Two U.S. senators introduced bipartisan legislation yesterday that would impose sanctions on Turkey, citing concerns over military action by that country or groups that it backs, in northern Syria.
"These sanctions seek to prevent further Turkish or Turkish-backed attacks on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which risk the re-emergence of ISIS [the Islamic State militant movement], threatening the national security of the U.S. and the rest of the globe," they said in a statement.
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Three civilians were killed in a drone strike, attributed to Turkey, targeting their car in northeastern Syria, according to Kurdish forces and a local media outlet. This incident follows the killing of two Kurdish journalists under similar circumstances a day earlier.
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8, Ankara has backed an offensive by armed groups against Kurdish forces controlling parts of northern Syria.
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Syria's new leaders have appointed Assaad Hassan al-Shibani as the country's foreign minister, the Syrian news agency SANA reported, citing Reuters.
Qatar has reopened its embassy in Syria, closed for 13 years, at a time when several initially cautious foreign chancelleries are sending delegations to Damascus to establish contact with the new government that ousted Bashar al-Assad.
The Qatari flag was raised, noted an AFP journalist. Qatar is the second country, after Turkey, to have officially announced the reopening of its embassy in the Syrian capital since the takeover of the country on Dec. 8 by a coalition of armed groups led by the Islamists of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The Israeli army reported on Friday that it had shot a man in the legs who was taking part in a demonstration against its presence in the village of Maariya, in southern Syria.
“Israeli troops asked the demonstrators to move back. After identifying a threat, the troops responded in accordance with current procedures,” the army said in a statement sent to AFP. “We would like to emphasize that the Israeli army does not interfere in events taking place in Syria,” it added. “The army will continue to defend the State of Israel and its citizens.”
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, “Israeli forces stationed in the Al-Jazeera barracks opened fire directly at the demonstrators, wounding a young man in the legs.”
Syria must keep an “equal distance” from regional players and refuse any “polarization,” according to the country's new authorities quoted by AFP. The new government said it wanted to contribute to “regional peace” and build “solid” partnerships.
In a statement issued after the first official meeting between Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's new leader, and an American diplomatic delegation, the new authorities were keen to “affirm Syria's role in promoting regional peace and building privileged strategic partnerships with countries in the region.”
A Syrian official had earlier told AFP that the meeting between Sharaa, known until now as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, and the American delegation led by Barbara Leaf, the State Department's Middle East chief, was “positive.”
“The Syrian side ... indicated that the Syrian people stand at an equal distance from all countries and parties in the region and that Syria refuses any polarization,” the new Syrian leadership added in the statement. Sharaa, leader of the radical Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which has seized power in Damascus, was himself the target of U.S. sanctions prior to this meeting.
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