(New York Times) Anne Barnard - On the side of President Assad in the Syrian civil war are Iraqi Shiite militiamen, Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Afghan refugees hoping to gain citizenship in Iran, and Hizbullah militants willing to fight "wherever needed," while overhead are Russian pilots. In addition, the Russian newspaper RBK, said private Russian military companies had 1,000 to 2,500 employees in Aleppo and Latakia, under the de facto command of Russian military intelligence officers, while Russian special forces are also on the ground in Syria. The bulk of the pro-government force in the fight for Aleppo, Syria's largest city, is made up of militiamen trained and financed by Iran. At the same time, the Shiite sect that accounts for the bulk of the Iraqi militias makes up less than 1% of Syria's population.
2016-10-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive