Turkey on Thursday said multinational forces from differing sides in the Syria conflict could be deployed to ensure peace in so-called “de-escalation” zones aimed at ending the civil war. Iran, Russia and Turkey agreed an accord on May 4 at peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana that would see four de-escalation regions set up … Read more
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday warned Iran not to threaten Israel after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at a Syrian base of the Islamic State group. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had fired six missiles from western Iran into northeastern Syria on Sunday, targeting “terror bases.” The Guard said the strike was “in retaliation” … Read more
Turkey informed the United States and Russia before launching strikes against Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq, the Turkish foreign minister said Wednesday, after Washington angrily accused Ankara of lacklustre coordination. Turkish war planes carried out strikes on Kurdish militia forces in Syria on Tuesday and also hit Kurdish forces in neighbouring Iraq in what … Read more
The toll in Turkish air raids on Kurdish positions in northeastern Syria rose to 28 killed, a monitor said Wednesday, a day after Ankara said it had targeted “terrorist havens” near its border. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of those killed were members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which is … Read more
Turkish warplanes killed more than 20 Kurdish fighters Tuesday in strikes in Syria and Iraq, where the Kurds are key players in the battle against the Islamic State group. The deadliest bombardment was on the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), who are leading the US-backed fight for the important IS-held town of Tabqa in northern … Read more
Russia is setting up a military base in northwestern Syria in agreement with the Syrian-Kurdish YPG armed group that controls the area and will train fighters, a YPG spokesman said on Monday. The agreement with Russia was concluded on Sunday and Russian troops have already arrived at the village of Kafr Jina, in the northwestern … Read more
Syrian government officials and opposition figures will gather in Geneva on Thursday for the fourth round of UN-brokered talks aimed at ending their country’s brutal six-year conflict. Here is a breakdown of the forces involved in the complex war, which has killed more than 310,000 people since it broke out in 2011: The Syrian army’s … Read more