ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Winds of Change The famous “Assad curse” has a corollary that states whoever says “Poroshenko must stay” is likewise not long for this political world. After all, the forcible regime change in Ukraine was part and parcel of the same strategy that has driven the wars in Libya, Syria, and elsewhere. Therefore if Western leaders who are responsible for these conflicts are being ousted, not only is it not good news for the jihadis in Syria, it also means the Ukrainian neo-nazis’ days are likewise drawing to a close. Poroshenko’s recent trips to United States and France were likely calculated to gauge the level of support his administration can still count on in the changed political environment. While we, as members of the public, are not privy to what was said behind closed doors, the external indicators are that Poroshenko has not received what he came for. The meeting with Trump was extremely brief, took place during a break during Trump’s briefing with other senior administra

Lebanese army soldiers. Al-Akhbar/Marwan Tahtah On Saturday, the Lebanese Military Intelligence arrested Ahmed Khaled Diab, known as “Ahmed Abu al-Seek” in the vicinity of Arsal town. Abu al-Seek is a member of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and was involved in the attack on the Lebanese Army forces in Mahaniat Arsal in 2014. Abu al-Seek confessed that he had participated in the killing of the colonel in the Lebanese Army, Noureddine al-Jamal. Moreover, Palestinian forces in Ein al-Hilweh camp handed over to the Lebanese Army the terrorist, Khaled Masaad, known as “Al-Sayyid”. Al-Sayyid is accused of plotting a series of terrorist attacks during the holy month of Ramadan in the cities of Beirut and Sidon. The wanted terrorist was handed over to the Lebanese Army at the checkpoint of Al-Hilweh camp south of Sidon City. Meanwhile, the Hezbollah media wing in Syria announced that a group of Israeli Army troops along Merkava tanks, 5 Humvees and a military jeep penetrated the withdr

FILE IMAGE The Hezbollah media wing in Syria announced on Saturday that the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) managed to secure the entire Al-Baath city in the Quneitra countryside and restore all areas that it had lost to terrorists. The army restored the last two points in western Al-Baath that had been under the control of Haya’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) militants and its allies in the Free Syrian Army (FSA), after violent clashes with them. Meanwhile, The Israeli military announced that a shell fired from the Syrian side landed in the Israeli-controlled territory. In turn, Israel conducted military strikes on the SAA near Naba’a Al-Fuar in Qaunitra countryside. During the HTS-led attack in the province, Israel had repeatedly claimed that its territory were targeted from Syria and had carried out several airstrikes on SAA defenses in Al-Baath. Initially, HTS and its allies in FSA in the operation room “Jaysh Muhammad” managed – with the support from the Israeli Air Force – to control

Sputnik/ Mikhail Voskresenskiy The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has captured Tal Hweimel, east of Tel Dakwa, in the desert of Damascus, after clashes with the US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups. According to the Hezbollah media wing, clashes resulted in the killing and wounding of a large number of FSA fighters. From its side, the US-led coalition denied that it had transferred troops from Jaysh Maghawir al-Thawra from At Tanf to Al-Shadadi north of Deir Ezzor. The US-led coalition also announced that At Tanf is the basic base to defeat ISIS in the Syrian Desert and that it will be very important for the future of fighting terrorism in Syria. Click to see the full-size map It’s worth mentioning that the US-led coalition and the FSA have no front lines with ISIS in southeastern Syria because their forces are surround by the Syrian Army from all sides. It is believed that the US maintains its presence there only in order to threaten the capital Damascus as well as to keep co

Two ex-police officers among suspects in assassination of Federal Police officials The National Security Commission says 10 men involved in the murder of senior Federal Police officials in Veracruz last Saturday were arrested in the city of Puebla early yesterday morning. ADVERTISEMENT Juan Camilo Castagné Velasco, head of the Veracruz office of the Federal Police, was killed along with another senior officer in a restaurant in the municipality of La Antigua. A third officer was wounded. The arrest was not a peaceful one: residents of the San José Mayorazgo neighborhood, where the suspects were allegedly hiding, told the newspaper Milenio that they heard gunshots. Neighbors also witnessed the seizure of several vehicles. Police said intelligence efforts and two anonymous tips led to the apprehension of the murder suspects. Federal Police commissioner Manelich Castilla Craviotto traveled to Veracruz on the weekend to head up the investigation. The 10 detainees are originally from the s

By Moon Of Alabama The U.S. is giving up its hopeless position at the Syrian-Iraq border crossing near al-Tanf in south east Syria. The U.S. military had earlier bombed Syrian forces when they came near that position but it then found itself outmaneuvered, cut off from the north and enclosed in a useless area. Al-Tanf is in the blue area with the two blue arrows at the bottom of the map. It will soon be painted red as liberated and under Syrian government control. Source:  Al Watan Online   A more expressive version of the map: Source:  Doloroso To recap: The U.S. plan was to move from al-Tanf north towards the Euphrates river and to thereby capture and control the whole south-east of Syria. But Syria and its allies made an unexpected move and prevented that plan. The invaders are now cut off from the Euphrates by a Syrian west-to-east line that ends at the Iraqi border. On the Iraqi side elements of the Popular Military Unites under the command of the Iraqi

© coe.int The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), a supernational organization created to promote freedom, the democratic values and human rights over the Europe, has been discrediting itself. According to experts, the organization is under the presure and is factually managed by the pro-US European bureaucracy. Any points of view calling at least to establish a balance dialogue with Russia lead to a frenzied aggression from PACE members controlled by the European bureaucracy. It looks that this has led to Russia’s decision to stop its payment to the PACE. Russia has halted its participation in the PACE’s executive bodies. The Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement on the issue ( LINK ): The Russian Federation expresses concern over the aggravating crisis within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). As is known, in their attempt to “punish” the delegation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for the free expression o

FILE IMAGE The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies backed by the Russian and Syrian air forces, continued advancing east of the Arak gas field and capture several points from ISIS 3 km east and north of the field, according to the Hezbollah media wing. A report of the Iraqi Al-Ghadir TV channel, showed a large deployment of Russian troops in the Arak gas field area in order to support the SAA operation. It seems that Russia have deployed 152mm artillery units to provide fire support to Syrian forces. In the southern part of the Deir Ezzor province, the SAA captured the strategic Hamima village located 30 km east of the T-2 station and 80 km from Al-Buqmal at the Syrian-Iraqi border. According to pro-government sources, the SAA will liberate the T-2 station and the entire road between it and the T-3 station southeast of Arak gas field within few days. A Syrian officer confirmed to the Al-Ghadir TV channel that the current goal of the SAA is to seize the heights on both sides of t