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Syria: Al-Qaeda's battle for control of Assad's chemical weapons plant

Syria: Al-Qaeda's battle for control of Assad's chemical weapons plant

April 29, 2013

The London Daily Telegraph reports: "Set amid the rolling plains outside Aleppo, the town of al-Safira looks just like another vicious battleground in Syria's civil war. On one side are lightly-armed rebels, on the other are government troops, and in between is a hotly-contested no-man's land of bombed-out homes and burned-out military vehicles.

The fight for al-Safira is no ordinary turf war, however, and the prize can be found behind the perimeter walls of the heavily-guarded military base on the edge of town. Inside what looks like a drab industrial estate is one of Syria's main facilities for producing chemical weapons - and among its products is sarin, the lethal nerve gas that the regime is now feared to be deploying in its bid to cling to power.

Last week, Washington said for the first time that it had evidence of Sarin being used in "small" amounts during combat operations in Syria, a move that President Barack Obama has long warned is a "red line" that President Bashar al-Assad must not cross.

But as the West now ponders its response, the fear is not just that President Assad might start using his chemical arsenal in much greater quantities. Of equal concern is the prospect of it falling into even less benign hands - a risk that the stand-off at al Safira illustrates clearly.

For among the rebel lines in al-Safira flutters the black flag of the al-Nusra Brigade, the jihadist group that recently declared its allegiance to al-Qaeda..."

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Exiled Muslim Brotherhood plans return to Syria

Exiled Muslim Brotherhood plans return to Syria

April 26, 2013

The Financial Times reports: "The Muslim Brotherhood is set to open offices inside Syria for the first time since the organisation was crushed there decades ago, in an apparent effort to capitalise on the increasingly Islamised rebellion.

Riad al-Shaqfa, the movement's exiled leader, said in an interview with the Financial Times that a decision was recently taken to revive organisational structures inside Syria and followers have been asked to start opening party offices in rebel-held areas.

'In the beginning we said this is a time for revolution, not ideology. Now there are many groups inside so we feel we should reorganise,' he said, adding that the Brotherhood – a similar movement to its Egyptian counterpart – was hoping to promote a more moderate brand of Islamist thinking at a time of growing radicalisation..."

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