Author: M Barbu

Iranian-Russian Offer to Turkey: Targeting Kurdish Leaders in Exchange for Halting Military Operation

Turkish forces escalated their air attacks in areas under the control of the SDF, according to al-Modon.

Syrian opposition sources revealed to al-Modon that the pledges made by Turkey’s partners in the Astana track are to discourage Ankara from launching a new military operation against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria, including providing it with information that facilitates targeting leaders of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) –based in the north and northeastern Syria. Its Western NATO partners have already pledged this.

New Agreement Between SDF and Syrian Regime on Oil Supply

The agreement increased the regime’s oil intake, mainly used for its military forces, Baladi News.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian regime have signed a new agreement to increase oil convoys from areas east of the Euphrates controlled by the SDF to regime-controlled areas.

According to the local al-Khabour website, the planned increase will be at the rate of 160 tanks per week, reaching up to 200 tanks in the future, which will be transported by the Katerji Company.

U.S. Forces Train Opposition Faction in al-Tanf

The Revolutionary Commandos receive ongoing military training from U.S. forces, according to Baladi News.

On Thursday (July 28th), the Revolutionary Commandos (Maghaweer el Thawra) conducted joint military exercises with U.S. forces at the Tanf base in southern Syria.

Dozens of Bodies Found in Mass Grave in Northern Syria

Four Autonomous Administration’s Internal Security Forces members were killed by a Turkish drone targeting their car in the Ain Issa area, according to al-Modon.

On Thursday, the Kurdish Autonomous Administration’s local authorities stated that they had found a mass grave containing dozens of bodies in northern Syria. The statement suggested that ISIS may have killed the victims during the group’s control of the area.

Regional Implications of a Nuclear Iran

Advances in Iran’s nuclear program have heightened concerns that it could develop a nuclear bomb in a matter of weeks.

Israel views a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat and has signaled it would take aggressive military action to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program if it passes the nuclear threshold.

Maroc-Mauritanie : quand un prédicateur réveille le contentieux territorial

Le président de l’Union internationale des savants musulmans, Ahmed Raissouni, a remis en cause l’existence de la Mauritanie et prôné un retour au « Grand Maroc ». Des déclarations qui ont suscité de nombreuses réactions au Maghreb et qui n’ont pas manqué de relancer la polémique autour des conflits frontaliers avec l’Algérie et la Mauritanie.

Afghanistan’s Security Challenges under the Taliban

One year after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, fighting has decreased considerably. Yet serious security problems remain, not least the foreign militants still in the country. External actors should press the new authorities to fulfil their commitments and avoid any steps that could reignite large-scale violence.

Turkey makes peace bid with Chechen leader

As Ankara finesses relations with Moscow, top Turkish officials have quietly met with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov after years of chill marked by a string of murders of Chechen exiles in Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Aug. 5 meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin appears to have turned a page in Ankara’s chilly ties with Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Muslim-majority Chechen Republic and a Putin loyalist. Turkey’s foreign minister and intelligence chief, who accompanied Erdogan in Sochi, huddled with Kadyrov on the sidelines of the summit, and it was the Chechen leader who made the meeting public on Telegram.