Russia says its troops have filled void left in Syria by US troops
Russia on Tuesday said it has filled the void left by the withdrawal of US troops in northern Syria and its units are acting as a buffer to prevent clashes between Syrian government fighters and the Turkish military. The Russian Defense Ministry said military police were patrolling “the northwestern borders of Manbij district along the line […]
Trump pulls back troops from northern Syria ahead of Turkish assault, Pentagon officials ‘blindsided’
The White House announced late Sunday that Turkey will soon move forward with a planned military operation in northeast Syria, as U.S. troops who have been deployed and operating with Kurdish-led forces in the area began pulling back from their positions. The decision sent shockwaves through the region and Washington, with U.S. officials telling Fox News that top Pentagon officials were “completely […]
Tensions Grow Between Russia, Iran in Syria
Russian military police last week reportedly carried out a raid against Iranian-backed militiamen stationed at Syria’s Aleppo international airport, local media reported. In the aftermath, several Iranian militia leaders were arrested in what was seen as the latest episode of tensions between Iranian and Russian forces in Syria. Since the beginning of Syria’s civil war […]
Christianity grows in Syrian town once besieged by Islamic State
A community of Syrians who converted to Christianity from Islam is growing in Kobani, a town besieged by Islamic State for months, and where the tide turned against the militants four years ago. The converts say the experience of war and the onslaught of a group claiming to fight for Islam pushed them toward their […]
Syria Threatens to Unleash Tunnel Warfare Against Israel
First, it was Hamas, and then Hezbollah. Now, Syria is threatening to undermine Israel with tunnels. In fact, a Syrian general claims that the Syrian Civil War has turned Syrian soldiers into “experts” at digging holes in the ground. “I can tell you that as experts on tunnel warfare, we have made large strides during this […]
SYRIA SAYS U.S. ‘MAIN ENEMY OF ARABS’
Syria has condemned the United States’ decision to recognize Israel’s control over the disputed Golan Heights, which had been considered occupied by the United Nations, in a move bound to disrupt the administration’s ties with the Arab World. President Donald Trump officially announced the U.S. policy reversal Monday during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister […]
MONTHS AFTER SAYING US WILL WITHDRAW, NOW 1,000 TROOPS IN SYRIA TO STAY
Just months after claiming the US would withdraw from Syria, Washington has reportedly now decided to keep up to a thousand troops in the country. The revelations were published Sunday in the Wall Street Journal but Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford disputed them, claiming the US was still drawing down its […]
Syria’s Civil War Is Now 3 Civil Wars
The fight to depose Assad is over. The battle over his regime’s boundaries has no end in sight. The war that has ravaged Syria over the last half-decade is coming to an end. The caliphate declared by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State organization on June 29, 2014, at the al-Nuri mosque in Mosul […]
Russia-Turkey-Iran summit on Syria
The Russian, Turkish and Iranian presidents are scheduled to meet on Syria in February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. “An agreement has been preliminarily reached and there is a basic understanding of holding the next summit next month,” Lavrov said at a joint press conference with his Kazakh counterpart Beibut Atamkulov. He did […]
THE ‘RUSSIAN BEAR’S’ JUGGLING ACT IN SYRIA
“The Russian estimate about Syria was wrong from the beginning but the military convinced Putin that it would be a very quick operation.” former Kremlin adviser Alexander Nekrassov said. Russia stormed back into the Middle East in 2015 riding a proverbial high-horse to the rescue of Bashar al-Assad’s then-crumbling regime in Syria. More than three […]