Syria conflict: Troops recapture key southern town- BBC News

Government forces have retaken control of a strategically important town in southern Syria, activists say.

Sheikh Miskeen, which lies on one of the main routes from Damascus to the city of Deraa and the Jordanian border, fell after a month-long battle.

Russian warplanes were reported to have played a key role in the offensive.

Russia's foreign minister meanwhile declared its intervention had changed the course of the conflict in Syria, ahead of the start of peace talks.

Sergei Lavrov also warned it would be impossible to negotiate a political settlement without allowing Kurdish groups to attend.

The UN has invited Syria's government and opposition to indirect "proximity talks" that are due to start in Geneva on Friday, but a statement released on Tuesday did not give any details as to who had been invited or how many groups may take part.

There was a delay in sending out the invitations because of disagreements over who should be included in the opposition delegation.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35409423

Attack targeting Ahrar al-Sham group in Syria kills 23, monitor says- Yahoo News

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A suicide bomber driving a fuel truck killed at least 23 people on Monday when he blew himself up at a checkpoint run by the Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that four of the group's commanders, other members of the group and four civilians are believed to be among those killed.

It said that the attack in the city's Sukari neighbourhood destroyed three nearby buildings and wounded dozens of people. More were believed to be buried under rubble. Ahrar al-Sham officials were not immediately available for comment.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/suicide-attack-target-ahrar-al-sham-group-syrias-122441952.html

Suriye ordusu 'Rabia'yı ele geçirdi'- BBC Türkçe

Suriye ordusunun Lazkiye kentinin batısındaki Rabia şehrini ele geçirdiği belirtildi.

Suriye devlet televizyonu, yaklaşık 4 yıldır Nusra Cephesi dahil birden fazla grubun elinde bulunan Rabia kentinin ordu ve hükümet yanlısı güçler tarafından alındığını açıkladı.

Suriye Devlet Başkanı Beşar Esad'ın memleketi olan ve Alevi nüfusun yaşadığı Lazkiye çevresinde yürütülen operasyonlara Rusya'nın da yoğun hava desteği sağladığı ifade ediliyor.

Suriye'deki muhalif gruplara yakınlığıyla bilinen Londra merkezli Suriye İnsan Hakları Gözlemevi, Suriye ordusunun Rabia'yı 48 saat içerisinde üç taraftan kuşatıp operasyona başladığını belirtti.

Gözlemevi, Rus hava desteği ve Hizbullah militanlarının yardımıyla ordunun önce Daruşan ve El Ravda köylerini ele geçirdiğini, ardından da Rabia'ya ilerlediğini ifade etti.

'Yeni hedef İdlib olabilir'

Suriye ordusunun ilerlemesiyle birlikte muhalif grupların Lazkiye merkezini bombalama imkanının azaldığına dikkat çeken BBC Orta Doğu analisti Sebastian Usher, Esad'a bağlı güçlerin bundan sonra İdlib'i de daha yoğun bir baskı altına alabileceğini ifade ediyor.

Suriye ordusunun Rabia'yı aldığı yönündeki haberler, İsviçre'nin Cenevre kentinde Suriye barış görüşmelerinin başlaması için yürütülen çabalar sırasında geldi.

Cenevre'de Suriye hükümetinin yanı sıra muhalif grupları temsil eden bir heyetin de bulunması bekleniyor.

http://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler/2016/01/160125_suriye_rabia_ordu

U.N. seeks Syrian peace talks this week, opposition threatens boycott- Reuters

The United Nations said on Monday it would issue invitations for marathon Syrian peace talks to begin this week, but opposition groups signaled they would stay away unless the government and its Russian allies halt air strikes and lift sieges on towns.

The first talks in two years to end the Syrian civil war were meant to begin on Monday but have been held up in part by a dispute over who should represent the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura said he was still working on his list, and expected to issue the invitations on Tuesday for talks to start on Friday.

The aim would be six months of talks, first seeking a ceasefire, later working toward a political settlement to a war that has killed more than 250,000 people, driven more than 10 million from their homes and drawn in global powers.

The ceasefire would cover the whole country except parts held by Islamic State militants and al Qaeda's Syrian branch, the Nusra Front, de Mistura told a news conference in Geneva.

De Mistura, whose two predecessors quit in apparent frustration after holding failed peace conferences of their own, acknowledged the going would be difficult. Delegations would meet in separate rooms in "proximity talks", with diplomats shuttling between them. Threats to pull out should be expected.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-diplomacy-idUSKCN0V318D

Pro-Assad troops retake territory near Latakia stronghold- The Guardian

Victory near Turkish border follows air bombardment seen by some as message from Russia to Turkey, which has supported Syrian rebels

Troops loyal to the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, backed by intense Russian airstrikes, have retaken strategic territory near the government’s stronghold of Latakia, scoring a key victory before possible peace talks in Geneva.

The conquest of the towns in northern Latakia, near the Turkish border, was seen by some observers as a message from Russia, which has intervened to prop up Assad, to the government in Ankara that has supported the rebel cause – especially the ethnic Syrian Turkmen in the area – and shot down a Russian fighter jet in the vicinity.

Stories from a war hospital in Jordan: 'Bombs are falling all over the Arab world'

 

Read more

“The Russian airstrikes for more than a month had intensified to a horrific extent and they were bombing all the frontlines that we are on,” said Nasser al-Turkmani, a spokesperson for the opposition’s Turkmen-Syrian Council. “We had to withdraw from the area because it would have been suicide to stay. The destruction cannot be described, even the trees have been burned as a result of this scorched earth policy.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/25/syria-assad-troops-retake-latakia-stronghold-peace-talks-turkey

Peace talks between Damascus & opposition to start January 29 - UN Syria envoy- RT

Talks between Damascus and the Syrian opposition will begin on January 29, the UN's Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has told journalists in Geneva. The negotiations will focus on a broad ceasefire, stopping Islamic State militants and increasing aid, he added.

De Mistura said the process of finalizing the list of participants “is still ongoing,” particularly regarding clarification of the opposition groups which will not be considered “terrorist.”

He added that the UN will start sending invitations on Tuesday. “I’m going to send the invitations given by the mandate of the UN Security Council,” he said.

The peace talks were originally due to start on Monday, but were postponed.

"We want to make sure that when and if we start, to start at least on the right foot. It will be uphill anyway," de Mistura said.

https://www.rt.com/news/330062-damascus-opposition-talks-mistura/

Rusya’dan ‘gizli üs’ iddialarına yanıt- DW

Rusya Savunma Bakanlığı, Suriye'nin kuzeyinde yeni bir askeri üs kullandığı yönünde Batı medyasında yer alan haberleri yalanladı. Rusya Savunma Bakanlığı sözcüsü İgor Konaşenkov, “Suriye Arap Cumhuriyeti'nde Rus savaş uçakları için yeni bir askeri üs ya da ek hava meydanı bulunmamaktadır ve bu yönde bir plan da yoktur” açıklaması yaptı.

Konaşenkov, ‘Kamışlı'daki Rus varlığına yönelik iddiaları sadece moronların ciddice tartışabileceği' ifadesini kullanarak, bu tür haberlerin ‘Suriye sınırında büyük bir Türk askeri gücü oluşturulmasını gizleme çabası olduğu' değerlendirmesinde bulundu.

http://www.dw.com/tr/rusyadan-gizli-%C3%BCs-iddialar%C4%B1na-yan%C4%B1t/a-19003774

Rebels in Northwestern Syria Buckle under Russian Bombardment (Aron Lund- The Carnegie Endowment for Peace)

Syria news right now is all about the peace process that is set to start on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, despite its limited chances of success. But even as they talk, the parties continue to fight and the Russian-Iranian military intervention continues to wear down Syrian rebels. On September 30, the Russian Air Force dropped its first bombs in Syria. The government of Iran joined in by raising an expeditionary corps of Iranian, Iraqi, and Afghan Shia Islamists for the front south of Aleppo.

In a recent article for Vice News, the American freelance writer and Syria expert Sam Heller notes a flurry of desperate-sounding calls for outside support from rebels in northwestern Syria. Though most frontlines have held with little or limited change, four months of relentless Russian bombardment and offensives by the Syrian Arab Army and its Shia allies seem to have left the insurgents exhausted.

http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=62576

U.S. Relies Heavily on Saudi Money to Support Syrian Rebels- The New York Times

When President Obama secretly authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to begin arming Syria’s embattled rebels in 2013, the spy agency knew it would have a willing partner to help pay for the covert operation. It was the same partner the C.I.A. has relied on for decades for money and discretion in far-off conflicts: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Since then, the C.I.A. and its Saudi counterpart have maintained an unusual arrangement for the rebel-training mission, which the Americans have code-named Timber Sycamore. Under the deal, current and former administration officials said, the Saudis contribute both weapons and large sums of money, and the C.I.A takes the lead in training the rebels on AK-47 assault rifles and tank-destroying missiles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/world/middleeast/us-relies-heavily-on-saudi-money-to-support-syrian-rebels.html

Russian Airstrikes in Syria: January 15 - 22, 2016- ISW

The Russian air campaign continued to concentrate in Deir ez-Zour Province on January 20 - 22 in response to recent ISIS advances against regime forces in the northwestern outskirts of Deir ez-Zour City. Russia’s increase in strikes in Eastern Syria coincides with reports of the deployment of approximately one hundred Russian soldiers and engineers to the Qamishli International Airport in Northeastern Syria. 

Turkish intelligence and other local Syrian sources claimed that the Russian military personnel arrived at the facility in order toexpand the airfield to enable the operation of Russian fighter jets and cargo planes. The use of Qamishli would provide Russia with closer access to Deir ez-Zour Province, where the regime is coming under increasing threat by ISIS. Russia continues to primarily use its air operations to ensure the preservation of the Assad regime, bolstering the regime’s battlefield position against the Syrian opposition and ISIS. 

Russian airstrikes have previously targeted both opposition forces and ISIS along Syrian Kurdish YPG frontlines in Aleppo and ar-Raqqa Provinces, facilitating Kurdish advances. Russia may intend to expand this relationship as indicated by reports that Russian personnel met with representatives from the YPG, a key U.S. ground partner, in order to discuss further deployments in Northeastern Syria. 

Russia could use coordination with the YPG to both undermine U.S. ground partnerships in Syria and threaten Turkey along its southern border. Russian personnel were similarly reported to have deployed to the Kuweires Airbase east of Aleppo City on January 22 in order to inspect the airfield. Use of the Kuweires Airbase would allow Russian to position itself to take advantage of U.S. efforts to sever ISIS’s access to the Turkish border in Northern Aleppo. Russia likely intends to compete with U.S. anti-ISIS operations in both Eastern Syria and Aleppo as it seeks to assert itself as a leading power in the fight against ISIS.  

http://iswresearch.blogspot.com.tr/2016/01/russian-airstrikes-in-syria-january-15.html

Russian Airstrikes Help Syrian Army to Launch Offensive in 10 Directions- Sputnik News

Russian airstrikes have helped the Syrian government forces to launch offensives in 10 directions out of 15 for the first time since the start of the civil war in 2011, the Russian General Staff said Friday.

Moreover, the Syrian army is preparing military operations in three more directions, Chief of Russia's General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov told Rossiya-24 channel.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160122/1033557543/russian-airstrikes-syrian-army.html

Syria court jails cousin of President Assad for murder- Al-Araby

A cousin of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of a military officer last summer, a security source said Friday.

"A court in Latakia on Thursday sentenced Suleiman al-Assad to 20 years in prison for the murder of Colonel Hassan al-Sheikh," the source said.

The murder took place in August on the road between Latakia city and Qardaha, the ancestral village of the Assad family.

Latakia province is a regime stronghold and heartland of the Alawite minority to which the president, Sheikh and Suleiman al-Assad all belong. 

http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/1/22/syria-court-jails-cousin-of-president-assad-for-murder

What’s next for the Syrian regime?- Al-Monitor

LATAKIA, Syria — Leaving Damascus is no longer an easy journey these days; the Syrian regime has erected dozens of military checkpoints between the northern entrance of the capital and the international highway to inspect the documents and luggage of travelers. Through these inspections, the regime is trying to catch those evading compulsory military service and those opposing the regime. This is making the trip tougher, longer and more perilous.

After waiting for two hours at regime checkpoints to leave the capital, Al-Monitor took the Damascus-Aleppo international highway to go to Latakia province, 385 kilometers (239 miles) northwest of Damascus. We then safely drove via the Harasta Highway in the northern countryside of Damascus, with the knowledge that it is often targeted by opposition snipers. At the regime's checkpoints, our official documents were thoroughly inspected. Six hours later, we reached Latakia province, whose countryside has recently witnessed significant progress on the part of the Syrian regime forces.

The regime-controlled city of Latakia seemed quiet. There were no sounds of nearby clashes or opposition shells falling onto its neighborhoods, considering that the regime — with the help of Russian air cover — took control on Jan. 12 of the town of Salma, 48 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Latakia, and deemed as the main location from which missiles were fired by opposition fighters into Latakia.

This was confirmed by journalist Hani Haidar, whom Al-Monitor met at his office in Latakia. Haidar covered the regime operations that were aimed at controlling Salma.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/01/syria-regime-control-salma-turkey-borders.html

700 bin Halepli, Lazkiye’ye göç etmek zorunda kaldı (Hediye Levent-Sputnik News)

Sputnik, Suriye’deki savaş nedeniyle, kırsaldaki kentlerden kaçarak Lazkiye’ye sığınanlara ulaştı. 700 bine yaklaşan nüfuslarıyla, milyonlarca insanın göç ettiği kentteki Halepliler, ‘çeteler’ olarak tanımladıkları silahlı gruplar için “Şehrimizi ve hayatımızı harap ettiler” diyorlar.

Tamamını oku: http://tr.sputniknews.com/columnists/20160120/1020315927/halep-lazkiye-goc-suriye.html

Turkey clearing ISIS mines along Syria border- NOW

BEIRUT – Turkey has started to remove mines planted by ISIS along a strip of territory near a Syrian border town, only a day after an Ankara-backed rebel group declared the area a “military zone” and advised civilians to leave.

A mine sweeper arrived Tuesday morning in Gaziantep province’s Karkamis district in southern Turkey to remove the landmines planted by ISIS along the Syrian-Turkish border near Jarabulus, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu News Agency reported.

A source told the agency that Turkish forces have taken “wide-ranging security measures in the area to respond to any potential attack.”

Ambulances and medical crews were also dispatched to the border area in the event of any injuries that might occur during the de-mining process.

ISIS fighters based in Jarabulus had reportedly bolstered defensive measures following reports that Turkey was moving toward establishing a “safe zone” stretching from the border town to Aazaz, a region controlled by the jihadist group.

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsReports/566505-turkey-clearing-isis-mines-along-syria-border

In besieged Syrian city, hungry residents sell gold for food- AP

In Syria's eastern city of Deir el-Zour, supplies are running so short that desperate residents are selling their gold, valuables and even their homes for food or an exit permit allowing them to escape a siege by both government troops and Islamic State militants.

The extremists have blockaded government-held areas of the city for over a year, and some of its 200,000 residents are slowly starving — while troops and militias supporting President Bashar Assad exploit their suffering.

While international attention was focused recently on Madaya — a rebel-held town surrounded by pro-Assad troops near the capital of Damascus — the United Nations and aid agencies say another catastrophe is unfolding in Deir el-Zour.

The civil war has transformed a once oil-rich city into a place where even something as simple as making tea is a struggle, according to residents who have fled, because of severe shortages of food, water and fuel.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/84e99db6b5454af49f602a0adcec68d5/besieged-syrian-city-hungry-residents-sell-gold-food

IŞİD Deyr ez Zor'da ilerliyor- BBC Türkçe

Irak ve İslam Şam Devleti (IŞİD) 3 gün önce başladığı Deyr ez Zor saldırılarında Suriye ordusunu kentin bazı bölümlerinden çıkardı.

Merkezi Londra'da bulunan ve Suriye'deki Beşar Esad karşıtı gruplara yakınlığıyla bilinen Suriye İnsan Hakları Gözlemevi, IŞİD kaçırdığı 400 kişiyle ilgili ise hala bir bilgi bulunmadığını söyledi.

Gözlemevi kaçırılan 400 kişinin kentin batısına, Rakka'ya yakın bir yere götürüldüğünü söyledi.

http://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler/2016/01/160118_isid_deyr_ez_zor

Geagea Nominates Aoun as President, Urges March 14 Alliance to Back him- Naharnet

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea announced on Monday his support for his rival Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun as president after weeks of speculation.

He declared during a joint press conference with the MP at Maarab: “I declare, after thorough assessment among the LF, the nomination of MP Michel Aoun as president.”

“The LF does not take impulsive or spontaneous decisions, but takes them after deep reflection,” he noted in an indirect reference to Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc chief MP Fouad Saniora.

The MP had earlier on Monday urged officials against taking “rushed stances” on local affairs.

“The state was on the verge of collapse so we sought an extraordinary solution, one which was not entertained by others,” Geagea added to applause among the audience.

“The vacuum in the presidency has crippled state institutions and almost led to the country's collapse,” he noted.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/199728

Franjieh Meets al-Rahi, Says His Presidential Nomination still Stands- Naharnet

Head of the Marada Movement held talks on Monday night with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in wake of Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea’s nomination of Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun as president.

Franjieh tweeted after the talks: “I am still going ahead with my candidacy for the presidency.”

The MP’s nomination was part of a proposal launched in late 2015 by Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri.

Geagea’s nomination of his rival Aoun for the country’s top post was seen as a reaction to Hariri’s nomination of the Marada leader.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/199740

Al-Halaqi meets Jordanian political delegation- SANA

Damascus, SANA – Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi affirmed on Monday the important role of Arab syndicates and political forces that are committed to the Arab nation’s issues in bolstering society against the Takfiri mentality and reviving the sense of nationalism and Arab solidarity.

During a meeting with a Jordanian delegation that includes lawyers, political activists, and representatives of political parties and social activities, al-Halaqi stressed the need for Arab lawyers to help in prosecuting all those who contributed to the global terrorist war waged against Syria and participated in looting and destroying its resources, hailing the supportive stances of Jordanian syndicates and social associations towards Syria and its people.

He also stated that Syria has been able to confront to the global terror war thanks to the cohesion of its people, army, and leadership and to the support provided by its friends, underlining the challenges facing Syria’s economy and the government’s efforts to provide the citizens’ needs.

In turn, Assistant Secretary General of the Arab Lawyers Union Samih Khreis said that Syria is facing the US-Israel project in the region, and by doing so it is defending the Arab identity, voicing confidence that Syrian people will achieve victory.

http://sana.sy/en/?p=66910