ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Illustrative image On December 22, 121 fighters of the Ahrar al-Sham Movement from the town of Daar al-Kabira the northern Homs countryside laid down their arms and surrendered to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), according to the Russian Reconciliation Centre in Syria. The Reconciliation Centre said that the fighters agreed to surrender after a joint work between its officers and the Syrian National Reconciliation Committee. The center added that its field commanders continue to negotiate with commanders of different Syrian oppositions groups in the provinces of Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, Hama and al-Quneitra to extend the ceasefire agreement in Syria. The northern Homs countryside is one of the de-escalation zones that has been established in Syria. However, the de-escalation agreement there has been breached many times by a coalition of the Ahrar al-Sham Movement, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and several US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups. Ahrar al-Sham fighters likely surren

Written by  Shelley Kasli ; Originally appeared at  GGI News Just days after GreatGameIndia exposed how  American and Japanese companies could be hacking Indian elections , a recent  Bloomberg report  has revealed how a secret unit of Facebook has helped create troll armies for governments around the world including India for digital propaganda to influence elections. Under fire for Facebook Inc.’s role as a platform for political propaganda, co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has punched back, saying his mission is above partisanship. But Facebook, it turns out, is no bystander in global politics. What he hasn’t said is that his company actively works with political parties and leaders including those who use the platform to stifle opposition—sometimes with the aid of “ troll armies ” that spread misinformation and extremist ideologies. The initiative is run by a little-known Facebook global government and politics team led from Washington by Katie Harbath, a former Republican digital

A screenshot from the video ISIS has released a video showing a direct anti-tank guided missile strike at a helicopter in a military airport near the town of Arish in Egypt’s North Sinai. On December 19, the Egyptian military announced that an officer was killed and two people were injured as a result of the terrorist shelling in the area. The incident took place during a visit of the interior and defense ministers of Egypt to the military airport. Some sources speculated that the helicopter was assigned to them. However, neither minister was killed or injured in the attack. Video Player 00:00 00:33

Sputnik/ Genady Dubovoy Forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) are ready to counter a possible offensive of the Ukrainian Army in the region of Donbass,  according to statements of the republic’s leadership. Earlier military spokesmen of the both LPR and DPR reported that the situation had escalated at a contact line between the republic’s forces and the Ukrainian Army. Eduard Barusin, Deputy Defence Minister and defence spokesman of the DPR, told the Russian TV channel Zvezda that 20-40 Ukrainian shells hit the DPR area every day. The shelling causes civilian casualties and damages the property. However, according to local sources, the situation on the frontline remains relatively calm and no notable clashes have been reported recently.

FILE IMAGE China has received the second banch of 10 Su-35 multi-role air superiority fighters from Russia under a contract signed back in 2015, the Russian state-run news agency  TASS reported on December 22  citing a source familiar with Russia’s military and technical cooperation with foreign states. According to the source, “China will receive the remaining 10 aircraft in 2018.” The Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation has not commented on the report. Earlier TASS reported that China received the first four Su-35 fighters in late 2016. That report was also based on the agency’s sources.

Barrett M107A1. Photo: Jim Watson / AFP On December 20, the US Department of State officially confirmed that the White House has approved US commercial sale of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine. “The Department of State has licensed the commercial export of a limited number of small arms and light weapons to Ukraine from U.S. manufacturers,” a State Department official told  the Russian state-run news agency TASS . He added that the US has “never had any policy that restricts such commercial sales.” According to earlier reports, an administration of US President Donald Trump approved a commercial license for exports to Ukraine of Barrett M107A1 sniper systems, munitions and spare parts for them to a sum of $41.5 million. “We have crossed the Rubicon, this is lethal weapons and I predict more will be coming,”  the Washington Post quoted  a senior congressional official. However, the official version of the US State Departement went in another direction. Washington sa

If you’re able, and if you like our content and approach, please support the project. Our work wouldn’t be possible  without your help: PayPal:  southfront@list.ru  or via:  http://southfront.org/donate/   or via:  https://www.patreon.com/southfront ,  BTC:  13iYp9CDYZwgSnFXNtpEKgRRqaoxHPr2MH The Current State of Affairs At present time, Israel’s top political leadership is in the state of outright hysteria regarding  Lebanese Hezbollah .  Senior Israeli officials have repeatedly claimed that Israel will not allow Hezbollah and Iran to concentrate its forces in border areas and to expand their influence in the region, particularly in Syria and Lebanon. The already difficult situation in southern Lebanon and Syria was further complicated by the series of events, which contributed to the growing tensions in the region in November and early December. It started with a resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri announced from Saudi Arabia on November 7, continued with Sa