AMMAN: Syrian rebels said on Thursday they have growing confidence that their jihadist rivals will comply with a requirement to leave a demilitarized buffer zone set up by Turkey and Russia to avert a Russian-backed Syrian army offensive.
Last week Turkey and Russia agreed to enforce a new demilitarized zone in Idlib province from which “radical” rebels will be required to withdraw by the middle of next month.
The position of the biggest jihadist group, Tahrir Al-Sham, spearheaded by Al-Qaeda’s former Syrian offshoot, will be crucial to the deal’s success, but it has so far said nothing.
Several rebel sources said neither jihadist nor mainstream rebels had started to pull back yet.
However, a senior Syrian opposition official said Tahrir Al-Sham had sent secret feelers to the Turkish army though third parties in recent days signaling it would comply.
“Matters are moving well and Tahrir Al-Sham has pledged it is going to implement but without announcing its agreement,” said the opposition official, who was briefed by Turkish officials and requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The demilitarized zone will be 15 to 20 km (10 to 12 miles) deep, run along the contact line between rebel and government fighters, and will be patrolled by Turkish and Russian forces. The agreement could unravel quickly if they cannot impose their plan on the jihadists.
Another senior opposition figure said he expected Tahrir Al-Sham to implement the deal and dismissed risks of a showdown because the agreement did not seek to force jihadist fighters to hand over their weapons.
“I foresee it will be implemented within the time set,” said Ahmed Toma, a prominent opposition figure who headed the Syrian rebel delegation in Russian-sponsored talks in the Kazakh capital.
Turkey sought to avert the Syrian army’s Idlib offensive, fearing a new exodus of refugees as the UN warned of a humanitarian catastrophe. Ankara pledged to Moscow it would handle the jihadist threat.
A regional intelligence source said the jihadists were softening their stance to avoid internecine fighting with mainstream rebels that could wreck the deal and allow the stalled offensive to resume.
“I don’t expect any hurdles in implementation from all the revolutionary forces at all,” said Abdul Salam Abdul Razzak, a leading figure in the National Front for Liberation, the alliance of Turkey-allied Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel groups.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with Reuters late on Tuesday that the withdrawal of “radical groups” had already started.
Another senior rebel source said months of covert Turkish intelligence efforts were focusing on separating a minority of foreign jihadists within Tahrir Al-Sham from a majority of its Syrian followers, who could eventually be rehabilitated.
Precision strikes would help to handle foreign jihadists, whose presence has often been cited by the Syrian army and Russia as the reason for an assault on Idlib as a “terrorist nest,” the source said.
The National Front for Liberation, which had declared its “complete cooperation” with the Turkish effort, said it foresaw a smooth operation once logistical preparations with Turkey were concluded.
“Pulling heavy arms from the frontline is not a difficult matter as most of these weapons are deployed away from the frontline,” Abdul Razzak said, adding the group’s only concern was whether the Syrian army and its allies would abide by the deal.
Syria rebels think jihadists will quit Idlib buffer zone
Syria rebels think jihadists will quit Idlib buffer zone
- The position of the biggest jihadist group, Tahrir Al-Sham, spearheaded by Al-Qaeda’s former Syrian offshoot, will be crucial to the deal’s success, but it has so far said nothing
- Another senior opposition figure said he expected Tahrir Al-Sham to implement the deal and dismissed risks of a showdown because the agreement did not seek to force jihadist fighters to hand over their weapons
Pro-Iranian militias enter Syria from Iraq to aid beleaguered Syrian army
AMMAN: Iranian-backed militias entered Syria overnight from Iraq and were heading to northern Syria to beef up beleaguered Syrian army forces battling insurgents, according to two Syrian army sources.
Dozens of Iran-aligned Iraqi Hashd al Shaabi fighters from Iraq also crossed into Syria through a military route near Al Bukamal crossing, a senior Syrian army source told Reuters.
“These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north,” the officer said, adding the militias included Iraq’s Katiab Hezbollah and Fatemiyoun groups.
Iran sent thousands of Shiite militias to Syria during the Syrian war and, alongside Russia with its air power, enabled Syrian President Bashar Assad to crush the insurgency and regain most of his territory.
A lack of that manpower to help thwart the rebel onslaught in recent days contributed to the speedy retreat of Syrian army forces and withdrawal from Aleppo city, according to two other army sources. Militias allied to Iran, led by Hezbollah, have a strong presence in the Aleppo area.
Israel has also in recent months stepped up its strikes on Iranian bases in Syria while also waging an offensive in Lebanon which it says has weakened Hezbollah and its military capabilities.
GCC leaders call for halt to war crimes in Gaza, end of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories
- The leaders stressed their firm support for the Palestinian cause and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital
- The ‘Kuwait Declaration,’ issued at the 45th session of the GCC Supreme Council, praised the growing role of Gulf countries in addressing regional, global challenges
RIYADH: Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council on Sunday called for an end to Israeli war crimes in Gaza, the displacement of the region’s population, and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The leaders stressed their firm support during a meeting in Kuwait for the Palestinian cause and its sovereignty over all Palestinian territories occupied since June 1967, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The “Kuwait Declaration,” which was issued at the 45th session of the Supreme Council of the GCC, praised the growing role of Gulf countries in addressing regional and global political, security, and economic challenges.
It also praised their contribution to resolving issues that threatened peace, security, and stability, and for enhancing international dialogue and communication between countries.
A statement said: “The Supreme Council called for an end to the killings and collective punishment in Gaza, the displacement of the population, and the destruction of civilian facilities and infrastructure, including health facilities, schools, and places of worship, in clear violation of international law and international humanitarian law.”
GCC leaders also welcomed the resolutions of the Extraordinary Arab and Islamic Summit hosted by Saudi Arabia in November to enhance international action to stop the war on Gaza; achieve permanent and comprehensive peace; implement the two-state solution in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative; mobilize support for recognizing the State of Palestine; and lead the international coalition to implement the two-state solution.
They also praised Qatar’s efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and exchange detainees.
The leaders condemned continued Israeli aggression on Lebanon and warned against the expansion of the conflict in the region. They also welcomed the recently brokered ceasefire in the country.
The leaders also welcomed continued efforts made by Saudi Arabia and Oman to revive the political process in Yemen.
The leaders stressed the peaceful approach of GCC countries and their preference for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve all disputes in the region and beyond, in accordance with the requirements of international law and the UN Charter.
US Navy destroys Houthi missiles and drones targeting American ships in Gulf of Aden
- The Houthis claimed the attack on merchant ships in a statement and said they had targeted the US destroyers
DUBAI: US Navy destroyers shot down seven missiles and drones fired by Yemen’s Houthi militants at the warships and three American merchant vessels they were escorting through the Gulf of Aden. No damage or injuries were reported.
US Central Command said late Sunday that the destroyers USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane shot down and destroyed three anti-ship ballistic missiles, three drones and one anti-ship cruise missile. The merchant ships were not identified.
The Houthis claimed the attack in a statement and said they had targeted the US destroyers and “three supply ships belonging to the American army in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.”
Houthi attacks for months have targeted shipping through a waterway where $1 trillion in goods pass annually over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Israel’s ground offensive in Lebanon. A ceasefire was announced in the latter last week.
The USS Stockdale was involved in a similar attack on Nov. 12.
US, France, Germany, UK urge ‘de-escalation’ in Syria: joint statement
WASHINGTON: The United States and its allies France, Germany and Britain called Sunday for “de-escalation” in Syria and urged in a joint statement for the protection of civilians and infrastructure.
“The current escalation only underscores the urgent need for a Syrian-led political solution to the conflict, in line with UNSCR 2254,” read a statement issued by the US State Department, referencing the 2015 UN resolution that endorsed a peace process in Syria.
Britain ups Gaza aid ahead of donor conference
- Aid organizations accuse Israel of preventing trucks from entering Gaza in large enough numbers to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the war-torn territory
LONDON: Britain will provide an additional 19 million pounds ($24 million) in humanitarian aid to Gaza, the international development minister said Monday, calling for Israel to give greater access ahead of a key conference on the conflict.
“Gazans are in desperate need of food, and shelter with the onset of winter,” the minister, Anneliese Dodds, said in a statement as she headed for a three-day visit to the region, including an international conference in Cairo Monday on the Gaza Strip’s aid needs.
“The Cairo conference will be an opportunity to get leading voices in one room and put forward real-world solutions to the humanitarian crisis,” she added.
“Israel must immediately act to ensure unimpeded aid access to Gaza.”
Aid organizations accuse Israel of preventing trucks from entering Gaza in large enough numbers to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the war-torn territory.
The new UK funding will be split into 12 million pounds for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Food Programme (WFP), and seven million pounds for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the statement said.
UNRWA announced Sunday it had halted the delivery of aid through the key Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza because of safety fears, saying the situation had become “impossible.”
Britain has committed to spending a total of 99 million pounds this year in humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories, the government said.
After Dodds’s Cairo stop, the minister is to travel to the Palestinian territories and Israel.
Islamist militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 resulted in the death of 1,207 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures, which includes hostages killed in captivity.
Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed at least 44,429 in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
