Contents: Syria’s Bashar al-Assad steps up use of chemical weapons on his own people; UN Security Council is worthless as Syria uses chemical weapons with impunity
WASHINGTON, DC — Russia urged Syrian Kurds to “hand over” the Afrin region to Moscow-backed dictator Bashar al-Assad “one day” before the ongoing Turkish assault on the territory, confirmed an official of the self-declared autonomous Kurdish administration in northern Syria.
The latest round of Russia-sponsored talks to end the Syrian civil war got off to a bad start on Tuesday as some opposition groups boycotted the meeting entirely, others refused to get off their airplanes, and some of the delegates who actually made it to the meeting heckled Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his speech.
A Pentagon spokesperson deemed “Operation Olive Branch,” Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria to combat the U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish militia there, a “distraction” but ultimately “not a crisis” between the two NATO member countries in comments Thursday.
Speaking at a conference on chemical weapons in Paris on Tuesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said there is reason to believe Syrian dictator Bashar Assad has resumed using chemical weapons against his own people. He said Russia was to blame for failing to confiscate all of Assad’s weapons of mass destruction as promised.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Sunday afternoon the beginning of a major military offensive, bizarrely dubbed “Operation Olive Branch,” against America’s battlefield allies in Syria, the Kurdish YPG militia.
Contents: Turkey begins its air and ground invasion of Syria’s Afrin; China lies about ‘indisputable sovereignty’ in new confrontation in South China Sea; Summary of major Generational Dynamics predictions
Contents: Turkey’s troops mass on border, preparing to invade northern Syria; Collapse of the Russian ‘peace process’; The growing conflagration in northwest Syria
Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli affirmed that the Turkish military would cross into Syrian territory and attack U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in that country on Friday, a move that may trigger direct clashes between Turkey and the Bashar al-Assad regime.
In a speech to the Hoover Institution at Stanford University on Wednesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States would retain a military presence in Syria for the foreseeable future.
The pro-government Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak reported on Thursday that Syrian Kurdish fighters and Turkish soldiers traded “harassment” and “artillery fire” on the border of the two countries, a sign that the two sides may resort to openly attacking each other as tensions soar in the region.
Contents: Al-Assad’s continued chlorine attacks on civilians follow Putin’s ‘Grozny model’; Syria’s al-Assad threatens to drive hundreds of thousands more refugees into Turkey and Europe
Although 2018 is only days old, an event which not only has potential to be the story of the year but also set a new directional compass for Middle East stability is reportedly losing momentum.
TEL AVIV – The threats posed by Iranian proxy terror group, Hezbollah, on Israel’s northern border are “extremely significant,” according to an Israeli news report aired Sunday.
Contents: Syria’s Bashar al-Assad targets civilians and hospitals in never-ending war of extermination; Russia’s ‘de-escalation zones’ turn into total farce
US intelligence agencies have given Israel the green light to assassinate the senior Iranian responsible for coordinating military activity on behalf of the Islamic Republic in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida.
Contents: With ISIS collapsing, US forces will remain in Syria to restore ‘normalcy’; US warns Assad regime to stay west of Euphrates river
Dozens of Syrian rebels and their families departed aboard buses from an area besieged by government forces bordering the Israeli Golan Heights early Saturday in part of a deal to clear yet another district of anti-regime insurgents.
There hasn’t been much love lost between Syria and Turkey since long before Syria’s civil war heated up in 2011, but the war of words escalated this week when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Syrian President Bashar Assad a “terrorist.” The Syrian regime responded by accusing Turkey of supporting terrorism and spilling Syrian blood.
Contents: Combined Syrian and Iranian forces taking control of enclave on Israel’s border; Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah heading for a military confrontation in Syria
Besieged Syrian rebels near the country’s three-way border with Israel and Lebanon near Mt. Hermon have been ordered by surrounding regime forces to surrender or face defeat, Reuters reported Tuesday night.
They can barely read or write, but Hezbollah’s young cubs are already calling for “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” guided by their parents to learn that those are their true enemies, as the West is their enemy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on Monday for the last leg of a day-long diplomatic dash, during which he ordered the partial withdrawal of Russia’s troops from the war-torn country.
The second-in-command of Hezbollah, Iran’s Shia proxy in Lebanon, has told an audience in Tehran that the terrorist organization vastly improved its military and fighting capabilities during its defense of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria in recent years.
Kremlin President Vladimir Putin has reportedly ordered his Ministry of Defense to begin pulling out Russian troops from Syria, declaring that the end of “large-scale combat actions” against jihadists in the war-devastated country is imminent.
Contents: Syria regime walks out of UN-sponsored Geneva peace talks; Syria and Russia repeat Aleppo war crimes in massive destruction of Eastern Ghouta
Israel reportedly attacked a military scientific research center in the Jamraya area on the outskirts of Damascus late Monday night, according to media affiliated with the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
ROME, Italy — Saudi Arabia and Iran have exported their bitter regional tussle to Rome, accusing each other of villainous meddling in the Middle East during diplomacy talks in the Italian capital.
Multiple media outlets have reported that Beijing is planning to send its elite special forces, known as the “Tigers of Siberia” and the “Night Tigers,” to support troops loyal to dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
IRGC-Quds Force Commander General Qasem Soleimani, in a recent video, told a group of Iranian soldiers in Al-Bukamal, Syria, that the United States forces are “cowards” and that their soldiers wore diapers in the battlefield so they could urinate when scared.
Iranian state-run television has broadcast a report showcasing a 13-year-old sent to Syria to fight on behalf of dictator Bashar al-Assad, allegedly under the guidance of Iran’s terror chief, General Qasem Soleimani.
Contents: Syrian regime and Russia launch brutal attack on rebel-held areas in East Ghouta; Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin hug and declare the end of war in Syria
BEIRUT – Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Saturday that he would not accept Iran-backed Hezbollah’s positions that “affect our Arab brothers or target the security and stability of their countries”, a statement from his press office said.
Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jarida revealed on Sunday that an Israeli source disclosed a promise from Jerusalem to destroy all Iranian facilities within 40 kilometers (25 miles) of Israel’s Golan Heights.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, back in Beirut after a mysterious odyssey that saw him announce his resignation in Saudi Arabia, told cheering supporters on Wednesday that he was staying.
TEL AVIV – Dramatic footage broadcast over the weekend shows Syrian women and their children crossing the border into Israel to receive medical treatment.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — At least 14 civilians including a young girl were killed by Syrian regime bombardment of the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus on Saturday, a monitor said.
Contents: More on the evacuation of ISIS militants from Raqqa, Syria; Zimbabwe coup splits ruling Zanu-pf party along generational lines; Zimbabwe Commander Chiwenga gives a totally delusional explanation for the coup
Egypt faces high expectations from Saudi Arabia and its other Gulf Arab benefactors that it will have their back as tensions rise with their rival Iran, including throwing the weight of its military — the largest standing Arab army — into the crisis if needed.
Addressing an inter-Arab forum on Tuesday, Syrian President Bashar Assad denounced the 2011 “Arab Spring” uprisings as a triumph for “extremism” over “Arab identity,” described the Muslim Brotherhood as an English plot to undermine pan-Arab nationalism, and said there should be no conflict between Arabism and Islam.
