While sanctions continue to hinder the implementation of the gas deal involving Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, a bus bombing in Damascus wounded 15 police officers. Kurds in Syria also fear a military invasion of the country’s Northeast by Turkey in march.
The council announced the kidnapping on Saturday of one of its activists, according to Shaam News.
The Kurdish National Council in Syria condemned acts that contradict all human values and human rights, which fall within the framework of the policy of silencing voices, preventing freedom of political action, and restricting the Kurdish National Council and the activity of its members.
The Turkish intelligence is trying to reopen the M4 highway in a meeting in Idleb with HTS and the Turkish-backed factions. Meanwhile, ISIS has killed several members of the SDF and the Syrian army, and 15 security service members are injured in an attack with an IED. The IDF says the two armed Syrians who approached the Israeli border in the southern Golan Heights the previous day — one of whom was shot dead by troops — were not combatants, and an Alabama woman who ran away from home to join ISIS and had a child with one of its fighters says she still hopes to return to the United States, serve prison time if necessary, and advocate against the extremists.
The U.S. Envoy to NE Syria met with Arab tribal leaders in the governorates of Hassakeh and Raqqa, according to Orient Net.
The recent visit of U.S. State Envoy Nicholas Granger to northeastern Syria, accompanied by intense meetings with political, tribal, and military parties, has strengthened the belief that the US is preparing to develop the region’s administration and increase the presence of Arabs.
Diplomatic sources in Ankara confirmed to Al-Watan that Moscow is trying to arrange a meeting between the Syrian and Turkish foreign ministers.
Russian mediation, alongside Iran, has been active in recent days to bring the views between Damascus and Ankara closer. The mediation’s aim has been to expedite diplomatic talks between the two countries, noting that there is a scheduled date in mid-2023 for security talks, which may be accompanied by a meeting between the two countries’ defence ministers.
In Mali, the al-Qaeda-linked group JNIM’s non-aggression pact with other armed groups highlights its political legitimacy and may lay the groundwork for negotiations with Bamako, even as security worsens around the capital.
While a direct military conflict remains unlikely, Iran-Azerbaijan tensions are poised to grow as Tehran pushes to fill the gap left by Russia in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia — altering the balance of power in the region.
From the outset of the conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin has calculated that Western support for Ukraine would eventually wane. And, with the Russians reported to be preparing a new spring offensive, any sign of hesitancy by Washington in terms of supporting Ukraine will encourage Putin in the belief that he will meet no meaningful resistance from the Western alliance….
En dépit de la mobilisation internationale, les groupes djihadistes actifs sur le continent africain, notamment en Afrique de l’Ouest, poursuivent et étendent leurs actions, en recourant à des sources de financement diverses. Cependant, le poids de leurs ressources est difficile à quantifier et à tracer.
Entretien avec l’analyste Mathieu Pellerin sur la guerre contre les jihadistes en Afrique de l’Ouest. Un regard en deux volets sur le phénomène jihadiste et son expansion dans la région. Première partie.
Mathieu Pellerin est analyste Sahel chez International Crisis Group et chercheur associé au centre Afrique subsaharienne de l’Ifri, l’Institut français des relations internationales.