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Maj. Gen. Abdelaziz Jassim Al-Shalal, the Syrian military police chief, has defected to the rebels/opposition forces. In a video statement, he said:
“The army has destroyed cities and villages and has committed massacres against an unarmed population that took to the streets to demand freedom. Long live free Syria.”
Photo: screenshot from his video statement from an undisclosed location.
[The Guardian]
Another day, another sign the Assad regime is fading.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/d9e116b36e741ae396761c8cdceabc77/tumblr_mfnd1h0muR1qchhhqo1_500.jpg)
Maj. Gen. Abdelaziz Jassim Al-Shalal, the Syrian military police chief, has defected to the rebels/opposition forces. In a video statement, he said:
“The army has destroyed cities and villages and has committed massacres against an unarmed population that took to the streets to demand freedom. Long live free Syria.”
Photo: screenshot from his video statement from an undisclosed location.
Another day, another sign the Assad regime is fading.
The focus two weeks ago was on Damascus. The focus is now on Aleppo, where there has been a considerable build-up of military means, and where we have reason to believe that the main battle is about to start.UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous • Discussing the current military situation in Syria — suggesting a major battle in Aleppo is coming soon. In related news, three Russian landing ships, each carrying 120 marines, are heading to the Syrian port of Tartus to restock supplies for the base. Russia had previously offered to send ships to the base for protection purposes.
A senior Russian official says that Moscow will not sign new weapons contracts with Syria until the situation there calms down.
Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, deputy chief of the Russian military and technical cooperation agency, told Russian news agencies on the sidelines of the Farnborough airshow south-west of London that Russia will continue, however, with previously agreed exports.
He said that so far Russia has been providing Syria’s army with spare parts and assistance in repairs of the weapons supplied earlier.
To give yourself an idea of what the heavy weaponry in Syria looks like, watch this video. In related news, a Syrian opposition group now says the death toll in the region has reached 17,000 — up from an earlier count of 14,000.
» Not for the faint of heart: There’s video of the aftermath of this horrendous violence available, showing what looks to be a mass burial of the victims of an artillery attack on the town of Houla, We simply weren’t comfortable posting the video on here — it’s extremely brutal, visceral and depressing, moreso than we’re willing to spring on people without a warning first. That disclaimer made, you can see it here if you want. The surge of violence in Houla, a central province of the famously besieged city of Homs, caused French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius to denounce the “massacre,” and suggest he wants an international meeting in Paris to discuss a forcible end to the rule of Bashar al-Assad.
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