NIGHTWATCH: Syria Government-Kurds Steady

Syria: Syrian TV reported that on 9 December the Syrian army captured the town of al-Nabk in west-central Syria after days of fighting. This town was the last rebel strong point on the road that links Damascus to Homs and the coast.

NIGHTWATCH: Pakistan & Syria

Pakistan: Update. Pakistan on Tuesday set up a special court to try former president Pervez Musharraf for high treason, an official statement said. The announcement came hours after the Supreme Court forwarded the names of five judges suitable to sit on the special court, following a government request on Monday. Comment: The Chief Justice and …

NIGHTWATCH: Syrian Kurds Holding North – Kurdistan Emergent + Kurd RECAP & Syria RECAP

Syria-Kurds: Islamist groups in northern Syria are weakening after months of fighting and Kurdish militias are gaining ground, a top Syrian Kurdish leader said on Wednesday. Saleh Muslim, head of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said in an interview that Tuesday’s announcement of an interim Syrian Kurdish autonomous administration in northeastern Syria is only …

NIGHTWATCH: Syria-Saudi Arabia – New “Fighting Force” Funded by Saudis, Trained by Pakistanis

Syria-Saudi Arabia: Two western news services reported this week that Saudi Arabia is preparing to finance the training and arming of a new Syrian non-jihadi rebel force. The force is to be built around the Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) which was created in September 2013 by a merger of 43 fighting groups. According to …

NIGHTWATCH (2): Russia Draws the Line at Syria

IN REVERSE ORDER (TODAY FIRST, YESTERDAY SECOND) Russia: President Putin today accused the West of worsening the situation in Syria by “blowing up an internal conflict” there. His remarks were broadcast by state news television channel Rossiya 24. At an international meeting Putin interrupted former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon who said mass murder in …