Syrian Military Starting To Suffer Heavy Losses

Syrian Rebels Capture 256 Government Soldiers In Idlib -- Epoch Times

Syrian rebel forces on Friday captured nearly 260 government soldiers in the restive northern part of the country after clashes in several towns in the area, said a pro-opposition group.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that rebels captured 256 regime soldiers throughout the week in the towns of Khirbet al-Jouz and Reef Jisr al-Shughour, both in Idlib province—one of the most hard-hit areas during the 19-month-long conflict.

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Update: Rebel fighters 'capture' Syrian soldiers -- Al Jazeera

My Comment: This comes on the heels of yesterday's report that 106 Syrian soldiers were killed in the past two days.

After almost 18 months of fighting, 33,000 have been killed so far, 1,000 in just the past five days. With winter approaching, I expect this death toll to skyrocket from disease and the absence of proper medical facilities.

The Battle For Aleppo Continues

CNN Inside Syria: Snipers, Bombs - And Sometimes Open Bakeries -- CNN

In parts of Aleppo on Monday, snipers fired from roofs of buildings and artillery fire rang out, while other areas of the city are oddly normal.

CNN's Ben Wedeman and crew are some of the few international reporters in Syria, whose government has been restricting access on foreign journalists and refusing many of them entry.

In the besieged Aleppo neighborhood of Salaheddin, Wedeman said drivers had to dodge piles of rubble in the streets. Residents evacuating to safer neighborhoods left their homes with all the belongings they could carry, he said.

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My Comment: Some places in Aleppo are functioning normally .... but you just know that this is not going to last.

Pentagon Chief: US Military Has Contingency For Civilian Safe Havens In Syria

US Military Has Contingency For Civilian Safe Havens If Syria Violence Escalates -- The Guardian

Pentagon remains reluctant to intervene in Syria, but defence secretary tells Congress all military options are under review

US defence secretary Leon Panetta disclosed Thursday the Pentagon has plans in place for establishing humanitarian corridors in Syria, an idea publicly aired by French president Nicholas Sarkozy earlier in the day in Paris.

Panetta, giving evidence to the House armed services committee, said the plan for humanitarian corridors was under review in the Pentagon along with other military options for intervention aimed at helping the Syrian opposition and toppling Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

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My Comment: Who is going to enforce these humanitarian corridors? My betting is that the Pentagon is planning to use US air power coupled with UN forces/observers on the ground to enforce it .... and if not UN forces .... someone else (I will let your imagination run wild on this one). But bottom line .... US forces are now one step closer to becoming militarily involved in the Syrian civil war.

Russia Boycotts 'Friends Of Syria' Meeting In Paris

Brief Russia-West Détente On Syria Conflict Comes To An End -- Christian Science Monitor

Russia rejected an invitation to Paris to discuss next steps for Syria, saying that world leaders seemed more intent on helping the rebels than on brokering peace.

Russia today categorically refused to join about a dozen Western and Arab foreign ministers gathering in Paris to discuss ways to pressure Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to abide by the terms of the United Nations peace plan, alleging that the meeting's intent was "counterproductive."

Moscow's self-exclusion from the latest "Friends of Syria" conference – which will include top policymakers from the US, Germany, France, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and other countries – suggests that the recent reconciliation between Russia and the West over how to approach the Syrian crisis may be short-lived.

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More News On Russia Boycotting The 'Friends Of Syria' Meeting In Paris

Russia says Friends of Syria meeting is destructive -- Reuters
Russia says Paris meeting hurts Syria peace talks -- NOW Lebanon
Russia: No progress in Syria -- UPI
Russian FM says only UN can evaluate success of Annan’s cease-fire plan for Syria -- Washington Post/AP
Russia accuses 'external forces' of undermining Kofi Annan's Syria plan -- The Guardian
Foreign ministers to discuss Syria in Paris; Russia boycotts ‘one-sided’ meet -- Al Arabiya
France slams 'isolated' Russia over Syria talks snub -- Expatica
Different approaches, same goal? UN vs. Friends of Syria -- RT

Defectors From The Syrian Military Unite Under The 'Free Syrian Army'

Military Defectors Unite Under Free Syrian Army -- CNN

(CNN) -- A top defector from the Syrian military said Saturday that armed rebel groups have aligned under the leadership of the Free Syrian Army.

Uniting all efforts will bolster the anti-regime movement and safeguard the nation, Brig. Gen. Mustafa Sheikh said in a video posted on YouTube.

The move addressed a key concern for observers of the Syrian crisis both inside and outside the country -- that armed rebel groups were disjointed and divided.

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More News On the 'Free Syrian Army'

Syrian rebel groups create formal alliance, but still depend on homemade weapons -- MSNBC
Syria’s armed opposition chiefs form military council to unite ranks -- Al Arabiya
Free Syria Army -- Bloomberg
Rebel chiefs form military council to unify ranks -- Gulf Times/AFP

My Comment: The rebels should have done this months ago.

A Syrian Invasion Would Involve 300,000 Soldiers And Cost $300 Billion A Year

Syria Invasion Could Cost $300 Billion Per Year -- USA Today

A U.S.-led military operation to topple Syrian President Bashir al-Assad's regime could cost up to $300 billion a year and require 300,000 troops.

That's the estimate of the Brookings Institution, which issued a report Monday as Syrian opposition groups continue to plead for Western and regional help as Assad's forces pound rebel fighters and civilians mercilessly. The Obama administration has, for now, ruled out using American military power to oust Assad.

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Update: Think tank: US intervention in Syria could require 300K troops, cost $300 billion -- The Hill

My Comment: Fortunately .... invading Syria has zero support in Washington .... and even less in the American public.

Civil War In Syria -- News Updates March 19, 2012

Fierce Fighting In Damascus Signals Rebels Remain Unbowed -- Christian Science Monitor

Today's fighting in Damascus and three weekend car bombings suggest a protracted fight between rebels and the Syrian Army, despite recent tactical gains by the regime.

Fierce fighting in the Syrian capital of Damascus today as well as three weekend car bombings and the spread of anti-regime demonstrations in the north signal that that the year-old rebellion will persist despite recent tactical gains by the Syrian military.

Early today, heavy clashes were reported to have broken out in the affluent Mezze neighborhood in west Damascus between members of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and security forces. Syrian TV said four people died, including three “terrorists” and a member of the security forces. Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 18 soldiers or security personnel were killed. Another unverified report said as many as 80 people died in the pre-dawn clashes.

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More News On Syria's Civil War

Syria: Overview -- Yahoo News
Syria Live Blog -- Al Jazeera
Syria: 'heavy fighting' in Damascus - Monday 19 March 2012 -- The Guardian

Intense Fighting Rocks Syrian Capital -- Voice of America
Syria: heavy firefight breaks out in Damascus -- The Telegraph
Fighting Flares in Elite Area of Syrian Capital, Activists Say -- New York Times
Syrian forces fight with rebels in rare Damascus clashes -- FOX News/AP
In Syria, clashes reported in affluent Damascus district -- L.A. Times
Syrian troops fight rebels in rare clashes in regime stronghold of Damascus -- Washington Post/AP
Syrian rebels move in on key Damascus neighborhood -- CNN
Rare gunbattle erupts in Damascus, signaling rebel presence -- Washington Post
Upscale neighborhood becomes Syria battleground -- MSNBC
'Heavy fighting' shakes Syrian capital -- Al Jazeera
Syria car bomb kills 2, injures 30 in Aleppo -- L.A. Times
Explosion Hits Aleppo; Syrian Crackdown Continues -- Voice of America
An Iraq-style civil war seems to be taking off in Syria -- Haaretz
Syria accuses Arab states of role in new bomb attacks -- Sydney Morning Herald
Western powers draft new U.N. council statement on Syria -- Reuters

Syria: dramatic increase reported in foreign arms supplies to Assad regime between 2007-2011 -- The Telegraph
Syria arms imports surge, most provided by Russia -- Reuters
Syria stocking up on Russian weapons, report says -- CBC/AP
Report, Visit Push Syria's Russia Connections to Fore -- The Moscow Times
Russian navy's oil tanker makes stop in Syrian port -- FOX News/AP
Black market for weapons nearly depleted, smugglers to Syria say -- Toronto Star/L.A. Times

Russia Seeks Red Cross Cooperation on Syria -- RIA Novosti
Red Cross Chief Urges Syria Aid Access at Talks in Moscow -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Russia 'positive' on Syria daily aid truce: ICRC -- Reuters

Violence in Syria: Whodunnit? -- Economist
Syria's conflict has significance far beyond its borders -- Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times
Why Syria Won't Get the Libya Treatment from the West -- Vivienne Walt, Time
It’s right to intervene in Syria, but we shouldn’t do it -- Kelly McParland, National Post
Syrian Regime Resembles Mafia Cartel -- Spiegel Online

UN: 8,000 Have Died In Syria's Revolution (So Far)

UN: Syrian Uprising Death Toll Passes 8,000 -- CBS News

(CBS/AP) UNITED NATIONS - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says well over 8,000 people have died in Syria over the past year due to the government's violent repression of the uprising against President Bashar Assad.

The U.N. chief raised the death toll from 7,500 in a statement Thursday marking the first anniversary of the uprising.

Ban said the "brutal repression" by Syrian authorities is continuing unabated and called the status quo "indefensible."

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My Comment: Some are contending that the figure is actually higher.

Civil War In Syria -- News Updates March 12, 2012

Massacre Of The Innocents: Bodies Of Up To 57 Women And Children Discovered In Syria -- Daily Mail

* Many had been tortured, some of the women raped
* Several had broken necks or limbs and many had been set ablaze

At least 47 women and children, including two three year-olds, have been executed by militia loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad and the death toll is expected to rise, activists claimed last night.

Opposition officials described the murders as a 'massacre' with the bodies of 26 children and 21 women found so far.

Some of the victims are said to have been beaten and tortured before being lined-up and shot through the heart or head, others were stabbed in the back or had their throat slit in the Karm el-Zeytoun district of the embattled city of Homs.

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More News On Syria's Civil War

Syria: Overview -- Yahoo News
Syria Live Blog -- Al Jazeera
Syria: new 'massacre' in Homs as diplomacy stalls - Monday 12 March 2012 -- The Guardian

'Massacre' in Homs as Syria attacks intensify -- Al Jazeera
Syrian forces accused of killing 45 women and children -- The Telegraph
Activists: More than 50 massacred in Syria -- CBS/AP
45 women, children killed in Homs massacre, Syrian opposition says -- CNN
Syria: Massacre In Homs Leaves Dozens More Dead -- L.A. Times
47 bodies found after 'massacre' in Homs: Syria opposition -- Times of India/AFP
Syria challenges Homs video -- UPI
Syrian ground forces storm rebel stronghold of Idlib -- Yahoo News/AFP

Syria mines Turkish border -- Boston.com/McClatchy news
Turkey: Syrian Strife Could Have Unsettling Impact on Southern Province -- Eurasianet.org

Syrian opposition calls for Arab, Western intervention -- Reuters
Syrian opposition: International military intervention ‘urgent’ following Homs killings -- Washington Post
Syrian 'massacre' spurs call to action -- News.com.au

Annan: Killings of civilians must stop in Syria -- AP
Annan to meet Syrian opposition in Ankara: spokesman -- Reuters
Al-Assad, Annan talk candidly in Damascus amid fresh violence -- CNN
UN's Annan Leaves Syria Empty-Handed -- Voice of America
Peace envoy to Syria is optimistic despite failed talks -- L.A. Times

US and UN demand end to Syria bloodshed -- Al Jazeera
Russia and China block British attempts at UN to end Syria bloodshed -- The Telegraph
US and Russia clash over Syria at UN -- AP

Syrian refugees and rebels: pictures by Telegraph photographer David Rose -- The Telegraph
Camp of Free Syrian Army (Photo Gallery) -- World Bulletin
Despite the horrors of Homs, Syria's rebel leaders are bullish as Assad's regime 'rots from the inside' -- Michael Weiss, The Telegraph
Military intervention could improve situation in Syria, or make it much worse -- Peter Goodspeed, National Post
Politicizing Intelligence on Syria -- Elliot Abrams, Weekly Standard