Tag Archives: Syria

EU Officials Warn that 3 Million More Refugees Could Flee Syria

The European Union Council President Donald Tusk told European lawmakers on Tuesday that up to 3 million more refugees could flee the fighting in Syria.

The new wave of refugees could worsen the humanitarian crisis that has strained relations between European Union (EU) members and put additional pressure on European border facilities. Currently, 2 million Syrian refugees are in Turkey.

“Today millions of potential refugees and migrants are dreaming about Europe,” Tusk said. He then went on to slam countries that have not honored the EU’s asylum rules.

The EU has currently offered new incentives to Turkey in order to better handle the Syrian refugee crisis. This offer includes up to 1 billion euros, additional EU funding to build six reception centers for refugees in Turkey, better intelligence sharing, and easing of visa restrictions.

“I know that this is a very dramatic dilemma,” Tusk said. “We have to try to cooperate with Turkey because in fact we have no other options.”

Last month, the EU agreed on plans to relocate 120,000 refugees over the next two years.

The International Organization for Migration says it has no reports of more people leaving Syria at this time. They add that Tusk’s statements on the situation are “speculative.”

International Partners Ask Russia to Stop Airstrikes, Focus on ISIS

Escalating tension continues between the U.S. and Russian over Russian airstrikes that government officials feel are serving to strengthen Syrian President Bashar Assad by targeting “moderate” rebels rather than ISIS fighters that it promised to attack.

The Pentagon is wrestling with the question as to whether the U.S. should use military force to protect U.S. trained and equipped Syrian rebels now that they may be the targets of Russian airstrikes. Pentagon leaders have been consistent in saying that the U.S. must take steps to protect the American-trained rebels.
An international coalition is urging Russia to immediately cease attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and focus instead on fighting the ISIS terrorist group.

“We express our deep concern with regard to the Russian military build-up in Syria and especially the attacks by the Russian Air Force on Hama, Homs and Idlib since yesterday which led to civilian casualties and did not target Da’esh,” said the statement, jointly issued late Thursday by the United States, the United Kingdom, Turkey, France, Germany, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Russia’s defense ministry said that over the past 24 hours it had damaged or destroyed 12 targets in Syria belonging to the ISIS fighters, including a command center and ammunition depots. A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Col. Steve Warren, said he had no indication that the Russians had hit Islamic State targets.

Concerns are being raised that this conflict is leading to a new alliance between Russia, Syria, Iraq and Iran.

Russia Continues Bombings in Syria -Defends Targets

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed reporters outside the U.N. on the second day of Russian bombings in Syria. Russia’s airstrikes in Syria “do not go beyond ISIL (ISIS), al Nusra or other terrorist groups recognized by the United Nations Security Council or Russian law,”

Lavrov defended Russia’s air strikes remarking that the U.S. led coalition was going after the same terror groups as the Russian’s were. Rejecting any comments that their actions were to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, he said that Russia did not consider Assad’s main opposition, the Free Syrian Army to be a terrorist group.

Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive to accompany Russian airstrikes. According to defense officials it was always “understood” that the Russians would provide the air force and the Iranians would provide the ground force in Syria.“It has always been understood that the Russians would provide the air force, and the Iranians would provide the ground force in Syria,” one official said.

U.S. officials say that the bombings are not in ISIS held territories. Russian were given only a one hour notice before the bombings and that was more to tell our military to stop our own airstrikes. The U.S. declined that request.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday that the Russian attacks, which the Kremlin said were meant to target terrorists, didn’t appear to hit targets under the control of ISIS, which operates in the north and east of the country.

Sen. John McCain — chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee called the Russian strikes “an incredible flouting of any kind of cooperation or effort to conceal what their first — Putin’s priority is. And that is of course to prop up Bashar al-Assad.”

Russians Release First Airstrike in Syria

After Russian Parliament gave the all go to using air power to combat in Syria, a Russian General told the U.S. to stay out of Syrian airspace.

“A Russian official in Baghdad this morning informed U.S. Embassy personnel that Russian military aircraft would begin flying anti-ISIL missions today over Syria,” said spokesman John Kirby. “He further requested that U.S. aircraft avoid Syrian airspace during these missions.”

Putin said the action was preemptive, warning that Moscow would be hunting down Islamic State militants before they target Russia.

Russian defense officials say that they were targeting the Islamic State group saying it has hit IS weapons, depots, ammunition, communications infrastructure, and fuel.  

The head of the Western-backed Syrian political opposition said the Russian strikes had killed at least 36 civilians and targeted areas where Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked fighters were not present.  Official reports of casualties have been mixed.  

An unnamed U.S. official told Reuters that so far they did not appear to be targeting ISIS held territory but only hitting areas where Free Syrian Army and other anti-Assad groups are located.  

Officials Announce New Sanctions on ISIS Affiliates

On Tuesday, U.S. government officials announced sanctions against 25 people and groups affiliated with the Islamic State. The announcement has revealed that the Islamic terrorist organization has connections in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

The financial sanctions were placed in hopes of interrupting the Islamic State’s financial, logistical, and recruiting operatives who are not suitable targets for drone strikes. Many of the ISIS affiliates operate outside of the war in Iraq and Syria. U.S. officials also hope that the sanctions prevent ISIS fighters from getting supplies and travelling.

The Treasury Department’s sanctions were forced on Islamic State officials who operate in Pakistan, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Tunisia. Individuals who were sanctioned included was a British national Aqsa Mahmood. Mahmood is accused of recruiting three young British school girls to leave the United Kingdom and become wives of ISIS fighters in February. It is believed that her location is in Syria.

Government officials also reported that the Islamic State’s biggest money-maker is oil sales, taxation, and extortion, which won’t be affected by the sanctions. Daniel Glaser, the Treasury’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing, said that ISIS is making as much as $500 million per year from oil sales, which is beyond their estimated payroll of $360 million a year. Experts are also skeptical of the effectiveness of the sanctions given the extensive smuggling networks in the region.

U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders recently discussed the battle against the Islamic State during the address at the General Assembly.

“This is not a conventional battle. This is a long-term campaign — not only against this particular network, but against its ideology,” Obama said.

World leaders still have not come to an overall agreement on how to eradicate ISIS.

Russian Forces in Syria to Boost Bashar al-Assad’s Regime

The European Union’s (EU) foreign policy chief reported to Al Jazeera that Russia is increasing its military force in Syria to prevent the “imminent” fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The report comes after the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policies, Federica Mogherini, had a conversation with Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov told Mogherini that the military support Russia has provided Syria was to prevent the collapse of the Syrian state.

“His fear is of a complete collapse of the state structures in Syria,” Mogherini said. “This could be one of the reasons Russia is talking in this way, but it could also be willingness to show that Russia is an important, substantial player.”

Most analysts believe that Russia’s increase in military power will end any prospect of Assad being overthrown by rebel forces as well as consolidate the de facto partitioning of Syria. In the recent past, Assad’s military has nearly fallen to rebel advances.

Approximately two thirds of Syria is controlled by mostly Islamist rebels, including Syrian fighters backed by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, or the Islamic State, and it doesn’t seem like Russia will be able to retake the territory unless it deploys ground troops.

Russia has stated many times that its military presence in Syria is to fight the Islamic State, but many world leaders, including the United States, are still uncertain. Former U.S. ambassador, Robert Ford, believes Russia’s main goal is to boost Assad.

“Why would you put the air units in Latakia instead of Damascus if you want to fight the Islamic State?” Ford said. “Why do you send anti-aircraft equipment when the Islamic State doesn’t have any air force?

“So it seems to me that this is designed to help Assad first,” Ford added.

U.S. President Obama to Meet with Russian President Putin

In their first face-to-face meeting in nearly a year, President Obama and President Putin will meet in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly next week.

The meeting was at Putin’s request and officials believe the discussion will be over the situations in Ukraine and Syria. Press Secretary Josh Earnest reported to Fox News that Obama plans to warn Putin against boosting support for Bashar Assad and urge Putin to make more of a contribution in the fight against ISIS. President Obama also plans on using the meeting as a way to figure out Russia’s intentions in Ukraine.

“Given the situations in Ukraine and Syria, despite our profound differences with Moscow, the president believes that it would be irresponsible not to test whether we can make progress through high-level engagement with the Russians,” a senior administration official added.

However, Russian officials have stated that President Putin wants to focus the conversation on Syria.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters: “Of course, the primary topic will be Syria.” Asked whether Ukraine would be discussed, he said: “Well, if time allows.”

Tensions have been high between the United States and Russia after the U.S. and other Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia last year. The sanctions came after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Russia continues to deny that they are militarily involved in Ukraine.

The request for a meeting comes days after news agencies reported that Russia was building two more military facilities located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

Russia Strengthens Fleet in Syria and Begins to Use Drones

Syria has now received even more firepower from Russia. President Putin has now added drones, attack helicopters and aircraft to the forces in Syria.

The new arsenal includes a dozen Su-24 Fencer and a dozen Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack planes that were delivered to an air base near Latakia, Syria. The base now holds 28 warplanes according to a senior United States official. Previously, it only had four Flanker air-to-air fighters.

The new equipment is also protected by two or possibly three SA-22 antiaircraft systems and unarmed surveillance drones.

U.S. officials reported that Russia has 15 helicopters, nine tanks, three surface-to-air missile systems, over 25 fighter and attack aircraft and at least 500 ground troops in Syria at this time.

“The equipment and personnel just keep flowing in,” an official told the New York Times. “They were very busy over the weekend.”

U.S. and Russian officials have met to discuss the escalation of Russia’s military power in Syria, but there has been no follow-up contact since last Friday. The U.S. is worried that Russia is more concerned with bolstering the Assad regime rather than eliminating the ISIS threat. The U.S. believes that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should step down from his leadership role in order to resolve the civil war.

“If Russia looks to play a constructive role against [ISIS], that’s one thing, but if what they’re doing is, in fact, propping up the Assad regime, then that’s an entirely different issue altogether,” stated U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby. He added: “because it is the Assad regime that has been a magnet for extremists inside Syria.”

While Russia has not flown any combat missions using jets or helicopters in Syria at this time, U.S. officials stated they will be keeping a close eye on all Russian military moves.

Prime Minister Netanyahu Meets with Putin, Agrees to Coordinate Military Action

Many countries have become concerned with Russia’s recent military growth in Syria, including Israel.

On Monday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Putin in Moscow to discuss the global terrorist threat and a plan on peace for the Middle East. The meeting ended with Israel and Russia agreeing to coordinate their military actions to avoid trading fire, according to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu did not elaborate to the media on the agreement, but did say he wanted to achieve the goal of “prevent(ing) misunderstandings between IDF (Israel Defense Force) units and Russian forces” in Syria, where Putin’s ally, Assad, is fighting a civil war with Islamist-dominated insurgents.

Putin stated that Russia would continue to provide military support to Assad in Syria’s fight against the spread of the Islamic State influence. He added that the assistance that has been provided so far is within international law.

Prime Minister Netanyahu informed reporters that he would be sharing the details of his visit with the United States. Currently the U.S. has stopped flying missions against the Islamic State insurgents in Syria until U.S. and Russian leaders meet.

A former adviser to Netanyahu reported that Israel was concerned that Russia’s help to Assad could strengthen Russia’s relationship with Iran, Assad’s other financial backer and Hezbollah patron. This could possibly create an alliance between Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, resulting in Russia’s technology being given to the terrorist organization.

Netanyahu warned Putin that keeping weapons from Hezbollah was his top priority, and informed Putin of Israel’s policy to strike at guerrillas suspected to attack from the northern frontier of Syria.

Syrian Troops Begin Using Russian Weapons

Syrian troops are now using weapons given to them by Russia.

A Syrian military source confirmed to Reuters Thursday, Russia had supplied the weapons that are more advanced than the weapons of the Syrians.

“New weapons are being delivered, and new types of weapons. The Syrian army is being trained in the use of these weapons. In fact, the army has started using some of these [weapon] types,” the source told Reuters.

“The weapons are highly effective and very accurate, and hit targets precisely,” the source added. “We can say they are all types of weapons, be it air or ground.”

U.S. officials say the buildup of Russian forces and equipment in Syria is going to do little more than destabilize an already perilous situation.

“[Russia’s actions are] counterproductive to the ultimate solution in Syria, which we think is a political and diplomatic solution, not a military solution,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said at a press conference.

U.S. officials added they have confirmed the presence of Russian helicopter gunships but did not know when they arrived in Syria.