BEIRUT: Fierce fighting raged Friday around Syria’s Aleppo as a surge in violence forced tens of thousands more to flee their homes, overshadowing the latest round of peace talks in Geneva.
The clashes on several fronts have put a strain on a fragile cease-fire in place since Feb. 27, and left more than 200 fighters on all sides of the civil war dead in recent days.
The delegation representing President Bashar Assad’s regime arrived Friday in Geneva where UN-brokered indirect talks between representatives of the government and opposition were due to be held.
However, the fighting around Syria’s second city Aleppo cast a shadow over international efforts to end the five-year war, which has left more than 270,000 people dead and forced millions to flee their homes.
Troops and militiamen loyal to Assad’s regime have fought Daesh group fighters to the southeast of Aleppo city this week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
They also battled militants from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front and allied rebels in the flashpoint area of Handarat north of Aleppo city, it said.
Meanwhile Daesh fought rebels near the Turkish border, the Britain-based group added.
On one Aleppo front alone — pitting rebels against Daesh — fighting has forced about 30,000 civilians to flee, according to Human Rights Watch.
In total, at least 210 fighters on all sides have been killed in the battles around Aleppo since Sunday.
Among them were 82 army troops and pro-regime militiamen, 94 members of Al-Nusra Front and allied rebel groups, and 34 IS jihadists, the Observatory said.
The heaviest losses came near Al-Eis in the south of Aleppo province where 50 regime troops and loyalist militia fighters were killed along with 61 Al-Nusra and allied fighters, it added.
The latest violence came a day after a senior official in Washington told AFP that the United States was “very concerned” about reports of a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive near Aleppo.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also expressed concern about the Aleppo offensive and called for the “respect, consolidation, and expansion” of the truce.
Even though Daesh and Al-Nusra are excluded from the truce, violence around Aleppo has sparked concerns that the cease-fire may collapse, partly because rebels are involved in the battles there too.
“Aleppo is the key to war and peace in Syria,” Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
“Every side in the war has a stake in Aleppo.”
Battles around Syria’s Aleppo cast shadow over peace talks
Battles around Syria’s Aleppo cast shadow over peace talks
Lebanon says at least three killed in Israeli strike on Baalbek
- A ministry statement said body parts were recovered from the site
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s health ministry said at least three people were killed in an Israeli strike Thursday on the main eastern city of Baalbek.
“The Israeli enemy strike... in Baalbek killed three people, in an initial toll,” a ministry statement said, adding that “body parts were recovered from the site and their identities are being verified.”
Cafe in Libya champions recycling and sustainability
- Lamma, which means “gathering” or “hangout” in Arabic, has become a cultural hub for locals and other visitors
- Its central mission, its owner said, is raising awareness of an eco-friendly lifestyle in Libya
TRIPOLI: In Libya’s capital, a cafe’s sleek exterior gives little hint of the vibrant space inside, built entirely from recycled materials to promote sustainability in a country recovering from years of war.
Lamma, which means “gathering” or “hangout” in Arabic, has become a cultural hub for locals and other visitors, featuring an art gallery that showcases Libyan artists, and hosts events and workshops.
But its central mission, its owner said, is raising awareness of an eco-friendly lifestyle in Libya, where green initiatives are scarce as people grapple with the aftermath of a gruelling conflict.
“We use materials that were abandoned in the streets, such as rubber from tires, wood from trees and construction waste” to build the cafe, said Louay Omran Burwais, an architect who designed and founded Lamma.
“The idea is to show people that what is thrown in the street and may seem ugly or useless is actually still valuable,” he told AFP.
Libya was hurled into war after a NATO-backed uprising led to the overthrow and killing of dictator Muammar Qaddafi, followed by years of fighting between militias, mercenaries and jihadists.
Power remains split between a UN-recognized government and a rival authority in the east.
Behind the long, narrow door into Lamma, visitors are greeted with a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes.
The plant-covered walls contrast with a web of suspended metal scraps, alcoves and slide tunnels that children swoop down through.
“There are no places like this in Libya,” said Roula Ajjawi, Lamma’s art director. “We base everything on one aspect that we consider very important: recycling.”
Families gather at Lamma on Thursdays, the start of the Libyan weekend, when the cafe holds art workshops for children.
Others borrow books from the venue’s small library.
Burwais says his team hopes recycling and other eco-friendly practices, which remain rare, start up in Libya, which currently has no recycling facilities.
Visitors to Lamma will recognize familiar everyday objects repurposed throughout the space, Burwais said, but they will “start seeing them differently. We are here to foster a new mindset.”
In Libya, the plastic, metal, and glass left from over a decade of civil war destruction are rarely, if ever, reused or recycled, Ajjawi said.
More often, they are abandoned in nature and on the streets, occasionally washed into the Mediterranean by rain and wind.
But with initiatives like Lamma, objects once destined for the landfill are transformed into works of art — a concept now catching on with locals.
“I love this place,” said Riyad Youssef, now a Lamma regular. “The food is great, the service is excellent, and I appreciate the commitment to reducing waste. Every idea here is amazing.”
Turkiye probes event spending in opposition-run cities
- The office said late on Wednesday it would investigate “irregular spendings“
- The Ankara chief prosecutor’s office has also launched an investigation into two concerts
ISTANBUL: The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office has opened a probe into allegations of illicit expenditures at some public events organized by the Istanbul municipality, marking the latest legal challenge to opposition-run districts in Turkiye.
The office said late on Wednesday it would investigate “irregular spendings” to determine whether the public experienced financial harm, without elaborating.
The Ankara chief prosecutor’s office has also launched an investigation into two concerts organized by the Ankara municipality on Republic Day celebrations on Oct. 29.
The municipalities, which are Turkiye’s two largest cities and both run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), deny the allegations.
Speaking at a career fair on Thursday, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — who is seen as a potential future challenger to President Tayyip Erdogan — said the probes amounted to “reputation assassination.” The Istanbul municipality did not comment further on the probe when contacted by Reuters.
Late last month the CHP mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district was arrested and accused of belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), charges he and his party reject.
Since then, the interior ministry dismissed and replaced elected mayors from the pro-Kurdish DEM party in some southeastern cities for alleged ties to militants, charges they and their party also deny.
Israeli attacks on Syria’s Damascus kill 15, state media says
- The buildings are located in the suburbs of Mazzeh and Qudsaya, both west of the capital, the SANA report said
DUBAI: Fifteen people were killed and 16 injured in Israeli attacks on a number of residential buildings in suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, state news agency SANA reported, citing a Syrian military source.
The buildings are located in the suburbs of Mazzeh and Qudsaya, both west of the capital, the SANA report said.
Israeli army radio said the targets of the attack in Damascus were a headquarters of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad and what it described as other assets, without elaborating.
Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids since last year’s Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Israeli territory that sparked the Gaza war.
Commanders in Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards based in Syria have been known to reside in Mazzeh, according to residents who fled after recent strikes that killed some key figures from the groups.
Mazzeh’s high rise blocks have been used by the authorities in the past to house leaders of Palestinian factions including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
UN resolutions back Palestinian sovereignty, compensation for Lebanon, Syria
- US, Argentina, Canada, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau vote against both resolutions
- Palestinian representative: Israel allowed to act ‘above the law with brazen impunity’
LONDON: The UN Economic and Financial Committee has approved resolutions calling on Israel to compensate Lebanon and Syria for an oil slick, and to hand sovereignty to the Palestinians over their natural resources.
The US, Argentina, Canada, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru and Palau voted against both resolutions.
The slick occurred after the Israeli Air Force struck storage tanks near the Jiyah electric power plant in 2006, covering two-thirds of Lebanon’s coastline with oil.
The draft resolution was introduced by Uganda’s representative, who highlighted the disastrous impact the slick has had on biodiversity and the local economy.
It reiterated the UN General Assembly’s “deep concern” over the negative impact the incident has had on Lebanon’s long-term sustainable development, and reaffirmed a UN report that damage to the country caused by the slick amounted to $856.4 million in 2014.
The resolution was passed by 161 votes in favor to seven against, with nine abstentions. It called for “prompt and adequate compensation” from Israel to Lebanon and Syria, which was also affected by the slick.
Lebanon’s representative thanked his country’s supporters at the UN, the World Bank and elsewhere.
He said the slick had hindered Lebanon’s ability to implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and Israel’s use of chemical and toxic substances in its ongoing military campaign could cause long-term agricultural, economic and biodiversity damage.
He called for an investigation into Israeli war crimes in Lebanon and for further compensation.
The Ugandan representative also introduced a draft resolution calling on Israel to “cease the exploitation, damage, cause of loss or depletion and endangerment of the natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan.”
The draft also recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to seek compensation for any illegal activity by Israel or Israeli settlers that exploits or damages their natural resources.
It cited an International Court of Justice advisory opinion from July 19, and reaffirmed “the principle of the permanent sovereignty of the peoples under foreign occupation over their natural resources and the applicability of the Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in time of war.”
The committee passed the resolution with 159 states in favor. Seven countries opposed the motion, with 11 abstentions.
The Palestinian representative said Israel must be held accountable for crimes committed against her people and on their territory, saying it has “for over a year” violated the UN Charter with its “incomprehensible” acts in Gaza.
She added that Israel has been allowed to act as a state “above the law with brazen impunity, classifying all Palestinians as terrorists to justify its acts.”
The Syrian delegate said genocide, destruction and displacement committed by Israel “have also threatened to set fire to the entire region and beyond.” He blamed the US for preventing the UN Security Council from taking firm action.
The Algerian delegate said people living under occupation should have sovereignty over their natural resources, and damage caused by Israeli aggression will take years of reconstruction to undo.
