Syrian presidency says ceasefire in place, urges parties to respect it
In a statement, the Syrian presidency announced an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire and urged all parties to commit to it and end hostilities in all areas immediately.
The country's interior ministry spokesperson said earlier on Saturday that internal security forces had begun deploying in Sweida, in southern Syria.
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack announced on Friday that Syria and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. Israel intervened in the conflict earlier this week, hitting government forces and the defence ministry building in Damascus as it declared support for the Druze minority.
Barrack, who is both U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Washington's Syria envoy, said that Israel and Syria agreed to the ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan and neighbours.
Syria's Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence which began with clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions, before drawing in government security forces that were sent to the area by Damascus.
Barrack said Israel and Syria had agreed to a ceasefire and called on Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis to put down their weapons "and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity".
Israel has said it aims to protect Syria's Druze minority while also saying it wants areas of south Syria near its border to remain demilitarized. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has accused Israel of seeking to sow division among Syrians.
On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for the next two days.
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Thailand and Cambodia agree to hold immediate ceasefire talks, Trump says
SISAKET, Thailand/WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand had agreed to meet immediately to quickly work out a ceasefire, as he sought to broker peace after three days of fighting along their border. In a series of social media posts during a visit to Scotland, Trump said he had spoken to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand's acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, and warned them that he would not make trade deals with either of the Southeast Asian governments if the border conflict continued. "Both Parties are looking for an immediate Ceasefire and Peace," Trump wrote as he gave a blow-by-blow account of his diplomatic efforts. Before Trump spoke to the two leaders, clashes on the Thai-Cambodian border persisted into a third day and new flashpoints emerged on Saturday as both sides said they had acted in self-defense in the border dispute and called on the other to cease fighting and start negotiations. More than 30 people have been killed and more than 130,000 people displaced in the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in 13 years. There were clashes early on Saturday, both sides said, in the neighbouring Thai coastal province of Trat and Cambodia's Pursat Province, a new front more than 100 km (60 miles) from other conflict points along the long-contested border. The two countries have faced off since the killing of a Cambodian soldier late in May during a brief skirmish. Troops on both sides of the border were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse. As of Saturday, Thailand said seven soldiers and 13 civilians had been killed in the clashes, while in Cambodia five soldiers and eight civilians had been killed, said Defense Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata. Following calls for restraint on both sides from Trump's senior aides, he became directly involved on Saturday, speaking to each leader and saying he relayed messages back and forth. "They have agreed to immediately meet and quickly work out a Ceasefire and, ultimately, PEACE!," Trump wrote, saying both countries wanted to get back to the "Trading Table." He has sought to reach separate deals with dozens of countries in response to his announcement of wide-ranging tariffs on imports to the U.S. "When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!" Trump said. He offered no details on the ceasefire negotiations he said Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to hold. 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He said he had asked his foreign minister "to liaise with the respective foreign ministries and, if possible, I will continue engaging with them myself – at least to halt the fighting". Thailand's ambassador to the United Nations told a Security Council meeting on Friday that soldiers had been injured by newly planted land mines in Thai territory on two occasions since mid-July - claims Cambodia has strongly denied - and said Cambodia had then launched attacks on Thursday morning. "Thailand urges Cambodia to immediately cease all hostilities and acts of aggression, and resume dialogue in good faith," Cherdchai Chaivaivid told the council in remarks released to media. Cambodia's defense ministry said Thailand had launched "a deliberate, unprovoked, and unlawful military attack" and was mobilizing troops and military equipment on the border. "These deliberate military preparations reveal Thailand's intent to expand its aggression and further violate Cambodia's sovereignty," the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Cambodia called for the international community to "condemn Thailand's aggression in the strongest terms" and to prevent an expansion of its military activities, while Bangkok reiterated it wanted to resolve the dispute bilaterally. Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over jurisdiction of various undemarcated points along their 817-km (508-mile) land border, with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and the 11th century Preah Vihear central to the disputes. Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but tension escalated in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to list it as a UNESCO World Heritage site. That led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths. Cambodia in June said it had asked the court to resolve its disputes with Thailand, which says it has never recognized the court's jurisdiction and prefers a bilateral approach.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Israeli gunfire and strikes kill 42 in Gaza as many of the dead sought aid
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Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Bob Geldof accuses Israeli authorities of 'lying' about starvation in Gaza
Bob Geldof has accused the Israeli authorities of "lying" about starvation in Gaza - after Israel's government spokesperson claimed there was "no famine caused by Israel". Earlier this week, David Mencer claimed that Hamas "starves its own people" while on The News Hour with Mark Austin, denying that Israel was responsible for mass hunger in Gaza. Appearing on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Geldof said the claims are false. 11:30 Mr Phillips asked the Live Aid organiser: "The Israeli view is that there is no famine caused by Israel, there's a manmade shortage, but it's been engineered by Hamas. "I guess the Israelis would say we don't see much criticism from your side of Hamas." In response, Geldof said "that's a false equivalence" and "the Israeli authorities are lying". The singer then added: "They're lying. [Benjamin] Netanyahu lies, is a liar. The IDF are lying. They're dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers. "And while they arrive to accept the tiny amount of food that this sort of set up pantomime outfit, the Gaza Humanitarian Front, I would call it, as they dangle it, then they're shot wantonly. "This month, up to now, a thousand children or a thousand people have died of starvation. I'm really not interested in what either of these sides are saying." 7:41 In the interview with Mark Austin on 23 July, Mr Mencer added: "This suffering exists because Hamas made it so. Here are the facts. Aid is flowing, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Millions of meals are being delivered directly to civilians." He also claimed that since May more than 4,400 aid trucks had entered Gaza carrying supplies. It comes after MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished. The charity said Israel's "deliberate use of starvation as a weapon" has reached unprecedented levels, and said that at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks. MSF then called the lack of food and water on the ground as "unconscionable". 2:10 In a statement to Sky News, an Israeli security official said that "despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip". It then blamed other groups for issues delivering aid. They said: "Over the past month, we have witnessed a significant decline in the collection of aid from the crossings into the Gaza Strip by international aid organisations. "The delays in collection by the UN and international organisations harm the situation and the food security of Gaza's residents." The IDF also told Sky News: "The IDF allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip. "Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned.
