Islamic leaders gather to discuss Syrian conflict

Deutsche Welle, 14 Aug 2012

Foreign ministers from the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation convene in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. They are expected to suspend Syria’s membership due to the crackdown on a 17-month-old rebellion.

The meeting comes as China's foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, hosts an envoy of Syrian president Bashar Assad in Beijing. China's foreign ministry said Bouthaina Shaaban would hold talks with Yang as part of China's push to “promote a political solution” to the Syrian conflict.

According to ministry spokesman Qin Gang, China is also considering sending an invitation to a group representing the Syrian opposition for talks in Beijing.

China, along with Russia, have blocked efforts by the UN Security Council to further intervene in the conflict by using their veto power to strike down proposed resolutions.

Tuesday's meetings come a day after Syrian rebels claim they shot down a military plane belonging to the government forces. The rebels also say they are holding the pilot.

Syria's state news agency, SANA, reported that the plane had technical problems during the flight, forcing the pilot to eject during a routine training mission.

Opposition forces uploaded a video to YouTube on Monday that purported to show a warplane under heavy gunfire. In the footage, the jet bursts into flames and continues flying followed by heavy trail of smoke.

During the 17-month uprising against Assad's government, opposition forces have generally been thought too ill-equipped to attack more developed military equipment such as fighter jets. The rebels claimed on Monday that they had used 14.5 calibre anti-aircraft machine gun to down the plane.

Refugees pour out of Syria

To the north of the main conflict in Aleppo, meanwhile, Turkish officials said on Monday that some 7,000 people fled across Syria's northern border over the weekend. According to the country's Disaster and Emergency Administration, nearly 60,000 people have fled to Turkey to escape the fighting in Syria.

Germany's development minister, Dirk Niebel, pledged more aid to Syrian refugees in Jordan on Monday. Germany is due to donate an additional 10 million euros ($12 million) in order to improve drinking water supplies.

"We want to help make sure that no conflicts arise between the native population and the refugees," Niebel told reporters during a visit to the capital city Amman.

An estimated 150,000 Syrians have fled to Jordan over the past 17 months.

mz, kms/ (Reuters, AFP, dpa, dapd)

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, chief of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,
right, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at a meeting with the National
 Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in Jakarta on Feb. 20, 2012.
(Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

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"Healing the Military Energies in our family Tree" – Jun 13, 2011 (Kryon channelled by David Brown)

“ … There’s much violence and anger throughout the world; when we look at the Middle East, we can see that changes are coming there. The West has a lot of power over the Middle East, but that power will begin to dissolve. The Muslim people of this world will begin to have their own power, and their own prosperity, and they will begin to disconnect from the Western World. This disconnection doesn’t have to be violent as violence only happens when somebody hangs onto what doesn’t belong to them....

... What Military Energy means if we use an analogy: it would be like putting grinding paste into the oil of your motor car. Once you release these energies you will begin to feel lighter as you disconnect from this reality, and, you will find it easier and easier to release any other negative emotions. Military Energies are the core of all your problems...."