TAL ABYAD, Syria: The US-led coalition said Sunday that “good progress” was being made in implementing a buffer zone in northern Syria along the Turkish border.
Turkey and the United States last month agreed on the so-called “security mechanism” to create a buffer between the Turkish border and Syrian areas controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
The YPG led the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in battle against Daesh in Syria, but Ankara views the Kurdish fighters as “terrorists.”
The United States and Turkey launched their first joint patrol of the border areas on September 8, but Ankara has accused Washington of stalling in the week since.
A coalition delegation on Sunday met with members of a military council in Tal Abyad, a northern town from which Kurdish forces started withdrawing late last month.
“We are seeing good progress for the initial phase of security mechanism activities,” the coalition said in a statement handed out to journalists.
“The coalition and SDF have conducted multiple patrols to identify and remove fortifications to address concerns from Turkey,” the statement said.
“Four joint US and Turkish military overflights” by helicopter were also carried out, it said.
Little is known about the buffer zone’s size or how it will work, although Ankara has said there would be observation posts and joint patrols.
“We will continue the removal of certain fortifications in the security mechanism area of concern to Turkey,” the coalition statement said.
Riad Al-Khamis, a joint head of the Tal Abyad military council, said the SDF had withdrawn from the area, to be replaced by the local forces.
He announced US-Turkish “joint patrols in the coming days to ensure the security of the border and the area.”
“They will be joint patrols between the coalition or United States and Turkey in coordination with us, the Tal Abyad military council,” he said.
“The coalition has promised to train the military personnel (of the council) — who are from this area — and support them logistically,” he told reporters.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to go his “own way” if the buffer zone was not set up by the end of September “with our own soldiers.”
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday belittled efforts to create the safe zone as largely “cosmetic.”
Syria’s Kurds have established a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Syria during the country’s eight-year war.
Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to attack Kurdish-held areas in northern Syria, and the prospect of a US withdrawal after the territorial defeat of Daesh in March again stoked fears of an incursion.
Damascus labelled the first patrol last week as a flagrant “aggression” that seeks to prolong Syria’s war.
Turkey has already carried out two cross-border incursions into Syria, the latest of which saw Turkish troops and Ankara’s Syrian rebel proxies seize the northwestern enclave of Afrin last year.
Meanwhile, state media reported on Sunday that thousands have returned to their hometowns in northwest Syria after military advances by government loyalist against militants and allied rebels, .
“Thousands of citizens return to their villages and towns of the northern Hama countryside and the southern Idlib countryside,” state news agency SANA said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, reported “around 3,000 people” going home from other areas under regime control.
Since August 31, a cease-fire announced by regime backer Russia has largely held in northwestern Syria, though the Observatory has reported sporadic bombardment.
SANA said the returns came amid “government efforts to return the displaced to their towns and villages.”
The Idlib region of around three million people, many of them displaced by fighting in other areas, is one of the last holdouts of opposition to forces backing Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Moscow announced the cease-fire late last month after four months of deadly violence that displaced 400,000 people, most of whom fled north within the militant-run bastion, according to the United Nations.
Regime forces had chipped away at the southern edges of the militant-run stronghold throughout August, retaking towns and villages in the north of Hama province and the south of Idlib province.
Syria’s civil war has killed more than 370,000 people since it started in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.
Assad’s regime now controls more than 60 percent of the country after notching up a series of victories against rebels and militants with key Russian backing since 2015.
But a large chunk of Idlib, fully administered by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate since January, as well as a Kurdish-held swathe of the oil-rich northeast, remain beyond its reach.
Coalition says ‘good progress’ in north Syria buffer zone, thousands return to government-seized areas
Coalition says ‘good progress’ in north Syria buffer zone, thousands return to government-seized areas
- The Syrian Observatory reported “around 3,000 people” going home from other areas under regime control
- The Idlib region is one of the last holdouts of opposition forces
Weakened Iran could pursue nuclear weapon, White House’s Sullivan says
Iran has suffered setbacks to its regional influence after Israel’s assaults on its allies, Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, followed by the fall of Iran-aligned Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, have reduced Tehran’s conventional military capabilities, Sullivan told CNN.
“It’s no wonder there are voices (in Iran) saying, ‘Hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now ... Maybe we have to revisit our nuclear doctrine’,” Sullivan said.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has expanded uranium enrichment since Trump, in his 2017-2021 presidential term, pulled out of a deal between Tehran and world powers that put restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief.
Sullivan said that there was a risk that Iran might abandon its promise not to build nuclear weapons.
“It’s a risk we are trying to be vigilant about now. It’s a risk that I’m personally briefing the incoming team on,” Sullivan said, adding that he had also consulted with US ally Israel.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, could return to his hard-line Iran policy by stepping up sanctions on Iran’s oil industry. Sullivan said Trump would have an opportunity to pursue diplomacy with Tehran, given Iran’s “weakened state.”
“Maybe he can come around this time, with the situation Iran finds itself in, and actually deliver a nuclear deal that curbs Iran’s nuclear ambitions for the long term,” he said.
Netanyahu says Israel will continue to act against the Houthis
- On Thursday, Israeli jets launched a series of strikes against energy and port infrastructure in Yemen
- Response to hundreds of missile and drone attacks launched by Houthis since start of Gaza war
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would continue acting against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, whom he accused of threatening world shipping and the international order, and called on Israelis to be steadfast.
“Just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran’s axis of evil, so we will act against the Houthis,” he said in a video statement a day after a missile fired from Yemen fell in the Tel Aviv area, causing a number of mild injuries.
On Thursday, Israeli jets launched a series of strikes against energy and port infrastructure in Yemen in a move officials said was a response to hundreds of missile and drone attacks launched by the Houthis since the start of the Gaza war 14 months ago.
On Saturday, the US military said it conducted precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by Houthis in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
Netanyahu, strengthened at home by the Israeli military’s campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon and by its destruction of most of the Syrian army’s strategic weapons, said Israel would act with the United States.
“Therefore, we will act with strength, determination and sophistication. I tell you that even if it takes time, the result will be the same,” he said.
The Houthis have launched repeated attacks on international shipping in waters near Yemen since November 2023, in support of the Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
Iraq PM says Mosul airport to open in June, 11 years after Daesh capture
- On June 10, 2014, the Daesh group seized Mosul
BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Sunday ordered for the inauguration of the airport in second city Mosul to be held in June, marking 11 years since Islamists took over the city.
On June 10, 2014, the Daesh group seized Mosul, declaring its “caliphate” from there 19 days later after capturing large swathes of Iraq and neighboring Syria.
After years of fierce battles, Iraqi forces backed by a US-led international coalition dislodged the group from Mosul in July 2017, before declaring its defeat across the country at the end of that year.
In a Sunday statement, Sudani’s office said the premier directed during a visit there “for the airport’s opening to be on June 10, coinciding with the anniversary of Mosul’s occupation, as a message of defiance in the face of terrorism.”
Over 80 percent of the airport’s runway and terminals have been completed, according to the statement.
Mosul’s airport had been completely destroyed in the fighting.
In August 2022, then-prime minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi laid the foundation stone for the airport’s reconstruction.
Sudani’s office also announced on Sunday the launch of a project to rehabilitate the western bank of the Tigris in Mosul, affirming that “Iraq is secure and stable and on the right path.”
Turkiye’s top diplomat meets Syria’s new leader in Damascus
- Hakan Fidan had announced on Friday that he planned to travel to Damascus to meet Syria’s new leaders
- Turkiye’s spy chief Ibrahim Kalin had earlier visited the city on December 12, just a few days after Bashar Assad’s fall
ANKARA: Turkiye’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan met with Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Damascus on Sunday, Ankara’s foreign ministry said.
A video released by the Anadolu state news agency showed the two men greeting each other.
No details of where the meeting took place in the Syrian capital were released by the ministry.
Fidan had announced on Friday that he planned to travel to Damascus to meet Syria’s new leaders, who ousted Syria’s strongman Bashar Assad after a lightning offensive.
Turkiye’s spy chief Ibrahim Kalin had earlier visited the city on December 12, just a few days after Assad’s fall.
Kalin was filmed leaving the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, surrounded by bodyguards, as broadcast by the private Turkish channel NTV.
Turkiye has been a key backer of the opposition to Assad since the uprising against his rule began in 2011.
Besides supporting various militant groups, it has welcomed Syrian dissenters and millions of refugees.
However, Fidan has rejected claims by US president-elect Donald Trump that the militants’ victory in Syria constituted an “unfriendly takeover” of the country by Turkiye.
International sanctions on Damascus must be lifted “as soon as possible” to allow Syria to get back on its feet and refugees to return home, Fidan said.
“The sanctions imposed on the previous regime need to be lifted as soon as possible,” he said, adding: “The international community needs to mobilize to help Syria get back on its feet and for the displaced people to return.”
During a joint press conference, Al-Sharaa said that all weapons in the country would come under state control including those held by Kurdish-led forces.
Armed “factions will begin to announce their dissolution and enter” the army, Sharaa said during a press conference with Fidan, adding “we will absolutely not allow there to be weapons in the country outside state control, whether from the revolutionary factions or the factions present in the SDF area,” referring to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Syria alone was responsible for overthrowing Bashar Assad, Fidan also said.
“This victory belongs to you and no one else. Thanks to your sacrifices, Syria has seized a historic opportunity,” he said. Turkiye has repeatedly dismissed claims it had any hand in the lightning 12-day rebel offensive that ended with Assad’s overthrow on December 8.
Druze leader Jumblatt paves way for Lebanese-Syrian relationship without Assad
- Ahmed Al-Sharaa: ‘Syria’s interference in Lebanese affairs was negative’ in the past
- Walid Jumblatt said Assad’s ouster should usher in new constructive relations between Lebanon and Syria
BEIRUT: Syria’s new leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, vowed in a meeting in Damascus on Sunday not to negatively interfere in neighboring Lebanon.
A major political and religious delegation headed by prominent Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt met with Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham leader Al-Sharaa at the People’s Palace.
This marks the first visit of a Lebanese political figure to Syria following the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime.
Al-Sharaa made a series of unprecedented statements about Lebanese-Syrian ties following decades of strained and sometimes bloody relations with the former Syrian regime.
Al-Sharaa said, “Syria was a source of concern and disturbance for Lebanon, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” adding that “the former Syrian regime killed Kamal Jumblatt, Bashir Gemayel, and Rafik Hariri.”
He emphasized that Syria, in its new era, would “stay at equal distance from everyone in Lebanon” and no longer engage in “negative interference in Lebanon.”
Al-Sharaa said that “Lebanon needs a strong economy and political stability that Syria will support” and called on the Lebanese to "erase from their memory the legacy of the old Syria in Lebanon.”
The international community was unable to solve the Syrian problem over 14 years, Al-Sharaa said.
“We took a different path because we believe that people can claim their rights by taking matters into their own hands only,” he added.
Commenting on Hezbollah’s years-long involvement in Syrian affairs in support of Assad’s regime, he said: “This is a new chapter with all components of the Lebanese people, regardless of previous stances.”
Jumblatt saluted the Syrian people for their “great victories and for getting rid of oppression and tyranny.”
He said: “We have a long way to go, and we are suffering from Israeli expansion, so I will present a memorandum on Lebanese-Syrian relations on behalf of the Democratic Gathering.”
Jumblatt believes that “the crimes committed against the Syrian people are similar to those committed in Gaza and Bosnia-Herzegovina and constitute crimes against humanity,” adding that “it is worth referring the matter” to international inquiries.
The delegation headed by Jumblatt included Sheikh Akl of the Unitarian Druze Community, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Dr. Sami Abi Al-Muna, Taymour Jumblatt, Druze MPs and religious figures.
Jumblatt said: “We hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations will return through the embassies and that all of those who committed crimes against the Lebanese will be held accountable.
“We also hope that fair trials will be held for all those who committed crimes against the Syrian people.”
Also on Sunday, the Lebanese Public Prosecution said that it received a telegram from the American judiciary regarding the arrest of Maj. Gen. Jamil Al-Hassan, director of administration for the Air Force Intelligence under the collapsed Assad regime.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that several officers from the Assad regime fled to Lebanon in the early hours following the collapse of the regime, utilizing illegal crossings managed by Hezbollah.
Those who entered Lebanese territory illegally included members of the Fourth Division, previously led by Maher Al-Assad, including officers of various ranks.
Security reports indicated that “several of them were apprehended while in possession of hundreds of thousands of dollars and quantities of gold, and the detainees were subsequently handed over to the Lebanese General Security.”
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi confirmed last week that “some Syrian figures crossed overland into Lebanon, and some of them traveled via Beirut airport.”
He also said that photos of wanted Syrian officers had been disseminated to Lebanese air, sea, and land ports for their capture.
In a telegram circulated through Interpol, the US judiciary accuses Gen. Hassan of “war crimes, including genocide committed against the Syrian people by dropping explosive barrels.”
The international warrant has been disseminated to security services, which, as stated by a security source, are currently engaged in efforts to “ascertain whether Hassan is present in Beirut, in anticipation of his arrest and subsequent transfer to the judiciary.”
In a related incident on Sunday, unknown gunmen kidnapped Col. Ahmed Khair Beyk of the Syrian army on the Beirut Airport Road.
A security source linked the kidnapping to “drug and Captagon trafficking,” stating that “the perpetrators are a gang involved in the drug trade.”
Beyk had previously served as an aide to Brig. Gen. Ghassan Bilal in the Syrian army’s Fourth Division.
In other developments, the issue of detainees and opponents of the Syrian regime, held in Lebanese prisons for years, has resurfaced following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
Their families held a sit-in in downtown Beirut on Sunday to demand general amnesty.
The protesters called for “speeding up trials and releasing their sons, notably the religious leaders among them.”
The number of detainees stands at 350, including 180 Lebanese and 170 Syrians, many of whom were arrested for supporting the Syrian opposition and labeled as terrorists.
On the other side of the border, the Lebanese Red Cross received seven Lebanese citizens at the Naqoura crossing.
They had been kidnapped by Israeli forces that infiltrated Lebanese territory and subjected them to interrogation.
The Israeli army claimed through its spokesperson Avichay Adraee that the forces of the 188th Brigade uncovered a large Hezbollah combat complex that contained eight weapons depots above and below ground, connected through a network of underground tunnels.
Communication and electrical devices, anti-tank missiles aimed at northern Israeli towns, explosives, computers, and other items were found, said the spokesperson.
The complex was destroyed, and the weapons were seized.
