SyriaOnline´s Iyad Khuder Reports from Damascus

Iyad Khuder – SyriaOnline (Damascus) nsnbc. – Iyad Khuder reports about the results of the recent fighting in Midan, Damascus, and about latest developments in the Media War on Syria.

We arrived to Midan, to the Police center; they sent us in a tanked vehicle with some soldiers to accompany us. We got down in the heart of a popular area where streets are narrow and houses are traditional (irregular houses). The quarter was empty of inhabitants. Soldiers told us that Syrian army helped them to evacuate the quarter before starting its operation. We saw traces of fights everywhere. Bullets’ caps everywhere. We wanted to see bodies of fighters of the so-called FSA (I said “the SO-CALLED” because the bodies belonged to NON-Syrian nationalities!) Answering a question of the journalist, soldiers said that most of the foreign fighters are Libyan, Afghan, Pakistani and other Arabic nationalities.

We saw a couple of bodies. First was Afghani while the other is still unknown. The soldiers told us that there are a lot of weapons, equipments and dead fighters in a near mosque. We were advancing toward the mosque. But this wasn’t easy, because the mosque was surrounded by booby traps. Soldiers were exploding those bombs to free the way toward the mosque. The journalist said that this is enough for him and didn’t want to wait.

According to my friend who lives in Midan (in the modern area, not in the popular area), “terrorists took many houses among the inhabitants as bases for them. They used to force people to demonstrate, killed many people who didn’t obey to them and took their properties… they terrified the people.”

Other News from Midan:

• Syrian TV, in its report from Midan, interviewed a man who was kidnapped by the militants in Midan. “They wanted to blackmail me for 2 millions Syrian Pounds, about $27’000, they used to torture me every day until the moment I heard them saying: Syrian army has come, Syrian army has come! And it has come indeed and liberated me.” The man guided the Syrian soldiers to another guy who was also kidnapped. They liberated him as well, but he was in a terrible situation and was unable to talk, his eye was blue-red inflated, his hands were also damaged, especially at the wrists; traces of torture were clear at his back.

• A montage technician at Syrian TV (Ali Hassan) has been kidnapped in Midan and still hidden.

• Syrian army tried to avoid military confrontation before entering Midan and offered to the militants to drop their arms, through an intermediary, but the latter answered that they only accept to go out from Midan WITH THEIR WEAPONS! Of course Syrian army absolutely refused the idea. They would now regret what happened, if they are still alive.

2. Just in compliance to the plan* that was known to Syrians several months ago, the administrations of NileSat and ArabSat have blocked Addunia TV on Thursday 19 July 21. The very next day, that is, Friday 20 July, they advanced another step: They launched a fake Syrian TV!!! A channel with the logo of Syria TV, the official TV. This channel is broadcasting national songs. It seems that they want to block Syrian TV soon, then to broadcast the fake channel at the same frequency, so Syrians think they are watching Syria TV, and suddenly they broadcast news saying that the “opposition” controlled the headquarter of Syrian TV in Umayad Sq. So Syrians believe that Damascus has been under their control!

* The plan of “psychological war” and a “virtual defeat” through the media:

As predicted by Syrian government and published in Syrian media, there has been a plan to start a “psychological war” and a “virtual defeat” through the media. This plan seems to have been started with the “Zero hour” that media started to talk about few days before the assassination of the Syrian leaders (Minister of Defense and the others). It has become obvious that this terrorist attack of 18 July 21, 2012 was well prepared and that the western and petro-dollar governments in the Arabic monarchies were all aware of it before it happens, through the declarations of its politician (We remember the “Catastrophic attack” Miss Clinton threatened with from Tokyo)

This plan consists of:

1) Stopping the emission of Syrian Channels. Today, the administrations of both NileSat and ArabSat (that cover the Arabic world) have really stopped the emission of Addunia TV!

2) Creating “Fake copies” of Syrian channels!!! This step has started!

3) Spreading false news that Damascus has been fallen (in the hands of the rebels): This step has started already

Example: I have received a call (in the evening) from a friend in Italy telling me:

Where are you? I “knew” that the rebels controlled Syrian TV (at Umayad Sq.) and gave the staff 30 min to evacuate the building!!!

I called my colleagues at Syria TV and laugh was their answer.

4) Showing false images of important institutions in Damascus controlled by the rebels (through filming models of those institutions, constructed in Doha, more precisely in a quarter of Doha called Zubara): This step hasn’t started yet.

3. According to a Syrian journalist and analyst interviewed at Syria News TV, a man in Syrian government was in fact dealing with the American embassy, and may be CIA, put a business bag in the office of the meeting of national security Wednesday 18 July, with C4 high explosive material, before he left the place. This man, known to Syrian government is now hosted at the American ambassador’s house!

4. General situation in Damascus:

Security situation: The full city of Damascus is under control. There are several “pockets” controlled by militants. Those pockets are limited areas in some quarters (each is few km²). Talking about “quarters controlled by militants” is not accurate. Syrian army is continuing its operations to clean those spots from militants.

News about militants controlling Umayad Sq. last Thursday and calling the staff of Syrian TV to evacuate the building is a kind-of fiction and is rumor in the context of the mentioned plan of psychological war (to block Syrian TV and broadcast a fake one).

As expected and predicted (alerted at Syrian TV many months ago), Some media (TVs and websites) broadcasted a fabricated speech by President of Syrian Arab Republic Dr. Bashar Al-Assad)

A French TV channel broadcasted a news, after an interview with the Russian ambassador in Paris, that he said that Syrian president is ready to resign in a “civilian way” is also a lie and violation of the ABC of professionalism and morals of journalism. The Russian ambassador in Paris held a press conference at “rfi” denying that he said such news.

Another big lie, in this Tsunami of lies against Syria, many media institutions reported that Miss Asma Al-Assad, wife of Syrian president, arrived to Moscow. Russian Ministry of foreign affairs denied the news. Syrian TV commented that it is an immoral lie, given that Miss Asma is giving consolation to the president’s family and have no time to waste tracking the rumors.

Iyad Khuder

for SYRIAONLINE and nsnbc

Related: Life Returns to normal in Midan: (SANA)

Damascus Governor: Normal Life Back to al-Midan in Five Days

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