Syrian rebel groups have pulled out of more towns in the Eastern Ghouta, as the government tightens it grip on the enclave outside Damascus. Buses carrying fighters, their families and others left the area late on Saturday, leaving the city of Douma as the last rebel-held stronghold. About 70% of the Eastern Ghouta is now […]
Turkish-backed forces have taken full control of the centre of the Syrian-Kurdish city of Afrin. Fighters waved flags and tore down the statue of a legendary Kurdish figure Kawa after claiming the city centre yesterday. The two-month Turkish-led operation aimed to rid the border region of a Kurdish militia that Turkey considers a terrorist group. […]
Heaps of bodies are being uncovered amongst the rubble of Mosul and in its river, threatening contamination and a public health emergency. While the Iraqi government is now working to clear the main roads through the city, some of the bodies are being dumped in the river. Many more lay scattered on the riverbanks. A number […]
A UN convoy delivering urgently needed aid to the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area of Syria has cut short its mission and left the enclave amid shelling. A UN refugee agency official said the convoy – the first since mid-February – delivered as much as it could in Douma town and left after nearly nine hours. […]
US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May have blamed Russia and the Syrian regime for the ongoing “humanitarian catastrophe” in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta. In a phone call on Sunday, Trump and May discussed Syria and “the appalling humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta.” The two leaders blamed Russia and the […]
At least 36 pro-Syrian government troops have been killed by a Turkish air strike in the region of Afrin. The strike targeted a camp at Kafr Jina in the northern Syrian region. The pro-government troops entered Afrin two weeks ago to back Kurdish forces. Eight Turkish soldiers were killed and another 13 were injured on […]
Indiscriminate shellfire by Turkish troops – and to a lesser extent Kurdish forces – has killed scores of civilians in Syria, a human rights group alleges. Amnesty International said it had verified witness testimony from the north-western Kurdish enclave of Afrin that “painted a grim picture”. Turkey has denied targeting civilians since launching an offensive against […]
Prominent Syrian-Kurdish leader Salih Muslim, who was detained in the Czech Republic, has been freed, prompting anger from Turkey, which issued the warrant for his arrest. The former co-chair of the main Syrian-Kurdish movement, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), was arrested in Prague on Sunday. He was freed by a Czech court on Thursday despite […]
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has ordered a daily five-hour pause in the Syrian government’s assault on the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area. It will start on Tuesday, and include the creation of a “humanitarian corridor” to allow civilians to leave. The rebel enclave near Damascus, where 393,000 civilians are trapped, has been under intense bombardment by […]
Air strikes by the Syrian government on a rebel-held enclave have continued despite a ceasefire resolution passed by the UN Security Council on Saturday. Hundreds of people have died in a week of bombardment of the Eastern Ghouta enclave near the capital, Damascus. The latest attacks include a ground offensive that began hours after the […]