Syrian cabinet bodyguard goes rogue; kills defence minister and deputy, security chief and interior - Polidicks

[QUOTE=TGiFallen;36824618]Sadly it probably will. 80% of all violent coups end with the over thrower being worse or as bad as the previous dictator.[/QUOTE] I think if the Syrian National Council is able to take control in a similar way to the NTC in Libya, things may be okay in the long-run. But I don't know what will happen; in Libya there was fairly wide support for the NTC and an acceptance that they would run the country after the war, but the rebels in Syria seem a lot more fragmented We're just going to have to wait and see

[QUOTE=TGiFallen;36824618]Sadly it probably will. 80% of all violent coups end with the over thrower being worse or as bad as the previous dictator.[/QUOTE] Libya and Egypt came out fine.

[QUOTE=TGiFallen;36824618]Sadly it probably will. 80% of all violent coups end with the over thrower being worse or as bad as the previous dictator.[/QUOTE] Where did you get that statistic from?

Hopefully this city isn't getting wrecked to shit or anything, Damascus is like.. the oldest city in the world basically.

With the fall of Syria, what becomes of Lebanon? Does it revert to a civil war since one of it's major political benefactors is gone, and opens up a power vacuum? Will the more radical religious groups move to fill that hole. Can Iran take Syria's place?

This should be interesting? [quote=BBC][B]Lina Sinjab BBC News, Damascus tweets:[/B] We are invited on a government tour to visit some sights. We are not sure where we are going or what we will see. Will let you know.[/quote]

[QUOTE=smurfy;36824794]This should be interesting?[/QUOTE] The sights are going to be a gas chamber. All [del]western[/del] media is invited.

[QUOTE=TGiFallen;36824618]Sadly it probably will. 80% of all violent coups end with the over thrower being worse or as bad as the previous dictator.[/QUOTE] That's because when the war is won good people return to their homes and put up their guns, bad people have no interest in doing that.

This is some action movie shit going on

[QUOTE=smurfy;36824399]This is a just-released video apparently showing the Free Syrian Army heading into battle. According to the Guardian it's unclear whether the video is in Mare, north-west Syria, or Damascus, but either way it's clear some shit is about to go down somewhere [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GmTGShxuTM[/media] [editline]18th July 2012[/editline] I'd watch Al Jazeera if you're interested. Live footage from the ground [url]http://www.aljazeera.com/watch_now/[/url][/QUOTE] so weird watching people drive sedans into war.

[QUOTE=Starpluck;36824774]Where did you get that statistic from?[/QUOTE] I had [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynne_Dyer"]Gwynne Dyer[/URL] come to my school and give a speach on it. It's stuff like this that he really knows a lot about. He's on a lot of military advisory panels too.

According to Al Jazeera the command headquarters of the Fourth Armoured Division, which is meant to defend the capital, has been bombed

[QUOTE=TGiFallen;36824618]Sadly it probably will. 80% of all violent coups end with the over thrower being worse or as bad as the previous dictator.[/QUOTE] Actually the outcome is unpredictable as the region is incredibly complicated and volatile.

[QUOTE=smurfy;36824794]This should be interesting?[/QUOTE] Not really sure what they're doing on the 'government tour', she's [url=https://twitter.com/BBCLinaSinjab]been tweeting[/url] but so far they seem to just be going around random areas of Damascus that haven't been affected by the fighting. In her last tweet she says she can hear gunfire nearby. She also said most of the shops she's seen are closed, so clearly even areas that aren't part of the battle (yet?) have still been affected by it in various ways [editline]18th July 2012[/editline] BBC quotes a TIME reporter who says that rebels in the northwest of Syria are sending reinforcements to the capital

[QUOTE=Kybalt;36825079]so weird watching people drive sedans into war.[/QUOTE] It's not much different than Libya. A lot of them had newer cars and trucks there too.

Since the I watched the live feed of Libyan rebels attacking Tripoli I really like watching the live feeds ( or checking up the news every half hour or so ) of rebels fighting dictators in the final phase of a conflict. Things happen very rapidly so it's a bit like a TV show. But with true badass freedom fighters.

[QUOTE=cheezey;36826064]Since the I watched the live feed of Libyan rebels attacking Tripoli I really like watching the live feeds of rebels fighting dictators in the final phase of a conflict. Things happen very rapidly so it's a bit like a TV show. Just with true badass freedom fighters.[/QUOTE] Unfortunately I don't think much more is going to happen today, the sun has gone down in Syria so neither the Free Syrian Army, nor any journalists in the area can see shit. BBC has stopped doing live updates too. Here's where I'm looking for any new stuff, if anyone knows any more please post them [url=http://www.aljazeera.com/watch_now/]Al Jazeera English[/url] - live TV [url=http://live.reuters.com/Event/Syria]Reuters[/url] - live text updates [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/jul/18/syria-crisis-assad-loyalists-killed]The Guardian[/url] - live text updates [url=https://twitter.com/BBCLinaSinjab]Lina Sinjab's Twitter[/url] - BBC reporter in Damascus [url=https://twitter.com/BBCLinaSinjab]Jenan Moussa's Twitter[/url] - Arabic TV journalist I haven't really looked around for journalist twitter accounts so there are probably some more good ones out there The latest I've heard, there are reports (proper news reports, not just twitter gossip) going round that Assad may have flown out of Damascus to the port city of Lattakia, could be bullshit though

Check liveleak for up to date raw footage.

Also, that 'government tour' ended, dunno what it was about they basically just drove around peaceful areas. Sinjab said that everywhere they went was pretty deserted though, and most of the shops were closed

I've never actually browsed Liveleak, only seen various videos posted here. Time to give it a go I guess [editline]18th July 2012[/editline] RIP automerge :(

[QUOTE=Charybdis;36824273]That Syrian news lady is hot also, I thought trying to take Damascus would be futile, but they've managed to hold out for a few days now, good job[/QUOTE] Who?

[u]Major new development[/u] The rebels are raiding Damascus International Airport, RPG fire reported [url]https://twitter.com/AlArabiya_Eng/status/225705602679177216[/url]

I hope no civilians gets hurt at the airport, hopefully it was shutdown earlier

I'd be worried if the government was letting people carry on with their days at places like the airport. Even if they're assholes, the least they could do would be to keep innocent people inside.

[QUOTE=Saxon;36829924]I hope no civilians gets hurt at the airport, hopefully it was shutdown earlier[/QUOTE] [url]https://twitter.com/HamoudiAssaf/status/225706767659720704[/url] [img]http://imgkk.com/i/gj24.png[/img]

[url]https://twitter.com/BBCLinaSinjab/status/225595169767043074[/url] no idea what to believe, have Syria made all these deaths up?

[QUOTE=Harry3;36830076][url]https://twitter.com/BBCLinaSinjab/status/225595169767043074[/url] no idea what to believe, have Syria made all these deaths up?[/QUOTE] Some believe there may have been a coup attempt; the regime had to get rid of those involved but didn't want to tell everyone that such high level ministers had turned against them Apart from the regime's word (and various opportunistic rebel groups claiming responsibility), we have no evidence there was an explosion at all. I think it was someone on Al Jazeera earlier who said that every time there's been a bombing like this, the regime has fairly quickly released videos and pictures, but this time there has been absolutely nothing It's very strange though. Saying they were killed by a defected bodyguard just gave the rebels a massive morale boost, and it appears to have lead to several real defections throughout the day. Why would they make that story up? [editline]18th July 2012[/editline] Fucking hell, it looks like we're not even sure the raid on the airport is real despite multiple sources Information warfare right here

could've been a grenade if there's no sign of an explosion outside?

The fighting continues through the night. This video apparently shows a couple of regime ex-tanks near Damascus [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBdWK72xAw8[/media]