Tag Archives: Syria
Syria looks to peace, North Korea to attack on US mainland
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Syria's foreign minister told world leaders Saturday that victory against terrorists in his war-ravaged nation "is now within reach" while North Korea's foreign minister said U.S. President Donald Trump's insult to his country makes an attack against the U.S. mainland inevitable.
Syria drops off the radar at UN assembly
Syria’s war has taken a new turn with the expected recapture of Raqa from the Islamic State, but world leaders gathered at the United Nations this week seem to be paying little attention. Last year, tensions were running high at the UN assembly, with Western powers locked in heated exchanges with Russia and Iran, the Syrian government’s allies, over the offensive against rebel-held Aleppo.
Air strikes kill 22 in northwest Syria in 48 hours: monitor
At least 22 civilians have been killed in 48 hours of heavy air strikes by Syria’s regime and its ally Russia in northwestern Syria, a monitor said Thursday. The strikes hit areas in the provinces of Idlib and Hama, where an internationally agreed truce zone is meant to be in place, and come in response to an offensive launched Tuesday by jihadists. Idlib, along with parts of neighbouring Hama and Latakia provinces, forms one of four so-called de-escalation zones agreed last May by regime allies Russia and Iran and rebel backer Turkey.
Syria opposition activist, daughter 'assassinated in Istanbul'
A veteran Syrian opposition activist and her journalist daughter were found stabbed to death at their apartment in Istanbul, Turkish reports on Friday, in a crime supporters decried as an “assassination” to avenge their work. Friends raised the alarm after being unable to reach Aroubeh Barakat and her daughter Halla Barakat by telephone for two days, the Dogan and Anadolu news agencies said. Turkish police then arrived at their apartment in the Uskudar district on the Asian side of Istanbul and found both women dead.
Russia threatens to retaliate against US forces in Syria
Turkey warns of global conflict if Iraq or Syria break up
Turkey escalated its opposition to a Kurdish independence referendum in northern Iraq on Tuesday, training tank guns and rocket launchers across the southern border and saying the break-up of its neighbors could lead to global conflict. Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said in Ankara next Monday’s vote posed a major risk and Turkey would take “every step” needed to thwart any similar steps in its mainly Kurdish southeast. Iraqi Kurdish authorities have defied growing international pressure to call off the vote, which Iraq’s neighbors fear will fuel unrest among their own Kurdish populations.
US urges Syria cooperation with Russia after strike
Washington and Moscow have held high-level talks aimed at shoring up military “deconfliction” zones in eastern Syria after Russia was accused of targeting US-backed forces battling the Islamic State group in an air strike, a top US general said Sunday. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Washington-backed Kurd and Arab fighters, said Saturday that several of its fighters were injured in a bombing by Russian warplanes east of the Euphrates River near Syria’s oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor.
Russia's Lavrov and Tillerson talk Syria after bombing allegations
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had phoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday to discuss the Syria situation and how the “anti-terrorism” battle on the ground was playing out. The call occurred after U.S.-backed militias in Syria said they had come under attack on Saturday from Russian jets and Syrian government forces in Deir al-Zor province, a flashpoint in an increasingly complex battlefield. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not say in its statement about the Lavrov-Tillerson call if the two men had discussed that allegation and how Moscow had responded if they had.
Russia strike wounds US-backed Syria forces, coalition says
The US-led coalition said Saturday that Russian forces had bombed American-backed fighters battling the Islamic State group in eastern Syria, wounding several, despite denials from Moscow. The unprecedented strike was initially reported by the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters supported by Washington. The SDF accused Russian warplanes of bombing its fighters for the first time in the complex war, though Russia’s military spokesman denied targeting the group.
Jets strike U.S.-backed forces in eastern Syria: SDF
By Ellen Francis BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S.-backed militias said they came under attack on Saturday from Russian jets and Syrian government forces in Deir al-Zor province, a flashpoint in an increasingly complex battlefield. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias fighting with the U.S.-led coalition, said the strikes wounded six of its fighters. Washington and Moscow support separate offensives in the Syrian conflict – with both sides advancing against Islamic State militants in the eastern region that borders Iraq.
