Syria: As fighting continues foreign detainees may reach center stage (Op-Ed)

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Published time: June 16, 2012 09:10
Edited time: June 16, 2012 13:10

While insurgents try to recapture at least some of the areas lost in the last week and make it to the outskirts of towns in western Syria, more details on foreign detainees come to light, which may start political discussions back home.

­Consultant and peace activist Christoph R. Hörstel told RT that his information “is directly obtained from Syrian security personnel of various origins personally taking part in battles and other operations, and/or close relatives of such personnel – some are even well-known people".

“The information reaches me through a partner in Turkey. I counter-check all information obtained this way as best as possible under the circumstances,” Hörstel said.

Insurgents and terrorists are trying to infiltrate back to the lost strongholds in Hafeh and Idlib. They try to return from the rural areas, but face strong army resistance in these areas, plus in Homs and Hama. As the rebels lost most of their weapon stockpiles, they intend now to carry out terror attacks in civilian areas, using improvised bombs.

On the other hand, especially in Hafeh, it is understood that the insurgents are not capable of invading towns and town centers, even not in smaller villages. The only safe haven for the fighters seems to be right now Idlib's rural surroundings and forested stretches, reaching into the terror camps in neighboring Turkey.

Military deployment and logistic support operations are going on around town centers, rural villages close to cities are being shelled by the army, as soon as the presence of insurgents is verified.

After the capture of an ex-Guantanamo detainee in Homs as an alleged terror network mastermind, Syrian security is now researching this subject in-depth. In future, Syria may take some of these foreign elements to be dealt with in court under live TV coverage.

Sources say at least 200-300 private security company employees are captured beside hundreds of foreign military and service personnel during the last 14 months of foreign terror provocation. Among them are Portuguese nationals, who are paratroopers – and about whom Syria is asking itself how they entered the country. During interrogation they claimed to have retired from army duty, which somehow contradicts in some cases how old they look. Sources add, that some of those foreign officials somehow settled in the region at least months before they started their terror campaign.

Also 40-60 Germans are in Syrian custody, said the officials. According to these sources, the Germans were caught red-handed on the Syrian coastline as they were smuggling weapons supplies for the insurgents into Syria.

Syrian security personnel have changed their detention strategies as well, concentrating foreign nationals in a high-security environment in Damascus.

Syrian sources are irritated about the so-called international mainstream media. These officials go so far as to raise vigilance prior to important international gatherings discussing the Syrian issue, anticipating further false flag operations to discredit the Syrian government.

Christoph R. Hörstel for RT

Сhristoph R. Hörstel is managing director at Hörstel Networks, Government & Business Consulting. http://syria-help.blogspot.de/