Syrian Civil War

Syrian Refugees Want to Go Home, But 5 Million Have Left

More than five million Syrians have left their country since the war started in 2011.They want to go home but with the war showing no end in sight, they’re stuck in the middle. They’ve endured a civil war, an invasion by the Islamic State, then combat to drive ISIS from their borders, now an invasion from the Turks. Where have they all gone?

Most are now in neighboring countries, with about 3.5 million in Turkey and one million in Lebanon. More than half a million traveled to Germany, with smaller numbers in other European nations.
To find out what changes they hope for, the Carnegie Middle East Center held a series of meetings involving about 320 refugees in Lebanon and Jordan.
Here are four things they told us they would like to see.
Safety for their children
An end to conscription
Homes to return to
Safety and security
Kholoud, a refguee from rural Damascus summed up her feelings: “If Bashar al-Assad is removed and there is security in Syria, even if there is no food or drink, we would get flour and make it with our hands.”
Many also expressed concern over the presence of various armed foreign groups in the country and the general lawlessness that they represent.
Many also spoke of a Syria that strived for new values, including freedom, equality, and justice, in a country that is democratically governed under the rule of law.
The displaced Syrians wanted their concerns to be heard.
As one young refugee said: “We want a solution that will give us back our dignity – no more, no less.”

But what stands out, even among the refugees is that they know, nor will they accept a country that is fragmented. Split into small enclaves ruled by different factions. The only Syria will be a united one, so the fighting will continue.

To read the entire article from BBC, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

It is Time To Think About Withdrawing Troops From Syria

Opinion: The President surely opened up a can of worms when he spoke about withdrawing our military troops from Syria and soon. Just last week, Trump said “We’ll be coming out of Syria like very soon,” before a Pentagon spokesman calmed our allies fears by stating that the United States was committed, at least until the Islamic State had been defeated.

Then on Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his announcement stating that “it’s time” for the United States to get out of Syria. “It is very costly for our country, and it helps other countries more than it helps us,” he said. “I want to get out, I want to bring our troops back home.”

Now most of the President’s own administration and even most viewpoints from the left, consider it catastrophic and would leave a power vacuum that could invite the Islamic State back in.

When the United States entered the fray a few years ago in 2014, the country was in a shambles. The civil war was raging and there WAS a huge power vacuum where ISIS moved in created its own “caliphate.” When the American and coalition troops deployed there, their stated mission, the only one was to work by, with and through the Kurds to defeat ISIS.

The U.S. wasn’t tasked with overthrowing Assad or stopping the civil war. ISIS was the goal and now, they’ve been pretty much kicked to the curb and are doing what they’ll continue to do. Retreat to another state to lick their wounds and return in another form. They’ll never fully be eradicated as long as politicians allow them to leave with their families, as we saw the mass exodus play out months ago.

So Trump’s announcement certainly wasn’t welcome news for the Kurds and the Israelis, the two regional peoples figuring to be most affected by the decision if the U.S. does withdraw.

The Israelis have never been fond of the Syrians and the Assad regime. Now even less so with the Syrians inviting the Iranians in. Iran wants a permanent presence in Syria, preferably on the Israeli border.

Just a few weeks ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thought that he and President Trump were in concert as far as Iran is concerned in Syria. “We don’t have any limits on our action in Syria,” Netanyahu said. “We see eye to eye,” he said of Israeli and U.S. policy.

But the Israelis are getting mixed signals from Washington. On one hand, Trump is saying they’ll be pulling out soon. On the other, Monday, Pentagon officials were stating that they’re sending dozens more troops to the 2000 or so that are already there.

The Israelis rightfully fear that a U.S. pullout will not see a resurgence of ISIS but a power vacuum where the Iranians move in. The Russians have said in private to the Israelis that they may have to get used to a permanent Iranian presence in Syria. I don’t see the Russians putting up with that for long.

The IDF has already bombed an Iranian base and if need be, the Israelis will act unilaterally. With or without U.S. support. Israel will no doubt bomb Iranian positions in Syria if the Iranians establish a supply line to Hezbollah, the “Lebanese” militia that Iran essentially leads. Hezbollah is aiding Syria in the civil war and looks to establish a permanent presence in the country.

The Israel government worries that the Russians will intervene on the behalf of Iran.

The SDF, the Syrian Democratic Forces of the Kurds are stuck in the middle, as they were in Iraq and have little prospect for any kind of self-determination, even with the U.S. remaining.

The Turks, who consider them terrorists, are attacking SDF strongholds from the north. The Assad regime, with heavy Russian backing, are in the south. There is no peace plan and likely will never be one between the Turks and the Kurds.

As they were in Iraq, they’re getting screwed and will be forced to leave their homes or be eradicated themselves. There will be no mass caravan of Kurds leaving with their families being protected to do so. It sucks but what are the alternatives?

But by pulling out of Syria, what truly changes for the U.S.? The last thing we want is to get into a shooting fight with the Turks. The U.S. has a major airbase there and prior to this mess with Erdogan, the Turks had been one of the United States’ closest allies.

The U.S. isn’t going to try to overthrow Assad now, with just 2000 troops in the country. For what end? With the help of Putin and the Russians, Assad has weathered the storm and is stabilizing his hold on the country.

But the Iranian presence in Syria? It probably isn’t sustainable. The Russians don’t want them there, and even for Assad, they were an ally of convenience. He trusts the Russians much more than he’ll ever trust the mullahs in Tehran.

Our troops have what’s left of ISIS, the Turks are attacking the Kurds, who we trained, funded and led, the Russians, Syrian Army and the Iranians all facing them. Now what? After 17 years of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, we don’t need our troops getting into another open-ended war in Syria.

The Russians already have tested our resolve when they foolishly and recklessly used “mercenaries” to attack a US base before the US and Allied air support blew them all to hell. It wasn’t a mistake or an error in judgement. They won’t make that mistake twice.

Our government sent the troops there to stem ISIS. That part has been accomplished and is nearly done. And once it has, the government doesn’t need to dawdle any further. There is no quick, easy answer for the quagmire of Syria. Get our troops out of there.

Use any and all political means to ease the suffering of the Kurds. Reinforce our support for the Israelis and if necessary, front load some troops there for their defense.Then get the troops the hell out of Syria.

Photo: Wikipedia

Trump Wants to Get Out of Syria, But Military Advisors Say Not Yet

President Trump says it is the time to get all of the U.S. military troops out of Syria, which they entered the civil war to deter ISIS, but have since been embroiled in other fighting.

The president’s comments appear to contradict U.S. military and national security advisors, who were speaking simultaneously at the U.S. Institute of Peace about the future fight against ISIS in both Iraq and Syria.
“As far as Syria is concerned, our primary mission in terms of that was getting rid of ISIS. We’ve almost completed that task, and we’ll be making a decision very quickly in coordination with others as to what we’ll do,” Trump said Tuesday at the White House.
“I want to get out. I want to bring our troops home.”
Contrary to Trump’s statements, Brett McGurk, the U.S. special envoy for the global coalition against ISIS, told a forum Tuesday that the U.S. mission in Syria was far from over.
“We are in Syria to fight ISIS. That is our mission, and our mission isn’t over, and we are going to complete that mission,” McGurk said.
Echoing those sentiments, Army Gen. Joseph Votel, who oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East as the head of Central Command, said that while the presence of ISIS in the region had diminished, “it is not gone.”
Votel estimated that more than 90 percent of the terror group’s territory had been recovered by U.S.-backed forces. He added that the next step for the approximately 2,000 U.S.troops in Syria would be to help stabilize the region.
“The hard part, I think, is in front of us, and that is stabilizing these areas, consolidating our gains, getting people back into their homes,” Votel said alongside McGurk.
“There is a military role in this. Certainly in the stabilization phase.”

Trump is correct here, keeping the U.S. in a stabilization phase is doing what? Stabilizing the Assad regime? With Russia’s backing, Assad has held on and Russian troops (mercenary or not) have already attacked American troops. Adding in the Turkish incursion, it is time to get out of that quagmire.

Two Coalition Troops Killed in Syria By IED, Five Wounded

Reports from U.S. military personnel in Syria say that two coalition personnel have been killed and five were wounded by a roadside bombing in Syria on Friday.

IEDs attacks, while common in Iraq have been rare since the U.S-led coalition sent troops into Syria’s war-torn country.

The military did not say where the incident occurred but it came hours after a local Syrian official said that a roadside bomb has exploded in the tense, mixed Arab-Kurdish town of Manbij that is not far from the border with Turkey.
The U.S. military statement said the incident occurred on Thursday night and that the wounded personnel were being evacuated for further medical treatment. The coalition statement said details pertaining to the incident were being withheld pending further investigation.
It did not identify the casualties as American soldiers, only coalition personnel members.
The local Syrian official, Mohammed Abu Adel, the head of the Manbij Military Council, an Arab-Kurdish US-backed group in the town, said the bomb went off hundreds of meters away from a security headquarters that houses the council just before midnight on Thursday.
Earlier Friday, a U.S. military official, Col. Ryan Dillon, said an incident involving coalition forces was reported in Manbij but said no more information was available. He said the coalition was still gathering information about the incident.
Manbij is under threat of a Turkish military operation. Ankara says Syrian Kurdish militiamen it views as “terrorists” and an extension of Kurdish insurgents inside Turkey is in control of the town.
The town has also seen a number of small explosions, protests and an assassination attempt on a member of the Manbij military council in recent weeks. Local officials blame Turkey and other adversaries for seeking to sow chaos in the town that was controlled by Islamic state militants until the summer of 2016.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available

To read the entire article from Time, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Turks, Free Syrian Army Forces Capture Afrin City

Turkish military forces and their Free Syrian Army (FSA) proxies continued their offensive in northwest Syria on Sunday and captured the city of Afrin.

Operation Olive Branch has been steadily moving forward and the Kurdish fighters who had taken the city from the Islamic State were themselves removed by the Turks who consider the Kurds terrorists. The Kurds, seeing the writing on the wall, abandoned the city to regroup and fight on elsewhere.

Turkey’s military said in a tweet on Sunday that troops were searching for landmines and other explosive devices in the area.

“Many of the terrorists had turned tail and run away already,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech in western Turkey.
He announced that Turkey-backed forces took complete control of the city centre at 8:30am local time (05:00 GMT). He said 3,603 “terrorists had been neutralised” in Afrin since the launch of the cross-border operation on January 20.
Erdogan said the Turkish flag and the flag of the Syrian opposition fighters were raised in the city, previously controlled by the Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG.
Later on Sunday, limited fighting was reported in some pockets in Afrin.
“Our special forces and members of the Free Syrian Army are cleaning the remains and the traps they left behind,” Erdogan said. “In the centre of Afrin, symbols of trust and stability are waving instead of rags of terrorists.”
Footage by Turkey’s private Dogan news agency showed Syrian fighters shooting in the air in celebration. In another Dogan video, a Syrian fighter is seen shooting at a statue of Kurdish hero Kawa, a symbol of resistance against oppressors, before a bulldozer pulled it down.
Turkey – together with the FSA – launched the military operation into Afrin in the northwest of Syria to vanquish the US-backed YPG fighters near its border.

Over 150,000 civilians have fled the city, and despite the Turks calls for them to return now as it is safe, most will probably stay away for the time being. The Kurds have vowed to continue fighting with guerrilla tactics.

To read the entire article from Al Jazeera, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Turkish Military Encircles Kurdish-held Town of Afrin In Syria

Turkey’s military and its rebel allies have encircled the northern Syrian town of Afrin, the Turkish armed forces said on Tuesday, marking a substantial advance in Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish fighters across its southern border.

Turkey launched its operation, dubbed “Olive Branch”, in northern Syria nearly two months ago to sweep the Syrian Kurdish YPG from the Turkish border. Turkey sees the YPG as a terrorist group and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The forces encircled Afrin town and also captured “areas of critical importance” in the region as of Monday, the Turkish military said in a statement.
On Monday, a Turkish government spokesman said the armed forces had gained control of more than half the area and vowed to clear the Afrin town of militants.
President Tayyip Erdogan last week said Turkish forces had besieged the Afrin town and were nearing its town center, but a YPG spokesman later denied this, saying the regions claimed to be under Turkish control were still battlegrounds.
Since the start of its offensive, Turkey has also threatened to push its military operations to Manbij, further east, to sweep Syrian Kurdish fighters from the length of its borders.

The United States has armed the Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria during the fight against the Islamic State or Daesh as the locals call it, after they took vast areas of the country during the Syrian civil war. This support among other things has driven a deep wedge between the U.S. and their long-time ally of Turkey.

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Turkey Urges US to “Stop Shifting Terrorists to Afrin”

Turkey with their offensive against Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters in full-swing has stated that they expect the United States to stop “shifting terrorists” from Manbij to Afrin, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters at the presidential complex in the capital, Ankara, Kalin said: “It is particularly expected [by Turkey] that the US must certainly step in and halt the shifting of YPG/PYD forces, which move under its control, in Manbij to Afrin. This is our natural right.
“With this regard, we [Turkey] took the necessary steps via official channels, and we will continue to take [such steps].”
On January 20, Turkey launched a military operation against the YPG militia from Afrin.
Turkey sees the YPG – trained, armed and supported by the US to fight against ISIL – as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The US has about 2,000 soldiers based in Manbij – 100 kilometres east of Afrin – and, in January, it announced that it will train about 15,000 fighters to be part of a 30,000-strong border force in the region.
As part of its ongoing operation, Turkey said it will eventually launch a military operation against the YPG in Manbij, also.
According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along the Turkey-Syria borders.

The Turkish offensive in Afrin and the U.S. continued support for the Kurds has been a sticking point between Ankara and Washington as the tensions have rising in the past few years. Thus far, neither side has come into contact with one another in Syria, but the offensive by the Turkish military shows no sign of stopping and it is a matter of time before US forces are facing threats from all sides.

To read the entire article from Al Jazeera, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Russian Plane Crash in Syria Kills 39 on Board

A Russian transport plane crashed in Syria, killing 39 passengers and crewmembers as it was attempting to land at Hmeimin air base in northwest Syria, Russian state media reported.

Initial reports put the crash as a technical malfunction and not combat related. Hmeimin is located about 150 miles north of Damascus and is home to the Russians largest base in Syria.

All 33 passengers and six crew members were killed in the crash, state-run RIA-Novosti reported, citing the Defense Ministry. Earlier, it had been reported that 32 people had died.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the incident by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a working visit to Russia’s Sverdlovsk region, the Kremlin said in a statement.
The crash occurred as the Antonov-26 transport plane came down 500 meters (about 550 yards) short of the runway, the Defense Ministry said in a statement quoted by the state-run news agency, Tass.
The ministry said it was investigating the crash, adding that “preliminary data suggests it could be a technical malfunction.” It also ruled out the possibility that the plane had been fired upon.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case over the crash, committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko told Tass.
Tuesday’s crash was not the deadliest air incident related to Russia’s military intervention in Syria.
In December 2016, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft crashed after taking off from the Adler airport near the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, killing 84 passengers and eight crew members. The plane was carrying more than 60 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian army’s official dance and choir company, on its way to Syria to give a holiday performance for troops.
Putin visited Hmeimin in December, using the opportunity to meet with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad.

Most Russian people support their involvement in the war in Syria, but opposition politicians were quick to point fingers at the Putin administration.

“How does the draw-down of forces look now? For the sake of what are these people dying? When will this senseless war end?” Dmitry Gudkov, a former member of parliament said on social media.

To read the entire article from CNN, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Turkey Rejects US ‘Double Standard’ in Afrin Ceasefire

The Turkish government criticized the U.S. government and accused it of a double standard by specifying which terrorist groups are viable targets in Syria and which are not.

The latest statements from Ankara show the Turks are upset by remarks by the U.S. that go to show that the Turkish current operations in Afrin are a violation of the UN’s Syria ceasefire resolution.

Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said: “Afrin is not mentioned there [in the UN resolution] … Terrorists are all the same, you cannot divide them into bad and good ones. The United States behaves illogically guided by double standards, this cannot be accepted.”
When asked by reporters on Tuesday if Turkey is “violating the UN ceasefire” in Syria, US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert said that she would “encourage Turkey to go back and read the UN resolution.”
The UN Security Council on Saturday, February 24, passed a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria.
Quoting the UN resolution, Heather Nauert said: “[the UN] demands that all parties cease hostilities without delay and engage immediately to ensure full and comprehensive implementation of this demand by all parties for a durable humanitarian pause for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria.”
But Nauert added “It [the resolution] affirms that the cessation of hostilities shall not apply to military operations against the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), also known as Daesh, al-Qaeda, and al-Nusrah Front, and all other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with al-Qaeda and ISIL and other terror groups as designated by the Security Council.”
“So I think the resolution was clear here in naming exactly which groups are considered to be exempt from the ceasefire.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy spared no words for the U.S. spokeswoman Heather Nauert stating that she either didn’t understand the focal point of the resolution or was deliberately trying to distort it.

The Turks insist that the ceasefire is meant to allay hard hit civilian areas that have been hard-hit by air raids from the Syrian government of Assad and not the counter-terror efforts by the Turks in Afrin.

To read the entire article from the Al Jazeera, click here:

Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

Satellite Images Show Iran Building Military Base in Syria

The Iranian army is constructing another base in Syria. Recently released satellite images show the base, being constructed by Quds forces, part of the Revolutionary Guards from Iran. The base is located at Jabal Ash Sharqi outside of Damascus.

Two large hangars are visible which the Israelis claim are being used to store missiles that can hit anywhere within Israel. A similar hangar was built in another Iranian base that stored missiles which the Israelis attacked earlier.

Last week, the New York Times reported the locations of dozens of bases in Syria operated by Iranian forces, including a map showing the location of a T4 airbase near Tadmor. Also in the map was the airport of Damascus, which Israel has reportedly attacked on multiple occasions.
Iranian officials openly claim that they are working to build an axis of resistance to Israel and the U.S. in the region. Iranian strategy is based on building ties with local forces who share the same goals.
At the Munich Security Conference last week, Netanyahu warned that Israel would act against Iran if needed. “We will act if necessary not just against Iran’s proxies but against Iran itself,” he said, holding up a piece of an Iranian drone Israel shot down after it infiltrated its territory.
“Iran continues to try to cross those red lines,” said the prime minister. “Last week its brazenness reached new heights, literally new heights. Israel will not allow the Iranian regime to put a noose of terror around our neck.” Netanyahu asked Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was sitting in the crowd: “Do you recognize it? You should, it’s yours. Don’t test us.”

Two weeks ago, the Iranians launched a drone into Israeli airspace that was shot down. It was followed by an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian base where the attack originated from. One Israeli F-16 was shot down as they hit the base with at least six missiles.

To read the entire article from Haaretz, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia