PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that France’s military would continue its fight against Daesh in Syria, but that the fall of the militant group’s bastion in Raqqa needed to lead to an inclusive political system to restore stability.
“The battle against Islamic State (Daesh) did not end with the fall of Raqqa and France will maintain its military effort as long as necessary,” Macron’s office said in a statement. “The challenges of stabilization and reconstruction will not be less than those of the military campaign.”
In a declaration formally announcing Raqqa’s liberation from Daesh after four months of battles, the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday that Raqqa would be part of a decentralized federal Syria.
France has supplied weapons to the SDF, has special forces operating in the region and has been one of core countries bombing militants as part of the US-led coalition.
The statement also said it was vital that governance in Raqqa respected all communities.
“This principle should apply first and foremost to the city of Raqqa, under conditions that will enable the restoration of normal living conditions, the return of the displaced and refugee populations, and the sustainable return of peace and stability,” the statement said.
The fight against Daesh has taken place amid a wider, multisided civil war between the government of President Bashar Assad, who is backed by Iran and Russia, and an array of opposition groups supported by other powers.
“Syria must finally find a way out of the civil war, which has fueled terrorism since the suppression of the democratic movement by the Bashar Assad regime. A negotiated political transition is more necessary than ever,” the statement said.
Turkey said on Friday that a huge banner of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan unfurled in central Raqqa by US-backed Kurdish forces would further harm already fraught relations between Ankara and Washington.
The banner of Ocalan was raised on Thursday at a ceremony to mark Raqqa’s capture from Daesh in a campaign spearheaded by Kurdish Syrian YPG fighters, with military support from the US.
Turkey considers the YPG to be an extension of Ocalan’s Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency in Turkey’s southeast and is designated a terrorist organization by the US, EU and Turkey.
Ankara says that weapons supplied to fighters in Syria have ended up in PKK hands, threatening Turkish security.
“I wonder what more evidence the US needs to accept that the ... YPG is a terrorist organization,” Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters as he left a mosque in Istanbul.
“Displaying a photograph of the PKK terrorist leader damages US-Turkey relations very seriously. With this move, the US is not only cooperating with terrorists, but they are endangering the future of Syria.”
The banner of Ocalan was raised on Thursday by an all-female Kurdish militia. Kurdish YPG commanders and fighters were also shown chanting “Long Live Apo!,” as Ocalan is known by his followers, in a video of celebrations distributed by the YPG press office.
President Tayyip Erdogan echoed Yildirim’s condemnation.
“How can the US explain the poster of Ocalan in Raqqa? Is this the way they are cooperating with us in the struggle against terror?” he said. “You are not standing by us against terrorism. You wouldn’t allow this if you were.”
Ocalan has been in jail in Turkey since 1999 on a treason conviction. He negotiated a truce from his prison cell, but the cease-fire broke down two years ago and thousands have died in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey in renewed violence since then.
The banner incident comes amid a diplomatic spat between Ankara and Washington over the detention of a Turkish employee of the US Consulate in Istanbul that has seen the two countries suspend visa services for each other’s citizens. The US praised local Syrian forces for the “milestone” victory, but warned the war against the terrorists is far from over.
“The liberation of Raqqa is a critical milestone in the global fight against ISIS (Daesh),” the State Department said in a statement congratulating the SDF and other forces.
But the “loss of Raqqa does not mean our fight against ISIS is over,” it added.
“The global coalition will continue to draw on all elements of national power — military, intelligence, diplomacy, economic, law enforcement, and the strength of our communities until all Syrians have been liberated from ISIS brutality and we can ensure that it can no longer export its terror around the world.”
The US-led coalition of nations that has been providing air support and training to local ground forces also sent congratulations.
“We are still fighting the remnants of (Daesh) in Iraq and Syria, and will continue to facilitate humanitarian efforts assisting citizens adversely affected by a brutal occupation, who face a long battle to gain their freedom,” Lt. Gen. Paul Funk, who heads the coalition, said in a statement.
“A tough fight still lies ahead.”
France: Raqqa fall not end of battle against Daesh
France: Raqqa fall not end of battle against Daesh
Why has Israel increased its attacks on Syria?
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said Israel has mainly hit border crossings, Damascus apartments, and the positions of Iran-backed groups
BEIRUT: Last week Israel launched its deadliest strikes on Iran-backed groups in Syria, killing more than 100 fighters in the latest escalation since two months of full-blown Israel-Hezbollah war spilled over.
What are the reasons for this escalation, and what exactly is Israel targeting in Lebanon’s neighbor Syria?
Israel intensified its strikes against Syria from September 26, days after launching an intense bombing campaign mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon.
Since then, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor has recorded at least 86 Israeli attacks, with 199 Iran-backed fighters, Syrian soldiers and 39 civilians killed.
On November 20, Israeli strikes on the city of Palmyra killed 106 Tehran-backed fighters, with one raid targeting a meeting of commanders.
It was the deadliest Israeli attack on Iran-backed groups since Syria’s war erupted in 2011, said the Britain-based Observatory which has a network of sources inside the country.
The casualties included 73 pro-Iran Syrian fighters, 11 of whom worked for Hezbollah which also lost four Lebanese members. The remaining 29 casualties were mostly from Iraq’s Al-Nujaba group.
On Monday, Israel struck again, this time at a crossing on the Syria-Lebanon border, the latest in a wave of attacks targeting such routes since September.
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said Israel has mainly hit border crossings, Damascus apartments, and the positions of Iran-backed groups, including Hezbollah weapons and ammunition depots.
“Syria today has become a de facto part of Israel’s battlefield,” he said.
On November 19, Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh visited ally Tehran and condemned “more than 130” Israeli attacks on his country since the Gaza war started in October 2023.
These included an April 1 attack on an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus that killed seven Islamic Republic Guard Corps members including two generals, triggering Iran’s first ever attack on Israel.
Since 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, mainly targeting the army and Iran-backed groups.
Israel rarely comments on such strikes, but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to expand its presence there.
Israel’s military said Monday’s strikes targeted “smuggling routes to transfer weapons to” Hezbollah, and follow other operations against “Syrian regime smuggling routes” in recent weeks.
For Century Foundation analyst Sam Heller, “the deterrent balance that had existed between Hezbollah and Israel has broken down” since the Lebanon war.
“Israel is now bombing Lebanon at will, and additionally hitting what are purportedly Hezbollah and Iran-linked targets in Syria without fear of real reprisal” by the group.
“This all seems like an attempt by Israel to sustainably weaken Hezbollah,” as it pounds its “logistical lines via Syria and pushes for a resolution to the war that will prevent Hezbollah from resupplying and rebuilding,” Heller added.
Renad Mansour of Chatham House said Israel’s Syria strikes “targeted the financial and military supply chains that fuel the axis of resistance” — Iran-backed armed groups that include Hezbollah and Palestinian, Yemeni and Iraqi militants.
On Sunday, UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen said it was “extremely critical” to end the Lebanon and Gaza fighting to avoid dragging Syria into a regional war.
Escalating Israeli attacks have added to the country’s woes after 13 years of conflict and successive economic crises compounded by Western sanctions.
Damascus has not responded to Israel’s attacks and has tried to distance itself from the Gaza and Lebanon wars.
“Any counterattack against Israel would invite massive retaliation against Syria’s leadership or essential infrastructure,” Heller said.
A source close to Hezbollah said “Syria’s role is not to attack Israel, but rather to serve... as a supply line from Iran and Iraq to Hezbollah.”
Tehran and Baghdad fear that Israeli strikes, which have already hit Yemen’s Houthi militants, could hit their territory even if a ceasefire is agreed, the source said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Last week, Israel called on the UN Security Council to pressure Iraq into halting attacks launched by Iran-backed groups from its soil.
Tehran-backed Iraqi factions have claimed near-daily drone attacks on Israel in solidarity with allies Hamas and Hezbollah. Most of the attacks were intercepted.
The Baghdad government, which is dominated by pro-Iran parties, has accused Israel of trying to legitimize attacking Iraq, saying it was already taking measures to prevent attacks on Israel launched from its territory.
For more than a year, “Iraq has managed to stay relatively insulated from this wider regional war,” Mansour told AFP, adding that Iran and the United States also pushed for this.
But “in this time of transition between US President (Joe) Biden and (Donald) Trump, the Iraqi government is concerned that (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu has even more of a free hand to go after all the axis of resistance,” he said.
UK campaigners file emergency injunction over F-35 exports to Israel
- Move follows ICC issuing of warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant
- ‘UK is now arming suspected war criminals,’ says Global Legal Action Network lawyer
LONDON: Campaigners in the UK seeking to block the sale of F-35 parts to Israel are applying for an emergency high court injunction after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The government has until Friday to file a defense against the campaigners from Global Legal Action Network and Al-Haq.
It is “unconscionable” that British manufacturers of F-35 parts continue to sell weapons systems that are used to kill Palestinians in Gaza, campaigners said.
On Nov. 18 at a high court hearing, the government admitted that potential damage to the UK-US relationship played a role in the continuation of exports.
In earlier hearings, ministers, some of whom have admitted that Israel is in breach of international law, were asked about the rationale for continuing exports.
The court was set to hear the case again in January next year.
Government ministers have said that F-35 parts enter a general export pool and that it is impossible to determine the destination of each part.
The Labour government reversed a decision by the former Conservative government to allow some arms export licenses to Israel to remain in place, finding a risk that the exports could be used to breach international humanitarian law.
GLAN lawyer Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe said: “It is unconscionable that the UK continues to allow British-made components for F-35s to be used in Israel’s extermination campaign against Palestinians.
“As of Thursday, the UK is now arming suspected war criminals who have been indicted by the world’s preeminent criminal court.
“For 13 months, GLAN and Al-Haq have argued that weapons sales to Israel are unlawful. When will it be enough? Does the UK government have any red lines?”
The emergency injunction follows the ICC’s issuing of arrest warrants for Netanyahu; former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant; and Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.
The Israeli leader condemned the court’s decision as “antisemitic.”
GLAN and Al-Haq’s injunction is a sign of the impact caused by the ICC warrants.
Al-Haq spokesperson Zainah El-Haroun said: “The latest arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant for the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity add to the insurmountable evidence that British weapons, particularly F-35 components, are being used to commit international crimes, including genocide.”
Militia detains 300 migrants in the desert in Libya’s effort to contain sea crossings
- The group in a post on Facebook condemned smuggling and human trafficking and said its patrols would continue efforts to block smuggling routes
- The apprehensions come as Libya remains a primary point of departure for men, women and children from the Middle East and Africa aiming to reach Europe
TRIPOLI: Libyan military officials said Monday they apprehended hundreds of migrants traversing the country’s vast desert hoping to ultimately cross the Mediterranean Sea in pursuit of a better life in Europe.
The 444 Brigade, a powerful militia group that operates under the auspices of the Libyan army, said in a statement that its patrolling commanders detained more than 300 migrants and referred them to authorities.
The group in a post on Facebook condemned smuggling and human trafficking and said its patrols would continue efforts to block smuggling routes. It posted satellite images of the desert and pictures of what appeared to be migrants sitting in rows in front of armed and masked militants.
The apprehensions come as Libya remains a primary point of departure for men, women and children from the Middle East and Africa aiming to reach Europe. Many are escaping war or poverty and many employ smugglers to help them negotiate treacherous deserts and sea routes. Roughly 38,000 people have arrived in Italy and Malta from Libya this year, according to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency.
The overcrowded boats used by migrants and smugglers are known to routinely capsize and a key priority for European leaders has been to encourage North African countries to prevent migrants from reaching the sea. But unlike in Morocco and Tunisia — where tens of thousands of migrants also attempt to pass through en route to the southern shores of Europe — fighting between rival governments in Libya has added additional challenges to migration management partnerships.
Migrant apprehensions are rarely reported in Libya, though the country’s state news service LANA reported more than 2,000 arrests in July.
The oil-rich country plunged into turmoil after a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi. Since then, the country has been divided between dueling governments in the east and west, each backed by militias and foreign powers. Human traffickers have for years benefited from the political chaos.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk in July said migrants in the country had been subjected to torture, forced labor and starvation while being detained.
Major food aid ‘scale-up’ underway to famine-hit Sudan, WFP says
- “In total, the trucks will carry about 17,500 tons of food assistance, enough to feed 1.5 million people for one month,” said WFP Sudan spokesperson Leni Kinzli
- The WFP fleet will be clearly labelled in the hope that access will be facilitated
GENEVA: More than 700 trucks are on their way to famine-stricken areas of Sudan as part of a major scale-up after clearance came through from the Sudanese government, a World Food Programme spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in conflict since April 2023 that has caused acute hunger and disease across the country. Both sides are accused of impeding aid deliveries, the RSF by looting and the army by bureaucratic delays.
“In total, the trucks will carry about 17,500 tons of food assistance, enough to feed 1.5 million people for one month,” WFP Sudan spokesperson Leni Kinzli told a press briefing in Geneva.
“We’ve received around 700 clearances from the government in Sudan, from the Humanitarian Aid Commission, to start to move and transport assistance to some of these hard-to-reach areas,” she added, saying the start of the dry season was another factor enabling the scale-up.
The WFP fleet will be clearly labelled in the hope that access will be facilitated, she said.
Some of the food is intended for 14 areas of the country that face famine or are at risk of famine, including Zamzam camp in the Darfur region.
The first food arrived there on Friday prompting cheers from crowds of people who had resorted to eating crushed peanut shells normally fed to animals, Kinzli said.
A second convoy for the camp is currently about 300 km (186 miles) away, she said.
On Monday, the head of Sudan’s sovereign council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, said he would allow the airports in El Obeid, Kadugli, and Damazine — army-controlled areas isolated by the fighting — to serve as humanitarian hubs for UN agencies to facilitate deliveries.
Lebanon says three dead in intense Israel strikes on capital
- Health ministry said 3 people were killed and 26 wounded in the strikes on area where people displaced by the Israeli aerial bombardment had sought refuge
BEIRUT: Lebanon reported three deaths Tuesday in Israeli strikes on a Beirut building housing displaced people, with state media describing a “belt of fire” around Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold.
The heavy bombardment came as Israel weighed a proposed ceasefire in its two-month war with Hezbollah, following nearly a year of limited cross-border clashes linked to the Gaza war.
“The Israeli strike on the Nweiri area in Beirut destroyed a four-story building housing displaced people,” said Lebanon’s official National News Agency, or NNA.
The health ministry said three people were killed and 26 wounded in the strikes on a densely populated area where people displaced by the Israeli aerial bombardment had sought refuge.
“We were at home and suddenly the strike hit. We were blown away and the walls fell on top of us,” said Rola Jaafar, who lives in the building facing the one that was targeted.
She cried as she held her son, relieved to find him alive and well after he was briefly lost in the chaos following the strike.
Shortly after the Beirut strike, “a belt of fire has encircled (Beirut’s) southern suburbs, as raids targeted Burj Al-Barajneh, Haret Hreik and Hadath, with smoke covering most of the southern suburbs and reaching Beirut,” NNA said.
The south Beirut strikes came amid a flurry of Israeli evacuation calls for the Hezbollah stronghold that included at least 20 buildings, following earlier morning strikes.
On Saturday, a strike on the densely populated Basta neighborhood, near Nweiri, killed at least 29 people, the health ministry said.
On October 10, Israeli strikes on the Nweiri and Basta districts killed at least 22 people authorities said, while targeting Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa, who made it out alive, a source close to the group had told AFP.
Israel ramped up its aerial bombing of Lebanon on September 23, mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds in south Beirut and the south and east of the country. It later sent ground troops across the southern border.
The war has killed at least 3,799 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the health ministry, most of them since September.
On the Israeli side, the Lebanon hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say.
