Alexander McKeever
@AKMcKeever
Independent researcher/MA student @GC_CUNY @memeac_cuny
/Contributor @Bellingcat @PopularFrontCO @STJ_SYRIA_ENG.
Syria: Opposition/Afrin. OSINT. 
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My new piece for
@bellingcat investigating cases of desecration and destruction inflicted on shrines and other cultural sites in post-Olive Branch Afrinhttps://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2019/07/11/afrin-incidents-of-desecration-and-destruction-of-cultural-sites/…Show this thread -
Alexander McKeever Retweeted
Russia selling weapons to Turkey who then gives it to Idlib to fight Russiapic.twitter.com/hW2TXxlrOG
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s/o
@GerardsScw, turns out he ID'd the location the day the video came outhttps://twitter.com/GerardsScw/status/1175021417282310145…Show this thread -
Alexander McKeever Retweeted
Here with
@openDemocracy I argue that violations committed by#Turkey and allies in Northeast#Syria#NES should come as no surprise given similar crimes by same/related actors in northwestern#Afrin#Twitterkurds#SerêKaniyêhttp://bit.ly/2pS47FyShow this thread -
Alexander McKeever Retweeted
هذا الحادث هو مثال آخر على الاستخفاف السافر لتركيا وحلفاؤها بالتراث الثقافي المحلي لمدينة
#عفرين#سوريا#تركيا#الاَثار_السورية#الجيش_الوطني_المعارضhttps://stj-sy.org/ar/%d8%b9%d9%81%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%aa%d8%af%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b0%d8%ae%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%84%d9%81%d8%b5%d8%a7%d8%a6%d9%84-%d9%85/… -
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Alexander McKeever Retweeted
A very grim but essential read by
@leloveluck and @Mustafa_salimb. The protests are all but over, and the massive crackdown has just begun.#IraqProtestshttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/fear-spreads-among-iraqi-protesters-as-government-cracks-down-keeps-death-toll-secret/2019/11/11/be210a28-03f9-11ea-9118-25d6bd37dfb1_story.html…Show this thread -
Turkish state media says that ~200 TFSA fighters have been killed since fighting started on Oct 9https://www.trthaber.com/haber/dunya/suriye-milli-ordusu-terorle-mucadelede-198-sehit-verdi-440519.html…
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"...The truth is that problems of looting, vandalism, unlawful executions and abuses against prisoners have been pervasive features of the Syrian insurgency from the outset: they just did not make the headlines in the same way in the past..." (5/5)
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"...In fact, as Aron Lund suggests, the SNA today is likely more disciplined than the rebel formations of the past, since there is at least more sense of command and control now..." (4/5)
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"I find the attempt to disassociate the conduct of SNA members from the conduct of the rebels of the past to be particularly absurd...the notion that the reason abuses are occurring is because the SNA is different in nature from the rebel formations of the past is wrong..." (3/5)
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"...considering that jihadists reject the idea of applying international and national 'man-made' laws and believe Islamic law to be the sole reference and authority..." (2/5)
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Some level-headed analysis offered by
@ajaltamimi prior to the translation (bound to piss off loads): "These points alone should demonstrate the absurdity of trying to frame the SNA as some kind of 'jihadist' project..." (1/5)http://www.aymennjawad.org/2019/11/the-syrian-national-army-code-of-conduct…Show this thread -
And the vandalization of an Armenian church by Turkish-backed militias in recently captured Tel Abyad. (12/12)https://twitter.com/jenanmoussa/status/1193549680828993537…
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Emphasizing the ongoing nature of these incidents, two incidents from yesterday: photos circulated on Facebook showing stunning Roman-era mosaics that had been excavated in the Nabi Houri ruins of NE Afrin and allegedly sold off. (11/12)https://twitter.com/DeirEzzore/status/1193666063260692480…
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...as well as in more recent work by
@STJ_SYRIA_ENG (10/12)https://stj-sy.org/en/syria-new-visual-evidence-of-bulldozing-the-ali-dada-historic-shrine-in-afrin/…Show this thread -
This is yet another incident of Turkey/Turkish-backed groups showing active disregard for Afrin's numerous cultural heritage sites, others highlighted in my July
@bellingcat piece... (9/12)https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2019/07/11/afrin-incidents-of-desecration-and-destruction-of-cultural-sites/…Show this thread -
Another shows an unidentified sculpture also having been knocked over, while a bulldozer works in the background. As of yet, it's unclear what the fate of these statues is, and where this construction activity is headed. (8/12)pic.twitter.com/zE164s1vri
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This is visible in photos published by the SY Min. of Culture July this year, accompanying allegations that TR/TR-backed groups had been plundering the site. One shows 'Ain Dara's famous lion removed from its original location (see R), being measured for an unknown reason. (7/12)pic.twitter.com/NTq4QpVSpc
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Other disruptive activity has occurred on this hilltop as well, as since December of 2018 the archaeological excavation sites south of the temple appear to have been buried with a freshly moved layer of dirt. (6/12)pic.twitter.com/UwLPxouWBh
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The destruction caused by this Jan 2018 airstrike is clearly visible through satellite imagery. (5/12)pic.twitter.com/Z7WHYaeDVC
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The site itself was previously damaged in the beginning of Turkey's Olive Branch operation, when it was inexplicably hit with what were likely GPS-guided JDAMs, destroying these noted giant footprint carvings. (4/12)pic.twitter.com/q0jSJAS4Gk
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The NLF (which in early Oct. announced it would join the 'SNA' initiative) is made up of a number of Turkish-backed Idlib-based groups, notably Ahrar al-Sham and Faylaq al-Sham, both of whom have been active near 'Ain Dara (see thread) (3/12)https://twitter.com/AKMcKeever/status/1177665972817281024…
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Footage published by opposition-affiliated Nedaa' on September 20th shows al-Jabhah al-Wataniyah lil-Tahrir members firing rifles and throwing hand grenades within the archaeological site's famed temple structure. (2/12) https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ain+Dara/@36.4596999,36.852565,539m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x152f918af793e953:0x31ed4c73a342ea4a!2sA'en+Darah,+Syria!3b1!8m2!3d36.459374!4d36.862699!3m4!1s0x152f91ef4dde06e1:0xfd56ae898df21cf7!8m2!3d36.4593019!4d36.8522738 …pic.twitter.com/ta6LNckjp1
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THREAD: New report for
@STJ_SYRIA_ENG I worked on detailing how a Turkish-backed group in Afrin recently used the famous Iron Age temple of 'Ain Dara, believed to date back as early as 1300 BC, for a live fire training exercise in late September. (1/12)https://stj-sy.org/en/afrin-turkish-backed-groups-undertake-live-ammunition-exercises-in-iron-age-temple/…Show this thread -
Alexander McKeever Retweeted
the funniest thing about peter king is that he is pro IRA but for like ethnonationalist reasons
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Alexander McKeever Retweeted
This is going well: The American ISIS national was deported from Turkey via the Pazarkule border gate at Edirne yet the Greek side has refused to admit him so he's now stuck in the zone between the two border crossings.https://twitter.com/MAturkce/status/1193864059281661952…
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Alexander McKeever Retweeted
A look at some of the terrain in which the Islamic State has ensconced itself in Iraq – here, in Makhmour.https://twitter.com/iraqispoxmod/status/1193862407032049664…
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Interesting passages on how 19th C Muslim reformers seemingly internalized aspects of Orientalist discourse in their rebuttal to it and accompanied European colonialism, from Cemil Aydin's 'The Idea of the Muslim World'pic.twitter.com/uWIcn75KqA
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Alexander McKeever Retweeted
This hurts my heart via
@AnoHarthea#IraqProtestspic.twitter.com/JDUlbgarAI
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Similarly to CIA vs. 'righteous anti-imperialists,' the 'evil authoritarian' vs. a 'unified mass of end of history apolitical civilians' dichotomy is also quite useful in masking local contexts and the national and international factors at play
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certain elements of the left (tankies, uncritically reflexive 'anti-imperialists') have a hard time understanding that politics around the world doesn't all fit into a left-right divide, but the common liberal preference not to recognize such divisions is equally absurd
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Alexander McKeever Retweeted
11 Americans have been killed voluntarily fighting ISIS in Syria since 2015. Their names are: Kieth Broomfield Levi Shirley Jordan MacTaggart William Savage Michael Israel Paolo Todd Albert Harrington Robert Grodt Nicholas Warden David Taylor Jake Kilpsch
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Alexander McKeever Retweeted
James is one of only a few people in the world who took concrete action to save Syrian lives. He faced unimaginable pressure and targeting as a result. May he Rest In Peace and his family and loved ones find peace in all that he achieved.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/11/british-founder-of-white-helmets-found-dead-in-istanbul-james-le-mesurier?fbclid=IwAR3_e7fzjpjRJDnkAPKeOsG9O8Vw4LhYkYEFq1JtsNN8yfAGTfs5ymeKzR4…
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At least 12 civilians shot and killed by Turkish Gendarme while trying to cross the border, Idlib, July-Oct 2019https://stj-sy.org/ar/%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%aa%d9%85%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d8%b3%d9%82%d9%88%d8%b7-%d9%82%d8%aa%d9%84%d9%89-%d8%a8%d8%b1%d8%b5%d8%a7%d8%b5-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d9%86%d8%af%d8%b1%d9%85%d8%a7-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%aa%d8%b1/…
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Multiple IEDs target Christian neighborhood of Arbawiya in Qamishli today as wellhttps://twitter.com/rojavaic/status/1193879820574351360?s=21…
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2 Armenian Catholic priests assassinated while traveling from Hasakah to Deir ez-Zour. Attack has been claimed by IShttps://twitter.com/oald24/status/1193881855222800384?s=21…
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