الحلفاء والخصوم ينتزعون “التنازلات المؤلمة”  في سوريا

الحلفاء والخصوم ينتزعون “التنازلات المؤلمة” في سوريا

يواصل خصوم دمشق وحلفاؤها الضغط والإفادة من نقاط الضعف السياسية والاقتصادية للحصول على تنازلات سيادية تتعلق بالجغرافيا والامتيازات الاستراتيجية تحدّ من خيارات أي حكومة سورية لعقود مقبلة.

وتضمنت تنازلات الحلفاء والخصوم حصول إيران على عقد لتشغيل مرفأ اللاذقية على البحر المتوسط، ثم استئجار روسيا لمرفأ طرطوس، بينما اعترف الرئيس الأميركي دونالد ترمب لرئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي بنيامين نتنياهو بالسيادة الإسرائيلية على هضبة الجولان السورية المحتلة، مع موافقته على تمديد البقاء مع الأوروبيين شمال شرقي سوريا، بالتزامن مع تكريس تركيا لوجودها في مناطق شمال سوريا، وتحويلها إلى منطقة نفوذ.

إيران

منذ بداية العام الحالي، زاد التواصل بين مسؤولين سوريين وإيرانيين، إذ قام الرئيس بشار الأسد بزيارة طهران ولقاء المرشد الإيراني علي خامنئي في نهاية فبراير (شباط)، وعقدت اجتماعات اللجنة العليا المشتركة في نهاية يناير (كانون الثاني)، وأسفرت عن توقيع سلسلة من الاتفاقات بينها «اتفاق اقتصادي طويل الأمد»، إضافة إلى إعطاء أولوية لإيران في إعمار سوريا.

لكن الضغط الإيراني على دمشق استمر من بوابة عدم الاستنفار لحل أزمة الوقود ومشتقات النفط. وبحسب صحيفة «الوطن»، في دمشق، فإن خط الائتمان الذي كانت تقدمه إيران سنوياً توقف في 15 أكتوبر (تشرين الأول) الماضي، ومع ذلك «بدأ الحديث عن السيناريو الأسوأ المحتمل، وهو أن البلد بات بحاجة إلى سيولة مالية ضخمة لتغطية الفجوة الكبيرة التي تركها توقُّف الخط، فمنذ توقفه قبل ستة أشهر وسوريا تفتقد النفط، وبهذا المعنى، ووفقاً لوزارة النفط، فإنه لا ناقلة نفط خام وصلت منذ ذلك الوقت».

وتحتاج سوريا إلى ما قيمته 200 مليون دولار شهرياً لتغطية فاتورة مشتقات النفط، في وقت انخفض فيه إنتاج سوريا من 380 ألف برميل إلى 24 ألفاً يومياً خلال السنوات الثماني الماضية (هناك كمية موازية تنتج شرق الفرات). وقالت الصحيفة: «نحن بحاجة إلى توريدات، وهنا، تحديداً، جاءت أزمة توقّف الخط الائتماني الإيراني الذي كان الرافد الأساسي ي هذا الإطار».

في بداية 2017، وافقت طهران على تقديم خط ائتمان جديد، بقيمة مليار دولار أميركي، علماً بأنها قدمت منذ 2013 خطوط ائتمان بقيمة 6.6 مليار دولار، خُصّص نصفها لتمويل تصدير النفط الخام ومشتقاته. ووفق وكالة الطاقة الدولية، كانت إيران تصدر 70 ألف برميل من النفط يومياً إلى سوريا.

واستفادت طهران من الأزمة الاقتصادية الأخيرة للحصول على تنازلات، بينها العمل على تنفيذ اتفاقات ثنائية كانت جُمّدت في بداية 2017. لكن الأهم استراتيجياً كان الوصول إلى البحر المتوسط. وفي 25 فبراير، طلب وزير النقل السوري من المدير العام لمرفأ اللاذقية العمل على «تشكيل فريق عمل يضم قانونيين وماليين للتباحث مع الجانب الإيراني في إعداد مسودة عقد لإدارة المحطة من الجانب الإيراني»، تلبية لـ«طلب الجانب الإيراني حقّ إدارة محطة الحاويات لمرفأ اللاذقية لتسوية الديون المترتبة على الجانب السوري»، بسبب الدعم المالي والعسكري الذي قدمته طهران لدمشق.

ويُشغّل مرفأ اللاذقية منذ سنوات بموجب عقد بين الحكومة و«مؤسسة سوريا القابضة» التي وقّعت شراكة مع شركة فرنسية لإدارة المرفأ. لكن الحكومة طلبت من «سوريا القابضة» التزام الاتفاق بين دمشق وطهران لمنح الأخيرة حق تشغيل المرفأ اعتباراً من سبتمبر (أيلول) المقبل.

إلى هذا، تشمل الاتفاقات أيضاً استثمار إيران حقول الفوسفات في منطقة الشرقية، قرب مدينة تدمر التاريخية لمدة 99 سنة واستحواذ شركة إيرانية، يدعمها «الحرس الثوري»، على مشغّل ثالث للهاتف النقال، والاستحواذ على 5 آلاف هكتار من الأراضي للزراعة والاستثمار.

روسيا

أثارت الامتيازات الإيرانية حساسية روسيا التي كانت جمدت في العام الماضي تنفيذ الاتفاقات المتعلقة بالفوسفات والهاتف والميناء بين طهران ودمشق. لكن بالنسبة إلى موسكو، فإن الملف الأكثر حساسية كان سيطرة إيران على مرفأ اللاذقية لقربه من قاعدتيها في اللاذقية وطرطوس، إذ إنه سيكون أول وصول لإيران إلى المياه الدافئة، ويترك طريق «طهران – بغداد – دمشق – المتوسط» مفتوحاً للإمداد العسكري والاقتصادي. وقال القائد الجديد للحرس الثوري الإيراني، حسين سلامي، في أول تصريح له بعد تسلمه مهامه رسمياً، أمس: «(فيلق القدس) بقيادة قاسم سليماني وصل إلى البحر».

وسعت طهران قبل 2011 إلى تحويل ميناء طرطوس إلى قاعدة عسكرية، لكن موسكو اعترضت، ثم تدخلت عسكرياً في سبتمبر 2015، ونشرت منظومتي صواريخ «إس 400» و«إس 300» في اللاذقية، ثم قررت توسيع ميناء طرطوس، وحصلت من دمشق على عقدين للوجود العسكري؛ أحدهما «مفتوح الأمد» في اللاذقية، والثاني لنصف قرن في طرطوس.

ولم يتأخر رد موسكو، حيث وصل نائب رئيس الوزراء الروسي يوري بوريسوف إلى دمشق للقاء الأسد وبحث معه «التجارة والتعاون الاقتصادي، خصوصاً في قطاعات الطاقة والصناعة وزيادة التبادل التجاري وتجاوز جميع العوائق». ونقلت وكالة «تاس» للأنباء عن بوريسوف قوله إنه من المنتظَر أن توقع روسيا عقداً لاستئجار ميناء طرطوس لمدة 49 سنة.

وكانت دمشق وموسكو وقعتا في 2017 اتفاقاً يسمح لروسيا بإقامة قاعدة في طرطوس هي الوحيدة لها في البحر المتوسط لمدة 49 سنة، ذلك بعدما توقيعهما اتفاقاً لإقامة قاعدة برية روسية في حميميم قرب اللاذقية بمدى زمني مفتوح. وكما استفادت روسيا وإيران من الخسائر العسكرية لقوات الحكومة في 2015 في تعزيز وجودهما العسكري في سوريا عبر قيام قواعد عسكرية، فإنهما تستفيدان حالياً من الأزمة الاقتصادية للحصول على امتيازات استراتيجية. وبدا أن هناك نوعاً من الصراع أو التنافس بينهما على مناطق الحكومة ومستقبل البلاد.

أميركا

بالتوازي مع فرض عقوبات اقتصادية أميركية وأوروبية على دمشق وتفكيك شبكات كانت تصدر مشتقات نقطية إلى سوريا، وتجميد أي محاولات للتطبيع السياسي أو المساهمة في إعمار سوريا، تراجع الرئيس ترمب عن قراره بـ«الانسحاب الكامل والسريع» من شرق سوريا. وتستمر الاتصالات الأوروبية – الأميركية لبلورة تصور لمستقبل الوجود شرق الفرات وفي قاعدة التنف والانتقال من محاربة «داعش» جغرافياً إلى ملاحقة خلايا التنظيم هناك. واتفقت موسكو وواشنطن على تمديد اتفاق «منع الاحتكاك» في الأجواء السورية، إضافة إلى استمرار أنقرة وواشنطن المفاوضات حول إقامة منطقة آمنة بين نهري الفرات ودجلة.

وتدعم قوات التحالف الدولي، بقيادة أميركا، «قوات سوريا الديمقراطية» التي تسيطر على ثلث مساحة سوريا البالغة 185 ألف كيلومتر مربع، وتضم 90 في المائة من النفط السوري ونصف الغاز السوري، إضافة إلى معظم الموارد الزراعية والمائية. وتقع تلك المنطقة في زاوية الحدود السورية – العراقية – التركية وتتحكم بخط الإمداد بين إيران والعراق وسوريا ولبنان. وتردد أن صهاريج كانت تنقل مشتقات نفطية من العراق إلى سوريا تعرضت إلى قصف في اليومين الأخيرين.

إلى هذا، فإن الرئيس ترمب قرر، في 25 الشهر الماضي، الاعتراف بالسيادة الإسرائيلية على الجولان السوري المحتل. وقام نتنياهو أول من أمس بزيارة الهضبة واعتبرها جزءاً من «أرض إسرائيل». وكان هذا بمثابة نعي لجهود طويلة من الرعاية الأميركية للمفاوضات السورية – الإسرائيلية القائمة على مبدأ «الأرض مقابل السلام» وابتعاداً عن مبدأ في العلاقات الدولية، وميثاق الأمم المتحدة، بـ«عدم جواز الاستيلاء على أراضي الغير بالقوة».

قبل ذلك، رعى الرئيس ترمب ونظيره الروسي فلاديمير بوتين إعادة «القوات الدولية لفك الاشتباك» (أندوف) إلى الجولان، المشكّلة بعد اتفاق برعاية أميركية في عام 1974. وعملياً، بات «خط الفصل» في الجولان قوامه البعد الأمني المتعلقة بالتزام اتفاق «فك الاشتباك» كأمر واقع من دون بعد سياسي أو تفاوضي يتعلق بـ«الأرض مقابل السلام»، بحسب الفهم الأميركي.

في موازاة ذلك، تواصل روسيا غض النظر عن الغارات الإسرائيلية على «مواقع إيران» في سوريا. ولم يحصل أن اعترضت منظومة «إس – 300» الجديدة أو القديمة هذه الغارات، مع «هدايا» قدمها بوتين إلى نتنياهو بينها رفات جندي إسرائيلي قُتِل بعد مشاركته في معركة السلطان يعقوب بلبنان في الثمانينات.

تركيا

في 1939، جرى ترتيب استفتاء في إسكندرون شمال غربي سوريا بموجب تفاهم فرنسي – تركي أسفر عن قرار ضم الإقليم إلى تركيا باسم «هاتاي». وخلال فترة «سنوات العسل» بين أنقرة ودمشق في بداية العقد الماضي، جرى توقيع سلسلة من الاتفاقات المتعلقة بالتجارة الحرة، وإزالة الحدود، تضمنت الاعتراف بالحدود كأمر واقع. كما أن البلدين كانا وقعا في 1998 «اتفاق أضنة» لمحاربة الإرهاب والسماح للجيش التركي للتوغل شمال سوريا لـ«ملاحقة الإرهابيين» و«حزب العمال الكردستاني».

في 17 سبتمبر الماضي، جرى توقيع اتفاق بين بوتين ونظيره التركي رجب طيب إردوغان تضمن إقامة منطقة «خفض تصعيد» في «مثلث الشمال» الذي يضم إدلب وأرياف حلب وحماة واللاذقية. وفي نهاية 2016، وبداية 2018، أسفر اتفاقان آخران بين روسيا وتركيا عن إقامة تركيا منطقتي نفوذ في «درع الفرات» وعفرين. وعليه، نشر الجيش التركي العديد من نقاط المراقبة في العمق السوري، وربط هذه المناطق التي تزيد على 10 في المائة من مساحة سوريا بتركيا اقتصادياً، وفي البنية التحتية الخدمية والإدارية والإلكترونية. وأعلن «الائتلاف الوطني السوري» المعارض والمدعوم من أنقرة أمس فتح مكتب له شمال سوريا، هو الأول منذ 2011.

ويجري الحديث حالياً عن صفقة صغيرة تتضمن انسحاب روسيا من تل رفعت والسماح لتركيا وحلفائها للدخول إلى شمال حلب وفتح طريق غازي عنتاب – حلب مقابل دخول روسيا وحلفائها إلى مثلث جسر الشغور لحماية قاعدة حميميم والتفكير بتشغيل طريق اللاذقية – حلب.

وإذ فرضت موسكو على دمشق عدم شن هجوم واسع على إدلب لأن علاقاتها مع أنقرة أكبر وأوسع من إدلب وتتعلق بتفكيك «حلف شمال الأطلسي» (ناتو) والعلاقات الروسية – التركية واللعبة الكبرى، تواصل تركيا مفاوضاتها مع أميركا لإقامة «منطقة أمنية» بين الفرات ودجلة عبر نسخ تجربة «درع الفرات» شرق الفرات في منطقة تمتد بطول أكثر من 400 كلم وعمق 30 كلم، تضاف إلى مناطق النفوذ الأخرى شمال سوريا.

وتقول موسكو إن اتفاق «خفض التصعيد» مؤقت ومحكوم بفترة محددة، فيما يقول خبراء في العلاقات الدولية: «ليس هناك شيء دائم أكثر من الشيء المؤقت»، مع وجود تحذيرات من تحوُّل مناطق النفوذ الثلاث (الأميركية شرق الفرات، والروسية – التركية غرب الفرات، والتركية في الشمال) وجمود الصراع العسكري، إلى واقع مستمر.

*تم نشر هذا المقال في «الشرق الأوسط»

الـ “الفيس بوك”: العدو الوحيد للحكومة السورية…وأصل الأزمات

الـ “الفيس بوك”: العدو الوحيد للحكومة السورية…وأصل الأزمات

اتهمت وزارة النفط السورية موقعاً إخبارياً محلياً بإحداث أزمة البنزين الحالية التي تشل البلاد، علما أن الموقع الإخباري نشر عن الأزمة بعد حدوثها!

وابتداع عدو جديد يصرف انتباه المواطنين عن المشاكل الداخلية سياسة قديمة منذ عهود الممالك والإمارات القديمة، لكن أن يكون هذا العدو هو “الفيس بوك” فهذا ابتكار تعود حقوقه الفكرية لبعض المسؤولين الحكوميين.

وفي هذا الإطار يقول الشاعر طلال سليم ” وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي تخيف الجميع، وخصوصاً المقصرين والفاسدين، لأنها واسعة الانتشار وغير محددة بعدد قليل، هي مفتوحة على عالم فضائي مترامي الأطراف، لذلك يخشونها، ولو كانوا شرفاء لما همهم حتى لو كتب عنهم بالسوء كل كتاب الكون، اللصوص فقط هم يخافون من افتضاح أمرهم ومن تسليط الضوء على عيوبهم وتعريتهم، مما سيؤدي للمحاسبة ووصول يد العدالة لرقابهم.”

ويوافق الصحفي لؤي سلمان على ما ذهب إليه سليم بأن الكل يخاف من “الفيس بوك” لأنه “متابع ويكشف التجاوزات والأخطاء التي يقوم فيها بعض من المتنفذين” مشيراً إلى أنه أصبح قادراً على تشكيل “رأي جمعي ضدهم في الآونة الأخيرة، وهم لا يريدون أن تكون تجاوزاتهم وتقصيرهم على مرأى من السلطات العليا” بحسب قوله.

ويرى سلمان بأن “الفيس بوك” بات الوسيلة الوحيدة التي يستطيع أن يعبّر من خلالها الجمهور عن شكواه “لأن دور الصحف والإعلام غائب، وهم لا يقومون بهذه المهمة، حتى بات أغلب المسؤولين يقرؤون منشورات الفيس بوك بدلاً من متابعة الصحف” بحسب قوله، كما أن ضبط منشورات الصفحة الزرقاء غير ممكن مع وجود العديد من السوريين المنتشرين في العالم والذين يكتبون وينشرون عن الموضوع.

وتبرر المترجمة سلام عيد مهاجمة السلطات للـ”فيس بوك” بالخوف من الرأي المُخالف، وتقول “متلازمة الإنسان الأكبر هي خوفه من الرأي الذي لا يصبّ إيجاباً في رصيده، فكم قصة من التاريخ القديم وصلت لنا عن محاولات التعتيم على الرأي الآخر وقمعه، بشتى الطرق والدرجات. ويتفاوت نجاح التعتيم وأساليبه تبعاً لدرجة سلطة الجهة المعتّمة وإمكاناتها، ويتراوح من إحراق المخطوطات والكتب، إلى الاعتقال أو حتى الاغتيال، مروراً بتشويه السمعة وتوجيه الاتهامات”.

و تستدرك عيد بأن ذلك كان ممكناً إلى حد بعيد قبل الثورة الرقمية. أما اليوم “فلم يعد يكفي أن تغلق صحيفة أو دار نشر، أو أن تحرق كتاباً لا يروق لك، إذ لم يعد نشر المعلومة محصوراً في أشخاص أو جهات معينة، ناهيك عن سرعة انتشارها واستحالة إزالتها، وهذا ما يخيف” بحسب قولها.

من جهتها تعاضدت صفحات المؤسسات الحكومية على “الفيس بوك” لمواجهة “العدو”، فأخذت جميعها تتناقل الخبر الصادر عن الجهات الحكومية ذاته، وأضحت صفحة وزارة الكهرباء تنشر خبراً منقولاً عن صفحة وزارة الداخلية عن نفي حالة اختطاف أحد الأطفال في مدينة ما، وصفحة وزارة الأشغال العامة والإسكان تنشر تعليقاً عن عودة التيار الكهربائي إلى منطقة ما.

وأشار عدّة صحفيين يعملون في وسائل الإعلامية الرسمية وقد طلبوا عدم ذكر أسمائهم إلى أن التضييق وصل حداً لا يطاق، وقال أحدهم “نحن محاسبون اليوم على كل كلمة نقد سلبية نكتبها عبر صفحاتنا الشخصية”، فيما تمنى آخر أن تتغير الظروف نحو الأفضل.

الشاعر سليم لا يتوقع بأن هذا الأفضل سيحدث قريباً، فهو يعتقد بأن حرية صحفية لن تحدث إلا بعد التسوية السياسية في سوريا، أما الآن “فكل من ينتقد عمل الحكومة معرض للمساءلة فهي حكومة تجار تحاول أن تجني أكبر قدر من الثروات على حساب الشعب والوطن” بحسب قوله.

وعن إمكانية التضييق على الحريات العامة على “الفيس بوك” بشكل أكبر من قبل المسؤولين تعقب عيد “بلا أدنى شك، لكن لن يكون ذلك سهلاً أو حتّى ممكناً. أمّا المبررات، فلن يعدموها، وقد بدأت باتهام من يعانون معاناة لا تُطاق من نقص حاد في أساسيات الحياة، بالانجرار وراء الشائعات والتواطؤ مع الخارج مستسهلين إلقاء الاتهامات والتخوين، على أن يعترفوا بفشلهم في إدارة بلد أدمته الحرب، وفي مواجهة مرحلة مصيريّة جديدة بغير الخطب والتصريحات والاستعراض على فيسبوك ومشتقّاته فضلاً عن وسائل الإعلام الخاضعة لرقابتهم”.

وتعتقد عيد بأن المسؤولين بادروا إلى الهجوم كنوع من الدفاع لتجنب نقاش ما تصفه بـ”فشلهم الذريع في الإدارة”، مشيرة إلى أن هذا “تخوين معمّم غير مقبول لشرائح واسعة من الشعب، وهي محاولة للتعميّة على أزمات تفشّى بعضها وصرنا نرى أرتالاً وتجمّعات مخيفة من المواطنين في أقسى الظروف المناخيّة للحصول على حاجة جدّ أساسيّة”.

Syria in a Week (9 – 15 April 2019)

Syria in a Week (9 – 15 April 2019)

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.

Syria in a Week (2 – 8 April 2019)

Syria in a Week (2 – 8 April 2019)

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.

Dissipation of Sovereignty: Russia Rewards Netanyahu

Reuters and Enab Baladi

3 – 4 April 2019

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that Russian special forces troops in Syria had found the remains of a US-born Israeli soldier missing since 1982. “Our soldiers together with Syrian partners established his resting place. We are very happy that they will be able to give him the necessary military honors at home,” Putin was quoted as saying. He added that “Russia found the body of the soldier in coordination with the Syrian army, and our soldiers brought him to Israel.”

The official Syrian news agency (SANA) said that the Syrian government was not aware of handing the remains of the Israeli soldier Zachary Baumel to Israel. “Syria is not aware of the issue concerning the remains of the Israeli soldier. This is yet more evidence that proves the cooperation between terrorist groups and the Mossad,” SANA reported a media source as saying.

Zachary Baumel, who was 21 when he fought in Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, was declared missing in action along with two other soldiers in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub. A Russian news agency reported Putin as saying that the task of finding the remains had been difficult.

Dissipation of Sovereignty: Trump Disregards our Rights

Reuters

7 April 2019

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he made the controversial decision to recognize Israel’s 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights after getting a quick history lesson during a conversation on a different subject.

Speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition gathering in Las Vegas, Trump said he made the snap decision during a discussion with his top Middle East peace advisers, including the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

“I said, ‘Fellows, do me a favor. Give me a little history, quick. Want to go fast. I got a lot of things I’m working on: China, North Korea. Give me a quickie,” Trump said to laughter from the Las Vegas crowd.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Trump last month. At their 25 March meeting, Trump signed a proclamation officially granting US recognition of the Golan as Israeli territory, a dramatic departure from decades of US policy. The move, which Trump announced in a tweet days prior, was widely seen as an attempt to boost Netanyahu who is up for re-election on April 9.

“We make fast decisions. And we make good decisions,” Trump said on Saturday.

Children’s Suffering Post-ISIS

Reuters

7 April 2019

Children at al-Hol camp suffer from malnourishment, stunted growth, and broken legs according to the paramedics’ log for children who were transferred from the battle field to the crowded clinic, which lacks even the most basic medical services.

Medical centers are filled with teenagers missing limbs and women with shrapnel and bullet wounds. The exodus during intense fighting of more than sixty thousand people from ISIS’s final redoubt of Baghouz is overwhelming medical staff in eastern Syria who struggle to cope at the camp.

Scores of people, mostly children, have died on the 150-mile (240-kilometer) journey to al-Hol or soon after arriving, aid groups say.

The intense bombardment and fighting to dislodge the extremist group cost countless lives and wounded many more people, including the wives of fighters, their children, ISIS supporters, and other civilians trapped in the enclave.

Exchange of Bombardment in Idlib

Reuters

6 – 7 April 2019

At least fifteen people were reported killed on Sunday in shelling by government and opposition forces in northwestern Syria, further straining a Russian-Turkish ceasefire deal for the region. The agreement has come under strain in recent weeks: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said forty-five people had been killed in the last five days alone, most of them by government shelling of opposition-held areas.

Syrian official media said five people had been killed in government-held Masyaf.

The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Britain, Canada, the United States, Italy, and Japan on Saturday noted “with mounting concern the escalation in Syrian military activity in the de-escalation zone in Idlib over recent weeks”, according to a communique issued after a Group of Seven meeting.

Turkey has deployed forces into Idlib under an agreement with Russia and Iran. Jihadist insurgents of the Tahrir al-Sham group hold sway on the ground.

The United Nations says Idlib and the adjacent areas are sheltering some three million people, half of whom have been uprooted from other parts of Syria by the war.

Fate of Extremists!

Reuters

5 April 2019

The French interior minister Christophe Castaner said on Friday that interior ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations still have different views over how to handle jihadists and their families in Syria and Iraq.

The US representative, under-secretary Claire Grady, reiterated at the meeting of G7 interior ministers in Paris the US position that these foreign fighters should be returned to their countries of origin.

A United Nations human rights investigator said on Thursday, Iraq must ensure that ISIS leadership faces justice for alleged war crimes and genocide against civilians, not just charges of belonging to a terrorist group.

Four men, two Iraqi and two Syrians, were sentenced to death by a Baghdad court on 30 October on charges of membership of ISIS (a banned terrorist organization), according to Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Their identity has not been revealed but she described them in a statement as “four senior affiliates of the ISIS leadership.” She added: “The trial should have shed light on the inner workings of ISIS and created a crucial judicial record of ISIS crimes against people.”

Manbij and Turkey Once Again

Reuters

4 April 2019

Turkish military sources said that the work between Turkey and the United States to implement an agreement over the Syrian town of Manbij is proceeding more slowly than desired. The sources said that Turkey is making efforts to speed up the process, referring to an agreement between the NATO allies to a complete withdrawal of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) from the town.

Turkey and Russia have conducted three coordinated patrols in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat and plan to continue the patrols, the sources said.

Algeria Learns the Lesson from the Syrian Conflict!

Reuters

2 April 2019

The Algerian news agency said on Tuesday that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned on Tuesday, after weeks of mass protests. This came after army chief of staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah demanded constitutional measures to remove Bouteflika (82 years). Bouteflika presented an apology to the Algerian people in his resignation letter.

Libya did not Learn from our Experience!

Reuters

7 April 2019

Residents said that eastern Libyan forces (Libyan National Army-LNA) carried out air strikes on the southern part of Tripoli on Sunday and made progress toward the city center, escalating an operation to take the capital as the United Nations failed to achieve a truce.

The LNA, which backs a parallel administration in the east, launched last week an advance on Tripoli in the west, home to the internationally recognized government.

The offensive intensifies a power struggle that has fractured the oil’s and gas’s producing country since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

The LNA reached the southern outskirts of the capital on Friday and says it took the former international airport, though the Tripoli military officials deny this. At least one warplane carried out an air strike in the area and the LNA is now some eleven kilometers from the city center, a resident said, adding he could see the troops as forces loyal to the Tripoli government withdrew.

The UN mission to Libya called on Sunday for a truce for two hours in southern Tripoli to evacuate civilians and wounded, it said in a statement without giving details. However, the true was not observed by evening, one UN official said.

In another sign of the situation worsening on the ground, a contingent of US forces supporting the US Africa Command evacuated Libya for security reasons, a U.S. statement said without giving any further details.

Syria in a Week (25 – 31 March 2019)

Syria in a Week (25 – 31 March 2019)

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.

 

Golan Present, Syria Absent

31 March 2019

Arab leaders said on Sunday they would seek a UN Security Council resolution against the US decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and promised to support Palestinians in their bid for statehood.

Arab leaders, long divided by regional rivalries, ended their annual summit in Tunisia calling for cooperation with Iran based on non-interference in each other’s affairs.

Arab leaders who have been grappling with a bitter Gulf Arab dispute, splits over Iran’s regional influence, the war in Yemen, and unrest in Algeria and Sudan sought common ground after Washington recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan.

“We, the leaders of the Arab countries gathered in Tunisia… express our rejection and condemnation of the United States decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan,” Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said.

He said Arab countries would present a draft resolution to the UN Security Council and seek a legal opinion from the International Court of Justice on the US decision. It warned other countries away from following Washington’s lead.

Trump signed a proclamation last week recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel, which annexed the area in 1981 after capturing it from Syria in 1967.

Trump’s earlier decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital also drew Arab condemnation. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz told the Arab leaders his country “absolutely rejects” any measures affecting Syria’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said the Arab summit needed to ensure the international community understood the centrality of the Palestinian cause to Arab nations.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who also addressed the meeting in Tunis, said any resolution to the Syrian conflict must guarantee the territorial integrity of Syria “including the occupied Golan Heights”.

 

Trump Unites Friends and Foes

26 March 2019

US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights united Washington’s Arab allies and its regional foe Iran in condemnation.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait criticized Monday’s move to recognize Israel’s 1981 annexation and said the territory was occupied Arab land. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi said it was an impediment to peace. Iran echoed the comments, describing Trump’s decision as unprecedented in this century.

During a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump signed a proclamation on Monday officially granting US recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.

Israel occupied the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move the UN Security Council declared unlawful.

Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner visited the Gulf Arab region last month to seek support for the economic portion of a long-awaited peace proposal for the Middle East. Gulf Arab states host US troops and are important for Washington’s regional defense policy.

 

United States “Isolated”

28 March 2019

During an emergency meeting for the UN Security Council called for by Syria, the United States defended US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a position condemned by the other fourteen members.

Russian Deputy UN Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov said that this was “a disregard of international law” and a “violation of UN resolution,” stressing that this “recognition is null.”

Belgium, Germany, Kuwait, China, Indonesia, Peru, South Africa, and the Dominican Republic condemned the unilateral decision that runs counter to international consensus that has been adhered to so far.

“The Golan Heights are Syrian land occupied by Israel,” said the Kuwaiti UN Ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi. “We call for the liberation of the Golan territory,” he added.

The United States expressed its approval for maintaining the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) despite Trump’s decision to recognize Israel’s recognition of the plateau.

US diplomat Rodney Hunter told the council that the U S decision on the Golan Heights does not affect the truce or undermine the deployment of the peacekeeping mission. “UNDOF continues to have a vital role to play in preserving stability between Israel and Syria,” he told the council.

“The United States is concerned by the Secretary-General’s reports of continued military activities and presence of the Syrian armed forces in the Area of Separation,” Hunter added.

“UNDOF’s mandate is crystal clear. There should be no military activity of any kind in the Area of Separation, including military operations by the Syrian armed forces… The United States is also alarmed by the reports of Hezbollah’s presence in the Area of Separation,” he said.

 

The “Resistance” Option?

26 March 2019

The Secretary General for Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday called for adopting the “resistance” option to retake lands occupied by Israel, after Washington recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Syria Golan plateau. He also called on the Arab League to take actions in the upcoming summit in Tunisia.

In a televised speech broadcast by Manar TV channel, which is affiliated with his party, Nasrallah said that the “only option” for Syrians and Lebanese to retake their lands which Israel occupies, and for the Palestinian people to obtain their “legitimate rights” is “resistance, resistance, resistance … at a time in which the resistance has created numerous victories and a time in which the Resistance Axis is strong.”

He described Trump’s move as a “pivotal event in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict,” and reflects “disrespect and disregard for the Arab and Islamic worlds… just for Israel’s sake and Israel’s interest.”

Nasrallah stressed that Trump’s decision “is a fatal blow to the so-called peace process in the region, which is based on land in exchange for peace,” adding that this would have not happened if it were not for “the world’s silence” after Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital last year.

Nasrallah said that condemnation statements “are no longer useful” to confront the US recognition.

 

An Airstrike in the Depth

28 March 2019

Syrian air defenses repelled an Israeli air “aggression” early Thursday that targeted the northeast of Aleppo in northern Syria, according to the Syrian official news agency SANA.

“Army air defenses repelled an Israeli air aggression that targeted a number of industrial sites in Sheikh Najjar industrial zone, north-east of Aleppo, and downed a number of the hostile missiles,” the official SANA news agency said, citing a military source. “There were only material damages,” the source added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the Israeli bombardment hit ammunition depots belonging to Iranian forces killing seven allied militants. The SOHR said the militants were non-Syrian troops allied to Iranian forces. Five Syrian soldiers were also injured, according to the SOHR.

A number of residents of Aleppo city told AFP that the attack led to a power cut in the whole city.

Israel has intensified its bombardment in Syria in recent years, targeting Syrian army positions and Iranian and Hezbollah targets. It repeatedly insists that it will continue to confront what is described as Iranian attempts to cement its military presence in Syria and send advanced weapons to Hezbollah.

On 21 January, the Israeli army announced that it launched airstrikes that targeted depots and intelligence and training centers affiliated with the Iranian al-Quds Brigade, in addition to weapons depots and a position near Damascus international airport. The airstrike killed twenty-one people, including Iranian forces and allied forces, according to the SOHR.

The strikes come after the US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Monday recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights, which was occupied by Israel in 1967 and annexed in 1981, a move that has not received recognition by the international community.

 

First Attack After Defeat

26 March 2019

ISIS claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack in northern Syrian city of Manbij that killed seven fighters from a local council that administers the city and falls under the umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The attack is the first of its kind since the declaration of the end of the “caliphate.”

“Soldiers of the caliphate attacked a checkpoint… west of Manbij city last night and exchanged machine fire with them,” said a statement circulated by jihadist accounts on Telegram.

The group claimed responsibility shortly after council spokesman Sherfan Darwish announced the “martyrdom of seven fighters in a terrorist attack on one of our checkpoints at the entrance of the city” at night. He told the AFP that sleepers cells affiliated with the group are responsible for the attack.

The Manbij Military Council administers the city which is located in Aleppo governorate.

The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdul Rahman confirmed the number of casualties and told the AFP, “This is the first attack of its kind since the liberation of al-Baghouz from ISIS.”

The SDF announced on Saturday the complete elimination of the “caliphate,” which the group had declared in Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014. The SDF also announced the start of a “new phase” to eliminate sleeper cells in coordination with the US-led international coalition.

“After the victory over ISIS, we have entered the phase of sleeper cells. These sleeper cells are being activated and carrying out attacks but we will foil their operations,” Darwish said.

 

The Nidus of Jihadists

30 March 2019

Wrangles with guards and violent fights break out in al-Hol camp in eastern Syria, as thousands of women and children of foreign ISIS fighters cram in the camp that has turned into a nidus of jihadists which could explode at any moment.

ISIS’s “caliphate” has been eliminated, but it left behind it thousands of extremist supporters, from Syria or foreigners who come from France, Tunisia, or Russia. Some of them were imprisoned while others were transferred to refugee camps run by Syrian Kurds.

In al-Hol camp alone, more than nine thousand foreign women and children were isolated in an area designated just for them, with a fence separating them from the rest of the refugees. Foreigners were separated from the rest due to their close links to ISIS.

Kurdish authorities are calling for the restoration of foreigners to their countries for fear of the “danger” stemming from the presence of thousands of them in the camp. Women and children “need rehabilitation and re-integration into their original societies, or else the will be future terrorists,” Omar Abdul Karim, one of the officials, said.