بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | يناير 22, 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.
Russian Style Truce
18 January 2020
Five civilians were killed, including four from one family, in a Russian airstrike that targeted a village in northwest Syria within the context of a military escalation in the area that has been going on for days, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
An AFP reporter on Sunday saw the bodies of the family wrapped in winter covers and placed on the floor in a hospital in the western countryside of Aleppo, waiting for family members to recognize them so they can be buried. Paramedics in the White Helmets (the civil defense in areas controlled by militant factions) transported the bodies the previous night.
Idlib has witnessed an escalation of bombardment since Wednesday despite the ceasefire declared by Russia – which supports Damascus whereas Turkey supports the factions.
Four Russian Soldiers
17 January 2020
Four Russian soldiers were killed on Friday in an offensive by Syrian opposition factions against a military position from which Russia manages operations in the eastern countryside of Idlib, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Friday.
The SOHR said that this comes on the third consecutive day of a new escalation of military operations by the Syrian government and the Russian “guarantor.” It said that more than one thousand and seven hundred and ninety-six aerial and ground strikes have been carried out in the last seventy-two hours mainly against the eastern, southern, and southeastern countryside of Idlib and the western and southern countryside of Aleppo.
Failure of the Truce
16 January 2020
United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called on Friday for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Syria’s opposition-held Idlib province, saying the latest ceasefire attempt had yet again failed to protect civilians.
Turkey, which for years has backed Syrian opposition, agreed a truce with Russia that was supposed to have taken hold in the bastion of three million people in the northwest earlier this month.
Around three hundred and fifty thousand Syrians, mostly women and children, have fled Idlib since early December, and sought shelter in border areas near Turkey, the United Nations said on Thursday.
Three Turkish Soldiers
16 January 2020
Three Turkish soldiers were killed on Thursday by a car bomb in an area in north Syria controlled by Turkish forces, said the ministry of defense in Ankara.
“Three brothers-in-arms were martyred in a car-bomb attack during a road check,” the ministry said in a brief statement.
Turkish forces are deployed in several areas in north and northeast Syria, where Ankara has launched three military operations between 2016 and 2019 that targeted the Islamic State and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) – which Turkey characterizes as “terrorists”.
Terrible Violation
16 January 2020
UN investigators on Sunday called for thousands of children of Islamic State militants to be repatriated from Syria to their families’ countries.
The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said in a report that the children were in a “particularly precarious” situation since they often lacked official papers.
“This, in turn, jeopardizes their rights to a nationality, hinders family reunification processes, and puts them at a higher risk of exploitation and abuse,” the report said.
The UN says around twenty-eight thousand children of foreign fighters are living in Syrian camps – twenty thousand of them from Iraq.
Thousands more are believed to be held in prisons, where teenage children are being detained alongside adults.
After the collapse of the self-proclaimed caliphate of the Islamic State last year, foreign fighters from nearly fifty countries were detained in Syria and Iraq.
Many of their relatives are held in the overcrowded al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, home to around sixty-eight thousand people and where more than five hundred people – mostly children – died in 2019.
It is estimated that around seven hundred to seven hundred and fifty children with European links are being held in camps in northeast Syria, with three hundred of them said to be French.
Some countries have started to repatriate the children – with or without their parents – on humanitarian grounds.
But the UN investigators criticized the practice of revoking citizenship of suspected Islamic State fighters used by countries including Britain, Denmark and France.
The Cave and the Doctor
15 January 2020
A young doctor, who managed an underground hospital in eastern Ghouta during the Syrian civil war was awarded a European award for extraordinary humanitarian acts.
Amani Ballour, a pediatrician was named this year’s recipient of the Council of Europe’s Raoul Wallenberg prize, awarded in honor of a Swedish diplomat who saved tens of thousands of Jews from Nazi persecution in Hungary during World War II.
Ballour was described in the council announcement on Wednesday as a young doctor who finished university in 2012 one year after the start of the Syrian conflict and began as a volunteer helping the wounded in a makeshift clinic.
The clinic was located in the eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of Damascus, which was under the control of rebels and besieged and bombarded by government forces.
Within a few years Ballour was heading a hospital known as the Cave with some one hundred staff, operating in underground shelters.
Ballour is the subject of a National Geographic documentary, also called “The Cave.”
According to National Geographic, Ballour left the hospital and eastern Ghouta in March 2018 as government forces launched a final assault on the enclave.
Ballour will be presented with the award on Friday. The day also marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of Wallenberg’s arrest in Budapest by Soviet forces after the city was liberated. He was never again seen alive in public.
Sweidaa Surprise
15 January 2020
Dozens of residents in Sweidaa governorate, south of Syria, held their first ever protest against the deteriorating economic situation in the country.
The Syrian official news agency SANA said on Wednesday a few people gathered in a square in the center of Sweidaa and started chanting “we want to live… we want to live.”
The Syrian pound suffered a new loss today as the exchange rate for of 1 US dollar exceeded 1,070 Syrian pounds in the capital Damascus and Aleppo and 1,080 in Idlib.
Syrian markets in general have witnessed major recession in all regions under the control of the Syrian government, the opposition, and the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Most Syrians have lost their savings especially as the Syrian pound reached its lowest rate, which became twenty times less in value since the beginning of the crisis entering its tenth year. The exchange rate for 1 US dollar was 50 Syrian pounds in early 2011.
A Strike in Depth
14 January 2020
Strikes that targeted the military T4 airport – which Damascus accused Israel of carrying out – killed at least three militants affiliated to Iran, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Wednesday.
A Syrian military source accused Israeli planes of carrying out an “aerial aggression” against the airport located in Homs governorate, according to a statement reported by the official news agency SANA. Syrian air defenses “confronted… the enemy missiles and brought down a number of them,” the source said.
The T4 military airport is in the eastern countryside of Homs in middle Syria, which is considered an area of Iranian influence. Syrian government forces as well as Iranian forces are stationed in the airport, whereas the Russian presence there is limited to a number of consultants.
Israel did not claim responsibility for the bombardment, as the spokeswoman for the Israeli army refused to comment on a question by the AFP.
These strikes coincided with a strike by unidentified planes against positions for government forces and allied groups in east of the country, according to the SOHR.
Rescue of one hundred Syrian
14 January 2020
Cyprus police said on Tuesday that they saved one hundred and one Syrian immigrants spotted in the Mediterranean, southeast of the Island which suffers from an influx of immigrants.
A marine patrol found a thirty-three-meter-long boat carrying immigrants eighteen nautical miles off of Protaras, a famous beach resort in southeast Cyprus.
The police added that the Syrian immigrants, eighty-eight men, six women, and seven children, were transferred to a reception center near the capital Nicosia.
The boat started its journey in Mersin, Turkey, noting that this sea route has become common for smugglers, the police said.
Syrians constituted more than three percent of asylum seekers in Cyprus in the second quarter of 2019. Cyprus has repeatedly alerted the European Union because of the influx of refugees.
In August, Cyprus called on other countries in the European Union to receive five thousand of the immigrants who arrived at the island, to alleviate “the disproportionate pressures and serious challenges” facing this county of less than one million people.
Figures by the European Statistics Office indicate that Cyprus is the European country with the highest rate of refugee reception compared to its population.
Syrian – Turkish Meeting
13 January 2020
The Syrian side in a trilateral meeting (Syria, Russia, and Turkey) in Moscow on Monday called on the Turkish side to completely comply with the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic and immediately and completely withdraw from all Syrian territory.
The Syrian side, represented by the head of the National Security Bureau Major General Ali Mamlouk, called on the Turkish side, represented by the head of the Intelligence Service Hakan Fidan, to comply with its commitments under the Sochi agreement on Idlib in 17 September 2018, especially in regards to clearing the area of terrorist and heavy weaponry and opening the Aleppo-Lattakia and the Aleppo-Hama roads, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA.
بواسطة Motaz al-Hinawy | أكتوبر 3, 2018 | Cost of War, غير مصنف
رغم كل ما طرح في تحليل وتفسير مجريات المجزرة التي ارتكبها تنظيم داعش في مدينة السويداء في ٢٥ تموز ٢٠١٨ والتي أدت إلى مقتل ما لا يقل عن ٢٠٠ شخص وجرح المئات من المدنيين، ورغم تعدد الروايات المتضاربة حول تفاصيل ما جرى والمتورطين تسهيلاً أو تنفيذاً، إلا أنه لا يمكن الاستناد اليوم بعد مرور ما يقارب الشهرين على المذبحة على أي رأيٍ حول ما ستؤول إليه الأيام القادمة. فبينما يرى كثيرون أنّ ما قبل مجزرة تموز ليس كما بعدها، وأنّ ضخامة الحدث بالنسبة لمدينة عاشت شبه هدوءٍ نسبيٍ خلال سنوات الحرب السورية سيكون مفصلياً بالنسبة لمجريات الأحداث القادمة؛ إلا أنّ آخرين يرون أنّ ما جرى ليس سوى مجرّد تفصيلٍ من يوميات الحرب السورية. الأهم من الاتهامات المتبادلة والاختلافات في وجهات النظر والمواقف بين مختلف الأطراف في السويداء حول حقيقة ما حدث ومن يتحمل المسؤولية هي حالة القلق والتوتر الشديد والخوف الحقيقي الذي طرأت على حياة الناس وأصابت حركتهم بشلل شبه مطلق.
درهم سلاح يحتاج الى قنطار عقل
في أعقاب الهجوم وما رافقه من حالة توتر واستنفار لدى أهالي مدينة السويداء وقراها تشكلت لجان حماية محلية من ابناء المدينة والبلدات ونُصبت حواجز في كافة الطرق والحارات وفي مداخل القرى تحسباً لأي تسللٍ أو أي حدث طارئ، أما في القرى الشرقية التي تعرضت للهجوم فقد تم تشكيل خط دفاع كبير من المتطوعين والأهالي واللجان الشعبية بالإضافة إلى التعزيزات العسكرية التي بدأت بالتجمع والتحشيد استعداداً لعملية عسكرية في بادية السويداء.
كان لهذه الحواجز دورٌ كبيرٌ في طمأنة الناس وتهدئة مخاوفهم خاصةً وأنّ القائمين بأعمال الحراسة والدوريات هم من أبناء المنطقة، ولكن على الرغم من ذلك حدثت مواقف وأخطاء كثيرة ناجمة عن حالة الشك والتوتر كادت أن تؤدي الى حالة من الفوضى لولا تداركها واحتواؤها في اللحظات الأخيرة . ومن هذه المواقف مقتل شابين بالخطأ على أحد الحواجز في المدينة بعد أيامٍ قليلة من المجزرة، حيث كانا يستقلان دراجة نارية في وقت ٍمتأخرٍ من الليل ليتفاجآ بمجموعةٍ من الشباب المسلحين كانت قد أقامت حاجزاً مؤقتاً في أحد الطرقات فهرب الشابان ظناً منهما أنّ عناصر الحاجز من الدواعش، الأمر الذي أثار ارتياب العناصر ففتحوا نيران بنادقهم باتجاه الشابين الأمر الذي أدى إلى مصرعهما.
وفي حادثةٍ مشابهة ونتيجةً لانعدام التنسيق بين اللجان الشعبية وحالة التوتر السائدة حدث اشتباكٌ مسلح في منطقة بساتين الجبل أدى الى سقوط قتلى وجرحى. وقعت الحادثة عندما كانت إحدى السيارات التابعة للجان في دورية حراسة اعتيادية، وأثناء مرورها في أحد الطرقات وجد السائق الطريق مقطوعاً بحجارة، الأمر الذي دفعه للالتفاف والعودة خوفاً من أن تكون السيارة قد وقعت في كمينٍ، وعندما رأى عناصر الحاجز القريب السيارة قادمة باتجاههم مسرعة ظنوا أنها محاولة تسلل من الدواعش فاشتبكوا مع عناصر السيارة بالأسلحة.
لم تقتصر الأخطاء على ذلك، فقد استغلت عصابات الخطف والسرقة الأوضاع الأمنية المتوترة وغياب المحاسبة لإقامة حواجز بحجة الحماية، ويقوم عناصر هذه الحواجز بتوقيف ضحاياهم وابتزازهم وسرقة أموالهم وجوالاتهم وحتى سياراتهم وتهديدهم بتصفيتهم بحجة التعاون مع داعش، أو يقومون بخطفهم وطلب فدية ٍماليةٍ من ذويهم لإطلاق سراحهم. وبالطبع فإن أغلب المستهدفين كانوا من النازحين إلى السويداء من خارجها أو من عشائر البدو المتواجدة في المنطقة.
كما تجلت الخلافات الشخصية والحساسيات العائلية الموجودة في بعض المناطق بشكلٍ واضح بعد المجزرة، فكل طرفٍ يريد أن ينسب البطولات له ويتهم الطرف الآخر بالتخاذل والتقصير، ووصلت المزاودات إلى حدٍّ هزلي تجلى في تفاصيل سطحية، فعلى سبيل المثال تنافست بعض العائلات حول عدد أفرادها الذين يقفون على الحواجز، فيما قام بعض الأشخاص بتوزيع حلويات على السيارات المارة على الحاجز بحجة إعطاء صورةٍ حضارية عن المكان، بينما كان القصد من ورائها إغاظة الجهة المنافسة والمزاودة عليها في مشاهد تذكرنا بمسلسل الخربة الذي تدور أحداثه في المنطقة. وفي سياق ذلك كان أبناء إحدى القرى قد أقاموا دوريات حراسة على الحواجز في أوقات النهار والليل في حركةٍ تعد الوحيدة بين كافة قرى السويداء، وتكمن المفارقة أنّ موقع القرية يتوسط المحافظة والخطر عليها شبه معدوم، كما أن غالبية من كانوا يقفون في النهار هم تجار المازوت المهرب سابقاً والفاسدون المعروفون للجميع .ومن التفاصيل اليومية على الحواجز أيضاً، قيام بعض الشباب باستعراضاتٍ ذكورية برفقة أسلحتهم على الملأ وتصوير أنفسهم في “سلفيات” ونشر صورهم أثناء دوريات الحراسة على صفحاتهم على الفيس بوك.
وكان الكثير من الشباب قد رفضوا الوقوف على الحواجز والقيام بالحراسة معتبرين أنّ الموضوع مجرّد تزلف واستعراض مظاهر، وقد يكونوا محقين في ذلك، إلا أنّ بعض من رفضوا المشاركة هم بالأساس من الحزبيين وممن كانوا يوزعون شعارات الوطنية والبطولة من بيوتهم ومكاتبهم.
ارتياب من الحياة الطبيعية
أدت المجزرة إلى تغير الحياة اليومية للناس حيث يسود جوٌ من الخوف والترقب والتوتر في المنطقة، الأمر الذي جعل الناس تُمضي أوقاتها في تصفح صفحات الأخبار المحلية كـ”السويداء 24” ومتابعة أي حدثٍ مستفسرين عن مصدر أصوات الرصاص التي تخرج هنا وهناك بين الحين والآخر. كما شكلت القطط والكلاب في جولاتها الليلية مصدر هلعٍ بالنسبة للكثير من الناس الذين باتوا متوجسين من أية حركة أو صوت غير مألوف، فمثلاً في إحدى الليالي اشتبه حارس إحدى المنشآت بحركةٍ وأصواتٍ بالقرب من المكان، فما كان منه إلا أن اتصل بصاحب المنشأة ليأتي الأخير مع مجموعة من أقاربه ليفتحوا نيران أسلحتهم بشكلٍ هستيريٍ وعشوائي باتجاه المنطقة المحيط بالمنشأة. ونتيجة لسماع أصوات الرصاص هبّ شباب القرية والقرى المجاورة لمؤازرة المجموعة في ظاهرة تسمى في السويداء بالـ “الفزعة” وقاموا بتمشيط المكان ليتبين أنّ مصدر الحركة المريبة كان كلباً حاول مهاجمة دجاجات الناطور الأمر الذي تسبب في كل تلك الاستنفارات وإطلاق الرصاص.
وفي حادثةٍ أخرى، انقطع التيار الكهربائي نتيجةً لعطلٍ فنيٍ في منتصف الليل تقريباً، ليلتها لم ينم أهالي السويداء، فليلة هجوم داعش انقطع التيار الكهرباء أيضاً، الأمر الذي جعل الناس تمضي ليلتها في الشوارع وعلى أسطح البيوت والحواجز.
وفي تفصيلٍ لا يخلو من الطرافة أيضاً احتار الشبان في أمر ذقونهم التي كان إطلاقها بكثافة أمراً عادياً قبل الأحداث الأخيرة، ولكن بعد المجزرة بات منظر الذقون الطويلة يثير الشك والخوف والريبة، الأمر الذي دفع العديد من الشبان الى حلاقة ذقونهم احترازياً. ولكن مع سريان إشاعات جديدة تقول إنّ عناصر الجيش السوري وخلال مداهمتهم لبعض المغائر التي كان يختبئ فيها عناصر التنظيم وجدوا معدات حلاقة وآثاراً لشعرٍ محلوقٍ لإخفاء هويتهم، هنا انقلبت الآية رأساً على عقب وبخاصة لدى الأشخاص الذين لهم ملامح قد يخالها المرتاب أنها مغايرة لسحنة أهل المنطقة، الأمر الذي دفع الكثيرين لتخفيف ذقونهن وتحديدها وإضفاء موديلات عليها، أو ارتداء رموز وقلادات دينية في أعناقهم، أو التحدث بلكنة المنطقة المميزة وبصوت ٍعالٍ مستبقين سؤال العناصر على الحواجز فتسمع عبارات مثل: (الله محي الشباب، أنا فلان ابن فلان، درزي ابن درزي،)، وأحياناً يعقب الشخص مازحاً ولكسر التوتر: حقكم والله تدققوا شكلي طالع مثل الدواعش!
وعلى الرغم من الأخطاء والتفاصيل اليومية المقيتة التي تحدث على الحواجز التي يحرسها المتطوعون من أبناء المدينة، يبقى الرضى عنها محط إجماع معظم الناس وبخاصة عند مقارنتها بالحواجز الأمنية ذات السمعة السيئة، فالجميع بات يدرك أنّ من واجبه ومسؤوليته حماية منطقته وأهله في وقت لاتزال المعارك على أشدها في البادية، ومازال خطر التنظيم الذي أسر العشرات من المدنيين أثناء ارتكابه للمجزرة قائماً في كل لحظة ويقوم بين الحين والآخر بإرسال رسائل مرعبة عبر إعدام الأسرى تدريجياً للضغط وإجبار الحكومة السورية والأهالي للتفاوض مع التنظيم.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | أغسطس 15, 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.
Victims in the North
11 August 2018
Al-Hayat
Fifty-three civilians, including twenty-six children, were killed in an air strike on Friday night that targeted areas controlled by opposition factions in northern Syria, according to a new toll from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The SOHR said that “forty-one civilians, including twenty-five children, were killed in a night airstrike on the town of Orm al-Kobra in the western countryside of Aleppo,” while twelve others, including one child, were killed in air raids on the governorate of Idlib. “Air raids conducted by Russian airplanes and explosive drums launched by Syrian helicopters targeted areas in southern Idlib governorate,” the SOHR said. The current escalation is the most dangerous since the announcement of the de-escalation zone in Idlib last year. (al-Hayat) For the fourth consecutive day, Russian air defense systems brought down drones targeting Hmeimeim airbase. This escalation coincides with the beginning of government military operations in northern Hama and southern Idlib.
Another sixty-nine people were killed, including fifty-two civilians, as a result of an unexplained explosion in a weapons depot early Sunday morning in the town of Sarmada in Idlib governorate, according to a new toll from the SOHR on Monday.
“The number of people killed as a result of the explosion rose to sixty-nine, including fifty-two civilians and seventeen militants from Tahrir al-Sham (previously Nusra),” said the SOHR.
The civilian death toll includes seventeen children, according to the SOHR, which said that the majority of those killed are family members of militants from Tahrir al-Sham who were displaced from Homs.
The rescue operation has been ongoing since dawn on Sunday, according to Abdul Rahman, who said that the death toll is likely to rise because of “dozens of wounded, some in serious condition.”
The depot was located in a residential building in the town of Sarmada in the northern countryside of Idlib. The reasons behind the explosion are “still unclear.”
Displacement from Idlib … to Where?
8 August 2018
Reuters
The anticipated battle in Idlib could lead to the displacement of seven hundred thousand Syrians, according to reports by UN-supervised aid agencies. Many previous battles ended in agreements that provided for the departure of opposition militants and their families to Idlib, which doubled the population of the governorate to two and a half million. This potential battle could exacerbate the humanitarian situation and increase relief needs in an exceptional manner. UN regional humanitarian coordinator Panos Moumtzis said in June that the governorate’s entire population of two and a half million could be displaced and move towards the Turkish border if there was a major battle. Such a battle would be more complicated and brutal than anything seen so far in the seven-year war, he said. (Reuters) The UN has repeatedly cautioned about the dangers of an attack on Idlib. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with Russian media last month that Idlib governorate would be a priority for his forces.
The New Opposition Army
13 August 2018
Middle East Newspaper
The armed opposition in northern Syria has been working on establishing a “national army” with Turkish support, after the start of the countdown to the battle for Idlib. This means that there are two main armed groups in northern Syria: the National Army and the National Front for Liberation, in addition to Tahrir al-Sham. The main challenge is uniting the armed opposition without Tahrir al-Sham. The National Army receives financial and military support from Turkey, which also provides support for the National Front for Liberation, which in turn was formed by the merger of five groups, notably the Syrian Liberation Front, factions from the Free Syrian Army, and al-Ahrar Army faction.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hinted at the possibility of conducting more military operations in northern Syria to establish safe zones that could accommodate Syrian refugees and prevent a new influx of displacement into his country. He added that his country has completed the necessary arrangements to establish more safe zones inside Syrian territory, as it did before during the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations. (Middle East)
Hama’s Border Crossings are Closed
12 August 2018
Enab Baladi
The border crossings of al-Madhiq Citadel and Mork are two of the most important border crossings between areas controlled by the government and those controlled by the opposition. They represent symbols of the economies of war and exchange of interests among the warring parties from a military perspective. In the wake of repeated escalations in Idlib, the Syrian government and Russian police have closed the border crossings of al-Madhiq Citadel and Mork in Hama countryside, effectively cutting off commercial and civilian activities. The closure of the border crossings coincided with the arrival of government military reinforcements to the northern countryside of Hama on Friday. (Enab Baladi)
Ousting ISIS from Sweidaa’s Dessert
12 August 2018
SANA & Enab Baladi
Government forces declared their full control over Sweidaa’s administrational border in its eastern countryside as part of their campaign against ISIS. The official Syrian news agency SANA said that government forces made wide progress and were able to encircle ISIS on Sunday in Tolool al-Safa, which is located within the administrational border of Damascus Countryside governorate. On Saturday, government forces controlled the following areas: Rosoom al-Tathmooni, Khirbet al-Ambashi, Tilal al-Hibarieh, Rosoom Marroush, Souh al-Na’meh, Dharet Rashed, Zraibieh, Khirbet al-Shahrieh, Wadi al-Rmailan, Wadi Shajara, Zmlet Nasser, al-Nahyan, Tal Dhabe’, Tal al-Dhbai’ieh, and Qabr al-Sheikh Houssain. ISIS did not comment on the battles and its propaganda has been completely absent since the last attacks in Sweidaa, which left more than two hundred people dead. ISIS still holds women and children from Sweidaa as captives. (Enab Baladi)
Russian Pressure for the Return of Refugees
8 August 2018
Enab Baladi
Russia announced its plan for the return of Syrian refugees on 18 July, making it the first serious international initiative in this regard. It sent out applications for hosting countries to provide estimates of the number of refugees. It also opened up five border crossings and seventy-six centers to welcome returning refugees, which can accommodate three hundred and thirty-six thousand refugees. The main function of these centers is to monitor the return of refugees from foreign countries to Syria, provide necessary aid to them, and then send them to their areas of permanent residence or keep those who have no place to go in the shelter centers.
The Russia plan involves the return of 1.7 million Syrian refugees to Syrian in the “near future” which are distributed as the following according to data from the Russian Ministry of Defense: eight hundred and ninety thousand refugees from Lebanon, three hundred thousand refugees from Turkey, two hundred thousand refugees from European countries, one hundred and fifty thousand refugees from Jordan, one hundred thousand refugees from Iraq, and one hundred thousand refugees from Egypt. The Russian government presented its plan for the return of refugees to Syria during the Helsinki summit on 16 July, which joined President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin. Moscow then dispatched senior officials from the ministries of foreign affairs and defense on a shuttle tour to Jordan, Lebanon, Germany, and France. Then talked about solidarity with these countries to ensure the success of the plan and the return of the refugees.
There were many doubts regarding the number of refugees who accepted the Russian plan. Under the initial text of the plan, Russia could not dispel the fears of the refugees wanted by the Syrian security authorities or those who left the county for fear of the mandatory military service. (Enab Baladi)
There is concern among human rights organizations and refugees regarding how host countries, which are already under pressure because of the refugees, would respond to the Russian initiative, as pressure could be implicitly or explicitly exercised on refugees to return involuntarily.
Cost of Reconstruction
8 August 2018
ESCWA, AFP
The United Nations estimated the cost of the war in Syria at around four hundred billion US dollars in a meeting for the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on Wednesday, 8 August. This estimate does not include human losses that Syrians have suffered during the bloody war, such as death, injuries, and displacement. The financial and human losses reflect the high burden of the war and the great challenges facing reconstruction, which requires, in addition to financial and human resources, credible, competent, and inclusive institutions to overcome the consequences of the war and ensure stability thereafter.
Jordanian Commercial Delegation in Damascus in Preparation for the Resumption of Commercial Trade.
8 August 2018
Enab Baladi
Damascus received a Jordanian commercial delegation at the invitation of Syrian economic officials, in preparation for the resumption of commercial and economic relationships between the two sides. On Wednesday, 8 August, the Ministry of Internal Commerce and Consumer Protection said that a meeting was held at the ministry in Damascus to discuss ways to restore commercial relationships between Jordan and Syria. It also said that the Jordanian delegation expressed its desire to open up border crossings between the two countries, especially Nassib border crossing, in order to start the commercial exchange, including all agricultural and industrial sectors. The Syrian side viewed the meeting as a new chapter in the Syrian-Jordanian commercial cooperation. It said that this was a preparatory meeting to open Nassib border crossing between the two countries.
Nassib border crossing is of significant political and economic importance to the Syrian government and Jordan. Government forces took control over the border crossing on 6 July during a military campaign against opposition areas in Daraa governorate, south of Syria. (Enab Baladi)
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | أغسطس 7, 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.
UNDOF Returns Under Russian Umbrella
4 August 2018
The UN peacekeeping force has carried out a patrol for the first time since 2014 in a key crossing point between the Syrian Golan Heights and the occupied part of these heights after coordination between Russia, Israel, and Syria, said a UN spokesperson on Friday.
Thursday’s patrol at the Qonaitera crossing point was the first since the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) withdrew in 2014 after al-Qaeda affiliated militants took control over the area.
Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, have regained control of territory near the Golan Heights in recent weeks.
“The patrol to the Qonaietra crossing point is part of UNDOF’s ongoing efforts to return incrementally to the area of separation,” said UN spokesman Farhan Haq.
He said that the mission held talks with both Syrian and Israeli forces ahead of the patrol. Syrian forces and Russian military police conducted “simultaneous” patrols in the area, said Haq.
After the Russian army’s declaration that it intends to deploy eight military observation posts in Golan, a UN spokesperson said that any Russian presence would be “separate and distinct from that of UNDOF.”
The UN is seeking the full return of the force to the Syrian side.
Currently, more than half of UNDOF’s nine hundred and seventy-eight troops are deployed on the so-called Bravo (Syrian) side.
UNDOF has carried out more than thirty patrols in the northern and central parts of the disengagement zone since it resumed its activities on the Syrian side in February.
UNDOF was established in 1974 to observe the cease-fire line that separates Israelis from Syrians in the Golan Heights.
Russian Deadline for Idlib
4 August 2018
Moscow gave Ankara until the Russian-Turkish-French-German summit scheduled for 7 September to resolve the issue of Idlib, informed sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
Ankara pressed opposition factions in northern Syria to unite and form the National Front for Liberation, which includes seventy thousand fighters, according to informed estimates. This comes as part of a plan to set a deadline for Tahrir al-Sham, which includes factions such as Fat’h al-Sham (previously Nusra), to dissolve itself so that Syrians would be able to join within the new bloc and “find a mechanism” for foreign militants to “exit.”
On the other hand, government forces continue their push for a military operation in Idlib. They have bombarded opposition positions, but are cautious in getting near the twelve Turkish observation points deployed in Idlib near the countryside of Hama, Lattakia, and Aleppo.
Around three million people live in Idlib, half of which are displaced from other areas. The Turkish side was able to get a deadline from Russia during the Sochi meeting last week in order to “resolve” the issue of Idlib before the Turkish-Russian-French-German summit on 7 September.
A Kurdish Rifle for Druze
4 August 2018
The leader of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) Siban Hamo told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that his forces are ready to head for Sweidaa to “protect” its Druze citizens from ISIS and liberate its eastern countryside from ISIS elements.
“ISIS launched barbaric attacks on our people in Sweidaa. The pain of the Druze is the same pain we felt in Kobane and Afrin. We do not distinguish between these attacks and the attacks on our people in Sweidaa. The YPG stands ready to send forces to Sweidaa to liberate it from terrorism,” said Hamo.
Negotiations collapsed between ISIS and dignitaries from Sweidaa to release kidnapped women and children that ISIS is holding. Hammoud al-Hinawi, a Druze sheikh, refused ISIS’s demands. “[ISIS] demanded, through mediators, that their elements be transferred from the Yarmouk basin in the western countryside of Daraa to a desert area in the eastern countryside of Sweidaa and that Syrian government forces retreat from villages in the desert of Sweidaa in exchange for the release of thirteen women kidnapped from the villages of Shreihi, al-Shabki, and Rami” in Sweidaa countryside, Sheikh al-Hinawi told a German news agency.
Attacks and suicide bombings left around two hundred and fifty people dead in Sweidaa, in the fiercest ISIS operation in years on this Druze majority area. Since then, residents of Sweidaa have been on high alert to confront ISIS and repel it from the administrational borders of the governorate. Attacks may come from the desert east of the city or Yarmouk basin in the west.
After sending military reinforcement to Sweidaa governorate, Damascus is preparing for an offensive on two fronts: the first towards the eastern countryside of Sweidaa and the other towards the area of Lajat in the western countryside of Sweidaa, north of the city of Daraa.
A Syria “Offer”: From Russia to the United States
4 August 2018
On Saturday, the Russian army said that it sent a message to the United States in the previous month that included a proposal for cooperation in the reconstruction of Syria and the return of refugees to their country, confirming media reports about this matter.
Chief of the Russian Army General Staff Valery Gerasimov sent a letter to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford stating Moscow’s readiness to cooperate with Washington on clearing mines in the war-torn country and helping refugees return to their homes.
“It is disappointing that the US side is unable to comply with an agreement not to publish the content of the communications until after both sides agree,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Moscow urged the UN Security Council last week to help in reviving the Syrian economy and the return of refugees, at a time when its ally Damascus was waging a campaign to regain territory in the seven-year conflict.
In July, Moscow also presented proposals to the Unites States regarding the return of refugees from Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and Egypt, which included the offer of international financial support.
Distance to Israel: Forty or Eighty-five Kilometers?
3 August 2018
A senior military official in Tel Aviv refuted Russia’s claim that Iran withdrew its forces eighty-five kilometers from the disengagement border in the occupied Golan. He said that these forces are present in the vicinity of Damascus and are currently forty kilometers away from the border with Israel.
The Israeli official refused to confirm or deny the Israeli army’s responsibility for bombing three Iranian position in Khan al-Sheeh, Qatana, west of Damascus on Friday morning. He stated his government’s position in that “Iran should leave all of Syria and cease military activity there, whether it is activity by the Revolutionary Guard or militias affiliated with it.”
“Clearly, this withdrawal needs time and will happen gradually. Iranians began to show serious signs and steps for withdrawal. However, they will not hesitate to fool the world, including their Russian allies, and get around agreements and breach commitments. This will force us to increase surveillance and provide evidence for their breaches,” he said.
“We will leave Syria if we feel that it is able to achieve relative stability,” the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Bahram Qasimi said on Saturday.
On Thursday, Israel said it would stop offering treatment for those injured in the Syrian war after the Syrian army regained southern Syria.
Modest Breakthrough: Between Damascus and the Kurds
2 August 2018
The visit by the Kurdish-Arab delegation of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) to Damascus revealed the depth of the gap between the two sides and the false impressions of each side towards the other.
As for the SDC, it came to Damascus with a belief that the US-led international coalition against ISIS will remain in north-east of the Euphrates. Therefore, the SDC’s delegation raised the stakes: first, the return of services such as electricity, health, water, and education in areas controlled by the SDC, which constitute one third of Syria’s area of one hundred and eighty-five thousand square kilometers, and then reaching a formula that serves the “common interest” in investing oil fields that represent ninety percent of Syrian production and gas that represents half the national production.
According to the visiting delegation, success in “confidence-building measures” would lead to the second phase that includes the “Syrian government’s” control over border crossings with Iraq and Turkey and the deployment of security forces. The third phase would then address the nature of governance, whether that is a decentralized system or local administrations.
On the other hand, Damascus seemed not to be in a rush. Damascus was talking about “red lines”: control over all land border crossings, including those with Iraq and Turkey and under the control of the SDC, raising the official flag over all border crossings and public institutions, and the refusal of any “separatist step.” Damascus was not ready to talk about decentralization or self-administrations. Moreover, it is convinced that Law Number 107, which addresses local councils of the Ministry of Local Administration, is sufficient to take care of Kurdish concerns, in addition to some concessions regarding Kurdish rights in language, celebrations, and services.
Obviously, Damascus is relying on three things in its strict position: the recent military gains near Damascus, Homs, and southern Syria, the Russian aerial support and Iranian land support, and betting that the United States would leave Syria and that time is on Damascus’s side.
With this gap, the sole “achievement” of the meetings was the lifting of a ban by Damascus on technicians to fix electricity generating turbines in Tabaqa Dam on the Euphrates river and a ban on employees to visit health facilities. The formation of a joint committee was very slow.
“Revolution Icon”: In a Temporary Tomb
3 August 2018
Syrian opposition actress May Skaf, known as the “revolution icon,” was buried in the Paris suburb of Dourdan on Friday. Hundreds of friends, relatives, and Syrian opposition activists attended the burial.
Her son Joud said that his mother’s tomb in France is only temporary “until we all go back to Syria after it has been liberated from the Assad regime.” He said that May (49 years) died suddenly on 23 July. Medical reports showed that she died of a brain stroke and rupture in one of the brain’s veins.
Syrian novelist Dima Wannous, the late May’s cousin told alarbiya.net that May “was very depressed in the previous four months because of the situation in Syria, the Iranian-Russian occupation of her country, the continuation of Syrian bloodshed, and the increase in numbers of victims dying every day.”
May was one of a few professional artists who supported the Syrian revolution from the beginning. “I will not lose hope. I will not lose hope. It’s called the great Syria not the Assad Syria,” she wrote one day before her death.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | أغسطس 3, 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.
Idlib in the Eye of the Storm
26-29 July 2018
After the seizure by the government forces of the southern part of the country, focus shifted to Idlib where two and a half million people live, half of which are displaced people, in addition to forty to fifty thousand militants including extremist elements. Opposition factions formed a new army to confront government forces heading towards Idlib governorate, a source in the opposition said.
“Opposition factions have unified, most importantly the Syrian Liberation Front, Levant Liberation Committee (Tahrir al-Sham), the National Front, Islam Army (Jaish al-Islam), and the Free Idlib Army within a new army called the Conquest Army (Jaish al-Fat’h) and with more than seventy-five thousand fighters to confront government forces that have started to mobilize towards the area from the southern and western countryside of Aleppo, the western countryside of Idlib, and the countryside of Lattakia. Each front has been given its assignment,” said the source.
The source expected military operations to begin at the end of August, after the exit of the residents of Kfraya and al-Fou’a from the countryside of Idlib. Government forces started to send major military reinforcements to the north and west of Syria.
On the other hand, the Head of the Syrian Negotiating Committee Nars Harir ruled out a battle in Idlib governorate because it “would not be easy,” based on Turkish “guarantees” to prevent this battle, which the government and its allies are pushing for.
The government’s current priority is to retake control of Idlib governorate in northwestern Syria, said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an interview with Russian media published on Thursday. “Our objective now is Idlib, although it is not the only objective,” said al-Assad. “There are territories in eastern Syria that are under the control of different groups. Therefore, we will advance towards these areas, and military officers will set the priorities. Idlib is one of these priorities,” he said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country is planning to host a summit regarding developments in Syria in September with Russian, French, and German participation. The future of Idlib will be on the table in the meeting of the sponsors of the Astana process (Russia, Iran, and Turkey) in Sochi on Monday and Tuesday.
A Bloody Day in Sweidaa
26 – 27 July 2018
The Druze-majority Sweidaa governorate laid to rest its citizens who were killed in attacks carried out by ISIS that left more than two hundred and fifty people dead in the biggest jihadist operation in this area since the onset of the conflict in Syria since 2011.
Government forces along with local militants were able to repel the jihadist offensive in Sweidaa city and villages in the northern and eastern countryside. The latest report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that two hundred and fifty-two people were killed, including one hundred and thirty-nine civilians, and the rest were pro-government fighters, the majority of which are “local residents who took up arms to defend their villages.”
The tally has gradually increased since Wednesday morning with the death of some of the injured and the discovery of new civilian bodies; the SOHR said that they “were executed inside their homes, in addition to the death of some people due to their injuries.”
ISIS began the attack on Wednesday morning with four suicide attacks in Sweidaa city that coincided with similar attacks in the countryside. It then launched an attack on villages and took control over some of them.
After several hours of bombardment and clashes, government forces were able to repel the offensive, according to the SOHR and official media.
Sixty-three ISIS militants, including seven suicide bombers, were killed in the attack and the subsequent bombardment and clashes, according to the SOHR.
On Thursday, the official Syrian television broadcasted live images from the funerals of those who died in Sweidaa countryside amid an atmosphere of sorrow and anger.
Coffins draped with the Syrian flag were placed at the center of a hall where hundreds of Druze sheiks and youth gathered.
Some young men carried portraits of the victims, which were also placed on top of each coffin. At least two men carrying machine guns were dancing, while others were clapping and chanting.
The International Committee for the Red Cross condemned the attacks on its Twitter account, saying “From Sweidaa… Bad news. Civilians are not targets.”
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks in two separate statements on Wednesday, saying that the “soldiers of the caliphate” carried them out in Sweidaa city and countryside.
“Elements from the terrorist ISIS organization committed a barbaric and ugly crime that left hundreds of martyrs and injured” in Sweidaa, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mou’alem said on Thursday.
This is the biggest assault on the governorate, which has mostly stayed immune to the conflict. Government forces control all parts of the governorate, whereas the presence of ISIS militants is restricted to a desert area on its northeastern outskirts.
After being ousted from vast areas in Syria and neighboring Iraq, ISIS is still capable of carrying out bloody attacks starting off from pockets and desert areas.
Government forces expelled ISIS from neighborhoods in southern Damascus, while hundreds of militants were evacuated from Yarmouk camp and surrounding neighborhoods to the Syrian desert that extends from central Syria all the way to the Iraqi border and includes parts in Sweidaa governorate.
Since being evacuated, jihadists have carried out attacks on government and pro-government positions in the desert and surrounding areas, according to the SOHR.
Local social media networks posted what they said were pictures of ISIS militants who were killed during the clashes on Wednesday. They reported that some of them had IDs indicating that they were from Yarmouk camp.
Return of the Flag to the Liberated Rubble
27 July 2018
Some three hundred Syrian soldiers and civilians held a symbolic celebration after the government regained control of Qonaitera city in the south and resulted in the departure of opposition fighters.
The city of Qonaitera, which is semi-deserted and devastated after Arab-Israeli wars in the 1960s and 1970s, is located in the demilitarized zone near the part of the Golan Heights that Israel occupies.
Opposition factions and Tahrir al-Sham (previously Nusra) took control of the city after the onset of the conflict in Syria in 2011.
Government forces have almost full control of the borderline with the occupied Golan Heights, after taking back most of Qonaitera governorate in a military operation that was followed by a settlement agreement brokered by Russia with factions stationed there, which resulted in the departure of hundreds of militants and civilians to northern Syria last week.
To “celebrate” this victory, three hundred people, including soldiers, civilians, and militants who agreed to hand over their weapons, gathered in the city and held a symbolic ceremony, raising the Syrian flag in the square.
A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was placed on a destroyed memorial at the Tahrir Square, according to the AFP’s reporter who took part in a government-supervised tour.
Controversy over the Terms of Reconstruction
28 July 2018
On Friday, Russia urged global powers to help Syria revive its economy and bring back refugees, while its ally Damascus continues its campaign to restore territories it lost control over in the conflict that has been ongoing since 2011.
Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky to the UN called for an end to unilateral sanctions against Syria, saying that countries should not link aid to their demands of political change to Bashar al-Assad’s government.
“Reviving the Syrian economy” constitutes “a crucial challenge”, with Syria suffering from severe shortage in construction material, heavy equipment, and fuel to rebuild areas totally devastated during the battles, said Polyansky to the UN Security Council.
“It would be wise for all international partners to join assistance in Syrian recovery efforts, to eschew artificial linkages to political momentum,” he said.
France, however, clearly said that there will be no reconstruction aid for Syria unless Assad agrees to a political transition that includes a new constitution and elections.
French Ambassador Francois Delattre told the council that Assad was scoring “victories without peace” and that political talks were needed for a final settlement.
“We will not take part in the rebuilding of Syria unless a political transition is effectively carried out with constitutional and electoral processes” conducted “in a sincere and meaningful way,” said Delattre.
A political transition is an “indispensable” condition for stability, he said, adding that without stability, “no reason can justify France and the European Union’s financing of reconstruction efforts.”
This month Russia presented proposals for the return of Syrian refugees from Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and Egypt that would involve international financial support.
A Kurdish-Baathist Roadmap
28 July 2018
On Saturday, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political wing of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), announced after a meeting with representatives from Damascus the formation of bilateral committees to advance negotiations in order to develop a roadmap that would lead to decentralized rule in the country.
These are considered the first formal public talks between the SDC and Damascus to discuss the future of the self-administered areas in northern Syria. This step comes after the government regained control of vast areas in the country it had lost since the onset of the ongoing conflict in 2011.
The SDC’s visit to Damascus, which started on Thursday, came after an invitation from the Syrian government, according to a statement from the SDC posted on Facebook on Saturday.
The meeting held on Thursday resulted in “decisions to form committees at various levels to advance dialogue and negotiations to put an end to violence and war, which have exhausted the Syrian people and society on the one hand, and to place a roadmap that leads to a democratic and decentralized Syria,” according to the statement.
No official statement was issued from Damascus.
Throughout the seven year conflict, military confrontations on the ground between government forces and Kurdish fighters were a rare occurrence.
After decades of marginalization, Kurdish influence in Syria increased with the gradual retreat of government forces from their areas in 2012. They subsequently declared self-administration and then a federal system about two years ago in the Rogavav area (western Kurdistan).
The SDF, the backbone of which is the People’s Protection Units (YPG), controls around thirty percent of the country in northern Syria, making it the second dominant force on the ground after the Syrian army.
Damascus holds the Kurdish fighters’ alliance with Washington against them. The latter has provided air coverage for their military operations against ISIS through an international coalition and training, arms, and consultants on the ground.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier gave the Kurds an option to solve matters either through negotiations or military decisiveness.
“Voluntary” Return
28 July 2018
On Saturday, the General Directorate for Security in Lebanon secured the voluntary return of seven hundred and twenty-two Syrian refugees from Shab’a in southern Lebanon and Middle Bokaa’ in eastern Lebanon through al-Masna’ border crossing east of Lebanon towards Syrian territory.
“As part of the follow-up to Syrian refugees wishing to voluntarily return to their towns, the General Directorate for Public security and in coordination with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has secured the voluntary return of seven hundred and twenty-two Syrian refugees from Shab’a and Middle Bokaa’ through al-Masna’ border crossing towards Syrian territory.”
The Director General for Public Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim said that the upcoming period will witness the return of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees from Lebanon to Syria.
It is worth mentioning that the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is about one million and eight hundred and fifty thousand refugees. The General Directorate for Public Security has secured the return of hundreds of them in coordination with the UNHCR.
This comes after a visit by the Russian envoy Alexander Lavrentyev to Damascus, Beirut, and Amman to discuss the return of refugees from countries neighboring Syria.
Torture Lists
28 July 2018
The government’s disclosure of lists of detainees who died under torture “reveals the extent of war crimes and crimes against humanity inside government prisons,” said vice president of the Syrian National Coalition Badr Jamous. “Neither the UN nor the international commission of inquiry can condone this,” he added.
In recent days, the government handed over records of deceased people from different governorates who died under torture in various prisons. Human rights activists said that the lists included a thousand detainees from the city of Darya in Damascus countryside, seven hundred and fifty from Hasakeh, five hundred and fifty from Aleppo, four hundred and sixty from al-Mou’damieh, and thirty from Yabroud.
The goal from this disclosure is to “alleviate the crisis when orders to free detainees are given by Russia,” Jamous said. He added that the government killed tens of thousands of detainees, and revealing the matter all at once would be a great shock. “We are also fearful that the killing will go on in prisons to eliminate as many people as possible because of international silence,” he went on to say.
Jamous also said that disclosing these lists, withdrawing ID’s of the deceased, and issuing death certificates for them would help Damascus in confiscating property according to Law Number 10, which the government plans to use to carry out major demographic changes in the county.
