Six In The Morning

Syrian rebels coalesce into a fighting force

　Group represents a cross-section of a nation in upheaval

By C.J. CHIVERS
Abdul Hakim Yasin, the commander of a Syrian antigovernment fighting group, lurched his pickup truck to a stop inside the captured residential compound he uses as his guerrilla base. His fighters had been waiting for orders for a predawn attack on an army checkpoint at the entrance to Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. The men had been issued ammunition and had said their prayers. Their truck bomb was almost prepared. Now the commander had a surprise. Minutes earlier, his father, who had been arrested by the army at the same checkpoint in July, had called to say his jailers had released him. He needed a ride out of Aleppo, fast.

'They snipe at us then run and hide in sewers'
Our writer was given exclusive access to the Assad Generals accused of war crimes as they seek to defeat the rebels in Aleppo

ROBERT FISK ALEPPO TUESDAY 21 AUGUST 2012
Mortars crashed into the middle-class streets around us and a T-72 tank baked in the heat under a road viaduct, but Bashar al-Assad's most senior operational commander in Aleppo – a 53-year-old Major-General with 33 years in the military and two bullet wounds from last month's battles in Damascus – claims he can "clean" the whole province of Aleppo from "terrorists" in 20 days. Now that is quite a boast, especially in the Saif el-Dowla suburb of the city, where sniper fire snapped down leafy streets. For the battle of Aleppo is far from over.

Showdown in the euro crisis
As the summer break draws to a close, the apparent calm in the euro zone is over, too. No reason to panic, however: The European Central Bank is rumored to bring out the heavy artillery.


The government in Athens has miscalculated once again. It is lacking not just the originally estimated 11.5 billion euros ($14.1 billion) for the next two years, but 14 billion euros ($17.3 billion). That may not sound like much in view of the 240 billion euros ($296 billion) from two rescue packages and the serious cuts taken by creditors to the tune of 100 billion euros. But patience is wearing thin among lenders. It will be difficult to explain a third Greek bailout package to citizens in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland. Accordingly, lenders in the Greek crisis are debating a different route: lowering or even deferring interest for the loans. Greece is not the only trouble spot: Spain looks to be on the brink of seeking a bailout. According to Madrid mayor Ana Botella, a new call for aid appears to be "inevitable."

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Zenawi dies in Brussels
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has died from a sudden infection while recovering from an undisclosed illness at a hospital in Belgium.

21 AUG 2012 08:17 - AARON MAASHO
The African nation's state-run television reported that: "Prime Minister Zenawi suddenly passed away last night. Meles was recovering in a hospital overseas for the past two months but died of a sudden infection at 11:40." Speculation that Meles (57) was seriously ill grew after he failed to attend an African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa last month. State media said Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn would be the acting prime minister.

Island feuds challenge US' Asian ties
Greater China

By Brendan O’Reilly
The last few days have seen several major developments affecting the relationships of the most important regional powers in East Asia. Thousands of protestors took to the streets of major Chinese cities on Sunday, chanting slogans and smashing Japanese-made cars to protest Japan’s claims to contested islands in the East China Sea. On August 10, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak made a very public visit to the Korean-controlled, Japanese-claimed Dokdo (Takeshima) islands, also known as the Liancourt Rocks, sparking a diplomatic crisis with Japan. Then a group of Chinese nationalists landed on the Japanese-controlled Senkaku ("Diaoyu" in Chinese) islands, and were promptly arrested by Japanese forces.

Arts center helps youths in Bogota shun guns, drugs
An arts center, run by a Colombian non-governmental organization, works with former child soldiers – leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitaries – to help them return to civilian life.

By Anastasia Moloney
Several hooded gunmen, brandishing machetes, drag a girl with her hands tied behind her back from her home. The audience is gripped. Performed by a youth theater group, the play and its teenage spectators are different from most. All are former child soldiers. Some have witnessed violent scenes like this, common in Colombia’s nearly 50-year-old conflict. Others have perpetrated them as ex-members of illegal armed groups, many with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).