Syria Direct: News Update 01-08-2014
* The large-scale opposition campaign against the Islamic State of […]
8 January 2014
* The large-scale opposition campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and a-Sham (ISIS) continued Wednesday in northern Syria, with fighters from various Islamist factions ousting ISIS members from their base in a children’s hospital in the Qadi al-Askar neighborhood of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The whereabouts of these ISIS fighters remain unknown. Meanwhile, the opposition groups fighting ISIS freed dozens of prisoners that the al-Qaeda affiliate had been holding in the hospital.
Dowlaty, which operates inside and outside Syria, announce a day of rage against al-Qaeda and Bashar al-Assad on January 10th. Image courtesy of Dowlaty.
* ISIS Chief Spokesman Sheikh Abu Mohahmmed al-Adnani released an audio statement Tuesday in which he condemned those fighting against ISIS in northern Syria, insisting that they were envious of ISIS’ jihad and that Western powers are attempting to undermine any groups seeking to establish an Islamic state. He directly addressed those fighting against ISIS, saying: “And those of you in the Syrian Revolutionary Front and Jaish al-Mujahideen… Who has deceived you? Who has tricked you into fighting the mujahideen?”
* The Temporary Kurdish Legislative Council in the northeastern city of Amouda voted Tuesday on plans for the autonomous administration of Syria’s Kurdish-majority northeast, reported the pro-opposition news site All4Syria. The documents were prepared by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) following its declaration of a Kurdish autonomous region in early November. The Council reportedly agreed on the “structure, management, and electoral system” of a Kurdish autonomous zone, laying the groundwork for legislative elections in Kurdish-majority areas.
* Pro-regime Syrian daily al-Watan reported that government forces had advanced on multiple fronts and eliminated opposition fighters, particularly in Damascus and its suburbs. The newspaper added that regime forces had gathered in Adra, Douma, Harasta, al-Qaboun, and Daraya.
