Fallout of Idriss ousting still opaque

The implications of Salim Idriss’s dismissal remain unclear on the battle ground amid mutual accusations of treason between rebel commanders themselves who divided between a supporter to the ousted Syria’s opposition Supreme Military Council leader and an opponent.

“Idriss to end his visit to Dubai and return to Turkey,” Journalist and cyber activist, Zaid Benjamin said in his Twitter account according to his source. He added that 5 rebel commanders still consider Idriss as SMC leader.

SMC announced Sunday in video statement that Idriss has been removed from his post, with Brigadier Abdullah al-Bashir appointed in his place.

Idriss’s has led the main Syrian armed opposition group since Dec. 2012 after defecting from Assad’s army where he held the position of general.

Zaman Alwasl source revealed that Interim Defence Minister, who retracted his resignation due to Turkish and American pressure, was behind Idriss dismissal.

Dr. Asaad Mustafa’s disputes with Idriss have been escalated over leading and funding the rebel groups on the ground, especially the moderate ones and whose operate under Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The source assured that Idriss ousting was the main outcome of Mustafa’s closed meeting with Turkish and American intelligence, which took place in the Turkish border city, Gaziantep, until the early morning hours of Saturday.

In December, Mustafa said “Salim Idriss has failed to make an institution,” according to the London-based Daily Telegraph. “I don't think everything can continue in the same way.”

The new SMC leader is head of the Quneitra Military Council, which has been prominent in a current insurgent offensive in southern Syria. His deputy, Colonel Heitham Afeisi, is a leading member of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, according to EA.

In relevant context, a well-informed source reported to Zaman Alwasl that Col. Abdel Jabbar Al Aqidi will be “ a man next phase” and the top military figure for the opposition in coming period, according to European and Saudi desire in particular.

 Al Aqidi has a good reputation within the armed opposition and Islamic parties, besides his military experience on the ground, some activists said. 

Saudis to Provide Antiaircraft Missiles

Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide rebels there with more sophisticated weaponry, including shoulder-fired missiles that can take down jets, according to Western and Arab diplomats and opposition figures, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Saudi Arabia has offered to give the opposition for the first time Chinese man-portable air defence systems, or Manpads, and antitank guided missiles from Russia, according to an Arab diplomat and several opposition figures with knowledge of the efforts. Saudi officials couldn't be reached to comment.

The U.S. has long opposed arming rebels with antiaircraft missiles for fear they could fall into the hands of extremists who might use them against the West or commercial airlines. The Saudis have held off supplying them in the past because of U.S. opposition. A senior Obama administration official said Friday that the U.S. objection remains the same. "There hasn't been a change internally on our view," the official said.

The U.S. for its part has stepped up financial support, handing over millions of dollars in new aid to pay fighters' salaries, said rebel commanders who received some of the money. The U.S. wouldn't comment on any payments.

The focus of the new rebel military push is to retake the southern suburbs of Damascus in hopes of forcing the regime to accept a political resolution to the war by agreeing to a transitional government without President Bashar al-Assad.

But if the Manpads are supplied in the quantities needed, rebels said it could tip the balance in the stalemated war in favour of the opposition. The antiaircraft and Russian Konkurs antitank weapons would help them chip away at the regime's two big advantages on the battlefield—air power and heavy armour.

"New stuff is arriving imminently," said a Western diplomat with knowledge of the weapons deliveries.

Rebel commanders and leaders of the Syrian political opposition said they don't know yet how many of the Manpads and antiaircraft missiles they will get. But they have been told it is a significant amount. The weapons are already waiting in warehouses in Jordan and Turkey.  

Nasrallah vows to win    

Meanwhile, the chief of Lebanon’s Shiite movement Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, vowed on Sunday that the group would win against extremists fighting in neighboring Syria, according to Agence France-Presse.

“We will win this battle, God willing,” he insisted, after describing the group’s role in the conflict in Syria as a fight against “takfiris” - extremist Sunni Muslims.

Hezbollah, a staunch ally of the Syrian regime, has dispatched fighters to the conflict to bolster government troops, finally admitting their presence in April 2013.

The three-year-old conflict in Syria has fuelled Sunni-Shiite tensions in neighboring Lebanon and across the wider Arab world. It has drawn in militants who fight on both sides and receive funding and arms from rival regional powers.

“If you want to prevent this region from falling into chaos that will not end for decades, stop the war on Syria,” Reuters quoted Nasrallah as saying, addressing all political forces in the Arab world.

Meanwhile the Syrian death toll rose to 140,000 people, over 7,000 of them children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.

Syria's nearly three-year conflict began as popular protests against four decades of Assad family rule but changed into armed insurgency under a security force crackdown.