(2021-02-11). Turkey 'neutralizes' 2 YPG/PKK terrorists in N.Syria. yenisafak.com The terrorists attempted to infiltrate the area of Turkey's cross-border anti-terror offensive Operation Peace Spring to disrupt peace and security in the region, the ministry said on Twitter.Turkish authorities use the word "neutralized" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).In its more than 30-year terror campaign agains…
(2021-02-11). At least 17 asylum seekers held in northwestern Turkey. yenisafak.com Seventeen asylum seekers were held by Turkish security forces in the northwestern province of Kirklareli, which borders Bulgaria, security sources said on Thursday.The Afghan and Syrian nationals were held by local gendarmerie forces in Kofcaz and Demirkoy districts near the border.According to insiders, the asylum seekers told Turkish forces that they crossed the border but were arrested by Bulgarian police and left on the Turkish side after being beaten and their valuables snatched.After routine medical checks, they were referred to the provincial Gendarmerie Command, and later transferred to the local repatria…
(2021-02-11). Turkish charity to build 1,000 houses in Syria. yenisafak.com A Turkish charity will build 1,000 houses in Idlib, northwestern Syria for those who are living in hard conditions due to the ongoing civil war.The Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) has been working to find permanent solutions to the humanitarian crisis in Syria for more than 10 years.It has started to renew and improve briquette houses built as an emergency solution, the foundation said in a statement on Wednesday.Thousands of Syrian families have found the opportunity to live in warm houses rather than makeshift tents.The IHH will build 1,000 houses in the first phase of the project. They will…
(2021-02-11). UN sends 71 truckloads of humanitarian aid to NW Syria. yenisafak.com The UN on Thursday sent 71 truckloads of humanitarian aid to northwestern Syria, where millions of people need assistance due to internal conflict.The trucks carrying supplies passed through the Cilvegozu border gate in Turkey's southern Hatay province.The aid will be distributed to those in need in Idlib and nearby rural areas.A civil war has ravaged Syria since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and displaced since then.Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia.*Writing by A…
(2021-02-10). New US Military Base in Northeast Syria Latest of Biden's Warlike Moves. mintpressnews.com Many of Biden's first moves in the Middle East, including the building of a new base in Syria, suggest his term will be more of the same rather than a break with the old.
(2021-02-10). Aid charity facing scrutiny over payments to armed opposition group. middleeasteye.net 
Aid charity facing scrutiny over payments to armed opposition group | Relief International, which operates in countries across the Middle East, suspended from receiving funding by USAID | Wed, 02/10/2021 – 08: 53 | A Syrian girl looks into a room at a school run by Relief International in Al Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, near the border with Syria, in 2017 (Reuters) | A global aid charity that works exten…
(2021-02-10). Biden supports repatriating foreign nationals from Syria, says US diplomat. middleeasteye.net 
Biden supports repatriating foreign nationals from Syria, says US diplomat | Several European countries refuse to repatriate adults from Syria, saying they should be tried where they are accused of committing crimes | Wed, 02/10/2021 – 19: 29 | Tens of thousands of women and children have been detained in camps run by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces militia in northeast Syria (AFP) | The Biden administrat…
(2021-02-10). Turkish charity supports children's education in Syria. yenisafak.com The Turkiye Diyanet Foundation (TDV) has provided education opportunities to nearly 8,000 children in Syria.Ihsan Acik, the second chairman of the board of trustees of the TDV, said that the charity has developed projects for the child victims of Syria's bloody civil war to continue their education."We provide opportunities for education to nearly 8,000 students with a total of 12 educational projects, including a kindergarten, eight elementary schools, two high schools and a university computer laboratory in Idlib and Azaz regions in Syria," Acik stated.Noting that TDV also distributes stationery and books perio…
(2021-02-10). Turkish intelligence captures senior PKK terrorist in N.Iraq. yenisafak.com A senior PKK terrorist was brought to Turkey after he was arrested in an operation of Turkish intelligence in northern Iraq, security sources said on Wednesday.Ibrahim Parim, so-called "logistics officer" of the PKK terror group, was arrested in Sinjar in an operation held by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization.The terrorist — codenamed Laser — was operating in Sinjar near the Iraqi border with Syria, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.He is currently being questioned by counter-terrorism police as per the instructions of the Ankara prosecutors.Parim was found to have…
(2021-02-10). Syrian youth illustrate peace in Afrin with graffiti. yenisafak.com Young people in Afrin turn the walls of their city, which was largely cleared of YPG/PKK terrorists in 2018 through Turkey's anti-terror offensive Operation Olive Branch, into works of art.The Afrin Local Council and some non-governmental organizations support these efforts of the volunteers, who come together under the name of "The Trail of Peace".Graffiti on the walls of the busiest streets of the city is also admired by the local residents."We decorate the streets with graffiti to show peace among the local people," Beyazit Beyazit, one of the volunteers, told Anadolu Agency."As Arabs and Kurds, we make no dis…
(2021-02-09). Democrats Disarm Themselves Before Trump's Senate Impeachment Trial. counterpunch.org Donald Trump, has with luck, eluded the consequences of being a failed gambling czar with no respect for the law. But his luck has reached a new level with Congressional Democrats refraining from holding him accountable for breaking the law and violating the Constitution as regularly as the rising and setting of the sun for
(2021-02-09). Syrian oil fields no longer priority for US forces, says Pentagon. middleeasteye.net 
Syrian oil fields no longer priority for US forces, says Pentagon | Pentagon spokesman says defeating Islamic State group is Washington's main objective in war-ravaged country | Tue, 02/09/2021 – 16: 20 | In 2019, Trump announced US troops would largely withdraw from Syria, with exception of a small force that would remain to 'protect' oil resources (AFP) | US forces in Syria are not guarding oil fields as pre…
(2021-02-09). Syria: UN experts call on 57 states to repatriate women and children from squalid camps. middleeasteye.net 
Syria: UN experts call on 57 states to repatriate women and children from squalid camps | United Nations group of experts says countries of origin have primary responsibility to protect nationals in vulnerable situations outside their territories | Tue, 02/09/2021 – 14: 21 | Children hold onto water containers in al-Hol camp, Syria, 8 January 2020 (Reuters) | UN human rights experts have urged 57 countri…
(2021-02-09). Golan Heights 'will continue' to be Israel's, says Netanyahu after Blinken remarks. middleeasteye.net 
Golan Heights 'will continue' to be Israel's, says Netanyahu after Blinken remarks | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds after US Secretary of State downplays country's claim to Syrian territory | Tue, 02/09/2021 – 16: 14 | The Israeli-controlled fence that separates occupied Golan Heights from rest of Syria, pictured on 12 May 2020 (AFP/File photo) | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu re…
(2021-02-09). Without 'constructive international diplomacy' Syria's peace process will not move forward. news.un.org The UN Special Envoy for Syria said there had to be "constructive international diplomacy" if the peace process is to move forward in any way, appearing before the Security Council behind closed doors on Tuesday.
(2021-02-09). UN sends 60 truckloads of aid to Idlib, Syria. yenisafak.com On Tuesday, the UN sent 60 truckloads of humanitarian aid to Idlib, northwestern Syria, where millions of people need assistance due to internal conflict in the country.The trucks carrying supplies passed through the Cilvegozu border gate in Turkey's southern Hatay province.The aid will be distributed to those in need in Idlib and nearby rural areas.A civil war had ravaged Syria since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, and millions more displaced.Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey…
(2021-02-09). Zimbabwe fills cabinet slots created by COVID-19. yenisafak.com Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa late Monday night filled the cabinet slots that fell vacant because of ministers' death due to coronavirus last month.The Zimbabwean leader appointed Fredrick Shava, the country's ambassador to the United Nations, as minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, replacing Sibusiso Moyo, who died of coronavirus last month.Felix Tapiwa Mhona, a parliamentarian from Chikomba Central district in the country's East Province Mashonaland, has been appointed transport minister, replacing late Joel Biggie Matiza with the novel coronavirus last month.Nokhuthula Matsikenyeri,…
(2021-02-09). Zimbabwe loses another top official to COVID-19. yenisafak.com Zimbabwe lost another top official to COVID-19, the country's president announced Tuesday.Lt-Gen. (Retd) Douglas Nyikayaramba, ambassador to neighboring Mozambique, has died due to COVID-19, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced during a cabinet briefing Tuesday morning, the national broadcaster reported.His death comes a day after Mnangagwa made some cabinet changes, filling the vacant posts after three ministers' death due to COVID-19.Two ministers died last month when the second wave of the COVID-19 struck, killing nearly 1,000 people in less than two months.Following these deaths, the Southern Africa country…
(2021-02-09). Tehran summons Belgian envoy after Iranian diplomat jailed for 20 years on foiled bomb plot charges. rt.com 
Iran has summoned Belgium's ambassador in Tehran to protest a Belgian court's sentencing of Iranian diplomat Assadolah Assadi for orchestrating a bomb attack in Paris, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday. | Tehran repeated its claim that the 20-year maximum sentence handed down to Assadi by an Antwerp court last week is a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations — a treaty governing relations between states. | "The Antwerp Court ruling violates international law and ignores Belgium's obligations to the Islamic Republic of Iran, therefore Iran does not recognise it in…
(2021-02-09). Iran summons Belgian envoy over illegal ruling for diplomat. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 09 (MNA) — Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Belgian Ambassador to Tehran on Tuesday in a protest to a Belgian court ruling against Iranian diplomat.
(2021-02-08). Balancing Regional Interests In Syria Is The Only Way Reach A Compromise Solution. oneworld.press Politically resolving the Hybrid War of Terror on Syria will involve difficult compromises on all sides, but this is only possible if each party acknowledges their counterparts' regional interests and Russian diplomats are able to successfully devise a creative solution for "balancing" between them as best as possible.
(2021-02-08). 'Wise diplomacy': How will Biden tackle US foreign policy towards Syria? middleeasteye.net 
'Wise diplomacy': How will Biden tackle US foreign policy towards Syria? | Turning back the clock to past US policy in Syria – widely seen as a series of failed strategies – will not be an option for Biden team | Mon, 02/08/2021 – 15: 03 | Syrians hold placards against President Bashar al-Assad during demonstration in Idlib city on 11 September 2020 (AFP/File photo) | As the tenth anniversary of th…
(2021-02-08). Removal of all sanctions only way to prove goodwill. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 09 (MNA) — Iranian Ambassador to Paris Bahram Ghasemi said the only way for the new US administration to prove its goodwill to Iran is to lift all the sanctions.