Liwa’a Zulfiqar | Today in Syria

Iraqi militias that are fighting for Assad within Syria, including Liwa’a Zulfiqar and the Qatta’ab al-Imam al-Hussein Brigade, have announced the formation of the Alawite Anger Squad in an attempt to raise the moral of the Iraqi government following its recent loses to the ISIL.

The statement claimed that the group has more than 7,000 fighters, although currently there is no way to confirm the legitimacy of this number, and that it will defend Iraq from north to south.

The presidents of Myanmar and Abkhazia both congratulated Assad on his victory in the presidential election.
Rebels launched several attacks in the Damascus suburb of Jobar as part of a new offensive called Breaking the Chains. Rebels bombed 2 buildings as part of the attack, allegedly killing up to 40 soldiers.

50 prisoners were released from the Homs Central Prison as part of the amnesty announced by Assad four days ago.
The ISIL has largely halted its operations in Syria, and may have signed local truces with rebels, as it brings recently captured weapons and equipment in from Iraq, although it is still holding the city of Deir Ez Zor under siege.

The government currently controls 2 neighborhoods within the city, the rebels control 7, and the remaining 5 are heavily contested between the two. The ISIL controls large parts of the city’s western suburbs.

The ISIL mainly fights the rebels in the area and is widely believed to have a secret truce with the government.

Currently Deir Ez Zor’s electricity and water is cut off, and the situation for both residents and fighters within the city is rapidly deteriorating when this is compounded with the 8 day siege. Additionally, many farmers have lost their harvests after the government and ISIL deliberately burned their crops.

Germany announced that it will take in another 10,000 Syrian refugees, doubling the previous number it was offering shelter to. So far around 6,000 refugees have arrived in Germany.
Syrian state media blamed Saudi Arabia for providing money and weapons to the ISIL and thereby enabling its recent advances in Iraq.They also blamed Turkey and Qatar for playing similar roles backing extremists according to orders given by the USA and Israel.
The FBI said that it is investigating 10-15 men from Minneapolis’s Somali community who may have traveled to fight in Syria over the last few months.
The UN Refugee Agency said that EU countries should help Italy with the large number of migrants who have been arriving from North Africa by boat by agreeing to take people in who have been rescued in international waters. The number of migrants this year, a large percentage of whom are Syrian refugees, has been over 50,000 so far.
Moaz al-Khatib, the former head of the Syrian National Coalition, said that the Syrian political opposition is still suffering from competing regional influences that are undermining its unity and effectiveness. He blamed the regional powers for the continuation of the war.

Khatib blamed foreign interference in the coalition for his resignation in March, 2013.

He also called for direct negotiations with the government, rather than waiting for months on end for international conferences. He said that he was open to negotiations with Iran.

11 pro-government fighters were killed by rebel shelling on the neighborhood of Al Khalidiya in Aleppo.
There were reports that the YPG is creating a 10 km deep border area in the Til Kocer border area.
11 fighters from Hezbollah were killed by an FSA ambush in Rankous.
The SAA killed 8 people in al-Qaboun in Damascus with mortars:
Jabhat al-Nusra is entering Iraq from the al-Qa’em border crossing and allying with Sahwat tribes in order to oppose the ISIL.