syria

Plane Crash: 172 Escape Death As Russia Accuses Israel

February 7, 2020 2:18 pm

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

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

December 30, 2019 4:58 pm

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

December 18, 2019 3:18 pm

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

December 1, 2019 4:55 pm

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.

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Syria

Deadly Car Bomb Blasts Rip Through Bus Terminal In Syria

November 16, 2019 10:33 am

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

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

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

November 3, 2019 3:03 pm

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

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German Diplomacy In Chaos Over Syria Blue-Helmet Proposal

German Diplomacy In Chaos Over Syria Blue-Helmet Proposal

October 28, 2019 3:01 am

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 …

IS Head Baghdadi Believed Dead After US Strike In Syria

IS Head Baghdadi Believed Dead After US Strike In Syria

October 27, 2019 7:41 am

Jihadist supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world’s most wanted man, was believed Sunday to have been killed in a US special operation in northwest Syria.

The elusive chief of the Islamic State group was thought to be dead after a US military raid in the Idlib region, US media reported early Sunday.

The White House announced President Donald Trump would make a “major statement” Sunday at 9:00 am (1300 GMT), without providing details.

A war monitor said US helicopters dropped forces in an area of Idlib where “groups linked to the Islamic State group” were present.

The helicopters targeted …

US Troops Exit Syria To Stay ‘Temporarily’ In Iraq - Esper

US Troops Exit Syria To Stay ‘Temporarily’ In Iraq – Esper

October 23, 2019 12:09 pm

The American troops withdrawing from Syria will stay in Iraq “temporarily” before returning to the United States, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday.

In an interview with CNN, Esper said the US forces were pulling out in phases and had now moved from the “immediate zone of attack” to a northeastern corridor out of the country.

“Then we’ll have another phase that will draw all the forces out. We will temporarily position in Iraq before bringing the troops home. They will be coming home,” he said.

Dozens of US armored vehicles arrived Monday at a base in Iraqi Kurdistan.…

Turkey Defiant On Syria Operation As US Demands Ceasefire

Turkey Defiant On Syria Operation As US Demands Ceasefire

October 16, 2019 8:33 am

Turkey remained defiant against mounting international pressure to curb its military offensive against Kurdish militants in Syria, raising tensions with Washington as Vice President Mike Pence headed for Ankara on Wednesday to demand a ceasefire.

Battles raged in the key Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain as dawn broke on Wednesday, with Kurdish fighters trying to hold off the onslaught by Turkish-backed forces, now in its second week.

The fighting has triggered a flurry of diplomacy among major powers, with US President Donald Trump dispatching Pence along with his top diplomat Mike Pompeo to Turkey amid the greatest crisis …

Turkey-Syria Offensive: Erdogan Rejects US Ceasefire Call

Turkey-Syria Offensive: Erdogan Rejects US Ceasefire Call

October 16, 2019 2:29 am

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected a US call for an immediate ceasefire in northern Syria.

Mr Erdogan’s comments come ahead of a visit to Turkey by the US vice-president and US secretary of state.

Turkey launched an offensive designed to drive away Kurdish troops after their main ally, the US, pulled out.

Russia, which backs Syria, has said it prevent clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces which have now moved into the area after a deal with the Kurds.

Turkey considers elements of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) a terrorist organisation and want to push them away …

UK Suspends Arms Exports To Turkey Over Syria Offensive

UK Suspends Arms Exports To Turkey Over Syria Offensive

October 15, 2019 11:12 am

Britain on Tuesday said it was suspending military exports to Turkey following its incursion into northeastern Syria, as it carries out a review of arms sales to its NATO ally.

“We will keep our defence exports to Turkey under very careful and continual review,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement to parliament.

“No further export licences to Turkey for items which might be used in military operations in Syria will be granted while we conduct that review.”

Ankara’s assault against Kurdish forces launched last week has prompted a chorus of international condemnation. Raab said it had “seriously undermined …

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𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬, 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤, is a nonpartisan online news portal founded on the truth to provide you with weekly, insightful articles written with precision and current updates on current events from Africa in particular and the rest of the world in general. All of our reports undergo extensive fact-checking to ensure their veracity, and we adhere strictly to the facts, no matter whose ox is gored.

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