بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | مارس 18, 2020 | 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.
Death, Destruction, and Displacement
14 March 2020
Nine years of a bloody and destructive war in Syria have left more than three hundred and eighty-four thousand people dead, including one hundred and sixteen thousand civilians. The civilian death toll includes twenty-two thousand children and thirteen thousand women, according to a report from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on the tenth anniversary of the conflict.
The war has triggered the largest humanitarian crisis since the second world war, according to the United Nations, with the displacement of more than half of the population inside and outside of the country. It also depleted the economy, resources, and infrastructure and caused a record fall in the value of the Syrian pound.
As for the non-civilian death toll, the SOHR documented the death of more than one hundred and twenty-nine thousand people from government forces and allied militants of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, half of whom are Syrian soldiers, in addition to one thousand six hundred and ninety-seven Hezbollah members, which has been openly fighting alongside Damascus since 2013.
According to the SOHR, the toll includes people whose death it was able to document as a result of bombardment during battles, but it does not include those who died as a result of torture in government detentions or those who went missing and kidnapped. This group is estimated to be around ninety-seven thousand people.
In addition to human casualties, the conflict left tremendous destruction, which the United Nations estimates around four hundred billion dollars.
Coronavirus Measures
13 March 2020
Syrian authorities on Friday declared a set of measures to reduce the possibility of a Coronavirus outbreak in the war-torn country which has not officially announced any infections, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA.
Parliamentary elections, which were scheduled for 13 April, have been postponed. After a cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Imad Khamis, the government announced the “suspension of universities, schools, and public and private vocational institutions starting from 14 March until 2 April.”
“All scientific, cultural, social, and sport activities will be suspended” the government announced, while prohibiting “hookahs in cafes and restaurants.”
SANA also said that the number of workers in the public sector will be reduced by forty per cent, while working hours will be limited to 9:00 to 2:00.
The Syrian government said that quarantine centers will be set up “with an average of two centers in each governorate,” according to SANA. Syria has not announced any Corona virus deaths or infections up to now.
The Syrian health minister affirmed on Friday that his country does not have any COVID-19, according to SANA.
Russian-Turkish Patrols
13 March 2020
Turkish and Russian officials on Friday agreed to conduct joint patrols in the Syrian governorate of Idlib on the weekend, said the Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar after a fragile ceasefire in the last stronghold of Syrian militants.
A Russian military delegation has been in Ankara since Tuesday to work out the details of the ceasefire reached on 5 March in Moscow between the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The agreement provides for the establishment of a security corridor by dispatching Turkish-Russian patrols along the M4 highway in Idlib governorate, northwest of Syria.
Idlib has come intense bombardment by Syrian forces and Russian planes since December, leaving hundreds of civilian dead and forcing around a million people to flee toward the Turkish border.
Two Children a Day
12 March 2020
Shortly before the tenth anniversary of the war in Syria, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) appealed to governments and public opinion not to abandon Syrian children. “Every ten hours, one child dies as a result of the war,” the organization said in a statement on Friday.
UNICEF estimates the number of children who cannot go to school because of the war to be around 8.2 million children, adding that many of them have never been to school.
In recent weeks, more than nine hundred thousand people were displaced in the Syrian governorate of Idlib, fleeing toward the Turkish border. Idlib is considered the last stronghold for Islamic militants who withdrew from other Syrian governorates.
In its statement, the UNICEF said that around sixty percent of the displaced were children, adding that they suffered from violence and extreme destitution on the front lines.
Mysterious Killing
12 March 2020
Twenty-six members of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization were killed in an airstrike east of Syria on Wednesday night, according to a new toll by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), after an offensive that targeted the US-led coalition forces in Iraq which left a number of casualties and deaths.
The international coalition denied that it launched raids in Syria on Wednesday night, after the SOHR suggested that its planes targeted the Iraqi militants near the border town of Bou Kamal in the eastern countryside of Deir Azzor.
The airstrike came hours after the killing of two soldiers, an American and a British, and an American contractor as a result of a Katyusha missile attack that targeted the Iraqi al-Taji military base, which houses US soldiers, north of Baghdad.
This was the bloodiest attack against US interests in Iraq for many years. No one has claimed responsibility for the missile attack on the military base.
Caesar in Congress
11 March 2020
A Syrian military defector, who documented the violations of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s security apparatus, urged the US Congress during his testimony on Wednesday to ensure that the perpetrators would be held accountable.
The former military officer, who worked as a photographer in the Syrian army and has come to be known as “Caesar,” defected in 2014 and succeeded in smuggling fifty-five thousand pictures that document the brutal practices in government prisons during the suppression of the uprising in Syria.
In an unfamiliar site in the US congress, Caesar provided his testimony to the Foreign Relations Committee wearing an oversized hoodie. Attendees and the media were asked to turn of phones and cameras.
Caesar said that despite the risks he took, he has not achieved his objective of putting an end to the violations.
After a previous testimony to the US Senate in 2014, senators passed a draft law that carried his name which imposed financial sanctions on Syria, including the cessation of reconstruction aid until the perpetrators of brutal acts are brought to justice.
The draft imposed sanctions on companies that deal with al-Assad, including Russian companies, and was recently signed by President Donald Trump in December after deliberations in the congress that went on for years.
Caesar praised the law but called on the congress to make sure it is implemented.
Torture Crimes
10 March 2020
A German court said on Tuesday that for the first time in Germany two Syrians will be tried in April for charges of torture crimes committed in the prisons of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The higher regional court in the city of Koblenz gave the green light to the trial brought forward by the federal general prosecution against two former members of the Syrian intelligence.
According to data from the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, this trial will be the first criminal trial of its kind in the world involving torture acts by the Syrian government.
Dividing Idlib
10 March 2020
Turkey’s military will patrol to the north of a security corridor being set up around a highway in northwest Syria’s Idlib governorate and Russian forces will patrol the southern side, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.
Agreement on the corridor was part of a ceasefire deal reached by Turkey and Russia last week to halt a conflict in Idlib which displaced nearly a million people in three months and created the risk of a military clash between Turkey and Russia.
The deal cemented gains by Russian-backed Syrian forces over Turkish-backed rebels but stemmed the advances of Assad’s forces and eased Ankara’s greatest fear – an influx of more Syrian migrants to join the three and a half million Syrian refugees already in Turkey.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | مارس 11, 2020 | 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.
Death on the Highway
08 March 2020
Thirty-two people were killed on Saturday when a fuel tank truck hit two passenger buses and a number of cars on the road connecting the city of Homs with the capital Damascus, according to the Syrian official news agency SANA.
The Syrian Interior Minister Mohammed Khaled al-Rahmoun said the accident was caused by a malfunction in the truck’s breaks, causing it to collide with two buses carrying Iraqi passengers (who were returning from a trip to holy sites near the Syrian capital) and fifteen other cars.
Idlib’s Skies Without Planes
06 March 2020
On March 5, the governorate of Idlib in northwest Syria witnessed a cautious calm and an absence of military planes from its skies as the ceasefire declared by Moscow and Ankara went into effect after three months of military escalation by government forces with Russian support in the area.
On midnight Friday, the ceasefire declared by the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan went into effect, in an attempt to stop the offensive in the area that started early December, forcing around one million people to flee, in one of the largest influx of displacement since the onset of the crisis nine years ago.
Putin-Erdogan: Face-to-Face
05 March 2020
The summit between the Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday resulted in a new agreement in Idlib that includes steps to begin the ceasefire in northwest Syria starting on midnight Friday. It has yet to be implemented on the field.
Putin and Erdogan held marathon meeting in Moscow that included a “face-to-face” meeting and extended talks.
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced the terms of the agreement, explaining that the two countries will establish a safe corridor that extends for six kilometers along both sides of the road between Aleppo and Lattakia, known as the M4 road, in addition to conducting joint patrols on the road starting from mid-March.
Lavrov went on to say that an agreement was reached to halt all hostilities along the frontlines, starting from midnight on 5 March.
The US Special Envoy to Syria James Jeffrey had called on the Europeans and the NATO to provide bigger support for Turkey. Jeffrey said that Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 system is an obstacle to sending US military aid to Ankara, which requested the Patriot system.
Fighter Jets and Drones
04 March 2020
Airstrikes by Russian fighter jets and Turkish drones against the countryside of Idlib in northeast Syria intensified the previous day, on the eve of the upcoming summit in Moscow today between the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said yesterday that Turkish drones and artillery continued their bombardment of government forces in the city of Saraqeb and its countryside, east of Idlib city. This coincided with bombardment carried out by Russian fighter jets on several axes in the countryside of the Saraqeb and Sarmin, the SOHR added.
Field sources affiliated with opposition factions said that “Iran intensified its military presence in Idlib countryside by bringing large numbers of militia from various nationalities to the frontlines with the opposition factions in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo.”
80% Women and Children
04 March 2020
The UN Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen said that eighty percent of the people displaced as a result of recent developments in Syria are children and women. This came in Pedersen’s opening statement on Wednesday to the one hundred and fifty-third session of the Arab League Council at the foreign ministers level presided by Yusuf bin Alawi, the minister in charge of foreign affairs in Oman.
Pedersen said that the challenge has reached its peak in Syria this year, as the country faces severe destruction and instability, in addition to the displacement of a large number of Syrians, adding that the conflict clearly affects stability in the region.
He called for providing a diplomatic solution to the problems the Syrian society faces to create favorable conditions to the development process, and launching a political process and dialogue between the opposition and the government, adding that the crisis is not restricted to Idlib, as there are numerous violations all over Syria.
The United States Gets Involved
04 March 2020
Washington got involved on the ground in the tension between Moscow and Ankara in the Syrian governorate of Idlib through a visit by US officials to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Syria and Turkey the previous day.
The US Special Envoy to Syria James Jeffrey said that his country is willing to provide Turkey with “ammunition and humanitarian aid” in Idlib. “Turkey is a partner in the NATO. Most of its army uses American equipment. We will make sure that the equipment is ready,” Jeffrey said.
In the meanwhile, two German officials said the German Chancellor Angela Merkel informed her conservative colleagues in the parliament that she endorses the establishment of “safe zones” in northern Syria.
Parliamentary Elections
03 March 2020
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday set the date for the next legislative elections on 13 April, after his forces were able to recapture vast areas in the country ripped by war for nine years.
Western countries and opposition figures expressed their doubts about the legitimacy of the elections at a time stalemate lingers over the constitutional reforms under UN sponsorship.
The parliament consists of two hundred and fifty seats divided almost equally between the sector of workers and farmers (one hundred and twenty-seven seats) and the sector of the remaining groups (one hundred and twenty-three seats).
These elections would be the third since March 2011. The last legislative elections were held in 2016, in which three thousand and five hundred candidates competed. The ruling Baath party and its allies won the majority of seats.
In the 2012 elections, the first after the onset of the conflict, doors were open for candidates not in the Baath party, which was considered as an attempt by the authorities to contain the protest movement at the time.
The upcoming elections come after government forces took control of over seventy percent of the geography of the country thanks to the Russian military intervention in 2015.
Benghazi and Damascus
03 March 2020
The parallel government in Libya, supported by Field Marshal Haftar Khalifa in Benghazi, reopened its embassy in Damascus after its closure in 2012 when the two countries were ripped by conflicts.
This opening coincides with Turkey’s escalation of military operations against both countries. Turkey has been involved in an ongoing military operation against Syrian government forces in Idlib to support militant factions. It has also been sending military reinforcement to Libya to support the National Reconciliation Government headed by Fayez al-Sarraj.
Aerial War
02 March 2020
An “aerial war” between the Turkish and Syrian army has erupted with Damascus downing drones and Turkish aerial forces downing two military planes in the countryside of Idlib. This constitutes a test for Russia on how it will react toward this situation.
“As two Syrian planes were carrying out a mission in the Idlib region, Turkish military planes intercepted the planes and downed them above Syrian territory,” the official Syrian news agency SANA reported a military source as saying. The source said that the pilots “safely” ejected the planes using parachutes. The Turkish defense ministry confirmed the downing of “two Sukhoi-24 planes that were targeting our planes,” and the “destruction of an anti-aircraft weapon that downed one of our drones, in addition to two anti-aircraft systems.”
In the previous morning, a Syrian military sources mentioned the “closure of airspace above Idlib governorate.” The Turkish defense minister Hulusi Akar announced a military operation in northern Syria, adding that Ankara does not want to confront Russia, the strong ally of the Syrian government.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | مارس 4, 2020 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
Aerial War Between Syria and Turkey
01 March 2020
Turkish forces downed two Syrian military jets in northwest Syria, according to Damascus, while Turkey said its offensive against Syrian forces in Idlib governorate will continue.
On the other hand, the Syrian official media said that the Syrian army downed three Turkish drones after Damascus closed off its airspace in northwest of the country and threatened to engage any plane that violates the airspace over Idlib governorate.
The Syrian army’s announcement of closing the airspace came after twenty-six of its soldiers were killed in a Turkish drone attack that targeted several military positions in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The death toll of Syrian government forces as a result of the Turkish drone attacks and artillery bombardment has reached seventy-four deaths since Friday said the SOHR, adding that ten members of the Lebanese Hezbollah were also killed. Syria has not officially commented on this toll.
Refugees Once Again
29 February 2020
Some people are trying to cross the barbed wire fence while others are looking for wood and rocks to throw at the police. The final goal for thousands of refugees in Kastanies town, on the border between Turkey and Greece, is to reach Europe.
The five hundred police force have no other means to stop them. They fire tear gas every now and then to prevent what they fear could turn into a human flood trying to cross into Europe.
This all started after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to allow refugees to go from Turkey to Europe. He said that his country cannot handle new waves of refugees from Syria as it already hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees.
A few hundred kilometers away from the tense situation in Kastanies, hundreds of refugees succeeded in entering northern Greece through the Evros river, which runs for two hundred kilometers along the border.
After Erdogan’s statement, which was met by criticism in Greece, armed forces were fanning out the Evros river – turned into a popular crossing point – and using loudspeakers to caution people from entering Greek territory. Greece has also used drones to monitor the movement of migrants. However, the border area is vast, and it would be difficult for observation teams to cover it all.
The chief of the border patrol union Panagiotios Harilas showed reporters a number of tear gas canisters used by Turkish forces which he said were thrown at Greek forces by the migrants.
Erdogan Calls on Putin to “Step Down”
29 February 2020
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Saturday to allow thousands of refugees to head toward Europe, saying that Damascus will “pay the price” for an attack that killed more than thirty Turkish soldiers in Syria.
Turkey said it destroyed “a chemical weapons facility, thirteen kilometers south of Aleppo, in addition to a number of targets for the Syrian government,” within the context of its response to the killing of its soldiers in Idlib.
“We did not want things to reach this point, but they forced us to do this. They will pay the price,” Erdogan said.
Syrian television denied such a facility existed.
Thirty-three Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike by Russian-backed Syrian forces on Sunday, the biggest military loss for the Turkish army in years. Another Turkish soldier was later killed raising the toll to thirty-four.
Erdogan made a phone call to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday in an attempt to defuse the escalation. The Kremlin said that the two parties expressed “deep concern” over the situation.
Erdogan might head to Moscow next week to hold talks, the Kremlin said. The Turkish president, however, continued his criticism of Russia on Saturday.
Postponing the Arab Summit
29 February 2020
The restoration of Syria’s membership in the Arab League is a decision that should be made by all member states, Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheil said on Saturday, adding that there are no official or written initiatives in this regard.
In a joint press conference with the Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum, Gheit said that the Arab summit could be held before the end of June, adding that it would be up to Algeria considering that it is the host country for the thirty-second edition of the summit.
Current global conditions, especially from a health perspective, raise concern over meetings and gatherings, said Gheit. Therefore, we will discuss the matter with the Algerian President Abdul Majeed Taboun in my meeting with him and the decision will be made in coordination with Algeria given that it is the host country, he added.
A Four-way Summit
25 February 2020
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that there has been not “total agreement” in regard to a summit on Syria that would join the leaders of Turkey, Russia, France and Germany, raising doubts about the anticipated meeting next week.
In a press conference in Ankara, the Turkish president said that there has been no “total agreement” between the French President Emanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the one hand and the Russian President Vladimir Putin on the other hand.
Erdogan had announced on Saturday that a four-way summit on Syria would be held on 5 March, in an initiative to find a solution to the crisis in Idlib, northwest of Syria, where the offensive by the Syrian government has triggered a humanitarian crisis.
“In a worst-case scenario,” a bilateral summit with the Russian president could be held on the same date, Erdogan said on Tuesday.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | فبراير 19, 2020 | Syria in a Week
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.
Restricting Sales
16 February 2020
A decision by the Syrian government has come into effect obligating citizens wishing to buy real estate or cars to pay for them in total or in part through banks; a move seen by experts to be aimed at stimulating the bank sector and reducing tax evasion.
Decision number 5 issued by Prime Minister Imad Khamis stipulates that “public entities legally commissioned with holding various real estate and car ownership records will not certify sales contracts (…) unless they are accompanied by proof of payment (total or partial) through a bank account of the owner.”
This new law coincides with increased government legal procedures against all who carry out transactions not using the Syrian pound, which witnessed record lows in recent weeks. The exchange rate in the black market exceeded one thousand Syrian pounds for one dollar, whereas the official exchange is rate is four hundred and thirty-four to the dollar.
The decision obligates citizens to open bank accounts in a country where banknotes are prevalent in commercial transactions and bank exchanges are practically absent.
The central bank has also approved a proposal to raise the bar for residential mortgages by three folds i.e. from five million to fifteen million Syrian pounds, and two folds for house renovations i.e. from two million for four million Syrian pounds.
The United Nations estimated the cost of reconstruction in Syria to be around four hundred billion dollars in 2018.
Analysts attribute the recent rapid “collapse” of the pound to the economic crisis in neighboring Lebanon, where Syrian businessmen deposited millions of dollars in banks that have recently imposed severe restrictions on withdrawal transactions amid an acute liquidity crisis.
Inevitable Victory
15 February 2020
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s victory in Idlib governorate, the last opposition stronghold in Syria, is “inevitable”.
For months, the Syrian government has been engaged in a military operation, with Russian air support, in the governorate of Idlib, northwest of Syria, where Tahrir al-Sham (previously Nusra) holds control, alongside other opposition and jihadist factions.
Turkey established twelve observation posts in Idlib under a ceasefire and de-escalation agreement reached in 2018 between Ankara, which supports opposition factions, and Moscow.
Bloody battles between Turkish and Syrian forces have left fourteen Turkish soldiers dead in recent days and sparked an exchange of accusations between Moscow and Ankara.
“War of Words”
15 February 2020
Turkey responded on Saturday to Russian accusations of failing to abide by the 2018 agreement, insisting that it has carried out its responsibilities in Idlib, the last major stronghold for militant rebels in Syria.
“Observation posts were established and the (Syrian) government should have stayed outside this area. Russia and Iran should have guaranteed that it stayed outside. Turkey also had responsibilities which it has fulfilled,” Tukey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay told the NTV news station.
Turkey and Russia have engaged in a war of words regarding Idlib, as the Syrian government -with support from Moscow- has intensified its offensive in the northwest, which has killed hundreds of civilians.
The Russian defense ministry said earlier this month that Turkey does not distinguish between “moderate opposition rebels and terrorists.”
The death of fourteen Turkish soldiers in Idlib by Syrian government bombardment led to increased tensions.
Downing of Two Helicopters
14 February 2020
A helicopter for the Syrian army was downed on Friday northwest of Syria and its crew were killed, in the second instance of its kind this week, amid escalating tensions between Ankara and Damascus, which has continued its advance against jihadists and opposition factions.
Syrian government forces, with support from their Russian ally, have carried out an offensive in northwest Syria since December of 2019 against the last stronghold for jihadists and opposition factions, despite warnings by Ankara.
The National Front for Liberation adopted the downing of the helicopter on Friday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the deaths of the pilots and that their bodies were found.
Turkish authorities did not immediately comment, whereas the Anatolia news agency mentioned the incident without giving any details.
Soleimani’s “Shadows”
14 February 2020
Israeli airstrikes against “Iranian positions” in Damascus and its surrounding have left seven people dead including four from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, in a step that was considered as a chase after the “shadows” of the leader of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by Washington in early January.
Tel Aviv is “now more convinced that Russia is not capable of controlling Iran’s influence in Syria, so, it decided to intensify the bombardment despite Moscow’s reservations,” a Western official told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
Armenian Genocide
13 February 2020
The Syrian parliament unanimously declared that the killings of Armenians between 1915 and 1917 by the Ottomans is a genocide, as the tensions between Damascus and Ankara intensify after confrontations in northwest Syria.
In a statement, the parliament announced that it “condemns and acknowledges the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman state in the early twentieth century.”
Current Syrian territories are considered one of the most prominent arenas for Armenian massacres. Historians say that Ottoman authorities forced them to walk vast distances through the desert and then put whoever survived in detention camps.
There was a memorial in Deir Azzor (east of Syria) for the genocide of Armenians, but ISIS militants destroyed it.
Bitter Displacement
13 February 2020
The offensive by the Syrian government, with support from Russia, against the last major stronghold of opposition factions has led to the displacement of more than eight hundred thousand people since December, the United Nations said on Thursday.
“Of the more than eight hundred thousand displaced people in northwest Syria since 1 December 2019 and up to 12 February 2020, it is estimated that sixty percent are children,” said the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Idlib and parts of the adjacent Aleppo governorate are home to around three million people, half of whom have been already displaced from other parts of the country. In recent years, this region has turned into a sanctuary for people fleeing or those who were evacuated from other parts of Syria that were previously under the control of the opposition. With the offensive in Idlib, these people have nowhere to flee to.
The UNHCR office estimates that around eighty-two thousand people are sleeping in the open.
Opening Arteries
12 February 2020
Government forces are expanding their deployment along the Aleppo-Damascus international road in northwest Syria in order to guarantee its security after taking full control over it for the first time since 2012, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Wednesday.
Government forces launched a wide offensive in December with Russian support in Idlib and neighboring areas controlled by Tahrir al-Sham (previously Nusra) and other less influential opposition factions.
The offensive is focused on the southern countryside of Idlib and the adjacent western countryside of Aleppo, where the M5 international road passes, which connects Aleppo with the capital Damascus and passes through major cities such as Hama and Homs all the way to the southern border with Jordan.
After weeks of bombardment and battles, government forces have completely taken over the international road for the first time since 2012, the year in which opposition factions started to expand in Syria.
“Neutralizing” Syrians
10 February 2020
Turkey said that it “neutralized” one hundred and one Syrian soldiers in retaliation to Syrian bombardment that killed five Turkish soldiers in northwest Syria.
This information has not been independently confirmed.
The ministry added that Ankara continued the bombardment of Syrian positions on Monday.
Five Turkish soldiers were killed and five others injured at a previous time when Syrian forces targeted Turkish positions in Idlib governorate northwest of Syria.
Eight other Turkish soldiers were killed in the previous week as a result of Syrian bombardment.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | فبراير 17, 2020 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
تقييد البيع
16شباط/فبراير
دخل قرار للحكومة السورية يُلزم المواطنين الراغبين بشراء عقارات او سيارات بدفع ثمنها أو جزء منه عبر المصارف الأحد حيز التنفيذ، في خطوة رأى خبراء أنها تهدف إلى تفعيل النظام المصرفي والحد من التهرب الضريبي.
ويقضي القرار رقم 5 الصادر عن رئيس الحكومة عماد خميس بأن “تقوم الجهات العامة المخولة قانوناً بمسك سجلات ملكية العقارات والمركبات بأنواعها والكتاب بالعدل بعدم توثيق عقود البيع (…) قبل إرفاق ما يشعر بتسديد الثمن أو جزء منه في الحساب المصرفي للمالك”.
ويأتي القرار الجديد مع تكثيف السلطات للإجراءات القانونية التي تتخذها في ملاحقة كل من يتداول بغير الليرة السورية، التي شهدت في الأسابيع القليلة الماضية انخفاضاً قياسياً، إذ تجاوز سعر صرف الدولار في السوق السوداء الألف ليرة للمرة الأولى، فيما سعر الصرف الرسمي 434 ليرة.
وأوضح الصحافي الاقتصادي علي الآغا: “تسعى الحكومة من خلال ذلك إلى تقييد استخدام الأوراق النقدية وتطوير آلية سداد المدفوعات بالليرة السورية” وتشجيع العمليات النقدية عبر المصارف.
وبذلك يلزم القرار المواطنين بفتح حسابات مصرفية في بلد تسود فيه التعاملات التجارية بالأوراق النقدية في ظل غياب كامل للتبادل المصرفي.
وبالتوازي مع هذا القرار، وافق المصرف المركزي في نهاية الأسبوع الماضي، على مقترح لرفع سقوف الإقتراض السكني للشراء بقيمة ثلاثة أضعاف من خمسة ملايين ليرة إلى 15 مليون ليرة، وإلى الضعفين من أجل الترميم أي من مليونين إلى أربعة ملايين ليرة.
وقدرت الأمم المتحدة في العام 2018 كلفة الدمار في سوريا بنحو 400 مليار دولار.
وكان الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد قال في تصريحات سابقة إن إعادة الإعمار “هي أولى الأولويات في سوريا”.
ويعزو محللون تسارع “انهيار” الليرة مؤخراً إلى الأزمة الاقتصادية في لبنان المجاور، حيث يودع التجار السوريون ملايين الدولارات في المصارف التي فرضت قيوداً مشددة على عمليات السحب في ظل أزمة سيولة حادة.
انتصار “حتمي“
15 شباط/فبراير
اعتبر وزير الخارجية الروسي سيرغي لافروف السبت أن انتصار الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد في محافظة إدلب، آخر معاقل الفصائل المعارضة في سوريا، أمر “حتمي”.
وأكد لافروف خلال مؤتمر ميونيخ السنوي لمناقشة قضايا دفاعية ودبلوماسية، أن “الانتصار على الإرهاب أمر حتمي”. وأضاف “أعلنت الولايات المتحدة قضاءها على تنظيم الدولة الإسلامية لكن الوحش عاد”.
ويشن النظام السوري منذ أشهر عملية عسكرية بدعم من الطيران الروسي في محافظة إدلب في شمال غرب سوريا، حيث تهيمن هيئة تحرير الشام (جبهة النصرة سابقاً) فضلاَ عن فصائل معارضة وجهادية أخرى.
وأقامت تركيا 12 نقطة مراقبة في إدلب بموجب اتفاق وقف إطلاق النار وخفض التصعيد الذي جرى التوصل إليه عام 2018 بين أنقرة التي تدعم فصائل معارضة وموسكو.
وأسفرت مواجهات دامية بين القوات التركية والسورية عن مقتل 14 عسكرياً تركياً في الأيام الأخيرة وتسببت في تبادل الاتهامات بين موسكو وأنقرة.
وقال لافروف في ميونيخ حيث التقى نظيره التركي مولود تشاوش أوغلو، “لدينا علاقات جيدة جداً لكن ذلك لا يعني أننا نتفق على كل شيء”.
“حرب كلامية“
15 شباط/فبراير
ردّت تركيا السبت على اتهامات روسيا لها بالفشل في الالتزام باتفاق 2018 مصرّة على أنها نفّذت مسؤولياتها في إدلب، آخر معقل رئيسي لمقاتلي المعارضة في سوريا.
وقال نائب الرئيس التركي فؤاد أقطاي لشبكة “إن تي في” “أقيمت نقاط المراقبة وكان على النظام (السوري) أن يبقى خارج هذه المنطقة. كان على روسيا وإيران ضمان بقائه خارجها وكان لدى تركيا مسؤوليات كذلك وأوفت بها”.
وأضاف أن تركيا “تولّت مهمة غاية في الخطورة والصعوبة، وبادرت بشكل فعلي لوقف سفك دماء المدنيين ومنع موجة هجرة جديدة وضمان عدم تحوّلها (إدلب) إلى وكر للإرهاب”
ودخلت تركيا وروسيا في حرب كلامية بشأن إدلب في وقت كثّف النظام السوري الذي تدعمه موسكو هجومه في شمال غرب البلاد الذي أسفر عن مقتل مئات المدنيين.
وذكرت وزارة الدفاع الروسية في وقت سابق هذا الشهر أن تركيا لا تفرّق بين “مقاتلي المعارضة المعتدلين والإرهابيين”.
وتعهّد وزير الدفاع التركي خلوصي أكار الخميس أن أنقرة ستستخدم القوّة ضد أي جهة لا تلتزم بوقف إطلاق النار بما في ذلك “المتطرفين”.
وأدى مقتل 14 تركيا بقصف النظام السوري في إدلب إلى ارتفاع منسوب التوتر.
وقال تشاوش أوغلو للصحافيين إنه سيجري محادثات مع نظيره الروسي سيرغي لافروف بعد السبت خلال مؤتمر الأمن في ميونيخ. وأضاف أن وفدا تركيا سيتوجّه إلى موسكو الاثنين.
وقال تشاوش أوغلو إن “الدور الروسي هنا مهم للغاية لأننا نعرف جميعنا تأثير موسكو على النظام وبأنها الجهة الضامنة له”.
إسقاط مروحيتين
14 شباط /فبراير
أسقطت مروحية تابعة للجيش السوري الجمعة في شمال غرب سوريا وقتل طاقمها، في ثاني حادث من نوعه هذا الأسبوع على خلفية توتر متزايد بين أنقرة ودمشق التي تواصل تقدمها في مواجهة جهاديين وفصائل معارضة.
وتشنّ قوات النظام السوري بدعم من حليفها الروسي، هجوما منذ كانون الأول/ديسمبر 2019 في شمال غرب سوريا ضد آخر معقل للجهاديين وفصائل معارضة رغم تحذيرات أنقرة.
وتبنت جماعة “الجبهة الوطنية للتحرير” مساء الجمعة إسقاط المروحية التابعة لقوات النظام في بيان نشرته على حسابها في شبكة تلغرام. وقالت إنّ “كتيبة الدفاع الجوي (في الجبهة) قامت باستهداف طائرة مروحية لقوات النظام (…) في ريف حلب الغربي وتمكنت من إسقاطها”.
ونقلت وكالة الأنباء السورية الرسمية (سانا) عن مصدر عسكري قوله “تعرضت إحدى حواماتنا العسكرية للإصابة بصاروخ معاد في ريف حلب الغربي بالقرب من أورم الكبرى حيث تنتشر التنظيمات الإرهابية المسلحة المدعومة من تركيا”.
وأضاف أن “ذلك أدى إلى سقوط الحوامة واستشهاد طاقمها” من دون تحديد عدده.
وكان المرصد السوري أشار الى مقتل “طيارين” والعثور على جثتيهما.
ولم تعلق السلطات التركية على الفور فيما أشارت وكالة أنباء الاناضول إلى الحادث لكن من دون إعطاء تفاصيل.
والثلاثاء أسقطت مروحية تابعة للجيش السوري بصاروخ نسبه أيضا المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان الى القوات التركية في محافظة إدلب المجاورة لمحافظة حلب.
من جهتها نسبت وسائل الإعلام التركية آنذاك مسؤولية الحادث إلى مقاتلين موالين لأنقرة.
وتصاعد التوتر بين دمشق وأنقرة التي حضت النظام على وقف الهجوم الذي أطلقه في إدلب والمناطق المجاورة. وهذا الشهر جرت مواجهات غير مسبوقة بين الجنود الأتراك والقوات السورية في شمال غرب البلاد.
“ظلال” سليماني
14 شباط/فبراير
أسفرت غارات إسرائيلية على «مواقع إيرانية» في دمشق وأطرافها عن مقتل سبعة بينهم أربعة من «الحرس الإيراني»، ما اعتبر بمثابة مطاردة لـ«ظلال» قائد «فيلق القدس» في «الحرس الثوري» قاسم سليماني الذي اغتالته واشنطن بداية الشهر الماضي.
وقال مسؤول غربي لـ«الشرق الأوسط» إن تل أبيب «باتت أكثر قناعة بأن روسيا لم تعد قادرة على ضبط نفوذ إيران في سوريا، لذلك قررت تكثيف القصف رغم تحفظات موسكو».
وكان «المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان» أفاد بأن الغارات قتلت «سبعة مقاتلين، ثلاثة من الجيش السوري وأربعة من الحرس الثوري الإيراني»، فيما أفادت وكالة الأنباء السورية الرسمية (سانا) بأنّ الدفاعات الجويّة تصدّت لـ«صواريخ فوق سماء دمشق مصدرها الجولان المحتلّ». وأوضحت مصادر أخرى، أن بين القتلى الجنرال رضائي محمدي مدير شؤون نقل قوات «الحرس الثوري» وحاج حسين «مسؤول تذخير القوات الإيرانية في سوريا».
إبادة الأرمن
13 شباط/فبراير
أعلن مجلس الشعب السوري الخميس بالاجماع أن عمليات القتل التي تعرض لها الأرمن بين العامين 1915 و1917 على يد العثمانيين، هي “إبادة جماعية”، فيما تزداد حدة التوتر بين دمشق وأنقرة إثر مواجهات في شمال غرب سوريا.
وقال المجلس في بيان إنه “يدين ويقر جريمة الإبادة الجماعية للأرمن على يد الدولة العثمانية بداية القرن العشرين”.
وتعتبر أراضي سوريا حاليا إحدى أبرز ساحات مجازر الأرمن الذين يقول المؤرخون أن السلطات العثمانية أجبرتهم على السير لفترة طويلة عبر الصحراء، ثم وضعت من نجا منهم في معسكرات احتجاز.
وكان يوجد في منطقة دير الزور (شرق) نصب تذكاري لأبادة الأرمن، لكن دمره مسلحو”داعش”.
ويأتي قرار البرلمان السوري بعد أسابيع من تصعيد غير مسبوق بين دمشق وأنقرة إثر مقتل 14 عسكريا تركيا في سوريا خلال أسبوع في قصف للجيش السوري.
واعتبرت الخارجية التركية قرار البرلمان السوري بأنه “صورة من صور النفاق من قبل نظام ارتكب على أمد سنوات مجازر على أنواعها بحق شعبه”.
من جهته قال رئيس مجلس الشعب السوري حمودة صباغ “نحن نعيش عدواناً تركياً يستند إلى الفكر العثماني العنصري البغيض”.
وأضاف أن ذلك يعيد إلى الذاكرة “الجريمةَ النكراء التي ارتكبها أجداد (الرئيس التركي رجب طيب) إردوغان ضد الشعب الأرمني”.
النزوح المر
13شباط /فبراير
أعلنت الأمم المتحدة الخميس أن هجوم النظام السوري المدعوم من روسيا على آخر معقل رئيسي لفصائل المعارضة في شمال غرب سوريا دفع أكثر من 800 ألف شخص للنزوح منذ كانون الأول/ديسمبر.
وأفاد مكتب المفوضية السامية للأمم المتحدة لحقوق الإنسان أنه “من بين أكثر من 800 ألف شخص نزحوا في شمال غرب سوريا منذ 1 كانون الأول/ديسمبر 2019 حتى 12 شباط/فبراير 2020، يقدر أن 60 بالمئة هم أطفال”.
وتضم منطقة إدلب وأجزاء من محافظة حلب المجاورة نحو ثلاثة ملايين شخص، نصفهم نازحون أساسا من مناطق أخرى في البلاد.
وتحوّلت خلال السنوات الأخيرة إلى ملاذ للأشخاص الفارين أو أولئك الذين تم إجلاؤهم من مناطق أخرى في سوريا كانت تخضع لسيطرة المعارضة.
ومع الهجوم على إدلب، لم يبق لهؤلاء مكان يهربون إليه.
وشاهد مراسلو فرانس برس في إدلب قوافل العائلات الذين كدّسوا أمتعتهم على متن شاحنات وهم يتنقلون في المحافظة وسط الشتاء القارس.
وينام كثيرون في السيارات والحقول رغم تساقط الثلوج وانخفاض درجات الحرارة إلى ما دون الصفر، ما يعزز المخاوف من وقوع كارثة إنسانية.
وقدّر مكتب المفوضية السامية للأمم المتحدة لحقوق الإنسان أن نحو 82 ألف شخص ينامون في العراء.
وأفاد أن “هناك حاجة ماسة للملاذات في وقت يتكدّس الملايين في مناطق صغيرة غير معدّة للتعامل مع هذا العدد الكبير من الناس خصوصا في الشتاء البارد”.
ووصف الوضع في إدلب بأنه “بين أسوأ” الأزمات التي مرّت على مدى الحرب المستمرة منذ تسع سنوات.
فتح شرايين
12شباط/فبراير
تتوسع قوات النظام في محيط الطريق الدولي حلب – دمشق في شمال غرب سوريا لضمان أمنه غداة سيطرتها عليه بالكامل للمرة الأولى منذ 2012، وفق ما أفاد المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان الأربعاء.
في كانون الأول/ديسمبر، بدأت قوات النظام بدعم روسي هجوماً واسعاً في مناطق في إدلب وجوارها تسيطر عليها هيئة تحرير الشام (النصرة سابقاً) وفصائل أخرى معارضة أقل نفوذاً.
وتركز الهجوم على ريف إدلب الجنوبي ثم ريف حلب الغربي المجاور، حيث يمر طريق “إم 5” الدولي الذي يصل مدينة حلب بالعاصمة دمشق، ويعبر مدناً رئيسية عدة من حماة وحمص وصولاً إلى الحدود الجنوبية مع الأردن.
وبعد أسابيع من القصف والمعارك، سيطرت قوات النظام على كامل الطريق الدولي للمرة الأولى منذ 2012، العام التي بدأت فيه الفصائل المعارضة بالتوسع في سوريا.
وأفاد المرصد السوري الأربعاء عن “تقدم متواصل منذ الثلاثاء لقوات النظام في إطار تأمينها محيط الطريق الدولي”.
وبعد سيطرتها على بلدات وقرى عدة منتشرة على جانبيه وتحديداً الجهة الشرقية، تمكنت قوات النظام منذ الثلاثاء من التوسع إلى الغرب منه واستعادت قرى وبلدات عدة أبرزها بلدة خان العسل المحاذية لمدينة حلب.
وكانت قوات النظام استعادت أجزاء من الطريق في هجمات شنتها خلال السنوات الماضية في جنوب ووسط البلاد وقرب العاصمة دمشق، قبل أن تركز معاركها على محافظة إدلب وجوارها.
“تحييد” سوريين
10شباط/فبراير
أفادت تركيا الاثنين أنها “حيدت” 101 جندي من القوات السورية ردا على قصف سوري أسفر عن مقتل خمسة جنود في صفوف الجيش التركي في شمال غربي سوريا.
وقالت وزارة الدفاع التركية في بيان “بحسب مصادرنا، تم تحييد 101 من جنود النظام إضافة إلى تدمير ثلاث دبابات ومدفعين واصابة مروحية”.
وتعذر حتى الآن تأكيد هذه المعلومات في شكل مستقل.
وأضافت الوزارة أن أنقرة واصلت مساء الاثنين قصف مواقع سورية.
وفي وقت سابق، قتل خمسة جنود أتراك وأصيب خمسة آخرون في قصف للقوات السورية استهدف مواقع تركية في محافظة إدلب شمال غرب سوريا.
وقتل الأسبوع الفائت ثمانية جنود أتراك في قصف سوري.
وحذرت وزارة الدفاع التركية الاثنين من أن أنقرة سترد على أي هجوم جديد “بأكبر قدر من الشدة”.
وبعد تبادل للقصف الأسبوع الماضي، حض الرئيس رجب طيب أردوغان دمشق على التراجع في إدلب وطلب من موسكو بذل جهود أكبر للسيطرة على قوات النظام السوري.
