syria

Deadly Clashes In Syria’s Daraa Claims 16 Lives

Deadly Clashes In Syria’s Daraa Claims 16 Lives

No fewer than 13 combatants and three civilians were killed on Thursday in Syria’s southern province of Daraa during the fiercest clashes there since the area came under regime control, a war monitor has revealed.

The Russian-backed Syrian army and allied forces recaptured Daraa from rebels in 2018, a symbolic blow to the anti-government uprising born there in 2011.

State institutions have returned, but the army still hasn’t deployed across the whole province, and tit-for-tat bombings and assassinations between former opposition figures and regime forces have since become routine.

Read Also: At Least 12 Soldiers Killed In Militant Ambush In

Isolated Over Iran, US Vetoes UN Resolution On Foreign Terrorists

Syrian Talks Resume Despite COVID-19 Cases – UN

UN-backed talks on a new constitution for Syria resumed in Geneva on Thursday after Swiss health authorities gave the green light despite four delegates testing positive for Covid-19.

The discussions, aimed at rewriting the war-torn country’s constitution, were put on hold almost as soon as they started on Monday when the test results came through.

UN envoy Geir Pedersen, who is moderating the tentative talks between representatives of President Bashar al-Assad’s government, the opposition and civil society, has voiced hope they could pave the way towards a broader political process.

His office said in a statement that “following additional testing …

war Syria's Brutal War Enters 10th Year

Syria’s Brutal War Enters 10th Year

Syria’s brutal conflict enters its 10th year Sunday with President Bashar al-Assad’s regime consolidating its hold over a war-wracked country with a decimated economy where foreign powers flex their muscle.

When Syrians took to the streets on March 15, 2011, they could scarcely have imagined their anti-government protests would turn into a complex war entangling rebels, jihadists and outside forces.

At least 384,000 people have since died, including more than 116,000 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Saturday.

The conflict has displaced more than 11 million people internally and abroad.

“Nine years of revolution illustrate the …

Russia

Killings: US, UK, France, Others Attack Russia, Syria

Russia and Syria are under fire from western countries in the UN Security Council over the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in Syria on Thursday.

The soldiers died in an attack by Russia-backed Syrian government forces in the northwestern province of Idlib.

At an emergency meeting of the council in New York on Friday, the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Belgium and Estonia condemned the attack.

Dominican Republic, Indonesia, South Africa, Vietnam, Tunisia and Niger demanded immediate ceasefire.

U.S. ambassador, Kelly Craft, described the attack as senseless and barbaric, adding that Turkey had America’s support to “respond in self-defence’’.

Russia

Turkey, Russia Trade Accusations As Syria Tensions Rise

Turkey’s president accused Russia of committing “massacres” in its support of the Syrian government on Wednesday, escalating a war of words as more Turkish reinforcements arrived on the ground.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to strike Syrian regime forces “everywhere” if its soldiers come under renewed attack, but Russia hit back and accused the Turks of failing to “neutralise terrorists” in the northwestern province of Idlib.

Turkey has shored up its positions in recent days in Idlib — the last rebel bastion in Syria — with hundreds of vehicles carrying artillery and soldiers.

And a new convoy of Turkish armoured vehicles

Plane Crash: 172 Escape Death As Russia Accuses Israel

A plane carrying 172 passengers from Tehran, the Iranian capital, to Damascus has made an emergency landing at the Hmeimim Air Base in Syria.

Russia said on Friday that the plane came under fire from Syrian air defences.

The Spokesperson of the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov told Interfax that the Syrian forces were retaliating Israeli strikes on targets in Syria.

This is exactly one month after a passenger plane belonging to Ukraine crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran.

The incident claimed the lives of all 176 passengers on board with Iran later claiming to have shut down the

US Hits Pro-Iran Group With Deadly Strikes In Iraq, Syria

The US has carried out air strikes against a pro-Iran militant group in Iraq, killing 19 fighters, two days after a rocket attack that killed an American civilian contractor.

The Pentagon said on Sunday it targeted weapons caches or command and control facilities linked to Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) in Western Iraq, as well as Eastern Syria, in response to a barrage of 30 or more rockets fired on Friday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “we will not stand for the Islamic Republic of Iran to take actions that put American men and women in jeopardy”.

Four US service members …

Trump, Syria & Facebook: The Volatile Cocktail Of The 2010s

The Arab Spring gave way to bloodletting in Syria, a refugee exodus and surging jihadist violence. Obama gave way to Trump. The United Kingdom chose to Brexit. And for many around the world, while the 2010s began with hope for a more equitable world, they end with a slide towards nationalistic populism.

The following is a look at some of the people and events that shaped the past decade:

– America divided –

The United States will begin the 2020s with Donald Trump in the Oval Office, as a president of a country riven by political, societal and economic discord …

Nearly 70 Dead In Syria Regime Clashes With Idlib Militants

Two days of clashes between regime forces and armed groups in Syria’s last major opposition bastion have killed nearly 70 on both sides, a war monitoring group said Sunday.

The battles in the northwestern province of Idlib are the most violent there since a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement went into effect in late August, said the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

On Sunday morning, clouds of smoke rose over the Maaret al-Numan region as warplanes pounded jihadists and allied rebels in positions they had recently recaptured from regime forces, said an AFP correspondent.

Syria

Deadly Car Bomb Blasts Rip Through Bus Terminal In Syria

At least 10 civilians have been killed and about 15 others wounded in a car bomb attack in the northern Syrian border town of al-Bab, according to the Turkish defence ministry.

In a Twitter post, the ministry said Saturday’s attack on a bus terminal also wounded more than 15 others. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency gave a higher toll of at least 18 dead and 30 wounded, saying several cars and buildings were damaged in the attack, which involved two bomb-laden vehicles.

Since 2016, Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies have mounted three separate military operations in northern Syria against

Over A Dozen Killed In Car Bomb Near Turkey-Syria Border

Over A Dozen Killed In Car Bomb Near Turkey-Syria Border

At least 13 people have been killed in a car bomb explosion in a Syrian town on the border with Turkey, according to the Turkish defence ministry.

The blast on Saturday ripped through a crowded market in Tal Abyad, a town controlled by Turkish-backed opposition fighters.

“Based on first findings, 13 civilians were killed and around 20 others injured” in the explosion, Turkey’s defence ministry said in a statement.

The northeastern town has witnessed some of the heaviest fighting since the Turkish military launched an operation in northeast Syria last month against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is spearheaded

German Diplomacy In Chaos Over Syria Blue-Helmet Proposal

German Diplomacy In Chaos Over Syria Blue-Helmet Proposal

While the conflict has raged in Syria, a vaguely-worded German proposal for a UN-led security zone in the country’s north has sown new chaos within Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fragile coalition government.

The idea offered by the politician who hopes to succeed Merkel in 2021, Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, once more throws a spotlight on Germany’s struggle to define its role as a player on the world stage.

The political row started when Kramp-Karrenbauer, who heads Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and is widely known simply as “AKK”, early last week proposed her plan for a blue-helmet mission in northern Syria.

Such …