The U.N. envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, told reporters in Damascus that setting Syria back on track after the past few tumultuous weeks will be helped by a speedy relief of sanctions.
„We can hopefully see a quick end to the sanctions so that we can see really a rallying around building of Syria,“ he said.
In a significant development, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced that the bloc‘s top diplomat for Syria will head to Damascus on Monday to initiate contact with the new Syrian government.
„Using all the channels that we have available, and those are diplomatic and, of course, intelligence-led channels, we seek to deal with HTS where we have to.“
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has had direct contact with HTS.
Israeli officials now say they have total air superiority over Syria due to the lack of air defenses, which could make it easier to launch airstrikes on Iran. Israeli warplanes used to have to avoid air defenses when bombing Syria, but now Israeli officials say they’re able to fly over Damascus without having to worry about getting shot down by Russian-made air defenses.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the United States was communicating directly with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the dominant rebel faction, despite its designation as a terrorist group.
It was the first high-level visit from India to Bangladesh since Sheikh Hasina was deposed as Prime Minister in August this year and since the interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, assumed office.
There have been multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities by extremist elements in Bangladesh. There also have been cases of arson and looting of minorities‘ homes and vandalism and desecration of deities and temples.
The leaders of Communist Party of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal- BSD on Wednesday expressed concern over provocation of sectarian unrest in the country.
They also expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in several areas across the country.
Nach dem Sturz von Machthaber Assad ist noch vieles unsicher in Syrien. Am Rand seiner Ukraine-Reise hebt der CDU-Vorsitzende Merz die starke Rolle von Türkiye hervor. Die EU und Deutschland sollten gemeinsam mit Ankara die Region „befrieden“.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed their willingness to engage with Syria‘s new leadership, following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, under certain conditions, a statement from the German government revealed after a call between the two leaders.
The U.S. government would “recognize and fully support” a future Syrian government that results from an inclusive and transparent transition process, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday, outlining a first set of principles regarding the Biden administration’s hopes to influence discussions over Syria’s future after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.
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: „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.“
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(15. April 2018)
Der nun erfolgte erneute Luftangriff gegen Syrien repräsentiert die Wiederholung einer Seifenoper aus dem letzten Jahr (11.04.2017, Wag the Russki). Drehbuch wie folgt:
– U.S. Präsident Donald Trump äußert in etwa “es hat nach Hunderttausenden von Toten keinen Sinn mehr die Invasion in Syrien mit terroristischen Proxy-Truppen und regulären eigenen Einheiten weiter fortzusetzen”,
– im Gebiet der terroristischen Proxies und Invasoren bei Ghouta ereignet sich ein fiktiver oder tatsächlicher Einsatz von Chemiewaffen,
– Trump dreht sich um 180 Grad und kündigt einen Militärschlag auf Syrien an,
– dieser erfolgt, mit Ankündigung und laut der französischen Verteidigungsministerin und einem anonymen Politiker über “Reuters” abermals mit Vorwarnung durch die Westmächte,
– die russische Flugabwehr tut nichts, gibt auch noch damit an und die syrische, die genau wie die russischen Militärs noch jedem Massaker gegen die eigenen und verbündeten Truppen aus Irak, Iran und Libanon zugesehen hat wie die Karnickel auf der Fahrbahn, behauptet dies und das.
Einer der wenigen Unterschiede zum letzten Jahr ist, dass sich neben Donald Trump mit Emmanuel Macron und Theresa May nun zwei weitere in ihrem Land hoch umstrittene Staatsleiter vor die Presse stellen und sagen können, sehet her, das haben sie nun davon, diese Russkis. Und Putin, der arme Putin, zitiert das Völkerrecht.
Dass die russische Staatsführung nie beabsichtigt hat Syrien gegen Luftangriffe zu verteidigen, sagte sie schon im letzten Jahr. Dass der russische Präsident jetzt von einer Verletzung der Souveränität Syriens redet, spricht Bände über dessen auch im Humor zum Ausdruck kommenden Grausamkeit. Der ganze Luftraum Syriens quillt über von irgendwelchen Kampfjets von Vancouver bis Wladivostok, seit Jahren. Noch einmal – hätte die Russische Föderation vor Beginn der Syrien-Invasion oder vor Beginn der Libyen-Invasion den dortigen Regimen eine Garantieerklärung gegeben, wie sie China letzten Sommer unter viel Gewimmer und Gebrumm endlich gegenüber Nordkorea abgab, wären Hunderttausende Menschen heute noch am Leben.
Daraa and Quneitra are near the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, where Israel said it was boosting its troop presence, and Jordan, which late Friday urged its citizens to leave Syria „as soon as possible.“
Iraq allowed hundreds of troops from the Syrian army in, some of them wounded, amid the offensive, according to two Iraqi security sources speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP). The soldiers from President Bashar al-Assad‘s forces „have fled the front lines“ and entered Iraq through the Al-Qaim border crossing, said one senior security official, adding that „the wounded have been hospitalized“ in the area.
According to Israel, a UN post on the edge of the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights came under attack.
„The [Israeli army] is currently assisting the UN forces in repelling the attack,“ Israel said.
On Friday, the military completed a General Staff exercise in the northern Jordan Valley and the southern Golan Heights.
During the exercise, General Staff readiness was drilled by the Operations Directorate, by both air and land, to assess response time and reaction to an emerging incident in real time.
(01.12.2014)
5. In view of the heavy fighting, which was approaching close to the UNDOF headquarters at Camp Faouar and the mission’s positions in the central part of the area of separation, the Force Commander briefed both parties early in September on the Force’s plans to relocate its personnel and assets should the Nusra Front or other extremist fighters who posed a clear threat to the mission endanger the safety and security of the United Nations personnel. It should be noted here that from information posted on social media as well as in the course of its efforts to secure the release of the peacekeepers, the United Nations learned that its personnel had been taken and held by members of the Nusra Front. There were indications that the Nusra Front intended to detain additional UNDOF personnel and take from UNDOF more weapons and vehicles as opportunities arose. (…)
12. Crossing of the ceasefire line by civilians, primarily shepherds, was observed on an almost daily basis. On 24 October, United Nations observation post 73 observed 12 IDF soldiers who detained one civilian between the Alpha line and the Israeli technical fence south-east of the observation post and subsequently took him away. IDF informed UNDOF that they released the person within one hour at the same location. On 27 October, position 80 observed two IDF soldiers east of the technical fence returning from the direction of the Alpha line towards the technical fence. UNDOF observed IDF opening the technical fence gate and letting two individuals pass from the Bravo to the Alpha side. Following the evacuation of UNDOF personnel from position 85 on 28 August, UNDOF sporadically observed armed members of the opposition interacting with IDF across the ceasefire line in the vicinity of United Nations position 85.
(4.12.2014)
UN troops monitoring the 1974 ceasefire between Israel and Syria have witnessed interactions between members of the Israeli Defence Forces and the Al Nusra Front who have taken over a large part of the Golan Heights.
(December 2, 2024)
“They accuse us of cooperating with you because we were quite happy when you attacked Hezbollah, really happy, and we’re glad that you won,” the source said.
Both said the rebels had no issue with Israel. “We love Israel and we were never its enemies,” the man from the Idlib area said. “[Israel] isn’t hostile to those who are not hostile toward it. We don’t hate you, we love you very much.”
The United States spent billions over years arming and training militants in Syria, many linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Current US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan admitted back in 2012 that “AQ [Al-Qaeda] is on our side in Syria”.
(2024-12-04 06:46:35 / Update: 2024-12-04 07:16:01)
In einer Fernsehansprache gegen 4.20 Uhr erklärte Yoon, dass er die Forderung des Parlaments sofort akzeptieren und den Ausnahmezustand durch das Kabinett aufheben werde.
Die Ankündigung erfolgte etwa dreieinhalb Stunden, nachdem die Nationalversammlung den entsprechenden Antrag verabschiedet hatte.
(Updated 12:00 AM GMT+1, December 4, 2024)
Yoon, who appeared likely to be impeached over his actions, imposed martial law late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces as he struggles against an opposition that controls parliament and that he accuses of sympathizing with communist North Korea.
Less than three hours later, parliament acted, with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik declaring that the martial law was “invalid” and that lawmakers would “protect democracy with the people.”
(2024-12-03 23:00:59 / Update: 2024-12-03 23:06:21)
Präsident Yoon Suk Yeol hat den Ausnahmezustand erklärt.
In einer dringenden Ansprache aus dem Präsidentenbüro in Yongsan betonte er am Dienstag, dass diese Maßnahme notwendig sei, um pro-nordkoreanische Kräfte zu beseitigen und die freiheitlich-demokratische Grundordnung zu schützen.
(December 3, 2024 4:07 pm CET)
Right after Yoon’s announcement, Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun called for a meeting of key commanders and asked the military to stay on emergency guard, Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Martial Law Commander Army General Park An-soo announced that all media would now be under military censorship and that political activities are banned.
Zum anderen dürfte das, was wir in Syrien sehen, der Hinweis auf eine etwas größer angelegte türkische Strategie sein. Ich vermute, dass die Türkei längerfristig große Teile von Nord- und Ostsyrien einer zumindest indirekten Kontrolle unterwerfen und damit vor allem das kurdische Autonomiegebiet im Nordosten Syriens in Schach halten oder sogar beseitigen will. Dort herrscht nämlich ein Ableger der türkischen PKK.
(November 30,2024)
Opposition sources in touch with Turkish intelligence said Turkey, which supports the rebels, had given a green light to the offensive. Turkish officials were not immediately available to comment on Saturday.
(November 30, 2024)
Militants from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) currently invading Aleppo, Syria‘s second-largest city, are taking orders from Turkish intelligence, French news agency AFP reported on 30 November.
The Lebanese health ministry on Monday said that at least nine people were killed in Israeli air strikes on two towns in southern Lebanon.
In Haris, five people were killed while two others were wounded.
In Talousa, four people were killed and one person was wounded.
5. Examined in details the situation in the Idlib de-escalation area and reaffirmed their determination to fully implement the Memorandum on Stabilization of the Situation in the Idlib De-escalation Area of 17 September 2018. In this regard they expressed their concern with the ongoing violations of the ceasefire regime, and declared that, as guarantors of the ceasefire regime, they would step up their efforts to ensure observance with it, including by enhacing work of the Joint Iranian-Russian-Turkish Coordination Center. They stressed the importance of a lasting ceasefire while underlining the necessity to continue effective fight against terrorism. They also emphasized that under no circumstances the creation of the above-mentioned de-escalation area should undermine the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic;
The offensive is led by Hayʼat Tahrir ash-Sham (HTS), a Sunni Islamist opposition group backed by Turkey and designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.
On Friday, the rebels entered the old city of Aleppo and took over several key sites, including the historic citadel and the Umayyad Mosque, according to videos posted on social media.
Araghchi held a telephone conversation with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam al-Sabbagh on Friday, where both officials examined the evolving situation in Syria and broader regional developments.
„The reactivation of terrorist groups in Syria is a U.S.-Zionist scheme after failure in Lebanon,“ Araghchi stated while reaffirming Tehran‘s unwavering support for Damascus in its ongoing struggle against terrorism.
(November 8, 2024)
Kennedy described Trump’s particular focus on the border between Syria and Türkiye.
„He said we have 500 men on the border of Syria and Türkiye, and a little encampment that was bombed. He said there‘s 750,000 troops in Türkiye. There‘s 250,000 militants in Syria. If they go up against each other, we‘re in the middle.“
According to Kennedy, Trump later asked his generals what would happen if a conflict broke out, to which they reportedly replied, „They‘re going to be cannon fodder.“
Trump’s response was decisive: „Get them out.“
Syrian armed rebels have entered Aleppo just three days into their surprise offensive, marking the first time they have set foot in the country’s second largest city since government forces recaptured the city in 2016.
Rebel forces launched a surprise attack this week, sweeping through several villages outside the city and reigniting conflict that had been largely static for years.
srael Hayom has learned that IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi participated in a Chiefs of Staff conference in Britain over the past two days. This is considered an unusual step, amid the ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Halevi departed two days ago and returned last night (Monday-Tuesday). During his two-day visit, against the backdrop of de-escalation efforts in northern Israel, Halevi met with Chiefs of Staff from various countries and provided an overview of the situation in the Middle East.
US troops are set to oversee the deployment of Lebanon‘s army to southern Lebanon and Israel‘s withdrawal from the area as part of a looming ceasefire deal, according to a Monday report on Israel Hayom news.
CAIRO – 26 November 2024: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Badr Abdelatty reiterated Monday in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken the importance of empowering Lebanese state institutions, mainly the army so it would control the south.
The UN Interim Force Lebanon (UNIFIL) is also seriously concerned by numerous strikes on the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) despite their declared non-involvement in the hostilities, he added.
The LAF have reported that at least 45 soldiers have been killed in recent attacks.
At least 84 more people were killed in Israeli attacks across Lebanon on Saturday, bringing the overall death toll since October last year to 3,754, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Sunday.
In a statement, the ministry added that 213 others were wounded, bringing the total number of injuries to 15,626 since October 2023.
The Lebanese Health Ministry announced on Saturday that at least 25 people were killed on Friday and 58 were injured in Israeli airstrikes bringing the total death toll to 3,670 and 15,413 since October last year.
Dozens of people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon this weekend, including 29 who died after an attack flattened a multi-story residential building in central Beirut, according to Lebanese officials.
In the densely populated Basta area of the Lebanese capital, rescue workers were Saturday searching for survivors under the rubble after the attack featuring what the state-run National News Agency (NNA) said were “bunker-busting” bombs.
The ministry says this may not be the final toll.
The Israeli army launched a heavy airstrike on a building in the city center of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.
Israeli warplanes targeted the al-Basta area in the city center of Beirut.
An 8-storey building on al-Mamoun Street, targeted by Israeli warplanes with 5 missiles, was destroyed.
AA correspondent in the area reported that the sounds of very violent explosions were heard all over Beirut.
An Israeli airstrike on a residential building in central Beirut killed at least 11 people on Saturday, the Lebanese Health Ministry said, part of an intensifying Israeli military campaign that appears aimed at pressuring Hezbollah into a cease-fire deal.
An Israeli soldier was killed and a battalion commander seriously wounded by Palestinian fire in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military announced on Wednesday.
This brings the death toll in the army to 800 since the war started on 7 October 2023.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have resulted in at least 3,544 deaths and left more than 15,036 wounded since 8 October 2023, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
The ministry reported that 28 people were killed in strikes on Monday alone.
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported that an Israeli airstrike targeting an army position in the town of Sarafand killed three soldiers and injured 17 others, including civilians in the surrounding area.
Last week, the army announced, that two of its soldiers were killed in an Israeli strike on one a military post in the town of Kafra.
(November 16, 2024)
„Cutting off dialogue with Israel does not benefit the people suffering in the Gaza Strip, the hostages of Hamas, nor the people in Israel who are ready for dialogue,“ said a statement from the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin.
It was reported from Berlin that the EU-Israel Association Council is creating an „appropriate framework“ to discuss with the Israeli government the respect of the principles of international humanitarian law, they write.
“We know that there are tragic events in Gaza, huge civilian casualties, but we do not forget who started the current cycle of violence,” Sikorski said in Brussels. “And I can tell you that there was no agreement on the idea of suspending negotiations with Israel.”
Diplomats said the politicians who did not support Borrell‘s initiative at the meeting included foreign ministers from Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Netherlands.
(November 16, 2024)
What we see of the tragedy of Gaza is however only the tip of the iceberg since the strip has been sealed. There are hardly any journalists or international observers entering Gaza since more than one year. It is the longest information blackout ever imposed by a democratic state. In addition, there are reasons to believe that journalists have been targeted by Israeli Defence Forces. To this day more than 130 have been killed.
This pattern at play for too long in Gaza, is now being replicated elsewhere. In South Lebanon, some 30 villages have been obliterated – not as a result of heavy combat, but in a controlled way, posted on social media. In the West Bank, extremist settlers‘ violence is forcing many Palestinian farmers and herders off their land. Uprooted olive trees, killed or stolen livestock and torched vehicles, have become part of daily reality in many rural communities. Israeli airstrikes in Jenin and Tulkarem, the first in more than two decades, have added to the destruction of civilian infrastructure left behind by bulldozers earlier this year.