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In the current rebel offensive in Damascus, which has linked two
rebel-held working class districts across and industrial zone and taken
them close to Assadist HQ, the Free Syrian Army released the following
statement:
During this operation, the Free Syrian Army remains fully committed to
all international laws of war, most importantly:
1. Avoiding civilians of all religions and sects outside of the area
of conflict
2. Avoiding diplomatic missions and buildings from the aim of direct
and indirect fire
3. Avoiding all buildings of worship and symbols from the aim of
direct and indirect fire
4. Commitment to fair treatment of prisoners and bodies of the dead
without insulting or abusing them
5. Securing and protecting medical personnel, Civil Defence crews,
humanitarian aid and media groups
https://twitter.com/FSAPlatform/status/844141770694889472/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The main rebel formation leading this offensive, Faylaq al-Rahman
('Rahman Brigades'), an FSA-soft Islamist coalition, released an almost
identical statement: http://en.eldorar.com/node/5186
According to EAWorldview:
"The rebel offensive is now being led by the factions Faylaq al-Rahman
and Ahrar al-Sham, with involvement of other Free Syrian Army units and
support from Jaish al-Islam in strengthening frontlines. Despite some
mainstream media reports — accepting pro-Assad propaganda — there are
few fighters from Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, the group formerly linked to Al
Qa’eda"
(http://eaworldview.com/2017/03/rebels-renew-offensive-in-syrias-capital-damascus/).
At the same time as this offensive in Damascus, rebels have also
launched a new offensive in northern Hama, taking areas very close to
Hama city
(http://eaworldview.com/2017/03/rebels-renew-offensive-in-syrias-capital-damascus/).
The Hama-based FSA brigade, Jaish al-Nasr, is playing a prominent role
in this offensive.
And all this just after the recent renewal of the offensive in the south
by the FSA Southern Front, which had been dormant for a while under
US-Jordanian pressure to fight ISIS and Nusra only. It seems once the
rebels understood that the deliberate US-Jordanian aim was to hand the
Jordanian border over to Assad's brigades, the SF finally broke ranks,
seeing, somewhat late, the existential threat posed.
With new offensives in Damascus, Daraa and Hama, with a prominent FSA
role in all three, so soon after the crushing of Free Aleppo, once
again, predictions both that the revolution has ended and/or that the
FSA is finished and there are only "jihadists" still fighting, have,
once again, proven to be premature.
I'm reminded, in fact, of the countless times over countless years that
it was announced that the Arafat PLO/Fatah was either finished, wiped
out, eclipsed by others or irreversibly sold out, from about 1982
onwards.
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