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Tag: Syria

  • Iran summit holds key to looming battle in Syria’s Idlib

    The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey began a meeting Friday in Tehran to discuss the war in Syria, with all eyes on a possible military offensive to retake the last rebel-held bastion of Idlib.

    TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey began a meeting Friday in Tehran to discuss the war in Syria, with all eyes on a possible military offensive to retake the last rebel-held bastion of Idlib.

    The summit between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action. Even before it began, an airstrike early Friday struck Idlib’s southern edge, killing at least one person.

    Rouhani, hosting the meeting, made a point to call on the U.S. to end its intervention in Syria. There are some 2,000 American forces in the country.

    “The fires of war and bloodshed in Syria are reaching their end,” Rouhani said, while adding that terrorism must “be uprooted in Syria, particularly in Idlib.”

    Each of the three nations has its own interests in the yearslong war in Syria.

    Iran wants to keep its foothold in the Mediterranean nation neighboring Israel and Lebanon. Turkey, which backed opposition forces against Syrian President Bashar Assad, fears a flood of refugees fleeing a military offensive and destabilizing areas it now holds in Syria. And Russia wants to maintain its regional presence to fill the vacuum left by America’s long uncertainty about what it wants in the conflict.

    Northwestern Idlib province and surrounding areas are home to about 3 million people — nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria. That also includes an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants.

    For Russia and Iran, both allies of the Syrian government, retaking Idlib is crucial to complete what they see as a military victory in Syria’s civil war after Syrian troops recaptured nearly all other major towns and cities, largely defeating the rebellion against Assad.

    A bloody offensive that creates a massive wave of death and displacement, however, runs counter to their narrative that the situation in Syria is normalizing, and could hurt Russia’s longer-term efforts to encourage the return of refugees and get Western countries to invest in Syria’s postwar reconstruction.

    For Turkey, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Turkey already hosts 3.5 million Syrian refugees and has sealed its borders to newcomers. It has also created zones of control in northern Syria and has several hundred troops deployed at 12 observation posts in Idlib. A government assault creates a nightmare scenario of potentially hundreds of thousands of people, including militants, fleeing toward its border and destabilizing towns and cities in northern Syria under its control.

    Naji al-Mustafa, a spokesman for the Turkey-backed National Front for Liberation, said Friday his fighters were prepared for a battle that they expect will spark a major humanitarian crisis.

    “The least the summit can do is to prevent this military war,” he said.

    Early on Friday, a series of airstrikes struck villages in southwest Idlib, targeting insurgent posts and killing a fighter, said Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Abdurrahman said suspected Russian warplanes carried out the attack.

    Turkey also doesn’t want to see another Kurdish-controlled area rise along its border, as it already faces in northern Iraq.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Zeina Karam and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

  • Syria conflict: Iran, Russia and Turkey meet to speak about Idlib

    Symbol copyright Reuters Symbol caption Improvised fuel mask are being tried out in Idlib sooner than the expected offensive

    “i am very certain that we have very, superb grounds to be making those warnings,” Mr Jeffrey said in his first interview considering being appointed.

    “Any offensive is to us objectionable as a reckless escalation. there is a lot of proof that chemical weapons are being prepared.”

    He didn’t supply main points of the evidence he was once referring to.

    The Syrian government has many times denied ever the use of chemical weapons.

    The US state division warned on Monday that Washington may reply to any chemical attacks through the Syrian govt or its allies.

    Despite Syrian denials, professionals from the UN and the Corporation for the Prohibition of Chemical Guns (OPCW) have stated they’re assured govt forces had been at the back of an assault involving the nerve agent Sarin on a rebellion-held the city in southern Idlib in April 2017 that killed greater than 80 other people.

    Image copyright AFP Symbol caption The population of Idlib has been swollen by refugees from other parts of Syria

    Mr Jeffrey said a “prime diplomatic initiative” was once now had to end the seven-12 months civil war.

    How Idlib may be changing Trump’s Syria strategy

    He mentioned there has been “a new dedication” by way of President Donald Trump to remain desirous about Syria till the Islamic State workforce (IS) used to be defeated and to verify that Iranian combatants – who’re assisting the Syrian authorities in the conflict – go away the country.

    Mr Jeffrey said President Assad had “no long run as a ruler” in Syria, but it used to be not Washington’s task to oust him. He stated the u.s. could work with Russia on a political transition.

    There are believed to be as much as 30,000 rebel and jihadist fighters in Idlib.

    The UN says the region is house to some 2.9 million other people, together with 1,000,000 children.

    More than half the civilians have already been displaced a minimum of once from somewhere else in Syria and feature nowhere left to go.

    UN officials say as many as 800,000 other folks may well be displaced and that the already high selection of people in need of assist may just increase dramatically.

    (more…)

  • Syria: Who Is in control of Idlib?

    Graphic image of Syria war

    The northern Syrian province of Idlib is the remaining remaining stronghold managed by way of forces opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.

    Amid signs of an forthcoming Syrian govt offensive, there have been conflicting claims in regards to the armed teams operating there.

    A pro-Assad Syrian MP, Fares Shehabi, instructed BBC Fact Check that there have been as many as ONE HUNDRED,000 “al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists” in Idlib, of whom FORTY,000 have been what he known as “hardcore radicals”.

    A common within the Russian army, that’s providing air enhance to forces loyal to President Assad, has stated that more than 70% of Idlib is now managed via “terrorists”.

    The US’ best normal is pronounced to have expected that there have been 20,000 to 30,000 militants in Idlib, even as the UN’s unique envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, lately predicted there were 10,000 opponents in Idlib related to al-Qaeda, together with many foreigners.

    In 2016, al-Nusra Entrance declared that it had severed formal ties with the global jihadist community and renamed itself Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.

    The Next yr, it merged with a few small jihadist groups preventing in Syria and shaped HTS.

    Even If HTS insists it’s unbiased and never linked to an exterior entity, the UN, US and Turkey consider it a gaggle related to al-Qaeda and listing it as a terrorist organisation.

    “HTS is the most important and perfect armed group in Idlib, which means the opposite small groups follow its lead – although they say they are separate,” says Tim Ripley, a defence analyst and author of a e-book on Russian involvement in Syria.

    However, he adds that “all of the riot teams in Idlib are made up of alliances that shift on a daily basis”.

    Even Supposing a few experts caution in opposition to making estimates, Charles Lister, of the united states-based Heart East Institute, says he believes HTS has 12,000 full-time opponents.

    “This quantity will also be brought to by other loyal to HTS groups within the North West, which may convey HTS’s broader affect umbrella to around 20,000,” he provides.

    Image copyright Getty Photographs Symbol caption Air strikes against a few spaces in Idlib province have already started

    the opposite key power is the National Liberation Front (NLF), which was once formed in advance this 12 months via riot factions wanting to counter HTS.

    It comprises hard-line Islamist teams, together with Ahrar al-Sham and the Nour al-Din al-Zinki Brigades in addition as a few teams preventing under the banner of the Unfastened Syrian Military, a pressure thought to be more “moderate” by means of Western powers.

    Aron Lund, a fellow with the united states-primarily based analysis workforce the Century Basis, says the NLF is held together by way of Turkish management, to boot as cash, guns and provides.

    “The NLF will stand or fall with Turkey’s involvement in Syria,” he says.

    There are other teams in addition.

    One is Hurras al-Din (Guardians Of Religion) a splinter staff from HTS that is broadly believed to be al-Qaeda’s new associate in Syria.

    Foreign militants

    There also are many international jihadists in Idlib, many of them preventing for teams associated with al-Qaeda.

    Mr de Mistura stated there was “an especially high concentration” of foreign fighters linked to al-Qaeda.

    Symbol copyright AFP Symbol caption Idlib is managed by means of different and often rival teams

    The Turkistan Islamic Birthday Party (TIP) is a group of Uighur opponents allied to HTS.

    The Uighurs – a Muslim ethnic minority mostly based totally in China’s Xinjiang province – dependent a presence in northern Syria within the early years of the civil war.

    Mr Shehabi says the Uighurs and their families quantity as many as 10,000 in Idlib, focused within the Qusur district.

    However Raffaello Pantucci, of The United Kingdom-based security think tank Rusi (Royal United Services Institute), believes this number is too high.

    “They and their households won’t number more than several thousand,” he says.

    There are also believed to be different international jihadists in Idlib, including Chechens and Uzbeks, although the numbers are likely to be smaller.

    Civilians trapped in Idlib

    A prime concern now’s for the civilians living in Idlib.

    Most are displaced from elsewhere in Syria, together with those evacuated below offers reached with the federal government as it attacked other riot strongholds, so much not too long ago the south-western provinces of Deraa and Quneitra and the Eastern Ghouta region close to Damascus.

    Many will have was hoping that they might be safe in Idlib as a result of in Would Possibly 2017 it was once unique a “de-escalation” zone underneath an settlement between Turkey, Russia and Iran, every other key ally of President Assad.

    UN officials fear that as many as 800,000 other folks could be displaced through a full-scale offensive on the province and that the selection of folks in want of help in Syria – which already stands at two million – may building up dramatically.

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  • Syria battle: How Idlib could also be converting Trump’s technique

    Image Copyright @realDonaldTrump @realDonaldTrump Symbol copyright EPA Image caption Idlib is home to 3 million other folks, including hundreds of heaps of internally displaced people, and a stronghold for rebels and Islamist militants

    The catch 22 situation is that Idlib shelters a few three million folks, greater than a third of whom fled the struggle in other parts of Syria and have nowhere left to run.

    It may be a hotbed of the armed opposition, ruled through Islamist militants, essentially the most tough of that is stated to have hyperlinks to al-Qaeda.

    Russia wants to get rid of those “terrorists”, who launch drone assaults on its nearby airbase. So does the us.

    Turkey, which has subsidized a few of the insurrection forces in Idlib, is afraid an all-out offensive in opposition to them might drive an incredible destabilising wave of refugees north against the Turkish border. So is the u.s., and Europe, the place many of the refugees might end up.

    Senior officials, like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, are therefore urging Turkey and Russia to achieve a compromise that will involve a more narrowly adapted counter-terrorism operation.

    Russian air energy may make sure a Syrian victory, however Mr Heras, who is with the middle for a new American Security, argues Mr Trump’s warnings are a part of an attempt across the management to try to bolster Turkey’s hand.

    ‘The Obama of Syria’

    More widely, administration officers are again talking about an indefinite troop dedication in Syria, aimed not just at ensuring the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) team, however as leverage to affect a political cost that might stabilise Syria, and to roll again Iran’s affect in the u . s ..

    this is no longer a brand new strategy, it’s the one that was laid out by means of the previous secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, in January and was therefore upended by way of Mr Trump’s calls for a snappy go out.

    The president still sees Syria simply throughout the prism of defeating IS, consistent with Randa Slender, who leads unofficial dialogues on the Syria struggle for the middle East Institute. However, she says, his officers have definite him the struggle in opposition to the gang isn’t over yet.

    “I Am listening to that his call for a withdrawal from Syria has been shelved,” she says. that is as a result of he has been instructed IS might be able to return if he pulls the troops out too quickly, as Islamist militants did in Iraq after Mr Obama ended America’s military deployment there.

    “you do not need to be the Obama of Syria, that’s the hook being used to keep him on board,” she says.

    in the context of this overall strategy, the management sees some worth in preventing the Assad regime from gaining whole keep an eye on of Idlib, which might a great deal increase its leverage, Ms Slender told me. However “all of that is contingent on the president staying the path long-term”, she says, and he can change “minute to minute”.

    Regardless Of The case, Mr Pompeo has signalled greater engagement via appointing a new state division Syria team headed via a “special consultant for Syria engagement”.

    He despatched it to the area this week to press the case that an Idlib offensive may escalate the Syria predicament, and to persuade allies that the u.s. continues to be in the recreation.

    How much difference so they can make to their calculations is an open query, for the reason that Russia and the Assad regime seem poised for victory.

    However there are loads of thousands of lives at stake.

    As Mr Trump has emphasised.

    (more…)

  • Is Idlib set to end Syrian struggle?

    Video Is Idlib set to end Syrian battle?

    (more…)

  • Syria warfare: US ‘has noticed evidence’ chemical guns being ready

    Symbol copyright Reuters Image caption Improvised fuel mask are being attempted out in Idlib prior to the anticipated offensive

    “i’m very certain that now we have very, superb grounds to be making those warnings,” Mr Jeffrey said in his first interview considering the fact that being appointed.

    “Any offensive is to us objectionable as a reckless escalation. there may be a whole lot of proof that chemical weapons are being ready.”

    He didn’t supply main points of the proof he was once referring to.

    Call for diplomatic initiative

    The US state department warned on Monday that Washington may respond to any chemical attacks via the Syrian govt or its allies.

    Despite Syrian denials, experts from the UN and the Service Provider for the Prohibition of Chemical Guns (OPCW) have mentioned they are assured government forces have been behind an attack regarding the nerve agent Sarin on a rebel-held the town in southern Idlib in April 2017 that killed more than EIGHTY folks.

    Symbol copyright AFP Symbol caption The population of Idlib has been swollen by way of refugees from other parts of Syria

    Mr Jeffrey stated a “best diplomatic initiative” was once now needed to end the seven-year civil war.

    He said there was “a brand new commitment” by way of President Donald Trump to remain concerned about Syria till the Islamic State crew (IS) used to be defeated and to verify that Iranian warring parties – who’re assisting the Syrian authorities within the warfare – depart the country.

    Mr Jeffrey said President Assad had “no future as a ruler” in Syria, however it was no longer Washington’s process to oust him. He said the us may paintings with Russia on a political transition.

    “at the moment (the Syrian government) is a cadaver sitting in rubble with simply half the territory of Syria underneath regime regulate on an even day,” he added.

    With rebellion forces defeated in such a lot of Syria, the offensive within the north-western province of Idlib may just end up to be the remaining major combat of the seven-12 months civil war.

    There are believed to be up to 30,000 rebellion and jihadist combatants in Idlib.

    The UN says the region is house to some 2.9 million people, including one million youngsters. greater than half the civilians have already been displaced a minimum of once from somewhere else in Syria and have nowhere left to go.

    UN officers say as many as 800,000 other people might be displaced and that the already high choice of other people in want of aid may building up dramatically.

    (more…)

  • Donald Trump denies discussing assassination of Syria’s Assad

    Image copyright AFP Image caption Trump allegedly says of Assad: “Let’s expletive kill him!”

    The e-book says Mr Mattis acknowledged Mr Trump’s request however then, after the dialog, advised an aide he wouldn’t do “any of that”.

    But talking to reporters on Wednesday, the president said: “That used to be by no means contemplated, nor wouldn’t it be pondered.” He went directly to describe the book as “fiction”.

    What else did the president say?

    Mr Trump despatched out a series of tweets on Tuesday night time carrying his own perspectives, at the side of statements from Mr Mattis, leader of personnel John Kelly and White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

    Symbol Copyright @realDonaldTrump @realDonaldTrump

    Report

    Twitter post by @realDonaldTrump: The Woodward book has already been refuted and discredited by General (Secretary of Defense) James Mattis and General (Chief of Staff) John Kelly. Their quotes were made up frauds, a con on the public. Likewise other stories and quotes. Woodward is a Dem operative? Notice timing? Image Copyright @realDonaldTrump @realDonaldTrump

    File

    Mr Trump says fees attributed to Mr Mattis and Mr Kelly were “made up frauds, a con at the public. Likewise different tales and quotes”.

    He says the e book is “already discredited” with “such a lot of lies and phony sources”, rejecting an allegation that he had used the phrases “mentally retarded” and “dumb Southerner” to explain Legal Professional Normal Jeff Sessions.

    The statement from Mr Mattis describes the e-book as “a made of a persons wealthy imagination”.

    The statement from Mr Kelly says: “the theory I ever known as the president an fool is not true… He always knows where I stand and he and i each understand this story is overall BS…”

    What else is within the book?

    Woodward says leader financial adviser Gary Cohn and White Area staff secretary Rob Porter removed files from the president’s table to maintain Mr Trump from signing them.

    The files could have allowed the president to withdraw from the North American Unfastened Business Settlement and a trade care for South Korea.

    This amounts to an “administrative coup d’état”, Woodward says.

    Jeff Periods: US attorney normal hits back at Trump

    In different excerpts:

    The book quotes Mr Kelly as pronouncing: “We Are in Crazytown… that is the worst process I’ve ever had” Ex-Trump attorney John Dowd calls the president “a expletive liar” Mr Trump’s courting with Rex Tillerson never recovered after studies the ex-secretary of state had known as the president “an expletive moron” (more…)

  • Syria conflict: Russia ‘resumes Idlib air strikes’

    A Syrian child walks in front of tents at a camp for displaced people in Idlib province (2 September 2018) Image copyright AFP Image caption There are 2.9 million other people in Idlib, lots of whom have already been displaced from in other places

    Russian warplanes have reportedly bombed the rebellion-held Syrian province of Idlib, the place troops have been getting ready for a massive offensive.

    If confirmed, they would be the first such air strikes there in 3 weeks.

    Earlier, US President Donald Trump warned Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in opposition to launching a “reckless assault” on Idlib.

    But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the warning and stated the Syrian army was once “getting ready” to transparent a “nest of terrorists” there.

    Five explanation why the battle for Idlib matters Why is there a struggle in Syria?

    Mr Peskov mentioned the al-Qaeda-linked jihadist combatants who dominate Idlib were threatening Russian military bases in Syria and blocking off a political method to the seven-12 months civil battle.

  • Syria struggle: Why does the fight for Idlib matter?

    A woman carries her child as she sits in front of a tent at a camp for displaced people in al-Ghadfa, Idlib province, Syria (2 September 2018) Symbol copyright AFP

    The conflict in Syria may well be approximately to enter its ultimate stage, as Syria and its ally Russia equipment up for an all-out assault at the insurrection-held province of Idlib.

    What’s so important approximately Idlib?

    Image copyright AFP

    The province is the remaining prime stronghold of the rebellion and jihadist groups that have been seeking to overthrow Mr Assad for the prior seven years.

    The UN says Idlib is house to some 2.9 million other people, together with 1 million youngsters. more than half of the civilians in Idlib come from other in the past insurrection-held parts of Syria from which they either fled, or have been evacuated.

    The province also borders Turkey, to the north, and straddles major highways operating south from Aleppo to Hama and the capital, Damascus, and west to the Mediterranean coastal town of Latakia.

    If Idlib is taken by the federal government, it might depart the rebels with a couple of wallet of territory scattered around the us of a and effectively sign their ultimate defeat.

    Image copyright AFP

    The dominant force is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a jihadist alliance associated with al-Qaeda.

    HTS controls key places across Idlib, together with the provincial capital and the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey. it is unique as a terrorist supplier by the UN, which estimates it has 10,000 combatants in Idlib, including many foreigners.

    Image copyright AFP

    The Turkish-subsidized National Liberation Entrance (NLF) is the second one strongest alliance. It was once formed this 12 months by way of rise up factions desirous to counter HTS. They include the large hardline Islamist groups of Ahrar al-Sham and the Nour al-Din al-Zinki Brigades, as well as others preventing below the banner of the Loose Syrian Army.

    Why is the Syrian govt making ready to assault Idlib now?

    The battle has swung heavily in President Assad’s favour. Air strikes through Syria’s ally Russia, and support from hundreds of opponents sponsored by means of Syria’s different main best friend, Iran, have helped the Syrian military rout rebels in other places.

    Image copyright Reuters

    On 30 August, Overseas Minister Walid Muallem declared the government’s precedence used to be now to “unlock” Idlib. He stated it wanted to keep away from civilian casualties and regain territory thru “reconciliation agreements”, but that it was determined to defeat HTS “no matter the sacrifices”.

    Russia additionally declared that Syria’s executive had each and every right to “liquidate the terrorist danger on its territory”.

    Image copyright AFP

    Turkey, which has troops in Idlib monitoring a previous agreement aimed toward lessening fighting in Idblib, has reportedly been negotiating with Russia in an attempt to avoid an all-out assault.

    Turkey, that’s already house to greater than 3 million Syrian refugees, fears an enormous offensive may just create a new wave heading in opposition to its border.

    What will happen to the people living in Idlib?

    A Whole-scale military operation will have devastating effects within the province. Masses of lots of individuals there are already experiencing dire prerequisites in overcrowded web sites where basic products and services were stretched to snapping point.

    Symbol copyright AFP

    A senior UN humanitarian respectable has warned that an assault on Idlib “will overwhelm capacities and has the possible to create a humanitarian emergency at a scale no longer but noticed via this trouble”.

    The UN says as many as 800,000 people may well be displaced and that the already high number of people in want of support may build up dramatically.

    Image copyright Reuters

    it’s not transparent the place those displaced may just go as a result of Turkey has shut its border.

    Adjacent areas managed through Turkish-backed rebels round Afrin and Jarablus are already crushed via displaced people. and lots of competition supporters fear imprisonment if they move into government territory.

    Can an assault on Idlib be prevented?

    The UN’s special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has known as on Russia, Iran and Turkey not to rush into struggle.

    Image copyright AFP

    He has proposed two options – to make time for further talks on a political solution; or to “allow and facilitate a reputable humanitarian hall to permit the civilian inhabitants to quickly evacuate to a safer space”, perhaps one underneath govt keep an eye on.

    Image copyright AFP

    Turkey needs Syria and Russia to put off the operation, and the three countries’ leaders are as a result of meet in Iran on Friday to discuss the situation.

    the united states, which backed the rebel against Mr Assad, has said the Syrian govt’s “prior brutality” indicated it will not be depended on to protect civilians and known as on Russia to interfere.

  • Palestinian territories profile

    Map of Palestinian Territories

    The Palestinian population of around ten or eleven million other folks is divided between ancient Palestine and a diaspora, basically in neighbouring Arab nations.

    Efforts to create a Palestinian state at the West Bank of the River Jordan and Gaza at the Mediterranean coast had been annoyed by way of the ongoing war with Israel and disputes over the standing of diaspora Palestinians.

    The struggle that adopted Israel’s announcement of independence in 1948 noticed the former British mandate of Palestine partitioned among Israel, Trans-Jordan and Egypt.

    Hundreds of hundreds of Palestinians fled or have been compelled out of their homeland during the warfare, in what they name the “Nakba” or “Disaster”.

    Timeline – key dates Leaders Media profile Read more u . s . a . profiles – Profiles by BBC Tracking

    The demand of these refugees and their descendants to go back to their former homes is still considered one of probably the most fiercely debated aspects of the dispute with Israel.

    Image copyright Getty Images Symbol caption Palestinian women pray outside Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque

    The Palestinian national movement step by step regrouped within the West Bank and Gaza, run respectively by means of Jordan and Egypt, and in refugee camps in neighbouring Arab states.

    The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) emerged as its major umbrella team shortly earlier than the Six-Day Warfare of 1967, by which Israel captured the West Financial Institution, Gaza and East Jerusalem, and carried out a prolonged marketing campaign of violence in opposition to Israel.

    Symbol copyright Getty Pictures Symbol caption Locals enjoy an afternoon out on the seaside within the Gaza Strip, a narrow stretch of land at the Mediterranean Sea