170,000 Syrians killed in civil war since 2011

[sconosciuto]

The Alawi/Shia favorite choice of weapon that kill Sunnis in Syria (also Iraq) is barrel bombs. Those have killed and wounded many Sunnis.

[Mondey]

That's a small number compared to the damage.. i 'd say at least 500k killed.
i don't remember any country getting this much damage not even Somalia.

plus 100k are fleeing Syria every month. Beautiful Syria is gone.

[Machiavelli2]

Who is to blame for Syria's disintegration? Not long ago, The Saudis and the Qataris were jointly lobbying the Obama administration to use aerial bombing against the positions of Asad's troops, when Obama rejected their proposal, both, the Saudis and the Qataris threw tantrums. Since, they emerged to be antagonists in several Islamic countries and created a proxy war along the lines of Islamist parties. Who do they support in Syria? Is their intention to weaken all these countries and claim the leadership of all Muslims? Why were Jabhat Al Nusra and ISIS failed to unite? Are they controlled by these two (emerging) powerful antagonists? I have no clue.

In the case of the Saudis, they even supported secular parties in-order to quell the Muslim Brotherhood Party gaining power. They supported Sisi of Egypt against the MB led by Morsi and in Gaza, they were against Hamas whom as members of the Muslim Brotherhood are Qatari clients. In Libya, the Saudis support General (Ret) Khalifa Haftar against the Tunisian Muslim Brotherhood.

On Libya

External factors

"Haftar told IHS Jane's that he estimates, with his current capabilities, that Operation Karama will take six months, although he did not specify what he might define as a successful outcome. "If we receive military supplies from friendly countries the time will be less," he said, suggesting that such help has perhaps not yet materialised, despite talk of external support, particularly from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In an interview with IHS Jane's in mid-May, an aide to Haftar contended they had received what he described as "quiet diplomatic support" from "regional players and some in the West", but nothing practical in terms of materiel.

....However, Haftar has indicated that his targets are wider than Islamist militias in eastern Libya. In an interview with Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat in May, he stated that "the main enemy is the Muslim Brotherhood", whose affiliated political party - the Justice and Construction Party - holds the second largest number of seats in the GNC. Referring to the Brotherhood as "this malignant disease that is seeking to spread throughout the bones of the Arab world", Haftar vowed to purge Libya of it."

http://www.janes.com/article/41023/reti ... tern-libya

On Hamas, Gaza

This time, Gaza fighting is 'proxy war' for entire Mideast.

The conflict raging in Gaza is different this time.

While Hamas' rocket attacks and Israel's military actions may look familiar, they're taking place against a whole new backdrop.

"This is unprecedented in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict," says CNN's Ali Younes, an analyst who has covered the region for decades. "Most Arab states are actively supporting Israel against the Palestinians -- and not even shy about it or doing it discreetly."

It's a "joint Arab-Israeli war consisting of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia against other Arabs -- the Palestinians as represented by Hamas."

As the New York Times put it, "Arab leaders, viewing Hamas as worse than Israel, stay silent."

....."It's a proxy war for control or dominance in the Middle East," says CNN's Fareed Zakaria."

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/31/world ... index.html

On Syria.

Saudi edges Qatar to control Syrian rebel support. (an old article but captures the Saudi and Qatari scramble to support opposing parties)

Saudi Arabia has prevailed over its small but ambitious Gulf neighbor Qatar to impose itself as the main outside force supporting the Syrian rebels, a move that may curb the influence of Qatari-backed Islamist militants.

Though governments in neither Riyadh nor Doha would provide official comment, several senior sources in the region told Reuters that the past week's wrangling among Syria's opposition factions in Istanbul was largely a struggle for control between the two Gulf monarchies, in which Saudi power finally won out.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/ ... ZV20130531

Qatar’s military and economic largesse has made its way to Jabhat al-Nusra, to the point that a senior Qatari official told me he can identify al-Nusra commanders by the blocks they control in various Syrian cities. But ISIS is another matter. As one senior Qatari official stated, “ISIS has been a Saudi project.”

ISIS, in fact, may have been a major part of Prince Bandar’s covert-ops strategy in Syria. The Saudi government, for its part, has denied allegations, including claims made by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, that it has directly supported ISIS. But there are also signs that the kingdom recently shifted its assistance—whether direct or indirect—away from extremist factions in Syria and toward more moderate opposition groups.

.....But while official support from Qatar and Saudi Arabia appears to have dried up, non-governmental military and financial support may still be flowing from these countries to Islamist groups."

http://www.theatlantic.com/internationa ... ar/373181/

" To, Life, Politics & Stories, there's so much grey, nothing there is so black and white".

[SecretAgent]

Dont blame Assad he has no control hes a prisoner of the elites who control syria.

[Turbulence]

I remember when this war started so many people were supporting the stupid rebels. It was obvious all they would achieve would be destroying the country and killing a good portion of the population. I was opposed to them then and I am still opposed to them now.

[FarhanYare]

Allah kareem. this is just beggining, future is even darker for while before things get better.

Assad is winning the war. His Iranian friends are able to drive out all these groups but the ISIS/Nusra/etc all have men coming from different places everyday.

The losers here are civilians caught in between the war. If ISIS really cares about them they should declare their loss, 170,000 killed in 4 years is no joke.

[Marques]

How about we tell the Syrians to sort themselves out anagana keenii aan ka heshiino...I understand the plight in Gaza is severe and important because it is the traditional enemy of Islam (Yahuud) fighting against oppressed Muslims but i ain't about to get involved in no sectarian tribal geo-political BS in Syria where all it takes would be for Muslims to sit down and fear Allah for once.....

[FarhanYare]

How about we tell the Syrians to sort themselves out anagana keenii aan ka heshiino...I understand the plight in Gaza is severe and important because it is the traditional enemy of Islam (Yahuud) fighting against oppressed Muslims but i ain't about to get involved in no sectarian tribal geo-political BS in Syria where all it takes would be for Muslims to sit down and fear Allah for once.....

[waayeel101]

i believe syrian will survive and the future looks bright insha'allah soon they'll get peace and freedom.