southfront--2020-08-07--Russian-Made MiG-29 Reportedly Destroyed US-Made MIM-23 Hawk Near Sirte

In recent weeks there ’ s been reports that Russian MiG-29 fighter jets have “ destroyed ” US-made MIM-23 Hawk medium-range surface-to-air missile defense system .
This likely relates to two separate incidents .
On July 5th , the Government of National Accord ( GNA ) reported that a MiG-29 fighter jet from Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar ’ s Libyan National Army ( LNA ) , attacked the newly-captured al-Watiya airbase .
The airbase was quickly turned into a Turkish military base and a MIM-23 Hawk was quickly deployed , alongside other equipment .
Reportedly , and according to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system .
Separately , Russian-made MiG-29 fighters at the end of July destroyed the American-developed MIM-23 Hawk medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems located near the city of Sirte in Libya , according to Polish outlet Defense24 .
The publication notes that the operators of the complex were the Turkish military , and its elimination made it possible to prevent the attack on the city by the forces of the GNA , supported by Turkey .
According to Defense24 , the MIM-23 Hawk was unable to detect the MiG-29 , since the latter were probably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ systems .
The publication admits that the planes were piloted by Russian pilots .
Other outlets , however , reported that the MiG-29 fighter jet didn ’ t destroy the MIM-23 , but during one of the sorties , a battle took place between Haftar ’ s aviation and air defense systems deployed in the vicinity of Sirte , delivered from Turkey .
According to one of the media versions , the fighters came under fire from Turkish short-range air defense systems but were able to evade anti-aircraft missiles .
Subsequently , Libyan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ air defense positions , the installations were destroyed .
According to another version , the fighters were not noticed in time by air defense systems .
This allowed the fighters to strike at the positions of the Turkish troops and destroy several anti-aircraft installations .
This is in line with a report by US African Command saying that a batch of military aircraft was delivered to Libya from Russia .
According to photos published by the Pentagon , the Libyan troops of Marshal Haftar received MiG-29 fighters and Su-24 frontline bombers .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the armed forces of Egypt , whose government actively supports Haftar and opposes the presence of Turkish troops in Libya .
According to experts , the Egyptian Air Force uses fighters of the MiG-29M / M2 modification , which can be used to strike at ground targets .
But it is unlikely that Egypt carried out an attack such as this , since they are still actively conducting diplomacy behind the scenes .
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In recent weeks there’s been reports that Russian MiG-29 fighter jets have “destroyed” US-made MIM-23 Hawk medium-range surface-to-air missile defense system.
This likely relates to two separate incidents.
On July 5th, the Government of National Accord (GNA) reported that a MiG-29 fighter jet from Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA), attacked the newly-captured al-Watiya airbase.
The airbase was quickly turned into a Turkish military base and a MIM-23 Hawk was quickly deployed, alongside other equipment.
Reportedly, and according to a video, a MiG-29 destroyed the American-made system.
Separately, Russian-made MiG-29 fighters at the end of July destroyed the American-developed MIM-23 Hawk medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems located near the city of Sirte in Libya, according to Polish outlet Defense24.
The publication notes that the operators of the complex were the Turkish military, and its elimination made it possible to prevent the attack on the city by the forces of the GNA, supported by Turkey.
According to Defense24, the MIM-23 Hawk was unable to detect the MiG-29, since the latter were probably used against the former by electronic warfare systems. The publication admits that the planes were piloted by Russian pilots.
“Thus, this may be another proof that the MiG-29 aircraft still have a very high combat potential if they are equipped with modern precision weapons and are piloted by well-trained pilots,” outlet concluded.
Other outlets, however, reported that the MiG-29 fighter jet didn’t destroy the MIM-23, but during one of the sorties, a battle took place between Haftar’s aviation and air defense systems deployed in the vicinity of Sirte, delivered from Turkey.
According to one of the media versions, the fighters came under fire from Turkish short-range air defense systems but were able to evade anti-aircraft missiles.
Subsequently, Libyan artillery fire was opened on the identified air defense positions, the installations were destroyed. According to another version, the fighters were not noticed in time by air defense systems. This allowed the fighters to strike at the positions of the Turkish troops and destroy several anti-aircraft installations.
This is in line with a report by US African Command saying that a batch of military aircraft was delivered to Libya from Russia. According to photos published by the Pentagon, the Libyan troops of Marshal Haftar received MiG-29 fighters and Su-24 frontline bombers.
In addition, the MiG-29 fighters are used by the armed forces of Egypt, whose government actively supports Haftar and opposes the presence of Turkish troops in Libya. According to experts, the Egyptian Air Force uses fighters of the MiG-29M / M2 modification, which can be used to strike at ground targets.
But it is unlikely that Egypt carried out an attack such as this, since they are still actively conducting diplomacy behind the scenes.
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southfront--2020-08-07--Lukashenko Claims He Recovered From COVID-19 And Was Intentionally Infected

On August 6th , Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko continued his attempts to get more public approval and sympathy by claiming that he had been intentionally infected with COVID-19 .
Earlier , on July 28th , he told military officials that he had contracted and recovered from COVID-19 and he was asymptomatic .
“ Today you are meeting a man who managed to survive the coronavirus on his feet .
Doctors came to such a conclusion yesterday .
Asymptomatic , ” Lukashenko said .
“ As I have said , 97 per cent of our population is carrying this infection asymptomatically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to get into this cohort of the asymptomatic , ” he said .
Then , in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon he claimed that he had been intentionally infected .
He said he wouldn ’ t name his suggestions public yet .
To attempt and prove how determined he is to do the best job he can in leading his people , Lukashenko revealed that he ignored doctors ’ pleas to submit to treatment when signs of the coronavirus were discovered on his scans , and instead pressed on with his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him fully back on his feet in just “ four days.
” In the same interview with Gordon he said that “ they may shoot me dead , but I will never run [ from Belarus ] .
” It is unclear who “ they ” are , probably the “ evil Russians.
” Lukashenko has been president of Belarus , a former Soviet republic that remains a close ally of Russia , for a quarter of a century and is now seeking a sixth consecutive term in upcoming elections on August 9th @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been widely criticized as not being free or fair .
During his tenure , dissent and independent media have been suppressed , while prominent political opponents have been frequently jailed and sometimes held for years .
Two of his strongest challengers in this election have been jailed and prevented from registering their candidacies .
Lukashenko is now expected to come out victorious in the vote next week .
Furthermore , he has very evidently orchestrated more than one controversial situation to show that Moscow is somehow against him being re-elected in an attempt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gain compassion and lead people to the conclusion that if “ the Russians ” want him gone , then he must be doing something right .
Belarus has been rocked by protests in recent weeks , as demonstrators have rallied have rallied behind Svetlana Tikhanouskaya , the wife of one of the jailed candidates , who is campaigning in her husband ’ s place .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Evidence Surfaces Of Ukrainian Special Services Orchestrating Arrest Of Russians In Belarus • Evidence Surfaces That Russians Detained In Belarus Were , @ @ @ @ @ @

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On August 6th, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko continued his attempts to get more public approval and sympathy by claiming that he had been intentionally infected with COVID-19.
Earlier, on July 28th, he told military officials that he had contracted and recovered from COVID-19 and he was asymptomatic.
“Today you are meeting a man who managed to survive the coronavirus on his feet. Doctors came to such a conclusion yesterday. Asymptomatic,” Lukashenko said. “As I have said, 97 per cent of our population is carrying this infection asymptomatically. Thank God that I have managed to get into this cohort of the asymptomatic,” he said.
Then, in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon he claimed that he had been intentionally infected.
“We’re leaning towards [the version] that someone planted the coronavirus on me. I’m now looking into when it might’ve happened.”
He said he wouldn’t name his suggestions public yet.
To attempt and prove how determined he is to do the best job he can in leading his people, Lukashenko revealed that he ignored doctors’ pleas to submit to treatment when signs of the coronavirus were discovered on his scans, and instead pressed on with his schedule.
Lukashenko claimed that doctors had him fully back on his feet in just “four days.”
In the same interview with Gordon he said that “they may shoot me dead, but I will never run [from Belarus].”
It is unclear who “they” are, probably the “evil Russians.”
Lukashenko has been president of Belarus, a former Soviet republic that remains a close ally of Russia, for a quarter of a century and is now seeking a sixth consecutive term in upcoming elections on August 9th.
Belarus’ previous presidential elections have been widely criticized as not being free or fair. During his tenure, dissent and independent media have been suppressed, while prominent political opponents have been frequently jailed and sometimes held for years.
Two of his strongest challengers in this election have been jailed and prevented from registering their candidacies. Lukashenko is now expected to come out victorious in the vote next week.
Furthermore, he has very evidently orchestrated more than one controversial situation to show that Moscow is somehow against him being re-elected in an attempt to make himself look in danger and gain compassion and lead people to the conclusion that if “the Russians” want him gone, then he must be doing something right.
Belarus has been rocked by protests in recent weeks, as demonstrators have rallied have rallied behind Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, the wife of one of the jailed candidates, who is campaigning in her husband’s place.
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southfront--2020-08-07--Twitter Begins “Soft Censorship” Campaign Against Russian And Chinese Outlets

In a new wave of soft censorship , Twitter began flagging media accounts as affiliated to specific governments .
This , however , only relates to specific media – that originating in China and Russia .
Specifically , there was a need to say that an outlet named “ Russia Today ” is Russian-affiliated media , as it if it wasn ’ t obviously .
The same goes for Sputnik , and it was never a secret that they ’ re both Russian-state sponsored media .
Twitter also made sure that every single post will remind any would-be readers that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is stuck to it .
The same goes for Chinese outlets .
Somehow , Iranian and Venezuelan outlets appear to have avoided this treatment as of August 7th , 2020 .
Additionally , other outlets that aren ’ t flagged as state-sponsored are : Radio Free Liberty , Voice of America , any other US and UK state-sponsored media .
“ When it comes to conversations with government and state-affiliated media accounts on Twitter , we ’ re helping to make the experience more transparent .
We ’ ll now use two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accounts , so you can easily identify them and their Tweets , ” Twitter ’ s official statement said .
Currently , labels appear on relevant Twitter accounts from the five countries that comprise the permanent membership of the UN Security Council ( China , France , Russia , the United Kingdom , and the United States ) that are : • Individuals , such as editors or high-profile journalists , associated with state-affiliated media entities Somehow , however , AFP , BBC , VOA , Radio Free Liberty and so on appear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all 3 of the above conditions .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • SouthFront Sends Warmest Greetings To US Department Of State

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In a new wave of soft censorship, Twitter began flagging media accounts as affiliated to specific governments.
This, however, only relates to specific media – that originating in China and Russia.
Specifically, there was a need to say that an outlet named “Russia Today” is Russian-affiliated media, as it if it wasn’t obviously.
That's new. The 'R' stands for Russia?! MORE: https://t.co/dVX0Q8OI9Y P.S. Follow us to see what the US state-affiliated media doesn't show you pic.twitter.com/RxriP09dfj — RT (@RT_com) August 6, 2020
The same goes for Sputnik, and it was never a secret that they’re both Russian-state sponsored media.
Twitter also made sure that every single post will remind any would-be readers that this is Russian-state affiliated media, since it is stuck to it.
The same goes for Chinese outlets.
Somehow, Iranian and Venezuelan outlets appear to have avoided this treatment as of August 7th, 2020.
Additionally, other outlets that aren’t flagged as state-sponsored are: Radio Free Liberty, Voice of America, any other US and UK state-sponsored media.
“When it comes to conversations with government and state-affiliated media accounts on Twitter, we’re helping to make the experience more transparent. We’ll now use two distinct profile labels for these types of accounts, so you can easily identify them and their Tweets,” Twitter’s official statement said.
Furthermore, state media can’t advertise on Twitter.
“For clarity: we don’t let state-affiliated media accounts advertise on Twitter. We’ll also no longer include them or their Tweets in recommendations, as we continue to support a free and independent press”
For clarity: we don't let state-affiliated media accounts advertise on Twitter. We’ll also no longer include them or their Tweets in recommendations, as we continue to support a free and independent press. More on this policy and new labels: https://t.co/BY1jTO46Zc (2/2) — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) August 6, 2020
Currently, labels appear on relevant Twitter accounts from the five countries that comprise the permanent membership of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) that are:
Government accounts heavily engaged in geopolitics and diplomacy
State-affiliated media entities
Individuals, such as editors or high-profile journalists, associated with state-affiliated media entities
Somehow, however, AFP, BBC, VOA, Radio Free Liberty and so on appear to not be tagged, despite fulfilling all 3 of the above conditions.
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southfront--2020-08-07--Evidence Surfaces Of Ukrainian Special Services Orchestrating Arrest Of ‘Russian Mercenaries’ In Bel

Evidence Surfaces Of Ukrainian Special Services Orchestrating Arrest Of ‘Russian Mercenaries’ In Belarus

On July 29th , 33 Russians were detained in Minsk .
All of them were accused of being a detachment of the mythical Wagner PMC , and of being there in order to “ prepare and participate in mass riots ” and were in league with local oppositionists Sergei Tikhanovsky and Nikolai Statkevich .
Both Tikhanovsky and Statkevich were arrested earlier .
It also appears that most of the 33 Russians that were detained had fought in Eastern Ukraine , against the Kiev government forces .
Russian outlet KP , citing its own sources , claimed that these 33 individuals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sergei Petrovich , who offered them the opportunity to protect oil facilities in Syria .
The mobile phones of the arrested individuals showed that they received phone calls from a cell phone number from Syria , but it was virtual , and it could only carry make out-going calls .
Its location was impossible to determine .
Sergei Petrovich spared no time , calling the “ soldier of fortune ” , asking about their military past .
He made it seem as if he was a high-ranking member of Wagner and was recruiting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the individuals ’ activities up to that point .
One of the Eastern Ukraine veterans – Artem Milyaev was so imbued with communication with “ Sergei Petrovich ” that he volunteered to help him recruit a group of individuals who would “ work abroad.
” He appears to be quite interested , especially since the job appears quite serious – a Rosneft executive under the name of Sergei Viktorovich Bezinsky became part of the negotiations .
Such an individual doesn ’ t exist on the Rosneft staff roster .
Bezinsky also had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company , if only he could understand these domains .
The address ( info @ office-Rosneft.org ) , is not registered in Russia and stopped working on July 31 – two days after the Russians were arrested .
Initially , the aim was to recruit 90 people , then in May 2020 Artem Milyaev was offered to double the group to 180 .
He actually did recruit that many , sending all personal data with photographs and bank card details to the “ address of Rosneft ” – for calculating salaries in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Milyaev , for some reason , when recruiting people , used the attributes of the PMC Mar , liquidated in 2018 .
However , on July 6th , things turned out for the worst – Milyaev received the sad news that “ Sergei Petrovich ” had died in Libya ( not Syria ) .
A few days later a new handler came – this time calling from a Venezuelan number .
Notably , the number was +5-841-291-01-091 – this is significant since it is the number of the consular section of the Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just the phone of the person on duty , without the possibility of outgoing international calls – that is , the same completely virtual number as the Syrian one .
The new handler – Artur , said that the “ Rosneft activities ” need to be broken up , still 180 people were needed , but separated into 5 groups .
Each with its own commander , so on and so forth .
Four detachments were to move to Minsk on July 24 , July 26 , August 4 and August 6 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Venezuela .
According to KP ’ s sources in Russian security services , Milyaev ’ s activities were estimated at $ 14,000 and he had the money deposited into his bank account by an unknown man with a beard .
The first group , led by Milyaev was comprised of people who had fought in Eastern Ukraine .
Departure from the capital of Belarus on the route Istanbul – Havana – Caracas was scheduled for July 25 .
10 days before that , Milyaev had received copies of plane tickets for the Turkish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Minsk on July 25 this year .
The tickets looked like they were purchased through the website of the Must Go company , registered in Kiev .
However , with the indication on the tickets of the requisites of the travel company Coral Travel .
But through the office of Turkish Airlines in Moscow , it was established that they were acquired … “ in an authorized agency registered in Ukraine , which follows from the response of the Moscow representative office of the Turkish airline.
” Then , a whole string @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be tied up in the ticket purchasing scheme and more .
And while Milyaev ’ s group was getting ready to go , their tickets to Istanbul were canceled and rebooked for July 30 .
About which the travelers were not even informed .
However , while the detachment was traveling from Moscow to Minsk , the reservation for most of its members was canceled on the 30th .
On the border with Belarus , the Russians showed their copies of contracts with the RN-Zapad company .
The tickets were found at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gennady Kompan was there to meet them .
They were then transported with two minibuses to Minsk .
It turned out that the contracts are fake , including the seals , as well as the head of the company – Sergei Rustamov , who hasn ’ t lived in Minsk for years and actually lives in Samara .
The accommodation of Russians in Minsk was handled by Larisa Nikolaevna Samarina – “ an employee of the Russian embassy in Istanbul ” , concurrently – “ a specialist of Rosneft.
” Neither of these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Belorusochka sanatorium for the group from 24 to 29 July , explaining to the manager that she was accommodating a group of passengers of the postponed flight , which they had no idea about .
Moreover , because they had to wait at the border , they were late for check-in and had to stay in a hotel in Minsk .
On July 25th , Milyaev was told that their flight was delayed and that he should destroy the tickets and receive new ones for July 30th .
By destroying the tickets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A thread would potentially be lost that leads to Kiev and Lviv , since most payments were made in cash , these were allegedly hard to track .
The rest is history , on July 29th , the Russians were arrested , they were accused and so on .
Immediately after the arrest , the lists of the detainees were handed over to the Ukrainian embassy in Minsk , which , in fact , explains the prompt adjustment on the site “ Mirotvorets ” where 12 people from the Milyaev group were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Here one can only assume that the Belarusian special services were already in close contact with the Ukrainian ones , having received information from them about the arrival of “ saboteurs ” .
It is not without reason that Belarusian President that Alexander Lukashenko , on July 24 , during his visit to a special forces brigade , mentioned “ foreign PMCs ” that are going to start unrest in Belarus .
As a result , it can be stated that the Ukrainian special services managed to create a fake project , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while including war veterans from Eastern Ukraine in the first group .
At the same time , it is quite possible to admit that the entire fascinating and instructive story was brought to the Belarusian side in a very truncated form .
Through this entire operation , the SBU seems to have intended to kill several birds with one stone at once – the ubiquitous , nightmarish and terrible PMC Wagner was supposed to ricochet on Rosneft – as one of the largest Russian companies , but the main blow , undoubtedly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russian-Belarusian relationship .
Not to mention the possible extradition of Russian citizens to Ukraine .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Evidence Surfaces That Russians Detained In Belarus Were , In Fact , Traveling To Istanbul • Lukashenko ’ s Gambit “ Pays Off ” : Restrictions On Border Between Russia And Belarus Likely Remain In Force

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On July 29th, 33 Russians were detained in Minsk.
All of them were accused of being a detachment of the mythical Wagner PMC, and of being there in order to “prepare and participate in mass riots” and were in league with local oppositionists Sergei Tikhanovsky and Nikolai Statkevich.
Both Tikhanovsky and Statkevich were arrested earlier.
It also appears that most of the 33 Russians that were detained had fought in Eastern Ukraine, against the Kiev government forces.
And Kiev demands their extradition.
Russian outlet KP, citing its own sources, claimed that these 33 individuals were recruited by an individual known as Sergei Petrovich, who offered them the opportunity to protect oil facilities in Syria.
The mobile phones of the arrested individuals showed that they received phone calls from a cell phone number from Syria, but it was virtual, and it could only carry make out-going calls. Its location was impossible to determine.
Sergei Petrovich spared no time, calling the “soldier of fortune”, asking about their military past. He made it seem as if he was a high-ranking member of Wagner and was recruiting troops, asking all sorts of questions about the individuals’ activities up to that point.
One of the Eastern Ukraine veterans – Artem Milyaev was so imbued with communication with “Sergei Petrovich” that he volunteered to help him recruit a group of individuals who would “work abroad.”
He appears to be quite interested, especially since the job appears quite serious – a Rosneft executive under the name of Sergei Viktorovich Bezinsky became part of the negotiations. Such an individual doesn’t exist on the Rosneft staff roster.
Bezinsky also had mail on the domain of the oil company, if only he could understand these domains. The address (info@office-Rosneft.org), is not registered in Russia and stopped working on July 31 – two days after the Russians were arrested.
Initially, the aim was to recruit 90 people, then in May 2020 Artem Milyaev was offered to double the group to 180.
He actually did recruit that many, sending all personal data with photographs and bank card details to the “address of Rosneft” – for calculating salaries in the future. At the same time, Milyaev, for some reason, when recruiting people, used the attributes of the PMC Mar, liquidated in 2018.
However, on July 6th, things turned out for the worst – Milyaev received the sad news that “Sergei Petrovich” had died in Libya (not Syria). A few days later a new handler came – this time calling from a Venezuelan number.
Notably, the number was +5-841-291-01-091 – this is significant since it is the number of the consular section of the Russian Embassy in Caracas.
That’s just the phone of the person on duty, without the possibility of outgoing international calls – that is, the same completely virtual number as the Syrian one.
The new handler – Artur, said that the “Rosneft activities” need to be broken up, still 180 people were needed, but separated into 5 groups. Each with its own commander, so on and so forth.
Four detachments were to move to Minsk on July 24, July 26, August 4 and August 6. The fifth one was to go to Venezuela.
According to KP’s sources in Russian security services, Milyaev’s activities were estimated at $14,000 and he had the money deposited into his bank account by an unknown man with a beard.
The first group, led by Milyaev was comprised of people who had fought in Eastern Ukraine.
Departure from the capital of Belarus on the route Istanbul – Havana – Caracas was scheduled for July 25. 10 days before that, Milyaev had received copies of plane tickets for the Turkish airline’s flight with a departure from Minsk on July 25 this year.
The tickets looked like they were purchased through the website of the Must Go company, registered in Kiev.
However, with the indication on the tickets of the requisites of the travel company Coral Travel. But through the office of Turkish Airlines in Moscow, it was established that they were acquired … “in an authorized agency registered in Ukraine, which follows from the response of the Moscow representative office of the Turkish airline.”
Then, a whole string of Ukrainian companies and individuals appear to be tied up in the ticket purchasing scheme and more.
And while Milyaev’s group was getting ready to go, their tickets to Istanbul were canceled and rebooked for July 30. About which the travelers were not even informed. However, while the detachment was traveling from Moscow to Minsk, the reservation for most of its members was canceled on the 30th.
On the border with Belarus, the Russians showed their copies of contracts with the RN-Zapad company. The tickets were found at the meeting party – a citizen of Belarus Gennady Kompan was there to meet them. They were then transported with two minibuses to Minsk.
It turned out that the contracts are fake, including the seals, as well as the head of the company – Sergei Rustamov, who hasn’t lived in Minsk for years and actually lives in Samara.
The accommodation of Russians in Minsk was handled by Larisa Nikolaevna Samarina – “an employee of the Russian embassy in Istanbul”, concurrently – “a specialist of Rosneft.” Neither of these things were true.
And she booked the Belorusochka sanatorium for the group from 24 to 29 July, explaining to the manager that she was accommodating a group of passengers of the postponed flight, which they had no idea about. Moreover, because they had to wait at the border, they were late for check-in and had to stay in a hotel in Minsk.
On July 25th, Milyaev was told that their flight was delayed and that he should destroy the tickets and receive new ones for July 30th. By destroying the tickets, they got rid of valuable evidence. A thread would potentially be lost that leads to Kiev and Lviv, since most payments were made in cash, these were allegedly hard to track.
The rest is history, on July 29th, the Russians were arrested, they were accused and so on.
Immediately after the arrest, the lists of the detainees were handed over to the Ukrainian embassy in Minsk, which, in fact, explains the prompt adjustment on the site “Mirotvorets” where 12 people from the Milyaev group were added. Another 16 were already present.
Here one can only assume that the Belarusian special services were already in close contact with the Ukrainian ones, having received information from them about the arrival of “saboteurs”.
It is not without reason that Belarusian President that Alexander Lukashenko, on July 24, during his visit to a special forces brigade, mentioned “foreign PMCs” that are going to start unrest in Belarus.
As a result, it can be stated that the Ukrainian special services managed to create a fake project, in which they involved 180 Russian citizens, while including war veterans from Eastern Ukraine in the first group. At the same time, it is quite possible to admit that the entire fascinating and instructive story was brought to the Belarusian side in a very truncated form.
Through this entire operation, the SBU seems to have intended to kill several birds with one stone at once – the ubiquitous, nightmarish and terrible PMC Wagner was supposed to ricochet on Rosneft – as one of the largest Russian companies, but the main blow, undoubtedly, was to be made on the Russian-Belarusian relationship.
Not to mention the possible extradition of Russian citizens to Ukraine.
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southfront--2020-08-07--SouthFront Sends Warmest Greetings To US Department Of State

We are pleased to inform you about another eye-opening report about SouthFront ’ s work released by the highest levels of the US government .
In early August , the Global Engagement Center of the US Department of State released a report entitled “ Pillars of Russia ’ s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem ” .
At least 13 of the 77 pages of this report are dedicated to SouthFront : Analysis & Intelligence as a “ pillar ” of Russian disinformation and propaganda .
Please find the full version of report on the official website of the US Department of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make some comments regarding the content of this brilliant investigative report dedicated to our endeavour .
We do not think that our comments include anything really new , but it will be useful to recall the history of SouthFront ’ s creation and development .
First of all , we want to compliment the authors of the report .
It has a very straight and useful logic : If some media organization has Russian citizens or people of Russian origin among its members , or , God forbid , other links with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spreading Russia ’ s disinformation and is controlled by the Kremlin .
Setting the tone for the depth of the investigation , the part of the report about SouthFront starts by repeating tired tropes about the registration of the SouthFront website domain ( southfront.org ) by a Russian domain registrar Reg.ru .
This is an open secret and we ’ ve repeatedly said that this was done intentionally in order to secure the domain in the case of an attempt to censor it .
Recent developments demonstrate that this decision was well founded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeats Facebook stories created to justify the censorship of SouthFront ’ s public page with about 100,000 subscribers .
The reports ’ authors took from the claims made by Facebook in “ April 2020 Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior Report ” what they thought to be the most important part : the allegation that SouthFront was based in Crimea , and used this allegation to associate SouthFront with another organization with a similar name “ News Front ” .
This media organization is in fact based in Crimea and officially registered in Russia .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were the result of an in-depth investigation and itself a great revelation of SouthFront ’ s roots .
Nonetheless , many of our readers and subscribers who have been following SouthFront for years well know SouthFront ’ s history and there has been no secret made of the fact that a few members of SouthFront are of Russian origin , from Russia or are Russian citizens .
There are also members from other post-USSR states .
This does not mean that SouthFront , as an international team of independent authors and experts , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SouthFront Steering Committee is located in Crimea .
This is a blatant lie and we are ready to prove this in court .
It is easy to see that SouthFront has always provided a platform for the various , sometimes opposing , points of view shared by our members , volunteers and contributors .
SouthFront also freely provided its umbrella brand for authors and groups of authors , who share the main principles of SouthFront and stand against mainstream disinformation , global censorship and the enforcing neo-liberal , globalist world order .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by YouTube in 2015 included ‘ crimeanfront ’ in its name and makes far-reaching conclusions using this claim .
This is a clear factual error .
Even the screenshot used in the report itself confirms this by quoting the following words : “ Our new channel is https : //youtube.com/user/crimeanfront ” .
If that is the new channel , then it is only logical to assume that some other channel was deleted .
Right ?
So here are the actual facts : The channel deleted in April 2015 had the link ‘ https @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a suspicious story with copyright claims by NATO-affiliated Nordic Films LTD .
Here is the message then shared by our friends , including The Saker : After the deletion of that channel , SouthFront volunteers of Russian origin proposed using the already existing YouTube channel https : //www.youtube.com/user/crimeanfront .
At that time , this channel already had a certain number of subscribers .
Therefore , it was useful to employ it instead of creating a new one with a zero base audience .
Unfortunately for the US State Department investigators , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If the US analysts had really wanted to go into the matter and produce useful material instead of potential toilet paper , they would have found out that that YouTube channel https : //www.youtube.com/user/crimeanfront was not deleted in April 2015 .
Of course , SouthFront Team is arousing fear among members of the Washington establishment .
Nonetheless , the situation itself causes a sad smile .
The next part of the report is based on screenshots showing the redesign of https : //www.youtube.com/user/crimeanfront and claims of some person insisting that he created @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Using this , the authors of the report claim that SouthFront and News Front are somehow “ at least began as sister organizations ” .
It is hard to dignify such a superficial investigation with a comment .
Even when the SouthFront concept was being created and the like-minded group of people that later created SouthFront : Analysis & Intelligence and evolved into SouthFront Steering Committee first got together , we had no links to the aforementioned organizations .
On top of this , the YouTube channel https : //www.youtube.com/user/crimeanfront provided to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the aforementioned organizations .
This is why they were not using this channel .
Instead , SouthFront got it for free over 1.5 years after the developments in Crimea in 2014 .
At the same time , there is no secret that in 2015 and coming years , SouthFront , an endeavour dedicated to the coverage of conflicts around the world , was covering developments in Ukraine .
It ’ s easy to find this if one opens southfront.org and checks the category # UKRAINE .
As to the idea of the endeavour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ & Intelligence , it first appeared in 2012-2013 and came about as a result of the rapid deterioration of the international situation around the world , especially in the Middle East .
The developments in Crimea , eastern Ukraine and Syria in 2014 became the turning point that led to the creation of SouthFront : Analysis & Intelligence , the SouthFront Steering Committee and to the main foundations of our work : independence , the commitment to freedom of speech , human rights , and combating media disinformation and censorship .
Trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State Department report ignored the obvious fact that SouthFront appeared earlier than News Front .
This can be seen from the date of the creation of the first Facebook page of SouthFront , and screenshots shared by the report ’ s authors themselves .
Therefore , there are two main versions : 1 ) SouthFront is an all-mighty Kremlin tool that influences other Russian ‘ proxy sites ’ and ‘ disinformation and propaganda ’ on the international scene , and its members are on a first-name basis with Vladimir Putin ; 2 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the use of the word “ Front ” in the name of an organization indicates a connection to any other organization also using “ Front ” in its name .
Conspiracy theorists may be surprised to learn that SouthFront is a largely volunteer organization with a regularly changing team composition .
So , we want to seize this opportunity and inform the US experts about some realities of modern informational warfare and disinformation .
We can perhaps excuse Department of State personnel for not knowing that when one obtains a domain name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data shows the physical address of the domain registrar office .
However , the inability to notice that SouthFront has always had a PayPal account with a .ru address and that this address has always been public and easily found on southfront.org is beyond our understanding .
Do the authors really think that if SouthFront Team members were to work secretly for the Kremlin or Russian intelligence services ( for example , the mighty GRU ) , we would not have found the time to obtain an address through Yahoo.com or some other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the investigation showcases 7 links allegedly confirming that SouthFront “ directly aligns with Kremlin talking points and disinformation.
” Since the launch of southfront.org , we have released several tens of thousands of articles , videos and graphic pieces .
Apparently , the State Department staff spent a lot of time checking them to find these seven posts .
In any case , SouthFront has never denied that we provide a platform for all sides interested in a constructive discussion , including the pro-Russian perspective .
It is also interesting to note how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ articles criticizing the internal situation in Russia and the actions of Moscow .
For them , this is just a “ tactic ” to hide “ an ocean of Kremlin-aligned disinformation ” .
However , if one employs this approach , one would have to find that CNN , the Washington Times , the New York Times and other outlets , which release critical articles about Russia , must also be a part of the sophisticated Kremlin-affiliated disinformation network .
Joking aside , if one checks SouthFront articles questioning the actions of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would find hundreds of content pieces .
In fact , it is hard to find a southfront.org article that would provide a solely positive view on the current internal political situation in Russia or on the actions of Moscow in the last 1-2 years .
The COVID-19 disinformation part also shows no creativity .
We have already stated this on previous occasions , but it bears repeating : SouthFront well understands that the COVID-19 outbreak is a sensitive issue .
This is why our articles about the outbreak/pandemic always include links to sources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deserves special attention , is that SouthFront articles do not fuel hysteria and fear regarding the COVID-19 spread .
We seek to objectively cover the situation .
The report includes 6 examples of supposed COVID-19 disinformation .
SouthFront releases about 30 content pieces per day .
Articles , videos and graphic pieces dedicated to the COVID-19 outbreak make up less than 1 % of the content released by SouthFront in 2020 so far .
This is less than a statistical error .
Nonetheless , the State Department report reads as if half of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and most of the rest is made up of official statements by the Kremlin .
The part of the paper entitled Niche Graphics Capabilities emphasizes the “ professionally designed ” SouthFront visual content .
We , the SouthFront Team , want to say thank you to the Department of State for its high praise of our work .
This will motivate us to even greater efforts in the field to produce even more high quality content .
The conspiracy theory explaining the evolution and redesign of southfront.org ’ s side bar is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigators made several screenshots of the partners section of old southfront.org ’ s side bar pretending that its changes are something ‘ strange ’ and need ‘ explanations ’ .
It seems that far from everybody in the State Department spent time in university doing something useful .
At least , we can recommend that they google “ Occam ’ s razor ” .
Time is moving on .
Life is a complex and variable thing .
Conflicts start and conflicts end .
The geopolitical game continues , the balance of power in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It would be strange to expect that the list of organizations with which SouthFront stays in touch or cooperates would not also change over the years .
SouthFront has always provided its content for free , on the basis of the fair usage principle , without any paywalls .
Therefore , in 2015 , when the conflict in Ukraine was dominating the media and SouthFront was producing at least 10 % of its content on the issue , there was one list of media partners .
In 2018 , when the US-Iranian conflict @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different , and included some Iranians .
Meanwhile , the website itself was redesigned and optimized and the southfront.org sidebar made way to create additional free space ; for example , for the ‘ MAPS & INFOGRAPHICS DATABASE ’ banner .
In the end , the content of the report just sinks into a conspiracy abyss allowing no chance for common sense to reassert itself .
Likely in an attempt to link SouthFront to Iran or to the ‘ bloody Assad regime ’ , the Department of State quotes a comment sent by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The comment includes a proposal to share videos with that blog , and is signed by SouthFront volunteers , not by the SouthFront Steering Committee .
This fact can only serve as a demonstration of the umbrella ( franchising ) nature of the SouthFront organizational structure .
With the exception of facebook.com/southfronten , all the links mentioned in the comment are de-facto independent branches of SouthFront voluntarily created by groups of motivated people from different countries and affiliated with SouthFront only through their commitment to the SouthFront principles at that moment .
SouthFront @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consultancy help to people that stand up for freedom of speech and against the globalist censorship .
What is really strange is that State Department investigators failed to find the still existing independent branches of SouthFront in northern and western Europe .
Probably , this could serve as another signal of the ‘ depth ’ of this investigation .
SouthFront Team is sorry to conclude that the Department of State of the world ’ s sole super power was unable to provide any facts to confirm their speculations about SouthFront being a front @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which have been circulating in various media outlets and think tanks funded by Euro-Atlantic structures for years , do not count .
In reality , this likely means that the authors did no research of their own in the field and just copy-pasted and patched together already existing reports made by their friends from affiliated or allied organizations .
Thank God , the authors did not try to link SouthFront to supposed Russian meddling in the US election .
After such ‘ high-quality investigations ’ in this field , the Department of State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of saving face .
It would be interesting to get the reaction of the bosses of these staff members and of the leadership of the State Department itself , to find out what they think about such quality of work .
It is highly likely that the group of State Department specialists that prepared the report presented it as an exclusive investigation that required a significant amount of time and financial resources .
Proposal to US Department of State SouthFront proposes the leadership of the US Department of State expert help in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a pillar of Russia ’ s disinformation and propaganda network .
Exclusively for the Department of State , we are ready to prepare weekly reports about our work with a detailed overview of our content , links to the most interesting articles , videos and graphic pieces , and entertaining behind the scenes content about our work .
We are sure that these reports will be not less professional and entertaining than the paper described above .
SouthFront ’ s direct assistance will also help Mr. Pompeo and his employees to avoid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ somebody is not even able to read their own screenshot ) .
And last but not least , the State Department would be able to save hundreds of thousands of US taxpayer dollars .
The US government would then be able to use these funds to combat the COVID-19 outbreak or help combat veterans .
Please , feel free to contact SouthFront via email : info @ southfront.org On August 5 , the US Department of State also offered Russians $ 10 million for information about Russian meddling in US elections .
Taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for SouthFront work held by the US government , you also can contact us regarding this topic .
$ 10 million would be a useful donation to SouthFront ’ s budget .
The contact email is the same : info @ southfront.org By the way , US government personnel know our email address very well .
In previous years , we have received emails from them with proposals for fruitful cooperation .
As to the style of emails sent to SouthFront , we recommend that the staff of the State Department contact their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They act and write much more professionally and are not too shy to ask about things that are interesting to them .
Using this opportunity , SouthFront wants once again to assure Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Department of State of our highest consideration .
P.S .
Support the pilar of Russia ’ s disinformation and propaganda : Donate via VISA , PayPal , Paysafecard , Bitcoin and other options .
This systems accepts all types of cards , PayPal , Amazon Payments , bitcoin ( FAQ is under the main @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can subscribe for a monthly donation of $ 15 ( or any another amount ) OR make one time donation by clicking buttons below

Support SouthFront
DEAR FRIENDS, READERS, SUBSCRIBERS, AND SUPPORTERS,
We are pleased to inform you about another eye-opening report about SouthFront’s work released by the highest levels of the US government.
In early August, the Global Engagement Center of the US Department of State released a report entitled “Pillars of Russia’s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem”. At least 13 of the 77 pages of this report are dedicated to SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence as a “pillar” of Russian disinformation and propaganda.
Please find the full version of report on the official website of the US Department of State: HERE
SouthFront also feels obliged to make some comments regarding the content of this brilliant investigative report dedicated to our endeavour. We do not think that our comments include anything really new, but it will be useful to recall the history of SouthFront’s creation and development.
SouthFront vs Globalists – Episode We Lost Count
First of all, we want to compliment the authors of the report. It has a very straight and useful logic: If some media organization has Russian citizens or people of Russian origin among its members, or, God forbid, other links with Russia, this media is beyond question spreading Russia’s disinformation and is controlled by the Kremlin.
Setting the tone for the depth of the investigation, the part of the report about SouthFront starts by repeating tired tropes about the registration of the SouthFront website domain (southfront.org) by a Russian domain registrar Reg.ru. This is an open secret and we’ve repeatedly said that this was done intentionally in order to secure the domain in the case of an attempt to censor it. Recent developments demonstrate that this decision was well founded.
Then, the US State Department repeats Facebook stories created to justify the censorship of SouthFront’s public page with about 100,000 subscribers.
The reports’ authors took from the claims made by Facebook in “April 2020 Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior Report” what they thought to be the most important part: the allegation that SouthFront was based in Crimea, and used this allegation to associate SouthFront with another organization with a similar name “News Front”. This media organization is in fact based in Crimea and officially registered in Russia.
This cheap trick is presented as if it were the result of an in-depth investigation and itself a great revelation of SouthFront’s roots. Nonetheless, many of our readers and subscribers who have been following SouthFront for years well know SouthFront’s history and there has been no secret made of the fact that a few members of SouthFront are of Russian origin, from Russia or are Russian citizens. There are also members from other post-USSR states. This does not mean that SouthFront, as an international team of independent authors and experts, is based in Crimea or that the SouthFront Steering Committee is located in Crimea. This is a blatant lie and we are ready to prove this in court.
It is easy to see that SouthFront has always provided a platform for the various, sometimes opposing, points of view shared by our members, volunteers and contributors. SouthFront also freely provided its umbrella brand for authors and groups of authors, who share the main principles of SouthFront and stand against mainstream disinformation, global censorship and the enforcing neo-liberal, globalist world order.
The report states that the SouthFront account deleted by YouTube in 2015 included ‘crimeanfront’ in its name and makes far-reaching conclusions using this claim.
This is a clear factual error. Even the screenshot used in the report itself confirms this by quoting the following words: “Our new channel is https://youtube.com/user/crimeanfront”. If that is the new channel, then it is only logical to assume that some other channel was deleted. Right?
So here are the actual facts: The channel deleted in April 2015 had the link ‘https://www.youtube.com/c/southfront’ and was removed due to a suspicious story with copyright claims by NATO-affiliated Nordic Films LTD.
Here is the message then shared by our friends, including The Saker:
After the deletion of that channel, SouthFront volunteers of Russian origin proposed using the already existing YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/crimeanfront. At that time, this channel already had a certain number of subscribers. Therefore, it was useful to employ it instead of creating a new one with a zero base audience.
Unfortunately for the US State Department investigators, the facts go contrary to their conspiracy theories. If the US analysts had really wanted to go into the matter and produce useful material instead of potential toilet paper, they would have found out that that YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/crimeanfront was not deleted in April 2015.
Of course, SouthFront Team is arousing fear among members of the Washington establishment. Nonetheless, the situation itself causes a sad smile.
The next part of the report is based on screenshots showing the redesign of https://www.youtube.com/user/crimeanfront and claims of some person insisting that he created Crimean Front that later became News Front. Using this, the authors of the report claim that SouthFront and News Front are somehow “at least began as sister organizations”.
It is hard to dignify such a superficial investigation with a comment. Even when the SouthFront concept was being created and the like-minded group of people that later created SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence and evolved into SouthFront Steering Committee first got together, we had no links to the aforementioned organizations.
On top of this, the YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/crimeanfront provided to SouthFront by volunteers was not linked to the aforementioned organizations. This is why they were not using this channel. Instead, SouthFront got it for free over 1.5 years after the developments in Crimea in 2014.
At the same time, there is no secret that in 2015 and coming years, SouthFront, an endeavour dedicated to the coverage of conflicts around the world, was covering developments in Ukraine. It’s easy to find this if one opens southfront.org and checks the category #UKRAINE.
As to the idea of the endeavour that later was named SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence, it first appeared in 2012-2013 and came about as a result of the rapid deterioration of the international situation around the world, especially in the Middle East.
The developments in Crimea, eastern Ukraine and Syria in 2014 became the turning point that led to the creation of SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence, the SouthFront Steering Committee and to the main foundations of our work: independence, the commitment to freedom of speech, human rights, and combating media disinformation and censorship.
Trying to link SouthFront with News Front, the State Department report ignored the obvious fact that SouthFront appeared earlier than News Front. This can be seen from the date of the creation of the first Facebook page of SouthFront, and screenshots shared by the report’s authors themselves. Therefore, there are two main versions:
1) SouthFront is an all-mighty Kremlin tool that influences other Russian ‘proxy sites’ and ‘disinformation and propaganda’ on the international scene, and its members are on a first-name basis with Vladimir Putin;
2) In the world of State Department fairy-tales, the use of the word “Front” in the name of an organization indicates a connection to any other organization also using “Front” in its name.
Conspiracy theorists may be surprised to learn that SouthFront is a largely volunteer organization with a regularly changing team composition. So, we want to seize this opportunity and inform the US experts about some realities of modern informational warfare and disinformation.
Dear friends, you may have failed to notice this, but in the modern information society, new network organizations work on principles that are quite different to those employed 10-20 years ago. Lies, double-faced policies and distortion of facts by government-funded media set the basis for SouthFront’s power and influence. It is a high time to understand that this concerns people around the world and inspires them to get an independent point of view.
We can perhaps excuse Department of State personnel for not knowing that when one obtains a domain name via a domain registrar, the registration data shows the physical address of the domain registrar office. However, the inability to notice that SouthFront has always had a PayPal account with a .ru address and that this address has always been public and easily found on southfront.org is beyond our understanding.
Do the authors really think that if SouthFront Team members were to work secretly for the Kremlin or Russian intelligence services (for example, the mighty GRU), we would not have found the time to obtain an address through Yahoo.com or some other non-.ru service?
The next part of the investigation showcases 7 links allegedly confirming that SouthFront “directly aligns with Kremlin talking points and disinformation.” Since the launch of southfront.org, we have released several tens of thousands of articles, videos and graphic pieces. Apparently, the State Department staff spent a lot of time checking them to find these seven posts. In any case, SouthFront has never denied that we provide a platform for all sides interested in a constructive discussion, including the pro-Russian perspective.
It is also interesting to note how the authors of the document described SouthFront articles criticizing the internal situation in Russia and the actions of Moscow. For them, this is just a “tactic” to hide “an ocean of Kremlin-aligned disinformation”. However, if one employs this approach, one would have to find that CNN, the Washington Times, the New York Times and other outlets, which release critical articles about Russia, must also be a part of the sophisticated Kremlin-affiliated disinformation network.
Joking aside, if one checks SouthFront articles questioning the actions of the Russian authorities or criticizing them, one would find hundreds of content pieces. In fact, it is hard to find a southfront.org article that would provide a solely positive view on the current internal political situation in Russia or on the actions of Moscow in the last 1-2 years.
The COVID-19 disinformation part also shows no creativity. We have already stated this on previous occasions, but it bears repeating: SouthFront well understands that the COVID-19 outbreak is a sensitive issue. This is why our articles about the outbreak/pandemic always include links to sources and facts. The fact, which deserves special attention, is that SouthFront articles do not fuel hysteria and fear regarding the COVID-19 spread. We seek to objectively cover the situation.
The report includes 6 examples of supposed COVID-19 disinformation. SouthFront releases about 30 content pieces per day. Articles, videos and graphic pieces dedicated to the COVID-19 outbreak make up less than 1% of the content released by SouthFront in 2020 so far. This is less than a statistical error. Nonetheless, the State Department report reads as if half of SouthFront content is ‘COVID-19 disinformation’ and most of the rest is made up of official statements by the Kremlin.
The part of the paper entitled Niche Graphics Capabilities emphasizes the “professionally designed” SouthFront visual content. We, the SouthFront Team, want to say thank you to the Department of State for its high praise of our work. This will motivate us to even greater efforts in the field to produce even more high quality content.
The conspiracy theory explaining the evolution and redesign of southfront.org’s side bar is a third rate fairy tale.
State Department investigators made several screenshots of the partners section of old southfront.org’s side bar pretending that its changes are something ‘strange’ and need ‘explanations’. It seems that far from everybody in the State Department spent time in university doing something useful. At least, we can recommend that they google “Occam’s razor”.
A small hint for State Department employees reading this article: Occam’s razor is the principle that, of two explanations that account for all the facts, the simpler one is more likely to be correct.
Time is moving on. Life is a complex and variable thing. Conflicts start and conflicts end. The geopolitical game continues, the balance of power in different regions of the world changes. It would be strange to expect that the list of organizations with which SouthFront stays in touch or cooperates would not also change over the years. SouthFront has always provided its content for free, on the basis of the fair usage principle, without any paywalls. Therefore, in 2015, when the conflict in Ukraine was dominating the media and SouthFront was producing at least 10% of its content on the issue, there was one list of media partners. In 2018, when the US-Iranian conflict escalated, the partner list was already different, and included some Iranians.
Meanwhile, the website itself was redesigned and optimized and the southfront.org sidebar made way to create additional free space; for example, for the ‘MAPS & INFOGRAPHICS DATABASE’ banner.
In the end, the content of the report just sinks into a conspiracy abyss allowing no chance for common sense to reassert itself. Likely in an attempt to link SouthFront to Iran or to the ‘bloody Assad regime’, the Department of State quotes a comment sent by SouthFront volunteers to Syrian Free Press. The comment includes a proposal to share videos with that blog, and is signed by SouthFront volunteers, not by the SouthFront Steering Committee.
This fact can only serve as a demonstration of the umbrella (franchising) nature of the SouthFront organizational structure. With the exception of facebook.com/southfronten, all the links mentioned in the comment are de-facto independent branches of SouthFront voluntarily created by groups of motivated people from different countries and affiliated with SouthFront only through their commitment to the SouthFront principles at that moment.
SouthFront is always glad to assist and provide consultancy help to people that stand up for freedom of speech and against the globalist censorship.
What is really strange is that State Department investigators failed to find the still existing independent branches of SouthFront in northern and western Europe. Probably, this could serve as another signal of the ‘depth’ of this investigation.
SouthFront Team is sorry to conclude that the Department of State of the world’s sole super power was unable to provide any facts to confirm their speculations about SouthFront being a front for Russian disinformation. Bogus stories, which have been circulating in various media outlets and think tanks funded by Euro-Atlantic structures for years, do not count. In reality, this likely means that the authors did no research of their own in the field and just copy-pasted and patched together already existing reports made by their friends from affiliated or allied organizations.
Thank God, the authors did not try to link SouthFront to supposed Russian meddling in the US election.
After such ‘high-quality investigations’ in this field, the Department of State would not even have a theoretical chance of saving face.
It would be interesting to get the reaction of the bosses of these staff members and of the leadership of the State Department itself, to find out what they think about such quality of work. It is highly likely that the group of State Department specialists that prepared the report presented it as an exclusive investigation that required a significant amount of time and financial resources.
Proposal to US Department of State
SouthFront proposes the leadership of the US Department of State expert help in the field of covering the work of SouthFront as a pillar of Russia’s disinformation and propaganda network. Exclusively for the Department of State, we are ready to prepare weekly reports about our work with a detailed overview of our content, links to the most interesting articles, videos and graphic pieces, and entertaining behind the scenes content about our work.
We are sure that these reports will be not less professional and entertaining than the paper described above. SouthFront’s direct assistance will also help Mr. Pompeo and his employees to avoid foolish factual mistakes in future (e.g.when somebody is not even able to read their own screenshot).
And last but not least, the State Department would be able to save hundreds of thousands of US taxpayer dollars. The US government would then be able to use these funds to combat the COVID-19 outbreak or help combat veterans.
Please, feel free to contact SouthFront via email: info@southfront.org
On August 5, the US Department of State also offered Russians $10 million for information about Russian meddling in US elections.
#США вознаградят тех, кто поможет нам в борьбе против вмешательства в выборы США. Если вы обладаете информацией об операциях, нацеленных на выборы США, вы можете претендовать на награду до $10 млн.#Election_Reward Telegram: @RFJ_Election_Bot
WhatsApp/Signal: +1-202-999-5113 pic.twitter.com/Sp1bge5IaI — Rewards for Justice, Русский (@RFJ_Russian) August 5, 2020
Taking into account the high level of regard for SouthFront work held by the US government, you also can contact us regarding this topic. $10 million would be a useful donation to SouthFront’s budget. The contact email is the same: info@southfront.org
By the way, US government personnel know our email address very well. In previous years, we have received emails from them with proposals for fruitful cooperation.
As to the style of emails sent to SouthFront, we recommend that the staff of the State Department to contact their counterparts in the Department of Defense. They act and write much more professionally and are not too shy to ask about things that are interesting to them.
Using this opportunity, SouthFront wants once again to assure Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Department of State of our highest consideration.
Sincerely yours,
The mighty and intangible SouthFront Steering Committee
A brief look at the history of SouthFront’s relations with official bodies of the United States and the European Union:
P.S. Support the pilar of Russia’s disinformation and propaganda:
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southfront--2020-08-07--“He Abandoned The Deadly Cargo”: Meet The Mysterious Businessman At Center Of The Beirut Blast Saga

Thus far an official ongoing investigation by Lebanese authorities into the cause of Tuesday ’ s Beirut port blast , now considered the largest non-military munitions explosion in history , has dubbed it severe “ negligence ” .
It ’ s now well known that over 2,500 tons of ammonium nitrate , an ultra-combustible chemical compound utilized in fertilizers and production of explosives , was allowed to sit at the port in a warehouse going back seven years .
Specifically , President Michel Aoun identified that it was no less than 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate that detonated as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though port officials reportedly attempted to warn the government for years that it must be moved .
A number of port officials have been placed under house arrest pending the investigation .
Customs chief Badri Daher has told international media that his agency pleaded with Lebanese courts and high officials to order the chemical removed .
Daher says the request for urgent removal was made six times to the judiciary over the years , all denied .
“ This did not happen , ” he said .
The end result after the dangerous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the deadly 1995 Oklahoma City bombing — was stored there since 2013 ( also in undiluted form ) , was the most destructive blast in Lebanese history , killing over 135 people and injuring more than 5,000 – not to mention an estimated three billion dollars in damage .
“ Legal documents , court correspondence and statements by public officials now trying to pass the buck shed light on the operations of the port , which has been dogged by allegations of widespread bribery and controlled in large measure by the militant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reports .
And the almost unbelievable story of how the explosive substance got there has emerged .
It ’ s centered on a derelict and leaking vessel leased by a Russian businessman living in Cyprus .
In 2013 the man identified as Igor Grechushkin , was paid $ 1 million to transport the high-density ammonium nitrate to the port of Beira in Mozambique .
That ’ s when the ship , named the Rhosus , left the Black Sea port of Batumi , in Georgia .
But amid mutiny by an unpaid crew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s hull , and constant legal troubles , the ship never made it .
Instead , it entered the port of Beirut where it was impounded by Lebanese authorities over severe safety issues , during which time the ammonium nitrate was transferred off , and the largely Ukrainian crew was prevented from disembarking , leading to a brief international crisis among countries as Kiev sought the safe return of its nationals .
Meanwhile , Igor Grechushkin – believed to still be living in Cyprus – reportedly simply abandoned the dangerously subpar vessel he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , never to be heard from again .
According to a damning legal briefing at the time : The ammonium nitrate was supposed to be auctioned off , but this never happened .
Apparently exasperated customs and dock officials even suggested Lebanese farmers could simply spread it across their fields for a good crop yield .
But not even this simple solution was heeded , nor proposals to give it to the Lebanese Army .
Via The Siberian Times : “ The crew – eight Ukrainian and two Russian men – was forced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while the owner Grechushkin declared himself bankrupt and ‘ abandoned the ship ’ .
Lebanese authorities agreed to let six out of ten sailors to leave the country , others were left stranded on the ship for almost a year .
Instead the deadly substance languished at port , and the Rhosus sank in the harbor years later .
The last crew members weren ’ t allowed to leave the ship and return home until August 2014 .
Grechushkin may have paid for their return tickets at that time .
And then later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in writing in legal documents : Astoundingly , even lawyers which had represented the effectively abandoned crew of the ship ( which Ukrainian media at the time said were “ hostages ” of the Lebanese government ) while it had been detained at port warned Lebanese government officials that the sensitive cargo was in danger “ of sinking or blowing up at any moment ” .
Yet these series of warnings went unheeded for years amid a notoriously corrupt and inept Lebanese system .
Meanwhile , the fate of the man originally at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision to simply abandon the leaky ammonium nitrate laden ship in the first place , remains somewhat of a mystery and is now largely being overlooked in international media reports .
Strangely , it doesn ’ t even appear that Lebanese law enforcement is eager to talk to him just yet .
Cypriot media is saying Igor Grechushkin is not a Cypriot passport holder but is indeed residing in the EU country .
Local authorities have indicated they are ready to bring him in for questioning , but they haven ’ t received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Interpol .
Cypriot police spokesman Christos Andreou announced Thursday : “ We have already contacted Interpol Beirut and expressed our readiness to provide them with any assistance they need , if and when our assistance is requested.
” Why hasn ’ t this happened ?
So far a few scant details have emerged via a Russia-based English language publication called .
It ’ s also included what it says is the first photograph to have emerged of Grechushkin .
The publication reports the following details : ‘ The owner of the ship Igor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remaining crew.
’ ‘ He is not providing us with money , he completely deprived us of all means of communication .
‘ He told us that he went bankrupt and while I don ’ t believe him , the most important thing is that he gave up on both the people and the cargo ’ , wrote captain Boris Prokoshev back in June 2014 in a desperate plea to international organisations , diplomats , authorities of Ukraine and the authorities of the port of Beirut to release them .
Igor Grechushkin is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with his wife .
The Daily Mail has since republished the photographs of Grechushkin and his wife , writing that the Russian businessman “ currently lives in Cyprus with wife Irina – has been accused of abandoning his ship in Beirut loaded with the lethal load.
” Given that Lebanese officials are now decrying a “ crime against humanity ” in having stored the deadly cargo at the port in the first place , one would think Grechushkin would at least be subject of investigation along with whatever top Lebanese officials willfully ignored @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

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Originally appeared at ZeroHedge
Thus far an official ongoing investigation by Lebanese authorities into the cause of Tuesday’s Beirut port blast, now considered the largest non-military munitions explosion in history, has dubbed it severe “negligence”.
It’s now well known that over 2,500 tons of ammonium nitrate, an ultra-combustible chemical compound utilized in fertilizers and production of explosives, was allowed to sit at the port in a warehouse going back seven years.
Specifically, President Michel Aoun identified that it was no less than 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate that detonated as it was “stored unsafely” — though port officials reportedly attempted to warn the government for years that it must be moved. A number of port officials have been placed under house arrest pending the investigation.
An undated photo of the vessel Rhosus, via The National/EPA
Customs chief Badri Daher has told international media that his agency pleaded with Lebanese courts and high officials to order the chemical removed. Daher says the request for urgent removal was made six times to the judiciary over the years, all denied.
“This did not happen,” he said. The end result after the dangerous chemical — which is the same use in the deadly 1995 Oklahoma City bombing — was stored there since 2013 (also in undiluted form), was the most destructive blast in Lebanese history, killing over 135 people and injuring more than 5,000 – not to mention an estimated three billion dollars in damage.
“Legal documents, court correspondence and statements by public officials now trying to pass the buck shed light on the operations of the port, which has been dogged by allegations of widespread bribery and controlled in large measure by the militant Hezbollah group,” The Washington Post reports.
And the almost unbelievable story of how the explosive substance got there has emerged. It’s centered on a derelict and leaking vessel leased by a Russian businessman living in Cyprus. In 2013 the man identified as Igor Grechushkin, was paid $1 million to transport the high-density ammonium nitrate to the port of Beira in Mozambique. That’s when the ship, named the Rhosus, left the Black Sea port of Batumi, in Georgia.
UK Daily Mail and The Siberian Times has published the above photograph of Igor Grechushkin, reported to be still residing in Limassol, Cyprus with his wife. Image: Ren TV
But amid mutiny by an unpaid crew, a hole in the ship’s hull, and constant legal troubles, the ship never made it. Instead, it entered the port of Beirut where it was impounded by Lebanese authorities over severe safety issues, during which time the ammonium nitrate was transferred off, and the largely Ukrainian crew was prevented from disembarking, leading to a brief international crisis among countries as Kiev sought the safe return of its nationals.
Meanwhile, Igor Grechushkin – believed to still be living in Cyprus – reportedly simply abandoned the dangerously subpar vessel he leased, as well as its crew, never to be heard from again.
According to a damning legal briefing at the time:
“…the vessel was abandoned by her owners after charterers and cargo concern lost interest in the cargo. The vessel quickly ran out of stores, bunker and provisions.”
The ammonium nitrate was supposed to be auctioned off, but this never happened. Apparently exasperated customs and dock officials even suggested Lebanese farmers could simply spread it across their fields for a good crop yield. But not even this simple solution was heeded, nor proposals to give it to the Lebanese Army.
During the standoff which created a diplomatic rift between Ukraine and Lebanon: the largely Ukrainian crew was prevented from leaving the ship, even at times struggling to get food.
Via The Siberian Times: “The crew – eight Ukrainian and two Russian men – was forced to stay on board of the vessel while the owner Grechushkin declared himself bankrupt and ‘abandoned the ship’. Lebanese authorities agreed to let six out of ten sailors to leave the country, others were left stranded on the ship for almost a year.
Instead the deadly substance languished at port, and the Rhosus sank in the harbor years later. The last crew members weren’t allowed to leave the ship and return home until August 2014. Grechushkin may have paid for their return tickets at that time.
WaPo relates:
“Owing to the risks associated with retaining the Ammonium Nitrate on board the vessel, the port authorities discharged the cargo onto the port’s warehouses,” lawyers acting on behalf of creditors wrote in 2015. “The vessel and cargo remain to date in port awaiting auctioning and/or proper disposal,” it added.
And then later, more warnings, which apparently are in writing in legal documents:
“In view of the serious danger posed by keeping this shipment in the warehouses in an inappropriate climate,” Shafik Marei, the director of Lebanese customs, wrote in May 2016, “we repeat our request to demand the maritime agency to re-export the materials immediately.”
Astoundingly, even lawyers which had represented the effectively abandoned crew of the ship (which Ukrainian media at the time said were “hostages” of the Lebanese government) while it had been detained at port warned Lebanese government officials that the sensitive cargo was in danger “of sinking or blowing up at any moment”.
Yet these series of warnings went unheeded for years amid a notoriously corrupt and inept Lebanese system.
Meanwhile, the fate of the man originally at the center of the saga, whose decision to simply abandon the leaky ammonium nitrate laden ship in the first place, remains somewhat of a mystery and is now largely being overlooked in international media reports. Strangely, it doesn’t even appear that Lebanese law enforcement is eager to talk to him just yet.
Cypriot media is saying Igor Grechushkin is not a Cypriot passport holder but is indeed residing in the EU country. Local authorities have indicated they are ready to bring him in for questioning, but they haven’t received a request from either Lebanese authorities or Interpol. Cypriot police spokesman Christos Andreou announced Thursday: “We have already contacted Interpol Beirut and expressed our readiness to provide them with any assistance they need, if and when our assistance is requested.”
Why hasn’t this happened? So far a few scant details have emerged via a Russia-based English language publication called The Siberian Times. It’s also included what it says is the first photograph to have emerged of Grechushkin.
First pictures emerge of a Russian man whose ammonium nitrate cargo detonated in the port of Beirut. The 2,750 tonnes cargo of Khabarovsk-born businessman Igor Grechushkin was detained in Lebanon in 2013 https://t.co/hbu1VJgres pic.twitter.com/yQZqzcBIya — The Siberian Times (@siberian_times) August 5, 2020
The publication reports the following details:
‘The owner of the ship Igor Grechushkin effectively abandoned the ship and the remaining crew.’ ‘He is not providing us with money, he completely deprived us of all means of communication. ‘He told us that he went bankrupt and while I don’t believe him, the most important thing is that he gave up on both the people and the cargo’, wrote captain Boris Prokoshev back in June 2014 in a desperate plea to international organisations, diplomats, authorities of Ukraine and the authorities of the port of Beirut to release them. Igor Grechushkin is reported to be still residing in Cyprus with his wife.
The Daily Mail has since republished the photographs of Grechushkin and his wife, writing that the Russian businessman “currently lives in Cyprus with wife Irina – has been accused of abandoning his ship in Beirut loaded with the lethal load.”
Given that Lebanese officials are now decrying a “crime against humanity” in having stored the deadly cargo at the port in the first place, one would think Grechushkin would at least be subject of investigation along with whatever top Lebanese officials willfully ignored the ticking time bomb in their midst.
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southfront--2020-08-07--Bolivia: Confrontation Deepens As Negotiations Fail, National General Strike And Blockade To Continu

Bolivia: Confrontation Deepens As Negotiations Fail, National General Strike And Blockade To Continue

The Central Obrera Boliviana ( COB – Central Trade Union Confederation ) and Pacto de Unidad ( Unity Pact ) civic organizations , which are a part of the alliance of social movements and organizations making up the Movement to Socialism ( MAS ) , the political party of former president Evo Morales , announced on Tuesday that they will continue to intensify the mobilizations , however , they instructed the blockaders to allow ambulances and medical supplies and personnel to pass through .
COB executive Juan Carlos Huarachi urged blockaders to allow the passage of essential health services and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reiterated by the organization ’ s intercultural executive , Henry Nina , who ratified the instruction to allow the passage of ambulances due to the health situation that the country is going through .
The announcement was made after the government reported that the blockages are preventing the passage of oxygen tubes , which are vital for treating COVID-19 patients .
Tuesday marked the second day of protests called to demand that the forthcoming national elections be held on September 6 as originally agreed between the major political factions after two previous delays @ @ @ @ @ @ @ postpone the election until 18 October .
The social leaders estimated that as of Tuesday there were more than 50 major blockade points throughout the country .
The executive of the Confederación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia ( Single Trade Union Confederation of Agricultural Workers of Bolivia , CSUTCB ) , Jacinto Vega , announced the organizations ’ decision that it will also “ continue to join ” the protests and not back down .
The social movements and organizations that have organized the nationwide blockade of major transport routes apologized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caused by the blockades , but emphasized that they are necessary to ensure that national elections are held to re-establish a legitimate government .
The leader of the COB leader further stated that the de facto government is not meeting the urgent needs of the population regarding the health crisis and the economic recovery .
LINK Late on Wednesday , after five hours of meetings between representatives of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal ( TSE ) and the social organizations protesting the postponement of the elections , the respective sides announced that no agreement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indefinite national general strike and roadblocks will continue for the time being .
The executive secretary of the Federation of Trade Unions of Mining Workers of Bolivia ( FSTMB ) , Orlando Gutiérrez , reaffirmed that the miners are ready to expand the mobilization in the event of any attempt by the police or military to end the blockade by force .
The leader of the COB , Juan Carlos Huarachi , expressed his regret that no agreement has been reached .
“ Unfortunately , there is no will from the TSE .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ people ’ s request , covering the social reasons for the demand and legal arguments , ” he said after the meeting amid cheers and calls of ‘ elections now ’ outside the TSE building , in the Plaza Abaroa in La Paz .
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The Central Obrera Boliviana (COB – Central Trade Union Confederation) and Pacto de Unidad (Unity Pact) civic organizations, which are a part of the alliance of social movements and organizations making up the Movement to Socialism (MAS), the political party of former president Evo Morales, announced on Tuesday that they will continue to intensify the mobilizations, however, they instructed the blockaders to allow ambulances and medical supplies and personnel to pass through.
COB executive Juan Carlos Huarachi urged blockaders to allow the passage of essential health services and equipment, a call that was subsequently reiterated by the organization’s intercultural executive, Henry Nina, who ratified the instruction to allow the passage of ambulances due to the health situation that the country is going through.
The announcement was made after the government reported that the blockages are preventing the passage of oxygen tubes, which are vital for treating COVID-19 patients.
Tuesday marked the second day of protests called to demand that the forthcoming national elections be held on September 6 as originally agreed between the major political factions after two previous delays. The electoral commission is attempting to postpone the election until 18 October.
The social leaders estimated that as of Tuesday there were more than 50 major blockade points throughout the country.
The executive of the Confederación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia (Single Trade Union Confederation of Agricultural Workers of Bolivia, CSUTCB), Jacinto Vega, announced the organizations’ decision that it will also “continue to join” the protests and not back down.
The social movements and organizations that have organized the nationwide blockade of major transport routes apologized to the Bolivian people for the inconvenience caused by the blockades, but emphasized that they are necessary to ensure that national elections are held to re-establish a legitimate government.
The leader of the COB leader further stated that the de facto government is not meeting the urgent needs of the population regarding the health crisis and the economic recovery. LINK
Late on Wednesday, after five hours of meetings between representatives of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) and the social organizations protesting the postponement of the elections, the respective sides announced that no agreement had been reached.
Consequently, the indefinite national general strike and roadblocks will continue for the time being.
The executive secretary of the Federation of Trade Unions of Mining Workers of Bolivia (FSTMB), Orlando Gutiérrez, reaffirmed that the miners are ready to expand the mobilization in the event of any attempt by the police or military to end the blockade by force.
The leader of the COB, Juan Carlos Huarachi, expressed his regret that no agreement has been reached. “Unfortunately, there is no will from the TSE. We have spent five hours justifying the people’s request, covering the social reasons for the demand and legal arguments,” he said after the meeting amid cheers and calls of ‘elections now’ outside the TSE building, in the Plaza Abaroa in La Paz. LINK
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southfront--2020-08-07--Turkish Drone Strike Targeted Civilian Factory In Syria’s Al-Qamishli (Video, Photos)

Late on August 6 , a Turkish combat drone targeted electric cables factory in the district of Qanat al-Suis , east of the city of al-Qamishli in northern al-Hasakah .
According to the Hawar News Agency ( ANHA ) , a worker was severely injured in drone strike , which also caused material damage .
The targeted factory reportedly employs dozens of locals and provide civilian products only .
Photos released by the ANHA indicate that a MAM-L small-diameter laser-guided munition was used in the strike .
The munition , which is made by Turkey ’ s Roketsan , can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TB2 combat drones .
The Turkish military is intensifying its operations in northeastern Syria .
A day earlier , Turkish shelling killed two fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces ( SDF ) in northern Raqqa .
These attacks are a blatant violation of Turkey ’ s agreements with the U.S. and Russia on northeastern Syria .
Under the agreements , Ankara committed to de-escalate tension in the region .
The SDF is not responding to Turkish attacks on northeastern Syria .
Nevertheless , tension is mounting in the region .
A serious confrontation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may soon break out .
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Late on August 6, a Turkish combat drone targeted electric cables factory in the district of Qanat al-Suis, east of the city of al-Qamishli in northern al-Hasakah.
According to the Hawar News Agency (ANHA), a worker was severely injured in drone strike, which also caused material damage. The targeted factory reportedly employs dozens of locals and provide civilian products only.
“A drone flew over the facility for several hours, then the facility was targeted with a projectile,” Sheikh Zain, a worker in the factory, told the agency.
Photos released by the ANHA indicate that a MAM-L small-diameter laser-guided munition was used in the strike. The munition, which is made by Turkey’s Roketsan, can be launched from TAI Anka and Bayraktar TB2 combat drones.
The Turkish military is intensifying its operations in northeastern Syria. A day earlier, Turkish shelling killed two fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Raqqa.
These attacks are a blatant violation of Turkey’s agreements with the U.S. and Russia on northeastern Syria. Under the agreements, Ankara committed to de-escalate tension in the region.
The SDF is not responding to Turkish attacks on northeastern Syria. Nevertheless, tension is mounting in the region. A serious confrontation between the Kurdish-led group and Turkish forces may soon break out.
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southfront--2020-08-07--Iranian Forces Launched Large Combing Operation In Syria’s Deir Ezzor

On August 6 , Liwa Fatemiyoun , an Iranian-backed Afghan group operating in Syria , launched a large combing operation @ @ @ @ @ Deir Ezzor .
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , hundreds of fighters @ @ @ @ @ taking part in the operation .
Iranian-backed forces are combing a vast region between the @ @ @ @ @ .
Liwa Fatemiyoun , which is operating in Aleppo , Homs and Deir Ezzor , @ @ @ @ @ .
The Afghan group is funded , trained , and equipped by the Islamic Revolutionary @ @ @ @ @ its attacks on government-held areas in Deir Ezzor recently .
Last week , the group @ @ @ @ @ fields in the governorate ’ s western countryside .
A number of pro-government fighters were @ @ @ @ @ new combing operation will restrict the movement of ISIS terrorists in southern Deir Ezzor on @ @ @ @ @ , more efforts and time are needed to address the group ’ s threat in @ @ @ @ @ THIS TOPIC :

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On August 6, Liwa Fatemiyoun, an Iranian-backed Afghan group operating in Syria, launched a large combing operation in the southern countryside of Deir Ezzor.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, hundreds of fighters and 120 military vehicles are taking part in the operation. Iranian-backed forces are combing a vast region between the cities of al-Mayadin and al-Bukamal.
“They are combing the desert looking for cells of the Islamic State [ISIS] organization,” the UK-based monitoring group said in a report.
Liwa Fatemiyoun, which is operating in Aleppo, Homs and Deir Ezzor, has 10,000 to 20,000 fighters. The Afghan group is funded, trained, and equipped by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
ISIS intensified its attacks on government-held areas in Deir Ezzor recently. Last week, the group’s terrorists attacked oil fields in the governorate’s western countryside. A number of pro-government fighters were killed and injured.
The new combing operation will restrict the movement of ISIS terrorists in southern Deir Ezzor on the short term. However, more efforts and time are needed to address the group’s threat in the governorate.
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