Assad speaks: Syria will defend itself against aggression

The Jerusalem Post reports: “Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Thursday [August 29, 2013] that Syria would defend itself against any aggression following reports that the United States and its allies were preparing military action in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack.

‘The threats of direct aggression against Syria will only increase our commitment to our deep-rooted principles and the independent will of our people. Syria will defend itself in the face of any aggression,’ state television quoted Assad as telling a delegation of Yemeni politicians.

Meanwhile, Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi called on Thursday for mobilizing national resources to preserve essential state services in the case of a military attack by the United States and its Western allies in the coming days…” (Syria is not the nation that produces Armageddon, Revelation 16:16. Israel is as Jerusalem is divided – Joel 3:2. Eighteen times Ezekiel 38 & 39 mentions Israel as the world’s battleground during World War III. Nevertheless, Isaiah 17:1 has yet to be fulfilled but will soon bringing devastation as predicted by the prophet Isaiah: “The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.” See the next report.)

Assad: Syria’s allies will retaliate in response to US strike

The Jerusalem Post reports: “Syrian President Bashar Assad warned that if there was a military strike by the United States on his country, there would be retaliation by those aligned with Syria.

CBS reported Assad’s remarks that he made in an interview with Charlie Rose on Sunday [September 8, 2013] on its news program ‘Face the Nation.’

Syria was as prepared as it could be for an attack, Assad said.

Assad denied that he was behind a chemical weapons attack on the Syrian people and said evidence was not conclusive that there had been such an attack.

‘There has been no evidence that I used chemical weapons against my own people,’ CBS reported Assad said in an interview conducted in Damascus.

Meanwhile, Iran’s new foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the United States will ignite a fire across the Middle East if it attacks Syria. Zarif made the remarks on a visit to Iraq on Sunday, warning Western powers against warmongering…”

Russia’s President Putin warns U.S. over Syria action

BBC News reports: “Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the US and its allies against taking one-sided action in Syria.

He said any military strikes without UN approval would be ‘an aggression’.

US President Barack Obama has called for punitive action in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack.

Mr. Putin said Russia did not rule out supporting a UN Security Council resolution authorising force, if it was proved ‘beyond doubt’ that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons.

On Tuesday evening [September 3, 2013], members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations agreed on a draft resolution backing the use of military force.

The measure, to be voted on next week, sets a time limit of 60 days on any operation.

According to the draft resolution, the operation would be restricted to a ‘limited and tailored use of the United States Armed Forces against Syria’, and prohibit the use of any ground forces.

The US has put the death toll from the alleged chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus on 21 August at 1,429, though other countries and organisations have given lower figures…” (Russia and China will go together for Armageddon – Daniel 11:44. And proven by studying the following scriptural texts in this order: Ezekiel 38; 39; Revelation 16:12; Revelation 9:14 – 18. Russia and China have also warned America and Israel that they will stand with Syria if attacked. See the next report on Israel.)

Iran General: ‘Syria Will Leave Israel in Flames’

Israel National News reports: “Iran’s army chief of staff, General Hassan Firouzabadi, echoed the remarks of Iranian officials who have declared that ‘any military action against Syria will drive the Zionists to the edge of fire,’ Islamic Republic News Agency quoted.

‘Any new (military) operation in the region will leave behind a lot of damage, which will be of interest to no one except the Zionists,’ Firouzabadi said after warning that the conflict would not be limited to the region.

The Iranian General’s remarks are a direct response to reports of possible US-led military strikes against Syria, Iran’s major regional ally, in response to their alleged use of chemical weapons on civilians in Damascus last week [August 21, 2013]. The UN continues probing Syria chemical attack sites and UN chief Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday his investigating team will report back this week…”

Real death toll in Syria could be more than 200,000 human rights group says

Haaretz reports: “The real death toll in the Syrian war could be more than 200,000 people, a pro-opposition watchdog group said Saturday [August 10, 2013], as it provided a latest count that matched that of the UN.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had documented the deaths of more than 106,000 people, but warned that the real toll could be twice as high.

The United Nations said in July that more than 100,000 have been killed in Syria since March 2011.

‘We estimate that the real figure… is double the figure documented by the Observatory due to extreme secrecy that both sides in the conflict maintain on their casualties,’ said the Britain-based organization.

The Observatory said it had documented the deaths of 106,423 people, including 53,851 civilians, since March 2011 when the uprising against President Bashar Assad began. What started as largely peaceful protests quickly descended into civil war.

The dead also included 26,853 government soldiers and 171 militants from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group and a key ally of Assad…” (Islam is definitely not a religion of peace. Many believe whether the death toll is 100,000 or 200,000 the number of Shiites killing Sunnis is now over 80% of Muslim’s being slaughtered by their own. Isn’t it sad that they execute their own Muslim brothers and sisters in multiplied Islamic nations? Christ and Christianity preach and practice love for their own – I John 3:16: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” and peace for all others – Luke 6:27, and 28: “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.”)

Rebels Attack Christian Village in Syria

The Fars News Agency reports: “Syria rebels from the al-Qaeda-linked faction al-Nusra Front attacked the Christian village of Maaloula in the Western part of the crisis-hit country, seizing control of a mountain-top hotel and using it to launch mortars against the surrounding area, forcing the locals to hide in a convent.

Al-Qaeda has accused Syria’s Christian minority of being ‘pro-Assad,’ though as a practical matter they are simply averse to the rebels that are constantly attacking them.

Overall casualties from the attack are not yet clear, Antiwar.com reported.

Syria’s rebels also attacked Mushirfeh, a town in Homs Province, killing nine people there. The identities of the victims were unclear, but much of the recent fighting in Homs has involved attacks on members of the nation’s minorities…” (This minority group who have been slaughtered are made up of believers in the Jesus of the Judeo-Christian Bible, not the murdering prophet Jesus of the Koran. See Surah 4:157 – 159, 172, 173; Surah 5:72, 73; Surah 6:19; Surah 9:30; Surah 19:18, 33. These texts from the Koran make a monster out of Christianity’s God and Savior. The Biblical Jesus predicts such an hour would come: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also” – John 15:28 – 20. See the next report.)

Christians, other minorities in Syria fear ‘ethnic cleansing’

Stars & Stripes reports: “It’s a sweltering Friday night and the brightly lit streets of the mainly Christian neighborhood of Kasaa throb with the rhythms of music and the laughter of scores of young men and women strolling or sitting in outdoor cafes sipping beer or soft drinks.

That is, until the deep rumble of twin 82 mm mortar blasts. The music stops, shops are shuttered, the streets are empty.

Welcome to Damascus…

Over the past year, many Christians have fled the neighborhood, moving to other areas of the capital or into neighboring Lebanon. Some who remain say they fear the rebels are aiming to achieve ‘ethnic cleansing’ – the policy of eliminating unwanted ethnic or religious groups by terror that gained international notoriety during the Bosnian war 29 years ago…”