southfront--2020-05-10--Commemorations For 75th Anniversary of V.E. Day Ignore 27m Citizens Of Soviet Union killed By German

Commemorations For 75th Anniversary of V.E. Day Ignore 27m Citizens Of Soviet Union killed By German Fascism And Its Allies

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the defeat of German fascism and its allies .
Across the world there will be events commemorating the ‘ greatest generation ’ which defeated Nazi tyranny and secured peace in Europe .
Pious words aplenty will pour from the mouths of politicians who will use the occasion to wave the patriotic flag and use wartime rhetoric to try and consolidate support for their social and economic policies battling the twin threats of economic depression and the Covid-19 pandemic .
During the VE Day commemorations Western media outlets and politicians will no doubt continue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Two and eulogise the role of the D-Day landings in bringing about Hitler ’ s defeat .
Ignoring the role of the Soviet Union and its Red Army in breaking the back of the German Wehrmacht .
Nothing will be said about the resurgence of neo-fascism in Germany which has resurrected the myth of the ‘ clean Wehrmacht ’ .
Alternative for Germany has now achieved the status of being the largest opposition party in the Bundestag and has substantial representation in the state parliaments of Germany .
It is central to this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Wehrmacht for killing over 27 million citizens of the Soviet Union .
It brings to mind the famous warning that Bertolt Brecht gave to German workers after the war : Alexander Gauland , co-founder of the AfD and one of its leading lights in the Bundestag , has commented how , “ Germans should be proud of “ the achievements of German soldiers ” during World War 2 .
Gauland has gone further and praised the ‘ bravery of German soldiers ’ .
According to Gauland millions of German soldiers served with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the criminal policies of the Nazi dictatorship .
This represents yet another attempt to rewrite history and perpetuate the myth of the ‘ Clean Wehrmacht ’ whose reputation was ‘ unblemished ’ by the military campaigns that it fought on behalf of Hitler ’ s genocidal regime .
This myth that was firmly rooted in large parts of the German population was first challenged by the hugely controversial exhibition “ War of Annihilation Crimes of the Wehrmacht 1941 to 1944″ that toured 33 cities in the mid to late 1990s .
It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ massive protests ’ to such a degree that it was suspended and later re-released after some ‘ editing ’ .
Twenty years later and here we are commemorating the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany .
At a time of Cold War 2.0 it is unlikely we will have any kind of acknowledgement by the Western media or political classes of the terrible price paid by the people of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Nazi Germany .
This revisionist history is also exemplified in the resolution passed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Nazi regime and Soviet Union for the outbreak of World War 2 .
This piece of revisionist history contains may omissions regarding the war .
As journalist Jamie McKay noted at the time the motion was passed , one of the gravest omissions is Worse still , is the fact that the motion laments the many victims of the Nazi dictatorship and Stalin ’ s regime and makes no mention of the 27 million Soviet citizens who were killed by German fascism and its many allies from all over Europe .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the unsuspecting people of the Soviet Union represents the largest act of genocide committed by any government during the bloody 20th century .
The American military historian Jeff Rutherford in his account of the Wehrmacht ’ s genocidal activities , Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front : The German Infantry ’ s War , 1941-45 , has commented : Origins of the war of extermination against the Soviet Union By late summer 1940 Hitler stood triumphant astride the continent of Europe .
Considering his next move he was decisively influenced by economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation in Europe and in Germany undermined the Reich ’ s power .
It also brought back memories of Germany ’ s defeat in 1918 when endemic hunger helped bring about the Revolution of October 1918 which led to widespread mutiny within the armed forces and the nations ’ signing of the armistice in November .
Hitler and his advisors were determined to make sure there would be no repeat of this home front trauma again .
Hitler was obsessed by the threat posed by communism and its heartland in the Soviet Union @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communist uprisings during the 1918-23 period had led to widespread social instability across Germany .
He saw Communism as a mortal threat to both Germany and the European continent .
Since coming to power in January 1933 Hitler had warned the German people of the mortal danger posed by Communism to their way of life .
He linked the threat of Communism with his fanatical anti-Semitism and portrayed the USSR as a ‘ Jewish-Bolshevik ’ menace that would have to be dealt with one day .
As an aside , central to British @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the objective of turning Hitler ’ s attentions eastward towards the Soviet Union .
As he looked eastward Hitler saw the natural solution to his problems lay in the invasion and destruction of the Soviet Union .
Its agricultural and mineral resources together with its vast land mass would provide the Reich with a sustainable means of creating a new empire based on Aryan supremacy .
However , the invasion of the Soviet Union would represent a new kind of warfare that was a radical departure from the traditional forms that had prevailed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1939-40 .
This new war of annihilation would be ideological in nature .
The Soviet Union was not just to be conquered .
Its major cities would be destroyed and urban population decimated in their millions while the rural population would serve as slave labour for the Reich .
At a meeting of 200 senior military commander on 30 March 1941 Hitler clearly outlined the Wehrmacht ’ s approach to the coming war with the USSR .
Franz Halder , chief of the general staff of the army high command ( OKH ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his diary .
According to Halder the Fuhrer declared that the upcoming clash with the Soviet Union would be a “ war between two ideologies ” that would be very different to the war in the West during 1939-40 .
The Soviet Union represented a threat to Germany ’ s existence .
Hitler made it clear to his senior commanders that : Hitler impressed upon his audience that ” Bolshevik commissars ” serving in the Red Army as well as the ‘ Soviet intelligentsia ” needed to be destroyed as they had ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be excused from the conventions of normal warfare as they needed to ‘ defend themselves with the means ” that the evil Bolsheviks would surely use .
In other words , German soldiers were given legal immunity to commit acts of murder against Red Army prisoners and the civilian population .
This genocidal approach to the coming war with the USSR was codified in a series of criminal orders that were given to units throughout the Wehrmacht .
The first of these orders concerned the close cooperation between the SS Einsatzgruppen and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Soviet Union .
On 28 April an agreement was reached that established a division of labour between the two organisations .
As Wehrmacht troops advanced they would be closely followed by the SS death squads who would be responsible for ‘ pacifying ’ rear areas .
This pacification was to involve the immediate execution of Red Army commissars , communist bureaucrats and intellectuals as well as Jewish males of military age .
The second genocidal order came on 13 May known as the Barbarossa Decree ( “ Decree on the Jurisdiction of Martial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Troops ” ) which removed any legal constrains upon German soldiers on how they prosecuted the war in the east .
It left them free to destroy villages and commit acts of mass murder with impunity .
Partisan attacks on the Wehrmacht were to be met with the principle of collective responsibility whereby whole communities could be annihilated for any such attacks .
The order declares : This was closely followed by a third order , ’ Guidelines for the Conduct of the Troops in Russia ‘ which was issued on 19 May @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the conduct of soldiers during the invasion of the USSR : This quartet of genocidal orders was completed on 6 June 1941 with the issuance of the notorious Commissar Order by the German High Command .
It instructed German soldiers that all Red Army prisoners should be immediately sifted for ” active representatives of the Bolshevist ideology ” .
Those identified as such should be immediately executed or handed over to SS units for execution .
The order made it clear that : The troops must be aware that : 1 .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law is false .
They are a danger to our own safety and to the rapid pacification of the conquered territories .
2 .
The originators of barbaric , Asiatic methods of warfare are the political commissars .
So immediate and unhesitatingly severe measures must be undertaken against them .
They are therefore , when captured in battle , as a matter of routine to be dispatched by firearms.
” The genocidal nature of the war in Soviet Union was further cemented by the Reich ’ s adoption of its food polices towards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These became known as the “ Starvation Plan ” and envisaged that 30 million Soviet citizens would die from the Wehrmacht ’ s seizure of foodstuffs as it lived off the land during its advance into the vast hinterland of the USSR .
The German High Command saw the upcoming campaign as a brief , brutal , ideologically driven conflict that would involve the mass murder of the Soviet population and Red Army soldiers taken as prisoners .
It put considerable efforts into propaganda campaigns aimed at ensuring the rank and file of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of them in the war of annihilation to come .
Historian Jeff Rutherford has noted the propaganda efforts of the German High Command which involved extensive efforts at “ ideological education ” .
Soldiers attended a series of lectures outlining the Nazi ideology on a range of topics which emphasized the “ special mission ” in the east which was a life and death struggle for Germany .
Rutherford has observed : Rutherford ’ s detailed examination of letters and diaries of soldiers in Army Group North reveal that large numbers of German @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and ideas of this ideological indoctrination ’ .
Many would become Hitler ’ s willing executioners in the ensuing race war on the eastern front that left over 20 million civilians dead .
Military records from Wehrmacht infantry divisions together with letter and diaries from rank and file soldiers reveal the total complicity of the German army in the genocide committed against the people of the Soviet Union .
Operation Barbarossa , code name for the Nazi invasion of the USSR , gave Army Group North the task of destroying Red Army forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leningrad .
By 8 September 1941 an exhausted Army Group North had reached the suburbs of the city and the front stabilized as both sides took time to regroup .
The Red Army had halted the German juggernaut at a huge cost in casualties and prevented Army Group North from capturing the city .
On 22 September 1941 units of Army Group North received a Fuhrer directive that gave them the genocidal task of laying siege to the city and destroying its inhabitants through a blockade that would cause mass starvation : Military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ account of these events The Siege of Leningrad writes : The siege of Leningrad lasted 900 days and killed between 800,000 and 1 million civilians .
All told the number of civilians and soldiers who perished during the siege of Leningrad amounted to 1.6-2 million dead .
David M. Glantz has put this figure in perspective : Destruction of villages and their inhabitants by Army Groups North , Centre and South The great Russian writer Ales Adamovich wrote an auto-biographical novel Khatyn about his experiences of surviving the war as a partisan in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which mentions that 9,200 villages in Belarus alone were destroyed by the Wehrmacht .
In over 600 of these villages the inhabitants were shot or burned alive .
When villages were destroyed the population were either killed , evacuated or left to starve .
The Wehrmacht was expected to live off the land for a large part of its provisions leading to mass looting of food and animals from the civilian population leading to widespread starvation for many .
Adamovich ’ s novel quotes from a Wehrmacht report of the massacre of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ September 21 , 1942 .
According to the filed report by a Captain Pels : Meanwhile , hundreds of thousands of Soviet civilians were evacuated by Wehrmacht forces to be used as slave labour in German war industries where many died of neglect and abuse .
In northern and southern Russia the civilian population had similar experiences .
In many cases villages were destroyed and the inhabitants murdered as reprisals for partisan attacks on German units .
In other cases , villages and their inhabitants were destroyed by brutalised soldiers who saw civilians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military operations .
On many occasions , villages were destroyed by retreating German units .
Rutherford has noted how the destruction of civilian housing became part of the army ’ s “ daily routine ” before Hitler ’ s demand that all , “ farms given up [ by army units in retreat ] are to be burned.
” This left massive numbers homeless and destined to die of hunger and exposure during the harsh Russian winters .
Over a million dwellings were destroyed by the Wehrmacht in the Soviet Union leaving over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winter of 1941-42 the genocidal activities of Wehrmacht soldiers also extended to forcibly taking felt boots and winter clothing from Soviet civilians .
The 123rd Infantry Division issued an instruction to its men that , “ all felt boots are to be immediately taken from the population without consideration of age or sex , ” condemning large numbers of men , women and children to frostbite and death .
Hitler ’ s order to this effect was not issued until late December yet German units across all fronts had been operating in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ army ruthlessly mobilized all village inhabitants , including children , for forced labour for the construction of fortifications and other defensive tasks .
Refusal to work was often met with instant execution .
This use of forced labour had been prevalent within the Wehrmacht since June yet it reached new heights during the winter of 1941-42 as it struggled to cope with the Russian winter .
Not surprisingly , many tens of thousands died from this forced labour as civilians workers were given tiny rations while working outside in sub zero temperatures many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ During the Wehrmacht ’ s invasion of the USSR it took millions of Red Army soldiers prisoner .
Immediately , commissars and any others suspected of communist sympathies were weeded out for execution .
The remaining troops were stripped of their food supplies , and clothing during the winter of 1941-42 , and sent on death marches to so called camps .
In the main these consisted of open areas surrounded by barbed wiring and watch towers with no housing for prisoners .
Daniel Goldhagen , in his book Hitler ’ s Willing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ young , healthy Soviet POWs ” were killed by the German army units , “ mainly by starvation… in less than eight months ” of 1941–42 .
Between 150,000 and 500,00 Soviet prisoners of war ( POWs ) were transferred to Nazi concentration and extermination camps .
Most were killed by firing squad or gassing .
It is worth noting that Zyklon B was tested on Red Army prisoners before being used at Auschwitz and other death camps .
Thousands of Soviet POWs also died from starvation or exposure .
At several camps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nazi guards .
At Sobibor a 2nd Lt. Alexander Perchevsky led a successful mass break out which forced the SS to close the camp and cover up the evidence of its mass murder .
Meanwhile , hundreds of thousands of Soviet POWs ended up being used as slave labourers in German industries .
Over 200,000 died during their forced labour .
Peter Calvocoressi and Guy Wint in their book Total War have observed that 5.7 million Red Army soldiers were taken into captivity by the German army , Of these 3.5 million had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that this mass murder of Red Army soldiers was no accident : The destruction of the Jewish population of the USSR As the Wehrmacht advanced into the Soviet Union during the summer of 1941 the Einsatzgruppen death squads followed close behind .
Their tasks was to round up and murder the Jewish population of the Soviet state .
Hitler had made it clear that in his mind the struggle against Bolshevism and Jewry was inextricably interlinked .
Estimates vary but many suggest around 1 million Soviet Jews were murdered principally by mass shooting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were shipped to the extermination camps in Poland to be gassed to death This genocidal murder was chronicled by two Red Army journalists Illya Ehrenburg and Vasily Grossman who produced The Black Book : The Ruthless Mass Murder of Jews by German-Fascist Invaders Throughout The Temporarily Occupied Regions of the Soviet Union and in the Death Camps of Poland During the War of 1941-45 .
Some of the evidence that they gathered was used at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials and helped convict leading Nazis .
The mass murder of Soviet Jewry was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Final Solution of the Jewish Question ” .
The historian Yitzhak Arad makes the point that the Nazi regime also viewed these actions , “ as a means of destroying the Soviet state and of preparing the territories of the Soviet Union for German colonization.
” On the 75th anniversary of the defeat of German fascism we should remember the Nazi genocide against the people of the Soviet Union .
It is a genocide that has been largely ignored by the West due to its Cold War against the USSR which continues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2.0 waged against Russia .
The British military historian Richard Overy provides us with a succinct yet powerful testimony to the genocide suffered by the people of the Soviet Union at the hands of German fascism :

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Written by Dr. Leon Tressell exclusively for SouthFront
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the defeat of German fascism and its allies. Across the world there will be events commemorating the ‘greatest generation’ which defeated Nazi tyranny and secured peace in Europe. Pious words aplenty will pour from the mouths of politicians who will use the occasion to wave the patriotic flag and use wartime rhetoric to try and consolidate support for their social and economic policies battling the twin threats of economic depression and the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the VE Day commemorations Western media outlets and politicians will no doubt continue to rewrite the history of World War Two and eulogise the role of the D-Day landings in bringing about Hitler’s defeat. Ignoring the role of the Soviet Union and its Red Army in breaking the back of the German Wehrmacht.
Nothing will be said about the resurgence of neo-fascism in Germany which has resurrected the myth of the ‘clean Wehrmacht’. Alternative for Germany has now achieved the status of being the largest opposition party in the Bundestag and has substantial representation in the state parliaments of Germany. It is central to this revisionist history which denies the responsibility of the Wehrmacht for killing over 27 million citizens of the Soviet Union.
It brings to mind the famous warning that Bertolt Brecht gave to German workers after the war:
“For though the world has stood up and stopped the bastard, the bitch that bore him is in heat again.”
Alexander Gauland, co-founder of the AfD and one of its leading lights in the Bundestag, has commented how, “Germans should be proud of “the achievements of German soldiers” during World War 2. Gauland has gone further and praised the ‘bravery of German soldiers’. According to Gauland millions of German soldiers served with distinction and should take no blame for the criminal policies of the Nazi dictatorship.
This represents yet another attempt to rewrite history and perpetuate the myth of the ‘Clean Wehrmacht’ whose reputation was ‘unblemished’ by the military campaigns that it fought on behalf of Hitler’s genocidal regime.
This myth that was firmly rooted in large parts of the German population was first challenged by the hugely controversial exhibition “War of Annihilation Crimes of the Wehrmacht 1941 to 1944″ that toured 33 cities in the mid to late 1990s. It was received by a deluge of criticism and ‘massive protests’ to such a degree that it was suspended and later re-released after some ‘editing’.
Twenty years later and here we are commemorating the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. At a time of Cold War 2.0 it is unlikely we will have any kind of acknowledgement by the Western media or political classes of the terrible price paid by the people of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Nazi Germany.
This revisionist history is also exemplified in the resolution passed by the European Parliament in 2019 which blames the Nazi regime and Soviet Union for the outbreak of World War 2. This piece of revisionist history contains may omissions regarding the war. As journalist Jamie McKay noted at the time the motion was passed, one of the gravest omissions is
” … the absence of any recognition that the EU’s very existence was made possible by the military campaigns of both the Red Army and other communist affiliated groups. The Nazis were not defeated by a roster of liberally-minded and benevolent democrats as some nostalgic films, like Christopher Nolan’s recent Dunkirk, have presented it.”
Worse still, is the fact that the motion laments the many victims of the Nazi dictatorship and Stalin’s regime and makes no mention of the 27 million Soviet citizens who were killed by German fascism and its many allies from all over Europe.
The genocidal race war that Hitler launched against the unsuspecting people of the Soviet Union represents the largest act of genocide committed by any government during the bloody 20th century.
The American military historian Jeff Rutherford in his account of the Wehrmacht’s genocidal activities, Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front: The German Infantry’s War, 1941-45, has commented:
“While the Wehrmacht’s participation in the Holocaust was perhaps the vilest stain on its mantle, its treatment of Soviet civilians constituted the larger crime in terms of scale that it committed during the war.”
Origins of the war of extermination against the Soviet Union
By late summer 1940 Hitler stood triumphant astride the continent of Europe. Considering his next move he was decisively influenced by economic and ideological factors.
The worsening food situation in Europe and in Germany undermined the Reich’s power. It also brought back memories of Germany’s defeat in 1918 when endemic hunger helped bring about the Revolution of October 1918 which led to widespread mutiny within the armed forces and the nations’ signing of the armistice in November. Hitler and his advisors were determined to make sure there would be no repeat of this home front trauma again.
Hitler was obsessed by the threat posed by communism and its heartland in the Soviet Union. He had seen first hand how communist uprisings during the 1918-23 period had led to widespread social instability across Germany. He saw Communism as a mortal threat to both Germany and the European continent.
Since coming to power in January 1933 Hitler had warned the German people of the mortal danger posed by Communism to their way of life. He linked the threat of Communism with his fanatical anti-Semitism and portrayed the USSR as a ‘Jewish-Bolshevik’ menace that would have to be dealt with one day.
As an aside, central to British and French diplomacy throughout the 1930s was the objective of turning Hitler’s attentions eastward towards the Soviet Union.
As he looked eastward Hitler saw the natural solution to his problems lay in the invasion and destruction of the Soviet Union. Its agricultural and mineral resources together with its vast land mass would provide the Reich with a sustainable means of creating a new empire based on Aryan supremacy.
However, the invasion of the Soviet Union would represent a new kind of warfare that was a radical departure from the traditional forms that had prevailed during the conquest of continental Europe during 1939-40. This new war of annihilation would be ideological in nature. The Soviet Union was not just to be conquered. Its major cities would be destroyed and urban population decimated in their millions while the rural population would serve as slave labour for the Reich.
At a meeting of 200 senior military commander on 30 March 1941 Hitler clearly outlined the Wehrmacht’s approach to the coming war with the USSR. Franz Halder, chief of the general staff of the army high command (OKH), recorded Hitler’s lecture in his diary.
According to Halder the Fuhrer declared that the upcoming clash with the Soviet Union would be a “war between two ideologies” that would be very different to the war in the West during 1939-40. The Soviet Union represented a threat to Germany’s existence. Hitler made it clear to his senior commanders that:
“communism [is] an enormous danger for our future … We must forget the concept of comradeship between soldiers. A Communist is no comrade before or after the battle. This is a war of extermination. (…) Commanders must make the sacrifice of overcoming their personal scruples.”
Hitler impressed upon his audience that ”Bolshevik commissars” serving in the Red Army as well as the ‘Soviet intelligentsia” needed to be destroyed as they had ”earned no mercy.” German soldiers were to be excused from the conventions of normal warfare as they needed to ‘defend themselves with the means” that the evil Bolsheviks would surely use. In other words, German soldiers were given legal immunity to commit acts of murder against Red Army prisoners and the civilian population.
This genocidal approach to the coming war with the USSR was codified in a series of criminal orders that were given to units throughout the Wehrmacht.
The first of these orders concerned the close cooperation between the SS Einsatzgruppen and the Wehrmacht during the invasion of the Soviet Union. On 28 April an agreement was reached that established a division of labour between the two organisations. As Wehrmacht troops advanced they would be closely followed by the SS death squads who would be responsible for ‘pacifying’ rear areas. This pacification was to involve the immediate execution of Red Army commissars, communist bureaucrats and intellectuals as well as Jewish males of military age.
The second genocidal order came on 13 May known as the Barbarossa Decree (“Decree on the Jurisdiction of Martial Law and on Special Measures of the Troops”) which removed any legal constrains upon German soldiers on how they prosecuted the war in the east. It left them free to destroy villages and commit acts of mass murder with impunity. Partisan attacks on the Wehrmacht were to be met with the principle of collective responsibility whereby whole communities could be annihilated for any such attacks. The order declares:
“German soldiers who commit crimes against humanity, the USSR and prisoners of war are to be exempted from criminal responsibility, even if they commit acts punishable according to German law.”
This was closely followed by a third order,’ Guidelines for the Conduct of the Troops in Russia‘ which was issued on 19 May 1941. It gave detailed guidelines regarding the conduct of soldiers during the invasion of the USSR:
“Bolshevism is the deadly enemy of the National Socialist German people. This corrosive Weltanschauung – and those who support it – are what Germany’s struggle is against. This struggle demands a ruthless and strenuous crackdown on Bolshevik agitators, irregulars, saboteurs and Jews, and the complete elimination of both active and passive resistance. The Asiatic soldiers, in particular, are inscrutable, unpredictable, underhand and unfeeling.”
This quartet of genocidal orders was completed on 6 June 1941 with the issuance of the notorious Commissar Order by the German High Command. It instructed German soldiers that all Red Army prisoners should be immediately sifted for ”active representatives of the Bolshevist ideology”. Those identified as such should be immediately executed or handed over to SS units for execution. The order made it clear that:
“In the battle against Bolshevism, the adherence of the enemy to the principles of humanity or international law is not to be counted upon. In particular it can be expected that those of us who are taken prisoner will be treated with hatred, cruelty and inhumanity by political commissars of every kind.
The troops must be aware that:
1. In this battle mercy or considerations of international law is false. They are a danger to our own safety and to the rapid pacification of the conquered territories.
2. The originators of barbaric, Asiatic methods of warfare are the political commissars. So immediate and unhesitatingly severe measures must be undertaken against them. They are therefore, when captured in battle, as a matter of routine to be dispatched by firearms.”
The genocidal nature of the war in Soviet Union was further cemented by the Reich’s adoption of its food polices towards the coming war in the east. These became known as the “Starvation Plan” and envisaged that 30 million Soviet citizens would die from the Wehrmacht’s seizure of foodstuffs as it lived off the land during its advance into the vast hinterland of the USSR.
The German High Command saw the upcoming campaign as a brief, brutal, ideologically driven conflict that would involve the mass murder of the Soviet population and Red Army soldiers taken as prisoners.
It put considerable efforts into propaganda campaigns aimed at ensuring the rank and file of the Wehrmacht clearly understood what was expected of them in the war of annihilation to come.
Historian Jeff Rutherford has noted the propaganda efforts of the German High Command which involved extensive efforts at “ideological education”. Soldiers attended a series of lectures outlining the Nazi ideology on a range of topics which emphasized the “special mission” in the east which was a life and death struggle for Germany. Rutherford has observed:
“The cumulative effect of this concerted effort to indoctrinate the rank and file and of the criminal orders was to create an atmosphere in which German soldiers and policemen, as the unquestioned Herrenmenschen, were actively encouraged to murder specific groups of Soviet citizens and treat others as mere obstacles to final victory.”
Rutherford’s detailed examination of letters and diaries of soldiers in Army Group North reveal that large numbers of German soldiers had clearly absorbed the ‘language and ideas of this ideological indoctrination’. Many would become Hitler’s willing executioners in the ensuing race war on the eastern front that left over 20 million civilians dead.
Military records from Wehrmacht infantry divisions together with letter and diaries from rank and file soldiers reveal the total complicity of the German army in the genocide committed against the people of the Soviet Union.
Siege of Leningrad 1941-1944
Operation Barbarossa, code name for the Nazi invasion of the USSR, gave Army Group North the task of destroying Red Army forces in the Baltic region and then capturing Leningrad. By 8 September 1941 an exhausted Army Group North had reached the suburbs of the city and the front stabilized as both sides took time to regroup. The Red Army had halted the German juggernaut at a huge cost in casualties and prevented Army Group North from capturing the city.
On 22 September 1941 units of Army Group North received a Fuhrer directive that gave them the genocidal task of laying siege to the city and destroying its inhabitants through a blockade that would cause mass starvation:
“The Fuhrer has decided to erase the city of St. Petersburg form the face of the earth. I have no further interest in the existence of this large city after the deaf of the Soviet Union…We propose to blockade the city tightly and erase from the earth by means of artillery fire and continuous bombardment from the air.”
Military historian David M. Gantz, in his account of these events The Siege of Leningrad writes:
“The German blockade of Leningrad trapped more than 3 million souls in the city. With winter approaching, the food and fuel supplies cut off, and inadequate reserves dwindling, the city’s inhabitants faced a frozen hell of starvation and disease while they fought for survival under enemy fire.”
The siege of Leningrad lasted 900 days and killed between 800,000 and 1 million civilians. All told the number of civilians and soldiers who perished during the siege of Leningrad amounted to 1.6-2 million dead.
David M. Glantz has put this figure in perspective:
“These figures associated with the defence of a single city are six times greater than the United Sates’ total death toll during the entirety of World War 2.”
Destruction of villages and their inhabitants by Army Groups North, Centre and South
The great Russian writer Ales Adamovich wrote an auto-biographical novel Khatyn about his experiences of surviving the war as a partisan in Belarus. Adamovich cites a military archive which mentions that 9,200 villages in Belarus alone were destroyed by the Wehrmacht. In over 600 of these villages the inhabitants were shot or burned alive.
When villages were destroyed the population were either killed, evacuated or left to starve. The Wehrmacht was expected to live off the land for a large part of its provisions leading to mass looting of food and animals from the civilian population leading to widespread starvation for many.
Adamovich’s novel quotes from a Wehrmacht report of the massacre of the inhabitants of the village of Zabolotye on September 21, 1942. According to the filed report by a Captain Pels:
“The outcome of the operation was the following: 289 people were shot, 151 farmsteads were burned down, 700 head of cattle were rounded up, as well as 400 pigs, 400 sheep and 70 horses.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Soviet civilians were evacuated by Wehrmacht forces to be used as slave labour in German war industries where many died of neglect and abuse.
In northern and southern Russia the civilian population had similar experiences.
In many cases villages were destroyed and the inhabitants murdered as reprisals for partisan attacks on German units. In other cases, villages and their inhabitants were destroyed by brutalised soldiers who saw civilians as obstacles in the way of their military operations. On many occasions, villages were destroyed by retreating German units. Rutherford has noted how the destruction of civilian housing became part of the army’s “daily routine” before Hitler’s demand that all, “farms given up [by army units in retreat] are to be burned.”
This left massive numbers homeless and destined to die of hunger and exposure during the harsh Russian winters. Over a million dwellings were destroyed by the Wehrmacht in the Soviet Union leaving over 25 million people homeless.
During the winter of 1941-42 the genocidal activities of Wehrmacht soldiers also extended to forcibly taking felt boots and winter clothing from Soviet civilians. The 123rd Infantry Division issued an instruction to its men that, “all felt boots are to be immediately taken from the population without consideration of age or sex,” condemning large numbers of men, women and children to frostbite and death. Hitler’s order to this effect was not issued until late December yet German units across all fronts had been operating in this manner for several weeks.
The German army ruthlessly mobilized all village inhabitants, including children, for forced labour for the construction of fortifications and other defensive tasks. Refusal to work was often met with instant execution. This use of forced labour had been prevalent within the Wehrmacht since June yet it reached new heights during the winter of 1941-42 as it struggled to cope with the Russian winter. Not surprisingly, many tens of thousands died from this forced labour as civilians workers were given tiny rations while working outside in sub zero temperatures many without winter clothing or felt boots.
The mass murder of Red Army prisoners
During the Wehrmacht’s invasion of the USSR it took millions of Red Army soldiers prisoner. Immediately, commissars and any others suspected of communist sympathies were weeded out for execution. The remaining troops were stripped of their food supplies, and clothing during the winter of 1941-42, and sent on death marches to so called camps. In the main these consisted of open areas surrounded by barbed wiring and watch towers with no housing for prisoners.
Daniel Goldhagen, in his book Hitler’s Willing Executioners has noted that “2.8 million young, healthy Soviet POWs” were killed by the German army units, “mainly by starvation… in less than eight months” of 1941–42.
Between 150,000 and 500,00 Soviet prisoners of war (POWs) were transferred to Nazi concentration and extermination camps. Most were killed by firing squad or gassing. It is worth noting that Zyklon B was tested on Red Army prisoners before being used at Auschwitz and other death camps. Thousands of Soviet POWs also died from starvation or exposure.
At several camps Red Army prisoners organised uprisings against their Nazi guards. At Sobibor a 2nd Lt. Alexander Perchevsky led a successful mass break out which forced the SS to close the camp and cover up the evidence of its mass murder.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Soviet POWs ended up being used as slave labourers in German industries. Over 200,000 died during their forced labour.
Peter Calvocoressi and Guy Wint in their book Total War have observed that 5.7 million Red Army soldiers were taken into captivity by the German army, Of these 3.5 million had died by mid 1944. They comment that this mass murder of Red Army soldiers was no accident:
“This slaughter of prisoners cannot be accounted for by the peculiar chaos of the war in the east…. The true cause was the inhuman policy of the Nazis towards the Russians as a people and the acquiescence of army commanders in attitudes and conditions which amounted to a sentence of death on their prisoners.”
The destruction of the Jewish population of the USSR
As the Wehrmacht advanced into the Soviet Union during the summer of 1941 the Einsatzgruppen death squads followed close behind. Their tasks was to round up and murder the Jewish population of the Soviet state. Hitler had made it clear that in his mind the struggle against Bolshevism and Jewry was inextricably interlinked. Estimates vary but many suggest around 1 million Soviet Jews were murdered principally by mass shooting during 1941-42. Hundreds of thousands more were shipped to the extermination camps in Poland to be gassed to death
This genocidal murder was chronicled by two Red Army journalists Illya Ehrenburg and Vasily Grossman who produced The Black Book: The Ruthless Mass Murder of Jews by German-Fascist Invaders Throughout The Temporarily Occupied Regions of the Soviet Union and in the Death Camps of Poland During the War of 1941-45. Some of the evidence that they gathered was used at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials and helped convict leading Nazis.
The mass murder of Soviet Jewry was part of Hitler’s so called “Final Solution of the Jewish Question”. The historian Yitzhak Arad makes the point that the Nazi regime also viewed these actions, “as a means of destroying the Soviet state and of preparing the territories of the Soviet Union for German colonization.”
Nazi genocide in the Soviet Union
On the 75th anniversary of the defeat of German fascism we should remember the Nazi genocide against the people of the Soviet Union. It is a genocide that has been largely ignored by the West due to its Cold War against the USSR which continues to this present day with Cold War 2.0 waged against Russia.
The British military historian Richard Overy provides us with a succinct yet powerful testimony to the genocide suffered by the people of the Soviet Union at the hands of German fascism:
“There is no dispute that the Soviet population suffered out of all proportion to the suffering of the Soviet allies, and suffered in many cases was not a quick end from a bomb or bullet but an agonizing end from starvation, or torture, or enslavement, or from countless atrocities whose mere recital still, after the accumulation of almost sixty years of further miseries world wide, humbles and defeats the imagination.”
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southfront--2020-05-10--Houthis Target Saudi-led Coalition Aerial Formation Over Al-Jawf

The Houthis announced on May 9 that the Yemeni Air Defense Force had targeted an aerial formation of the Saudi-led @ @ @ @ @ of al-Jawf .
A spokesman for the Yemeni group , said the formation , that @ @ @ @ @ was targeted with a “ Fatir-1 ” air-defense system .
The Fatir-1 system , which @ @ @ @ @ Houthis in August of 2019 , is a locally-upgraded Soviet-made SA-6 “ Gainful.
” The @ @ @ @ @ of 22 km .
The system was successfully used to shot down many combat drones @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. over the last year .
Recently , the Houthis began using the system @ @ @ @ @ Houthis growing air-defense capabilities are starting to pose a serious threat to the Saudi-led coalition @ @ @ @ @ year , the Yemeni group made a major achievement when it shot down a Torido @ @ @ @ @ with an anti-aircraft missile .
MORE ON THIS TOPIC : • Military Situation In Yemen @ @ @ @ @ ( Map Update )

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The Houthis announced on May 9 that the Yemeni Air Defense Force had targeted an aerial formation of the Saudi-led coalition over the northern province of al-Jawf.
A spokesman for the Yemeni group, said the formation, that consisted of several warplanes, was targeted with a “Fatir-1” air-defense system.
“The aggressor’s warplanes were confronted with Fatir-1 missiles, which forced them to retreat while they were attempting to carry out hostile acts in the province of al-Jawf,” the spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Sari, said.
The Fatir-1 system, which was first revealed by the Houthis in August of 2019, is a locally-upgraded Soviet-made SA-6 “Gainful.” The system has an effective range of 22 km.
The system was successfully used to shot down many combat drones of the Saudi-led coalition and the U.S. over the last year. Recently, the Houthis began using the system against fighter jets.
The Houthis growing air-defense capabilities are starting to pose a serious threat to the Saudi-led coalition air power. Earlier this year, the Yemeni group made a major achievement when it shot down a Torido IDS combat aircraft over al-Jawf with an anti-aircraft missile.
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southfront--2020-05-10--In Video: Strategic Bombers In Low Pass Over Russian City

that was so cool !
!
!
!
wish i could see that in person !

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This is how the Victory Day (May 9) looks in Russia.
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southfront--2020-05-10--ISIS Terrorists Ambush Nigerian Army Convoy, Capture Several Vehicles (Photos)

Those are not ISIS but grasshoppers mde by overpopulation by too good medical and food help by west .
We should stop that .
Back to good old days , where they as routine starved millions as contraseption .
When I was a child I learned that UN by Unicef and others would help up those people up to a better and longer lived standard of life .
I can only see its as in my overferilized lake nearbye .
You can almost cross it on verysmall fish , which also eat each other .
Should we and I support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So I am for helping and even adopting only the ones , which is for changes , which makes improvements making not so many babies to feed instead .
We see the same in people naming themselves as develloped .
Iran is a very good example .
50 % are unimplyed , they are nt even able to have enough food and even blame Americans for it .
They cant even upgrade their farming for food even they also only manuel has millions of hands for it .
True its more fun to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but its irresponsiblity of the worst kind .
When organisations fx try to plant trees and by that make wood and take back agrarland – and turn around – the forest is gone .
They are happy for good water from below , but are not able to or dont care about repair .
Does people like them deserve someone like us .
I dont think so .
Inmay places it also seemes only the women works and men decide , what the women has to do .
I really dont get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When I see the picture I think : Are we some Gods for them and luck just as grashoppers are bad luck .
I kind of think so .

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On May 8, ISIS announced that its terrorists had ambushed a convoy of the Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) in the northeastern Nigerian province of Borno.
The convoy was ambushed on the highway linking Maiduguri, the capital of Borno, and the town of Damboa. ISIS’ news agency, Amaq, claimed that several Nigerian service members were killed or injured in the ambush.
Amaq released photos of two pick-ups armed with machine guns and a truck, which were captured by ISIS terrorists in the course of the ambush.
The Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA), formerly known as Boko Haram, is active in Nigeria as well as in Chad, Niger and Cameroon. Boko Haram, which was founded in 2002, was among the first Jihadi groups to join ISIS.
Nigerian government forces dealt a major blow to the terrorist group in the last few years. However, the group’s cells are still farily active in Borno, especially in the area bordering Lake Chad.
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southfront--2020-05-10--Facebook Engine Censors Iconic Photo With Soviet Flag Raised Over Reichstag As Trump Claims U.S. And

Facebook Engine Censors Iconic Photo With Soviet Flag Raised Over Reichstag As Trump Claims U.S. And U.K. Won WW2

Thanks to US President Donald Trump , we know taht it ’ s the US and the UK defeated Nazi Germany in the World War 2 .
This claim is a brilliant example of the current state of the Western political and educational system .
Therewriting of real history and fake claims to push own agenda have become an integral part of the Western political class .
Social media feeds are filled with historic shots marking Victory Day , but Facebook seems to have taken issue with one that symbolizes the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany , and it keeps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Taken during the Battle of Berlin on May 2 , 1945 , Yevgeny Khaldei ’ s ‘ Raising a Flag over the Reichstag ’ commonly springs to mind when it comes to the subject of World War II and Victory Day celebrations .
It universally appears in literature , documentaries and , indeed , in social media posts .
RT has even reenacted the iconic moment as part of its V-Day project .
All the more puzzled , then , were social media users who tried posting the iconic shot on Facebook on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years since the defeat of Nazi Germany .
While the vintage black-and-white versions of the famous photo seemed to pass FB algorithms with flying colors , the version skilfully colorized by Olga Shirnina ( aka Klimbim ) –showing the Soviet flag in its original bright red– set off alarm bells .
“ Your post goes against our Community Standards on dangerous individuals and organisations , ” was the message shown to several RT employees who ’ d set out to verify the reports and tried to post the picture .
The warning appeared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which the image just vanished altogether .
Details provided in the warning only broadly outline the topics banned on FB , such as terrorism and incitement of hate and violence .
There is no indication that FB has ever consistently associated the Soviet symbols with any on the list , although the network does have a history of erroneously censoring certain historic shots .

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Thanks to US President Donald Trump, we know taht it’s the US and the UK defeated Nazi Germany in the World War 2. This claim is a brilliant example of the current state of the Western political and educational system. Therewriting of real history and fake claims to push own agenda have become an integral part of the Western political class.
On May 8, 1945, America and Great Britain had victory over the Nazis! "America's spirit will always win. In the end, that's what happens." pic.twitter.com/umCOwRXWlB — The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 8, 2020
***
RT reports (source):
Social media feeds are filled with historic shots marking Victory Day, but Facebook seems to have taken issue with one that symbolizes the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, and it keeps deleting a recently-colorized version of it.
Taken during the Battle of Berlin on May 2, 1945, Yevgeny Khaldei’s ‘Raising a Flag over the Reichstag’ commonly springs to mind when it comes to the subject of World War II and Victory Day celebrations. It universally appears in literature, documentaries and, indeed, in social media posts. RT has even reenacted the iconic moment as part of its V-Day project.
All the more puzzled, then, were social media users who tried posting the iconic shot on Facebook on May 9, as Russia marked 75 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany. While the vintage black-and-white versions of the famous photo seemed to pass FB algorithms with flying colors, the version skilfully colorized by Olga Shirnina (aka Klimbim) –showing the Soviet flag in its original bright red– set off alarm bells.
#Facebook has banned the iconic photograph of a #Soviet solider waving the #USSR flag over the #Reichstag in May 1945. The social network claims the image violates its community guidelines for dangerous people and organizations… MORE: https://t.co/arpDN9Ss0P pic.twitter.com/KGtGwE4D5J — RT (@RT_com) May 9, 2020
“Your post goes against our Community Standards on dangerous individuals and organisations,” was the message shown to several RT employees who’d set out to verify the reports and tried to post the picture. The warning appeared minutes after posts were completed, after which the image just vanished altogether.
Details provided in the warning only broadly outline the topics banned on FB, such as terrorism and incitement of hate and violence. There is no indication that FB has ever consistently associated the Soviet symbols with any on the list, although the network does have a history of erroneously censoring certain historic shots.
Shirnina herself tried to post the photo on May 9 – only to get suspended by Facebook for three days for “violating Community Standards,” according to a screenshot she posted on Russian social network VK. RT has sent a request to Facebook, seeking clarification.
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southfront--2020-05-10--Al-Qaeda Operations Room Claims Responsibility For Recent Attack On Hmeimim Air Base

The al-Qaeda-affiliated Wa Harid al-Muminin operations room has claimed responsibility for the recent rocket attack on the Russian Hmeimim Air Base in southern Lattakia .
Forces of the operations room launched four Grad rockets from their positions in the town of Tardin at the air base in the afternoon of May 9 .
The rockets fell in farmlands , far away from the air base , causing no damage whatsoever .
“ With the grace of God Almighty , the air base of the Russian occupier in the Hmeimim area was targeted with Grad rockets and accurate hits were achieved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Worlds , ” the operations room claimed in a short statement .
The Wa Harid al-Muminin operations room was established in October of 2018 by Jamat Ansar al-Islam , Jabhat Ansar al-Islam , Horas al-Din and Ansar al-Tawhid with the aim of sabotaging any peaceful agreement on Greater Idlib .
Earlier this month , Ansar al-Tawhid , one of Wa Harid al-Muminin ’ s biggest factions , defected from the operations room for no clear reason .
The rocket attack on the Hmeimim Air Base is a major violation of the March 5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Arab Army ( SAA ) will likely respond soon .
MORE ON THIS TOPIC : • U.S .
Forces Established New Base In Syria ’ s Deir Ezzor – Report

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The al-Qaeda-affiliated Wa Harid al-Muminin operations room has claimed responsibility for the recent rocket attack on the Russian Hmeimim Air Base in southern Lattakia.
Forces of the operations room launched four Grad rockets from their positions in the town of Tardin at the air base in the afternoon of May 9. The rockets fell in farmlands, far away from the air base, causing no damage whatsoever.
“With the grace of God Almighty, the air base of the Russian occupier in the Hmeimim area was targeted with Grad rockets and accurate hits were achieved, Thank God, Lord of the Worlds,” the operations room claimed in a short statement.
The Wa Harid al-Muminin operations room was established in October of 2018 by Jamat Ansar al-Islam, Jabhat Ansar al-Islam, Horas al-Din and Ansar al-Tawhid with the aim of sabotaging any peaceful agreement on Greater Idlib.
Earlier this month, Ansar al-Tawhid, one of Wa Harid al-Muminin’s biggest factions, defected from the operations room for no clear reason.
The rocket attack on the Hmeimim Air Base is a major violation of the March 5 Russian-Turkish agreement on Greater Idlib. The Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) will likely respond soon.
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southfront--2020-05-10--Libyan Army Eliminates Turkish-Backed Syrian Commander In Special Operation (Photos)

The Libyan National Army ( LNA ) announced on May 10 that its units had eliminated a senior Turkish-backed Syrian commander .
In a short statement , the army said that the commander , identified as Mohamed Hindawi , was killed in a special operation near the town of Ain Zara in the early hours of the morning .
Ain Zara is located right to the south of the Libyan capital , Tripoli .
The LNA ’ s media center released photos showing the dead body of Hindawi as well his military ID , which appears to be issued by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hindaw was commanding the 2nd Corps of Turkish-backed Syrian militants in Libya .
The army ’ s claims are yet to be verified by an independent source .
On May 9 , the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights ( SOHR ) revealed that the number of Syrians killed while fighting for the GNA in Libya has risen to 268 .
Turkey began deploying Syrian militants in Libya last year to support the GNA , which was facing a large attack by the LNA .
Ankara also shipped loads of heavy weapons , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Now , Turkey is planning to send even more Syrian militants to Libya .
The number of Syrians fighting there is reportedly 8,250 .
Most of the Syrian fighters are being used by GNA forces as a “ cannon fodder ” on the hottest frontlines against the LNA .
MORE ON THIS TOPIC : • New Batch Of Turkish-Backed Syrian Militants Arrives In Libya

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The Libyan National Army (LNA) announced on May 10 that its units had eliminated a senior Turkish-backed Syrian commander.
In a short statement, the army said that the commander, identified as Mohamed Hindawi, was killed in a special operation near the town of Ain Zara in the early hours of the morning. Ain Zara is located right to the south of the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
The LNA’s media center released photos showing the dead body of Hindawi as well his military ID, which appears to be issued by Turkey.
According to the LNA, Hindaw was commanding the 2nd Corps of Turkish-backed Syrian militants in Libya. The army’s claims are yet to be verified by an independent source.
On May 9, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) revealed that the number of Syrians killed while fighting for the GNA in Libya has risen to 268.
Turkey began deploying Syrian militants in Libya last year to support the GNA, which was facing a large attack by the LNA. Ankara also shipped loads of heavy weapons, including air-defense systems and combat drones.
Now, Turkey is planning to send even more Syrian militants to Libya. The number of Syrians fighting there is reportedly 8,250. Most of the Syrian fighters are being used by GNA forces as a “cannon fodder” on the hottest frontlines against the LNA.
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southfront--2020-05-10--3 UN Peacekeepers Killed, 4 Others Wounded In Roadside Bomb Explosion In Mali

On May 10 , 3 UN peacekeepers were killed and 4 others wounded when their convoy hit a roadside bomb @ @ @ @ @ to Olivier Salgado , the spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali , the @ @ @ @ @ patrol in Aguelhok commune .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • ISIS Terrorists Seize Weapons @ @ @ @ @ Forces

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On May 10, 3 UN peacekeepers were killed and 4 others wounded when their convoy hit a roadside bomb in northern Mali.
According to Olivier Salgado, the spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, the incident happened during a routine patrol in Aguelhok commune.
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southfront--2020-05-10--Explosion Rocks Turkish-Occupied City In Northern Syria. Casualties Reported (Videos)

On May 10 , a large explosion rocked the center of the Turkish-occupied city of al-Bab in the northern countryside of Aleppo .
Local sources said a heavy improvised explosive device ( IED ) exploded in a local market , near the Center roundabout in city ’ s center .
The explosion took place before Iftar , the first meal eaten by fasting Muslims after sunset in Ramadan .
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency ( SANA ) , a civilian was killed and more than 20 others were injured .
Some of the injured people , including a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ condition .
There was no immediate claim for the al-Bab attack .
Both ISIS and Kurdish forces are usually accused of orchestrating such attacks in Turkish-occupied areas .
Last month , a booby-trapped truck packed with dozens of fuel barrels exploded in the occupied city of Afrin .
The attack killed and injured over 100 people , including women and children .
The perpetrators have not been uncovered yet .
These attacks shade light on the deteriorating security situation in Turkish-occupied areas in north and northeast Syria .
The Turkish military and its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the area .
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On May 10, a large explosion rocked the center of the Turkish-occupied city of al-Bab in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
Local sources said a heavy improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in a local market, near the Center roundabout in city’s center. The explosion took place before Iftar, the first meal eaten by fasting Muslims after sunset in Ramadan.
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), a civilian was killed and more than 20 others were injured. Some of the injured people, including a child, are reportedly in a critical condition.
There was no immediate claim for the al-Bab attack. Both ISIS and Kurdish forces are usually accused of orchestrating such attacks in Turkish-occupied areas.
Last month, a booby-trapped truck packed with dozens of fuel barrels exploded in the occupied city of Afrin. The attack killed and injured over 100 people, including women and children. The perpetrators have not been uncovered yet.
These attacks shade light on the deteriorating security situation in Turkish-occupied areas in north and northeast Syria. The Turkish military and its proxies appear to be unable to secure the area.
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southfront--2020-05-10--Mysterious Fires Burn Iraqi Crops For Second Year In Row (Videos)

For the second year in a row , hundreds of acres of farmlands in the northern , eastern and southern parts of Iraq were set on fire .
Local sources told the London-based New Arab on May 6 that the fires burned hundreds of acers of wheat and barley in the province of Najaf , in the areas of Azim and Muqdadiya in the province of Diyala and in Baiji in the province of Saladin .
Local farmers are blaming the government for not providing a sufficient protection for the vast farmlands .
Shiekh Jamal al-Abaidi from Diyala told the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make efforts to protect the farms .
Meanwhile , the government appears to be less warried .
The Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture claimed that one of the largest fires hit Najaf crops this year was caused by a faulty generator .
The fires began following an announcement by the government that Iraq will be producing 6 million tons of wheat and barley , which is more than enough to cover the country ’ s needs for the upcoming year .
Some Iraqi officials , including Salam al-Shammari head of the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to keep Iraq an “ importer ” of crops .
Last year , ISIS claimed responsibility for similar crops fires in Iraq .
The terrorist group ’ s cells used whatever they could place their hands on , from magnifying glasses to improvised-incendiary devices , to start the fires .
The fires were meant as a punishment to farmers , who had refused to pay Zakat [ an Islamic income tax ] to the terrorist group .
The new fires this year were likely also orchestrated by ISIS for the exact same reasons @ @ @ @ @ @

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For the second year in a row, hundreds of acres of farmlands in the northern, eastern and southern parts of Iraq were set on fire.
Local sources told the London-based New Arab on May 6 that the fires burned hundreds of acers of wheat and barley in the province of Najaf, in the areas of Azim and Muqdadiya in the province of Diyala and in Baiji in the province of Saladin.
“The losses are huge and they [the fires] are wiping out the agricultural season, which excelled with an abundant of crops,” one of the sources told the outlet.
Local farmers are blaming the government for not providing a sufficient protection for the vast farmlands. Shiekh Jamal al-Abaidi from Diyala told the New Arab that the government needs to make efforts to protect the farms.
“The government is looking at these organized fires and doing nothing, as if it is separating these agriculture issues from security issues,” al-Abaidi said.
Meanwhile, the government appears to be less warried. The Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture claimed that one of the largest fires hit Najaf crops this year was caused by a faulty generator.
The fires began following an announcement by the government that Iraq will be producing 6 million tons of wheat and barley, which is more than enough to cover the country’s needs for the upcoming year.
Some Iraqi officials, including Salam al-Shammari head of the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee, believe that some side is trying to keep Iraq an “importer” of crops.
Last year, ISIS claimed responsibility for similar crops fires in Iraq. The terrorist group’s cells used whatever they could place their hands on, from magnifying glasses to improvised-incendiary devices, to start the fires.
The fires were meant as a punishment to farmers, who had refused to pay Zakat [an Islamic income tax] to the terrorist group. The new fires this year were likely also orchestrated by ISIS for the exact same reasons.
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southfront--2020-05-10--Trump Against the Government: Officials Conflicted Over Lying for the President

Written by Philip Giraldi ; Originally appeared at The Unz Review Once upon a time in the United States there was a consensus among national politicians that there were two areas where there should be a unified approach to policy .
They were national security and foreign policy , both of which involved other nations , which made desirable a perception of unity on the part of the president and his cabinet , no matter who was in power .
That meant that dissent from individual politicians should never rise to the level of pitting one party against another on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ desirable in terms of U.S. national interests .
That viewpoint has survived at least somewhat intact to this day , even weathering the turmoil of Vietnam , but the apple cart has been somewhat upset by new players in the game , namely the various federal bureaucracies , to include law enforcement , intelligence and the Pentagon .
The 2016 election demonstrated that the FBI and CIA in particular were willing to get involved in the game of who should be president , and in so doing they compromised major foreign policy and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as well as the wildly inflated current claims being leveled against China and Russia and even Iran looking ahead to elections in November .
As noted above , the Establishment view on foreign and national security policy was based on the principle that there must always be a united front when dealing with situations that are being closely watched by foreigners .
If a cabinet secretary or the president says something relating to foreign or military affairs it should be the unified view of both the administration and the loyal opposition .
Unfortunately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has broken down , largely because the chief executive either refuses to or is incapable of staying on script .
The most recent false step involved the origin of the corona virus , with the intelligence community stating that there was no evidence that the virus was “ man made or genetically modified ” in a lab followed by the president several hours later contradicting that view asserting that he had a “ high degree of confidence ” that the coronavirus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan , China based on secret information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has also been reports that the Trump White House has in fact been pushing the intelligence community ( IC ) to “ hunt for evidence ” linking the virus to the Wuhan laboratory , suggesting that the entire China gambit is mostly political , to have a scapegoat available in case the troubled handling of the virus in the United States becomes a fiasco and therefore a political liability .
This pressure apparently prompted an additional statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence saying : “ The IC will continue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.
” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , who has claimed without providing any details that there is “ overwhelming evidence ” that coronavirus came out of the Wuhan laboratory , is reportedly leading the push to demonize China .
He and other administration officials have expressed their frustration over the C.I.A.
’ s apparent inability to come up with a definitive explanation for the outbreak ’ s origin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that there is no evidence to support any one theory with “ high confidence ” and they are afraid that any equivocating response will immediately be politicized .
Some analysts noted that their close monitoring of communications regarding the Wuhan lab suggest that the Chinese government itself does not regard the lab as a source of the contagion .
To be sure , any intelligence community document directly blaming the Chinese government for the outbreak would have a devastating impact on bilateral relations for years to come , a consequence that Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interactions initiated by Trump administration officials suggest that Washington might use its preferred weapon sanctions in an attempt to pressure other nations to also hold China accountable , which would multiply the damage .
Given what is at stake in light of the White House pressure to prove what might very well be unprovable , many in the intelligence community who actually value what they do and how they do it are noticeably annoyed and some have even looked for allies in Congress , where they have found support from the Pentagon over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and heavily politicized .
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith of Washington has responded to the concerns expressed to him by both the military and intelligence communities , admitting that he is “ …worried about a culture developing ” where many senior officials are now making decision not on the merits of the case but rather out of fear that they will upset the president if they do not choose correctly .
While the intelligence agencies are concerned over the fabrication of a false consensus over the coronavirus , similar to what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of weapons of mass destruction in 2002-3 , the Defense Department is more concerned that fundamental mechanisms that have been in place since the Second World War are now under attack , including how the military maintains discipline and punishes officers and enlisted men who have deviated from established policies .
Appealing to his base of support , Trump has notoriously pardoned Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher , a Navy seal who was clearly guilty of murder in Afghanistan , and even met with him afterwards in the White House .
Regarding Gallagher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reed of Rhode Island said in a November that “ The White House ’ s handling of this matter erodes the basic command structure of the military and the basic function of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
” Trump is now meddling in the treatment of Navy Captain Brett Crozier , who was relieved of his command after he went public with complains about the spread of coronavirus on his ship .
In early April the president said “ I may just get involved.
” In the military services such interference even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ influence.
” Clearly , the White House is seeking to squeeze every bit of political advantage it can from the Crozier story .
Congressman Smith has also described the situation in a colorful fashion as “ The president has made it clear as far as he is concerned the single most important attribute that anybody in the federal government can have is a willingness to kiss the president ’ s ass as often as possible ” which “ undermines your ability to be competent , to make decisions based on what is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what is going to feed the president ’ s limitless ego.
” To be sure , Donald Trump is not about to change and if he is re-elected one can only expect four more years of the same , but public confidence in government can only be maintained if there is at least some belief that decision making is a rational process .
Trump has clearly turned that axiom on its head in his tendency to blame other parts of the government for what are manifestly his own failings .
His characterization of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ himself appointed , as “ losers ” casts the entire government in a bad light .
Whether the strategy of divide and conquer within one ’ s own administration will work out for Trump will certainly be decided in November .

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Written by Philip Giraldi; Originally appeared at The Unz Review
Once upon a time in the United States there was a consensus among national politicians that there were two areas where there should be a unified approach to policy. They were national security and foreign policy, both of which involved other nations, which made desirable a perception of unity on the part of the president and his cabinet, no matter who was in power. That meant that dissent from individual politicians should never rise to the level of pitting one party against another on the basic Establishment view of what was desirable in terms of U.S. national interests.
That viewpoint has survived at least somewhat intact to this day, even weathering the turmoil of Vietnam, but the apple cart has been somewhat upset by new players in the game, namely the various federal bureaucracies, to include law enforcement, intelligence and the Pentagon. The 2016 election demonstrated that the FBI and CIA in particular were willing to get involved in the game of who should be president, and in so doing they compromised major foreign policy and national security norms, which produced Russiagate as well as the wildly inflated current claims being leveled against China and Russia and even Iran looking ahead to elections in November.
As noted above, the Establishment view on foreign and national security policy was based on the principle that there must always be a united front when dealing with situations that are being closely watched by foreigners. If a cabinet secretary or the president says something relating to foreign or military affairs it should be the unified view of both the administration and the loyal opposition. Unfortunately, with President Donald Trump that unanimity has broken down, largely because the chief executive either refuses to or is incapable of staying on script. The most recent false step involved the origin of the corona virus, with the intelligence community stating that there was no evidence that the virus was “man made or genetically modified” in a lab followed by the president several hours later contradicting that view asserting that he had a “high degree of confidence” that the coronavirus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China based on secret information that he could not reveal.
There has also been reports that the Trump White House has in fact been pushing the intelligence community (IC) to “hunt for evidence” linking the virus to the Wuhan laboratory, suggesting that the entire China gambit is mostly political, to have a scapegoat available in case the troubled handling of the virus in the United States becomes a fiasco and therefore a political liability. This pressure apparently prompted an additional statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence saying: “The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has claimed without providing any details that there is “overwhelming evidence” that coronavirus came out of the Wuhan laboratory, is reportedly leading the push to demonize China. He and other administration officials have expressed their frustration over the C.I.A.’s apparent inability to come up with a definitive explanation for the outbreak’s origin. C.I.A. analysts have reportedly responded that there is no evidence to support any one theory with “high confidence” and they are afraid that any equivocating response will immediately be politicized. Some analysts noted that their close monitoring of communications regarding the Wuhan lab suggest that the Chinese government itself does not regard the lab as a source of the contagion.
To be sure, any intelligence community document directly blaming the Chinese government for the outbreak would have a devastating impact on bilateral relations for years to come, a consequence that Donald Trump apparently does not appreciate. And previous interactions initiated by Trump administration officials suggest that Washington might use its preferred weapon sanctions in an attempt to pressure other nations to also hold China accountable, which would multiply the damage.
Given what is at stake in light of the White House pressure to prove what might very well be unprovable, many in the intelligence community who actually value what they do and how they do it are noticeably annoyed and some have even looked for allies in Congress, where they have found support from the Pentagon over Administration decision making that is both Quixotic and heavily politicized.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith of Washington has responded to the concerns expressed to him by both the military and intelligence communities, admitting that he is “…worried about a culture developing” where many senior officials are now making decision not on the merits of the case but rather out of fear that they will upset the president if they do not choose correctly.
While the intelligence agencies are concerned over the fabrication of a false consensus over the coronavirus, similar to what occurred regarding Iraq’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction in 2002-3, the Defense Department is more concerned that fundamental mechanisms that have been in place since the Second World War are now under attack, including how the military maintains discipline and punishes officers and enlisted men who have deviated from established policies.
Appealing to his base of support, Trump has notoriously pardoned Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, a Navy seal who was clearly guilty of murder in Afghanistan, and even met with him afterwards in the White House. Regarding Gallagher, Senate Armed Services Committee Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island said in a November that “The White House’s handling of this matter erodes the basic command structure of the military and the basic function of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”
Trump is now meddling in the treatment of Navy Captain Brett Crozier, who was relieved of his command after he went public with complains about the spread of coronavirus on his ship. In early April the president said “I may just get involved.” In the military services such interference even has a name, “undue command influence.” Clearly, the White House is seeking to squeeze every bit of political advantage it can from the Crozier story.
Congressman Smith has also described the situation in a colorful fashion as “The president has made it clear as far as he is concerned the single most important attribute that anybody in the federal government can have is a willingness to kiss the president’s ass as often as possible” which “undermines your ability to be competent, to make decisions based on what is the right thing to do as opposed to what is going to feed the president’s limitless ego.”
To be sure, Donald Trump is not about to change and if he is re-elected one can only expect four more years of the same, but public confidence in government can only be maintained if there is at least some belief that decision making is a rational process. Trump has clearly turned that axiom on its head in his tendency to blame other parts of the government for what are manifestly his own failings. His characterization of senior officials, many of whom he himself appointed, as “losers” casts the entire government in a bad light. Whether the strategy of divide and conquer within one’s own administration will work out for Trump will certainly be decided in November.
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southfront--2020-05-10--Al-Qaeda Terrorists Secure Gains In Tanjarah In Northwest Hama

On May 10 afternoon , the al-Qaeda-affiliated wa-Harid al-Mu ’ minin operations room imposed full control of the town of Tanjarah in the northwestern Hama countryside .
Forces of the operations room stormed Tanjarah in the morning .
Following several hours of heavy clashes , the Syrian Arab Army ( SAA ) withdrew from most of its positions in the town and its vicinity .
In an official statement , Wa-Harid al-Mu ’ minin claimed that its fighters have repelled three counter-attacks on the town .
“ Thanks to God Almighty , three attack attempts by the Nusayri militia [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ town of Tangra and its surroundings were repelled , praise be to God , Lord of the worlds , ” the statement reads .
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights ( SOHR ) , 21 Syrian soldiers and 13 militants have been killed in the clashes around Tanjarah .
The SAA is currently shelling Tanjarah as well as nearby towns and villages .
The army and its allies will likely launch a large ground attack to recapture Tanjarah in the upcoming few hours .
Both the Russian Aerospace Forces and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the attack .
Wa-Harid al-Mu ’ minin ’ s attack on Tanjarah is a serious violation of the March 5 Russian-Turkish agreement on Greater Idlib .
The attack also demonstrates the hostile , radical nature of the militants controlling the region .
MORE ON THIS TOPIC : • IED Attack Claims Lives Of Two Syrian Service Members In Southern Raqqa

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On May 10 afternoon, the al-Qaeda-affiliated wa-Harid al-Mu’minin operations room imposed full control of the town of Tanjarah in the northwestern Hama countryside.
Forces of the operations room stormed Tanjarah in the morning. Following several hours of heavy clashes, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) withdrew from most of its positions in the town and its vicinity.
In an official statement, Wa-Harid al-Mu’minin claimed that its fighters have repelled three counter-attacks on the town.
“Thanks to God Almighty, three attack attempts by the Nusayri militia [SAA] on the axis of the town of Tangra and its surroundings were repelled, praise be to God, Lord of the worlds,” the statement reads.
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), 21 Syrian soldiers and 13 militants have been killed in the clashes around Tanjarah.
The SAA is currently shelling Tanjarah as well as nearby towns and villages. The army and its allies will likely launch a large ground attack to recapture Tanjarah in the upcoming few hours. Both the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Arab Air Force may support the attack.
Wa-Harid al-Mu’minin’s attack on Tanjarah is a serious violation of the March 5 Russian-Turkish agreement on Greater Idlib. The attack also demonstrates the hostile, radical nature of the militants controlling the region.
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southfront--2020-05-10--IED Attack Claims Lives Of Two Syrian Service Members In Southern Raqqa

On May 10 , an improvised explosive device ( IED ) ripped through a vehicle of the Syrian Arab Army @ @ @ @ @ was passing on a road near the ancient city of Resafa in southern Raqqa .
@ @ @ @ @ outlet covering news in northeast Syria , two Syrian service members were killed in the @ @ @ @ @ the second attack on government forces in al-Raqqa this week .
Three days earlier , @ @ @ @ @ commander of the Air Force Intelligence Directorate ( AFID ) detachment in the town of @ @ @ @ @ assassinated in western Raqqa .
ISIS remnants are known to operate in southwestern Raqqa .
@ @ @ @ @ not claimed responsibility for any of the recent attacks , yet .
More attacks could @ @ @ @ @ southern and western Raqqa countryside , if necessary precautions are not taken .
MORE ON @ @ @ @ @ Gunmen Target Turkish-Backed Sham Corps In Eastern Idlib Once Again

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On May 10, an improvised explosive device (IED) ripped through a vehicle of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) as it was passing on a road near the ancient city of Resafa in southern Raqqa.
According to al-Khabour, an outlet covering news in northeast Syria, two Syrian service members were killed in the IED explosion.
This was the second attack on government forces in al-Raqqa this week. Three days earlier, Lt. Col. Ahmed Mohamed, commander of the Air Force Intelligence Directorate (AFID) detachment in the town of Dibsi ‘Afnan, was assassinated in western Raqqa.
ISIS remnants are known to operate in southwestern Raqqa. Nevertheless, the group has not claimed responsibility for any of the recent attacks, yet. More attacks could target government forces in the southern and western Raqqa countryside, if necessary precautions are not taken.
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southfront--2020-05-10--Unidentified Gunmen Target Turkish-Backed Sham Corps In Eastern Idlib Once Again

On May 10 , unidentified gunmen attacked a headquarters of the Turkish-backed Sham Corps near the town of Binnish in the eastern Idlib countryside .
“ Clashes took place between the headquarters ’ personnel and the attackers , before the latter run away … There is no information on any casualties until this moment , ” the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights ( SOHR ) said in a report .
A series of attacks targeted positions and personnel of the Sham Corps in the southern and eastern Idlib countryside over the last few weeks .
In the most recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , gunmen attacked a headquarters of the group near the towns of al-Fu ’ ah and Kafriya .
In a speech with Enab Baladi , a pro-opposition news outlet , Capt .
Naji Mustafa , a spokesman for the Sham Corps , said the attacks are being investigating without providing any additional details on the matter .
Another spokesman for the group , Saif Ra ’ ad , told Enab Baladi that eight attacks targeted Turkish-backed militants in southern and eastern Idlib in the last few days .
Equipment and arms were stolen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hay ’ at Tahrir al-Sham was accused of plotting some of the attacks .
The group was recently provoked by the Sham Corps ’ close work with Turkish forces to reopen the M4 highway .
However , there is no evidence confirming the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham involvement in attacks yet .
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On May 10, unidentified gunmen attacked a headquarters of the Turkish-backed Sham Corps near the town of Binnish in the eastern Idlib countryside.
“Clashes took place between the headquarters’ personnel and the attackers, before the latter run away … There is no information on any casualties until this moment,” the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in a report.
A series of attacks targeted positions and personnel of the Sham Corps in the southern and eastern Idlib countryside over the last few weeks. In the most recent attack, which occurred on May 7, gunmen attacked a headquarters of the group near the towns of al-Fu’ah and Kafriya.
In a speech with Enab Baladi, a pro-opposition news outlet, Capt. Naji Mustafa, a spokesman for the Sham Corps, said the attacks are being investigating without providing any additional details on the matter.
Another spokesman for the group, Saif Ra’ad, told Enab Baladi that eight attacks targeted Turkish-backed militants in southern and eastern Idlib in the last few days. Equipment and arms were stolen in some of the attacks.
Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham was accused of plotting some of the attacks. The group was recently provoked by the Sham Corps’ close work with Turkish forces to reopen the M4 highway. However, there is no evidence confirming the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham involvement in attacks yet.
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southfront--2020-05-10--New Batch Of Turkish-Backed Syrian Militants Arrives In Libya

A new batch of 250 Turkish-backed Syrian militants has arrived in Libya to defend the Government of National Accord ( GNA ) , the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights ( SOHR ) revealed on May 10 .
According to the SOHR , the number of Syrian militants fighting for the GNA in Libya has risen to 8,250 .
“ The [ new ] batch includes fighters from the town of al-Atarib as well as others from other Syrian areas , they were recruited in the ranks of the Sultan Murad Division and the Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Brigade by fighters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the SOHR report reads .
The monitoring group also revealed that at least 3,300 Syrian militants are receiving military training in Turkey ahead of deployment in Libya .
A day earlier , the SOHR said the number of Turkish-backed Syrian militants killed while fighting for the GNA has risen to 268 .
Recently , the dead bodies of seven militants who were killed in Libya arrived in Turkish-occupied areas in northern Aleppo .
Despite the mounting losses , Turkey is apparently still planning to deploy more Syrian militants in Libya .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ serious achievement for GNA forces , thus far .
MORE ON THIS TOPIC : • More Syrian Militants Return From Libya In Coffins

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A new batch of 250 Turkish-backed Syrian militants has arrived in Libya to defend the Government of National Accord (GNA), the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) revealed on May 10.
According to the SOHR, the number of Syrian militants fighting for the GNA in Libya has risen to 8,250.
“The [new] batch includes fighters from the town of al-Atarib as well as others from other Syrian areas, they were recruited in the ranks of the Sultan Murad Division and the Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Brigade by fighters who returned from Libya on a visit,” the SOHR report reads.
The monitoring group also revealed that at least 3,300 Syrian militants are receiving military training in Turkey ahead of deployment in Libya.
A day earlier, the SOHR said the number of Turkish-backed Syrian militants killed while fighting for the GNA has risen to 268. Recently, the dead bodies of seven militants who were killed in Libya arrived in Turkish-occupied areas in northern Aleppo.
Despite the mounting losses, Turkey is apparently still planning to deploy more Syrian militants in Libya. This plan has failed to secure any serious achievement for GNA forces, thus far.
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southfront--2020-05-10--Al-Qaeda Terrorists Launch Surprise Attack On Syrian Army Positions In Northwestern Hama (Videos, Ma

Al-Qaeda Terrorists Launch Surprise Attack On Syrian Army Positions In Northwestern Hama (Videos, Map)

On May 10 , terrorists of the al-Qaeda-affiliated wa-Harid al-Mu ’ minin operations room violated the ceasefire in Greater Idlib by carrying a surprise attack on Syrian Arab Army ( SAA ) positions in northwest Hama .
The terrorists stormed several army positions around the town of Tanjarah in the early morning .
Eventually , most of the town and its surroundings fell into the terrorists ’ hands .
The SAA is currently carrying out a counter-attack to secure Tanjarah .
Several positions in the town ’ s vicinity have been recaptured .
However , heavy clashes are still ongoing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ villages and towns of al-Ankawi , al-Qahirah , Qulaydin , Kafr Uwayd , Mawzarah , Kansafrah and Ayn al-Arus .
In an official statement , wa-Harid al-Mu ’ minin said the attack was a response to “ violations ” by the SAA .
The al-Qaeda operations room was one of the forces which rejected the ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey on March 5 .
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights ( SOHR ) , 15 army service members and 7 Jihadists of wa-Harid al-Mu ’ minin have been killed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Recently , Wa-Harid al-Mu ’ minin ’ s terrorists stepped up their attacks .
A day earlier , the terrorists launched four rockets at the Russian Hmeimim Air Base in southern Lattakia .
The attack resulted in no casualties or equipment .
The situation in northwestern Hama could escalate further in the upcoming few hours .
The SAA and its allies will likely respond to these violations by resuming airstrikes on terrorists ’ positions in the region .
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On May 10, terrorists of the al-Qaeda-affiliated wa-Harid al-Mu’minin operations room violated the ceasefire in Greater Idlib by carrying a surprise attack on Syrian Arab Army (SAA) positions in northwest Hama.
The terrorists stormed several army positions around the town of Tanjarah in the early morning. Eventually, most of the town and its surroundings fell into the terrorists’ hands.
The SAA is currently carrying out a counter-attack to secure Tanjarah. Several positions in the town’s vicinity have been recaptured. However, heavy clashes are still ongoing, with the army shelling the nearby villages and towns of al-Ankawi, al-Qahirah, Qulaydin, Kafr Uwayd, Mawzarah, Kansafrah and Ayn al-Arus.
#Syria #Idlib
Another footage taken this morning showing clashes between Incite the Believers and #SAA in Southern Idlib. pic.twitter.com/oIY1QDqmac — MrRevinsky (@Kyruer) May 10, 2020
In an official statement, wa-Harid al-Mu’minin said the attack was a response to “violations” by the SAA. The al-Qaeda operations room was one of the forces which rejected the ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey on March 5.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), 15 army service members and 7 Jihadists of wa-Harid al-Mu’minin have been killed in Tanjarah clashes, thus far.
Recently, Wa-Harid al-Mu’minin’s terrorists stepped up their attacks. A day earlier, the terrorists launched four rockets at the Russian Hmeimim Air Base in southern Lattakia. The attack resulted in no casualties or equipment.
The situation in northwestern Hama could escalate further in the upcoming few hours. The SAA and its allies will likely respond to these violations by resuming airstrikes on terrorists’ positions in the region.
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southfront--2020-05-11--Russia Test-Launched Kinzhal Hypersonic Missile From Upgraded Tu-22M3M Bomber

The Kinzhal hypersonic missile was most likely test-launched from a Tu-22M3M long-range strategic bomber .
As part of the work on creating and testing advanced aviation weapons aimed at ground and possibly maritime surface targets , a Kinzhal hypersonic missile was test-launched from a modernized long-range supersonic bomber-carrier Tupolev Tu-22M3M with a variable sweep wing .
This was reported by a source of the Russian news agency TASS in the military-industrial complex .
“ Recently , a new hypersonic product was tested on the Tu-22M3 .
The missile will be part of the armament range of the upgraded Tu-22M3M along @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weapons , ” the TASS source said .
The source didn ’ t specifically say what the new “ hypersonic product ” that was tested was .
The source noted that work on the new missile began several years ago , missile tests should be completed along with work on the modernized Tu-22M3M bomber .
He clarified that this product does not belong to the X-32 missile line , noting that it is “ completely different.
” He didn ’ t specify and of the characteristics .
TASS also received no official comment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and is responsible for modernizing the long-range strategic bombers .
Earlier , the Russian defense industry developed two types of aircraft hypersonic missiles .
One of them is the Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile and is used on the MiG-31K fighter , it is capable of accelerating to Mach 10+ and was presumably created on the basis of the Iskander ground-based missile system .
It is also expected to be equipped on the Tu-22M3 .
Another hypersonic air-launched missile is reportedly being developed for the fifth-generation fighter Su-57 and should be placed inside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are unknown .
The prototype of the upgraded Tu-22M3M long-range strategic bomber made its first flight on December 28th , 2018 .
According to PJSC Tupolev , the missile carrier has an expanded combat potential .
Former Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces Viktor Bondarev , head of the Defense and Security Council Committee , previously reported that the Tu-22M3M will be able to carry , in addition to cruise missiles X-32 , hypersonic missiles .
Below is a video of a Tu-22M3M taking off in engine afterburner mode .
MORE ON THE @ @

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The Kinzhal hypersonic missile was most likely test-launched from a Tu-22M3M long-range strategic bomber.
As part of the work on creating and testing advanced aviation weapons aimed at ground and possibly maritime surface targets, a Kinzhal hypersonic missile was test-launched from a modernized long-range supersonic bomber-carrier Tupolev Tu-22M3M with a variable sweep wing.
This was reported by a source of the Russian news agency TASS in the military-industrial complex.
“Recently, a new hypersonic product was tested on the Tu-22M3. The missile will be part of the armament range of the upgraded Tu-22M3M along with a number of other latest aviation weapons,” the TASS source said.
The source didn’t specifically say what the new “hypersonic product” that was tested was. The source noted that work on the new missile began several years ago, missile tests should be completed along with work on the modernized Tu-22M3M bomber.
He clarified that this product does not belong to the X-32 missile line, noting that it is “completely different.” He didn’t specify and of the characteristics.
TASS also received no official comment or confirmation from Tupolev, which produces and is responsible for modernizing the long-range strategic bombers.
Earlier, the Russian defense industry developed two types of aircraft hypersonic missiles. One of them is the Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile and is used on the MiG-31K fighter, it is capable of accelerating to Mach 10+ and was presumably created on the basis of the Iskander ground-based missile system. It is also expected to be equipped on the Tu-22M3.
Another hypersonic air-launched missile is reportedly being developed for the fifth-generation fighter Su-57 and should be placed inside its fuselage. Missile name and characteristics are unknown.
The prototype of the upgraded Tu-22M3M long-range strategic bomber made its first flight on December 28th, 2018.
According to PJSC Tupolev, the missile carrier has an expanded combat potential. Former Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces Viktor Bondarev, head of the Defense and Security Council Committee, previously reported that the Tu-22M3M will be able to carry, in addition to cruise missiles X-32, hypersonic missiles.
Below is a video of a Tu-22M3M taking off in engine afterburner mode.
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southfront--2020-05-11--Military Situation In Syria On May 11, 2020 (Map Update)

Click to see the full-size image A brief overview of the recent developments in Syria : • The Syrian Army @ @ @ @ @ after a series of clashes ; • Unidentified gunmen attacked a headquarters of the Sham @ @ @ @ @ Binnish ; • 2 Syrian soldiers were killed in an IED explosion in al-Khabour ; @ @ @ @ @ in the center of al-Bab .
At least one person was killed and 20 others @ @ @ @ @ THE TOPIC : • Military Situation In Syria On May 10 , 2020 ( Map @ @

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A brief overview of the recent developments in Syria:
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