Latest news with #SyrianNationalArmy
Shafaq News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
SDF slams appointment of US-sanctioned rebel leader
Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) condemned the appointment of a former armed group commander accused of war crimes to a senior military post under the Syrian Interim government, calling it a move that legitimizes impunity. Ahmad al-Hays, also known as Abu Hatim Shaqra, was named commander of the 86th Division in eastern Syria despite being under US sanctions since 2021 for human rights violations, including the assassination of Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf. SDF Media Center Director Farhad Shami stated on X that 'Shaqra belongs behind bars, not in official institutions,' referencing his alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings, torture, and abuse of detainees, particularly women. إن تعيين المجرمين أمثال "أبو حاتم شقرا" وغيره في أماكن حساسة في سوريا الجديدة خطوة سلبية وغير مقبولة ومن شأنها تلويث مؤسسات الدولة.المجرم "أبو حاتم شقرا" الذي ارتكب الكثير من الجرائم بما فيها جريمة اغتيال الشهيدة هفرين خلف مكانه خلف القضبان وليس المؤسسات الرسمية، وعلى المعنيين… — Farhad Shami (@farhad_shami) May 6, 2025 Shaqra currently holds a command post in the Liberation and Construction Movement, a faction within the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA). He previously led Ahrar al-Sharqiya, a hardline group with members linked to former fighters from ISIS, Ahrar al-Sham, and Jabhat al-Nusra. The Syrian rights group Teazur (Synergy) also condemned the decision, calling it 'an attempt to legitimize criminal behavior' and warning it undermines accountability in opposition-held areas. Synergy Association for Victims strongly condemned the recent military appointments made by the Syrian transitional government within the ranks of the newly formed 'Syrian National Army.' The appointments include individuals listed on international sanctions lists and accused of… — تآزر - Synergy (@HevdestiSynergy) May 7, 2025 This is not the first controversial appointment by the Syrian Interim government. In August 2023, it promoted Mohammad al-Jassem (Abu Amsha), another US-sanctioned figure, to lead the 62nd Division in Hama, granting him the rank of brigadier general. Abu Amsha is accused of forced displacement of Kurds, property seizures, financial extortion, and serious violations including rape and arbitrary detention.
Gulf Insider
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Turkish Jets Engaged in Electronic Jamming Operations Against Israel Over Syria
Both Israel and Turkey have long been the major regional players with a 'hidden hand' in Syria – with both at times covertly leading the drive to weaken and overthrow the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad. And now the scramble for the spoils have been on since Assad's exiting the country to Moscow on December 8. Israeli tanks and ground units have moved up toward Damascus from the South, and Turkey's 'Syrian National Army' proxy fighters have been active in Aleppo province and in northern Syria. Turkey has also reportedly been involved with the new Syrian government under al-Qaeda linked Jolani (Sharaa), establishing anti-air defense infrastructure at Syrian bases, particularly near Palmyra in the center of the country. But Israel has since December been busy bombing Syrian military sites and equipment out of existence. Syria once had to most advanced (Russian-supplied) air defense missile systems in the whole region, but now these batteries have been destroyed. Further, there's no longer a Syrian Arab Army (SAA) to man or operate sophisticated systems. This means Israel's air force has had free reign over Syria's skies. But Tel Aviv increasingly has a rival in Syria: Turkey's military. With sectarian fighting this week resulting in dozens of deaths among Syria's Druze community, Israel has been sending 'warning' strikes, including near the presidential palace in Damascus. Regional reports say Turkey is at the same time quietly engaging in anti-Israel operations: Turkish fighter jets reportedly issued electronic warning signals and engaged in jamming operations late on Friday in an effort to deter Israeli aircraft operating in Syrian airspace, amid a new wave of airstrikes across the country. The rare move came as Israeli warplanes launched attacks on multiple sites, including in the Hama and Damascus regions, drawing renewed scrutiny over ongoing violations of Syrian sovereignty. 'Turkish fighter jets issued warning signals and jammed Israeli aircraft during Tel Aviv's latest deadly bombing campaign in Syria,' The New Arab writes. The Netanyahu government has already been strongly warning Turkey against getting more deeply involved in Syria, but clearly Jolani and his HTS rulers have found their biggest backer in Erdogan. Click here to read more
Rudaw Net
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Displaced Kurds, Yazidis fear return to Afrin: Activist
Also in Interview Iraqi PM Sudani to lead major list in November elections, eyeing second term: PM advisor Rojava official says no more hostile actions from Turkey Iran, US both genuine about nuclear talks: Crisis Group Peshmerga park to be inaugurated in Paris before next Newroz: Deputy mayor A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurds and Yazidis displaced from the Kurdish city of Afrin in northwest Syria are afraid to return as militia members accused of atrocities control the area, a prominent American religious freedom advocate told Rudaw. 'There's no way they [Kurds and Yazidis] could stay if they were under these Islamists. They had to flee from the Syrian National Army [SNA] when they invaded Afrin. So all those IDPs are looking and saying, 'wait, we've done this before. It didn't go so well,'' Nadine Maenza, president of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Secretariat and former chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), told Rudaw on April 23. Maenza highlighted that Syrian minorities are concerned about the centralized rule of Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government. In 2018, Turkey and its allied Syrian militias seized control of Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in northwest Syria. Thousands of Kurds fled, many moving to the nearby Shahba region, and families displaced from elsewhere in Syria moved into Afrin. 'The Syrian National Army, some of the very people that were committing the atrocities against the Yazidis, Kurds, Christians that were there and had to flee, are now, instead, he [Sharaa] couldn't get rid of them. It seems like they were put in positions, some government positions,' Maenza lamented. International organizations have recorded numerous human rights violations against Afrin's Kurdish population since 2018, including killings, kidnappings, looting of agricultural crops, cutting down olive trees, and imposing taxes on farmers. Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Afrin in mid-February and met with locals, the majority of whom were Kurds. He pledged to remove armed groups and put an end to the violations, a representative from the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC), who attended the meeting, told Rudaw. Maenza said dozens of Yazidi families remain unable to return to their homes in northwest Syria, citing fears of living under officials accused of 'committing atrocities', according to her meetings with Yazidis. 'Dozens of families can't go back because they wouldn't feel safe being governed by people that committed atrocities against them. It would be like saying, you know, ISIS is now going to be the governor of your, or the mayor of your city,' she said. Maenza stressed that locals must govern their own communities and that the SNA must not be in charge of Afrin. In March, ENKS Afrin local council head Ahmed Hassan told Rudaw that more than 600 settler families have left Afrin, while 400 Kurdish families have returned to their homes. The ENKS is a coalition of Kurdish political parties that is considered the main opposition in northeast Syria (Rojava). Kurds have been increasingly returning to Afrin since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime. These Kurds had been displaced to other parts of Syria after Turkey-backed militia groups invaded the Kurdish-majority city. With the militants losing their grip on Afrin to Damascus-affiliated forces, many have been able to return. No official Syrian government decision has been made to support the return of Afrin's residents. Some families come back on their own, while others return through aid from the ENKS Maenza stressed the difficulty of removing Turkish-backed militias given Turkey's support for interim president Sharaa, despite some apparent differences between them, particularly regarding Afrin. She noted that under Assad, Yazidis were legally classified as Muslims, marginalizing their identity and leaving them vulnerable to being labeled as 'apostates'. 'Because their ID card says they're Muslims, but they're claiming to be [Yezidi]. So it just makes them all the more vulnerable to these extremists,' she said. Regarding the international community's reaction to Syria's potential centralization under Sunni dominance, Maenza believes that it will be unlikely for sanctions on the conflict-hit country to be lifted. 'If he's [Sharaa] going to push away the minorities and say, nope, we're Syrian Republic, everyone else move aside, only the Sunnis sit at the front table, everyone else at the back table, it's going to send all sorts of messages to the international community. I don't see them being willing to lift sanctions anytime soon in that scenario,'she said. Maenza stated it is in Syria's best interest to maintain sanctions with conditions, arguing that lifting them unconditionally would leave the government without justification for making reforms, risking backlash from its base. Several Western countries have warned that the lifting of some sanctions imposed on Assad's regime is conditional on the new authorities forming an inclusive government.
Shafaq News
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Eid after Al-Assad: Syrian refugees celebrate
Shafaq News / Syrian refugees in Duhok's camps welcomed Eid al-Fitr with joy and optimism, celebrating their first holiday since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad's government. In Domiz camp, Hussein Hassou, a refugee from Qamishli, told Shafaq News, 'This Eid feels different, especially for Syrian Kurds, as it marks the first after the end of Al-Assad's rule.' Refugee Nahida Khalil voiced her deep longing for home after living more than 12 years in the camp. 'While we have found safety here, our hearts remain in Syria,' she said. However, Hawar Aziz cautioned that Assad's downfall does not necessarily mean a clear future for Kurdish areas in Syria. 'Personally, I'm not considering returning; I prefer to wait until the situation stabilizes,' he revealed. Al-Assad's government officially collapsed on December 8, 2024, following a major opposition offensive led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, backed primarily by the Turkish-supported Syrian National Army. The fall of the regime marks a turning point in Syria's ongoing civil war, which began in 2011. Iraq is currently hosting around 280,000 Syrian refugees, with the majority living in the Kurdistan region. An estimated 122,000 refugees reside in Erbil Governorate, including both the city and nearby camps. Of this number, 92,000 live in Erbil and its surrounding areas outside of camps, while the rest are distributed across various camps in Iraq, such as Domiz, Qushtapa, Basirma, Darashakran, Gozarto, Sharya, Akre, Makhmour, and Al-Sulaymaniyah.
Rudaw Net
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
SDF chief urges Damascus to ‘bear responsibility' for Kurdish civilian deaths
Also in Syria Two injured on Syria-Lebanon border: SANA Notorious militia leader assaults Kurdish citizen in Afrin Syrian Kurds send aid to Alawite-majority areas hit by violence SDF says nine civilians killed in Kobane airstrike A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi on Monday urged Syria's interim government to 'bear its responsibility' for the deaths of Kurdish civilians killed in an airstrike in north Syria earlier in the day. 'The interim government must bear its responsibilities for the killing of its citizens by other countries," Abdi said, extending his condolences 'to the families of the innocent victims who lost their lives in the Turkish bombing of an entire family.' The SDF commander slammed the strike as a 'crime against humanity.' The SDF said that at least nine members from a single family were killed in the airstrike, which rocked the Kurdish-majority city of Kobane in northern Syria. Kobane holds prominence for being the scene where Kurdish fighters, backed by the US, famously repelled an Islamic State (ISIS) assault in 2015. The incident notably follows a landmark agreement between Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa and Abdi last week to integrate all civil and military institutions in the Kurdish-majority northeast Syria into state institutions. The deal also included a commitment to implement a nationwide ceasefire. Abdi emphasized that a 'ceasefire across Syria has become an absolute necessity for the success of the transitional phase toward a stable and secure Syria,' stressing that it is the responsibility of the Syrian leadership in Damascus to address foreign attacks. 'We also urge the [US-led] global coalition [against ISIS] and the influential actors to take action against these attacks,' the SDF chief concluded. The latest airstrike comes as the SDF has since mid-March reported that Turkey and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) have 'intensified attacks' on Kobane and key infrastructure in northern Syria. The SDF notably blamed Ankara and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army for a spate of attacks on Tishreen Dam and Qere Qozaq bridge since December, when a coalition of rebels led by the Islamist Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew Bashar al-Assad's regime after taking Damascus. The dam's strategic location is critical for Turkey and the SNA, as its capture could pave the way for an advance into other parts of the Kurdish-majority northeast Syria (Rojava). For its part, Turkey ties its military operations in SDF-held regions to its view of the People's Protection Units (YPG) - the backbone of the SDF - as the Syrian front for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group that has been engaged in a decades-long conflict with the Turkish state. Of note, the SDF has served as a primary ground partner to the US-led coalition in the fight against ISIS. Last month, Washington said it brokered a ceasefire between the SDF and Ankara. However, Turkey has denied agreeing to the deal and clashes have continued between the SDF, the Turkish forces, and SNA forces.
