Author: M Barbu

At a time when several Turkish specialists and experts indicate that Syrian-Turkish rapprochement is accelerating remarkably and will soon witness several key changes, the problem remains in the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its leader, Abu Muhammad al-Julani. Not long ago, Julani enjoyed good relations with Turkey and participated in military coordination in northwestern Syria. At the same time, Turkey has introduced measures aimed at containing the opposition – whether military, as represented by the National Army, or political, as represented by the Syrian Opposition Coalition and the Interim Syrian Government. 

Le consensus des historiens du futur sera inévitable : les années 2020 ont commencé par un meurtre diabolique.            

Aéroport de Bagdad, 3 janvier 2020, 00h52 heure locale. L’assassinat du général QassemSoleimani, commandant de la Force Quds du Corps des gardiens de la révolution islamique (CGRI), aux côtés d’Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, commandant adjoint des Hashd al-Sha’abi d’Irak, par des missiles AGM-114 Hellfire à guidage laser lancés depuis deux drones MQ-9 Reaper, était, en fait, un meurtre en tant qu’acte de guerre.

On the morning of Tuesday, December 20, fighter jets fired missiles at and around Damascus airport, destroying several weapons storage facilities and other infrastructure belonging to Iran’s local proxies.  According to Al Arabiya TV, an anti-aircraft battery positioned near the airport was also struck, shortly after an Iranian plane had landed.  The Syrian authorities hold the Israel Defense Forces responsible for the attack.

The Syrian lira is facing turmoil in the foreign exchange market, with the Syrian Central Bank unable to support the currency because of a significant deterioration in its reserves. There are undoubtedly many economic and political reasons for the decline in the bank’s role. Specifically, however, the end of financial support from Iran has put the bank in a state of paralysis.

Turkey told the opposition its meetings with the Syrian regime did not address the issue of Idleb, according to Baladi News.

The head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission, Badr Jamous, said on Tuesday that the Syrian opposition delegation requested a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu because of “blaming the Syrians”. He stressed that the Syrian opposition did not meet with regime officials outside the framework of Astana and Geneva. 

The fourth division is feuding with the PKK over the quantities of fuel that reach Aleppo, according to Shaam Network.

Kurdish media have highlighted the situation of civilians in the Al-Shahba area north of Aleppo and the neighbourhoods of Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo, which are under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Media outlets focused on these areas due to the harsh siege conditions imposed by the regime’s Fourth Division. The siege comes against the backdrop of disputes with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) over the trade of fuel and other commercial commodities.