UN expert decries practice of taking boys from their mothers at camps in Syria

A U.N.-backed human rights advocate says hundreds of boys — some as young as 11 — held in detention camps run by U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria have been wrongly separated from their mothers on the “unproven” belief that they pose a security risk.

Fionnuala Ni Aolain, an independent U.N. rapporteur on the protection of rights while countering terrorism, aired concerns Friday about lingering “mass arbitrary detention” in the infamous al-Hol camp and others like it that she saw during her trip to the region this week — billed as the first visit of its kind by an independent human rights expert, Associated Press reported.

Erdoğan’s Most Eminent Men: Turkey’s New Spymasters

Turkey’s two key appointments are new foreign minister and former intelligence chief, Hakan Fidan; and the newly-appointed intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalın, also an Erdoğan confidant.

Both men have interesting and impressive careers. How both of them have become the only two people who make policy and share power with Erdoğan is illuminating, especially where their careers intersected under the president.

An uncertain future for Idlib as Assad is welcomed back to the international stage

Despite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad being welcomed back onto the international stage, all is not well at home.

His country is broken into three parts, which, at best, are in a state of uneasy coexistence and at worst are stuck in a low-intensity active conflict.

In the country’s northwestern Idlib province, Assad’s forces are engaged in near-daily shelling along the frontlines and Russia has recently resumed airstrikes after a long lull.

Syrians who fled Assad fear he will soon choke off aid

Syrians who fled President Bashar al-Assad’s rule fear he may soon be able to choke off badly needed aid as his regime acts to establish sway over UN assistance into the rebel-held northwest, the last major bastion of the Syrian opposition.

A tussle at the UN Security Council over the aid operation has played to Assad’s advantage, with his ally Russia vetoing an extension of its mandate this week and paving the way for the regime to approve one itself – but on its terms.

‘It’s an everyday trauma’: Renewed hope in the quest to uncover the fate of Syria’s disappeared

The resolution to establish an Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria, adopted by the UN General Assembly at the end of June, marks a first, promising step to uncover the fate of over 130,000 people who have disappeared since the Syrian conflict began in 2011.

Most of them are believed to be detained or disappeared by the regime of Bashar al-Assad; according to human rights organisations, this is estimated to be about 85% of those unaccounted for. Others were kidnapped by opposition groups and extremist groups like the Islamic State (IS).

Bashar al-Assad’s hollow victory in Syria

Many Syrians were incensed last week at the appearance of Bashar al-Assad at the Arab League, twelve years after he was suspended due to his brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011.

On the day of the Arab League meeting, thousands of Syrians took to the streets in over 15 towns across northern Syria in mass protests against the decision. One protest in Idlib was held under a large banner that read: “Syria is not represented by Assad the criminal”.

Syria Insight: What next for Russia’s Wagner Group?

After weeks of haranguing Russian military commanders, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on 24 June ordered his fighters to take over the garrison city of Rostov-on-Don and head for Moscow, sparking fears of civil war in Russia.

Almost as quickly as it began the mutiny was quelled, with Prigozhin and his fighters given the option of an uncertain Belarusian exile or signing up to the Russian military, although the outcome of this ultimatum remains unclear.

Syria Today – Report Exposes Regime Targeting of Camps, Iraq Deports Refugees

According to a recent report, the Syrian regime led by Bashar al-Assad has deliberately attacked makeshift camps housing internally displaced persons (IDPs) in north-west Syria. Additionally, on Saturday, Iraqi authorities reportedly deported three Syrian Kurdish refugees back to Syria after arresting them due to residency issues. This action was taken despite concerns about the safety and security of these individuals in their home country.