Turkey dictating to Syria - what the Syrian government and it's military should do?
Turkish defense minister says Syrian forces must halt attacks in northwest Syria
Turkey's defense minister said Syrian government forces need to halt attacks in northwestern Syria, state-owned Anadolu Agency reported on Friday.
Syria’s army, backed by Russian air power, launched ground operations this week against the southern flank of a rebel zone consisting of Idlib and parts of adjacent provinces.
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said Syrian forces should return to territories agreed in an international deal in Kazakhstan to reduce hostilities and casualties.
Akar also said the attacks pose a threat to the security of Turkey’s observation posts in the northwest, where Turkey carries out patrols.
“We expect Russia to take effective and determined measures to make regime forces stop their attacks on the south of Idlib and immediately return to the borders set by the Astana agreement,” Akar said, referring to the Kazakh capital by its previous name.
On Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said the operation was a reaction to terrorists in the area, and was being carried out “in coordination with our Turkish partners,” TASS news agency reported.
Russia blocks UN SC statement on Idlib due to attempts to misrepresent situation
© AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Russia has blocked a United Nations Security Council statement on the humanitarian situation in Syria due to attempts to misrepresent the situation in Idlib, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Vladimir Safronkov told TASS on Friday.
"We have not passed and blocked the press elements drafted by our humanitarian troika (which oversees corresponding issues at the UN Security Council - TASS) comprising Belgium, Germany and Kuwait, which [press elements] were meant to misrepresent the situation in Idlib," he said answering TASS questions about the closed-door consultations on Syria at the UN Security Council.
On Friday, the UN Security Council held a closed-door extra session on the humanitarian situation in Syria requested by Germany, Belgium and Kuwait. In recent days, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christopher Burger and British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt had voiced their concern over the situation in the region.
On May 4, Major-General Viktor Kupchishin, chief of the Russian center for reconciliation of warring sides in Syria, told reporters that groups of militants in the south of the de-escalation zone Idlib led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (former Jabhat al-Nusra outlawed in Russia) were creating a strike force and their attack on Hama was not ruled out.
On May 6, Kupchishin said that Russia’s Hmeymim airbase came under shelling by militants twice during the day. In both cases, shelling was conducted from the settlement of Zawiya in the Idlib de-escalation zone. On the same day, Syria’s news agency SANA reported that the country’s artillery and air forces launched strikes against the bases of militants shelling Hama.
Syrian army reaches Idlib border - TV
© Valery Sharufulin/TASS
The Syrian military forces have liberated five settlements in the northwest of Syria from terrorists on Saturday, reaching the administrative border between the provinces of Idlib and Hama, the Al Mayadeen TV channel informed.
According to the channel, the Syrian fighters had managed to destroy a command center and several warehouses belonging to the Jabhat al-Nusra terror group (outlawed in Russia).
It was informed earlier that Syrian troops had thwarted terrorists’ offensive attacks in the north of Hama province, eliminating more than 40 Jabhat al-Nusra members.
The military operation the Syrian army launched on May 6 is aimed at taking control over a highway connecting Hama and Aleppo and ensuring the safety of settlements in the Sahl al-Ghab valley that militants are shelling on a regular basis.
Turkey calls on Syria to halt Hama operation as they prepare to invade SDF-held areas
Turkey calls on Syria to halt Hama operation as they prepare to invade SDF-held areas
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said Syrian government forces need to halt attacks in northwestern Syria, Anadolu Agency reported on Friday.
The Syrian Army, backed by the Russian Air Force, launched ground operations this week at the southern flank of the militant-held demilitarized zone, which consists of Hama and parts of adjacent provinces.
Akar said the Syrian forces should return to territories agreed in an international deal in Kazakhstan to reduce hostilities and casualties.
We expect Russia to take effective and determined measures to make regime forces stop their attacks on the south of Idlib and immediately return to the borders set by the Astana agreement,” Akar said, referring to the Kazakh capital.
Jihadist and Turkish-backed rebels merge to form new coalition to fight...
A new group comprised of several rebel factions calling themselves “Fatah Dimashq” has been formed in northwestern Syria this week.
The group, which is comprised of both jihadist and Turkish-backed rebel groups, announced their formation on Thursday after they lost several areas to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the northwestern region of Syria.
According to reports, the group will consist of over 20 rebel groups, including Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, Hurras al-Deen Group, the Free Syrian Army, and Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham.
It is worth noting that the Hurras Al-Deen Group is comprised of many foreign jihadists that have participated in many battles against the Syrian Arab Army in the past.
This coalition will also mark the first time that Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and the National Liberation Front groups have joined together to take on the Syrian military.
CIA used secret missile to kill terrorists ‘with no explosion’–... report
The US government has developed a secret missile to launch pinpoint airstrikes against terrorists and their leaders “with no explosion”,
the Wall Street Journal reports.
The newspaper cited unnamed US officials as saying that the use of the specially designed new missile with “extraordinarily accurate intelligence about a target’s location and surroundings” will help “drastically” reduce damage and minimise chances of civilian casualties.
“A modified version of the well-known Hellfire missile, […] the R9X is designed to plunge more than 100 pounds of metal through the tops of cars and buildings to kill its target without harming individuals and property close by”, the officials said.
The R9X aims to target terrorists who adapt to US airstrikes by “hiding among groups of women and children to put themselves out of reach”.
The newspaper notes in this vein that that both the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have already used this weapon, “carefully concealing its existence”.
The missile was reportedly used at least twice: once over Syria in February 2017, and again in Yemen in January.
“A Hellfire, which is a little more than five feet [1.5 m] long and weighs just over 100 pounds [45kg], typically leaves behind mangled, burned-out shells of vehicles, surrounded by debris and scorch marks over a large radius. The R9X leaves no such signature”, the sources pointed out.
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