Hezbollah Promises to Continue Its ‘Jihad’ in Syria

The Lebanese Shiite Movement Hezbollah promised on Wednesday to keep waging “jihad” in Syria, Reuters reported.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the Syrian war is escalating. During a rally attended by thousands in Beirut on Wednesday to mark the Shiite annual Ashura commemoration, Nasrallah said Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria was in defense of the entire region.

“We will continue to bear our great responsibilities of jihad there. Your sons are there, and your men, your brothers, your husbands. They are defending their existence, dignity and the resistance,” he said, speaking at the rally in the southern district of Beirut, which is known to be predominantly Shiite.

Hezbollah is an ally of the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, with its troops fighting alongside government forces throughout the country. Backed by Iran, nearly 1,500 of the movement’s fighters have reportedly died fighting in Syria.

Hezbollah says its involvement in Syria is to defend Shiite Muslims from Sunni jihadist fighters who have called for the extermination of all Shiites in the region.

U.S. and Russia to Discuss Syria in Switzerland

U.S. secretary of state John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov will meet in Switzerland on Saturday to discuss Syria, Reuters reported.

Last week Kerry suspended talks with Russia over Moscow’s involvement in the aerial bombardment of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Russian warplanes assisted a government offensive on Aleppo after a cease-fire brokered with the U.S. crumbled last month. The U.S. and France have accused Russia and Syria of being responsible for war crimes in Aleppo, with airstrikes targeting civilians and hospitals in rebel-held parts of the city.

Reportedly also attending the meeting in Switzerland are foreign ministers from Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the U.S. is still committed to a “deep multilateral engagement” with Russia as a necessary partner.

“But it is no longer in the context of trying to broker this agreement that would … hold out the prospect of U.S. military cooperation with Russia. That’s something that Russia has lost … the credibility to be able to try to agree to,” Earnest said.

Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday that he hoped warming relations between Turkey and Russia would change Turkish policy in Syria. The U.S. and Turkey support rebels fighting to overthrow the government of Assad.

More Than 150 People Killed in Rebel-Held Aleppo This Week

Rescue workers said that more than 150 people have been killed in Syrian government and Russian strikes on rebel-held Aleppo this week, Reuters reported.

The Syrian military announced last week it would reduce airstrikes on Aleppo for humanitarian reasons, but there was a surge in airstrikes again from Tuesday onward.

Airstrikes killed 13 people in rebel-held eastern Aleppo today, according to a local civil defense official.

Rebel shelling of government-held western parts of Aleppo killed eight people yesterday while today four children were killed and 10 wounded in a rebel shelling attack near a school in western Aleppo, the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, has been divided into eastern rebel-held districts and a government-controlled west since 2012.

Recommended Reads:

• The National: What Are the Limits of Principled Opposition to Intervention in Syria?
• The Atlantic: From Sarajevo to Aleppo: Lessons on Surviving a Siege
• BBC: In Pictures: How a Rebel Fighter Became ‘Syria’s Banksy’
• Electronic Intifada: Khan Eshieh Camp Under Renewed Attack
• The Irish Times: Crisis in Syria: ‘We Had Only Our Clothes When We Came Here’