Assad ‘unwilling or unable’ to defeat Islamic State: British GeneralDecember 28, 2017 - 11:01 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - There can be no doubt that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is either reluctant or incapable of defeating the Islamic State terrorist group within the borders of the country he governs according to Major General Felix Gedney of the British Army, Al-Masdar News reports. On Wednesday, December 27, Fox News-affiliated sources quoted Gedney of the British Army, a key overseer of the US-led Coalition’s anti-IS efforts in Syria, saying that the Syrian government was ‘clearly unwilling or incapable’ of defeating Islamic State forces within its own borders. According to the British general, the fact that IS fighters can transit from the western shore of the Euphrates River to the eastern bank with ‘impunity’ is case-closed proof of this. Gedney’s comments come just around two weeks since Islamic State militants crossed from the eastern shore of the Euphrates (the Coalition’s area of responsibility) to the west bank, capturing a number of villages which had been liberated by Syrian army-led forces. It would take a week before the Syrian Arab Army reclaimed the settlements from the terrorist group – no assistance was provided by the Coaltion. Syrian army-led forces are not allowed to pursue IS across the Euphrates to its eastern shore due to endless threats over the past year by the so-called ‘anti-IS coalition’ that it will attack government troops if they so do. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |