Syrian Forces Seize Control of Rebel Stronghold

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian regime forces claim to have taken full control of the city of Yabroud along the border with Lebanon. Yabroud was a critical stronghold for opposition forces, used as a strategic supply chain for bringing weapons and other supplies into Syria from Lebanon. Regime forces claim to have taken control of the city with the support of Lebanese Hezbollah fighters who are supporters of the Assad regime.

a photograph released by Syria’s official news agency shows officers loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad talk to the media in Yabroud along the Lebanese border on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of The Washington Post)

The fall of Yabroud came on the eve of Third anniversary of the start of the Syrian Civil War. The Battle for Yabroud is part of a large offensive led by the Syrian regime and Hezbollah to secure the Qalamoun region along the Lebanese’s border with Syria. The offensive has been launched in order to cut rebel supply lines into Syria.

Government forces entered the town of Yabroud on Friday evening. On Saturday the regimes news agency said that “terrorist groups” in the town had been “devastated” by the regime’s fighters and that the area had been combed through for explosives. SANA reported on Sunday that “the Syrian army is now in full control of the town of Yabroud in Damascus [province] and are now combing through the city and dismantling the roadside bombs planted by terrorists.”

The Syrian regime launched its offensive in in mid-November of last year in order to force rebel fighters out of the Qalamoun region near the Lebanese border. As part of the offensive they have recaptured several towns formally held by rebel fighters including Qara, Deir Attiya and Nabak, to the north-east of Yabroud along the motorway that connects Damascus with the city of Homs, two of the country’s largest cities.

A fighter in Yabroud from Jabhat al-Nusra said that many of the rebels who fled the town were headed to nearby rebel controlled villages including Hosh Arab, Rankous and Flita. A Lebanese military source said that more than 1,000 fighters fled to the mountainous border area near the Lebanese town of Arsal, an area that has been a target of regime airstrikes in recent weeks. According to Ahmad Fliti, the vice mayor of Arsal, the Syrian Air Force launched two strikes on the outskirts of Arsal on Sunday.

More than 140,000 people have been during the three year fight for Syria’s future, a fight that began with peaceful street protests against the Assad regime, calling for democratic reforms, which turned violent after the regime began a violent crackdown on demonstrators and opponents of the regime.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Syrian Army Captures Strategic Border Town – 16 March 2014

BBC News – Syria ‘Recaptures Rebel Border Town Yabroud’ – 16 March 2014

The Guardian – Syria Claims to Have Captured Rebel Stronghold on Lebanese Border – 16 March 2014

The Washington Post – Syria Says Army and Hezbollah Have Seized Border Town – 16 March 2014

Voting in Referendum on Crimea Secession From Ukraine Held

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine – Voting in a referendum to decide whether Ukraine’s southern region of Crimea will secede from the Ukraine and become a territory of Russia, ended a short while ago.

A polling station in Simferopol. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

Approximately 1.5 million voters were expected to show up to polls, and it is widely believed that the outcome will be that Crimea will split from the Ukraine and join Russia. Polls were open for twelve hours beginning at 6:00 GMT on Sunday.

Voters had the choice of two options on the referendum ballot: either, “are you in favor of the reunification of Crimea with Russia as a part of the Russian Federation?” or “are you in favor of restoring the 1992 Constitution and the status of Crimea as a part of Ukraine?”

If Crimea citizens choose to restore the 1992 constitution, the Crimea government would be afforded broad authority to institute its own laws and structure its governance, and it would remain an area under the Ukraine. Western countries have expressed opposition to the referendum, and most have stated that they will not recognize it. The Kremlin in Russia insists that it is an instance of self-determination by the Crimea people.

The UN Security Council overwhelmingly supported a resolution that labels the Crimea referendum as illegal. Russia attempted to veto the resolution during the Security Council’s vote, but every other member nation of the Security Council favored the resolution. China, Russia’s closest ally on the Security Council, abstained from voting which left Russia as the sole proponent of the referendum.

After the Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovich, was ousted from office last month, Russian troops occupied Crimea, as it indeed possesses a largely ethnic-Russian population. Ihor Tenyukh, Ukraine’s acting defense minister, stated that the Ukraine and Russia had agreed on a truce in Crimea until March 21, during which “no measures will be taken against our military facilities.”

Amid the voting on the referendum, Russian troops landed on a strip of land in the southeast between Crimea and the mainland, which forced the Ukraine to also dispatch an aircraft with armed forces to stop the troops’ movement.

Meanwhile, approximately 50,000 people gathered in Moscow to protest against Russia’s intervention in the Ukraine, shouting, “The occupation of Crimea is Russia’s disgrace” and “Hands off Ukraine.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Crimeans Vote in Breakaway Referendum – 16 March 2014

BBC News – Ukraine Crisis: Crimea Holds Secession Referendum – 16 March 2014

New York Times – Under Watch of Russian Troops, Crimea Votes on Secession – 16 March 2014

Reuters – Crimea to Vote on Joining Russia, Moscow Wields U.N. Veto – 16 March 2014