Syria

23 Oct 2019; MEMO: Turkey’s operation in northeastern Syria – Operation Peace Spring – to clear the area and to ensure the safe return of millions of refugees, has evoked strong reactions in Israel, says Anadolu Agency.

DAMASCUS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Syrian soldiers in the country's largest rebel bastion in Idlib province Tuesday, state TV reported.

The president met with the Syrian soldiers on the front line in the town of Habit in Idlib countryside, said the report with no further details.

It's the president's first declared trip to Idlib, which is the last major rebel stronghold in the country.

DAMASCUS, Oct 20 (NNN-SANA) – The Syrian army, on Saturday, captured a previous U.S.-run base in the northeastern province of Hasakah, as part of an ongoing military deployment, in Kurdish-held areas in northern Syria, a military official said.

The army captured the former U.S. base in the village of Qasr Yalda, in the western countryside of Hasakah province, said the official.

DAMASCUS, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Bouthaina Shaaban, Syria's political and media advisor to the presidency, said on Thursday that the cease-fire reached between Turkey and the United States in northern Syria is "vague."

Her remarks came during a live interview with the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV aired in the evening, during which Shaaban said it is not yet clear about the prospects of the cease-fire agreement.

DAMASCUS, Oct 14 (NNN-SANA) – The Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, known as Rojava, said, it reached an agreement with the Syrian government, to confront the Turkish assault.

“An agreement has been reached with the Syrian government, for the entry and deployment of the Syrian army along the Syrian-Turkish border, to aid the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in facing the Turkish offensive and recapturing areas that fell to the Turkish forces,” Rojava said in a statement.

DAMASCUS, Oct 14 (NNN-XINHUA) – U.S.-led warplanes struck a convoy of the Syrian army, near the northern city of Raqqa on Sunday, with no reports on casualties.

The planes targeted the Syrian military convoy in the al-Rasafeh area, in the southwest of Raqqa, as the convoy was moving towards Tabaqa, in the west of Raqqa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based watchdog group said the U.S. is trying to hinder the deployment of Syrian army in northern Syria.

ISTANBUL, Oct 14 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that, Turkish forces would “go down to a depth of 30-35 km” into Syrian territory, as planned under Ankara’s safe-zone project.

“Then, the operation would be completed, after taking control of Hasaka and Ayn al-Arab,” Erdogan said.

He announced that, Turkish forces and their allies from the Syrian rebels, had so far taken control of 109 square km of land in Syria, including 17 villages around Tel Abyad.

13 Oct 2019; MEMO: Kurdish-led security forces do not have enough guards for the Ain Issa camp that holds families of Daesh militants and dozens of them have escaped since Turkish shelling struck the area, Reuters reported an official with the Syrian Democratic Forces saying.

12 Oct 2019; MEMO: In a presidential decree, the Assad regime in Syria has decided to exempt Jordanian trucks from transit fees, Jordanian MP Tariq Khouri, who is close to Syria, told mass media on Thursday.

According to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Khouri explained that this decree lifts the sanctions imposed on the ground transportation movement between the two countries.

DAMASCUS, Oct 13 (NNN-SANA) – At least 30 civilians have so far been killed, in northern Syria since Turkey unleashed a military offensive against the Kurdish militias on Wednesday, a war monitor reported.

The civilians were killed as a result of “random” Turkish shelling on several areas in northern Syria, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based watchdog group said, the humanitarian situation is worsening, noting that the Turkish assault could lead to a “humanitarian catastrophe.”