Egypt to drill 480 new exploration wells worth $5.7bn over five years: Petroleum Minister    Gaza's fragile ceasefire tested as aid, reconstruction struggle to gain ground    Government to disburse funding to investors completing 90% of factory construction    Egypt's human rights committee reviews national strategy, UNHRC membership bid    EGX closes mixed on Oct. 14    HSBC named Best Cash Management Provider in Egypt by Euromoney    Boehringer Ingelheim Launches Metalyse® 25 mg in Egypt Following Approval by the Egyptian Drug Authority    Trump-Xi meeting still on track    Sisi hails Gaza peace accord as a 'new chapter' for the Middle East    Egypt, Qatar seek to deepen investment partnership    Egypt invites Chile's Codelco to explore copper mining opportunities    Turkish president holds sideline meetings with world leaders at Egypt summit    Al-Sisi, Meloni discuss strengthening Egypt–Italy relations, supporting Gaza ceasefire efforts    L'Oréal Egypt's 10th summit draws over 800 experts, focuses on dermatology    URGENT: Netanyahu skips Sharm El-Sheikh peace summit for holy reasons    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile actions, calls for global water cooperation    Egypt unearths one of largest New Kingdom Fortresses in North Sinai    Egypt unearths New Kingdom military fortress on Horus's Way in Sinai    Egypt Writes Calm Anew: How Cairo Engineered the Ceasefire in Gaza    Egypt's acting environment minister heads to Abu Dhabi for IUCN Global Nature Summit    Egyptian Open Amateur Golf Championship 2025 to see record participation    Cairo's Al-Fustat Hills Park nears completion as Middle East's largest green hub – PM    Egypt's Cabinet approves decree featuring Queen Margaret, Edinburgh Napier campuses    El-Sisi boosts teachers' pay, pushes for AI, digital learning overhaul in Egypt's schools    Egypt's Sisi congratulates Khaled El-Enany on landslide UNESCO director-general election win    Syria releases preliminary results of first post-Assad parliament vote    Karnak's hidden origins: Study reveals Egypt's great temple rose from ancient Nile island    Egypt resolves dispute between top African sports bodies ahead of 2027 African Games    Egypt's Al-Sisi commemorates October War, discusses national security with top brass    Egypt reviews Nile water inflows as minister warns of impact of encroachments on Rosetta Branch    Egypt's ministry of housing hails Arab Contractors for 5 ENR global project awards    A Timeless Canvas: Forever Is Now Returns to the Pyramids of Giza    Egypt aims to reclaim global golf standing with new major tournaments: Omar Hisham    Egypt to host men's, juniors' and ladies' open golf championships in October    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Syrian jets strike rebels around Damascus
Published in The Egyptian Gazette on 15 - 12 - 2012

BEIRUT - Syrian warplanes bombed insurgents east of Damascus on Saturday and government forces pounded a town to the southwest, activists said, in a month-long and so far fruitless campaign to dislodge rebels around the capital.
Jets bombarded the Beit Sahm district on the road leading to the international airport and the army fired rockets at several rebel strongholds around Damascus, President Bashar al-Assad's bastion through 21 months of an increasingly bloody uprising.
The 47-year-old Alawite leader, forced on the defensive by the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels, has resorted increasingly to air strikes and artillery to stem their advances on the ground.
NATO's US commander also accused his forces on Friday of firing Scud missiles that landed near the Turkish border, in explaining why the Western alliance was sending anti-missile batteries and troops to Syria's northern frontier.
The Syrian government denies firing such long-range, Soviet-built rockets. But Admiral James Stavridis wrote in a blog that a handful of Scud missiles were launched inside Syria in recent days towards opposition targets and "several landed fairly close to the Turkish border, which is very worrisome".
It was not clear how close they came. Turkey, a NATO member once friendly toward Assad but now among the main allies of the rebels, has complained of occasional artillery and gunfire across the border, some of which has caused deaths, for months. It sought the installation of missile defenses along its frontier some weeks ago.
"Syria is clearly a chaotic and dangerous situation, but we have an absolute obligation to defend the borders of the alliance from any threat emanating from that troubled state," Stavridis wrote.
Batteries of US-made Patriot missiles, designed to shoot down the likes of the Scuds popularly associated with Iraq's 1991 Gulf War under Saddam Hussein, are about to be deployed by the U.S., German and Dutch armies, each of which is sending up to 400 troops to operate and protect the rocket systems.
Damascus has accused Western powers of backing what it portrays as a Sunni Islamist "terrorist" campaign against it and says Washington and Europe have publicly voiced concerns of late that Assad's forces might resort to chemical weapons solely as a pretext for preparing a possible military intervention.
In contrast to NATO's air campaign in support of Libya's successful revolt last year against Muammar Gaddafi, Western powers have shied away from intervention in Syria. They have cited the greater size and ethnic and religious complexity of a major Arab state at the heart of the Middle East - but have also lacked UN approval due to Russia's support for Assad.
As well as the growing rebel challenge, Syria faces an alliance of Arab and Western powers who stepped up diplomatic support for Assad's political foes at a meeting in Morocco on Wednesday and warned him he could not win Syria's civil war.


Clic here to read the story from its source.