logo
Erdogan says Kurdish SDF 'stalling' despite integration deal with Damascus

Erdogan says Kurdish SDF 'stalling' despite integration deal with Damascus

Yahoo2 days ago

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the Kurdish-dominated and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were using "stalling tactics" despite an agreement with the new Syrian government for the group's integration into Syrian armed forces.
Speaking to reporters on a flight from Azerbaijan, Erdogan repeated Turkey's position that Syria's unity and territorial integrity must be preserved, saying the SDF-Damascus deal must be implemented in the agreed and planned timeline.
"We had said before we welcomed the agreement. But we see that the Syrian Democratic Forces are still continuing their stalling tactics. They must stop this," he was cited as saying by his office on Thursday.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Syrian leader faces challenge of foreign militants who helped him win power
Syrian leader faces challenge of foreign militants who helped him win power

Washington Post

timean hour ago

  • Washington Post

Syrian leader faces challenge of foreign militants who helped him win power

DAMASCUS, Syria — When Syrian insurgents rode victorious into Damascus late last year, their rebel leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was relying, in part, on thousands of foreign fighters to help overthrow Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship. Six months on, Sharaa is president, and the continued presence of those same Islamist militants, who came from as far afield as Europe and Central Asia to join the revolution, could now pose a profound challenge to his political survival.

Hamburg knife attack: how fake images spread right-wing hate
Hamburg knife attack: how fake images spread right-wing hate

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Hamburg knife attack: how fake images spread right-wing hate

Last Friday, 18 people were injured in a knife attack at Hamburg's main train station. Fifteen of them were stabbed, and three sustained other injuries. The German news agency dpa reported that four suffered life-threatening injuries, but were now all in stable condition. The suspect is a 39-year-old woman who Hamburg authorities believe had been "experiencing a psychological emergency." The attack was followed by a major operation at Hamburg station, involving police, the fire service and emergency medical responders. Police later commended the "rapid intervention" of two passersby who managed to stop the woman, take the knife from her,and pin her down until authorities arrived to arrest her, as local media later reported. One of those passersby is Muhammad al-Muhammad, a Syrian teenager who came to Germany in 2022. As more and more outlets have reported on his courage to intervene, he has become the center of a national conversation about immigration dominated by right-wing media narratives. The German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel recently published an article on al-Muhammad. The lead image they showed of him for their report was provided by al-Muhammad himself. It has since been manipulated and repurposed to peddle false information online. The original image shows al-Muhammad standing in Berlin in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Online users have copied his likeness onto backgrounds showing Washington DC or Moscow. These posts are accompanied by sarcastic remarks like "the peace talks [between Russia and Ukraine] can now begin, thanks to Muhammad al-Muhammad," implying that media reports on him have so far been given an overly positive spin. Una Titz is a media expert at the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, which combats right-wing extremism and racism. "The fact that a Syrian person is the savior [in this story] doesn't fit the worldview in which refugees, and especially Syrian refugees, are equated with violent assailants and knife attacks," she told DW. "The goal of posts like this is to echo right-wing, populist sentiments." The German tabloid Bild also released an image of Muhammad al-Muhammad which was later manipulated and circulated to spread false information. But these posts have not only served to express scorn or disbelief over his courageous act, they have also made people unsure about the truth of the facts presented. While some photo montages, which usually depict what appears to be al-Muhammad in front of famous cultural monuments, can easily be spotted as fake, others are much more convincing. One such image that has spread widely is an AI-generated montage mirroring the original image of al-Muhammad standing in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. The manipulated version shows what appears to be a young man who bears a striking resemblance to al-Muhammad standing at what looks like a lively German train station. But the young man's face is wider than al-Muhammad's, his features smoother, the logo on his jacket appears distorted, as does the writing on a display board behind him. The faces of people standing behind him appear somewhat out of proportion. Ostensibly, this image is meant to show al-Muhammad at the scene of the crime, at the Hamburg main train station. But it's made users unsure about the real course of events. One account on X commented the following: "His hair is perfect, his [hooded sweater] is the same, his biceps have shrunk — all overnight. How did you do it, presslets?" The term "presslet" is a dismissive term for the press meant to emphasize inexperience and unserious reporting. The post had over 600,000 views at the time of reporting. Although established media outlets refrained from using this AI-generated image of al-Muhammad in their reporting, the false image still had the effect of discrediting media and accusing them of falsifying accounts. As a result, many online users felt more inclined to doubt that Muhammad al-Muhammad even existed, or that he had played a pivotal — let alone heroic — role in the the Hamburg knife attack, or that media portrayed him accurately. Media expert Titz, who also specializes in the ways mis- and disinformation undermine democracy, points out that suchdiscrediting of the press adds a conspiratorial element to the aftermath of the event. "It doesn't only spread distrust and foment insecurity," the expert explained. "We're familiar with this from peoples' faith in so-called 'psyops' [psychological operations, editor's note] in the US. There, some people are convinced that the moon landing or certain attacks were myths, invented by the CIA." The right-wing German tabloid exxtra24 has picked up this messaging, implying that al-Muhammad is not a real person. "Why do current police reports not mention Muhammad al-Muhammad, even though police apparently treated him to 'a cappuccino as a reward'?" The question refers to the Spiegel report, in which al-Muhammad told reporters that police had bought him a coffee after they arrested the suspected assailant to thank him for his role in apprehending her. DW's fact-checking team contacted the Hamburg police to learn more. They replied that "it is absolutely common practice for witnesses, victims, suspects, etcetera, to not be named, on principle, in police reports to the press. An individual's rights to personal dignity, privacy and identity, which a law enforcement agency must uphold at all times, are the basis for this practice." The police also confirmed that, to their knowledge, one of the passersby mentioned in their reports was named Muhammad al-Muhammad. This disinformation surrounding the young man has Titz concerned. "It creates a climate of uncertainty, in which reality is increasingly called into question," she explained. "So, in parallel to the empirically established facts, which journalists researched well, we see more and more alternative realities and accounts emerge." This article was translated from German.

Germany hopes for EU deal on sending failed asylum seekers to third countries, minister says
Germany hopes for EU deal on sending failed asylum seekers to third countries, minister says

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Germany hopes for EU deal on sending failed asylum seekers to third countries, minister says

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's interior minister is hoping the European Union can reach a bloc-wide agreement on sending failed asylum seekers who cannot go home to safe countries near their original homelands. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives won February's national election on a promise to bring down immigration levels, which opinion polls showed many voters regarded as being out of control, although numbers have been falling for over a year. In an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper published on Saturday, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the approach of using third countries could work only if there was a Europe-wide consensus. "We need third countries that are prepared to take migrants who are objectively unable to return to their home countries," he told the newspaper. Earlier this month, the EU's executive Commission proposed a scheme that would let member states reject asylum applications from migrants who passed through a "safe" third country on their way to the bloc. The proposals, criticised by rights groups, have yet to be adopted by national governments or the European Parliament. "No individual EU member state can create this model on its own: it will have to happen on an EU level," Dobrindt said. "We are preparing the foundations for that right now." Dobrindt's initial promises to tighten border controls on taking office angered neighbours who protested at plans to return to their territory those migrants found not to have a right to enter Germany. An Italian plan to process asylum seekers picked up at sea in Albania has stalled amid Italian court challenges. A scheme by Britain, which is not an EU member, under its previous Conservative government to send asylum seekers who arrived in Britain without permission to Rwanda was scrapped by Prime Minister Keir Starmer when he took office last year.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store