Syrian govt, Kurdish officials visit notorious prison camp
Advertisement
Kurdish-run camps and prisons in the northeast hold tens of thousands of people, many with alleged or perceived links to Isis, more than five years after Isis's territorial defeat in Syria.
Kurdish administration official Sheikhmous Ahmed said 'a tripartite meeting was held on Saturday in the Al-Hol camp' that included a government delegation, another from the US-led international coalition fighting IS, and Kurdish administration members.
Al-Hol is northeast Syria's largest camp, housing some 37,000 people from dozens of countries, including 14,500 Iraqis, in dire conditions.
Discussions involved 'establishing a mechanism for removing Syrian families from Al-Hol camp', Ahmed said.
Advertisement
The visit comes more than two months after interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, agreed to integrate the Kurds' civil and military institutions into the national government.
The deal also involved guaranteeing the return of all Syrians to their hometowns and villages.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Fresh clashes in Syria as al-Sharaa's interim government flails
New outbreaks of violence overnight into Sunday rocked Syria at two distinct flashpoints, straining a fragile ceasefire and calling into question the ability of the transitional government to exert its authority across the whole country. In the north, government-affiliated fighters confronted Kurdish-led forces who control much of the region, while in the southern province of Sweida, they clashed with Druze armed groups. The outbreaks come at a time when Syria's interim authorities are trying to maintain a tense ceasefire in Sweida province after clashes with Druze factions last month, and to implement an agreement with the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that would reintegrate large swathes of northeastern Syria with the rest of the country. The Syrian government under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has been struggling to consolidate control since he led a surprise insurgency that ousted former President Bashar al-Assad in December, ending the Assad family's decades-long autocratic rule. Political opponents and ethnic and religious minorities have been suspicious of Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule and cooperation with affiliated fighters that come from militant groups. State television said clashes between government forces and militias belonging to the Druze religious minority rocked the southern province of Sweida on Saturday after Druze factions attacked Syrian security forces, killing at least one member. The state-run Alikhbaria channel cited an anonymous security official who said the ceasefire has been broken. The Defence Ministry has not issued any formal statement. Wafa Ziadah, a Druze from Abu Snan, takes part in a charity drive collecting aid, including food, medicine and other goods, at a community centre in Julis, northern Israel, to be sent to the Druze city of Sweida in Syria, on July 28. Photo: Reuters Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said in addition to the member of the security forces killed, one Druze was killed and at least nine others were wounded in the clashes that took place in the western part of Sweida province. The Observatory said the clashes took place at the strategic Tal al-Hadeed heights that overlook Daraa province next door.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Syria's make-or-break moment looms with first post-Assad election
As Syria approaches a watershed moment in its post-war transition, the country's fragile peace is being tested by renewed diplomatic manoeuvres, sectarian violence and a deepening humanitarian crisis. The latest round of Western and Arab mediation comes a full 14 years since the outbreak of civil war and follows sectarian clashes in mid-July that left 1,400 dead in the southwestern Sweida region, highlighting the urgent need to preserve Syria's territorial integrity from the designs of avaricious neighbouring states Formed in March mere months after the ousting of long-ruling dictator Bashar al-Assad, Syria's fledgling government now finds itself increasingly at odds with large minority groups – Druze in the southwest, Kurds in the northeast and Alawites along the coastal northwest – contesting its insistence on retaining a centralised constitutional structure. Against this backdrop, indirect parliamentary elections, slated for September 15–20 and announced on Monday, were 'a small but important step' towards expanding Syria's political process to include all its ethnic minorities, said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank's Middle East programme. 03:53 Syria vows accountability after reports of mass killings spark global condemnation Syria vows accountability after reports of mass killings spark global condemnation Yacoubian stressed that it would be 'critical that this vote makes some progress towards genuine inclusion and buy-in from Syria's many minorities', following the deadly confrontations between government forces and Druze militias in Sweida from July 13-19, as well as a similar outbreak of violence with Alawite communities in March that claimed some 1,100 lives.
AllAfrica
a day ago
- AllAfrica
Trump takes step back from Philippines in South China Sea
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's recent visit to the White House promised to set a new tone for US strategy. The contrast with the Biden administration was vivid: President Donald Trump mostly discussed trade with Marcos and seemed eager to downplay any militarized rivalry with China. It's an encouraging pivot from the Biden administration's approach, which escalated the US-China rivalry. Last year, President Joe Biden was focused on the so-called 'latticework' of alliances in the Asia-Pacific, holding a trilateral summit with both Marcos and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of Japan. The rather clear intention was to balance and even contain China's rise. By contrast, while Trump did briefly praise the ongoing military exercises between the US and the Philippines, there was no mention of the trilateral initiatives with Japan. Instead, Trump seemed eager to tamp down the US-China rivalry, at least in the Philippines context. There was only minimal discussion of tensions in the South China Sea and these came at the behest of Marcos. Trump reportedly 'professed that he didn't mind if the Philippines got along with China.' Such a clear effort to defuse the US-China rivalry could simply reflect Trump's desire to secure a near-term summit with Chinese leader President Xi Jinping. However, it might also reflect the new realism that's taken hold in his administration, one that favors a 'spheres of influence approach' to global affairs over the neoliberal paradigm promoted by the Biden administration. Under Biden, the US was focused on safeguarding freedom of navigation and the law of the sea, a strategy that risked near-term escalation with China over meaningless rocks and reefs and fishing disputes. The Philippines has been increasing its maritime capabilities, but it has little prospect of matching China frigate for frigate or cutter for cutter in those sensitive sea areas. In fact, when Marcos did mention 'international law' and alluded to a country—plainly China—'that has intentions of unilaterally changing the world order,' Trump pointedly refused to respond in kind. Instead, he immediately pivoted to the importance of positive US-China relations, saying, 'we're getting along with China really well.' Trump also emphasized the crucial rare earth magnets exported by China and needed across many US industries, which are 'coming out now… in record numbers.' In this White House, it seems geoeconomics trumps geopolitics. When Marcos again brought up the volatile South China Sea situation while discussing Philippines military modernization, Trump changed the topic to terrorism. 'Don't forget… Philippines were loaded up with ISIS and lots of terrorists,' he said, adding, 'we spent a lot of time and a lot of talent on going into the Philippines and wiping out terrorists.' Trump went so far as to claim that 'During my [first] administration… we got [the terrorists] out, and now you really have a good solid country again.' It's worth pointing out that China also assisted the Philippines in this recent and bloody fight against terrorism, according to Manila. Trump further hinted at the White House's new focus on spheres of influence when he explained, 'And the [Philippines] was maybe tilting toward China, but we un-tilted it very, very quickly.' While realists will welcome the diminishing likelihood of a US-China war developing over rocks and reefs, an even more dangerous conflict still lurks. The situation in the Taiwan Strait—often tense—has become a powder keg waiting to explode, maybe even in the near term. Here Trump seems much more cavalier. When asked by a reporter about 'the ammunitions hub that the US plans to build in Subic and the Luzon corridor' of the Philippines, Trump remarked that 'we'll have more ammunition than any country has ever had.' The Philippines is a mere couple of hundred miles south of Taiwan and many US strategists are fixated on the country as a means of deterring or countering a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. If it comes to war in the Taiwan Strait, losses would be enormous on both sides. An authoritative wargame by the Center for Strategic and International Studies a couple of years ago said the US would likely lose two aircraft carriers in the first week of such a war and that's to say nothing of the real potential for nuclear escalation. Nor is the Philippines likely to make a major difference in such a war, since its armed forces are weak and it would likely be attacked by China if it becomes involved in the conflict. Trump is wise to play down the South China Sea conflict and focus on trade and counterterrorism with the Philippines. Wiser still would be a recognition that a spheres of influence approach should seek to detach the Philippines' future from the fate of Taiwan. Lyle Goldstein is director of Asia engagement at Defense Priorities.
