Moscow brings Israeli and Syrian officials together. Wed Feb 10, 2021 Syria is still in a state of chaos, and unending bloodletting. Russia is however trying to play a constructive role in facilitating a dialogue between the Assad regime and Israel. Although it is not aimed at bringing peace, it might be helpful at some point. In the meantime, the Turks are pushing deeper into northeastern Syria in an effort to thwart the Kurdish dream of some form of self-determination. The Turkish army has attacked the town of Ain Issa, 45 kilometers from the Turkish border and inside Syria’s Kurdish area. Its location, on the M4 highway, happens to be where the headquarters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Front (SDF) is located. The SDF is a US ally in the fight against the Islamic State terrorists. Turkish army attacks forced thousands of Kurds to flee from their homes to the city of Raqqa, 55km to the south.
How Turkey fits in regime-Kurdish showdown in Syria al-monitor.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from al-monitor.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Syria’s dance of death gets murkier
By Talmiz Ahmad| Published: 3rd February 2021 5:16 pm IST
Talmiz Ahmad
The 45-member “small group” of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, made up of government, opposition and civil society representatives, met in Geneva under UN auspices last week to discuss the “basic principles” of the new Syrian constitution. Afterwards, all that UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen would say was that some potential “commonalities” had emerged, confirming that discussions had a long way to go.
On the sidelines of these talks, the members of the Astana peace process Russia, Iran and Turkey called for the sovereignty of Syria to be respected, a rebuke to the US for backing the separatist Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast of the country. At a special session of the UN Security Council on Friday, the Syrian permanent representative condemned the “terrorism, aggression, foreign occupation and unilateral coercive
English By Sirwan Kajjo Share on Facebook Print this page
The weekend fighting broke out in the city of Hasaka following a pro-Syrian government protest against Kurdish authorities, according to a local source.
“As the Asayish (Kurdish security forces) opened fire to disperse the protest, four protesters were wounded, one of whom died shortly after in the hospital,” Jindar Berekat, a reporter based in Hasaka, told VOA.
In response, militiamen affiliated with the Syrian government attacked a nearby checkpoint manned by Kurdish fighters, prompting a shootout between the two sides, local news media reported.
Hasaka is largely under the control of U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a military alliance composed of Kurdish fighters and other groups that has been a major actor in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) terror group.
Triple car bombings in Turkey-occupied Syria draw UN condemnation al-monitor.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from al-monitor.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.