at a regular hospital is not equipped to handle this influx of dead bodies.” “At times several dead bodies had to be stored on one shelf to avoid further decomposition,” Kamal continued. “The situation was not sustainable.” Saudi Arabia began bombing Yemen in March 2015, after Houthi rebels took control of the capital and forced Yemen’s Saudi-backed leader, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, into exile. The United Nations has since attributed the majority of the war’s 6,500 deaths to the Saudi coalition, which the U.S. and U.K. have re

Hama, Syria (12:40 A.M.) – The jihadist rebels of Jund Al-Aqsa (Al-Qaeda franchise), alongside their allies from the Free Syrian Army (FSA), reportedly captured the village of Khattab in northern Hama after a short battle with the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). According to a military source in the province, the jihadist rebels quickly advanced south of Taybat Al-Imam to the nearby village of Khirbat Al-Hujamah, where they were once again able to overwhelm the Syrian Armed Forces. Following the capture of Khattab, Jund Al-Aqsa and their allies moved onto the key town of Khattab, where they were confronted by a small unit of Syrian Arab Army soldiers at the northern flank. Not long after the preliminary firefights at the northern flank of the town, the Syrian Armed Forces withdrew their units to the south in order to avoid being overrun by Jund Al-Aqsa and their allies. The jihadist rebels are now within 5 km of Hama City after cutting off the Mhardeh-Hama Road, which was a vital supply rout

Damascus, Syria (2:02 A.M.) – Units from the Syrian Army’s elite Republican Guard continued their advance in Eastern Ghouta capturing a 1 km squared territory from Hawsh Al-Farah in the direction of Tal Sawwan following intense clashes with the Saudi-sponsored Jaish Al-Islam jihadist group. Clashes are ongoing as the Syrian Armed Forces look to fortidy their positions in the Carton Factory that lies southwest of the horse farms. The recent military developments in the northern axis of Eastern Ghouta place the Syrian Army on the verge of cutting off the Islamist stronghold of Tal Kurdi from Al-Rayhan and Douma. As of now, only a few makeshift farm roads connect the two regions. Should the Syrian Armed Forces capture Tal Kurdi in the coming days or weeks, the would alleviate much of the danger from Adra city while ensuring the safety of the Damascus-Homs highway.

By Finian Cunningham This week Ukraine marks 25 years of independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and American news channel CNN was only too willing to lend an audacious rewriting of history to sanitize current conflict in that country. A TV newscast on Wednesday, featuring CNN anchorwoman Rosemary Church, ran the following headline: «Ukraine still fighting for independence from Moscow». The channel then cut to a report by its correspondent Phil Black from eastern Ukraine purporting to show Kiev-controlled armed forces coming under heavy gun and artillery fire from «Russian-backed separatists». Viewers were told that the separatists launched their attacks against Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) two years ago in August 2014. Between whistling bullets, the intrepid CNN reporter also informed viewers, without verification, that the Russian army was amassing troops on its side of the border with Ukraine. This absurd reduction of history provides a much-needed makeover for

TURKEY - AUGUST 24 : An Infographic with the title "Operation Euphrates Shield", created on August 24, 2016 in Ankara, Turkey. The sources said that the operation, called Euphrates Shield, is aimed at clearing terrorist groups from the Turkish border region, tightening border security, and supporting Syrias territorial integrity. (Photo by Ahmet Tamkoc/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) The Asayish (Kurdish police) began its aggression against the pro-government militia force the National Defense Force (NDF) on 16th of August when it launched an RPG attack at a checkpoint without provocation. This was not the first provocation the Asayish have committed against the NDF in Hasakah in Syria’s northeast. This has been a long ongoing issue for well over a year with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) doing very little to control the situation. In fact the YPG had encouraged the Asayish’ aggression against government forces in Hasakah.What transpired were on and off battle

The situation in Syria’s largest city of Aleppo has taken a dramatic turn as government troops and rebel forces managed to seize each other’s supply route, all within two weeks. These supply lines have otherwise been in place since 2013. Aleppo has been dubbed ‘the mother of all battles’ with good reason – some 5,000 to 12,000 fighters were lined up by Jaish al-Fateh and Fatah Halab for the southwestern Aleppo offensive, completely overwhelming the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) manpower. Although Islamist factions have definitively broken through the SAA’s defensive line in southwestern Aleppo, they are yet to secure a road safe enough for them to reach insurgents in eastern Aleppo. However, it is indeed possible for Islamist rebels to sneak into eastern Aleppo districts through tunnels and makeshift doorways in the Ramouseh district which is entirely under Jaish al-Fateh and Fatah Halab control. Meanwhile, the SAA has established a supply road along the Castello-Bani Zaid axis in northe

By Pepe Escobar So Turkish President, a.k.a. Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan is about to make a high-profile visit to Tehran – the date has not yet been set - to essentially kick start the ATM (Ankara-Tehran-Moscow) coalition in Syria. Anyone as much as hinting at such a massive geopolitical tectonic shift a few weeks ago would be branded a madman. So how did the impossible happen? A major strategic game-changer – Russia using an airfield in Iran to send bombers against jihadis in Syria – had already taken place, with its aftermath spectacularly misreported by the usual, clueless US corporate media suspects. Then, there’s what Turkey’s Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, said last Saturday in Istanbul: “The most important priority for us is to stop the bloodshed [in Syria] as soon as possible.” The rest are irrelevant “details.” Yildirim added Ankara now agrees with Moscow that Bashar al-Assad “could” – and that’s the operative word – stay in power during a political transition (although

“Russia is ready to respond to any provocation, but the last thing the Russians want is another war. And that, if you like good news, is the best news you are going to hear.” A whiff of World War III hangs in the air. In the US, Cold War 2.0 is on, and the anti-Russian rhetoric emanating from the Clinton campaign, echoed by the mass media, hearkens back to McCarthyism and the red scare. In response, many people are starting to think that Armageddonmight be nigh—an all-out nuclear exchange, followed by nuclear winter and human extinction. It seems that many people in the US like to think that way. Goodness gracious! But, you know, this is hardly unreasonable of them. The US is spiraling down into financial, economic and political collapse, losing its standing in the world and turning into a continent-sized ghetto full of drug abuse, violence and decaying infrastructure, its population vice-ridden, poisoned with genetically modified food, morbidly obese, exploited by predatory police dep

"Here it comes" may be the simplest explanation of developments inside Syria one day after Turkey sent troops and tanks across Syria's border. Russia has asked Iraq to close its northern airports due to a pending Russian military strike. Russian government has announced that it aims to launch an operation in Syria "against ISIS," urging Iraqi officials to cancel all flights in Erbil and Sulaimaniyah airports in order to prevent any hazardous incidents from happening. According to Itartas, Russian news agency, Russia announced that it is set to launch an extensive military operation under the title “pervasive destruction,” using 69 Sukhoi fighters, Tupolev bomber 160, submarines and ships in Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, Russian state has urged Iraq to put a halt to the operation of Erbil and Sulaimaniyah airports in a move to prepare for the upcoming military operations. Russia, which has already launched its air strikes since some time ago aims to extend its p

Russia is trying to coordinate with the United States in Syria and has denied any violation of UN resolutions in its use of an Iran air base, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "The main task is to finally establish coordination in resolving the Syrian crisis...We are discussing this through military, intelligence and foreign ministries," Lavrov said Wednesday at a press conference after meeting with his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully in Moscow. Lavrov said the talks were focused on specific mechanisms to implement agreements reached during a visit by U.S. State Secretary John Kerry to Moscow last month. He said Moscow and Washington are discussing with the United Nations the possibility of opening additional humanitarian corridors in the northern city Aleppo and its vicinity controlled by the Syrian army and opposition militants. The two countries were also examining the prospect of increasing control over cargo crossing the Turkish-Syrian border

As many as 46 Islamic States (IS) militants have been killed so far in Turkey's operation in northern Syria, Dogan News agency reported on Wednesday. Turkey-backed Syrian rebels, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), have now taken four villages in northern Syrian, Dogan said. Turkish jets and tanks along with howitzers are reportedly still barraging IS targets in Jarablus in northern Syria. It was the first time for Turkish F-16s to enter Syrian airspace since a Russian jet was shot down last November. A statement issued by the prime minister's office said the cross-border operation was aimed at driving out IS terrorist militants. The "Euphrates Shield" operation, which began at 4 a.m. local time (0100 GMT), aims to expunge Turkish borders of terrorist groups, enhance border security and uphold Syria's territorial integrity, the statement said. Preventing another influx of migrants and delivering necessary aid to the region's civilian population are also among the oper

LIVE VIDEO ENGAGED / LIVE UPDATES WHEN AVAILABLE --- Despite being warned by both the Syria and Russian governments that the entry of foreign troops into Syria without permission would result in them being ATTACKED, Turkish Special Forces have entered Jarablus, Syria by force . . . with US fighter jets as cover. This is an open act of aggression by NATO ally, Turkey, against a sovereign country - being done with the protection of US military force. It is not yet known what response will be made by either Syria or its ally, Russia, but we are literally just hours away from what may be the outbreak of war between the TURKEY/US/NATO and Russia. Be it known by all that the US, through its NATO ally, Turkey, started this. They claim to be trying to attack "ISIS" but in fact, Turkey is attacking the Kurds in northern Syria; the Kurds are the ones who have been crushing ISIS! So blatant is this action by Turkey, that they are openly displaying members of the US-backed "Free

If ordinary Germans were not traumatized enough by this weekend's shocking official announcement that they should prepare to stockpile several days of food and water "in case of an attack of catastrophe" as part of the country's revised "Civil Defense Concept", then the latest news from German press agency DPA , will surely put them over the edge. DPA cites a confidential document prepared by the government according to which the government isconsidering "bringing back nationwide conscription in times of crisis", such as situations in which the country needs to "defend NATO’s external borders." "An attack on German territory that would require conventional defence is unlikely," the document said. However, civil defence measures are necessary because a "major security threat in the future cannot be ruled out," it added. The German government abolished compulsory military service in 2011, arguing that there was no l

Over 30,000 Islamic terrorists have been killed in anti-terror operations, but the authorities are having problems sending the bodies back to their country of origin, the chairman of Syria's Forensic Medicine Committee told Sputnik. © AP PHOTO/ HALIT ONUR SANDAL Turkey's Artillery Strikes on Syria Aim to 'Open Corridor for Operation' The Syrian government has been unable to repatriate the bodies of thousands of Daesh fighters who were killed in anti-terror operations, Hussein Nofal, chairman of Syria's Forensic Medicine Committee, told Sputnik. Nofal explained that after the bodies were identified and the country of origin informed, even neighboring countries proved unwilling to receive the corpses. "We managed to identify several thousand dead terrorists from France, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and other Arab countries. We have been unable to identify another 30,000 (terrorist) corpses," Nofal told Sputnik. Sadly, the doctor added that th

On August 9, the State Department approved the latest major US weapons sale to Saudi Arabia, mainly to replace tanks that the kingdom has lost in its war in Yemen against Houthi rebels and allies of the former president. The $1.15 billion deal highlights the Obama administration’s deepening involvement in the Saudi-led war, which has escalated after four months of peace talks broke down on August 6. Since then, warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition have bombed a Yemeni school, a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders, and a potato-chip factory, killing more than 40 civilians, including at least 10 children. The deal for the Saudi army to buy 153 Abrams tanks, hundreds of machine guns, 20 heavy-tank recovery vehicles, ammunition, and assorted other weapons is the latest in a series of arms sales by the United States—and, to a lesser extent, Britain and France—to the kingdom since it launched its war against Yemen in March 2015. In addition to providing intelligence assistance, W