Syria’s Assad sets sights on Idlib, the final showdown?

A banner depicting Syrian president Bashar Assad in Douma, 10 km northeast of Damascus. For Assad, Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib stands in the way of final victory against the armed opposition. (Reuters)
Updated 10 May 2019
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Syria’s Assad sets sights on Idlib, the final showdown?

  • On the Syria conflict map, Idlib province forms a green-colored, rebel-controlled region surrounded mostly by a sea of red, code for Syrian government control
  • Recapturing Idlib would constitute a definitive defeat for opposition forces that once controlled half the country and threatened Assad’s seat of power in Damascus  

BEIRUT: After eight months of relative calm, Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib is once again a theater for bloody military operations: heavy bombardment, airstrikes and waves of civilian displacement as Syrian government troops, backed by Russia, push their way into the rebel-held enclave in a widening offensive.
The violence of the past week threatens to completely unravel a crumbling cease-fire agreement reached between Turkey and Russia at the Black Sea resort of Sochi in September last year, which averted a potentially devastating assault by the Syrian government to retake the province.
“There are no good options when it comes to Idlib,” an analysis by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group concluded in March, explaining why the province has oscillated between stagnation and bursts of bloodshed for years.
The area is among the last in the war-shattered country outside President Bashar Assad’s control — and the last area still held by rebels. Confident in the support from Russia, Assad has pledged to recover the province and every other inch of Syrian territory lost during the war.
Here’s a look at the rebellious region, and the fighting taking place:

WHY IS IDLIB IMPORTANT?
For Assad, Idlib stands in the way of final victory against the armed opposition. After eight years of war, he has largely quashed the popular revolt that erupted against his family’s decades-long rule in 2011, which was inspired by the Arab Spring protests that swept the region that year.
On the Syria conflict map, Idlib province in the country’s northwestern corner bordering Turkey forms a green-colored, rebel-controlled region surrounded mostly by a sea of red, code for Syrian government control. Recapturing it would constitute a definitive defeat for opposition forces that once controlled half the country and threatened Assad’s seat of power in Damascus.   
Russia and Iran, key international allies of Assad, want him to complete the victory. But while recapturing Idlib or even just regaining control of key highways around it has major economic benefits, a protracted, bloody battle will be costly in terms of soldiers’ lives, rekindling criticism over deaths just as his government may be starting to come in from the cold.
And the area is not just important for Assad. Idlib sits across the border from Turkey, which has long extended political and logistical support to the rebels fighting to topple Assad. Turkey also maintains about a dozen military observation posts around Idlib and has carried out patrols around the area.
Turkey, which already hosts 3 million Syrian refugees, fears a spillover of refugees across the border into its territories in case of an all-out assault.

WHY IS THERE FIGHTING AGAIN NOW?
The truce reached in September by Turkey and Russia has been fraying, with violations taking place on an almost daily basis in recent weeks. Parts of the agreement have yet to be implemented, including the withdrawal of Al-Qaeda-linked militants from the front lines, which Turkey was supposed to facilitate.
Two major highways that cut through rebel-held areas were also supposed to be reopened before the end of 2018 but remain closed.
A large government military buildup and advances on key villages in nearby areas suggests an assault is already underway.
But the current government offensive is likely to be limited in scope for now, aimed at regaining government control over the strategic M4 and M5 highways to open the way between the Mediterranean city of Latakia, a government stronghold which houses a huge Russian air base, Hama further to the north and the city of Aleppo.
Fighting currently is concentrated in towns and villages in northern Hama and parts of southern Idlib, where the government has captured several villages.
Russia and the Syrian army say they are responding to stepped-up attacks by Al-Qaeda linked militants on government-held areas. One such attack in April in Aleppo province killed 22 soldiers and pro-government gunmen. The rebels say Russia and the government are using military pressure after failed negotiations to secure access to the highway and protect the coastal area, where Russia has its air and naval base.

WHO’S IN IDLIB?
Idlib is the opposition’s last refuge. Its prewar population of 1.5 million has swelled to around 3 million after it was designated a “de-escalation zone” under an agreement between Turkey, Russia and Iran in May 2017. Tens of thousands of Syrians trapped in other parts of the country were evacuated there under various cease-fire agreements.
Now they have nowhere left to turn, after other opposition pockets have collapsed, and Turkey is building a wall along its borders, sealing them to new refugees.
It is estimated that there are tens of thousands of rebel fighters and extremists in Idlib, the most dominant of these groups being Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham — the latest iteration of Al-Qaeda’s former affiliate known as Jabhat Al-Nusra. Other factions have coalesced under the umbrella of the National Front for Liberation, and include militants, army defectors and some of the early armed opposition formations. Earlier this year, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham seized control of most of the enclave after clashing with other rebel groups.
In 2017, the US envoy to the coalition fighting Daesh, Brett McGurk, described Idlib as “the largest Al-Qaeda safe haven since 9/11.”

THE BLOODIEST CHAPTER YET?
A full-blown military offensive to recapture Idlib is expected to bring some of the most brutal and bloody fighting to date in Syria’s civil war, which has killed close to half a million people and displaced millions of others.
The mix of cornered, hard-core militants who will likely fight till the end with hundreds of thousands of trapped civilians is potentially disastrous, aid organizations warn.
“As bad as Idlib’s status quo is, all military solutions would be worse,” the International Crisis Group report said. “There is no obvious way to neutralize” Idlib’s extremists without a terrible human toll.
The head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Paulo Pinheiro, warned Thursday that an all-out conflict in Idlib “could generate an unimaginable human rights and humanitarian catastrophe.”
According to the UN, airstrikes and shelling caused at least 80 civilian fatalities and over 300 injuries over a period of 10 days, starting April 28, while over 150,000 were displaced within the enclave to safer areas.
It also said shelling, airstrikes and active fighting in and around some 50 villages caused destruction of at least 10 schools. At least 12 health facilities were hit by airstrikes. The World Food Program suspended food distribution to 47,500 people inside Idlib due to the insecurity.
The UN and aid workers warn that up to 800,000 people are in danger of renewed displacement.
With Turkey closing its borders to new refugees, it is unclear where civilians would go.


Lebanon to extradite son of late Muslim cleric Al-Qaradawi to UAE, PM’s office says

Updated 5 sec ago
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Lebanon to extradite son of late Muslim cleric Al-Qaradawi to UAE, PM’s office says

CAIRO: Lebanon is set to extradite the son of late senior Muslim cleric Youssef Al-Qaradawi to the United Arab Emirates after the country’s caretaker cabinet approved the move on Tuesday, the Lebanese prime minister’s office said.
Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian-Turkish poet, was detained in Lebanon on Dec. 28 after returning from Syria, according to his lawyer Mohammad Sablouh and human rights group Amnesty International.
Youssef was stopped by Lebanese authorities on the basis of an Egyptian court ruling against him that dates back to 2016.
The arrest was made based on an Interpol notice issued by the Arab Interior Ministers Council based on the 2016 court ruling to imprison Youssef for three years on charges of spreading false news.
The UAE and Egypt have both filed requests for his extradition.
Qaradawi’s lawyer said he would file an urgent appeal to block his extradition on Wednesday morning but feared his client might be flown out of the country before then.

UN calls for $370m in new humanitarian aid for Lebanon

Imran Riza, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, attends an interview with Reuters in Beirut, Lebanon October 3, 2024.
Updated 08 January 2025
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UN calls for $370m in new humanitarian aid for Lebanon

  • Following nearly a year of exchanges of cross-border fire initiated by Hezbollah over the war in Gaza, Israel in September stepped up its bombing campaign and later sent troops into Lebanon

UNITED NATIONS, United States: The United Nations joined the Lebanese government on Tuesday to appeal for an additional $371.4 million in humanitarian aid for people displaced by the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
The extension builds on an initial aid appeal for $426 million launched in October, as all-out war flared between the two sides and sent hundreds of thousands in Lebanon fleeing their homes.
That appeal raised approximately $250 million, according to the UN.
Following nearly a year of exchanges of cross-border fire initiated by Hezbollah over the war in Gaza, Israel in September stepped up its bombing campaign and later sent troops into Lebanon.
After two months of warring, in which Hezbollah’s influential chief Hassan Nasrallah and multiple other leaders were killed, a ceasefire deal was reached that went into effect in late November.
“While the cessation of hostilities offers hope, over 125,000 people remain displaced, and hundreds of thousands more face immense challenges rebuilding their lives,” Imran Riza, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, said in a statement Tuesday.
The additional funding “is urgently required to sustain life-saving efforts and prevent further deterioration of an already dire situation,” he added.
The appeal is primarily aimed to assist an estimated one million Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian refugees affected by the conflict, funding a three-month period of emergency efforts through March 2025.
Since the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon began on November 27, more than 800,000 displaced people in Lebanon have been able to return home, according to UN figures.
 

 


Qatar and Turkiye dispatch two power ships to generate electricity for Syria

Updated 08 January 2025
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Qatar and Turkiye dispatch two power ships to generate electricity for Syria

  • The vessels, which have power plants installed, are expected to increase the amount of electricity generated in the country by about 50 percent
  • Syria’s energy infrastructure was badly damaged during the decade-long civil war, with most areas receiving power for only two or three hours a day

LONDON: Qatar and Turkiye sent two power-generating ships to Syria on Tuesday to help address the energy crisis in the country caused by insufficient electricity supplies.

Khaled Abu Di, the director of Syria’s Public Establishment for Transmission and Distribution of Electricity, said the floating power plants are capable of generating a total of 800 megawatts a day, which would increase the amount of electricity generated in the country by about 50 percent, state news agency SANA reported.

Syria’s energy infrastructure was badly damaged during more than a decade of civil war in the country that culminated in the fall of the ruling Assad regime in December. The deterioration resulted in severe power shortages, with many areas receiving electricity for only two or three hours a day.

Abu Di said efforts are underway to secure transmission lines to deliver the electricity generated by the ships. He added that his team is also working to repair dozens of damaged conversion plants and connection lines to get the national grid up and running again.


How Israeli law permitting child detention imperils the rights of Palestinian minors

Updated 08 January 2025
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How Israeli law permitting child detention imperils the rights of Palestinian minors

  • Under legislation passed in November by the Knesset, Israeli authorities are permitted to imprison Palestinians under the age of 14
  • Rights monitors say Israel has detained some 460 children since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack triggered the Gaza war

DUBAI: Frightened, alone, and often injured during arrest, Palestinian children routinely find themselves vulnerable to abuses and deprived of basic rights after they are taken into Israeli custody, according to human rights monitors.

Under legislation passed in November by the Knesset, Israeli authorities are now permitted to detain Palestinians under the age of 14 — a measure that rights groups claim is motivated by revenge rather than security needs.

The bill, proposed by a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and approved by 53-33 votes, allows judges to sentence minors between the ages of 12 and 14 to prison terms if convicted of terrorist murder, manslaughter, or attempted murder.

Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces during a raid at the Balata camp for Palestinian refugees, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on November 23, 2023. (AFP)

According to the law, which was passed as a temporary measure lasting for five years, convicted minors can be held in closed facilities until they turn 14, after which they can be transferred to regular prisons.

An identical law, which was passed in 2016 following a series of attacks carried out by teenagers and other minors, expired in 2020.

According to the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Israel imprisoned more than 460 children between the months of October 2023 and January 2024.

INNUMBERS

460

Children imprisoned by Israel between October 2023 and January 2024, according to the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs.

16

Israeli courts have long defined the term ‘Palestinian child’ as a person under the age of 16, rather than the internationally recognized age of 18.

The Israeli parliament also passed a law in November that allows for the deportation of the family members of those convicted of attacks on Israeli citizens.

Furthermore, it allows for the deportation of the family members of those who had advance knowledge and either failed to report the matter to the police or “expressed support or identification with an act of terrorism.”

Under legislation passed in November by the Knesset, Israeli authorities are now permitted to imprison Palestinians under the age of 14. (AFP file/Getty Images)

Relatives of those who published “praise, sympathy or encouragement for an act of terrorism or a terrorist organization” can also be deported.

“This is a historic and important day for all citizens of Israel,” Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, said in a statement welcoming the bill, which he said “sends a clear message the State of Israel will not allow the families of the terrorists to continue enjoying life as if nothing had happened.

“From today onwards, every father, mother, child, brother, sister or spouse who identifies with and supports their family member who harmed the citizens of Israel will be deported.”

The abuse of Palestinian children in military detention was a child protection crisis before Oct. 7, and it has only become worse, says Jason Lee, Save the Children.

Both Israel’s Justice Ministry and the Attorney General’s Office raised concerns about the legislation, which stipulates that those being expelled would be sent to Gaza or other destinations for 7-15 years for citizens or 10-20 years for legal residents.

Some opposition members of the Knesset suggested at the time that the legislation is targeted specifically at Palestinian citizens of Israel, saying the law is unlikely to apply to Jewish Israelis convicted of terrorism offenses.

Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations have branded both new laws unconstitutional.

Israeli policemen detain a Palestinian boy in the east Jerusalem Arab neighborhood of Issawiya on May 15, 2012, during protests to mark Nakba day. (AFP)

Hadeel Abu Salih, an attorney working for Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, sent a letter to the Israeli parliament claiming the legislation was motivated by revenge and retribution.

Abu Salih also said the legislation contradicts the principles of Israel’s Youth Law, which stresses rehabilitation over punitive measures for minors.

The Legal Center released a statement saying that “through these laws, Israel further entrenches its two-tiered legal system, with one set of laws for Jewish Israelis under criminal law and another, with inferior rights, for Palestinians under the pretext of counterterrorism.

An Israeli soldier controls a Palestinian boy during clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters following a march against Palestinian land confiscation to expand the nearby Jewish Hallamish settlement on August 28, 2015 in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah. (AFP)

“By embedding apartheid-like policies into the law, the Knesset further institutionalized systematic oppression, in contravention of both international law and basic human and constitutional rights.”

Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that triggered the Gaza war, Israeli forces have significantly increased the rate of arrests of Palestinian children, both in Gaza and the West Bank.

Between October and November 2023 alone, 254 minors were reportedly arrested by Israeli forces. Some of these detainees have since been released.

Israeli security forces scuffle with a Palestinian boy outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's old city during a demonstration on December 26, 2015. (AFP)

The bulk of the arrest operations appear to take place in towns, camps, and other areas with points of contact with Israeli checkpoints. Although the precise charges leveled against these minors are unknown, the most common offense is throwing stones.

In some cases, rights monitors say children under the age of 10 are taken in order to pressure their relatives to surrender themselves to Israeli authorities.

Palestinian children released from Israeli detention often describe traumatic experiences, recounting harsh measures enforced by guards and the prison administration, including allegations of physical and psychological torture during interrogation.

Nael al-Atrash, eleven-years-old, is blind folded and hand cuffed by Israeli soldiers who raided the neighborhood of Jabal al-Takruri in the West Bank town of Hebron 08 March 2006. (AFP)

Testimonies shared with Save the Children include severe beatings in the presence of their relatives, being shot at, having their legs restrained, and being blindfolded during transfers between detention centers.

Several claim that food and water were also withheld for long periods of time as a form of punishment. Some have even alleged sexual abuse. Monitors say minors are routinely denied their right to legal aid and at times the presence of a family member during their interrogations.

As a result of these abuses, minors are allegedly coerced into signing false confessions and into signing documents without understanding their content. Children are also rarely granted bail before standing trial.

The Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society have expressed concern about the ongoing detention of children and the alleged abuses.

Both say the behavior of Israeli prison administrations and conditions inside overcrowded facilities have become worse since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Monitors say the detention centers holding minors do not meet the minimum humanitarian standards. A large number of detained children are reportedly sharing cells and are deprived of an education, medical assistance, and personal items such as books and clothing.

Israeli courts have long defined the term “Palestinian child” as a person under the age of 16, rather than the internationally recognized age of 18 as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Israeli authorities have previously denied the maltreatment of detainees.

Responding to separate claims by the UN in March last year about the alleged mistreatment of adults captured in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces told the BBC: “The mistreatment of detainees during their time in detention or whilst under interrogation violates IDF values and contravenes IDF and is therefore absolutely prohibited.”

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for Palestine, accused the international community of failing to address the detention of Palestinian children, saying minors in Israeli custody are “tormented often beyond the breaking point.”

On World Children’s Day, marked by the UN on Nov. 20, the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs released a statement saying that around 270 Palestinian children were being held in Israeli jails.

“The occupation continues to detain no less than 270 children, who are mainly held in Ofer and Megiddo prisons, in addition to camps established by the occupation army after the Gaza war,” the commission said.

“Systematic crimes are being committed by the prison administration against the jailed children, in addition to beatings, torture, and daily abuses.”

According to Palestinian rights monitors, more than 11,700 people from the West Bank have been detained since October 2023. This does not include those from the Gaza Strip, where the number of arrests is thought to be far higher.

Similarly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority urged the international community on World Children’s Day to pressure Israel to honor its commitments to global treaties, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

It stressed the need to ensure Palestinian children are not excluded from international charters that call for special protections for children against violence and detention.

The ministry also condemned the law undertaken by the Knesset to detain children under the age of 14 years, calling it a dangerous escalation that further undermines Palestinian children’s rights.

Despite international and local human rights organizations calling for the abolition of the Knesset’s child detention laws, the Israeli government insists the law will remain in place for the next five years.

 


Germany pushing for EU to relax sanctions on Syria, sources say

Updated 08 January 2025
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Germany pushing for EU to relax sanctions on Syria, sources say

  • This requires an unanimous EU decision
  • Germany’s foreign ministry declined to comment

BERLIN: Germany is leading European Union discussions on easing sanctions imposed on the Syrian government of toppled President Bashar Assad and aiding the country’s population, foreign ministry sources said on Tuesday.
“We are actively discussing ways to provide sanctions relief to the Syrian people in certain sectors,” one of the sources said. This requires an unanimous EU decision.
Germany’s foreign ministry declined to comment.
A lightning rebel offensive overthrew Assad on Dec. 8 and Islamist rebels Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which led the advance, set up a caretaker government.
The US on Monday issued a six-month sanctions exemption for transactions with some government bodies to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance, address Syria’s power shortages and allow personal remittances.
The EU, United States, Britain and other governments imposed tough sanctions on Syria after Assad’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011 spiraled into civil war.
HTS has renounced its ties with Al Qaeda but is still designated a terrorist entity by the United Nations and US
German officials first circulated thoughts on easing sanctions on Syria in documents sent to Brussels before Christmas.
The FT first reported on Tuesday that the documents outline how the EU could gradually ease restrictions on Damascus in return for progress on social issues, including safeguarding minority and women’s rights and upholding commitments to ensuring non-proliferation of weapons.
The FT, citing an unnamed source familiar with the EU discussions, added that, like Washington, the bloc could make any easing of sanctions temporary to ensure that it could be reversed if necessary.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Friday traveled to Syria for a one-day trip with her French counterpart on behalf of the EU and met with HTS leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Baerbock said during her visit that all Syrian groups including women and Kurds must be involved in the country’s transition if Damascus wants European support.