Tag Archives: Syria

The US Treasury imposed mandatory sanctions on Syria on June 17, targeting foreign persons and entities for economic activities that support the Syrian government’s ability to wage war. The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act targets beneficiaries of the Syrian conflict including Iran, and signals that the United States will not …

From bombings and protests to the opening of a new health center, student journalist Baraa Razzouk has been documenting daily life in Idlib, Syria, for years, and posting the videos to his YouTube account. But this month, the 21-year-old started getting automated emails from YouTube <Youtube Inc> alerting him that …

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu will visit Turkey on Sunday for talks, the two countries’ foreign ministries said on Saturday, with media reports saying discussions would focus on Libya. Turkey supports Fayez al Serraj’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), whose forces have in …

A Russian drive to recruit Syrians to fight in Libya for militia leader Khalifa Haftar accelerated in May when hundreds of mercenaries were signed up, five Syrian opposition sources and a regional source familiar with the matter said. Private military contractor Wagner Group is conducting the hiring with Russian army …

Islamic State (IS) said the coronavirus pandemic was divine punishment for its enemies, according to an audio broadcast on Thursday, where the jihadists also vowed more attacks. The person on the tape, which was posted on one of the militants’ websites but could not be verified by Reuters, identified himself …

Syrian air defences thwarted an Israeli missile attack on a research centre and a military base in the northern province of Aleppo state media said on Monday in the fifth such strikes in two weeks on suspected Iranian targets. The Syrian army said in a statement that Israel hit military …

Sanctions-hit Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf on Sunday said that security forces were arresting employees at his diversified companies in what he said was “mounting pressure” on him days after Syrian authorities asked him to pay hefty taxes. Makhlouf, a maternal cousin of President Bashar al-Assad and widely considered part of …

At least 40 civilians were killed, including 11 children, when a bomb detonated on an oil tanker in the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Tuesday, the Turkish Defence Ministry said, blaming the attack on the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. In a statement on Twitter, the ministry said the blast …

It is early days, but first indications are that the global pandemic is entrenching long-drawn Middle Eastern geopolitical, political, ethnic, and sectarian battle lines rather than serving as a vehicle to build bridges and build confidence. By James M. Dorsey The coronavirus crisis is also changing the region’s political landscape …

Israeli air strikes near the Syrian capital early Monday killed three civilians, state media said. “Three civilians were martyred and four others wounded, including a child, because shrapnel from Israeli missiles fell on houses” in the suburbs of Damascus, the official SANA news agency reported. Syrian air defences had downed …

By James M. Dorsey A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts, Tumblr, Podbean, Audecibel, Patreon and Castbox. Populated by fluent Hebrew speakers, the Israel desk of Armenia’s foreign ministry waited back in 1991 in the wake of the collapse of …

Turkey’s plans to switch on its new Russian missile defence systems have been delayed by the coronavirus outbreak but it does not intend to reverse a decision which has raised the threat of U.S. sanctions, a senior Turkish official said. Tensions between NATO allies Turkey and the United States over …

Standing in colourful hula hoops carefully spaced to illustrate social distancing, young children in a camp in war-torn Syria give an enthusiastic welcome to a puppet show staged to teach them about the coronavirus. Volunteers visited the camp for displaced Syrians in the northwestern town of Maarat Masrin, where they …

As Europe and the United States struggle to contain the coronavirus pandemic, experts warn that disaster looms in war-torn Syria, where hospitals are unable to meet existing needs and hygiene conditions are dire. The outbreak has infected more than 1.8 million people and killed more than 112,000 around the world …

The Heritage Foundation sees the US as the winner in the current situation in Syria, with conflict between Turkey, Russia and Syria.  They conclude, “That leaves the U.S. sitting in not-the-worst position of all the players. We still have some small teams in Syria conducting anti-ISIS operations, but no one …

The leaders of Germany and France called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to express their concern about the humanitarian situation in Syria’s Idlib region, urging an end to the conflict there, a German spokesman said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke together by phone with …

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Thursday that the United States may send Patriot missile systems to Turkey to use for security in the face of the conflict in northwestern Syria’s Idlib region. Speaking in an interview with broadcaster CNN Turk, Akar said talks with the United States on …

I’ve written previously about Ammar Al-Masry’s novels Shadows of Atlantis and Throne of Atlantis, so it only seems fair to write about the third and supposedly final instalment in the New World series, Heart of Atlantis (2019). I’d finished reading the novel the previous year but held out on writing …

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other senior members of Congress held talks in Jordan on Saturday with King Abdullah II and other top Jordanian officials. Pelosi said in a statement the visit was at “a critical time for the security and stability of the region… With the deepening crisis …

Dr. Haytham Mouzahem, head of Beirut Centre for Middle East Studies talks to International Affairs Review on the current situation in Syria and the Turkish military operations and the implications for the region.   Please walk us through what is happening right now in north east Syria. Turkey has been invading areas …

Russia has promised Ankara that the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Turkey’s military is targeting, will not be in the Syrian territories across the border, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying on Thursday. Russia “promised that the PKK or YPG will not be on the other side …

America’s On-Off relationship with Turkey once again took a 180 degree turn as President Trump moved several dozen US Special Forces from the Turkish-Kurdish controlled Syrian border so Turkish military forces could enter Syria in what Turkey calls “Operation Peace Spring.” The Kurds, key US allies in defeating ISIS in …

Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister said on Thursday he discussed regional security and military cooperation with senior U.S. government officials at a time of heightened tension with Iran following last month’s attacks on Saudi oil facilities. Saudi Arabia and the United States blamed common foe Tehran for the Sept. 14 …

By Damir Nazarov   While Erdogan seeks to hold meetings with Putin and sometimes Rouhani in relation to Syria every two months, the Turkish occupants are actively pursuing a policy of assimilation of the Syrian cities captured during two interventions. For example, on the twelfth of February, the deputy governor of …

Turkey will carry out an operation east of the Euphrates river in northern Syria, in an area controlled by the Kurdish YPG militia, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. Turkey has been running out of patience with the United States, which made an agreement with Ankara to implement a …

Russia’s air force helped the Syrian army to repel attacks carried out by militants in the Idlib province on Sunday, TASS news agency reported on Monday, citing a senior defense ministry official. Militants carried out two attacks on Syrian government forces’ positions using tanks and armored vehicles on July 28, …

Syrian authorities have released a U.S. citizen and he has been handed back to his family, thanks to the mediation of Lebanon, a Lebanese security official said on Friday. The security official did not give the name of the released American, but he was later identified as Sam Goodwin, 30, …

Five people were lightly wounded after one of two rockets thought to be fired from within Syria landed on a house in a Turkish border town on Monday night, the provincial governor’s office said. The Defence Ministry said on Twitter that Turkish forces had responded to the rocket fire and …

The crew of the British-flagged Stena Impero tanker seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are all safe, the head of the Ports and Maritime Organisation of Iran in Hormozgan Province told state TV on Sunday. “All 23 crew members aboard the ship are safe and in good health in Bandar Abbas …

At least 544 civilians have been killed and over 2,000 people injured since a Russian-led assault on the last rebel bastion in northwestern Syria began two months ago, rights groups and rescuers said on Saturday. Russian jets joined the Syrian army on April 26 in the biggest offensive against parts …

A Russian fighter jet made a dangerous high-speed pass that put a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft at risk during an intercept over the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday, the U.S. Sixth Fleet said, but Moscow said its pilot had behaved responsibly. “While the Russian aircraft was operating in international airspace, this …

By Firas Samuri*   On June 2, Syrian Arab News Agency reported on Israeli aggression on the T4 airbase, located in the eastern countryside of Homs province. It’s recognized that the Syrian Air Defense System managed to destroy two missiles. The remaining rockets hit targets on the territory of the …

The Kremlin on Monday rebuffed criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump of Russian and Syrian government military action in Syria’s Idlib province, saying it was justified. Trump on Sunday urged Russia and Syrian government forces to stop bombing Idlib, following a Friday Kremlin statement that signaled Moscow would continue to …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib must be implemented to prevent more civilian deaths and an influx of refugees to Turkey, a statement from Erdogan’s office said. Erdogan told Putin over the phone on Thursday that Syria needed a political …

U.S. forces have quietly sent at least 30 suspected foreign Islamic State fighters captured in Syria last year and in late 2017 to stand trial in Iraq, interviews with the men, Iraqi sources and court documents show. FILE PHOTO: Islamic state fighters and their families walk as they surrender in …

by Graham E. Fuller – If the rise of strong new powers like China poses a challenge to the older US-dominated geopolitical order, what about about the converse? The challenge to the international order created by a declining and erratic great power ever more at odds with an emerging new …

by Areej Zaher*   President Trump has announced recently his intention of withdrawing US troops, estimated at about 2000, from Syria. This put him under the mercy of criticism by his own administration. This announcement came as he asserted the defeat of Islamic State. This led to a dispute among …

Ibrahim Alalou   Halavah, A Middle Eastern sweet meal made from crushed sesame seeds and garnished with nuts.   Sesame Street was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett in 1969. The long running American children’s television series was broadcast in more than 140 countries. In 2001 there were over …

Those who thought that the US was doomed to stay in Syria indefinitely (as was mentioned by the Pentagon last week) were surprised when the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article saying that the US military had been ordered to leave Syria as soon as possible. The WSJ revealed …

By Areej Zaher* War and violence affected all, especially women and children. Whether it was internal, cross-border conflicts, religious or political, civilians will be caught in the firing line. And as a result, women will face life-threatening challenges. War can bring violence, sexual violence, abandonment, detention, physical injury or even …

By: Ibrahim Al Alou   A Syrian herbal tea blend(zouhorat shameea).زهورات شامية , In a world so stressed with caffeine consumption it is no wonder that many people turn back to local cultures for a relief. Natural plants blends had proven traits that had been passed through generations. In today’s story …

Turkey is uneasy about U.S. plans to set up “observation posts” in Syria along parts of its border with Turkey, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Wednesday the United States was setting up the posts to help keep the focus on clearing …

Russia, Turkey, and Iran will hold the next round of talks on Syria on Nov. 28-29 in Kazakhstan, Kazakh foreign minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said on Monday. Delegations of the Damascus government and the Syrian rebels are also set to attend, Abdrakhmanov told reporters. Source: Reuters

The United States’ support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia is a “big mistake”, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said late on Saturday, adding that the issue had strained ties between the NATO allies. Turkey has been infuriated with Washington’s support for the YPG, which it views as an extension …