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by Delil Souleiman QAMISHLI, Syria (AFP) — Syria’s Kurds on Sunday announced a groundbreaking deal with Damascus on a Syrian troop deployment near the border with Turkey, as Ankara pressed a deadly cross-border offensive that has sparked an international outcry. The announcement came as the United States ordered the withdrawal of almost its entire ground force in Syria. Defence Secretary Mark Esper said the move to withdraw 1,000 US troops came after Washington learned that […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Turkey’s deadly assault on Kurdish positions in northeastern Syria has forced 130,000 people to flee their homes, the UN said Sunday, adding it was preparing for that figure to more than triple. “We have moved into a planning scenario where up to 400,000 people could be displaced within and across the affected areas,” Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA told AFP in an email, adding that […]
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Suspected ethnic Rakhine rebels disguised as a sports team stormed a bus in rural Myanmar and took 31 hostages — mostly off-duty firefighters and construction workers — authorities said Sunday. The state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar said the bus — travelling to the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe — was flagged down by a man dressed in civilian attire before 18 rebels in sportswear emerged from the forest and […]
by Nazeer al-Khatib with Delil Souleiman in Tall Tamr Agence France Presse RAS AL-AIN, Syria (AFP) — Battles raged in Syria as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to press on with a deadly assault against Kurdish forces, while the Pentagon said Friday US troops came under artillery fire from Turkish positions. Erdogan’s pledge to keep up the offensive, which the UN says has displaced more than 100,000 people since it began on Wednesday, […]
by Delil Souleiman TALL TAMR, Syria (AFP) — Syria’s Kurds battled to hold off a Turkish invasion on Thursday as thousands of civilians fled airstrikes and shelling that deepened fears of a humanitarian crisis. US President Donald Trump tried to justify the de facto green light he gave his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for an assault seen as a blatant betrayal of Washington’s erstwhile Kurdish allies. Later Trump suggested that Washington could mediate between […]
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — The UN secretary-general on Thursday expressed “deep concern” and called for a “de-escalation” of the spiralling violence in Syria, a day after Turkey launched an offensive in Kurdish-controlled areas. “I want to express my deep concern about the escalation of conflicts we are witnessing in eastern Syria,” Antonio Guterres told a press conference in Copenhagen. “At the present moment what we must do is to make sure that we have a […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Sunday he was seeking “non-aggression” agreements with Gulf Arab nations that do not formally recognize the country as a prelude to possible future peace deals. Details of the proposal were not made public, but it was the latest sign of Israel’s push to improve ties with Gulf Arab nations with whom it has no formal diplomatic relations. Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory has long […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said in an interview aired Sunday that war with Iran would devastate the global economy and he prefers a non-military solution to tensions with his regional rival. “If the world does not take a strong and firm action to deter Iran, we will see further escalations that will threaten world interests,” Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the CBS program “60 Minutes.” “Oil supplies will be […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday that the United States will send reinforcements to the Gulf region at the request of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, following attacks on Saudi oil facilities which it blames on Iran. The Pentagon chief said an Iranian attack on an American spy drone in June after Tehran seized a British oil tanker, combined with the attack on two Saudi oil installations […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Thousands of children risk missing out on their education in northwestern Syria after a months-long regime assault on the jihadist-run bastion that has closed dozens of schools, a charity said. A fragile ceasefire has held in the Idlib region since Saturday, following four months of air strikes that have killed hundreds of civilians and caused mass displacement. “Thousands of children due to start the school year in northwest Syria may […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The United States is ready to sit down with North Korea to resume long-awaited working-level nuclear talks, a US envoy said Wednesday. Nuclear discussions between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since a second summit in Hanoi in February ended without an agreement over differences on the extent of denuclearization and a sanctions relief in return. But anticipation for renewed dialogue has been on the rise after the US and […]
HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — Dozens of passengers, mainly women and children, were killed in western Afghanistan early Wednesday when the bus they were travelling in hit a roadside bomb, officials said. The attack, which came one day after the United Nations said Afghan civilians are being killed and wounded at a “shocking” level and as the country gears up for presidential elections, occurred around 6:00 am (0130 GMT), authorities said. “A passenger bus travelling on […]
