Orientul Mijlociu

Military maneuver in north-east Syria three days on | Russian forces prepare to start new military exercises in Ain al-Arab (Kobani)

SOHR activists have reported that Russian air and ground forces will start military maneuvers in Ain al-Arab (Kobani) countryside today, particularly in Abou Sourah and Sareen regions.

It is worth noting that one fighter jet and two helicopters will take part in the maneuvers.

Yesterday, SOHR activists reported seeing Russian helicopters flying over Tel Abyad countryside near the frontlines with Turkish forces and their proxy factions in the “Peace Spring” areas.

Turkey deported 8,500 terror suspects since Syrian war began

More than 8,500 foreign fighters have been deported from Turkey since the start of the Syrian civil war 10 years ago, the Turkish Interior Ministry said Saturday.

Terror suspects from 102 countries were expelled, including 44 from the U.S. and 1,075 from EU states, according to a ministry statement. In the first 10 months of this year, 61 suspects from eight EU countries were deported.

Turkish army coordinates with Syrian proxy forces ahead of possible military action

Turkish military reinforcements pour into the frontlines with the Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria, as Turkish-backed FSA factions stand on alert ahead of an imminent battle.

The Turkish army continues to send military reinforcements to the areas controlled by the Syrian opposition in northeastern Syria, amid ongoing Turkish threats against Kurdish forces in the area.

Russia Raids Camps on Syrian-Turkish Border

Russian jets raided areas in northern Syria, near the Turkish border, including Syrian displacements camps and former military headquarters of the armed Syrian opposition.

Anas Kaddour, an official at the Idlib News Center, reported that the Russian warplanes carried out on Saturday eight airstrikes, with high-explosive missiles on Salwa and Qah, north of Idlib, which are about six kilometers from the Turkish border.

US military exit from Syria unlikely anytime soon, officials say

Speculation has been rife American forces would withdrawal from Syria after the Afghanistan pullout in an effort to end ‘forever wars’.

The United States will not be withdrawing its roughly 900 troops from northeast Syria any time soon, despite mounting speculation it would do so following its much-maligned August pull-out from Afghanistan, according to officials with knowledge of the Biden administration’s plans.

Russian Expert: The U.S. Cannot Destroy Russia Air Defense Systems in Syria

A Russian military expert said that the U.S. cannot destroy the air defense system of Russia, noting it successfully shot down U.S. cruise missiles in Syria in 2018, according to al-Watan.

The U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced yesterday that the United States will use all available means to block Iran’s drone program. At the same time, Russian military expert Alexei Leonkov said that U.S. bombers will not be able to destroy the air defense system of Russia, noting that Russian defense systems successfully shot down U.S. cruise missiles in Syria in 2018.

A storm brews over the Black Sea: Turkey’s contradictory maritime policy

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 18 months ago at Mariinsky Palace on a hilly bank of the Dnipro River, he saluted the honor guard with the traditional slogan Slava Ukraini! (“Glory to Ukraine!”). The honor guard returned the customary reply in seconds: “Glory to the Heroes!” Russia’s reaction may have been even faster. During the opening speeches to the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations, the Turkish president was as clear as ever when he said, “We attach importance to the protection of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, including the Crimea, whose annexation we do not recognize.” Again, Russia’s reaction was swift and unpleasant. It would seem that Turkey’s commitment to Ukraine outweighs its concern about Russia’s reaction.

How the Western Leaders Destroyed the Muslim World: We, the People and Revival of Colonization

The Arab word’s a veritable mess. The cosmic leadership deficit, the absence of legitimate institutions, the lack of transparency, disrespect for human rights, abysmal regard for gender equality, and too much conspiratorial thinking make it impossible to come to terms with the magnitude of the problems. In short, this region will remain broken, angry, and dysfunctional until the leaders who purport to take responsibility for governing these unhappy lands get their proverbial acts together. And that’s … well, a generational enterprise at best, and I suspect something that will take a good deal longer. Aaron David Miller (“Where Have all the Arab States Gone” Foreign Policy: 4/14/2015)

Ukraine Strikes Russian-Backed Forces Using Turkish-Made TB2 Drones For The First Time

Ukraine’s military has confirmed that it conducted its first ever strike using a Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 armed drone yesterday. The TB2 destroyed a 122mm D-30 howitzer belonging to Russian-backed separatist forces in the country’s eastern Donbass region that Ukrainian authorities said was responsible for killing one of its soldiers and wounding another. This is the latest conflict to see the use of Bayraktar’s flagship product, which has already been employed to great effect in recent years by Turkish forces in Syria, by Libyan government forces in that country, and by Azerbaijan’s military against Armenian troops in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. In each case, these unmanned aircraft were instrumental in holding back the opposing side’s forces, if not outright defeating them.

Iraqi independents to form new parliamentary bloc

Representatives of the demonstrations and independent candidates did well in the Iraqi elections, unsettling many existing political elites.

A group of independents and representatives from the October Movement plan to form an independent parliamentary bloc to oppose powerful forces and parties in the political arena.