بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | أكتوبر 2, 2019 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
The following is a selection by our editors of significant weekly developments in Syria. Depending on events, each issue will include anywhere from four to eight briefs. This series is produced in both Arabic and English in partnership between Salon Syria and Jadaliyya. Suggestions and blurbs may be sent to info@salonsyria.com.
The Constitutional Committee and a Large-Scale Prisoner Swap
Reuters
27 September 2019
The United Nations special envoy for Syria said on Friday that the Syrian government and opposition should move forward on large-scale prisoner exchanges to build confidence ahead of their first talks next month in more than a year. The UN announced on Monday the formation of a constitutional committee for Syria, a long-awaited step in a stalled peace process. UN officials say such a committee is key to political reforms and new elections meant to unify Syria and end a war that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced about half of the population.
The committee is scheduled to meet under UN auspices in Geneva on 30 October. The body will compromise one hundred people, split three ways between the government, opposition, and civil society with each side selecting fifteen people to prepare and draft constitutional proposals.
Kurdish Participation in the Constitutional Committee
Enab Baladi
29 September 2019
The United Nation’s envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, confirmed the participation of Syria’s “Kurds” in the newly formed constitutional committee, in conjunction with word about the exclusion of the Self-Administration east of the Euphrates from the committee. “I did not count the committee members based on the ethnicity they belong to. However, I can say that there are Kurdish members in the Constitutional Committee,” Pedersen said on Sunday.
Safe Zone from One Side
Reuters
27 September 2019
The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday that his country is not satisfied with talks with the United States on establishing a “safe zone” in northern Syria and will act alone if there is no progress.
Ankara has repeatedly threatened to act against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which it deems a “terrorist” group, unless the United States removes the fighters from a four hundred and eighty kilometer long area on the Syrian side of its border. The two countries have started joint land and air patrols along part of Syria’s border with Turkey, but Ankara remains angry with Washington’s support for the YPG, which has been a key ally in its fight against ISIS in Syria.
Earlier on Friday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was reported as saying that Turkey’s work on the safe zone for refugees in northeast Syria was on schedule. “Work is going ahead according to the timetable. Our preparations along the border are complete,” he said.
On the sidelines of the General Assembly, US Special Envoy to Syria James Jeffrey told reporters that Washington was moving as fast as possible, and he cautioned against any unilateral operation in the area.
The YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces alliance has said it would pull back up to fourteen kilometers in some areas, but Turkey says the United States agreed that the safe zone should extend thirty kilometers into Syria. Turkey plans to build homes to settle one million Syrian refugees in the “safe zone”. The state broadcaster TRT Haber said on Friday it would cost around twenty-seven billion dollars.
Demands for the Withdrawal of Illegitimate Forces!
Reuters
28 September 2019
Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem demanded on Saturday an immediate withdrawal of all US and Turkish troops from his country and warned that Syrian government forces had the right to take countermeasures if they refused. “Any foreign forces operating in our territories without our authorization are occupying forces and must withdraw immediately. If they refuse, we have the right to take any and all countermeasures authorized under international law,” al-Moualem said during an address to the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York.
The United States has around one thousand troops in Syria. Turkey has also launched military incursions into northern Syria. US President Donald Trump last year ordered the complete withdrawal of US troops from Syria – only to later be convinced to leave some forces behind to ensure that ISIS militants cannot stage a comeback. The United States and Turkey have started joint land and air patrols along part of Syria’s border with Turkey.
France and Chemical Weapons
Reuters
27 September 2019
The French foreign ministry said that any use of chemical weapons in Syria should be highlighted, and that it had been “worried to learn” of information from the United States about the use of such weapons in Syria in May. “All light must be shed on the subject of the possible use of chemical weapons. We have full confidence in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW),” said the French foreign ministry on Friday.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday the United States had concluded that the Syrian government used chlorine as a chemical weapon during a battle in May with opposition militants in Idlib.
Expanding Hmeimim
Reuters
26 September 2019
Russian news agencies cited an unnamed Defense Ministry official as saying on Thursday that Russia is expanding its Hmeimim air base in Syria and rebuilding a second landing strip to allow the facility to serve more aircraft.
The ministry has also set up new buildings to house aircraft at the site that will defend against drone attacks, the official was cited as saying. Thirty fighter planes and helicopters are currently deployed at the base, he added.
Downing of a Drone
Reuters
29 September 2019
The Turkish defense ministry said on Sunday that Turkish fighter jets have downed a drone that violated Turkey’s airspace from Syria six times, adding that the drone’s identity could not be immediately determined. A ministry statement said that two F-16 fighter jets had tracked down the drone after repeated violations of Turkish airspace, which occurred on Saturday.
Canada Revokes Syrian Consul
Reuters
25 September 2019
Canada has revoked its approval of a diplomat in Montreal who is a supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday. Freeland previously came out strongly against Waseem Ramli’s appointment to the position of Syrian honorary consul and promised timely action, but she had first wanted to hear Global Affairs Canada’s explanation for approving the position. “Upon review of the department’s decision, I have instructed officials to immediately revoke his status,” she said.
Canada joined several other countries in ejecting all Syrian diplomats after the 2012 Houla massacre, but Syria has maintained honorary consul positions in Montreal and Vancouver to “provide basic consular services to Syrians in Canada,” Freeland said. However, Ramli’s appointment to the position caused fear in the Syrian refugee community living in Canada, according to activists, and shocked Freeland, who said she and her staff were not informed of Ramli’s approval by Global Affairs Canada. Ramli posts frequently on Facebook in support of Assad, and told Canada’s Maclean’s magazine that the White Helmets, a group of volunteer first-responders in Syria, are a “terrorist organization” linked to al-Qaeda.
Departing Unstable Daraa
Enab Baladi
29 September 2019
The governorate of Daraa has witnessed during recent months the departure of a number of former Syrian opposition leaders to Turkey, Lebanon, and the Emirates. Enab Baladi’s reporter in Daraa said on Sunday, 29 September that three leaders in the opposition left Daraa for different reasons that varied between seeking therapy and fleeing the security situation in the governorate.
Committee to Reform Public Sector
Day Press
29 September 2019
The Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis issued an order to form the Higher Committee For Reforming the Public Economic Sector. The committee will be presided by the Prime Minister, and its members include the Ministers of Finance, Economy and Foreign Trade, and Administrational Development; the Secretary-General of the Prime Ministry; the presidents of the Planning and International Cooperation Authority; the Central Apparatus for Financial Supervision; the State Council; and the General Union of Labor Syndicates, in addition to three experts who are specialized in the committee’s fields of work, who are to be named by the Prime Minister.
The committee is tasked with developing and implementing reform and development operations, in addition to restructuring the public economic sector. The committee’s objective is to define necessary investments to develop the public economic sector; improve the productivity and competitiveness of public institutions and companies and governmental companies; update management methods in public institutions and companies and governmental companies, so that they can develop their products, services, and marketing capabilities; and work on providing the necessary technical and administrational training to develop the public economic sector.
Al-Qaim Border Crossing
Reuters
28 September 2019
Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has approved the reopening on Monday of al-Qaim border-crossing with Syria, state news agency INA said, the latest sign of normalization between Baghdad and the Syrian government. The agency said the head of the border outlets Kazem al-Oqabi stressed the “readiness of the border crossing for travelers and for commercial trading, as well.”
The western Anbar governorate town of Qaim, three hundred kilometers west of Baghdad, was recaptured from ISIS in November 2017 and was the group’s last bastion in Iraq to fall. It borders the Syrian town of Albukamal, which was also an ISIS stronghold. The two towns lie on a strategic supply route and the crossing between them had only been open for government or military traffic. Iraq recently called for the reinstatement of Syria’s membership of the Arab League, which was suspended in 2011 over its crackdown on protesters.
Supporting the Syrian Pound
Enab Baladi
29 September 2019
The most prominent Syrian businessmen, such as Samer Fawz, agreed to support the Syrian pound (the lira) during a meeting with the governor of the Syrian Central Bank and the unions of commercial and industrial chambers. This came during a meeting with Hazem Qarafol, the Governor of the Syrian Central Bank, on Saturday with businessmen in the Sheraton hotel in Damascus, as part of an initiative to support the Syrian pound which lost significantly against the US dollar in a recession considered the first of its kind since 2016. The exchange rate for Sunday varied between 628 to 631 Syrian pounds to 1 US dollar.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | سبتمبر 11, 2019 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
The following is a selection by our editors of significant weekly developments in Syria. Depending on events, each issue will include anywhere from four to eight briefs. This series is produced in both Arabic and English in partnership between Salon Syria and Jadaliyya. Suggestions and blurbs may be sent to info@salonsyria.com.
Differences and Patrols
8 September 2019
Hours after the start of joint patrols between the two countries, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara and Washington have ongoing differences on the establishment of the “safe zone” in northern Syria, confirming the declining confidence between the two NATO countries and pointing out the differences with Washington on numerous objectives.
After intense negotiations, Turkey and the United States established a joint operations center, however, they did not agree on the depth of the security zone or on the command structure for the forces that will operate there.
The US-allied Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara sees as a terrorist organization, control most parts of the safe zone.
Tukey (which hosts around 3.6 million Syrian refugees) intends to settle one million refugees in northern Syria. It could open the route to Europe for migrants if it does not receive sufficient funding for this plan.
Bombing the Tehran-Damascus Road
9 September 2019
Eighteen fighters were killed in airstrikes targeting positions for Iranian forces and allied groups in northern Syria on Sunday night, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The SOHR was not able to identify the party that carried out the air raids. The strike occurred in Deir Azzor governorate which has been a scene for complex operations where various fighting groups are present.
In June of 2018, strikes in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border killed fifty-five fighters from forces loyal to the government, especially Syrian and Iraqi nationals, according to the SOHR.
An anonymous US official in Washington blamed Israel for the attack, but the Israeli army refused to comment.
Oil Tanker Without Oil
8 September
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Sunday that the oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, which raises Iran’s flag and subject to US sanctions, docked in a port in the Mediterranean and its cargo has been completely sold in the sea.
Mousavi said that the tanker, which is believed to carry two million barrels of oil, reached an undisclosed destination, according to Bloomberg news agency on Sunday.
Adrian Darya 1 had earlier this week disappeared from satellite tracking systems off the Syrian shore.
The tanker – formerly called Grace 1 – played a central role in a months-long dispute between the west and Iran. British forces detained the tanker near Gibraltar in July on suspicion of carrying oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions.
Gibraltar authorities released the ship on 15 August and said Iran had presented guarantees that the ship would not sail to a destination which the EU imposes sanctions on.
Ten from “Nusra”
7 September 2019
The Italian police said on Saturday that they detained ten people suspected of tax crimes aimed at providing financial support for the “terrorist Nusra Front” in Syria.
The suspects – eight Tunisians and two Italians – include an imam in a mosque in the central Abruzzo region and an Italian tax counselor.
A statement said that these funds, in addition to donations collected within mosques, were “meant to be allocated to fund activities of the radical Islamic organization – Nusra front.”
A number of radical imams in Italy benefitted from this money, including an ex-convict who was previously imprisoned for a terrorist related case and another who was deported from Italy because of his radical ideas, according to the police.
Relief for the Displaced
6 September 2019
The United Nations said that humanitarian aid was sent on Friday to a camp for displaced people in Syria near the Jordanian border for the first time since February.
Al-Rukban camp once hosted around forty thousand people living in destitution, however, more than half of its residents have left in recent months, according to the UN, after Syrian authorities and their Russian ally opened up passages and encouraged people to head for areas controlled by Damascus.
The United Nations estimates that around fifteen thousand people still live inside the camp, which is located near al-Tanf base of the US-led international coalition to fight the Islamic State.
“The humanitarian situation in Rukban remains critical, with food being a priority need,” said UN spokesman Hedinn Halldorsson, adding that supplies are expected to last for thirty days.
Russian Protection for Turkey
4 September 2019
Russian forces in Syria secured a pathway for Turkish forces to reach their base in Hama governorate in central Syria on Wednesday. Social media pages affiliated with the Hmeimeim base posted photos of Russian soldiers deployed in the city of Khan Sheikhoun as they were providing security for Turkish forces convoys headed towards northern Hama.
US Bombardment of Russian Truce
2 September 2019
Russia and Iran on Monday accused the United States of jeopardizing the ceasefire in the Syrian governorate of Idlib by attacking the jihadists.
The US army confirmed on Saturday that it launched a strike against a facility affiliated with al-Qaeda in Idlib, killing around forty militants.
Russia, which supports the Syrian government in the ongoing civil war, was not informed in advance of the US action.
Air strikes on Idlib, northwest of Syria, stopped on Saturday morning as the Russian-declared ceasefire went into effect, according to the SOHR.
One Year After the Settlement in Daraa
1 September 2019
The unique experience of cohabitation between Syrian government forces and opposition factions, which surrendered to the government, has failed to establish security in the southern governorate of Daraa amid numerous explosions, assassination, and detentions.
Daraa, the cradle of anti-government protests in 2011, was the only area from which opposition fighters did not leave after the government retook control in July 2018.
A Russian sponsored settlement deal put an end to military operations between government forces and opposition factions. The deal stipulated that the factions hand over their heavy weaponry, however, many members remained in their areas in contrast to what happened in other areas the government retook control of. The fighters kept their light weapons and government forces did not deploy in all parts of the governorate.
Several thousand opposition fighters and civilians left Daraa in the summer of 2018 because they refused the settlement deal which spared it from total destruction. However, most faction fighters agreed to the deal.
These fighters are present in vast areas and are responsible for providing security in the southern and western countryside and the southern neighborhoods of Daraa city, known as Daraa al-Balad. Some former opposition fighters joined the Fifth Legion, a faction within the Syrian army that is supported by Russia.
The presence of the Syrian government in these areas is restricted to official institutions and security personnel, while government forces are deployed on checkpoints surrounding these areas.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | يوليو 31, 2019 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
The following is a selection by our editors of significant weekly developments in Syria. Depending on events, each issue will include anywhere from four to eight briefs. This series is produced in both Arabic and English in partnership between Salon Syria and Jadaliyya. Suggestions and blurbs may be sent to info@salonsyria.com.
Tal al-Meleh
29 July 2019
Russia’s air force helped the Syrian army to repel two attacks carried out by militants in the Idlib governorate on Sunday, TASS news agency reported, citing a senior defense ministry official.
Militants carried out two attacks on Syrian government forces’ positions using tanks and armored vehicles on 28 July, the official was quoted as saying.
Syrian government forces and allied forces took control of a strategic village in Hama governorate in middle Syria after fierce battles with opposition militants.
A field commander fighting with government forces acknowledged the difficulty of battles that government forces fought in Tal al-Meleh and its strategic hill in the western countryside of Hama. “A number of government forces were killed and others injured in fierce battle with opposition militants, who also had fifty people killed or injured, in addition to the destruction of a number of vehicles and motorcycles,” the commander told a German news agency.
Airstrikes and More Airstrikes
28 July 2019
Eleven civilians were killed on Sunday in Syrian and Russian airstrikes in northwest Syria, which have been subject to almost daily airstrikes for three months, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Since late April, Idlib governorate and surrounding areas in the governorates of Aleppo, Hama, and Lattakia have witnessed an escalation in almost daily Syrian and Russian bombardment.
On Sunday, airstrikes and artillery shelling targeted various areas in Idlib and Hama, which killed eleven civilians, according to the SOHR.
The SOHR said that five of the casualties died as a result of government airstrikes on residential areas in Ariha city in Idlib governorate, after a bloody day in this city. Three others died in other places in northwest Syria. Russian airstrikes on farming land north of the adjacent Hama governorate left three civilians dead, according to the SOHR.
Four soldiers were killed in a government attack on the Tal al-Maleh village north of Hama, in addition to nine jihadists and opposition militants.
Tahrir al-Sham (previously Nusra) controls Idlib governorate – which has a population of three million – other less influential factions are also present in the governorate.
Over the past three months, more than seven hundred and fifty civilians have been killed including more than one hundred and ninety children as a result of the Syrian-Russian bombardment, according to the SOHR.
A Picture is a Thousand Words
26 July 2019
A picture spread on social media showing two sisters stuck in the rubble of a building targeted by an airstrike in northwest Syria while trying to help their younger sister from falling from a high floor. One of the two elder sisters died afterwards, while the other two are fighting for their lives in the hospital.
The city of Ariha – in the southern countryside of Idlib and hometown of the three sisters Dalia (8 years), Riham (5 years), and Tuqa (7 months) – was targeted by government airstrikes on Wednesday, which hit the residential building where the three sisters live. This comes within the context of the escalation that has been going on for three months.
A photographer named Bashar al-Sheikh who works for a local news website took the photo of the girls as they were between the rubble of the destroyed but not completely collapsed building. The two elder sisters appear completely stuck under the bricks, as Riham appears holding her sister Tuqa from her torn shirt to prevent her from falling. A man stands near them screaming from terror and unable to approach them on top of the rubble to rescue them.
The AFP could not verify the identity of the man. Some activists said he is their father, whereas one of the volunteers in the White Helmets (civil defense in areas controlled by factions) said that he is one of the neighbors.
The family, which consists of six girls, was hospitalized after the airstrike. The mother and her daughter Riham died shortly after because of the wounds they sustained. On Friday, Rawan (three years) also died, according to a doctor in Idlib hospital.
Save the Children said in a statement on Thursday that the number of children killed in Idlib in the last four weeks exceeds the number of children killed in the same area in 2018.
Displacement and Indifference
26 July 2019
More than four hundred thousand people in northwest Syria have displaced in the last three months, as a result of military escalation by government forces and their Russian allies. The United Nations condemned on Friday the continuous attacks that have targeted civilians and service and medical facilities.
Idlib governorate and surrounding areas, where three million people live, have come under almost daily bombardment by Syrian and Russian jets since the end of April, which has not spared hospitals, schools, or markets and has been accompanied by battles mainly in the northern countryside of Hama.
The bombardment has killed more than seven hundred and forty civilians in the last three months, according to the SOHR, while humanitarian organizations say that the area is living a “nightmare” with the ongoing escalation.
Deep Differences
28 July 2019
The London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper said on Sunday that areas in northwest Syria have been witnessing mobilization of forces and factions allied to each of the United States and Turkey after the failure of the last round of negotiations between the two countries in regards to the “safe zone”.
The newspaper said that as soon as the negotiations between the US delegation and Turkish officials in Ankara ended in failure a few days ago, each side mobilized its forces and factions on frontlines. Ankara wants to pressure Washington, and the latter wants to “deter” the Turkish army.
The newspaper also mentioned that the last round of negotiations revealed the deep gap between Washington’s position and its Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces on one hand and Ankara on the other hand in regards to establishing a “safe zone” northeast of Syria, and to a lesser extent in regards to implementing the “road map” in Manbej north of Aleppo.
US Tourist
25 July 2019
A US tourist, Sam Goodwin (30 years), who was detained in Syria for two months, was released thanks to a meditation of Lebanon, according to what his family said on Friday. “Sam is healthy and with his family,” his parents Thomas and Ann Goodwin said in a statement. “We are forever indebted to Lebanese General Abbas Ibrahim and to all others who helped secure the release of our son,” who went missing in May near the Kurdish dominated city of Qamishli northwest of Syria.
Goodwin was detained by the Syrian government. He wrote on his blog that he intended to complete his trip around the world by the end of the year. His family said it would provide more information at a later time.
Assassination in Daraa
24 July 2019
A former military commander in the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Firas Abdul Majeed al-Masalmeh, was killed in the governorate of Daraa and his personal bodyguard Shadi al-Ghanem was seriously wounded by gunshots on their car near the town of al-Yadoodeh, west of Daraa city.
A source in the Southern Front, which is affiliated with the FSA, said, “al-Masalmeh was the leader of one of the battalions in the FSA. He reconciled with government forces one year ago,” and worked with the Fourth Brigade – headed by Maher al-Assad, the brother of the Syrian president.
“The reason behind the assassination is perhaps mutual killings between groups working with government forces,” according to the source. Almost one year ago, government forces took control of the eastern and western countryside of Daraa after reconciliation with opposition faction commanders with Russian sponsorship.
Iranians Killed
25 July 2019
Six Iranians of forces allied to the Syrian government were killed in Israeli strikes in southern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The head of the SOHR Rami Abdul Rahman told the AFP that the attack killed nine fighters allied to the government, three Syrians and six Iranians.
The SOHR said on Wednesday that “reported Israeli missiles” targeted areas south of Syria near the Golan Heights, including Tal al-Harah in Daraa Governorate and Nabi’ al-Sakhr and Tal al-Ahmar in Quneitera governorate.
Since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes against Iranian targets and others for the Lebanese Hezbollah, in addition to positions for the Syrian army.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | مارس 12, 2019 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
The following is a selection by our editors of significant weekly developments in Syria. Depending on events, each issue will include anywhere from four to eight briefs. This series is produced in both Arabic and English in partnership between Salon Syria and Jadaliyya. Suggestions and blurbs may be sent to info@salonsyria.com.
Statue!
11 March 2019
Hundreds of Syrians in the southern city of Daraa protested on Sunday at the erection of a new statue of the late President Hafez al-Assad, nearly eight years after the original was toppled at the outbreak of the Syrian conflict.
Demonstrators and witnesses said residents walked through the war-ravaged old quarter of the city calling for Assad’s overthrow, as security forces closed off the area to stop residents from other parts of the city joining the demonstration.
The government had given schools and government employees a day off on Sunday to attend a pro-government rally to inaugurate the new bronze statue of late president Hafez al-Assad, erected on the site of the previous statue felled by protesters. A witness said that the rally broke up after gunfire from near the square caused panic among attendees. A group of youths protesting in Daraa’s old quarter carried a placard reading: “It will fall. Your statue is from the past; it is not welcome here.”
The Syrian authorities have reinstalled several large statues of the elder Assad after military victories that have seen his son regain most of the territory once held by opposition forces.
Holding War Criminals Accountable
8 March 2019
International investigators are moving ever closer to finding justice for victims of atrocities in Syria’s eight-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, the head of a UN war crimes body said.
Former French judge Catherine Marchi-Uhel,head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM), said that her office had received fifteen requests from national judicial or prosecution authorities for cooperation on Syria-related cases in five countries, and amassed a million records in all. The IIIM was set up in 2016 to probe and help prosecute the most serious crimes committed in Syria. “We are progressing I have no doubt, we are going in the right direction,” said Marchi-Uhel.
During the war, large numbers have died in air strikes and bombardment of cities. The United Nations has documented repeated chemical weapons attacks on civilians, and countless have faced torture, summary execution, and disappearance.
Marchi-Uhel is building on evidence gathered by the separate UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, a body of independent experts headed by Brazilian Paulo Pinheiro since 2011. “My mandate is to investigate the most serious crimes from all sides and do preparatory work for those most responsible for those crimes to face justice,” she said.
“I don’t sign off on any indictment. With the team we have stopped when we consider a case is ready (for prosecution) … These things take a long time. It is not a bad sign; it means authorities are working seriously.”
Lawyers representing twenty-eight Syrian refugees in Jordan this week asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Syria, arguing the court has jurisdiction because Jordan is a signatory. Also, nine torture survivors submitted a criminal complaint in Sweden on 19 February against Syrian officials, invoking universal jurisdiction.
The Black Enclave
5 – 11 March 2019
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an attack on the Islamic State’s final enclave in eastern Syria on Sunday, aiming at wiping out the last shred of its territorial rule that once spanned a third of Syria and Iraq. Although al-Baghoz is the last residential area controlled by the group, ISIS still constitutes a major security threat through its activities in other remote area and ability to launch guerrilla attacks. The SDF paused their advance towards the surrounded pocket more than once to allow for the exit of civilians, including the wives and children of the group’s fighters. The SDF said that more than four thousand jihadists surrendered last month and tens of thousands of civilians were evacuated.
The United Nations said on Friday that more than sixty-two thousand people displaced by fighting around the ISIS enclave have flooded al-Hol camp, with five thousand and two hundred people arriving between 5-7 March and thousands more expected.
The weather is cold and rainy and there is a shortage of tents and supplies. Dozens of children have died on the way to the camp. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) on Friday said al-Hol was at “breaking point”. Those arriving in al-Hol are in “extremely poor health” with malnutrition, diarrhea, and skin diseases.
Safe Zone on Cold Fire
6-8 March 2019
Turkey cannot accept control of a planned safe zone in northern Syria being given to anyone else, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. If the United States could not take back the weapons it had given to the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, it should give them to Turkey.
Fawza Youssef, a senior Kurdish politician, said that the Kurdish-led authorities in northern Syria want a multinational force to deploy at the Turkish border and reject the creation of a large “safe zone” that Turkey hopes to control. The Kurdish-led authorities have proposed their idea in talks with US officials while stressing the need for continued joint efforts against ISIS, which is on the brink of losing its last enclave in eastern Syria.
The Kurdish-led authorities were left scrambling for a strategy to protect their region from Turkey in December when President Donald Trump abruptly declared his intention to withdraw all US forces.
Since then, the US has partially reversed that decision and will keep two hundred troops in Syria to join what is expected to be a total commitment of about eight hundred to one thousand five hundred troops from European allies to set up and observe a safe zone in the northeast.
In a related context, General Joseph Votel, Commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Thursday that he was under no pressure to withdraw forces from Syria by any specific date, after President Donald Trump ordered the drawdown of most US troops from Syria. “What is driving the withdrawal of course is our mission, which is the defeat of ISIS, and so that is our principal focus, and that is making sure that we protect our forces, that we don’t withdraw in a manner that increases the risk to our forces,” Votel said.
“There is not pressure on me to meet a specific date at this particular time,” Votel added.
Slow Naturalization
4 March 2019
Adel Jubeir, the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said on Monday it was too early to restore diplomatic ties with Syria or reinstate Damascus to the Arab League without progress on a political process to end the eight-year-old war. “This (reopening the embassy) is related to progress on the political process, so it is still early,” Jubeir told a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he discussed Syria and Libya with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who is visiting Doha, the first stop in a Gulf tour. A political solution in Syria is the only option for the war-torn country, Al Thani said.
The Arab League suspended Syria’s participation seven years ago, and recently said that Syria’s restoration requires consensus of member states.
Return Guarantor!
9 March 2019
UNHCR Commissioner Filippo Grandi said the United Nations refugee agency should have a bigger presence inside Syria to observe and help refugees returning from abroad and from displacement within the war-torn country. After almost eight years of fighting, President Bashar al-Assad now controls most of Syria and the front lines appear stable for now between government territory and two big enclaves in the north and east still outside Damascus’s control.
“It is important that in areas of return, organizations like UNHCR are present and can observe the return, can have access to the returnees, and can help them address some of the problems they face,” Grandi said in Beirut, as the Syrian conflict approaches its eighth anniversary next week. “Without that presence, there is an element of confidence that is missing in the return of the people,” he added. Grandi also said that UNHCR was working with the Syrian government and its Russian ally on these matters.
Britain’s foreign office minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt said on Saturday the Syrian government had not so far done enough to make Syria a safe place for returnees. “It is clear (Assad) does not want to see many of his refugees return,” Burt told the BBC. “It is essential there will be no reconstruction support from UK and EU until there is a political settlement that goes some way to meeting the needs of those people,” he added.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | يوليو 11, 2018 | Media Roundups, 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.
Half the Crossings are Under Control
6 July 2018
Syrian government forces took control of the border strip with Jordan and the vital Nassib crossing, known as Jaber crossing from the Jordanian side, after it had previously been under the control of opposition factions.
Of the nineteen border crossings with neighboring countries, i.e. Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey, the government now controls around half of them, including five with Lebanon and one with Jordan and Iraq each, in addition to two crossings with Turkey, which has closed them from its side.
In mid-2015, the government only had control over the crossings with Lebanon while the remaining crossings were controlled by the opposition, fanatics, or Kurds. The following is a list of crossings that shows by whom they are controlled, according to the AFP:
- Nassib crossing, south of Daraa Governorate, had always been a vital commercial crossing for Damascus before opposition factions took control of it in April 2015. Syrian authorities are hoping that with its recapture, they will be able to reboot this strategic route and re-stimulate commercial activities with all the economic and financial benefits.
- Al-Jomrok al-Qadeem crossing, known as al-Ramtha from the Jordanian side. Government forces lost control over this crossing in 2013. It is still under the control of opposition factions, however, they are supposed to withdraw from it in the upcoming period according to an agreement between the factions and the Russians.
- Kasab crossing, Lattakia Governorate (northeast of Syria), is under the control of government forces but it is closed from the Turkish side after fierce battles in 2014 between government forces and opposition factions who took control of it for a short period of time.
- Bab al-Hawa crossing, Idlib Governorate (northeast of Syria), is under the control of a civil administration affiliated with Tahrir al-Sham (previously Nusra).
- Bab al-Salamah, in I’zaz, Aleppo Governorate (north of Syria), is under the control of Syrian opposition factions loyal to Turkey.
- Jarablus crossing, in Aleppo Governorate (north of Syria), is under the control of Syrian factions loyal to Turkey.
- Tal Abyadh crossing, in Raqqa Governorate (north of Syria), is under the control of the US-supported Kurdish People’s Protection Units after ISIS was kicked out of it in 2015.
- Ain al-Arab (Kobani) crossing, in Aleppo Governorate, is under the control of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units.
- Ra’s al-Ain crossing, in Hasakeh Governorate (northeast of Syria), witnessed fierce battles in the summer of 2013 between ISIS and Kurdish fighters who were able to oust ISIS from the crossing and the city of Ra’s al-Ain.
- Qamishli-Nssaibin crossing, is the only crossing in Hasakeh Governorate that is still under government control, but it is closed by Turkish authorities.
- Ain Diwar in Hasakeh is under the control of Kurdish fighters.
- Al-Ya’robieh or al-Rabi’a from the Iraqi side, in Hasakeh Governorate, is under the control of Kurdish fighters.
- Al-Boukamal or al-Qaem from the Iraqi side, in Deir Azzor Governorate (north-east of Syria, is under the control of the government and ally fighters from Iran.
- Al-Tanf or al-Waleed from the Iraqi side, south of Deir Azzor, is under the control of the US-led international coalition along with opposition factions after ousting ISIS from it.
- Five crossings between Lebanon and Syria, in Homs and Damascus Governorates, are under government control; they are: Jdaidet Yaboos (al-Masna’ from the Lebanese side), al-Daboosieh (al-A’boodieh from the Lebanese side), Josieh (al-Qa’a from the Lebanese side), Tal Kalakh (al-Bqai’a from the Lebanese side), and Tartus (al-A’reidah from the Lebanese side). There are numerous illegal crossings along the Lebanese-Syrian borders most of which are in mountainous areas.
Israel and Syria are officially in a state of war and there are no crossings between the two countries. However, opposition factions control the Qonaiterah border area. Israel has occupied a major part of the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967.
The remaining parts of the Syrian border are open to the Mediterranean and maritime ports are all under government control, in addition to the airports in Damascus, Aleppo, Lattakia, and Qamishli.
Daraa Besieged and the Return of Refugees
9 July 2018
On Monday, the Syrian army and allied forces imposed a siege on the opposition enclave in Daraa in southern Syrian and were poised to gain complete control of the city, fighters from the Syrian opposition said.
Daraa is considered the cradle of the uprising against President Bashar al-Asad’s rule. Abu Shaima, a spokesman for the opposition in the southern Syrian city, said that several thousand people were now encircled after the army pushed into a base west of the city without a fight before the formal evacuation of opposition fighters in contravention of a Russian-brokered agreement. He told Reuters that the army and allied fighters have completely encircled Daraa.
Opposition representatives and Russian officers reached an agreement on Friday that the opposition would give up Daraa and other towns in the governorate bordering Jordan, in a new victory for Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies.
The agreement allows fighters not ready to make peace to leave for opposition-controlled areas in northern Syria before the handover of weapons and the return of state sovereignty.
“There is a lot of fear and we do not trust the Russians or the regime,” Abu Shaima said.
In other areas covered by the agreement, fighters from the Free Syrian Army, which previously received Western support, continued to hand over positions bordering Jordan, east of Daraa, that had been under their control since the onset of the conflict.
Two hundred thousand displaced people went back to their towns and villages, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Monday. The SOHR added that the vast majority of people who were on the Syrian-Jordanian border went back to their villages and towns, which were widely looted by government forces and allied militants for items that included furniture, cars, cattle, and other property.
This comes after cautious calmness throughout Darra since Sunday and after a series of heavy shelling and more than one hundred and twenty air raids that targeted the town of Um al-Mayathen and the city of Daraa and their surroundings.
The SOHR said that government forces and Russia launched more than two thousand and three hundred air raids and shells on opposition areas to impose a surrender and signing of a deal in Bosra al-Sham.
Israel and Iran in Syria
8 July 2018
The “aggression” that targeted a military base in central Syria is an “Israeli” one, said Damascus on Sunday adding that its forces successfully hit one of the attacking planes, according to a military source in the official media.
The Syrian news agency SANA reported an “aggression” on the T4 military airport in central Syria without mentioning the responsible party. It then cited a military source as saying: “Our defense systems have confronted an Israeli aggression and downed a number of missiles that targeted the T4 airport, they successfully hit one of the attacking planes and forced the rest to leave our airspace.”
The SOHR said that “the missile attack targeted the T4 airport and its vicinity near Palmyra in Homs Governorate.” The SOHR added that the bombardment targeted “Iranian fighters in the airport complex,” and confirmed the death of Iranian fighters and others loyal to the Syrian government without specifying numbers.
In addition to the Syrian army, there are Iranian and Hezbollah fighters in the T4 airport, according to the SOHR.
The T4 military base was repeatedly subject to airstrikes, which Damascus accused Israel of carrying out, including an airstrike on 9 April that left fourteen soldiers dead including seven Iranians. Moscow, Tehran, and Damascus blamed Israel for the airstrike.
The airport was also targeted on 10 February in an incident that witnessed the downing of an Israeli military airplane by Syrian forces. Israel at the time said that it hit “Iranian targets.”
“We will violently respond to any Syrian military incursion in the demilitarized zone of the Golan Heights,” said Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he will discuss the Iranian presence in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday.
Spy’s Watch
5 July 2018
On Thursday, the Israeli Mossad said that it was able to obtain the watch of an Israeli spy that was sentenced to death in Syria in 1965.
The Israeli spy Eli Cohen was put on trial and sentenced to death for espionage in Syria after he succeeded in penetrating the highest levels of the Syrian government.
“The Mossad returned the watch of the late Mossad fighter Eli Cohen to Israel … the watch was returned through a special operation carried out by the Mossad recently,” a statement by the Israeli government said.
The statement went on to say: “After Cohen’s execution on 18 May 1965, his watch remained in an enemy state,” and added “after the watch returned to Israel, intelligence and research operations were carried out that came to the firm conclusion that this indeed is Eli Cohen’s watch.”
Syria, which has not signed a peace agreement with Israel, did not respond to Israeli requests over the years for the return of Cohen’s remains for humanitarian reasons.
In 2004, former Israeli President Moshe Katsav sent a humanitarian call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad through envoys from France, Germany, and the UN.
The information obtained by Cohen was considered crucial to Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights in the 1967 War.
“This year and as a result of an operation we succeeded in determining the place of Eli Cohen’s watch, which he wore until he was captured, and we brought it back to Israel.” a statement reported the Mossad chief Yosi Cohen saying on Thursday.
“The watch represents a partial picture of Elie Cohen’s operation and part of his fake Arab identity,” he added.
The statement said that the watch will be presented in the Mossad headquarters until the end of the Jewish year in September and will be given to his family afterwards.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Cohen and his colleagues in the Mossad. However, Cohen’s widow said that bringing the watch back happened by buying it from an online auction.
Chlorine and not Sarine
6 July 2018
A preliminary report by investigators in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) published on Friday said that traces of chlorine gas were discovered in the Syrian city of Douma, where an attack in April left tens of deaths and injuries.
The report issued by the OPCW did not find any traces of nerve gas and added that the date for publishing the final report is still unclear.
Last month, UN human rights investigators found that “current evidence is largely consistent with the use of chlorine.”
Activists and international powers accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons against its opponents and civilians, while Syria has repeatedly rejected these claims.
On 7 April, at least forty people were killed in an attack on Douma, which was still under the control of opposition fighters.
The suspected use of chemical weapons prompted the United States, Britain, and France to launch a series of airstrikes on Syria one week after the Douma attack.
