Turkey Seizes Arms in Truck Bound for Syria
The AFP reports that “Turkish security forces have seized a truck laden with weapons bound for Syria” and arrested three, including a Syrian.
“Acting on a tip-off, security forces on Wednesday stopped the truck in the southern province of Hatay on the Syrian border, Hurriyet newspaper reported. A significant quantity of ammunition and weapons were discovered in the truck, whose drivers claimed they were carrying aid on behalf of the pro-Islamic Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH). But IHH dismissed the allegations as ‘slanderous.’”
Turkey is a longtime ally of the Syrian opposition, reportedly shipping 47 tons of weapons to rebel forces since June.
Syria’s Raging Health Crisis
The New York Times has an op-ed from Adam Coutts and Fouad P. Fouad (read Syria Deeply’s interview with him here) on what they call a “public health disaster” that has been a long time in coming and placing a significant amount of blame for the situation on the U.N.
“The collapse of the health system and a lack of basic sanitation in opposition-held areas have created prime conditions for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Syria eradicated polio 14 years ago; the fact that it has returned represents more than a breakdown of health care during civil war. It is symptomatic of how the international community, in its response to the crisis, has neglected public health,” they write.
“Across Syria, coverage went down to 60 percent in 2012, and was as low as 50 percent in the embattled eastern city of Deir al-Zour, a front line between government and rebel forces. The latest W.H.O. figures from 2013 show that the level is now down to 36 percent in largely rebel-held Deir al-Zour province, although it has remained at 100 percent in government-controlled areas such as the western stronghold of Tartus.
“Given these conditions, it was no surprise to medical practitioners that a polio outbreak occurred. The question is why the international community did not prepare better for this eventuality. A disturbing part of the answer is that the United Nations itself has aggravated the situation.”
An Eyewitness Account of Journalist Marie Colvin’s Death in Syria
Mother Jones has an in-depth interview with Paul Conroy, the photojournalist who was injured at the same time as journalist Marie Colvin (who later died) while covering the siege of Homs in 2011. Conroy, the magazine says, sustained a leg injury big enough to stick his fist through. French photographer Remi Ochlik was also killed in the attack.
“The night before Marie and Remi’s murder, Marie had given three interviews, to CNN, Channel 4 in the UK, and the BBC World Service. The next morning I could clearly define the firing pattern of the regime gunners. They were bracketing in on us, which is adjusting fire with the use of a drone, until they had precisely targeted the building. They then fired four rockets directly into the media center,” Conroy says.
“Why? What was happening in Baba Amr was wholesale slaughter, Marie had the audacity to report live from the scene. We had witnessed the butchery and that crossed the boundaries as to what the regime would tolerate.”
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:
CNN: Syria’s Children Suffer, and The World Just Shrugs
Guardian: Syrian Electronic Army’s War on the Web: Interactive Timeline
AFP: Syria Opposition Says Jihadists ‘ Serve Regime Interests’
WSJ: In Syria, Opposition Fights With Itself
The National: Radicals are Assad’s Best Friends
WSJ: Behind Assad’s Comeback, a Mismatch in Commitments