Hezbollah blocked Russian monitors from Wadi Barada area near Damascus, Syria

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Reports out of Syria today claim that Hezbollah fighters blocked Russian military observers from entering an area of metro Damascus to check on the status of military activities in Wadi Barada, with respect to the ongoing ceasefire.
The Russian delegation arrived in the area after being “invited” by local residents, and Hezbollah stopped them when they arrived. Under the ceasefire deal, Russia and Turkey are guarantors of the deal, with expectations they are supposed to monitor areas where fighting is ongoing with factions not included in the deal.

There is already speculation that this could threaten the ceasefire, or indicates some tension between the Russia and Iran, both of which are backing Syria in the civil war, since Hezbollah is generally seen as one of Iran’s proxies within the civil war.

The Syrian regime forces aided by Hezbollah have been fighting to retake the Wadi Barada area which contains the main source of water for Damascus.

It is unclear, however, whether this is as major an issue as is being reported, or simply a one-off misunderstanding. Either way, it raises further concerns about the ceasefire in the near-term as rebels continue to present everything the military does as a violation.

AntiWar/YL

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12 responses to “Hezbollah blocked Russian monitors from Wadi Barada area near Damascus, Syria”

  1. This sounds like fake news: why would Hezbollah do that? They are fighting side by side with the Russians.

    1. HebAlba Avatar

      Wadi Barada statement:
      “We will let teams to fix water spring if SAA-Hezb stop attack, siege lift & monitor ceasefire by intl observers”
      Damascus faces its 13th day of water shortage after moderate rebels including Al Qaeda, Ahrar al Sham and FSA, cut the water supply in Wadi Barada..
      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b1b30f9472473a146b6617578b2fd83982131e0983d20875113d66bab3d103cb.jpg

  2. rararoadrunner Avatar
    rararoadrunner

    I can understand Hazbullah’s anxiety:if the Russians are sharing intel with the Turks, that intel could find its way to Turkish-backed forces fighting Hazbullah…

    1. Not just Turkey, Israel, Hezb/Iran’s sworn enemy has close coordination with the Russians and often hits Hezbully and Iran in Syria with Russian giving the OK to do so.

      1. HebAlba Avatar

        Israeli Zionist Regime are such Machiavellic..

        Israeli diplomat caught on camera plotting to ‘take down’ UK MPs
        https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jan/07/israeli-diplomat-shai-masot-caught-on-camera-plotting-to-take-down-uk-mps?utm_co

        1. Rudy1947 Avatar

          Don’t you mean discredit as the article states.

          1. Feeling lonely?

          2. No, she means (as in reports) that an Israeli Embassy official is being his degenerate self in suggesting to take down officials in the UK. But you are okay with that, so you can carry on.

        2. You seem confused about the close Russian-Israeli ties and I understand you prefer not to mention how Russia. But Russia will throw Iran under the bus when they are no longer necessary as cannon-fodder and pawns to die in Syria.

          1. HebAlba Avatar

            The only one confused is you.

  3. TrulyMe16 Avatar

    Though there’s no confirmation of this news nor any reasons cited why Hezbollah would stop Russian observers coming to Wadi Barada, it’s Very likely Hezbollah suspects Russia may give some feedback to Turkey that may cause negative repercussions on the Syrian side. High time for Russia to be decisive about its choices, and choose either Syria or Turkey, instead of dangling between the two. That’s the sign of a crook, not an honest dealer.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      Probably … considering ‘all the parties’ have been in on it for somethng for themselves, some much more than others, and for sure more than for those who asked at the beginning for a little more government representation in their own country.
      But then most of what comes out as ‘news bits’ has been ‘suspect’, and that grew worse, and as the UN Rep. from New Zealand said; “We have no-one of ‘ours’ in there we trust to observe” – not even Red Cross/Crescent.

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