DAILY SCOPE: Windy Storm Causes Damage, Battle in Syria in Cautious Calm
Local Editor
NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES:
An-Nahar:
What are Nusra, Daesh Preparing for Lebanon after Snow storm?
Dialogues Expand, Government Reactivated
As-Safir:
Cautious Calm in Aleppo... Talks About Deal Swap
Military Captives' Dossier: Nusra Sets its Demands... ISIS Withdraws
Aoun: My Rejection to Extension of Officers' Term not Political
Al-Akhbar:
Armed Groups Control Ratyan, Army Ready to Attack Again
Rabieh-Maarab Dialogue Activated
DAILY STAR:
Windy is No Storm in a Teacup for Country's Farmers
As the storm ‘Windy' started retrieving on Friday, the political storm is only agitating Lebanon with the presidential void still being unresolved. Newspapers on Friday also focused on the cautious calm at the Northern borders in Syria, particularly following the major advances of the Syrian army and its control over seven strategic villages through which the army was able to enhance its siege and isolate the armed terrorists in Aleppo outskirts along the Turkish borders.
Starting with the Lebanese arena, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun reiterated on Friday that a decision to extend the term of more than 20 officers in different posts "violates the adopted norms."
"Some politicians are using a political rhetoric and intentions instead of referring to the law and the constitution," Aoun said in comments published in As-Safir newspaper.
He expressed surprise over "the use of misleading facts and linking my objection to politics and the presidential elections."
The Change and Reform bloc chief lashed out at critics "who are also turning the matter personal by insisting on including the name of (Commando Regiment chief Brig. Gen. Chamel) Roukoz's name in the debate."
"My stance is not linked to the presidency or the family, but strictly based on respecting the state institutions... no more nor less," Aoun told the newspaper, in response to claims that he aims at pushing Roukoz to head the army if he failed to reach the Baabda Palace.
On the regional level, the daily wrote that "The serious escalation Aleppo's northern outskirts witnessed as the Syrian army and the groups supporting it advanced in the region and took control over seven major strategic villages, by that isolating the terrorist groups in Aleppo from those at the borders with Turkey. Following such escalation came cautious calm particularly after the Syrian army retreated from the village of Raytan and enhanced its posts in the rest of the villages including Masibeen, Dweir al-Zeitoun, Kafartouna, Masqan and Bashkoy, as well as Hardatneen.
Military sources told as-Safir that the military ops. Leadership decided to calm the situation for the moment, and give space for negotiating on a swap operation, especially as the army leadership lost connection with the army group located in Raytan village and found out later that the group members fell captives in the hands of the terrorist groups."
Yet, the source did not reveal any details concerning the swap deal or its whereabouts.
A civil source in addition pointed out that the number of army members who fell captive were much less than what has been circulated through media outlets. Moreover, the source criticized the huge support of the media outlets that support the opposition, who try to portray reality otherwise, but the source added "since the beginning of the war, we got acquainted well to the idea that whenever the voices of the armed groups and their media outlets get higher, it is an indication that we have hit them hard and caused them pain."
An-Nahar newspaper for its part wondered what is the next move Daesh and the terrorist groups will conduct, especially in light of the latest smuggling to Ras Baalbeck area where the armed groups tried to target army and resistance posts in West Lebanon.
The paper reminded that since that time, Hizbullah Secretary General had warned of armed groups action, especially that Syrian sources close to Al-Nusra front reveal that "there are developments to take place," stressing that the first and foremost concern of al-Nusra front is not to allow the resistance to reach the Jroud [outskirts] of Baalbeck.
The paper quoted sources as saying that unless there are those who help Daesh enter Lebanon from within the country, then it will not be able to infiltrate and enter because it has no knowledge of mountainous battlefields and cannot tolerate the nature of such a burden.
The sources further reveal that tension is on the rise between Daesh and al-Nusra Front, with a constant attempt to make al-Nusra front groups pay pledge to Daesh and join them. As for the file of the abducted soldiers, an-Nahar quoted the sources noting that al-Nusra has halted all negotiations on the abducted soldiers, and assured it will not set them free unless its detainees, male and female are released from prisons.
As for al-Akhbar newspaper, a civil source from inside al-Zahraa village told the paper that 68 army personals have arrived into the village during the past two days, especially following the major attack conducted by the opposition groups in an attempt to keep control over Ratyan village, a decisive point of battle.
The source highlighted that the armed groups of al-Nusra front, Shami front and the Hazm movement focused on retrieving Ratyan after it fell in the hands of the Syrian army, because they can expose the army units located in Hardateen and Northern Ratyan from that point, not to mention blocking ant possible attack by the Syrian army on Biyanoun village.
Al-Liwaa newspaper, also on the Syrian crisis reported that Turkey and the United States signed an agreement Thursday to train and arm Syrian rebels fighting ISIS, as said the US Embassy in Ankara. The two countries have been in talks about such a pact for several months.
Turkey called the deal "an important step" in the strategic partnership between Turkey and the United States, according to Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency. The Turkish government has said the training by US and Turkish soldiers could begin as early as next month at a base in the central Anatolian city of Kirsehir, and involve hundreds of Syrian fighters in the first year. The US has allegedly said the goal is to go after ISIS, but Turkish officials have suggested that the trained rebels could also target the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad.
On a different level, the Daily Star said that by the time "Windy" - the third consecutive storm to hit Lebanon since early January - subsides, Lebanon's greenhouse, citrus and banana farmers will have lost about a third of their annual agricultural produce, according to industry experts. Ramiz Osseiran, head of the Farmers Association in south Lebanon, told The Daily Star that close to 30 percent of greenhouse-grown vegetables across Lebanon were destroyed so far this year, warning that the current storm will damage another 40 percent of what is left from this quarter's harvest.
"The consecutive storms have wreaked havoc on the agricultural sector and by the time this storm ends, we will have lost a third of our annual agricultural produce," Osseiran said.
Tuesday Lebanon started feeling the effects of an extremely cold low-pressure system nicknamed Windy. This is the third storm to hit Lebanon since the New Year and has been characterized by winds of 80 km per hour Thursday accompanied by increased snowfall nationwide.
The combined losses incurred by farmers since January are estimated at an average $1,000 per 1,000 square meters of greenhouses, Osseiran said, noting that the calculations exclude the potential damages to be inflicted by storm Windy.
Source: al-Ahed news
