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Syria: EI pounding town of Deir ez-Zor, at least seven dead, according to the OSDH

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Heavy shelling by the Islamic State (JI) jihadists killed at least seven people Sunday night in Deir ez-Zor, a city in eastern Syria, several of which are still held by the regime’s troops Of Bashar al-Assad, reported the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (OSDH).

The jihadists continued to shell Monday the areas controlled by the army, added the OSDH.

The EI occupies most of the province of Deir ez-Zor, apart from a part of the city of the same name and a nearby air base. The jihadists have been besieging the neighborhoods in the hands of the army for nearly two years.

The Syrian regime and its Russian ally have carried out regular air drops in the besieged area in order to help the 200,000 inhabitants who are facing shortages of food and medicine.

U.S. Approves Supplying Weapons To Syrian Kurdish Fighters

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The United States has agreed to supply weapons to the main Kurdish opposition group in Syria, a move likely to anger Turkey just days before a meeting between the U.S. and Turkish leaders in Washington.

Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White announced the move in a May 9 statement, saying President Donald Trump a day earlier had authorized the Defense Department “to equip Kurdish elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces as necessary to ensure a clear victory over ISIS in Raqqa, Syria.”

The statement came shortly after news agencies cited an unidentified senior U.S. official as saying that the White House had approved arming the People’s Protection Units (YPG) as the battle to dislodge Islamic State (IS) militants from its stronghold in Raqqa nears.

Raqqa, in northern Syria, is the de facto capital of the IS group but is being surrounded by opposition forces fighting IS militants government forces.

An unidentified U.S. official was quoted by AFP as saying prior to the Pentagon statement on May 9 that the approval has immediate effect “but the timeline for weapons delivery is to be refined.”

Washington considers the YPG to have been critical in defeating IS fighters in northern Syria. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurds to be a terrorist group linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting a decades-long insurgency against Turkish forces for greater autonomy.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House in mid-May.

White said in her statement that Washington was “keenly aware of the security concerns of our coalition partner Turkey.”

“We want to reassure the people and government of Turkey that the U.S. is committed to preventing additional security risks and protecting our NATO ally,” she added.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on May 9 that he had “useful” discussions in Denmark with Turkish officials about Washington’s alliance with the YPG in the fight against the IS in Syria.

“We’re going to sort it out,” Mattis said.

With reporting by Reuters, The New York Times, AP, and AFP

Syrian rebels begin 1st evacuations from Damascus district

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Syrian rebels and their families began evacuating from a district of Damascus for the first time on Monday, May 8 bringing the government closer to recapturing all of the capital, AFP said.

The evacuation began days after regime backers Russia and Iran and rebel supporter Turkey signed a deal to implement “de-escalation zones” where the government and opposition will halt hostilities.

Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Monday rejected any role for United Nations or international forces in monitoring the zones.

The deal to evacuate Barzeh district mirrors similar agreements for opposition-held territory elsewhere, allowing fighters safe passage in exchange for surrender.

“Armed men and some of their families have begun leaving Barzeh on 40 buses heading towards northern Syria,” state television said.

It added that the evacuation would continue for five days, but that rebel fighters who chose to stay could do so if they register with the government.

The channel did not specify how many people were expected to leave, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said up to 1,500 people — mostly rebels — would leave Barzeh today and head to the northwest province of Idlib.

The evacuation deal was struck late Sunday night, and dozens of people gathered in Barzeh from Monday morning.

An AFP photographer saw rebel fighters carrying light weapons looking on as children and women in brightly-coloured headscarves pulled shabby suitcases and duffel bags.

A source from the pro-government National Defence Forces said rebel fighters would be allowed to take their “personal weapons” with them.

Negotiations were ongoing for a similar deal in the district of Qabun, in Damascus’s northeast, which forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have been shelling heavily for weeks.

“We are working on Qabun and there is the Yarmuk camp, where talks are underway for the evacuation of armed groups,” Muallem said during a news conference Monday.

Related links:

AFP. Syria will abide by ‘de-escalation’ plan: foreign minister

Syria safe zones hit by clashes on first day

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Syrian government forces and rebels clashed in the north-western province of Hama on Friday shortly after a Russian-led deal to establish safe zones took effect, a monitor and a rebel official said, according to The Guardian.

The zones, agreed to by Russia, Turkey and Iran, went into effect at midnight on Friday. The plan’s details will be worked out over the next few weeks but the zones appear intended to halt conflict in specific areas between government forces and rebels, and would potentially be policed by foreign troops.

Fighter jets fired at the rebel-held village of al-Zalakiyat and nearby positions in the Hama countryside, where the combatants exchanged shelling, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based war monitoring group said government forces shelled the nearby towns of Kafr Zita and Latamneh. There was no immediate comment from the Syrian army.

The source reminds, the de-escalation zones are the latest international attempt to reduce violence in the war-ravaged country, and represent the first effort to envisage armed foreign monitors on the ground in Syria.

Syria’s Kurdish fighters target two Turkish tanks across the border

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Two Turkish tanks were targeted by anti-tank guided missiles across the border inside Turkey by Kurdish YPG fighters located in Afrin, Syria on Wednesday, April 27, Defense Watch reports.

According to reports clashes have broken out between the Turkish army and Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northwestern Syria’s autonomous Afrin region.

Turkish forces fired artillery shells and mortars into Firfirike village in Afrin’s Rajo district, as YPG fighters responded to the attacks and clashes continue according to reports.

A tweet by the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) has also confirmed clashes.

Turkish army presence on the Afrin border has been heightened recently with howitzers and armoured vehicles being brought to the area, Turkish media has reported.

Related links:

Defense Watch. Photos: Kurdish fighters in northern Syria target two Turkish tanks across the border

Huge explosion rocks Damascus airport

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A large explosion has hit an area near Damascus international airport, BBC reports citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“The blast was huge and could be heard in Damascus,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based monitoring group.

The airport lies about 25 km (15 miles) south-east of Syria’s capital.

The blast was reportedly followed by a large fire. There is no word on casualties. The cause is unclear. According to the report by RIA Novosti, the fire broke out in the warehouse near the airport, which could have been caused by Israeli airstrikes.

There is no official comment from the Syrian or Israeli governments, Al Jazeera reports.

Syria: 3 Syrian forces killed in fresh Israeli attack on Syrian military camp

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Three Syrian forces have been killed in a fresh Israeli attack on a military camp near the southwestern city of Quneitra, a military official says.

The attack hit the al-Fawwar camp on Sunday, wounding two others, the unnamed official told the French news agency AFP.

It was not clear whether the assault was an airstrike or shelling. The attack comes after Israel struck a Syrian army position in the province of Quneitra on the Golan plateau on Friday, “causing damage.”

A Syrian military source told the official SANA news agency that the Israeli aggression came after an attempt by terrorists to infiltrate military positions in Quneitra was foiled and the assailants suffered heavy losses.

The Israeli military confirmed the raid in a statement, saying it was conducted shortly after three mortar shells allegedly fired from Syria hit an open area in the northern occupied Golan Heights.

The Tel Aviv regime regularly hits positions held by the Syrian army in the Golan Heights, claiming that the attacks are retaliatory. Syria says the raids aim to help ISIS militants fighting against government forces.

In the past, the Syrian army has confiscated Israeli-made arms and military equipment from terrorists fighting the government forces. There are also reports that Tel Aviv has been treating the extremists wounded in Syria.

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria after the 1967 Six-Day War and later occupied it in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

The regime has built tens of illegal settlements in the area ever since and used the region to carry out military operations against the Syrian government.

Army advances against militants

Separately on Sunday, Syrian forces recaptured Halfaya town in the west-central Hama Province, the Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen TV channel reported.

Meanwhile, pro-opposition media reported fierce clashes between the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northern countryside of Hama.

US defense officials also told Fox News that the Daesh terrorist group is now centered in the city of Dayr al-Zawr, some 144 kilometers southeast of Raqqah, the Takfiri outfit’s de facto capital in Syria.

They said that US military drones have watched hundreds of Daesh “bureaucrats” or administrators, leaving Raqqah in the past two months.

Terrorists receive chemical weapons from Turkey, says Syria’s Assad

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Damascus is 100 percent certain that terrorists get chemical weapons and other financial and military support directly from Turkey, Syrian President Bashar Assad told Sputnik in an interview.
“Directly from Turkey, and there was evidence regarding this, some of [it has] been shown on the internet a few years ago. You had many parties and parliament members in Turkey who questioned the government regarding those allegations. So, it’s not something hidden,” Assad said.
He further maintained that financial, armament and logistic support for terrorists in Syria, including recruitment, is provided through Turkey.
“They don’t have any other way to come from the north. So, it’s a hundred percent Turkey,” Assad said.
Earlier, Assad warned that new provocations, similar to the one that took place in the Khan Sheikhoun area of Syria’s province of Idlib, could take place in Syria.
On April 4, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces claimed that 80 people were killed and 200 injured in a suspected chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun, putting the blame on the Syrian government. Damascus vehemently rejected the accusations and said militants and their allies were responsible.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Syrian Air Force hit a warehouse where militants stored chemical weapons, which were sent to Iraq. The Russian Foreign Ministry reminded that the Syrian government doesn’t possess chemical weapons since mid-2014. Chemical weapons have been taken out of the country with US’ help.
In response to the Khan Sheikhoun incident the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the city of Homs. Russia described the attack as an aggression against a sovereign state

Russia Has Intel on Upcoming Chemical Weapons Provocations in Syrian Regions

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Russia has intelligence from “trusted sources” that chemical weapons provocations are currently being prepared in more regions in Syria, including Damascus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella Tuesday.

“We have information from various sources that such provocations — and I cannot call them anything else — are being prepared in other regions of Syria, including in the southern suburbs of Damascus, where they intend to plant some substance and blame the official Syrian authorities for its use,” Putin told a briefing.

Russian President Putin announced that Russia will officially turn to the UN in the Hague for an investigation of the chemical weapons’ use in Idlib.

“All incidents reminiscent of the ‘chemical attacks’ that took place in Idlib must be thoroughly investigated,” Putin said.

On Thursday night, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the military airfield in Ash Sha’irat. US President Donald Trump said that the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Syria’s Idlib province on Tuesday, which resulted in the death of over 80 people.

Following Putin’s presser, Russian General Staff released a statement announcing that it has information of militants bringing poisonous substances to areas of Khan Shaykhun, West of Aleppo and Eastern Guta in Syria.

Chief of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said that the militants are trying to provoke new accusations targeted at Syrian government for alleged use of chemical weapons. The militants aim to incite the US to conduct new strikes, Rudskoy warned, adding that such measures are impermissible.

Izmir: Watch true Turkish Terrorism on Syrian refugees with knives, burn tents VIDEO

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This photo shows angry Turkish citizens going to attack Syrian refugees in Torbali district of Turkey’s Izmir province on April 8, 2017.IDEO

Some 500 Syrian refugees have been forced to flee a makeshift housing in Turkey’s western Izmir province after being violently attacked by locals who burnt their tents.

The attack took place in Izmir’s Torbali district on Saturday after reports claiming that a local child had been beaten by the Syrians.

A mob of around 300 Turkish people, armed with knives and clubs, stormed into the makeshift housing and set fire to refugees’ tents.

Local media reports said 40 tents were destroyed in the fighting and about 30 people were injured, one of them identified as 22-year-old Mustafa critically. The wounded were all taken to hospital.

“It was impossible to stop the neighborhood. They are full of rage. We don’t want Syrians in our area. Problems have increased since they arrived,” Ali Curukcu, the local headman, was quoted as saying by the Turkish Dogan news agency.

https://youtu.be/FGZ2UfbVKjY

Images showed there were no police officers at the site.

The Syrian refugees were seen walking on the highway towards Izmir’s Tire neighborhood as no driver took them to their destination. Angry Turkish citizens also closed the highway for some time.

During the early years of the war in neighboring Syria, Turkey had an open-door policy and allowed Syrian refugees into the country as it also let extremists from around the world travel to the Arab country to topple the government.

Although Turkey says it still maintains its open-door policy, the number of Syrian refugees allowed in during the past two years has dwindled considerably, with many saying the borders are essentially closed to refugees.

The high number of Syrian refugees in Turkish towns and cities has led to multiple instances of a serious nature, including clashes in the past.

Many locals also revile them and the Turkish government only provides assistance to those staying in officially sanctioned camps.

Ankara does not even grant Syrians refugee status and they only have temporary protection status as guests. Turkey does not accept refugees from non-European countries.

Turkey has been a staunch supporter of a campaign pushed by Western countries and their regional allies to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since 2011. Ankara has allowed militants from around the world to freely enter Syria and wreak havoc in the Arab country.