Syria

26 Dec 2019; MEMO: Nearly 130,000 civilians have been displaced in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, Anadolu reports.

Some 12 million people are in need of medical assistance in Syria as regime and Russian jets pound civilian settlements, according to a statement.

24 Dec 2019; MEMO: Syria’s Financial Ministry has frozen the assets of businessman, Rami Makhlouf, the cousin of regime leader Bashar Al-Assad, Arabi21 reported yesterday.

The ministry froze the assets over claims Makhlouf imported smuggled goods.

“Based on the recommendations of the Anti-Smuggling Department, it was decided to reserve the moveable and immoveable assets of Makhlouf,” the ministry said.

23 Dec 2019; MEMO: At least nine civilians were killed in Russian airstrikes in Idlib, northwestern Syria, where acts of violence are prohibited, a local civil defense agency said on Monday, Anadolu reports.

Syrian opposition aircraft monitors said Russian warplanes hit the district of Maarat al-Numan, as well as a number of villages overnight.

According to the White Helmets, the airstrikes killed nine civilians in Idlib.

23 Dec 2019; MEMO: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said today that at least three non-Syrian fighters were killed in an Israeli strike on southern Damascus.

The observatory explained that the three fighters are believed to have been Iranians, adding that they were killed when an Israeli missile hit the area between Sayyida Zeinab and Aqraba, south of the capital Damascus last evening.

22 December 2019; AFP: A surge in violence Saturday left 12 civilians dead in Syria's last major opposition bastion as aid groups warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if cross-border aid stops reaching the region.

Heightened regime and Russian bombardment on the northwestern province of Idlib since December 16 has already forced tens of thousands of vulnerable people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.

21 Dec 2019; MEMO: Russia has established a military observation point in Syria’s northeastern Al-Hasakah province, according to local sources, Anadolu Agency reports.

Some 70 to 80 Russian military police officers with armored vehicles settled in a farm at the northern entrance of Tal Tamr town.

The town which is occupied by the YPG is located on the strategic M4 highway, southeast of the Turkey-led Peace Spring operation’s area.

TARTUS, December 21. /TASS/: Russian servicemen have provided assistance to 250 Syrians in the Al-Hamidiyah refugee camp in the Syrian province of Tartus. The Syrians fled from militants in the Idlib de-escalation zone through the humanitarian corridor in Abu al-Duhur set up by Russian and Syrian servicemen.

The Russian Center for reconciliation of the conflicting sides told reporters that Russian servicemen handed out 250 food sets with a total weight of around 1.5 tonnes. The Russian reconciliation center noted that such humanitarian operation has been held for the first time.

IDLIB, Dec 18 (NNN-SANA) – Syrian government and Russian air strikes killed at least 17 people in rebel-held northwestern Syria, witnesses and rescuers said.

The northwest corner of the country, including the Idlib region, is the last significant swathe of Syrian territory, still in insurgent hands after eight and a half years of war.

Russia, which backed President Bashar Assad against rebels and militants, and Turkey, long a supporter of rebels, co-sponsored a conflict “deescalation” deal for the area earlier this year, that has since faltered.

17 Dec 2019; MEMO: Russia and the Syrian regime started a joint military exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean, local media reported today.

Speaking to the Russian media, Rear Admiral Alexander Yuldashev said Russian warships and fighter jets from Khmeimim, a base in coastal Syria, and Syrian regime minesweepers are taking part in the exercise.

Yuldashev said the joint manoeuvres will include artillery fire along with practice fighting illegal armed groups and drones.

TARTUS /Syria/, December 17. /TASS/: The Russian Navy and the Navy of the Syrian Arab Republic have started joint exercises in the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday.

The source said the exercises involve Russian surface ships and aircraft from the Hmeymim airbase, as well as Syrian Navy missile boats and mine warfare vessels.

The commander of the exercises, Rear Adm. Alexander Yuldashev, said the maneuvers will be held in the common operating environment and will involve various tactical episodes.