Russian officers train Syrian mercenaries and send them to support Haftar’s army

The Turkish news agency Anadolu has accused Russia of sending several hundred Syrian mercenaries to eastern Libya.

Anadolu claims that according to local sources, about four hundred Syrians have already arrived in Libya. It is reported that all these people are mercenaries and were trained in a special camp near the Syrian city of Kamyshly. The Turkish agency claims that the instructors for the Syrian fighters were Russian officers. After training, all the cadets were sent to Khmeimim, and from there they were transferred to Libya.

Battles and airstrikes in Syrian desert | Nearly 30 regime soldiers and ISIS members killed in 24 hours

SOHR activists have reported ongoing attack by ISIS members on regime positions in Al-Rasafah desert in Al-Raqqah countryside, near Aleppo-Hama Al-Raqqah triangle. Fierce clashes are underway between both sides, amid intensive airstrikes by Russian jets since morning in an attempt to repel ISIS attack. Meanwhile, regime forces have sent military reinforcement to the battle fronts.

Egypt reaches out to Greece amid tension with Turkey

Egypt is making diplomatic moves to counter Turkey’s growing involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean region amid escalating tension.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received a phone call on Sept. 17 from the president of the European Council, Charles Michel. The two officials discussed a number of issues of common interest, including recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean region and in Libya. They agreed to boost bilateral channels of consultation and stressed the need to reach a comprehensive political settlement of the Libyan issue in a bid to restore regional stability.

SDF Lends a Helping Hand to Assad

Converging news sources said today that more than 800 tanks belonging to Hossam al-Qatirji’s company, affiliated with the regime, entered the areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to transport oil to the Homs refinery.

The new Eastern Mediterranean crisis

Earlier this month, six boats carrying Syrian and Lebanese migrants set sail from northern Lebanon and attempted to dock in Cyprus. That might not sound like much, yet it is six times more than the total number of migrant vessels that have embarked for Cyprus from Lebanon over the last year. A fast boat can cover the 185km between Tripoli and Cape Greco, a rocky outcrop in the southeast of the island, in six hours. And with Lebanon’s government in shambles, these calm, largely unpoliced waters are a smuggler’s dream.

Evacuating Incirlik airbase could mark end to US-Turkey alliance

While Turkish-Western relations have been overshadowed by clouds of differences over the past few years, Greek media recently reported that the US eyes relocating its forces from Turkey’s Incirlik airbase to another base in one of the Greek islands. Washington Examiner news website, quoting Senator of Wisconsin who chairs Senate Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Ron Johnson, reported that the UN navy is building a base in Crete island in the Souda Bay south of the country.