BEIRUT/GENEVA: Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed to continue an offensive in eastern Ghouta near Damascus on Sunday as his forces advanced into the last major rebel enclave near the capital.
The offensive is one of the deadliest in the war and one local insurgent group called it a “scorched earth” campaign.
The government is pressing on despite Western calls for it to abide by a 30-day, countrywide cease-fire demanded by the UN Security Council.
“We will continue fighting terrorism ... and the Ghouta operation is a continuation of fighting terrorism,” Assad said in comments to journalists broadcast on state TV.
The advances have forced thousands of civilians to flee deeper into the rebel-held territory, where some 400,000 people live, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a resident said on Sunday.
Government forces need to advance just a few more kilometers (miles) further to split the enclave in two, said a commander in the military alliance that backs Assad. The Observatory said government forces had seized a quarter of the territory.
Assad said there was no contradiction between daily, five-hour humanitarian cease-fires called by his ally Russia, and ongoing combat operations, noting that advances by government forces in the last few days had occurred during the truce.
The Russian cease-fire plan calls for five-hour pauses to allow for aid deliveries and evacuations of civilians and wounded. The US State Department has called the Russian plan a “joke.”
Assad, in his first comments on the offensive, said most people in Ghouta wanted to return to state rule.
“Therefore we must continue with the operation and in parallel open the way for civilians to leave,” he said.
Russia and Damascus have accused rebels of preventing civilians from leaving eastern Ghouta during the daily cease-fires. Rebels have consistently denied this accusation and say people will not leave because they fear the government.
A UN humanitarian official said people in eastern Ghouta were being subjected to unacceptable “collective punishment,” which is illegal under the Geneva Conventions.
Assad dismissed Western statements about the humanitarian situation in eastern Ghouta as “a ridiculous lie.”
With the war entering its eighth year, capturing the eastern Ghouta area would be a major victory for Assad, who has steadily recovered control of rebellious areas with Russian and Iranian support.
French President Emmanuel Macron asked his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani to put pressure on the Syrian government to end attacks against the Ghouta region and to allow humanitarian aid to flow.
British Prime Minister Theresa May agreed in a phone call with US President Donald Trump that Russia must use its influence to make Damascus cease the eastern Ghouta campaign, May’s office said.
Without decisive Western pressure to halt the offensive, eastern Ghouta appears on course to meet the same fate as other rebel areas retaken by Assad, such as eastern Aleppo, recovered using similar tactics of siege, bombardment and ground assaults.
Rebels eventually withdrew from eastern Aleppo in late 2016 in a mediated deal, leaving to opposition-held territory near the Turkish border.
The multi-sided war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people since 2011, has escalated on several fronts this year, as the collapse of Daesh has given way to other conflicts between Syrian and international parties.
“SCORCHED EARTH“
One of the main insurgent groups in eastern Ghouta, Jaish Al-Islam, said the government’s “scorched earth policy” had forced rebels to retreat and regroup, but vowed to recover lost territory.
One resident estimated that thousands of people were on the move and seeking shelter in areas further from the frontlines.
The Observatory estimated that between 300 to 400 families, which is likely several thousand people, had fled areas seized by government forces since Saturday. The pro-Assad commander said civilians were fleeing to the town of Douma.
The Observatory says government shelling and air strikes have killed 659 people in eastern Ghouta since Feb. 18, while rebel shelling of Damascus has killed 27.
UN regional humanitarian coordinator Panos Moumtzis said violence has escalated in eastern Ghouta and mortars fired into Damascus had killed and injured scores of civilians.
“Instead of a much-needed reprieve, we continue to see more fighting, more death, and more disturbing reports of hunger and hospitals being bombed,” Moumtzis said in a statement.
The United Nations later issued a statement saying it had received approval for a 46-truck convoy to the Ghouta town of Douma on Monday, carrying health and nutrition supplies, and food for 27,500 people. A second trip was planned for Thursday.
Earlier, a UN official in Syria told Reuters a humanitarian convoy carrying life-saving supplies would not enter eastern Ghouta as had been planned on Sunday, citing a lack of permission.
“DISTURBING REPORTS“
Moumtzis also expressed concern about the situation in Afrin, a Kurdish region under Turkish assault since January, saying there were “disturbing reports” of civilian deaths and injuries and restrictions on civilian movement.
Turkey, backed by Syrian militias, has gained ground in recent days in Afrin. The Observatory said the advancing forces could soon besiege Afrin city, where 1 million people live.
The Observatory said Turkish forces had advanced to within 12 km (7 miles) of Afrin.
Turkey’s army said on Sunday it captured seven settlements including the town of Sheikh Hadid. Turkish forces have taken control of the roads from Rajo and Jandaris to Afrin, it also said in a statement.
Turkey has rejected Western calls for it to suspend the Afrin assault in line with the UN cease-fire, which does not apply to Daesh, Al-Qaeda and groups associated with it, or other groups deemed terrorists by the Security Council.
Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought a three-decade insurgency in Turkey and is deemed a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and Turkey. The YPG has been an important ally for the United States in the fight against Daesh.
Syria's Assad says the humanitarian situation the West talks about is a 'ridiculous lie'
Syria's Assad says the humanitarian situation the West talks about is a 'ridiculous lie'
Libya’s eastern-based government bars entry of EU migration commissioner, three ministers
- The ministers represent Italy, Greece and Malta, in addition to a commissioner from the European Union
- They were declared persona non grata and told to leave Libyan territory immediately
TRIPOLI: The European Union migration commissioner and ministers from Italy, Malta and Greece were denied entry to the eastern part of divided Libya on Tuesday as they had disregarded “Libyan national sovereignty,” the Benghazi-based government said.
The delegation had arrived to attend a meeting with the parallel government of Osama Hamad, allied to military commander Khalifa Haftar who controls the east and large areas of southern Libya, shortly after a meeting with the rival, internationally recognized government that controls the west of Libya.
The delegation included EU Internal Affairs and Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, Greek Migration and Asylum minister Thanos Plevris, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri.
The Benghazi-based government said the visit was canceled upon the delegation’s arrival at Benghazi airport whereupon the ministers were declared persona non grata and told to leave Libyan territory immediately.
Members of the European delegation did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The Hamad government had said on Monday all foreign visitors and diplomatic missions should not come to Libya and move inside the country without its prior permission.
Earlier in the day, the EU delegation had met in Tripoli with the UN-recognized government of Abdulhamid Dbiebah to discuss the migration crisis before flying to Benghazi.
Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across the Mediterranean since the fall in 2011 of dictator Muammar Qaddafi to a NATO-backed uprising. Factional conflict has split the country since 2014.
Dbeibah said during the meeting he had tasked his interior ministry with developing a national plan to tackle migration “based on practical cooperation with partners and reflecting a clear political will to build sustainable solutions.”
Over 10,000 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails, excluding Gazans in military confinement
- 3,629 Palestinians detained under administrative detention, a practice allowing Israeli authorities to hold individuals in prison without trial
- Since the 1967 occupation, over 800,000 Palestinians have spent time in Israeli jails
LONDON: More than 10,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, the highest prisoner count since the Second Intifada in 2000, Palestinian prisoners’ advocacy groups reported on Tuesday.
As of early July, some 10,800 prisoners are said to be held in Israeli detention centers and prisons, including 50 women — two of whom are from the Gaza Strip — and over 450 children. The figures do not include individuals detained in Israeli military camps such as Sde Teiman, where many people from Gaza are believed to be held and subjected to torture.
A total of 3,629 Palestinians are currently detained under administrative detention, a practice that allows Israeli authorities to hold individuals in prison without trial for six months, which is subject to indefinite renewals.
A further 2,454 detainees are designated as “unlawful combatants,” including Palestinians and Arabs from Lebanon and Syria.
Since the 1967 occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, over 800,000 Palestinians have spent time in Israeli jails, according to a UN report in 2023.
3 dead in north Lebanon strike that Israel says hit Hamas militant
- Israel has kept up strikes against Hezbollah despite the ceasefire
- “A short while ago, the (Israeli military) struck a key Hamas terrorist in the area of Tripoli in Lebanon,” Israeli military said
JERUSALEM: Lebanon said three people were killed Tuesday in a strike near Tripoli that the Israeli military said targeted a Hamas militant, the first on the north since a November ceasefire with Hezbollah.
The strike came amid ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar and as five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip, one of the deadliest days for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory this year.
Israel has kept up its strikes on Lebanon despite the November truce, mainly hitting what it says are Hezbollah targets but also occasionally targeting Hamas.
“A short while ago, the (Israeli military) struck a key Hamas terrorist in the area of Tripoli in Lebanon,” the Israeli army said in a statement, without providing further details.
In an updated toll, Lebanon’s health ministry said the strike on a vehicle “killed three people and wounded 13” in an area that is close to a Palestinian refugee camp.
An AFP photographer saw a burnt out car surrounded by the emergency services and onlookers.
Hamas claimed attacks on Israel from Lebanon during more than a year of cross-border hostilities launched by Hezbollah in October 2023 in support of its Palestinian ally.
Israel has struck Hamas operatives in Lebanon, including since the ceasefire.
In May, Hamas said one of its commanders was killed in a strike on the southern city of Sidon as Israel said it targeted “the head of operations in Hamas’s Western Brigade in Lebanon.”
Israeli strikes on south Lebanon remain common, but raids on the north have been rare.
In October, Hamas said one of its operatives was killed along with his wife and two daughters in a strike on their home in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. Israel’s military said it targeted “a senior member of Hamas’s military wing in Lebanon.”
In May, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas visited Beirut for talks on disarming militants in refugee camps across Lebanon as the Beirut government seeks to impose its authority across all its territory.
The Israeli military said earlier that it had killed two militants of the Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah in two separate attacks on southern Lebanon Monday.
It identified one of them as Ali Haidar, a local Hezbollah commander whom it said was involved in restoring militant infrastructure sites in the area.
Hezbollah’s clout has diminished after it emerged bruised from a conflict with Israel last year, fueled by Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Israel, however, has kept up strikes against Hezbollah despite the ceasefire.
Israel said last week that it was “interested” in striking peace agreements with Lebanon and neighboring Syria.
The ceasefire aimed to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah after the Lebanese group launched a wave of cross-border attacks on northern Israel in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Four dead in fire at major Cairo telecoms hub, Internet disrupted
- Internet and phone connections were still heavily disrupted in Cairo on Tuesday, with the Egyptian stock exchange suspending operations
CAIRO: At least four people were killed and 27 injured in a fire at a major telecomms center in Egypt’s capital that caused widespread disruptions, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
Internet and phone connections were still heavily disrupted in Cairo on Tuesday, with the Egyptian stock exchange suspending operations.
Flights into and out of the capital had also been affected by the fire, which began on Monday evening, although by the following morning the civil aviation ministry said all flights had resumed following delays caused by the blaze.
Gas and electricity outages were also reported on Monday by Cairo governor Ibrahim Saber.
“Civil defense forces recovered four bodies from the scene of the incident,” the healthy ministry said in a statement.
The authorities are yet to announce a cause for the fire, nor has any information been given about the 27 injured.
Local media reported that the fire at the Ramses Exchange, the former communications ministry headquarters, was extinguished on Monday night.
Jordanian helicopters continue to help Syria in containing wildfires for 6th day
- Wildfires in Latakia’s rugged Jabal Turkman region were sparked by combination of unexploded ordnance, drought
- Damascus sought support from the EU to combat wildfires on Tuesday
LONDON: Jordanian air forces continue to assist authorities in Syria’s coastal region to combat wildfires, which have damaged more than 10,000 hectares of land over six days.
Jordan was one of the first countries to dispatch help to the Syrian Arab Republic, alongside Lebanon and Turkiye, all neighboring countries. The UN also deployed teams to assist Syria, while on Tuesday, Damascus sought support from the EU to combat the fires.
The wildfires in Latakia’s Jabal Turkman region were sparked by a combination of unexploded ordnance from the country’s civil war as well as high temperatures and drought.
Jordan sent two Black Hawk helicopters with firefighting crews and equipment. The Jordanian mission is working to prevent the further expansion of fires and mitigate the impact on local communities and ecosystems, Petra reported.
The wildfires have been difficult to contain due to rugged terrain, dense vegetation, landmines, unexploded ordnance and high winds, which have further complicated response efforts, authorities said.
The decision to help Syria demonstrates Jordan’s commitment to providing humanitarian support and responding to regional crises, Petra added.
