Turkey-backed Syrian forces entered the northern Syrian city of Manbij after taking control of most of the surrounding area from US-allied Kurdish forces there, a Turkish security source said on Sunday.
Daily Archives: 8. Dezember 2024
Turkish source claims Syrian rebels close to defeating Kurdish forces in north
Turkey-backed Syrian forces have taken control of some 80% of northern Syria’s Manbij area and are close to victory against Kurdish forces there, a Turkish security source claims.
“The fight against the YPG/PKK is very close to victory. Both air and land interventions are ongoing to take Manbij from the hands of the YPG/PKK,” the source says, referring to the Kurdish militia which has long been in control of Manbij.
US Strikes over 70 ISIS camps in Syria
The United States army announced on Sunday that it carried out airstrikes against 75 Islamic State (ISIS) camps in Syria, to prevent the group from taking “advantage” of the recent kerfuffle in the country.
“The strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps were conducted as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS,” read a statement from the army’s Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US troops in the Middle East.
President Biden on Situation in Syria: „At long last the Assad regime has fallen.“
President Biden: „After 13 years of civil war in Syria, more than half a century of brutal authoritarian rule by Bashar al-Assad and his father before him, rebel forces have forced Assad to resign his office, flee the country.“
Syrian Observatory says war has killed more than half a million
(March 12, 2018)
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said on Monday about 511,000 people had been killed in the Syrian war since it began seven years ago.
Assad must go, Obama says
(18.8.2011)
As Obama issued his statement, the leaders of France, Germany and Britain joined him in calling on Assad “to face the reality of the complete rejection of his regime by the Syrian people and to step aside.”
Obama had spoken to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron over the past two weeks to discuss calling for Assad’s resignation and to coordinate steps on sanctions.
US expands ‚axis of evil‘
(6.5.2002)
The United States has added Cuba, Libya and Syria to the nations it claims are deliberately seeking to obtain chemical or biological weapons.
Text of President Bush‘s 2002 State of the Union Address
(Jan. 29, 2002)
Our second goal is to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction.
Some of these regimes have been pretty quiet since September 11, but we know their true nature. North Korea is a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens.
Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people‘s hope for freedom.
Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror. The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax and nerve gas and nuclear weapons for over a decade.
This is a regime that has already used poison gas to murder thousands of its own citizens, leaving the bodies of mothers huddled over their dead children. This is a regime that agreed to international inspections then kicked out the inspectors. This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world.
States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world.
Netanyahu Says „Central Link In Iran‘s Axis Of Evil“ Has Fallen In Syria
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria was a „historic day in the… Middle East“ and the fall of a „central link in Iran‘s axis of evil“.
Netanyahu said the events are „a direct result of the blows we have inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah, Assad‘s main supporters. It has triggered a chain reaction across the Middle East, empowering those seeking to break free from this oppressive regime.“
He spoke on a visit to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Suspected Israeli strikes hit a part of Damascus, two security sources say
The regional security sources said at least six strikes hit the main air base in the north of the city of Suweida that has a large stockpile of rockets and missiles left by Syrian troops.
The attack appeared aimed at prevent these weapons from falling into the hands of radical groups, one source told Reuters.
Syria Gunmen storm Iranian embassy in Damascus as Russia claims Assad left ‚instructions‘ to ‚transfer power‘
Iranian state television reported on the embassy incident, saying they did not believe the gunmen were affiliated with the wider rebel group that took the city. (…)
Russia‘s Foreign Ministry said in a Telegram post Sunday that Assad left Syria following negotiations with rebel groups, and that the long-time Syrian leader had left „instructions“ to „transfer power peacefully.“ The Russian ministry said the Kremlin was not directly involved in those discussions.
Syrian army command tells officers that Assad‘s rule has ended
The unnamed officer made the remarks to Reuters on Sunday after reports said President Assad had flown out of Damascus for an unknown destination.
Meanwhile, the militants declared that they had captured the capital, announcing the fall of the Assad government.
Syria Live Updates: Assad Has Resigned and Left Syria, Russia Says
President Bashar al-Assad’s immediate location was not initially clear after rebels took control of Syria’s capital. Russia’s Foreign Ministry did not provide details on where he had gone, saying only that he had resigned and left the country.
UN Palestine Expert: Israel Should Be Removed From UN Over UNRWA Attacks
(December 6, 2024)
The UN’s top independent expert on Palestinian human rights has repeated a call for Israel to be removed from its membership in the United Nations, citing its “relentless attacks” against the institution’s top aid group for Palestinian refugees.
On Thursday, UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese said on social media that Israel should be unseated, echoing calls from numerous international law experts and advocates for Palestinian rights.
Health ministry in Gaza says war death toll at 44,664
The health ministry in Gaza said Saturday that at least 44,664 people have been killed in nearly 14 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Israeli strikes kill 6 in Lebanon‘s south, 34 in Gaza
(December 7, 2024)
Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 34 Palestinians on Saturday, health officials in the enclave said, as Qatar voiced hope of fresh momentum in efforts to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
The health officials said that an Israeli strike hit a house in Gaza City late Saturday, killing four women. The Israeli military did not provide an immediate comment on Saturday‘s strikes across Gaza
Friday‘s death toll in Gaza was 63 Palestinians
Thirty-five of those killed were in northern Gaza, where Israel has launched several attacks on the Kamal Adwan Hospital and also forcibly displaced thousands from the Beit Lahiya neighbourhood in recent days.
Israeli military kills four doctors in raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, eyewitnesses say
(December 6, 2024)
Members of an Indonesian medical delegation – the only team performing surgery at Kamal Adwan – were among those forced to leave and not allowed to return, according to Abu Saifya.
Hours later, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew from one of the last remaining functioning facilities in northern Gaza. Hospital staffers and patients left the facility to find hundreds of bodies and wounded people lining surrounding streets, Abu Saifya added.
A photo posted by Abu Saifya on social media showed at least 17 shrouded bodies laying on the hospital courtyard.
In largest land grab since Oslo, Israel confiscates 6,000 acres in West Bank
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the confiscation of 24,000 dunums (5930.5 acres) of the occupied West Bank, classifying them as state lands, the Palestinian Information Centre reported.
Israel’s Channel 14 said this announcement is a dramatic step, expected to affect regional planning and change the face of the region.
Jake Sullivan Says US Won’t ‘Cry’ About the Pressure Syria Is Facing from Al-Qaeda-Linked Fighters
(December 2, 2024)
US officials have not been shy in the past about their preference for HTS and its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, over other factions in Syria. James Jeffrey, an American diplomat who served as a special envoy to Syria under the Trump administration from 2018-2020, said in a 2021 interview that HTS was “an asset” to the US’s strategy in Idlib, a northwestern Syrian province that’s been under HTS control since 2017.