20120531-450 cip syria weapons smuggling

7/31/2019 20120531-450 cip syria weapons smuggling

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Author: OSINT – Open Source Intelligence (CCJ2-JOWO)

Title: Syria Weapons SmugglingAnalyst: SCMRef#: 20120531-450 CIPICOD: 20120531Country/Topic: Syria / Weapons Smuggling

Analyst Comment: There are widespread open source reports of weapons smuggling into Syria from all of its neighboring countries. The reports state weapons are being smuggled to the opposition groups, predominantly throughLebanon, but also through old established routes through Iraq that remain from the Iran-Iraq war, and Jordan and Turkey. Iran is accused of shipping arms to back the Assad government, and some of the arms

are further smuggled through Syria into Lebanon to aid Hezbollah, and to Hamas in Palestine. Smuggling isreportedly done by land, sea, and air. All neighboring governments deny the shipping of arms, but do agreethat smuggling occurs and prosecutes when discovered.

Supporting Documentation:

31 May 2012Al BawabaIranian Arms Supllied To Assad Regime Through Civilian AirplanesIran is using its airliners to send weapons and explosives to the regime of Bashar al-Assad and Hizbullah inLebanon, said the German television channel, ZDF. Citing sources within Western intelligence services,ZDF said that the transfer of the arms shipments were made via Yas Air and Iran Air companies, which aresupposed to carry passengers.

Turkish security officials have discovered, according to ZDF, weapons and explosives on board of a Yas Air aircraft in March 2011 whose final destination was Damascus.

According to the sources of German television, the Revolutionary Guards stand behind this operation. Thetype of weapons sent to Syria has not been specified.

On Monday, the British newspaper The Guardian reported that a senior official of the Revolutionary Guardshad acknowledged that Iranian forces were operating in Syria to support the regime of Assad. According tothe Guardian, Ismail Gha'ani, vice commander of the al-Quds force, the armed wing of the RevolutionaryGuards, said in an interview with the semi-official ISNA News Agency: "If the Republic Islamic was notpresent in Syria, massacres have been taken in a much broader scale. " "Before we intervene, too manypeople were killed by the opposition, but through the physical and nonphysical presence of the Islamicrepublic, great massacres have been avoided".

According to the Guardian, the interview published last weekend, was removed from ISNA website.

31 May 2012NaharnetAnnan Arrives in Beirut to Warn Lebanese Officials of Repercussions of Syrian CrisisU.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan arrived in Beirut on Thursday to hold talks with senior Lebaneseofficials, An Nahar newspaper reported.

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Annan is expected to tackle the Lebanese-Syrian border and voice fear that the Syrian crisis is spilling over into Lebanon amid the latest security incidents in the country, the daily said.

He will warn Lebanese officials against destabilizing the country, diplomatic sources told An Nahar.

According to the daily, Annan will hold talks with President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and PrimeMinister Najib Miqati.

Miqati headed to Turkey on Wednesday for talks with senior officials and to follow up the new developmentsregarding the case of the 11 Lebanese pilgrims, who were kidnapped in the Syrian province of Aleppo lastweek.

An Nahar reported that Suleiman will inform Annan that there are no Lebanese groups smuggling weaponsto the Syrian opposition and reveal the security, military and judicial measures taken by the Lebaneseauthorities to halt arms smuggling operations.

Annan arrived in Jordan on Wednesday from neighboring Syria on a two-day trip.

The peace envoy urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to take immediate steps to end 15 months of bloodshed and warned the country has reached a "tipping point."

Lebanese are deeply divided between partisans and opponents of Assad as fear is surging that the violencein Syria could spill over to Lebanon and fracture its fragile peace.

An estimated 24,000 Syrians have sought refuge in Lebanon, mostly in the northern region of Wadi Khaled,after Assad began using force to crush a popular uprising that erupted in March 2011.

31 May 2012Ma'anIsraeli Army 'May Act to Stop Syria Weapons Smuggling' Israel will consider using military action to intercept the transfer of weaponry or other weapons from Syria togroups like Hezbollah, an Israeli army official said Wednesday.

Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan made the remarks during an anniversary conference marking Israel's first war inLebanon, The Jerusalem Post, an English-language Israeli daily, reported.

He said the first challenge for Israel would be to obtain intelligence that such a transfer has taken place, but

that once Israel knew it would need to consider action, the Post reported.

Golan's remarks came a day after Western powers expelled Syria's envoys in outrage at a massacre of 108people, almost half of them children.

The killings in the town of Houla drew a chorus of condemnation from around the world, with the UN sayingentire families were killed in their homes on Friday, some by army tanks and others probably by pro-Assadmilitia.







Peace envoy Kofi Annan has urged President Bashar Assad to take bold steps to halt the bloodshed, whileothers declared a negotiated solution between Assad and the opposition less likely than ever.

31 May 2012The Pioneer Arming Rebels Won’t Resolve Syrian CrisisBy Mayuri Mukherjee

Another Friday, another massacre, another round of international condemnation, and another hundreddead.

That essentially is the sum of much of what happened in Syria this past weekend, and indeed over manysuch weekends in the last 15 months. On Friday, more than a 100 people were killed as the central Syriantown of Houla and its surrounding villages in Homs Province came under fire. An attack on a regimecheckpoint was followed by relentless shelling and firing until armed militants rode into the town earlyevening and summarily executed residents, most of whom were Sunni Muslims and defectors from theSyrian Army. The dead included a disturbingly high number of children and women.

In the aftermath of Friday’s horrific killing, several Western nations expelled Syrian diplomats from their capitals even as Mr Kofi Annan, the UN-appointed peace envoy, travelled back and forth from Damascus toassess the situation in Houla and may be, just may be, convince President Bashar al-Assad to give up hisviolent ways. Ultimately, Mr Annan ended his efforts in the case with the unremarkable observation that,after a year of conflict, Syria was at “tipping point”, and then appealed to Mr Assad for “bold steps, now —not tomorrow, but now”. This is hardly the kind of rhetoric that can be expected to bring about a change of heart in Mr Assad. Then, what can bring about that change of heart?

Peaceful negotiation with the stakeholders is perhaps the easiest answer available, but these recentmonths have shown that at the end of the talk is, well, just that — talk. One diplomatic initiative after theother has failed in Syria, including Mr Annan’s peace plan. The UN may continue to add more peaceniks tothe Syrian Team but the fact remains that it will take more than one miracle to change anything at all.

If the manner in which Mr Assad first accepted Mr Annan’s six-point ceasefire plan and then systematicallytrampled upon its every term and condition is anything to go by, it is time we stop pretending that diplomacyis the way out. Sure, it was an effort worth making — diplomacy has succeeded in the past, most recently in2008 when Mr Annan himself resolved through peaceful negotiations a violent electoral dispute betweenwarring parties in Kenya — but the time for talking while Mr Assad continues killing is now perhaps over.

Or, is it? When is it ever the right time to invoke the Responsibility to Protect? How do you decide that now,and not three weeks or six months later, is the time to militarily intervene in the affairs of another nationeven at the cost of endangering the other’s sovereignty? How do you ensure that your actions today will notbe used to justify the illegitimate plans of tomorrow? Finally, then, when do you know that the time hascome wherein the risk of inaction will be greater than the risk of action? The July 1995 massacre atSrebrenica was the catalyst that finally compelled Nato to take action and launch a bombing campaign. Willthe horror of Houla provoke a similar international effort in Syria? It seems unlikely. So, will be powers-to-bewait till it is too late to make a difference like they did in Sudan or Rwanda?







There are no easy yes-or-no answers here, not with the failure of a similar mission in Libya still loominglarge. Nato’s carpet bombing campaign of Libya in the summer of 2011, in a supposed bid to assist thatcountry’s rebel groups against Col Muammar Gaddafi, may have helped end the Libyan leader’s tyrannicalregime but it has not brought either peace or democracy to the North African nation which now teeters onthe brink of anarchy.

As of now, it seems like there are no best — no, not even good — options on the table. Diplomacy hasfailed and military intervention with a UN mandate is not possible. But then, so is allowing the carnage tocontinue, and arming the rebels should never have been on the table in the first place. The world mustdecide which option, of the few that exists, will lead to the least possible damage. Worryingly though, itseems like a covert decision has been made in favour of one of the most damaging options ever — arming

the rebels.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that US officials have confirmed that they are seriously lookinginto the possibility of “vetting” members of the Free Syrian Army, the umbrella group of Syrian rebel fightersthat include some military defectors, to decide if they may be “suitable recipients of munitions to fight the

Assad Government”. The US already provides non-lethal aid, such as communication devices andmedicines, to the Syrian rebels — a move that already makes Washington, DC vulnerable to the samecharges of forcing a regime change that it faced during the Libyan campaign. Now, it seems like it is only astep away from actively arming the rebels.

This is hugely problematic but only made worse by reports that some other countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and a few Gulf nations may have already begun the process of arming therebels.

Indeed, there has been a slew of credible reports that private businessmen in Turkey are smugglingweapons into Syria. Weapons are also being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib near the Turkish border and inZabadani on the Lebanese border, the Washington Post reported. Syrian rebels have been quoted in theinternational media as saying that the shortage in weapons is no longer as acute as before, possiblybecause of the millions of dollars in funding from Arabia. They also claim to have contacted weaponsdealers in Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia and Azerbaijan, although it remains unclear if they have received anypositive responses.

If anything, these reports give credence to the Assad Government’s claims that foreign hands are behindthe uprising and that there is a concerted effort by the West to bring about a regime change. It also lays theground for a wide-ranging ethical debate on the issue. However, what is of far greater concern at themoment is the eventual fall out of the arming of the Syrian rebels.

Kalashshinov and AK-47s in the homes of average Syrians, children playing with automatic pistols, bulletmarks on every wall of every building… the world has seen it before. Do we really need another

Afghanistan in Syria?

30 May 2012Jerusalem PostIDF May Act To Stop Syria Weapons Smuggling







IDF commander says that Israel must obtain intelligence that weapons transfers from Syria to Hezbollah aretaking place.

Israel will consider using military action to intercept the transfer of advanced weaponry or chemicalweapons from Syria to a terrorist organization like Hezbollah, OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Golansaid on Wednesday.

Speaking at a conference marking the 30th anniversary of the First Lebanon War at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Golan said that the first challenge for Israel would be to obtain intelligence that such atransfer has taken place, but that once Israel knew it would need to consider action.

"Would it be wise to intercept such a transfer or would this be nonsense," Golan asked, presenting thedilemma Israel would face.

The senior officer said that Syria was a "failed state" and that terrorists were already "flourishing" within thecountry.

"Terror is already flourishing in Syria and the terror threat towards Israel is forming," he said. "It will nothappen tomorrow but we need to be prepared. It is not hard to think of a reality in which al-Qaida elementsalready in Syria and fighting the regime will start to act against us. It is also possible that without a clear regime, Syria will also become another area of operations for Hezbollah."

Golan said that Iran was deeply concerned with the possibility that Bashar Assad will fall and is providingSyrian security forces with support, directly and via Hezbollah.

"Iran is here and we are fighting a daily war indirectly against Iran from Islamic Jihad in Gaza to Hezbollahin Lebanon," he said. "Iran's influence in Syria is also felt. It is very concerned with the future of its allyBashar Assad and is trying to help him directly and via Hezbollah."

Golan issued a direct threat to Hezbollah and said that the IDF would deal it a "fatal blow" and defeat it in afuture war.

"This defeat will be demonstrated by the capture and killing of Hezbollah fighters, the capture of their weapons and the destruction of their infrastructure," he said.

30 May 2012Xinhua

Ship Seized Carrying Arms for SyriaSyria's ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim Ali expressed his government's gratitude to the Lebanese

Army and security apparatuses for seizing the ship suspected of smuggling weapons for the Syrian rebels,the National News Agency (NNA) informed the official Chinese News Agency.

Lutfallah II, a Sierra Leonean-flagged vessel was intercepted by the Lebanese Navy on April 27. Weaponswere found aboard its three containers. As a result, 21 people were charged and 14 are in custody.







The ambassador said in a letter to Lebanese foreign minister that Syria was keen to know the results of theinvestigation of the incident, adding that they "expect serious and sustained follow-up of the case to preventsuch violations, which represent a risk for both Lebanon and Syria."

Ali also denied that his country accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of being behind the incident, saying "Wedid not say this and did not accuse in this fashion."

"However, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, in the words of their own foreign ministers, announced backing the(Syrian) fighters and the opposition," he added.

30 May 2012The Muslim NewsLebanese Join The Free Syrian Army’s StruggleKhaled had crossed the border from Syria less than an hour earlier, using routes controlled by armed Syrianrebels to reach the frontier from his base in Homs.

Hidden inside a temporary two-room safe house in a remote area near Qaa, Khaled explained why he, aSunni Lebanese from a village in the Bekaa Valley, had volunteered a year ago to join the Free Syrian

Army, the main armed group fighting to overthrow the regime of President Bashar Assad.

“Today there is a need for jihad in Syria, a jihad for righteousness. It is a religious duty to help our Muslimbrothers in Syria,” he says, his portly frame sitting on the edge of a narrow bed.

In his late 40s and sporting a thick beard and wearing a black turban, Khaled is one of an estimated 300Lebanese from the Bekaa Valley who have joined the revolt against the Assad regime.

Most of the volunteers have joined regular FSA brigades, but, according to Lebanese militants allied to theFSA, there is even one exclusively Lebanese armed unit numbering between 20 to 30 men who operatebetween the border and the Syrian town of Qusayr.

The militants say that other Arab nationals also are fighting alongside Syrian rebels, including citizens fromTunisia, Algeria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The presence of non-Syrian Arab militants underlines how thesteadily worsening violence and sectarian nature of the conflict is turning Syria into a new theater of jihad.

Khaled, who says he has fought in the Baba Amr and Khaldiyah districts of Homs, joined the anti-Assadstruggle a year ago.

“It was hard at the beginning to join because it was a matter of trust. They [the FSA] kept me under watchfor three months before they could fully trust me,” he said.

His son, he added with a hint of paternal pride, had been fighting for three months without a break.

“The sheikh he is fighting alongside tells me that he’s doing fine,” he said.







Khaled admitted having no former combat experience although he had previously served in the Lebanese Army. However, prior to departing for Syria, he received some basic training in weapons handling andguerrilla warfare skills at an ad hoc training camp in the northern Bekaa.

This small-scale and rudimentary military training program began in the wake of Hezbollah’s brief takeover of west Beirut in May 2008 in response to the then government’s decision to shut down the party’s privatecommunications network. The move triggered a week of factional fighting that left over 100 dead, broughtthe country close to civil war and left many Sunnis harboring feelings of humiliation and resentment towardtheir Shiite opponents.

Mustapha, a former militia veteran of the civil war, said that following the May 2008 “events” he helped train

a handful of secret “sleeper” cells in anticipation of future clashes with Hezbollah. But today, he added, allthose he trains are volunteers for the armed struggle in Syria.

Mustapha said he waits until he has around 10 people who want to join the Syrian rebels and then takesthem to an orchard where he delivers “classroom” lessons in basic military skills in a small farmhouse. Thepractical training, which includes learning how to plant roadside bombs and landmines, takes placeafterward in rugged unpopulated areas of the Bekaa Valley.

Given the recent violence in the north Lebanon regions of Tripoli and Akkar, much scrutiny is being given tothese volatile areas. But the northern Bekaa has the potential for far greater instability given the closeproximity of villages and towns around Hermel in the Shiite-populated western flank of the valley whereHezbollah and the powerful clans predominate and the Sunni locales further east where residents activelyassist the Syrian opposition by joining the armed struggle, smuggling weapons into Syria or helping settleSyrian refugees.

Indeed, the orchard where Mustapha conducts his periodic training of Sunni recruits is overlooked from thewest by soaring mountains where Hezbollah trains its own cadres.

Lebanon has been fretting for over a year that the tensions in Syria would spill across the border. Yet, twoweeks ago, the opposite occurred when tensions in Lebanon spilled into Syria with Shiite members of thepowerful Jaafar clan clashing with FSA militants, some of whom were Lebanese Sunni volunteers.

The fighting was spurred by the abduction of three Lebanese Shiites, one of them a Jaafar, by the FSA andthe retaliatory kidnapping of some 36 Syrians by the Jaafar clan.

“When they [the Jaafars] saw that most of them were unimportant people, they went back inside Syria andtook three from the Free Syrian Army along with their jeep and a ‘Dushka’ [Russian 12.7mm machine gun],”

said Rakan Jaafar, the mayor of the Shiite-populated village of Qaa beside the border with Syria. “That’swhen the negotiations [for a prisoner swap] began.”

For now, the Shiite and Sunni residents of the northern Bekaa are eyeing each other warily and trying toavoid strife. But the tensions are palpable and only exacerbated by incidents of brief cross-border incursionsby Syrian troops into Lebanese territory such as Tuesday’s incident in which one Lebanese was shot deadand four others wounded allegedly by Syrian soldiers in the wilderness between Arsal and Ras Baalbek.







The Syrian authorities blame the violence on “armed terrorist gangs” and have complained to the UnitedNations that Lebanon harbors “terrorist elements.” They additionally assert that Al-Qaeda was responsiblefor several devastating car bomb attacks in Damascus and Aleppo.

But Khaled insisted that there was no Al-Qaeda presence in Syria and that the foreign volunteers weresimply devout Muslims engaged in jihad.

“If you took a picture of me holding a rifle in front of a black flag inscribed with ‘There is no God, but God’and put it in a Western paper, everyone would say I am Al-Qaeda,” he said. “[But] I am a Muslim on jihad todefend Muslims. If the West cannot understand that and thinks I’m Al-Qaeda, then the West has aproblem.”

Still, it is evident that much of the armed opposition has tapped deep into their religious roots, seekinginspiration and resolve through their Sunni identity. That sentiment meets with a receptive audience inSunni-populated areas of Lebanon where feelings of anger, bitterness and marginalization continue to rundeep. If there are truly some 300 Lebanese Sunni volunteers from just the Bekaa alone, how many othershave joined the anti-Assad struggle from other parts of Lebanon?

Asked if he was aware of the training of Sunni militants in other areas, Mustapha said “Look, everyone istraining. Them [Hezbollah and its allies] and us. Everyone is training.”

29 May 2012Daily Star Syrian Envoy Hands Mansour Letter About Seized Syria-Bound Arms CargoSyrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim Ali handed Lebanon’s Foreign Affairs Minister AdnanMansour a letter Tuesday relating to last month’s seizure of a cargo of arms destined for the crisis-torncountry, and denied accusing Saudi Arabia and Qatar of being behind the smuggling attempt.

“I handed Mansour a letter on behalf of Syria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Walid Mouallem that relates to thevessel Lutfallah II,” Ali said after meeting Mansour.

“Lutfallah II” was intercepted by the Lebanese Navy in Lebanese waters on April 27.

A search of the Sierra Leonean-flagged vessel uncovered weapons aboard. The arms, which originated inLibya, were deemed to have been bound for Syria.

Of the 21 people charged in connection with “Lutfallah II, 14 are in custody. Those charged include 13

Syrians (eight of them detained), four Lebanese (three of them detained), two Egyptians, an Indian and anunidentified Libyan.

Ali said Syria was keen to know the results of the investigation into the case and expressed hisgovernment’s gratitude to the Lebanese Army leadership and the security apparatuses for seizing theshipment.







“We expect serious and sustained follow-up of the case to prevent such violations, which represent adanger to both Lebanon and Syria; you experienced the repercussions of this on the Lebanese scenerecently,” he added.

Ali, responding to reporters, denied that Mouallem’s letter was linked to President Michel Sleiman’s criticismof a recent letter to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon from Syria’s U.N. ambassador in which the latter alleged thatparts of Lebanon had turned into bases for smuggling weapons and fighters into Syria.

“What came in [Syria’s envoy to the U.N. Ibrahim] Jaafari’s letter is a list of facts provided by the relevantLebanese sides; the ship is just one of the headlines,” he added.

Jaafari’s letter to Ban on May 17 detailed around a dozen security incidents since mid-March. Theseincluded the seizure of Lutfallah II. Following a meeting with U.N. Special Representative to Lebanon DerekPlumbly last week, Sleiman said Jaafari’s report was “inaccurate” and “completely” contrary to the reports of the Lebanese military and security bodies.

Ali also denied accusing Qatar and Saudi Arabia of being behind the Lutfallah II arms shipments.

“We did not say this and did not accuse in this fashion,” Ali said.

“However, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and in the words of their own foreign affairs ministers, announcedbacking the fighters and funding them, and backing the opposition and hosting them,” he said.

“Investigations in Lebanon and other places have shown that there are sides funding and funneling [money]and there are dangers from Al-Qaeda and fundamentalists under various names through violations andclashes,” he said.

In early May, Ali accused Gulf countries, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, of being behind the Syria-boundarms shipment that was intercepted by the Lebanese Army.

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Asiri responded to the accusations made by his Syriancounterpart and said Damascus was desperately seeking to divert attention from the suffering of the Syrianpeople.

28 May 2012RTLebanese Weapons Alarm: Syrian Rebels ‘Major Clients’

Illegal arms smuggling in Syria’s neighbor Lebanon has caused outcry, with the UN urging the governmentto tackle the issue. In the midst of Syria’s spiraling conflict, more reports of Lebanese weapons fuelinguprisings are coming to light.

"Such weapons create alarm, and the situation must be addressed from the perspective of protecting thewelfare and safety of Lebanese society as a whole," said UN Special Coordinator Derek Plumbly on theVoice of Lebanon radio station.







He urged the Lebanese government to "take stock of these inappropriate and unsafe phenomena andincidents," stressing the importance of distancing Lebanon from turmoil in Syria and calming escalatingtensions.

However, there have been repeated reports of weapons moving through Lebanon and an increase in armsprices.RT correspondent Maria Finoshina met with a weapons smuggler calling himself Shadi in Beirut whodescribed the Syrian rebels as “major clients.”

“Bullets are very popular. But recently they are looking for really heavy stuff. We buy it from Hezbollah andtheir allies and resell – they have enough and they get it for free – as Iran makes their entire storages

packed,” said Shadi. He added that he would keep on supporting the opposition until they managed to“topple” President Assad.

Ahmed Abubarri, a Free Syria Army field commander currently receiving medical treatment in the north of Lebanon told Maria Finoshina that “tons” of aid passes through his hands across the border into Syria everyday.

“We have support from Syrian expats everywhere in the world, people from Britain, France, Saudi Arabia –they also send us money, we buy weapons, walky-talkies, satellites and smuggle them through the Syrianborders,” he told RT.

Conflict bleeding over the border

Last week’s armed riots in Beirut saw opposition groups and supporters of the Syrian regime clash indeadly gun battles. Sporadic violence was triggered in the country when prominent Sunni cleric Ahmad

Abdel Wahed, a known supporter of the Syrian opposition was gunned down by the Lebanese army.

Syria’s envoy to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari sent a letter to the UN last week, claiming areas on the Syrian-Lebanese border “have become an incubator for terrorist elements from the Al Qaeda and the MuslimBrotherhood organizations who are tampering with the security of Syria and its citizens.”

The letter was dismissed by the UN on the basis that it was not founded on “verified facts.”

The UN had previously said there was evidence of a two-way smuggling route across the Syrian-Lebaneseborder, but maintains that Syrian regime forces severely outgun the Syrian rebels.

Lebanese authorities seized 60,000 rounds of ammunition stashed in an Italian container ship in the

northern port city of Tripoli on May 7. Similarly in April Lebanese officials intercepted a ship bound for Tripolicarrying rocket-propelled grenades and heavy caliber ammunition.

The city of Tripoli is populated by a Sunni Muslim majority and has seen regular violence and protestsagainst the rule of President Assad in neighboring Syria.

19 May 2012NOW Lebanon







Mansour: Issue of Smuggling Arms to Syria ‘Known to Everyone’Minister of Foreign Affairs Adnan Mansour commented during an interview with Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Raion Damascus’ allegations that weapons were being smuggled from Lebanon to Syria, saying that “this issueis known to everyone and the Lebanese government had said that it arrested gangs for smuggling arms toSyria.”

On Friday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, through Syria’sUN representative Bashar al-Jaafari, complaining that “some Lebanese regions along the border with Syriaharbor members of Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood.”

LBC television station reported that the letter mentioned a number of incidents “that prove that the terrorist

groups in Syria are being provided with weapons and terrorists smuggled through the Lebanese-Syrianborder.”

The Syrian UN letter generated criticisms from some Lebanon political figures, including Prime Minister Najib Mikati who said Friday that it was “divisive.”

03 May 2012IPSLebanese Groups Arming Syrian UnrestBy Zak Brophy

The Lebanese army seized a ship last weekend carrying three containers filled with weapons reportedlyintended for Syria’s rebel fighters. Although Lebanon has remained relatively stable throughout thesustained violence next door in Syria, this discovery is the most recent reminder that the country is far fromimmune to the unrest plaguing its neighbour.

The Basher Assad government in Syria has often complained of arms being smuggled into Syria fromneighbouring countries, and since the inception of the uprising little over a year ago there have been anumber of weapons shipments intercepted in Lebanon. The smuggling routes across the notoriously porousborder between the two countries are now being used to move weapons and supplies into Syria and toprovide passage for the fleeing refugees and injured fighters.

"I’m going to see my army," said Zaki while waiting in a safe house just inside the Lebanese side of theborder. His family are from Hama and Homs, hotbeds of the Syrian opposition. They were exiled in 1981during the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood by former president Hafez al-Assad.

They now have a successful trading company in Saudi Arabia and, according to Zaki, "are transferringmoney to people (in Lebanon) and they send the money to the revolutionary people to buys guns."

He claimed they have been sending 100,000 dollars every month for the past eight months to oppositionfighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). He said his father had sent him to make sure the money wasproviding the fighters with the weapons they expected. "The Saudi government does not want to stopanyone who works like this. They are covering us. They want us to work without talking," he said.







The funding and arming of the FSA has been a divisive issue among the countries within the internationalcommunity supporting the uprising. While there has been no inter-governmental agreement to overtly armthe fighters, after the last ‘Friends of Syria’ meeting in early April, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf statesreportedly committed to establishing a multi million-dollar fund to pay members of the FSA.

A Syrian activist, who smuggles humanitarian supplies and refugees between the two countries, complainedthat certain gangs trading arms within Lebanon were exploiting the Syrian uprising to boost their profits.

Speaking on condition of anonymity he said, "Some merchants are trying to create their markets inside of Homs by getting certain groups to buy their weapons and create war. We have a problem with them. It isknown now that those merchants are creating a small war for their market."

The increased demand, whether it is for the revolutionaries in Syria or militias in Lebanon, has causedprices to rise sharply. The same activist said a Kalashnikov rifle now fetched around 2,000 dollars whereasthe pre-revolution price tag would have been closer to 200 to 300 dollars. "You could spend 25-30,000dollars just on providing munitions to a single checkpoint," he calculated.

As well as weapons being smuggled from sea before being sent overland to Syria, there have been reportsof weapons being stolen and sold from within the Lebanese army.

In early April the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported that an intelligence officer who was in charge of aweapons depot had been detained for questioning on suspicion of stealing and selling arms. That sameweek at the safe house on the border, Zaki said, "The (arms dealers) are selling from Lebanon, some eventhieve from the Lebanese army and others are importing to Lebanon."

In addition to the flow of arms across the border there is a steady stream of people, with the United NationsRefugee Agency (UNHCR) estimating there are 24,000 displaced Syrians who have made the journey toseek sanctuary in Lebanon. Along with the civilians fleeing in search of safety, fighters regularly cross theborder.

The traffic of fighters has predominantly been Syrian combatants. But recent reports suggest someLebanese are now making the journey to join the revolution. Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at

American university of Beirut, said, "Like what happened in Iraq, parts of Syria are now becoming a land for jihad…The Syrians are responding by crossing the border and opening fire. There is a low intensity conflicton the border between Syria and Lebanon but I don’t see it developing into a major confrontation."

Tripoli in north Lebanon is a conservative Sunni city that has close societal, familial and historical ties withthe communities in western Syria revolting against the Assad regime. Sheikh Mazen al-Mohammad is a

leading religious figure in the city and has been at the forefront of the regular demonstrations in support of the Syrian uprising.

He denies recent media reports claiming he said he has sent religiously inspired fighters, or mujahideen, toSyria but added, "If these international efforts we see fail in helping our brothers in Syria, and they requestus to help them to victory then we will do it, whatever the consequences."

Syria enjoyed a strong military presence in Lebanon from 1976 until 2005, and many of the Sunnicommunities, especially in the north, harbour strong resentment over their treatment during this time.







Sheikh Mazen al-Muhammad said, "The Sunnis in Lebanon, because of their suffering at the hands of theSyrian regime, can understand the position of the Syrian revolution more than anyone in the Arab World…When this uprising began in Syria the wounds were opened afresh here."

The fragile balancing act played by Lebanon’s politicians and sectarian leaders has so far kept the nationaloft from the violence next door. However, Lebanon is intrinsically connected to Syria, and its sectarian andpolitical tensions have been tangibly exacerbated by the uprising there.

The thriving trade in weapons and potential militarisation of certain communities does little to allay fears of renewed civil strife in Lebanon if the Syria crisis deteriorates further.

29 April 2012SANASyrian Human Rights Network Calls for International Condemnation of Attempts at EscalatingViolence in SyriaThe Syrian Human Rights Network on Sunday called on the international community, the UN SecretaryGeneral and the human rights organizations to condemn attempts at escalating the violence in Syriathrough smuggling gunmen and arms to the armed terrorist groups.

Unclassified

The Network referred in a statement to the recently made attempts at escalating the violence in Syriathrough smuggling arms and gunmen from Lebanon, Turkey and Libya, citing the inflatable boats comingfrom Turkey to infiltrate terrorists offshore from Lattakia and Lufallah II ship that came from Libya throughEgypt to deliver RPG's, air and anti-tank missiles and communication devices to the terrorist groups inSyria.







The statement called on the international community, the human rights organizations and the UN SecretaryGeneral, Ban Ki-moon to condemn and expose these violations as are considered breaches of the peaceplan of the UN envoy Kofi Annan and the UN Charter.

The Network also demanded that all those confirmed to be involved in or support the terrorist acts insideSyria be brought to the International Criminal Court.

23 April 2012HaaretzNo Weapons Found on Liberian-Flagged Ship Intercepted by Naval Commandos

Israeli naval forces intercepted a cargo ship in the Mediterranean on Sunday suspected of carrying arms,and troops boarded the vessel for a "security check, but found no weapons," sources in the Israel DefenseForces said.

The ship was intercepted near the northern coast of Israel, on suspicion that it was carrying arms destinedfor the Gaza Strip. The ship, Hs Beethoven, bearing a Liberian flag, was intercepted 160 nautical miles off the coast of Israel, and was boarded by fighters of Shayetet 13, the Israel Navy's elite naval commandounit. The inspection of the ship was carried out with the permission of the ship's captain, after he wascontacted by radio and told that the ship would be checked. The ship's crew did not resist, and the fightersboarded it without using violence. No arms were found on the ship.

The IDF spokesperson said that the operation was carried out "as part of routine activity to preventsmuggling ... the IDF and security forces will continue to act untiringly against the efforts of terror organizations to obtain arms in order to harm Israeli citizens."

In recent years Israel has redoubled its efforts to prevent the smuggling of weapons to Lebanon and theGaza Strip. Most of the smuggling is organized by the Revolutionary Guards and Iranian intelligence inorder to strengthen Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Sea routes are central to thesmuggling effort, although airplanes are also used - flying from Iran over Turkey to Syria and Lebanon.

According to foreign press reports, Israel has also attacked convoys in Sudan allegedly carrying weapons.

Only a small portion of the Israeli effort is reported. In November 2009 naval commandos seized the"Francop" and confiscated hundreds of kilograms of armaments including Katyusha rockets. In March 2011,Israel seized a cargo ship, the "Victoria," on suspicion that it held Iranian-supplied arms intended for theHamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Israel said the vessel had set sail from Syria, stopped in Turkey and had beendestined for Alexandria in Egypt.

06 April 2012Now LebanonAl-Hayat: Syrian Embassy in Lebanon Smuggling WeaponsLebanese security forces apprehended two days ago a Lebanese military vehicle put at the disposal of theSyrian embassy transporting unlicensed weapons toward Syria, Al-Hayat newspaper reported on Friday.

The daily also said that the vehicle had the license plate of a Syrian embassy vehicle and that an officer previously accused of abducting Syrian dissidents was inside.







March 14 figures and Syrian activists have claimed that the Syrian Embassy in Lebanon is complicit in themysterious disappearances of a number of Syrians in Lebanon. More than 9,000 people have been killed in an almost year-long crackdown on dissent against PresidentBashar al-Assad's regime, according to the UN.

17 Mar 2012The Jordan Times‘No Arms Shipments to Free Syrian Army’

Jordan refuted as “baseless” on Saturday news reports that Amman is facilitating the transport of weaponsfrom Saudi Arabia into Syria to arm rebel forces.

Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Rakan Majali denied a news report issued by Agence France-Presse claiming that Jordan is facilitating the transport of arms dispatched by Saudi Arabiato the Free Syrian Army.

In a press statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Majali refuted the report as “baseless”,stressing that there has been no change in Jordan’s official stance against interference in Damascus’internal affairs.

The claims come amidst reports of a rise in attempts to smuggle weapons from Jordan into Syria, with thePublic Security Department revealing that it has foiled “several” attempts by individuals to transport gunsthrough northern border crossings since the beginning of the year.

According to security sources, arm smugglers are attempting to use Jordan as a “transit” point for illicit armstrade traced back to Saudi Arabia, with border patrols foiling some 10 smuggling attempts near Ramtha andthe northern desert region weekly.

Jordanian officials have repeatedly spoken out against international interference in Syria, with ForeignMinister Nasser Judeh most recently expressing Amman’s rejection of any international military interventionin the Kingdom’s northern neighbour.

16 March 2012The Jordan TimesAttempts to Smuggle Arms into Syria ‘On the Rise’

Jordanian authorities have foiled multiple attempts to smuggle weapons into Syria, according to officials,amidst signs that the crisis is stretching into its second year.

According to the Public Security Department (PSD), authorities have prevented several attempts tosmuggle weapons into Syria across official border crossings since the beginning of the year.

“We have arrested several individuals attempting to smuggle arms through the Jaber and Ramtha border crossings,” PSD Spokesperson Lt. Col. Mohammad Khatib told The Jordan Times.







Khatib denied the existence of an arms smuggling network, stressing that the attempts to carry weaponsacross the Jordanian-Syrian border represented little more than “individual acts”.

On Wednesday, PSD Director Hussein Majali acknowledged that Jordanian border officials have foiledmultiple attempts to smuggle arms into Syria, stressing the Kingdom’s commitment to securing the borders“by all means necessary”.

In a wide-ranging press conference, Majali stressed that Jordanian officials will maintain a heavy presencein the border region as an extension of Amman’s policy of opposing any interference in Syria’s “internalaffairs”.

Meanwhile, a security source claimed Jordan has witnessed a rise in arms smuggling attempts through thenorthern desert and Ramtha regions, with border patrols reporting an average of 10 arrests per week.

According to the source, which preferred to remain unnamed, officials believe arms smugglers areattempting to use Jordan as a “transit point” to supply weapons from Saudi Arabia to the Free Syrian Armyin south Syria.

While cracking down on smuggling routes into Syria as part of efforts to avoid worsening already tensediplomatic relations between the two countries, Jordan has followed an unannounced policy of acceptingrefugees and army defectors arriving into the Kingdom illegally.

The recent arms smuggling attempts come amidst calls for jihad against the Syrian regime and signs thatfactions within the Jordanian Salafists movement are turning back on the group’s recent transition into apeaceful movement.

Mohammed Abu Tahawi, leader of the northern region branch of the jihadist Salafists movement, issued afatwa last month urging Arab and Islamic states to dispatch “monetary support, weapons and militaryexperts” to protect Syrian Sunnis against the predominately Alawite Bashar Assad regime.

Within a week of Abu Tahawi’s fatwa, 10 jihadist Salafists were arrested attempting to cross the Syrianborder illegally, according to the security source, a claim that Khatib denied.

Mousa Abdullat, the attorney representing the Jordanian jihadist Salafists movement, confirmed that severalIslamist hardliners were arrested near the border region late last month, claiming that the jihadist representan “extreme minority” within the movement.

“There were a group of young men who took the decision by themselves to take up arms against the Assad

regime,” Abdullat told The Jordan Times.

According to a source within the salafist movement, the Syrian crisis is dividing the movement, with a moreradical faction urging the movement to reverse its recent policy of “peaceful call for Islam” and wage jihad,or holy war, against the Assad regime.

15 March 2012Sana News AgencyJordan Observed Arms Smuggling Cases Into Syria, Lt.Gen. Al-Majali Says







Jordanian Director General of Public Security Lt. Gen. Hussein al-Majali said that his country has observedseveral cases of arms smuggling into Syria, asserting that Jordan will keep its borders by all means.Jordanian News Agency PETRA quoted Lt. Gen. al-Majali as saying in a press conference in Amman onThursday that his country observed several cases of arms smuggling into Syria, pointing out that thesecases have been dealt with seriously.

He reaffirmed that Jordan will not interfere in Syria's internal affairs just as it completely rejects any one tointerfere in its internal affairs.

12 Feb 2012

SANAIraqi Interior Ministry Undersecretary: Iraqi Gunmen Headed to Syria, Arms Smuggling ContinuesIraqi Interior Ministry's First Undersecretary Adnan al-Asadi confirmed that Iraqi gunmen headed from Iraqto Syria and that weapons are being smuggled into Syria through the borders.

"We have intelligence information that a number of Iraqi gunmen headed to Syria and that smuggling of weapons continues from Iraq into Syria," the AFP quoted al-Asadi as saying.

He noted that arms are being smuggled from Mosul into Syria through Rabi'eh border crossing and throughanother crossing near Albu Kamal, pointing out that smuggling from al-Anbar province is more difficultbecause of the far distance.

09 February 2012Terra net NewsSleiman Defends Army as March 14 Raps RaidsPresident Michel Sleiman defended Wednesday the Lebanese Army as the Future Movement and its March14 allies criticized the military’s failure to deploy on Lebanon’s northern and eastern border with Syria toprotect Lebanese citizens against Syrian attacks.

President Michel Sleiman defended Wednesday the Lebanese Army as the Future Movement and its March14 allies criticized the military’s failure to deploy on Lebanon’s northern and eastern border with Syria toprotect Lebanese citizens against Syrian attacks.

Sleiman praised “the Army’s role in maintaining civil peace, protecting the citizens and their stability in thefirst place and preventing the repercussions of what is happening around us on the Lebanese interior bystaying away from political polarization,” according to a statement released by the president’s office.

He urged the Lebanese to continue rallying around the Army by granting it their “full confidence in itsnational unity in order to prevent the reverberations of the Syrian crisis from affecting Lebanon, namely inbordering areas, so as to keep the country in political, security and economic stability.”

Sleiman’s remarks came during his meeting at the Baabda Palace with Brigadier General Edmond Fadel,chief of the Army Intelligence, who briefed him on the security measures taken by the Army across thecountry.







“This in addition to the duty of protecting the southern border and spreading the state sovereignty in theinterior as well as controlling the border and crossings as part of the [Army’s] missions it was assigned bythe Cabinet,” the statement said. It added that the Army has “a full political cover” from the Cabinet to carryout these missions.

Sleiman’s remarks came amid media reports that the Army would pursue the raids it started last week intowns and villages bordering Syria in search of armed groups suspected of smuggling weapons to theSyrian opposition through illegal border crossings.

However, the Army’s operation has evoked criticism from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s parliamentaryFuture bloc and its March 14 allies, who demanded that the military be deployed right on the Lebanese-

Syrian border to protect Lebanese citizens against Syrian incursions, rather than inside villages.So far, there has been no comment from the Army Command on last week’s military operation in the WadiKhaled area near the border with Syria. The Daily Star’s repeated attempts to get comment from Armyofficials were unsuccessful.

Two Lebanese men were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of smuggling arms to the Syrian oppositionthrough illegal border crossings in the Bekaa, including the town of Arsal.

Following a series of security incidents, including a recent attack by Syrian forces on three Lebanesefishermen in the north that led to the death of a teenager, the Future bloc and March 14 parties have calledfor the Army deployment on the borders in the north and the east to protect Lebanese citizens living inborder towns.

Referring to the Army’s raids on the northern border, the Future bloc said in a statement Tuesday that they“seem to be targeting [border] villages rather than protecting them.”

Sources said that the Lebanese Army beefed up its presence along the northern border over the weekendand is carrying out raids against armed groups rumored to belong to the Free Syrian Army, which is fightingSyrian troops.

State Minister Ali Kanso praised the Army’s operation on the border with Syria.

“When the Army carries out security missions in this or that area, especially on the Lebanese-Syrian border,it is doing its duty. It has been assigned by the Cabinet and the Higher Defense Council with thesemissions,” Kanso said after meeting Prime Minister Najib Mikati. “Therefore, we have to stand unitedalongside this military establishment which is a guarantee for security and stability in Lebanon.”

Asked about his assessment of the Lebanese Army’s operation on the northern border, the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim Ali said he hoped that the Lebanese government will show“continued and escalating seriousness” in dealing with attempts to tamper with Lebanon’s security andthreats to Syria’s security through “terrorist groups.”Speaking to reporters after meeting former Prime Minister Omar Karami, Ali accused the West of using“mercenaries and extremists” to undermine Syria’s security. He also accused what he called “criminalmedia” outlets of twisting and falsifying facts about developments of the 11-month-old uprising demandingthe ouster of President Bashar Assad.







In an interview with Future News TV Wednesday, Future MP Ahmad Fatfat said: “We demand theprotection of all the borders without exception, that is, the northern and eastern borders to prevent any armssmuggling.”

The March 14 Secretariat General criticized the Army’s raid in the northern Akkar district.

“The March 14 parties, which have constantly demanded the Army deployment on the Lebanese border with Syria to protect the border and the residents of the nearby areas and the [Syrians] who fled to them,express their regret over what happened in the Akkar areas a few days ago where a military operation, inthe form of landing and the setting up of checkpoints inside neighborhoods, was carried out. This did not inany way look like the normal deployment we are demanding,” the Secretariat General said in a statement

after its weekly meeting.

It added that Lebanon’s state, institutions and security agencies should not be linked to the popular upheaval in Syria.

Akkar MP Khaled Daher from Hariri’s Future bloc told The Daily Star Sunday that the Army’s militaryoperation in the Wadi Khaled area came at the request of the Syrian regime. He said eight Lebanese havebeen killed in Syrian border incursions since the uprising began in Syria in March last year.

Syria has repeatedly urged Lebanon to prevent arms smuggling on the border, prompting Lebanon’s Higher Defense Council to tighten security measures on the poorly demarcated border and curb the transfer of weapons from one country to the other.

The Lebanese-Syrian border has become increasingly tense since the popular upheaval in Syria began lastyear.

07 February 2012The Daily Star Two Lebanese Arrested for Arms SmugglingTwo Lebanese men were arrested on suspicion of smuggling arms into Syria through the Bekaa village of

Arsal.

Military judge Imad al-Zein questioned the two, who were identified by their first names as Wael and Bahaa,and subsequently issued the arrest warrants for arms trading and smuggling.

Syria has repeatedly urged Lebanese authorities to curb arms smuggling via the poorly demarcated border

between the two countries.

Arsal has been the at the center of a nationwide controversy after Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn said thatal-Qaeda members had taken up residence in the village in the guise of Syrian opposition members. Theclaim prompted the country’s High Defense Council to launch an investigation along with a crackdown onarms smuggling and other illegal activity in the region.

Recently, a number of people have been arrested in Lebanon for smuggling weapons into Syria.







06 February 2012The Daily Star MP: Lebanese Troops Search for ‘Terrorists’ on Syria Border The Lebanese Army has carried out raids using helicopters in villages bordering Syria in search of “terrorist”groups at the request of the Syrian regime, Akkar MP Khaled Daher said Sunday.Daher also accused theLebanese government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati ordering the army operation at the request of Damascus authorities.

“Lebanese troops landed by helicopter in a mountainous area and in the Wadi Khaled area in search of what the Syrian regime told the Lebanese government were ‘terrorists,’” Daher told The Daily Star by

telephone. He said that the army also set up checkpoints in the area as part of a security plan to control thetense Lebanese-Syrian border.

So far, there has been no comment from the Army Command on the reported military operation in the WadiKhaled area near the border with Syria.

Daher, a member of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s parliamentary Future bloc, who supports thepopular uprising demanding the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad, said Friday’s military operationcame at the request of the Syrian regime.

He noted that the army move followed meetings held separately by the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul-Karim Ali and the head of the Higher Lebanese-Syrian Council Nasri Khouri with President MichelSleiman last week to convey a request from the Syrian authorities to tighten security measures on theLebanese-Syrian border in order to prevent the smuggling of arms and fighters to Syrian protesters. Ali alsomet with Army Commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi for this purpose.” The Syrian regime is exerting pressureon the Lebanese government in order for the government to pressure Lebanese sympathizing with Syrianprotesters,” Daher said. He also warned against attacking Lebanese residents in towns and villages near the border with Syria because they support anti-regime protesters in Lebanon’s neighbor.

“We want the Lebanese Army deployed on the Lebanese-Syrian border to defend Lebanese citizens andLebanese sovereignty against Syrian attacks,” Daher said. He added that eight Lebanese have been killedin Syrian border incursions since the uprising began in Syria in March last year.

Media reports said that the Lebanese Army was searching for armed groups rumored to belong to the rebelFree Syrian Army which is fighting Assad’s regular troops. But Daher dismissed reports about the presenceof the FSA in northern Lebanese areas as “fabrications” created by the Hezbollah-led March 8 parties whichstrongly support the Assad regime.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Hariri, the secretary-general of the Future Movement, urged Kahwagi to distance thearmy from developments in Syria. “[I urge] the army’s leadership to refrain from involving the army in whatthe Syrian government is planning,” Hariri told Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper in an interview publishedSunday. He added that the government cannot provide political cover for what the army is doing in Akkar.

“Some in Lebanon insist on getting [us] involved in the Syrian crisis, which has begun to affect Lebanongiven what the Lebanese Army is doing in the Akkar region,” he added, referring to the Lebanese Army’sincreased presence in the Akkar region, particularly the Bekaa town of Arsal.







Syria has repeatedly urged Lebanon to prevent arms smuggling on the border, prompting Lebanon’s Higher Defense Council to tighten security measures on the poorly demarcated frontier and curb the transfer of weapons from one country to the other. The council’s decision came after Defense Minister Fayez Ghosnsaid that Al-Qaeda members were entering Arsal under the guise of Syrian opposition activists. However,Ghosn’s claims have been denied by Sleiman, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Interior Minister MarwanCharbel.

Last week, Charbel chaired a meeting of a committee formed to control the Lebanese-Syrian border following a series of security incidents, including a recent attack by Syrian forces on three Lebanesefishermen off the border town of Arida in the north that led to the death of a teenager.

The committee’s meeting came against the backdrop of repeated security incidents on the border, includingSyrian incursions into Lebanese territory, prompting calls from the opposition March 14 parties for thedeployment of the Lebanese Army on the frontier to prevent what they said were repeated Syrian border violations and protect Lebanese citizens.

The Lebanese-Syrian border has become increasingly tense since the popular upheaval in Syria eruptedlast year, with several incursions by the Syrian army and the killing of Lebanese citizens by Syrian securityforces.

The Mikati government has tried to dissociate itself from the turmoil in Syria and has avoided deploying thearmy along the border with Syria despite the Syrian incursions that led to the deaths of some Lebanese bySyrian gunfire.

25 January 2012AL ArabiyaU.N. Envoys Criticize Russia for Syrian Arms Sale; Elbaradei to Lead Mediation MissionEuropean and Arab nations want a U.N. Security Council vote next week on a resolution condemningSyria’s crackdown on protests and hinting at sanctions, diplomats late Tuesday, amid reports that former U.N. nuclear chief Mohammed ElBaradei will head an Arab League mediation mission in Syria. Britain,France, Germany and Arab nations are working on the resolution which could face Russian oppositionbecause of a call on all states to follow Arab League sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad. Westerndiplomats stressed however there would be negotiations with Russia and that it was crucial for the 15-member Security Council to draw up a message after being deadlocked since the start of the Syria protestslast March.

Russia and China vetoed a previous European attempt in October to get a resolution passed condemning Assad for the violence in which the UN says more than 5,400 people have been killed.

The western allies hope to build on growing Arab League demands for U.N. action, however. Arab LeagueSecretary General Nabil al-Arabi has sought a meeting with U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon, a U.N. spokesmansaid, according to AFP.

Meanwhile, the former chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog Mohammed ElBaradei accepted an Arab Leaguedemand to head an Arab mediation mission in Syria, Egypt’s al-Ahram daily reported.







The newspaper said that the Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi has asked ElBaradei to playthat role. ElBaradei was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2005.

Britain, France and the United States sharply criticized Russia for supplying weapons to Syria, wheregovernment forces have killed thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators over the last 10 months.

“We are concerned about the supply of weapons into Syria, whether sales to the government or illegalsmuggling to the regime or opposition,” Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told the SecurityCouncil during a debate on the Middle East.

Russia slammed for arms deliveries to Syria

Without mentioning Russia by name, Grant cited a media interview in which a Russian official said hiscountry’s arms deliveries to Damascus had no effect on the situation there, according to Reuters.

“We fundamentally disagree,” he told the 15-nation council. “It is glaringly obvious that transferring weaponsinto a volatile and violent situation is irresponsible and will only fuel the bloodshed.”

Syria bought $700 million worth of Russian weapons, or 7 percent of Russia’s $10 billion in arms deliveriesabroad in jet trainers for over half a billion dollars in 2010, according to the Russian defense think-tankCAST.

French Ambassador Gerard Araud echoed Grant’s words, saying that it was “unacceptable that certaincountries, including on this council, continue to provide the means of violence against the Syrianpopulation.”

The United States and their European allies have called for a U.N. arms embargo and other sanctionsagainst Syria, but Russia vehemently opposes U.N. Security Council action.

The Saudi envoy at the U.N. Abdullah al-Muallemy renewed the calls for the Syrian authorities to usewisdom and stop quelling the expectations of the Syrian people by further killings and bullets, Al Arabiyareported.

Syria’s envoy at the U.N. Bashar al-Jaafari accused some Arab countries of using the Arab League flag asa cover to further complicate the situation in his country.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said it was time for all countries to declare a moratorium on arms sales toDamascus.

“We call on supplier countries to voluntarily halt arms transfers to the regime,” she said. “And, weencourage all nations to join the widening effort to stop the flow of weapons to the Assad regime.”

Rice, Grant, Araud and German Ambassador Peter Wittig met on Monday with a group of Arab envoys,including the ambassadors of Qatar and Security Council member Morocco, to discuss the Arab League'scall for Assad to transfer power to his deputy to form a unity government and prepare for elections.







Recently the Russians circulated their own draft resolution on Syria to fellow council members, though U.S.and European envoys say it is too weak and only touches on parts of an earlier Arab League plan for Syria.They also say the Russian delegation has failed to incorporate their proposed revisions in the draft, whichwas obtained by Al Arabiya.

Syria has agreed to extend a widely criticized Arab League observer mission for a second month.

“Foreign Minister Walid Muallem sent a letter tonight to the secretary general of the Arab League (Nabil al- Arabi) informing him of the Syrian government's agreement to extend the observer mission for one month,from Jan. 24 until Feb. 23, 2012,” said a statement carried by the official SANA news agency on Tuesday.

A new draft resolution

Western diplomats told Reuters privately that they would want a new resolution that would replace theRussian draft and endorse the Arab League plan for Syria. Several diplomats said France and Britain wereworking with Qatar and other Arab delegations on a new draft supporting the Arab League plan.

“In terms of the Russian resolution, the time for that has now passed,” a Western diplomat said. “We areworking with the Arabs and we expect that group to come forward.”

“The Arabs have said that they want a resolution that has consensus agreement, and of course we'll workfor that,” he added. “We always work for consensus in the council, but sometimes that's not possible, aswith our Syria resolution (that was vetoed by Russia and China).”

Diplomats from several Security Council and Arab nations said there could be a vote as early as Monday or Tuesday next week on a resolution. “I would not exclude it,” said one western diplomat. “It is what we areaiming for,” an envoy from an Arab nation told AFP.

A first draft of the new resolution, obtained by AFP, notes Arab League economic sanctions against Syriaand “encourages all states to adopt similar steps and fully to cooperate with the League of Arab States inthe implementation of its measures.”

Russia, an ally of the Syrian government, has spoken out strongly against sanctions and could oppose sucha measure.

The new resolution condemns the “widespread and gross violations of human rights and fundamental

freedoms by the Syrian authorities” including “arbitrary executions, killing and persecution of protestors andmembers of the media.”It demands the Syrian government immediately end “all human rights violations and attacks.” In a potentialconcession to Russia, it also demands that “all parties in Syria, including armed groups, immediately stopany violence or reprisals, including attacks against state institutions.”

The resolution backs the Arab League initiative launched at the weekend, under which Assad would have totransfer powers to a deputy so that new elections can be held.



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It said Syria should “secure access and freedom of safe movement” to Arab League observers and provide“full access to prisons, detention facilities, police stations and hospitals.

04 January 2012Al BawabaReport: Armed Groups Trained in Jordan, Turkey Infiltrate SyriaIn the past two months, Syrian and Arab volunteers infiltrated Syria after completing their training on streetfighting, mine and improvised explosive devices planting, storming military barracks and security centers.

According to Arab sources, these fighters infiltrated Syrian territory from Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and the

Kurdish and Sunni regions of Iraq.

These fighters entered Syria carrying with them large quantities of small and medium arms includingRussian SAM-7 anti-aircraft missiles and anti tank rockets. These fighters are ready "to start the Winter War" against the forces loyal to the regime of Bashar al-Assad. This fight will be in cooperation withdefectors from the Syrian army, called "the free Syrian army" led by Colonel Riyadh al-Assad, who beganthe implementation of the plan from inside the Turkish border.

Syrian rebel sources conveyed that the armies in Jordan and Turkey oversee the training of these anti-regime elements. These sources maintain that the only choice faced by the world, the Arab League and theSyrian people is to declare an armed resistance against the regime of Bashar al-Assad and his "gangs."

A rebel source in Beirut told a Kuwaiti newspaper "that none of the residents of the Sunni villages andtowns in the north of Lebanon and the Lebanon Valley were interested in smuggling arms to the Syrianrebels, claiming they do not want to interfere in the crisis.

According to this source the local residents are afraid of the response of Hizbullah in case of helpingopponents of the Syrian regime.

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