Showing posts with label #Syria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Syria. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Syria says Israeli air attacks targeted Damascus

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State news agency reports ‘explosions in Damacus’; war monitor says at least eight pro-government fighters killed.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/9/israeli-strikes-kill-eight-fighters-in-syria-says-monitor
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Monday, March 15, 2021

Then and now: 10 Syrians recount a decade of war in pictures

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Monday marks 10 years since Syrians took to the streets to protest against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/3/15/then-and-now-10-syrians-recount-a-decade-of-war-in-pictures
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Thursday, February 25, 2021

U.S. carries out airstrike in Syria after rocket attacks

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The U.S. has carried out an airstrike on a structure connected to an Iran-backed militia in Syria, following three separate rocket attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq, according to a defense official.

The strike, which was ordered by President Joe Biden, was designed to damage the militia group’s ability to conduct future attacks, the official said. The military action was carried out by the U.S. without coalition partners.

The strike was defensive in nature, but was a response to the three attacks endangering Americans in Iraqi this month, the official said.

The retaliatory strike comes more than a week after a dozen rockets believed to be linked to an Iran-backed militia group targeted coalition forces outside Irbil International Airport, killing one non-U.S. contractor and wounding nine more people, including five Americans.

Then on Saturday, at least four rockets struck Balad Air Base, which houses American contractors who provide support to Iraq’s fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, wounding one person.

And on Monday, two rockets fell near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, inside the Green Zone. No injuries or casualties resulted.

Biden initially faced criticism for not immediately pinning blame for the attacks on Iran, which has frequently carried out similar strikes against U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq. Some have been fatal.

Thursday’s strike comes as the Biden administration strives to renew negotiations with Iran after former President Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, sparking escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/25/us-airstrike-syria-471685
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Lara Seligman



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Thursday, February 18, 2021

The Middle East Is Blanketed in Rare Snowfall

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It snowed in the Middle East on Wednesday, covering parts of Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and Israel in rare white blanket. The region is known more for being dry and hot than snowstorms. But a huge dip in the jet stream similar to what’s happening in Texas allowed polar air to plunge from…

Read more…

Source: https://earther.gizmodo.com/the-middle-east-is-blanketed-in-rare-snowfall-1846297090
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Dharna Noor on Earther, shared by Brian Kahn to Gizmodo



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Monday, February 1, 2021

Syria: dozens killed in weekend of violence

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At least 24 people killed and scores more injured in series of attacks in rebel-held areas of country

At least 24 people have been killed and scores wounded across parts of rebel-held Syria after a weekend of violence that included several car bomb attacks.

Eleven people died and 30 more were injured in the town of Azaz, when a car bomb detonated on Sunday near a building used by Turkish-backed fighters as an administrative headquarters. Pictures from the scene showed black smoke rising from the mangled remains of the car, damaged buildings and a street covered in debris from the explosion.

Continue reading…

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/01/syria-dozens-killed-in-weekend-of-violence
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Bethan McKernan Middle East correspondent



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Friday, October 9, 2020

Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict draws in fighters from Mideast

The fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan is echoing around the Mideast

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/armeniaazerbaijan-conflict-draws-in-fighters-from-mideast-armenia-azerbaijan-syrian-lebanese-news-b903725.html
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‘We don’t even know where Azerbaijan is’: The Syrian mercenaries driven by poverty to die in a distant war

<p>Hundreds of Syrians said to be fighting in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan</p>

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/armenia-azerbaijan-syria-war-fighting-mercenary-russia-b912446.html
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Bel Trew



! #Headlines, #Armenia, #Azerbaijan, #Newsfeed, #Politics, #Syria, #Trending, #Warfare, #WorldNews, Turkey, #News

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Aid group warns that 700,000 children in Syria risk hunger

An international aid group is warning that an additional 700,000 children in Syria face hunger because of the country’s badly damaged economy and the impact of coronavirus restrictions

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/aid-group-warns-700000-children-syria-risk-hunger-syria-children-children-save-children-country-b694021.html
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Friday, September 18, 2020

US sends troops, armored vehicles to Syria to counter Russia

The U.S. has deployed additional troops and armored vehicles into eastern Syria after a number of clashes with Russian forces, including a recent vehicle collision that injured four American service members

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/wires/us/us-sends-troops-armored-vehicles-syria-counter-russia-b489773.html
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Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Trump says he wanted to take out Syria’s Assad but Mattis opposed it

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President Trump on Tuesday confirmed a plan was in the works to take out Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2017 and that he was supportive of it, but that former Defense Secretary James Mattis was opposed.The presid…

Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/516443-trump-says-he-wanted-to-take-out-syrias-assad-but-mattis-opposed-it
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Brett Samuels



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Monday, August 3, 2020

Shadowy U.S. firm secures deal for Syrian oil

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An American company has inked a contract with Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria to develop and export the region’s crude oil under a secretive deal approved by the U.S. government months after President Donald Trump announced he was leaving U.S. troops to “secure the oil,” multiple people familiar with the project told POLITICO.

The agreement reached by a little-known firm helmed by politically connected former military and diplomatic officials has already angered the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, which does not recognize the Kurdish authorities as autonomous. The Syrian Foreign Minister called the deal illegal and said it is aimed at “stealing” Syria’s crude.

The company, Delta Crescent Energy LLC, was incorporated in Delaware in February 2019, according to its business license. Its partners include former U.S. ambassador to Denmark James Cain; James Reese, a former officer in the Army’s elite Delta Force; and John P. Dorrier Jr., a former executive at GulfSands Petroleum, a U.K.-based oil company with offices and drilling experience in Syria.

It has been in talks with the Kurds for more than a year but only received a license from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for the work in April, according to a State Department official and a Syrian source familiar with the discussions. The arrangement is to refine and use some of the oil locally but also export some through northern Iraq and Turkey, they said.

The Treasury Department has multiple sanctions against Syria’s oil market. In a March 2019 the Trump administration issued the orders targeting companies that deliver or finance petroleum shipments of Syrian oil on behalf of the country’s government. The effort is designed to punish the Assad regime for atrocities committed amid the country’s civil war.

However, the Pentagon and State Department have long been working to enable the Syrian Kurds to harness the crude oil in the region, a former Trump administration official told POLITICO. The idea is that revenue from the oil could help the Kurds deal with the dire humanitarian situation in the war-torn country, including overflowing refugee camps from years of civil war, the person said.

“The goal is to get the production back up to where it was before the civil war and sanctions,” said Ambassador Cain. “It was very much our effort to keep the State Department advised — not seeking approval — but wanting to know if this was contrary to American policy interest. Nobody told us no.”

A spokesperson for the Syrian Democratic Forces, which controls the region and is allied with the United States, declined to comment. A Treasury Department spokesperson also declined to discuss the deal on Monday.

“Treasury does not generally comment on or provide details on license applications or specific licenses that have been issued as the information contained within these licensing applications and determinations may be protected by the Privacy Act, the Trade Secrets Act, or other regulations governing OFAC’s licensing authorities,” the spokesperson said in an email.

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The deal first came to light during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday, when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was questioned about it by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

Pompeo said the administration supports the deal and said it is intended to “modernize” the oil fields. “The deal took a little longer … than we had hoped, and now we’re in implementation,” he said.

Graham told POLITICO on Monday that the company will brief him this week on its plans.

“I think this company’s going to improve the viability of the northern oil fields to make them more productive,” Graham said. “Conceptually it makes sense that we should, instead of just writing checks, help people help themselves.”

The State Department is leading the effort under James Jeffrey, United States Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIL, and his deputy, Joel Rayburn, the former Trump administration official said.

However, they have sought to keep the deal quiet for fear that Russia, which backs Assad’s regime and deploys military and paramilitary forces across the region, might retaliate, both the State Department official and Syrian source said.

A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the contract but noted that the U.S. government considers requests “on a case-by-case basis to authorize U.S. persons’ involvement in activities that would normally be prohibited.”

“We are not involved in the commercial decisions of our local partners. However, as a general matter, we work to ensure that our sanctions are in line with our foreign policy interests and target the Assad’s regime continued violence against the Syrian people,” the spokesperson said.

“Syrian oil is for the Syrian people and we remain committed to the unity and territorial integrity of Syria,” the spokesperson added. “The United States government does not own, control, or manage the oil resources in Syria. The populations in areas liberated from ISIS make their own decisions on local governance.”

Delta Crescent has so far been the only company to receive a license to work in Syria since U.S. military forces all but abandoned the country in October.

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Trump at the time ordered only enough troops to stay in the war-ravaged country to allow for “keeping the oil.” The U.S. used residual forces to secure the oil fields in the eastern part of the country and to continue fighting Islamic State militants. The country’s oil field were seized by ISIS during the civil war. Years of fighting that forced ISIS to retreat left the production infrastructure devastated, however.

Delta Crescent operates under the protection of the SDF and the U.S. military in northeast Syria, the sources said. The company’s plan is to sell the Syrian oil at a low price to various customers in the region, potentially including Assad, Turkish-backed rebels and Iraqi Kurdistan, all of whom could then sell it on the international market for a much higher price, the Syrian source said.

Reese, the former Delta Force soldier was also a founder at North Carolina-based consulting and private security firm TigerSwan.

The company gained notoriety several years ago when North Dakota regulators sued it for providing private security in the state without a license after it sent agents to crack down on protests against the Dakota Access pipeline, operated by a company owned by Trump donor Kelcy Warren.

TigerSwan denied all wrongdoing and the state dropped the case after the company left North Dakota.

Attempts to reach Dorrier were unsuccessful. He left GulfSands in the late 2000s, according to news reports at the time. A GulfSands spokesperson did not reply to emails seeking comment.

Betsy Swan Woodruff contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/03/delta-crescent-energy-syrian-oil-391033
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Lara Seligman and Ben Lefebvre



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Thursday, February 27, 2020

Turkey in social media BLACKOUT amid fears of all-out war in Syria

Social media platforms across Turkey winked out after reports of an airstrike in Syria killing dozens of Turkish soldiers fueled rumors of an all-out war. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and YouTube were all reported down.

Twitter was the first to go, with national provider Turk Telekom shutting off access around 11:30 pm local time on Thursday. This was shortly after news broke that at least nine – the number has continued to rise since – Turkish soldiers were killed in Syria’s Idlib province. 

⚠️ Update: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Messenger are now blocked via multiple internet providers in #Turkey. Real-time network data indicate SNI filtering in effect by operators; incident ongoing – see live report 📉
📰https://t.co/bowVKOQixH pic.twitter.com/A12edOlNoi

— NetBlocks.org (@netblocks) February 27, 2020

This was followed by all other social networks, clustered by provider, according to multiple services monitoring internet outages across the globe.

Update: Social media have now been restricted in #Turkey for over two hours. Live network data show transfer of image/video content now also limited on WhatsApp following #Idlib incident ⏱📉

Restricted: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp

📰https://t.co/bowVKOQixH pic.twitter.com/8zewESdTLt

— NetBlocks.org (@netblocks) February 27, 2020

Accounts of major media outlets remained active however, as they flashed updates about the alleged Syrian airstrike and the Turkish response – said by officials in Ankara to be air and artillery strikes against multiple “regime” targets.

Also on rt.com
FILE PHOTO:29 Turkish soldiers confirmed killed in Idlib airstrike as Erdogan chairs emergency meeting on Syria

News that multiple soldiers were killed in Syria was confirmed on Thursday evening by Rahmi Dogan, governor of the Hatay province that neighbors Syria. Casualties from the strike were reportedly being treated at the hospitals in the border town of Reyhanli. 

Among the rumors circulating on social media in the aftermath were reports that Turkey will open its borders for Syrian refugees to cross into Europe, as well as the parliament in Ankara intended to declare war on Syria in the morning.

So far, the only thing that has been officially confirmed is that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called an emergency session of security officials, and that Ankara has reached out to NATO and Washington. 

Also on rt.com
FILE PHOTO: A convoy of Turkish military vehicles drives east of Idlib city in northwestern Syria on February 20, 2020.‘War of nerves’: Turkey goes ‘all-in’ to stop Syrian advance in Idlib but will it end up in all-out war?

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Source: https://www.rt.com/news/481862-turkey-social-media-blackout-syria/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
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Friday, February 14, 2020

‘Maybe it was the Belgians’: Netanyahu claims ignorance after reports of missiles fired over Damascus

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed reports that his military launched a missile attack on the Syrian capital, Damascus, saying that perhaps the “Belgian Air Force” was responsible.

In an interview with Radio Haifa on Friday, Netanyahu said he didn’t know “what happened last night” and that “maybe it was the Belgian Air Force” that launched missiles over Syria. 

“I don’t comment on one operation or another,” he added.

Syrian state media reported Thursday night that its air defenses had thwarted a missile attack and intercepted several “hostile targets” launched from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights region. Israel regularly strikes targets within Syria claiming that it is hitting “Iranian positions.”

Also on rt.com
FILE PHOTO: Syria's air defense missile, responding to a missile strike, is seen in the sky over Damascus, capital of Syria. © Global Look Press /ZUMA Press/ Ammar SafarjalaniSyria air defenses shot down ‘hostile missiles’ over Damascus fired from Israeli-occupied Golan Heights – state media

Videos posted on social media in the aftermath of the attack appear to show Syria’s air defenses activating to repel the missiles.

Israel’s military did not confirm or deny the attack, but Israeli media reported that the strikes hit weapons depots near Damascus, allegedly containing munitions from Iran.

The Israeli military launched a similar attack on Damascus last week, prompting Syria to activate its air defenses. In that instance, the Russian military reported that Tel Aviv had endangered a Damascus-bound passenger jet carrying 172 people and was forced to conduct an emergency landing.

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Source: https://www.rt.com/news/480881-syria-netanyahu-belgian-military/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
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Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Israeli warplanes strike Damascus, air defenses destroy ‘most’ of hostile missiles (VIDEO)

Syrian air defenses have repelled an Israeli raid, intercepting several “hostile missiles” over southern Damascus, and destroying majority of them before the projectiles hit the ground, state news agency SANA reported.

Also on rt.com
FILE PHOTO: Anti-aircraft fire is seen over Damascus, Syria.Several blasts heard near Syria’s Damascus airport – state media

Citing a Syrian military source, SANA reported on Tuesday night that Syrian missile defenses came under “a heavy attack” by Israeli warplanes that targeted the Damascus area from the Israeli-controlled part of the occupied Golan Heights and Lebanese airspace near the town of Marjayoun.

A video purporting to show the aftermath of the attack has emerged on social media. Footage posted by Syrian journalist Majd Fahd shows a huge ball of fire engulfing the building in southern Damascus, while loud sounds of explosions could be heard in the background.

Breaking video footage emerges huge fire ripping through unknown object in southern #Damascus amid #Israeli airstrikes. pic.twitter.com/5LHaG3AHxO

— Majd Fahd 🇸🇾 (@Syria_Protector) November 19, 2019

A video released by SANA captured a moment Syrian air defenses intercepted a projectile in the night skies.

Most of the missiles failed to impact on the ground, as they were destroyed on the approaches to the city, the SANA source said. The authorities are currently in the process of assessing the damage.

While it’s unknown whether there are casualties among the Syrian military, the reported Israeli sortie is said to have destroyed at least two residential buildings, including a house near the town of Sa’sa, southwest of Damascus near the Golan Heights. Inhabitants of the property – a father, a mother and their children were reportedly injured in the attack.

SANA reported that the injured family members, including a child, have been taken to hospital.

In a separate incident, a house in Qudsaya, a city some 7 km west of Damascus, was severely damaged in the reported strike. Photos published by SANA show shattered glass scattered on the floor, gaping holes in place of windows and wires dangling from concrete wreckage.

The new attack comes just a day after explosions were heard in the vicinity of the Damascus International Airport, according to multiple reports. While the Syrian government has remained tight-lipped about the incident, reports on social media allege that the Syrian capital was subjected to an Israeli strike.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) routinely rain down missiles on the Syrian territory under the pretext of targeting Iranian militias, allies of the Syrian government in its fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and other terrorist groups.

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Source: https://www.rt.com/news/473844-damascus-hostile-targets-attack/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
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Thursday, November 7, 2019

Everything you were told about the Syrian war was wrong – until now

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Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Syrian Democratic Forces kept their title unquestioned until the Turks invaded Syria, when they were suddenly transformed into ‘Kurdish forces’ who had been betrayed by the Americans. Which, of course, they always were

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/syrian-war-bashar-al-assad-donald-trump-saudi-middle-east-robert-fisk-a9189746.html
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Robert Fisk



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Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Moscow slams illegal US presence in Syria amid reports of new military bases being built in oil-rich province

US actions to bolster its ‘illegal presence’ in Syria violate international law, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said on Tuesday.

The statement comes shortly after Turkish media reported that two new American military bases are under construction in the oil-rich Deir ez-Zor province.

The Russian diplomat was asked for the ministry’s take on the reported US plans; his response echoes Russia’s position on the matter, previously stated by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin.

Any actions whatsoever – we are not talking about anything in particular now – that the United States undertake to keep themselves militarily present in Syria are unacceptable and illegal from our point of view and under international law.

Turkish media reported earlier on Tuesday that the US has started constructing two new military bases in the Deir ez-Zor governorate which is known for its oil reserves. It is claimed that one of the facilities is being built near the former Syrian Air Defense Forces’ 113th Brigade base and another in the al-Sur region.

Also on rt.com
A satellite photo dated Sept. 8, that shows nearly three dozen oil trucks near the occupied oil fields in Deir ez-Zor, Syria‘I like oil!’ Trump reaffirms predatory intentions in Syria as Assad calls him ‘the best’ US president for his honesty

Speaking on Friday, US President Donald Trump reaffirmed US intentions to retain troops in Syria to “keep the oil”, and even gained credit from Syria’s President Assad for being the “most transparent American President.”

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Source: https://www.rt.com/news/472645-russian-mfa-us-military-bases-syria/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
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Sunday, November 3, 2019

‘I like oil!’ Trump reaffirms predatory intentions in Syria as Assad calls him ‘the best’ US president for his honesty

Donald Trump is not trying to hide Washington’s true policies and intentions behind doublespeak about freedom and democracy – and that makes him “the best American President,” Syrian President Bashar Assad said.

“We’ve stayed back and kept the oil,” Trump reiterated on Friday, reaffirming the main US interest in Syria and making clear that all less immediately lucrative endeavors like keeping peace and reconstructing the devastated country should be taken care of by someone else. “Other people can patrol the border of Syria… let them – they’ve been fighting for a thousand years.”

I like oil! We’re keeping the oil!

Trump’s remarkably blunt approach was commended by Syria’s Assad, who noted in a recent interview that Nobel Peace Prize laureate presidents always pose as the “defenders of human rights and noble and unique American values,” rather than “criminals who represent the interests of American lobbies.”

He is the best American President, not because his policies are good, but because he is the most transparent president… What can be better than an honest enemy?

Since discovery of oil in MidEast, many in region said: U.S. only here to steal our oil.

U.S. denied, claimed it’s about democracy, human rights, women etc.

Not sure if Americans realize but these pictures of U.S. troops in northeast Syria are HUGELY damaging to U.S. image. pic.twitter.com/C3exwUbHtD

— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) November 2, 2019

While giving Trump credit for not mincing words, Assad noted that the crumbling moral high ground facade only reveals what’s always been there.

This is the reality of American policy… All American presidents perpetrate all kinds of political atrocities and crimes… 

Oil fields in the Deir ez-Zor governorate, east of the River Euphrates, were captured by US-backed Kurdish militias as they advanced on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorist forces. After pulling its ‘advisers’ back from the Syrian-Turkish border, Washington has made no secret of the fact that it keeps an illegal military presence in the area in order to deny Damascus access to its natural resources.

According to Russia’s estimates, each month the US smuggles crude worth $30 million out of Syria – not only in violation of international law but, ironically, also in breach of its own unilateral sanctions against the war-ravaged state.

Also on rt.com
A Syrian man walks on as US armoured vehicles patrol the northeastern town of Qahtaniyah at the border with Turkey, on October 31, 2019.US smuggles crude worth $30mn per month from occupied Syrian oil fields, violating its own sanctions – Russian Foreign Ministry

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Source: https://www.rt.com/news/472492-best-president-trump-loves-oil/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
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Friday, October 25, 2019

U.S. sending armored vehicles into Syria to protect oil fields, Pentagon chief confirms

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The Pentagon plans to use armored vehicles to defend northeastern Syria’s oil fields from attack by Islamic State fighters, Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed today, minutes after President Donald Trump tweeted that the troops are coming home.

“We are reinforcing that position. It will include some mechanized forces,” Esper said at a press conference at NATO Headquarters in Brussels when asked about the new stay-behind force Trump authorized this week.

“I’m not going to get into the details, but the mission in Syria remains what the mission in Syria began with. It’s always been about defeating … ISIS,” Esper said. “That is the core mission.”

Trump made no mention this morning of the troops that were staying behind.

“Our soldiers have left and are leaving Syria for other places, then … COMING HOME!” he wrote.

Some reports have said the U.S. is deploying tanks. But the military typically refers to units equipped with Bradley fighting vehicles as mechanized forces, and to units with Abrams tanks as armored forces. It wasn’t clear from Esper’s remarks how many troops would stay at the oil fields or what types of vehicles will be sent in, but an Army brigade in Kuwait is outfitted with both Bradleys and tanks.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that as many as 500 troops could be staying in Syria.

Under Trump’s original pullout order, most of the 1,000 U.S. forces in Syria were to leave, with a small force to remain at the southern garrison in At-Tanf. The oil field mission represents a partial reversal of that move. The Trump administration’s special representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, suggested this week that the military also plans to keep open an airfield in the country’s northeast as a logistics hub.

Esper this week said the U.S. forces leaving Syria would head into western Iraq. But after Iraqi leaders said those troops can’t stay there, Esper said they will be deployed in Iraq only temporarily before coming home.

The defense chief also said today that Kurdish troops are recapturing ISIS members who escaped from Kurdish-run prisons in the northeast since the start of Turkey’s incursion into Syria.

“The SDF has assured us that all ISIS prisoners are being secured,” he said, referring to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/25/us-armored-vehicles-syria-oil-fields-057304
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The Article Was Written/Published By: wmorgan@politico.com (Wesley Morgan)



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Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Trump’s Syria strategy: Get out, but “keep the oil”

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A U.S. military convoy withdrawing from Syria for Iraq today was pelted with fruit and stones by Kurdish civilians who accuse the superpower they once saw as their protector of leaving them in peril.

Driving the news: “We never agreed to protect the Kurds for the rest of their lives,” President Trump responded back in Washington. He said the U.S. would keep small detachments in Syria at the request of Israel and Jordan and to “protect the oil,” but there was otherwise “no reason” to remain.


  • “We want to keep the oil, and we’ll work something out with the Kurds. … Maybe we’ll have one of our big oil companies to go in and do it properly,” Trump said.
  • He also insisted a ceasefire announced from Turkey last week by Vice President Pence was holding despite “some skirmishes.”

What to watch: The deal expires tomorrow night and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to resume his offensive if the so-called “safe zone” he’s demanded isn’t cleared of Kurdish fighters. Erdogan will be meeting tomorrow with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

  • According to Brett McGurk, who resigned as Trump’s counter-ISIS envoy over a planned withdrawal last December, it’s now “in the hands of Putin” whether “an epic humanitarian catastrophe” unfolds in Syrian border cities like Kobane that had been held by Kurdish forces.

Behind the scenes: I asked McGurk today whether he’d ever heard Trump express interest in what would become of Syria after the ISIS caliphate was defeated.

  • “He talked about defeating the ISIS caliphate, he takes credit for it, but beyond that I don’t think he has much of a significant concern,” McGurk said, speaking at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
  • While the U.S. had several stated objectives in Syria that required long-term commitments — including remaining until Iran was out and the peace process finalized — McGurk said he never heard Trump himself vocalize them.
  • “In fact, he basically says, ‘the Russians and anybody else can do what they want,’” McGurk continued
  • Why it matters: “If the president isn’t fully bought into a policy, particularly when it comes to war and peace … when there’s a crisis he’s not going to really have anyone’s back.”

Trump did express interest in what would happen to Syria’s oil. McGurk said he explored the issue with Rex Tillerson, who was then secretary of state and previously ExxonMobil CEO.

Reality check: “I think [Tillerson’s] phrase was, ‘That’s not how oil works,’ McGurk said, noting that the oil legally belongs to the Syrian state.

  • “Maybe there are new lawyers, but it was just illegal for an American company to go and seize and exploit these assets.”

The bottom line: “We don’t want these resources to get in the hands of terrorists or others, but maybe Trump should have thought about this before he basically made a decision that unraveled the tapestry that had been working relatively well,” McGurk said.

Go deeper … Expert Voices: Years of muddled U.S. strategy deepened Syria crisis

Source: https://www.axios.com/trump-keep-syria-oil-troops-withdraw-kurds-ceasefire-7065e83c-d5e3-4c1f-8d70-75be5435a147.html
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Monday, October 21, 2019

‘America is running away’: Irate Kurds pelt withdrawing US forces with vegetables (VIDEO)

Enraged by the US withdrawal from northern Syria, residents of Qamishli pelted American troops with vegetables as they left the city, according to video shared by Kurdish news outlets on Monday.

A convoy of armoured personnel carriers is flanked on all sides by irate Kurds shouting “No America” and “America liar” in English while one resident can be heard describing US troops as fleeing “Like rats… America is running away,” in Arabic.

The angry citizens appear to be firing potatoes at their departing former allies but the Rudaw news agency reports that tomatoes were the projectile of choice.

The Kurds were blindsided by US President Donald Trump’s decision at the beginning of October to pull back US troops from border regions in Syria, essentially abandoning the US’ long-standing Kurdish allies as Turkey advanced across the border. 

Turkish President Erdogan has agreed to pause his military offensive into Kurdish-controlled areas for five days, with the ceasefire expiring Tuesday. Meanwhile, more than 100 US armoured vehicles and roughly 1,000 personnel were filmed entering Iraq from Dohuk province in Syria, crossing into the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Also on rt.com
A convoy of U.S. vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in the outskirts of Dohuk, Iraq, October 21, 2019. © REUTERS/Ari JalalJust going next door: More than 100 armored vehicles cross into Iraq as US troops withdraw from northern Syria

On October 9, Trump ordered a general withdrawal from Syria, arguing that he was pulling US troops out of “endless wars” in the Middle East. While Trump has framed it as bringing US troops home, many are merely being redeployed to Iraq.

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Source: https://www.rt.com/news/471429-kurds-pelt-us-troops-qamishli/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
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