بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | أغسطس 28, 2019 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
The following is a selection by our editors of significant weekly developments in Syria. Depending on events, each issue will include anywhere from four to eight briefs. This series is produced in both Arabic and English in partnership between Salon Syria and Jadaliyya. Suggestions and blurbs may be sent to info@salonsyria.com.
Beyond Khan Sheikhoun
24 August 2019
Syrian government forces have mobilized military reinforcements north of the strategic city of Khan Shikhoun in Idlib governorate in an attempt to continue with their advance in the area, after succeeding in encircling a Turkish observation post, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Government forces took control on Friday of all towns and villages that were under the control of jihadist and opposition factions in the northern countryside of Hama, after advancing towards Khan Sheikhoun which they completely controlled by Wednesday.
This area has come under intense Syrian and Russian bombarding, leading to the displacement of most of its residents and those who had previously displaced to it, according to the SOHR.
The city of Ma’ret al-Nouman is situated twenty-five kilometres north of Khan Sheikhoun. The Damascus-Aleppo international highway passes through the city. The government forces have regained a part of this highway recently.
Tanker Looking for a Port
24 August 2019
The Iranian oil tanker Adriana Darya 1, formerly called Grace 1, changed its destination to the Turkish port of Mersin instead of the Greek port of Kalamta, according to Bloomberg news agency on Friday.
The agency estimated that the Iranian tanker would reach the Turkish port by midday of 31 August.
The tanker was detained off the coasts of the British controlled Gibraltar on 4 July on suspicion of carrying Iranian oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions.
The tanker was released on Sunday after authorities in Gibraltar refused a US request to continue detaining the ship.
The US state department cautioned Greece and other Mediterranean countries that any cooperation with the oil tanker would be considered as supporting terrorism.
Turkish Post
23 August 2019
Syrian government forces managed to encircle a Turkish observation post in the town of Morek, south of Idlib governorate, after gaining more ground from jihadist and opposition factions in the area.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that his country does not intend to evacuate from the Morek post, while Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, sponsors of the Sochi agreement, agreed on “intensifying joint efforts” on Syria, in a position ahead of the upcoming summit with their Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani in Ankara weeks later.
On Friday, the Turkish presidency said that the Turkish president would be visiting his Russian counterpart in Moscow on Tuesday, which was confirmed by the Kremlin.
War Crime
22 August 2019
German prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against a Syrian man accused of committing a war crime.
The General Prosecutor Jurgen Brower said on Friday that the Syrian man (33) appeared in a photo with a severed head, adding that the refugee joined the armed resistance against the Syrian government forces in 2012.
According to investigations, the accused, at some point between 2012 and September 2014, posed for a picture with the severed head of what is presumably an opposing fighter, mocking the victim’s death.
According to reports, the suspect lived in the German city of Zarbroken after fleeing Syria.
The general prosecutor said there is no evidence the suspect severed the head or participated in the act. “The office of criminal police in the German state of Saarland learned of the crime from other Syrian refugees,” he said. The authorities found this photo in the suspect’s mobile phone.
The man admitted that he was in the picture, but did not reiterate the story he had told other refugees in which he said that the severed head belonged to an opposing fighter, instead, he said that this head was found under some rubble and probably belonged to a civilian.
The suspect is in prison for lesser crimes. The precautionary detention imposed on him rules out any possibility for early release.
If convicted, the suspect faces between one to ten years in prison.
Tripartite on Idlib
22 August 2019
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will host his Russian and Iranian counterparts at a summit in Ankara to discuss the Syrian issue on 16 September, according to the spokesman for the Turkish presidency. Erdogan will meet his Russian counterpart in Moscow to discuss the fate of Idlib.
Iran and Russia – both supporters of the Syrian government – have been working closely with Turkey, which supports the armed opposition, to find a solution to the Syrian crisis.
The announcement for the meeting between Erdogan and the Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani comes after Syrian forces managed to advance in Idlib governorate, the militants’ last stronghold which is situated northwest of Syria.
Kalin said that the three presidents would discuss the situation in Idlib, the formation of the constitutional committee, and how to move forward with the political process.
Idlib was supposed to be protected by a “demilitarized zone” agreement which Moscow and Ankara reached in 2018 but has been only partially implemented.
Moscow’s “Victory” in Khan Sheikhoun
21 August 2019
Government forces took control on Wednesday of the strategic town of Khan Sheikhoun, northwest of Syria, and surrounding areas, effectively cutting off a Turkish observation post.
This comes amid escalating tension since Monday between Ankara and Damascus, after the latter prevented a Turkish reinforcement convoy from reaching its destination and then Turkey warning the Syrian government “not to play with fire,” and affirming the need for securing Turkish observation posts in Idlib.
Tahir al-Sham (previously Nusra) controls most of Idlib governorate and adjacent areas, where less influential opposition factions are also deployed.
Twenty-one militants, including eighteen jihadists, were killed in the battles on Wednesday, in addition to ten members of government forces and allied fighters, according to the SOHR.
Since late April, around eight hundred and ninety civilians have been killed as a result of the escalation, according to the observatory.
The United Nations has registered the fleeing of more than four hundred thousand people to more secure areas, especially near the border with Turkey. The UN said that dozens of medical and educational facilities were damaged as a result of the bombardment.
The spokesman for the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs David Swanson told the AFP on Wednesday that the displacement is continuing in northwest Syria.
Russia on the Ground
20 August 2019
Members of the Russian army are deployed in the Syrian governorate od Idlib and Moscow is closely monitoring the situation, the Russian Interfax news agency reported Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying on Tuesday.
Any attacks by extremist Islamic groups will be forcefully confronted in the de-escalation zone in Idlib, Interfax reported Lavrov as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country supports efforts by the Syrian army to eliminate terrorists in Idlib, alleging that the reason for this is the attempts to attack the Russian air base in Hmeimeim.
ISIS Orphans
19 August 2019
The Kurdish self-administration in north-east Syria handed over four children from ISIS family members to representatives of the German government in the first such operation with Berlin, according to an AFP reporter.
Finner Kayet, an official in the foreign relation commission in the self-administration, told the AFP that “three of the children were orphans, whereas the mother of the fourth child is still alive.”
In Berlin, the spokesman for the German foreign ministry confirmed to the AFP that the children have left Syria and have been repatriated. “The children were received at the border by a team from the (German) consulate in Erbil. They will be handed over to their family members” to travel to Germany, he said.
The children, the eldest of whom is ten years old, are made up of three girls, two sisters and an infant whose mother agreed to transfer custody for a critical health situation she suffers from, and one boy, according to Kurdish authorities.
This is the first time Berlin receives family members of German jihadists from the Kurdish self-administration in Syria.
Several countries, especially European ones, refuse to repatriate their citizens, who belonged to ISIS and are detained by the Kurds, and their family members, who are in camps controlled by Kurds in north-east Syria.
These camps, the most prominent of which is al-Hol camp in Hasakeh governorate, host around twelve thousand foreigners, four thousand women and eight thousand children, from family member of foreign jihadists. They reside in special sections which are subject to intense security observation. This number does not include Iraqi nationals.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | مايو 15, 2019 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
The following is a selection by our editors of significant weekly developments in Syria. Depending on events, each issue will include anywhere from four to eight briefs. This series is produced in both Arabic and English in partnership between Salon Syria and Jadaliyya. Suggestions and blurbs may be sent to info@salonsyria.com.
Idlib Heats Up
Reuters
9 and 10 May 2019
Turkey’s defense minister said Syrian government forces need to halt attacks in northwestern Syria, state-owned Anadolu agency reported on Friday.
Syria’s army, backed by Russian air power, launched ground operations this week against the southern flank of an opposition zone consisting of Idlib and parts of adjacent governorates.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Syrian government forces captured the town of Qalaat al-Madiq in northwest Syria as it pushes into the biggest remaining opposition territory under a massive bombardment.
Qalaat al-Madiq was the rebel area closest to the Russian Hmeimim airbase at Lattakia, which insurgents have previously targeted with rocket fire.
On Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said the operation was a reaction to terrorists in the area, and was being carried out “in coordination with our Turkish partners,” TASS news agency reported.
The United Nations Security Council was briefed behind closed doors on Friday on the situation in northwest Syria. Afterward, eleven of the fifteen members – including the United States, France and Britain – jointly condemned the killing of civilians and warned of a possible humanitarian catastrophe in Idlib.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says more than one hundred and fifty-two thousand people fled between April 29 and May 5, doubling the number of displaced in the northwest since February. Air strikes have struck twelve health facilities, killed more than eighty civilians and wounded more than three hundred, OCHA said. Shelling, air strikes, and fighting in more than fifty villages have destroyed at least ten schools and teaching is suspended. The UN regional humanitarian coordinator has said the barrel bombing is the worst for at least fifteen months.
Doctors have pulled back into cave shelters to treat the wounded and protect their patients from a government offensive that has hit health centers and hospitals. Medical services suffer from a lack of equipment and resources.
Advance in Lattakia
Enab Baladi
12 May 2019
Opposition factions repelled attempts by Syrian government forces to advance in the Akrad mountain region in the northern countryside of Lattakia. On Sunday, these forces carried out several attempts to advance towards al-Kabineh, in the Akrad mountain in the opposition-held countryside of Lattakia. This was accompanied by fierce aerial bombardment using explosive barrels, rocket launchers, and heavy artillery, seeking to achieve progress in the area overlooking the western countryside of Idlib. Government forces, backed by aerial power and intense bombardment, are trying to advance in new areas after they managed to advance in the western countryside of Hama and take control the towns of al-Madiq and Kafr Nboudeh and other villages in al-Ghab valley. Sources in Tahrir al-Sham said that they repelled attempts by government forces to advance in al-Kabineh in the northern countryside of Lattakia, and that the latter was not able to advance.
Al-Akrad mountain is controlled by the Turkestan Party and Tahrir al-Sham. It links between the northern countryside of Lattakia and Jisr al-Shoghour in the western countryside of Idlib.
Al-Joulani on the Frontlines!
Enab Baladi
12 May 2019
The general commander of Tahrir al-sham Abu Mohammed al-Joulani appeared in a photo on the frontlines in Hama countryside, amidst a fierce military escalation. Taher al-Omar, a reporter with close ties to Tahrir al-sham, published on Sunday a photo that shows him with al-Joulani wearing a military uniform and carrying a weapon. This appearance of al-Joulani coincided with the intensification of battles and continued escalation in the countryside of Hama and Idlib, which has seen government forces taking control of several towns west of Hama from opposition factions. Tahrir al-sham is fighting the battles jointly with the National Front for Liberation and al-Izza Army in various areas of Hama countryside.
The “Tahrir al-Sham” Resistance
Enab Baladi
12 May 2019
The Shura Council in Northern Syria, which was established with sponsorship from the salvation government, announced the formation of “popular resistance brigades,” to allow civilians to take part in the anticipated battles against the Syrian government. This comes in light of military escalation by the Syrian government and its Russian ally towards the countryside of Hama and Idlib, which is accompanied by aerial support and ground advance attempts, in a campaign that is regarded to be the fiercest in the area.
Torture in Prisons
Enab Baladi
12 May 2019
The New York Times published a report on the situation of detainees in Syrian prisons and their torture by the government forces. The report mentions one hundred and twenty-eight thousand civilians who forcibly disappeared and their whereabouts are unknown. They could have been killed or perhaps they are still detained. The newspaper based its report on data from the Syrian Network for Human Rights, which says that almost fourteen thousand civilians were killed under torture, while five thousand and six hundred and seven people were arbitrarily arrested last year.
The report said that kidnappings and killings by ISIS attracted the West’s attention and not the detention by the Syrian government of nearly ninety per cent of those forcibly disappeared. The Syrian government denies the presence of systematic torture. According to the report, however, government documents show that Syrian officials directly ordered mass detentions.
Kristyan Benedict, an activist in Amnesty International, said that investments in accountability and justice should be dramatically increased.
Protests Against Self-Administration
Reuters
8 May 2019
Arab inhabitants of Syria’s Deir al-Zor began a third week of protests against Kurdish rule, the largest wave of unrest to sweep the oil-rich region since the US-backed forces took over the territory from ISIS nearly eighteen months ago, residents, witnesses, and tribal figures said.
The protests which erupted weeks ago in several towns and villages from Busayrah to Shuhail have now spread to remaining areas where most of the oil fields are located in the SDF controlled part of Deir al-Zor, east of the Euphrates.
Arab residents under People’s Protection Units’ rule who have been complaining of lack of basic services and discrimination against them in local administrations run by Kurdish officials have been growing restive in recent months.
The protests took a violent turn when angry mobs took to the streets and disrupted the routes of convoys of trucks loaded with oil from nearby fields that cross into government held areas.
The stepping up of oil sales to alleviate a fuel crunch facing Damascus has infuriated the local Arab protesters, with many placards saying they were being robbed of their wealth.
The SDF has not publicly commented on the most serious challenge so far to its rule over tens of thousands of Arabs.
Trump in Golan
Enab Baladi
12 May 2019
Benjamin Netanyahu has identified the location of a new settlement to be named after US President Donald Trump as an expression of gratitude by the Israeli occupation towards Trump’s decision to acknowledge Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. “We have started building the settlement,” said Netanyahu.
The idea of building the settlement came on April 23rd when Netanyahu and his family were out on a picnic in the Golan during Passover. From there he pledged to name the settlement Trump in honor of the US president.
On March 25th, President Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights. Israel occupied the Golan in the 1967 war, which remained under its control in the October war of 1973. In 1982, Tel Aviv unilaterally decided to annex the plateau, which the UN Security Council considered annulled and illegal. Israel has been trying for half a century to capture the Syrian occupied Golan and change the characteristics of this region. It is also trying to impose Israeli ID on the residents and has made demographic changes, as the number of settlement has exceeded dozens.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | مايو 8, 2019 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
The following is a selection by our editors of significant weekly developments in Syria. Depending on events, each issue will include anywhere from four to eight briefs. This series is produced in both Arabic and English in partnership between Salon Syria and Jadaliyya. Suggestions and blurbs may be sent to info@salonsyria.com.
Destroying our Hospitals
6 May 2019
Three hospitals in north-west Syria were bombed by Russian forces, rendering two of them non-operational.
Eight civilians were killed by Syrian-Russian bombardment in various areas of this region, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which added that one person was killed as a result of Russian airstrikes on the hospitals.
Fighter jets targeted two hospitals on Sunday, one in Kafrnobble and the other an underground hospital in the village of Has. The SOHR attributed the airstrikes to Russian forces. It identifies the party who carried out the attack according to the model of the plane, the place where the strike took place, the flight path, and ammunition used. A third hospital in Kafrzeita north of Hama was also targeted by Russian strikes.
The United Nations said late April that a medical center and two hospitals were rendered non-operational as a result of aerial and artillery bombardment.
Deployment in Tel Rifaat
5 May 2019
Turkish and Russian officials are reviewing deployment of their forces in the Syrian border region of Tel Rifaat, Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Sunday, a day after cross-border fire from the area killed one Turkish soldier.
Two separate attacks on Saturday by Kurdish militants from Tel Rifaat and northern Iraq killed a total of four Turkish soldiers and wounded two others, Turkey’s defense ministry said. The army retaliated in both cases, killing twenty-eight militants, it said.
In an interview with broadcaster Kanal 7, Oktay said Turkey and Russia were discussing developments in the region and that Turkish military operations along the border would continue until all threats had been eliminated.
Tel Rifaat is controlled by Kurdish-led forces and is located some twenty kilometers east of Afrin, which has been under the control of Turkey and its Free Syrian Army allies since an operation last year to drive out the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Turkey, a major backer of opposition groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has conducted patrols with Russia, one of Assad’s main allies, in northern areas under agreements reached last year.
In March, the defense ministry said Turkish and Russian forces had carried out the first “independent and coordinated” patrols in Tel Rifaat.
Two Turkish Soldiers Wounded
5 May 2019
The Turkish defense ministry said two Turkish soldiers were slightly wounded on Saturday after mortar fire from areas controlled by Syrian authorities targeted an observation post in northwest Syria.
“Two of our comrades were slightly wounded when shells fired, based on our judgement, from areas controlled by the government hit one of our observation posts south of the de-escalation zone in Idlib,” a statement from the ministry said. The two soldiers were evacuated to Turkey for treatment, according to the same statement.
In recent weeks, the governorate of Idlib and surrounding areas have witnessed bloody bombardment by Syrian and Russian forces, according to the SOHR.
Russia and Turkey signed an agreement to establish a de-escalation zone in Idlib in September 2018. The agreement provided for a “de-militarized zone” that separates areas occupied by jihadist militants from areas controlled by Syrian authorities.
Attack on Kurds
4 May 2019
The ‘National Army,’ which is affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, took control of the town of al-Malkieh and the village of Shwargah in the northern countryside of Aleppo after battles with the Kurdish YPG, amidst artillery bombardment by opposition factions and the Turkish army against areas controlled by the YPG.
The ‘National Army’ took control of the town of al-Malkieh and the villages of Shwargagh and al-Araz, and ousted YPG militias and elements from the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK),” A military commander told a German news agency.
The source added that artillery regiments of the ‘National Army’ and Turkish army continued bombing Kurdish units in Tel Rifaat, Minnegh, Harbel, and Ain Diqneh, after the town of Mraimin, which is controlled by the ‘National Army,’ was targeted.
“The military operation is ongoing to oust YPG militants from villages surrounding the Izzaz-Afrin highway in the northern countryside of Aleppo all the way to Tel Rifaat and areas controlled by the YPG,” the military commander added.
Qatari Aerial Return
4 May 2019
Qatar Airways’ return to flying over Syria is part of its efforts to grapple with a nearly two-year Gulf dispute that has blocked it from using the airspace of many of its neighbors, CEO Akbar al-Baker said on Saturday.
Syrian transport minister Ali Hammoud said last month that his country had approved a request by Qatar Airways to begin using the country’s airspace for routes, one of the first airlines to do so. Qatar did not comment at the time.
Qatar’s state-owned carrier has had to re-route many of its flights since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt cut diplomatic, transport, and trade ties with the Gulf state in 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.
Damascus Denounces Tribal Summit
4 May 2019
An official Syrian source denounced a tribal summit organized by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Ain Issa, north of Syria, calling it a meeting of treason, according to the Syrian news agency SANA.
Mazloum Abdi, leader of the SDF which is comprised of Kurdish and Arab factions, said during the conference that he refuses the approach of “reconciliation” proposed by Damascus to decide the fate of areas under Kurdish control in north-eastern Syria, and expressed his will to open a dialogue with the Syrian government.
The official source in the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement to SANA that the conference, which was held in an area “controlled by armed militias affiliated to the United States and other Western states, …was a failure after most original Arab tribes boycotted it.” The sources described the summit as a “meeting of infiltration, treachery, and subordination.”
“Such meetings undoubtedly represent the betrayal of their organizers, regardless of their political, ethnic, or racial affiliation,” the source added.
Abdi affirmed on Friday willingness “to talk with the Syrian government” in order to reach “a comprehensive solution.” He stressed that no “real solution” can be reached without acknowledging the full constitutional rights of the Kurds … and without recognizing the self-administration,” in addition to accepting the role of the SDF in protecting the area under its control in the future.
Bombardment of Hmeimim
2 May 2019
The Russian military base in Hmeimim was targeted with rocket missiles launched by Syrian opposition factions, amidst aerial and artillery bombardment on opposition-held areas.
“Opposition factions bombarded the Russian military base in Hmeimin in response to Russian air jets targeting areas under the control of Syrian opposition in Idlib and Hama countryside, which left dozens of killed and injured and caused vast destruction,” a source in the National Front for Liberation told a German news agency.
A field commander fighting along with government forces said: “The military base in Hmeimin observed rocket missiles launched by opposition factions from al-Madhiq citadel area in the western countryside of Hama.”
Opposition factions previously declared that a number of Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in the bombing of Hmeimim base with Grad missiles.
140 Thousand Displaced
1 May 2019
Around one hundred and forty thousand people in Idlib governorate and surrounding areas have been displaced since February, as Syrian government forces and their Russian ally stepped up their bombardment in the area, which is mostly controlled by jihadist factions, according to the spokesman of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“Since February, over 138,500 women, children and men have been displaced from northern Hama and southern Idlib,” said David Swanson, adding that between 1 and 28 April, it’s estimated that more than 32,500 individuals have moved to different communities in Aleppo, Idlib, and Hama governorates.
The majority of the al-Qassabiyah village residents displaced to safer areas in southern Idlib after shelling targeted on of its schools.
Damascus is with Maduro
1 May 2019
The Syrian foreign ministry condemned the “failed coup attempt” in Venezuela and accused the United States of undermining stability in the country, according to the state news agency SANA.
“The Syrian Arab Republic strongly condemns the failed coup attempt against the constitutional legitimacy in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” state news agency SANA said, quoting a foreign ministry source.
Venezuela was plunged into chaos after the head of the parliament and self-proclaimed leader Juan Guaido, who has been recognized by fifty countries including the United States, said he had the support of troops to oust President Nicolas Maduro.
Constitutional Committee
30 April 2019
UN Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen told the UN Security Council that an agreement could be soon reached to form a committee tasked with drafting a new constitution for Syria, paving the way for a political solution in a county suffering from civil war since 2011.
“We’re getting close to (reaching) an agreement on the constitutional committee,” Pedersen said.
According to the United Nations, the constitutional committee, which is supposed to lead the process for revising the constitution and elections, should include one hundred and fifty members, fifty of whom would be chosen by the government, fifty chosen by the opposition, and fifty chosen by the UN special envoy, taking into consideration the views of experts and representatives of the civil society.
No agreement has been reached on the third list, which provoked a dispute between Damascus and the United Nations. However, the latter says only six names on this list need to be changed.
The acting US Ambassador in the UN Jonathan Cohen accused Moscow of obstructing efforts to reach an agreement. “Russia, and those who it supports, are obstructing the political process,” he said.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said that he is “optimistic a solution can be quickly reached” regarding the constitutional committee.
Ending the Escalation
30 April 2019
The United States on Tuesday called on Russia to abide by its commitments and end the “escalation” in the Idlib region northwest of Syria after airstrikes that killed ten people.
“We call on all parties, including Russia and the Syrian regime, to abide by their commitments to avoid large-scale military offensives, return to a de-escalation of violence in the area,” State Department Spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said.
Baghdadi Appearance
29 April 2019
Al Furqan Network, ISIS’s media network, published a video message purporting to come from its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in which he said that the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka were ISIS’s response to losses in its last stronghold in Baghouz in Syria.
The group will seek revenge for jailed and killed members, he said. The man sat of the floor giving an address to members in the group that lasted eighteen minutes. Some aides appeared listening to him but had their faces blurred.
The video would be the first from Baghdadi since he was filmed in the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014. More recent speeches have been released as audio recordings.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | أبريل 24, 2019 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
The following is a selection by our editors of significant weekly developments in Syria. Depending on events, each issue will include anywhere from four to eight briefs. This series is produced in both Arabic and English in partnership between Salon Syria and Jadaliyya. Suggestions and blurbs may be sent to info@salonsyria.com.
Easter and Refugees
21 April 2019
Pope Francis on Sunday urged world leaders to exert efforts to find a solution to the Syrian crisis and help millions of refugees go back to their home. He also called on the parties involved in Libya to choose dialogue over war.
In his traditional Easter Sunday at the Vatican, where some seventy thousand people were gathered in Saint Peter’s square, the pope also expressed his “sadness” at news of the deadly bomb attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka.
In Syria, where President Bashar Al-Assad has steadily recovered territory lost to armed opposition groups, the pope lamented the fate of “the beloved Syrian people, victims of an ongoing conflict to which we risk becoming ever more resigned and even indifferent.”
“Now is the time for a renewed commitment for a political solution able to respond to people’s legitimate hopes for freedom, peace and justice, confront the humanitarian crisis and favor the secure re-entry of the homeless, along with all those who have taken refuge in neighboring countries, especially Lebanon and Jordan,” the pope said.
Port for Lease
20 April 2019
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said on Saturday that his country would lease Syria’s Tartus port for forty-nine years.
The port would be used for economic and logistic purposes, the Russian Sputnik news agency cited Borisov as saying after a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Russia and Syria signed an agreement in 2017 to establish a logistic center for the Russian navy’s technical equipment in Tartus.
After al-Assad’s visit to Tehran, Damascus agreed to hand over Lattakia port to Iran so that it can be used to transport oil products to Syria, which is suffering from a fuel shortage crisis.
Parliamentary Summit
20 April 2019
Iraq hosted on Saturday a summit for heads of parliaments, in which representatives from six neighboring countries participated, seeking to strengthen its comeback to the regional diplomatic arena.
The summit was held under the slogan of “Iraq … Stability and Development” and attended by the heads of parliament in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey, while Iran sent Alaa al-Deen Brojirdi, a parliamentarian, as a representative for the head of the Iranian parliament who apologized for not attending.
The importance of this summit stems from joining political rivals on the same table despite the rupture of diplomatic ties between Riyadh and Tehran, and the latter’s support for the government in Damascus against the opposition that is supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, in addition to Jordan which is an ally to the United States, which in turn is Iran’s arch-foe.
In the final statement, the heads of parliaments agreed on the fact that “the stability of Iraq is essential to the stability in the region.”
As for the western border with Syria, Iraq is the only Arab country that is publicly communicating with all parties inside Syria, including Russia, the international coalition, the Kurds, in addition to the opposition and the government, which officially asked Iraq to launch airstrikes on Syrian territory targeting ISIS.
Government Casualties
20 April 2019
Attacks by jihadist factions in various areas in Syria have left around fifty government troops and allied forces dead, most of whom were killed in the last two days as a result of attacks carried out by ISIS that are considered to be the most violent since the collapse of the “caliphate”.
After eight years of a devastating crisis, government forces currently control around sixty percent of the country, while various areas are still out of its reach including areas controlled by the Kurds in the north and east of the country and Idlib governorate – controlled by Tahrir al-Sham (previously Nusra), while ISIS still maintains its presence in the desert between the eastern countryside of Homs (middle Syria) all the way to the Iraqi border.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported the deaths of at least thirteen government soldiers and allied forces after a “fierce attack by Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Army, which is affiliated to Tahrir al-Sham, early Saturday on government checkpoints and posts west of Aleppo” in northern Syria.
On another front in Syria, The SOHR reported the deaths of at least thirty-five government soldiers and allied forces as a result of attacks carried out by ISIS in the Syrian desert, which are considered to be the most violent since the collapse of the “caliphate” a month earlier.
Sudden Passing
19 April 2019
The United Nations announced on Friday the sudden passing of Major General Francis Vib-Sanziri of Ghana, Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observation Force (UNDOF), at age sixty-two without stating the cause of his death.
“The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres extends his deep sorrow for the sudden death of Major General Francis Vib-Sanziri,” the UN said in a statement. He “will be remembered for his exemplary career and leadership in the service of United Nations peacekeeping,” the statement added.
The late general was born in 1957 and is a father of two children. He had headed the UNDOF since October 2017 and worked in UN peacekeeping missions in Syria, Lebanon, Rwanda, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
UNDOF has been deployed in the Golan Heights since 1974 to observe the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces. It is made up of a thousand blue hat troops.
The current jurisdiction ends this June and costs around sixty million dollars annually.
After the 1967 war, Israel occupied a major part of the Syrian Golan Heights (1200 km2). These heights possess a strategic position and are rich with water resources.
In 1981, the Jewish country annexed the Golan in a decision not recognized by the international community. However, the United States recently defied this consensus with US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied part of the plateau.
Trump’s decision sparked a wave of condemnations around the world, which brings to mind the reactions that followed the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017.
Kurds in the Elyse
19 April 2019
Turkey sharply criticized French President Emanuel Macron for receiving a Syrian Kurdish delegation, which Ankara perceives as “terrorists”.
“We condemn the reception by French President Emmanuel Macron of a delegation of so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF),” Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in the statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday hosted a delegation of the SDF, an Arab-Kurdish alliance fighting ISIS in Syria. Macron assured the delegation of “active French support in their fight against ISIS.”
Macron also vowed to keep French forces alongside the SDF and to provide financial support for reconstruction and public services of the Kurdish administration in northern Syria.
Idlib’s Notre-Dame
19 April 2019
In a small village in north-west Syria lies a centuries-old church with two towers at its entrance that are meticulously engraved. Researchers say it is the architectural forerunner of France’s famed Notre-Dame cathedral.
Hemmed by the village of Qalb Lozeh (Arabic for Heart of the Almond), the cathedral which goes by the same name is widely hailed as Syria’s finest example of Byzantine-era architecture. And it is believed to have been the source of inspiration for Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals in Europe.
“It is the earliest known example of the twin tower facade flanking a highly elaborate arched entrance, the precursor to what became known as the Romanesque style,” says Middle East cultural expert Diana Darke.
Qalb Lozeh was built by Syrian Christians whose wealth was based on wine and olive oil production, says Darke. The church was frequented by pilgrims and is thought to have been a key stop on the way to the nearby basilica of Saint Simeon the Stylite.
The abandoned church is within a cluster of forty so-called “Ancient Villages of Northern Syria” which UNESCO has included on its World Heritage List since 2011 and placed on its list of endangered sites.
Hundreds of ruins sites have been damaged in Syria in recent years as a result of fighting and bombardment, in addition to theft and looting. However, Qalb Lozeh church was spared of damage despite its proximity to hot spots.
Fuel Crisis
17 April 2019
A pro-government newspaper in Syria said that the country was suffering from fuel shortage after an Iranian credit line stopped six months ago, and that no Iranian oil tanker had arrived in the country since then.
Syrians say the fuel shortage became worse last week. A witness said that hundreds of cars formed a long line at one of the gasoline stations in Damascus on Wednesday. The official Syrian news agency SANA posted a photo of a traffic jam with a caption stating that Syrians are facing an “economic war.”
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in February that the crisis is part of an embargo imposed by governments opposed to his, including the United States which has imposed sanctions banning any commercial trading with Damascus.
The Watan newspaper, which is closely linked to the Syrian government, published a report on its first page saying that the government want to “portray the situation as it really is.”
The report stated that oil production from areas recaptured by government forces is currently twenty-four thousand barrels a day, which is well below the country’s need of one hundred and thirty-six thousand barrels per day.
Therefore, we need more imports, and this is precisely when the Iranian credit line started, the report said, adding that the line was the main source in this context.
The report did not present an explanation on why the Iranian credit line stopped. Tehran is also a target of US sanctions that were re-imposed after President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
Iran Mediation
17 April 2019
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Turkey and met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.
“I met extensively with Bashar al-Assad. I will inform Erdogan of the outcomes of the meeting,” Zarif said in a press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu before meeting with Erdogan.
Ankara cut off its ties with Bashar al-Assad’s government after the onset of the Syrian conflict in 2011, and provided support for militant factions seeking to oust him. However, Erdogan said in February that Turkey maintains “low-level” communication with the Syrian government.
Iran, along with Russia, is one of the Syrian government most prominent allies in the war ravaging the country.
Iran, Russia, and Turkey co-sponsor the Astana track to find a political settlement for the Syrian conflict.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | أبريل 17, 2019 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
The following is a selection by our editors of significant weekly developments in Syria. Depending on events, each issue will include anywhere from four to eight briefs. This series is produced in both Arabic and English in partnership between Salon Syria and Jadaliyya. Suggestions and blurbs may be sent to info@salonsyria.com.
Sudan and Syria
14 April 2019
Syrians are following the situation in Sudan and its effects on the situation in their own country after eight years of civil war, as thousands of Sudanese protestors continued their sit-in at the ministry of defense on Sunday to call on the army to step up the transition to a civil government. The head of the military council that replaced the former President Omar Bashir, who was ousted on Thursday after three decades in power, said a new civil government would be formed after consultations with the opposition.
The Sudanese Professionals’ Association, the main group which organized the protests leading to Bashir’s fall, demanded civilians be included in the transitional military council and for Bahsir’s close associates to leave. It also called for “restructuring the security and intelligence apparatus so that it can carry out its role and dissolving regime militias.”
The sit-in that began on 6 April, was the culmination of a protest movement that began nearly four months ago. The sit-in witnessed violent clashes last week, but the atmosphere was quite on Sunday.
On Friday, the Defense Minister Awad Ibn Awf resigned as the head of the military council one day after assuming the position. Ibn Awf had earlier announced the ouster of Bashir and holding him in custody. The new head of the military council Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said the transitional period would go on for a maximum two years. He canceled the night curfew and ordered the release of all those detained under emergency laws imposed by Bashir.
Pedersen in Damascus for Third Time
Enab Baladi
14 April 2019
The UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen arrived in Damascus to complete consultations regarding the constitutional committee on his third visit since the beginning of this year. The Syrian foreign ministry said on Sunday that the Foreign Minister Walid Moualem met Pederson and the accompanying delegation in Damascus.
The meeting between the two sides discussed ongoing efforts to achieve progress on the political track to find a solution to the Syrian crisis, and complete consultations on the political process, especially discussions regarding the constitution, the ministry said.
Moualem and Pedersen discussed actions taken since his last visit to Damascus in March in regards to the constitutional committee talks and the political process, according to the ministry.
Pedersen outlined steps that could be taken to reach a comprehensive political solution in Syria in accordance with UN Security Council 2254. The first step is to “build confidence and strengthen the relationship with both the government and the opposition,” and identify common grounds and issues not agreed upon, said Pedersen.
The second step is “serious engagement with the Syrian civil society,” and the third step is “working on the issue of detainees and missing persons and kidnapees,” said Pedersen considering it an important and substantial issue for him personally. In regards to the political issue, Pedersen talked about “deepening the dialogue with the government and the opposition, and working on the constitutional committee,” which was handed over to him by his predecessor Staffan de Mistura.
Russia and Turkey have recently talked about the finalization of the committee to draft a new constitution for Syria.
Russian and Turkish Harmony!
Reuters
8 April 2019
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia and Turkey will jointly patrol Syria’s Idlib province. “We are basically entering joint patrolling, at least patrolling from two sides,” Putin added after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Moscow on Monday. He also said that Russia and Turkey would continue with their efforts to bring peace to Syria.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he planned to discuss a possible Turkish military operation in Syria when he visits Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin on Monday, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.
“Our preparations on the border are finished, everything is ready for an operation. We can begin it at any moment. I will discuss this issue among others face-to-face (with Putin) on my visit to Russia,” Erdogan was cited as saying.
Kurds Complain About Russia
Reuters
12 April 2019
A Syrian Kurdish official said efforts to forge a political deal between Kurdish-led authorities in northern Syria and the Syrian government are at a standstill and Russia is to blame. The Kurdish-led authorities revived efforts to negotiate a deal with Damascus earlier this year in the wake of a US decision to withdraw its forces from their areas, hoping Moscow would mediate an agreement that would preserve their autonomy. The picture has shifted significantly since then, however, with Washington deciding to keep some troops in Syria and the Syrian government directing new threats of military action at Kurdish-led forces if they do not submit to its rule.
Badran Jia Kurd, a Syrian Kurdish official involved in the political track, said, “Russia is still claiming that it is working on that initiative but to no avail.” Jia Kurd added that Russia had put its interests with Turkey ahead of pressing for a deal with Damascus. Russia had “not played its role after meeting the Turkish side many times and this is what led to the blocking of the path of dialogue with Damascus and Russia bears the historic responsibility,” he said.
Explosion in Raqqa
Reuters
9 April 2019
A security source in northern Syria said a bomb attack in the Syrian city of Raqqa killed eight people on Tuesday, including four fighters of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The blast also killed four civilians and wounded three members of the Kurdish-led internal security forces known as the Asayish, the source said. Witnesses said people including SDF members gathered at the scene after an initial blast, which was followed by a bigger explosion that caused the casualties.
ISIS’s Amaq news agency said the group’s militants entrapped Kurdish security forces by detonating a sound explosive device on a main street and after people congregated they detonated a car that was parked nearby.
Israeli Airstrike
Reuters
13 April 2019
Syrian state television said on Saturday that Israeli planes targeted a military position near the governorate of Hama, but Syrian air defenses intercepted and downed some of the rockets. Citing military sources, the Syrian news agency SANA said that Israeli aircraft had targeted “one of our military positions towards the city of Masyaf.”
“The enemy missiles were dealt with and some of them were shot down before reaching their target, resulting in the damage of a few buildings and the injury of three fighters,” SANA added.
Suicide Bomb
Reuters
9 April 2019
Official Syrian media said that suicide bombers disguised as farmers struck an army position on Tuesday in an attack that killed three people and all the militants. The official media said the militants were dressed as local farmers when they hit the position near Taybat al-Imam, in the northern countryside of Hama, around 3 a.m.
The Ansar al-Tawheed group said three of its fighters had carried out the attack on the checkpoint in Taybat al-Imam, north of Hama city. In a statement, it said thirty members of government forces had been killed and wounded.
Violence has escalated lately in the area, the last major part of Syria held by armed opposition, straining a Russian-Turkish agreement that has staved off a major government offensive.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said ten people were killed in Tuesday’s attack in the “demilitarized” zone set up under the Turkish-Russian agreement.
Red Cross Missing Staff
Reuters
15 April 2019
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has appealed for information on the fate of three employees abducted in Syria more than five years ago and last known to have been held by ISIS.
Breaking its silence on the case on Sunday, the independent aid agency identified the three as Louisa Akavi, a nurse from New Zealand, and Syrian drivers Alaa Rajab and Nabil Bakdounes. This appeal comes after US-backed forces proclaimed the capture of ISIS’s last territory in Syria last month, eliminating its rule over a caliphate it had proclaimed in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The three were traveling in a Red Cross convoy in October 2013, delivering supplies to medical facilities in Idlib, northwestern Syria, when it was stopped by armed men. Four other people abducted with them were released the next day.
A Promise to Find a Solution to the Fuel Crisis
Enab Baladi
14 April 2019
The Syrian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources promised a breakthrough in the fuel crisis within the few coming days. The ministry said on Sunday that the reason behind the “severe” shortage of fuel is the economic sanctions imposed on Syria, which especially target the oil sector and prevent oil tankers from reaching the country. The ministry promised that the breakthrough would begin in ten days.
Syria has been suffering from a fuel crisis for months, especially domestic cooking gas and gasoline. The crisis intensified in recent days, prompting government officials to blame the crisis on sanctions imposed on Syria and accusing the Suez Canal of contributing to these sanctions.
Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis said on Wednesday that the Egyptian Suez Cana has been preventing ships carrying oil to Syria from passing for six months. “All attempts and communications have failed to convince the Egyptian side from allowing at least one oil tanker,” he added.
The Egyptian cabinet denied preventing any tanker heading for Syria from passing.
The United States warned in March the maritime petroleum shipping community against delivering shipments to the Syrian government, and published a list of ships that have been carrying this out since 2016.
A statement from the Public Affairs Office of the US Department of Treasury said that the Office of Foreign Assets in the department has renewed its warning to the maritime petroleum shipping community to highlight the risks of carrying oil shipments to Syria.
