Syrian Tourism Ministry to Travelers: Please Come and Enjoy Beautiful Aleppo

Do you want ringside views of a cool Russian airstrike? Dinner at a sidewalk cafe in Aleppo amidst a stunning fireworks display of small arms, tank and artillery fire? How about the awesome “Game of Thrones” soundtrack as background music to stir the blood?

The idea may not be far-fetched, since the Syrian Ministry of Tourism circulated a promotional video last Friday of government-occupied portions of Aleppo. This came complete with musical scoring from “Game of Thrones.” Bashar al-Assad must be a big fan of the highly successful HBO TV series.

The video features aerial footage of broad tree lined boulevards and the sparkling blue swimming pools. Really nice panoramic views of an energetic city.

Obviously, what the video shows is a far cry from Aleppo’s eastern districts where 250,000 civilians and rebel fighters endure daily bombardment. In short – high explosive for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s where the UN reports whole blocks of residential areas blasted to rubble.

Every day the world is shown an endless stream of disturbing photos of a shattered city and yet, unexplainably, Assad’s government is keen on promoting the city as THE next tourist destination.

So what’s with the “Game of Thrones” soundtrack? The imaginative might bear in mind that the series’ fantasy world of Westeros is a place filled with bloodshed and also afflicted with an extremely violent civil war.

Intensive crusade for tourism

However, the Aleppo video is only part of an extensive tourism campaign by the government. Just a month ago, they released panoramic shots of the coastal resort city of Tartus by the Mediterranean.

Another one features a religious festival in the predominantly Christian mountain town of Maaloula. This is one of the few remaining places on earth where the ancient language of Jesus Christ, Aramaic, can be heard in normal conversation.

It was seized in 2013 by the al-Qaeda connected militant group, al-Nusra Front. Nevertheless, government loyalist forces have re-occupied the town since April 2014.

Last week, the country’s state-controlled news agency , scoffed at the world’s perception of Aleppo as a city on the throes of death. Instead, it tweeted a video of inhabitants enjoying the “thriving nightlife” of a vibrant city.

#Aleppo, now dubbed as the "World's Most Dangerous City", still boasts a thriving nightlife, as shown in one of this summer's events #Syria http://pic.twitter.com/kFUDtGvHME

— SANA English (@SANA_English) September 24, 2016

The post Syrian Tourism Ministry to Travelers: Please Come and Enjoy Beautiful Aleppo appeared first on Newsline.

Russia Sends More Jets, Pounds Rebel Held Territories in Aleppo

Air strikes by Russian war planes intensified in rebel held areas East of Aleppo on Saturday. The air strikes are in support of the Syrian Army’s major offensive which includes shelling eastern Aleppo with artillery. The Syrian governments offensive is on its 10^th day in an effort to recapture the last remaining rebel stronghold.

The Russian planes targeted major supply lines in the Castello Road and Malah District. Ground battles on the other hand, raged in the Suleiman al Halabi neighborhood.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov informed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Moscow was ready to consider more ways to “normalize the situation in Aleppo”.

However, Lavrov said that the U.S. failed to separate the moderate rebel groups from the Islamist faction which the Russians call terrorist. This failure allowed the terrorist group formerly known as the Nusra front to violate the US-Russian truce agreed on September 9.

Russia and Assad disregarded the ceasefire to initiate a new intensified offensive. The renewed offensive is possibly the biggest operation they have implemented in the Syrian civil war.

No Ground Re-taken

Amid intensified efforts by the Russian air strikes and the Syrian army offensive, rebels have stood their ground and repelled the assault.

Rebels say that Syrian troops supported by Iranian-backed militias were having a difficult time to retake any ground in the frontline of the city. Abu Hamam, one of the rebels defending the city said. “They are shelling the old city heavily after another failed attempt to gain ground. Moreover, they have lost several fighters and we are steadfast.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group is monitoring the war. They have reported “back and forth” fighting in the Suleiman al-Halabi neighborhood. They also reported at least 20 casualties in the Russian and Syrian strikes on Friday through the early morning of Saturday.

The post Russia Sends More Jets, Pounds Rebel Held Territories in Aleppo appeared first on Newsline.