SDF: Syrian Government Exploits Turkish Threats to Dominate Northeast

The Syrian government exploits Turkish threats to take control over northeast Syria’s regions, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a statement on Monday.

“The Syrian government is not ready for any political settlement in Syria, and it exploits the deteriorating economic conditions of the people,” the SDF statement added.

Russia Won’t Let Ukraine Go Without a Fight

Ominous signs indicate that Russia may conduct a military offensive in Ukraine as early as the coming winter. Moscow has quietly built up its forces along the Ukrainian border over the past several months, which could be a prelude to a military operation that aims to resolve the political deadlock in Ukraine in its favor. Although Russian President Vladimir Putin may once again be engaging in coercive diplomacy, this time around Moscow may not be bluffing. If no agreement is reached, the conflict may renew on a much larger scale.

Bulgaria accuses Turkey of election interference

Turkey has rejected accusations that it is helping Bulgarian politicians representing the country’s Turkish minority.

The Turkish government has denied allegations that it interfered in neighboring Bulgaria’s election.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Bulgaria’s ambassador to Turkey, Hristov Tcholakov, and told him that Turkey rejects all accusations that it interfered in the Nov. 14 vote. The move followed Bulgaria summoning Turkey’s ambassador over the alleged interference, the official Anadolu Agency reported.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Evacuates T4 Military Airport in Homs

Informed sources revealed that Iranian militias emptied the T4 military airport in the eastern countryside of Homs, and transported its equipment to the Shayrat airbase in the south of the governorate (in the center of the country).

Ain al-Furat (Eye of the Euphrates, anti-regime, editor’s note) quoted unnamed sources saying that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard militia transported heavy military equipment in four trucks, including “communications equipment, heavy artillery, electric motors, and ammunition boxes” from T4 military airport, east of Homs, to the Shayrat airbase.

Iraqis celebrate restoration of Mosul churches destroyed by ISIS

Cymbals, prayers and Chaldean Catholic liturgy resounded in Mosul’s Saint George Monastery on Friday as Iraqi faithful marked the restoration of two churches destroyed by ISIS during their occupation of the city.

Dozens gathered in one of the monastery’s churches that have been rebuilt in stone six years after the extremists pulverised them.

It is the latest sign of a slow return to normality in Iraq’s second city and the home of one of the world’s oldest Christian communities.

Turkish bombardment | Artillery fire hit surrounding areas of refugee camp in northern Aleppo

Aleppo province: Syrian Observatory activists have reported that Turkish forces renewed artillery attacks on areas under the control of Kurdish and regime forces in the northern countryside of Aleppo, as they targeted the surrounding areas of al-Ouda camp, which accommodated displaced people from Afrin, nearby al-Ziyyarah village in the northern countryside of Aleppo. Meanwhile, shrapnel of the artillery shells hit the camp.

Infiltration attempt | Clashes erupt between rebels and regime forces in Idlib countryside

SOHR sources have reported violent clashes with heavy machineguns between factions of “al-Fath al-Mubin” operations room and regime forces on the frontlines of Deir Sonbol village in the western countryside of Maarrat al-Nu’man. The clashes erupted following an infiltration attempt by regime forces into posts of the factions. However, no casualties have been reported so far.

Turkey Sends More Syrian Mercenaries to Libya

Turkey has sent a new batch of Syrian mercenaries to Libya despite local and international demands to withdraw all foreign forces ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for December 24.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 150 mercenaries from the pro-Ankara Libyan National Army, including al-Majd Corps, Sultan Murad and al-Hamza Divisions, arrived in Tripoli on Friday.

The Kampala Attacks and Their Regional Implications

What happened and who is allegedly involved?

On 16 November, a trio of suicide bombers targeted Kampala, Uganda’s capital city, one detonating his vest outside police headquarters and two more blowing themselves up near parliament. The attacks killed at least four other people, according to official reports, and wounded 37 more, 27 of whom were police officers. As the city reeled from the blasts, security forces hunted down a fourth bomber in north-western Kampala, shooting him before recovering his suicide vest. The police said they had recovered more explosive materials from a safe house the fourth attacker was using in a nearby suburb and were continuing to track other possible members of the “terror groups”. In a statement later that day, President Yoweri Museveni said the attackers were tied to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group that emerged in Uganda in the early 1990s and later fled into the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Its resurgence in the DRC since 2013 has been marked by the killing of thousands of civilians.