The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that 21 Turkish fighters were killed on Wednesday after attacking a Kurdish-held site in northern Syria, despite the U.S. announcement the previous day of the extension of a truce between the two sides.
“At least 21 members of Kurdish factions were killed and others wounded by fire from the Manbij Military Council. These shootings came after an attack by Turkish factions in the area of the Tishreen dam, located around 25 kilometers from Manbij,” the NGO said. The Manbij Military Council is affiliated to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
U.N. humanitarian aid chief Tom Fletcher on Wednesday called for a “massive” increase in aid to Syria and urged the international community to seize “this moment of hope,” following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.
“I want to massively increase international aid, but that now depends on the donors. The Syria fund has been historically, shamefully underfunded, and now there's this opportunity,” Fletcher said in an interview with AFP. “We need to support (the Syrian people) and seize this moment of hope. And if we don't do it soon, I fear this window will close,” he added.
It is important that the territorial integrity of Syria is being respected, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told reporters ahead of meeting other EU leaders in Brussels, Reuters reported.
"Everything needs to be done to appease the situation so that people that want to go back can go can go back. We need to avoid that Syria is the place where regional conflicts involving multiple countries take place," he said.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says that while Washington is “wary about making predictions or promises” about the possibility of a cease-fire in Gaza, the current negotiations are “close.”
“With enough pushing from the outside mediators and a commitment from Israel and Hamas, we can get it done,” Sullivan told ABC News.
“Netanyahu made clear at this moment that Israel is ready to do this deal. So the final piece of the puzzle, from my perspective, is for Hamas, ultimately, to come forward with a commitment on the release of hostages in that first phase in the multi-phase deal,” he said.
Sullivan explained that if they can get that done, “we can have a cease-fire, we can get hostages home, and we can get a surge of humanitarian assistance in Gaza.”
He added that the current obstacles to the deal were the names of captives and prisoners who would be released in the first phase.
The Civil Defense announced in a statement that it had extracted two new bodies of people killed by Israeli shelling in Khiam before the cease-fire, in the Marjayoun district, where the search is continuing. The bodies were found in the Hammam and al-Jalahiya neighborhoods.
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani discussed developments in Syria at a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Sudani's office said, cited by Reuters.
Sudani emphasized "Iraq's keenness on the unity of Syria, non-interference in internal affairs, and respect for the free will of the Syrians," his office said, according to Reuters.
"Israeli occupation of Golan Heights is a violation of international law," the German Foreign Ministry said, as cited by Reuters.
The cease-fire monitoring committee made up of the United States, France, UNIFIL, the Lebanese Army and the Israeli army met today in Naqoura.
The mechanism will continue to meet regularly in this format, and will closely coordinate its efforts to support the implementation of the cease-fire agreement and U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
The White Helmets, a Syrian rescue organization, announced the discovery of bodies and bones in a warehouse in the suburbs of Damascus, where such discoveries have been increasing following the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
Located about fifty meters from the mausoleum of Sayyeda Zeinab, a site revered by Shiites south of the Syrian capital, the warehouse was full of boxes of medicines ripped open on the ground, an AFP journalist noted.
Hadi al-Bahra, chairman of the Syrian National Coalition, which brought together opponents of Bashar al-Assad during the civil war, said that the transitional government in Syria must be credible, inclusive and not based on sectarian lines.
Coalition representatives did not meet with Syrian rebel leader Ahmad al-Shareh, but communicated with the interim government and parties close to it, Bahra said at a news conference in Istanbul.
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The U.N. special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, called from Damascus for "free and fair elections" after the transition period, insisting on the need for "immediate humanitarian aid" in the country bled dry after years of war.
In a statement to journalists, Pedersen also said he hoped for a "political solution" in north-eastern Syria concerning the autonomous Kurdish regions, which constitutes one of "the greatest challenges" for the new government in place after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a supporter of the new Syrian government, welcomed the sending of a French diplomatic mission to Damascus during a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Ankara announced.
"During the meeting, President Erdogan said ... that he was satisfied with France's decision to reopen its embassy in Syria," the Turkish presidency said in a message published on X. Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus on Saturday, which had been closed since 2012.
The first plane since the fall of Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8 took off from Damascus airport, heading for Aleppo in northern Syria, where the coalition offensive that took control of the country began.
On board were 32 people, including journalists and administrative staff, AFP journalists noted. The former Syrian army and security forces had deserted Damascus airport when the city was taken by anti-government forces on Dec. 8.
The military leader of the radical group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), leading the coalition that has taken power in Syria, announced yesterday that "the next step" would be the dissolution of the armed factions, starting with his own, to merge them into the future military institution.
"In any state, military units must be integrated into the military institution," Mourhaf Abu Qasra, known by his nom de guerre Abu Hassan al-Hamwi, said in an interview in the coastal city of Latakia. He added that HTS would be "the first to take the initiative" to dissolve itself, "in the general interest of the country."
Mazloum Abdi, leader of the Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), proposed the creation of a "demilitarized zone" in Kobane, a city in northern Syria, amid fighting with groups backed by Ankara.
"Reaffirming our firm commitment to achieving a comprehensive ceasefire throughout Syria, we announce our readiness to propose the establishment of a demilitarized zone in the city of Kobane, with the redeployment of security forces under American supervision and presence," Abdi wrote on X.
The United States announced yesterday evening the extension of the truce between the Kurdish-led forces who control large regions of northeastern Syria, and the pro-Turkish groups in Manbij, an area with an Arab majority.
The truce, which had expired, "is extended until the end of the week and we will seek to ensure that this ceasefire lasts as long as possible," Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, told reporters.
Turkish rescue workers ended their unsuccessful search for people held in underground cells at Sednaya prison last night, their leader announced. "The entire building was searched and scanned and no living person was found," Okay Memis, the head of Turkey's Disaster Management Agency (Afad), who had dispatched 120 rescue workers, told reporters at the scene.
Sednaya prison, located north of Damascus, has become a symbol of the repression carried out by the Assad clan on the Syrian population, particularly since the civil war in 2011.
The director general of the U.N. migration agency, Amy Pope, "advised against" a mass return of Syrian refugees to their country until the situation there has stabilized.
"People have the right to return home ... but we advise against large-scale returns," the infrastructure "could not support such an influx," Pope, who heads the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told AFP during a visit to Lebanon.
The U.N. Security Council called in a statement last night for the political process in Syria to be "inclusive" and "Syrian-led," almost ten days after Bashar al-Assad fell from power.
The members of the council — including Russia, a historic supporter of Assad, and the United States — "also stressed the need for Syria and its neighbors to each refrain from any action or interference that could undermine the security of the other," the statement also noted. They also "reaffirm their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria and call on all States to respect these principles."
Be sure to read the Morning Brief so you are caught up with what has been happening.
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