Latest news with #al-Assad
Euronews
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
So-called IS claims first attack on Syrian forces since al-Assad fall
The so-called Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for two attacks in southern Syria, including one on government forces that a war monitor described as the first on the Syrian army since the fall of long-time president Bashar al-Assad. The so-called IS group said in a statement that in one attack, a bomb targeting a "vehicle of the apostate regime" detonated, leaving seven soldiers dead or wounded. It said the attack occurred "last Thursday," in the al-Safa area in the southern province of Sweida. In a separate statement, the group said another bomb attack occurred this week, targeting members of the US-backed Free Syrian Army. It claimed that one fighter was killed and three others wounded in that attack. Syria's interim government hasn't commented on either of these claims and a spokesperson for the Free Syrian Army didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack on government forces killed one civilian and wounded three soldiers, describing it as the first such attack to be claimed by the IS group against Syrian forces since the 54-year rule by the al-Assad family ended in December. The extremist group, which once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq, is opposed to the new authority in Damascus led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once the head of al-Qaeda's Syria branch, which fought battles against it. Over the past several months, the IS group has claimed responsibility for attacks against the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast. The IS group was defeated in Syria in March 2019 when SDF fighters captured the last sliver of land that the extremists controlled. Since then, its sleeper cells have carried out deadly attacks, mainly in eastern and northeast Syria. In January, state media reported that intelligence officials in Syria's post-al-Assad government thwarted a plan by the group to set off a bomb at a Shiite Muslim shrine south of Damascus. Al-Sharra met with US President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, when the American leader said that Washington would work on lifting crippling economic sanctions imposed on Damascus since the days of al-Assad. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement after the meeting that Trump urged al-Sharaa to diplomatically recognise Israel, "tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria" and help the US stop any resurgence of the IS group. Parallel to this, earlier this week the European Union lifted most sanctions on Syria but slapped new ones on people and groups it says participated in attacks on civilians during a wave of violence in the coastal region in March. The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had announced plans to lift the sanctions last week, but warned the move was "conditional" and that sanctions could be resumed if the new government doesn't keep the peace. Russia accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine, calling it a "stab in the back" from one of Moscow's longest-standing European allies. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued a statement on Thursday claiming that "Serbian defence enterprises, contrary to the 'neutrality' declared by official Belgrade, continue to supply ammunition to Kyiv.' The statement alleged that the export of the Serbian arms to Ukraine was going through NATO intermediaries, "primarily the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria." "Recently, exotic options involving African states have also been used for this purpose," SVR said. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić denied the accusations on Friday, saying that although the contract with the Czech Republic does exist, it does not allow exporting the materiel to another country. "For example, they correctly say that there is a contract with the Czech Republic. But no permission was given, and none of the (ammunition) was delivered" to Ukraine, Vučić told Serbian state broadcaster RTS. He added that he had already discussed the issue of arms exports to Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin recently and that it was agreed that Moscow and Belgrade would create a "working group" to establish how Serbian-made weapons reached Ukraine. This is not the first time Vučić has had to respond to similar claims. The Financial Times reported in June 2024 that Serbian ammunition worth €750 million has made its way indirectly to Ukraine. In March, Belgrade denied it exported arms to Kyiv after Moscow demanded to know if it had delivered thousands of rockets for Ukraine's defence against Russia's all-out invasion. Serbian arms' presence in Ukraine, mostly Soviet-era calibre ammunition adopted as standard and manufactured in the former Yugoslavia, has been publicly discussed since 2023, but it is unclear why the Russian foreign security service decided to react now. The SVR has claimed that the arms sales are being carried out through a "simple scheme using fake end-user certificates and intermediary countries" serving as "a cover for anti-Russian actions". The accusations out of Moscow went even further to say that "the contribution of Serbian defence industry workers to the war unleashed by the West, the outcome of which Europe would like to see as a 'strategic defeat' of Russia, amounts to hundreds of thousands of shells ... as well as a million rounds of ammunition for small arms". 'It seems that the desire of Serbian defence industry workers and their patrons to profit from the blood of fraternal Slavic peoples has made them completely forget who their real friends are and who their enemies are," the statement said. Vučić stated that the attacks on Serbia from the East and the West are "frequent" because Belgrade "leads autonomous and independent policies". Serbia is one of the countries in the Western Balkans that is considered a major candidate for EU membership. At the same time, Vučić has maintained close ties with Russia, including after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He was among a handful of European leaders to attend Putin's Victory Day parade in Moscow on 9 May, a decision Vučić defended by saying he was there to celebrate Serbia's participation in liberating the continent from fascism in World War II. Serbia also refused to join Western sanctions on Russia and hasn't supported most EU statements condemning Moscow's full-scale invasion, although it voted in favour of its condemnation at the UN.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
ISIL (ISIS) launches first attacks against new Syrian government
ISIL (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for an attack on the Syrian army, representing the armed group's first strike at government forces since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, according to analysts. In a statement released late on Thursday, ISIL said its fighters had planted an explosive device that struck a 'vehicle of the apostate regime' in southern Syria. The bombing appears to mark an escalation by ISIL, which views the new government in Damascus as illegitimate but has so far concentrated its activities against Kurdish forces in the north. The blast, in the al-Safa desert region of Sweida province on May 22, reportedly killed or wounded seven Syrian soldiers. A second bomb attack, claimed by ISIL earlier this week, targeted fighters from the United States-backed Kurdish-led Free Syrian Army in a nearby area. ISIL said one fighter was killed and three injured. There has been no official comment from the Syrian government, and the Free Syrian Army has yet to of the new Syrian government that replaced al-Assad after his removal in December once had ties to al-Qaeda – a rival of ISIL – but broke with the group nearly a decade ago. However, over the past several months, ISIL has claimed responsibility only for attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast. The United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the convoy blast was the first ISIL-claimed operation targeting the new Syrian military. ISIL was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 but maintains sleeper cells, particularly in the country's central and eastern deserts. While the group's capacity has been diminished, the latest attacks suggest it may be seeking to reassert itself amid shifting alliances and weakening state control.
Euronews
2 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
EU slaps sanctions on alleged culprits of attacks on Syria's Alawites
The European Union has lifted a wide range of sanctions on Syria but slapped new ones on people and groups it says participated in attacks on civilians during a wave of violence in the coastal region in March. The move removed most sanctions that had been imposed on the country, including on its financial system. But sanctions remain in place on individuals and organisations the EU says violated human rights or for "security grounds." That includes the extended family of former President Bashar al-Assad or the country's chemical weapons programme, according to the text of the European Council on the decision. The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had announced plans to lift the sanctions last week. She said the move was "conditional" and that sanctions could be resumed if the new government of Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former rebel commander who led the charge that ousted al-Assad in December, doesn't keep the peace. Kallas said in a statement that removing sanctions "is simply the right thing to do, at this historic time, for the EU to genuinely support Syria's recovery and a political transition that fulfils the aspirations of all Syrians." But Wednesday's decision also slapped "restrictive measures" on two people and three armed groups accused of "targeting civilians and especially the Alawite community." That referred to the religious minority to which al-Assad belongs, during violence in March on the coast and of torture and "arbitrary killings of civilians." The two people targeted by the new sanctions are Mohammad Hussein al-Jasim, leader of the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade and Sayf Boulad Abu Bakr, leader of the Hamza Division, both armed groups that the EU said had taken part in the attacks. The militias were also slapped with new sanctions, as was another armed group, the Sultan Murad Division. Clashes erupted after a group of al-Assad loyalists attacked security forces near the coastal city of Latakia. Rights groups reported widespread revenge killings as militants from Syria's Sunni majority, some of them officially affiliated with the new government's security forces, targeted Alawites, regardless of whether they were involved in the insurgency. Hundreds of civilians were killed in the clashes. The new government in Damascus has promised to hold perpetrators accountable, but a body formed to investigate the violence has yet to release its findings. While there have not been large-scale attacks on Alawites since March, members of the community remain fearful and say that individual incidents of kidnappings and killing continue to take place. Since seizing power, al-Sharaa's government has struggled to weld a patchwork of undisciplined former rebel factions together into a national army. The lifting of the broader sanctions on Syria comes days after the United States granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions in a first step toward fulfilling President Donald Trump's pledge to lift a half-century of penalties on a country shattered by 13 years of civil war. A measure by the US State Department waived for six months a tough set of sanctions imposed by Congress in 2019. The easing of sanctions removes one of the major barriers to reconstruction of the country, which the United Nations in 2017 estimated would cost at least $250 billion (€221 billion). Some experts now say that number could reach at least $400 billion (€354 billion). The United Nations estimates that 90% of Syrians live in poverty and state-supplied electricity comes as little as two hours per day.
DW
3 days ago
- Business
- DW
European Union lifts economic sanctions on Syria – DW – 05/28/2025
The Syrian Central Bank and other lenders will now be able to access the European financial market once again. However, economic sanctions based on security reasons will remain in place. European Union countries on Wednesday passed legislation to lift all economic sanctions on Syria except for those based on security grounds. To facilitate the rapid reconstruction of the war-torn country, the Syrian Central Bank and other lenders can once again access the European financial market. It will take effect once published in the EU's Official Journal and carries out a political decision made by EU foreign ministers last week to end the bloc's restrictive measures. "This decision is simply the right thing to do," top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said. "At this historic time, for the EU to genuinely support Syria's recovery and a political transition that fulfils the aspirations of all Syrians." "Today the EU reaffirms its commitment as a partner for the transition, one that helps the Syrian people to reunite and rebuild a new, inclusive, peaceful Syria," she added. US lifting sanctions against Syria a 'very positive move' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Stability hope for Syria German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said last week that the new Syrian leadership was being given a chance, but warned that it was expected to involve the entire population and all religious groups. Six months after the fall of the al-Assad regime, Wadephul added was important that a united Syria could take its future into its own hands. The EU is also hopeful that once the country has stabilized, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in the bloc will one day be able to return home. Wednesday's decision does not affect sanctions against individuals and organizations with links to the al-Assad regime or responsibility for the violent repression of the Syrian people. Furthermore, export restrictions on weapons as well as goods and technologies used for internal repression remain in force for the time being. Edited by: Zac Crellin
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
EU lifts economic sanctions on Syria
European Union countries on Wednesday passed legislation to lift all economic sanctions on Syria except for those based on security grounds. "This decision is simply the right thing to do, at this historic time, for the EU to genuinely support Syria's recovery and a political transition that fulfils the aspirations of all Syrians," EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said of the move, which comes around six months after the fall of the al-Assad regime. "Today the EU reaffirms its commitment as a partner for the transition, one that helps the Syrian people to reunite and rebuild a new, inclusive, peaceful Syria," she added. To facilitate the rapid reconstruction of the war-torn country, the Syrian Central Bank and other lenders can once again access the European financial market. The move, which will take effect once published in the EU's Official Journal, carries out last week's political decision by EU foreign ministers to end the bloc's restrictive measures. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said at the time that the new Syrian leadership was being given a chance, but warned that it was expected to involve the entire population and all religious groups. It was important that a united Syria could take its future into its own hands, he said. The EU also hopes that once the country has stabilized, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in the bloc will one day be able to return home. For many years, Syrians have made up a large share of the refugees arriving in Europe. Wednesday's decision does not affect sanctions against individuals and organizations with links to the al-Assad regime or responsibility for the violent repression of the Syrian people. Furthermore, export restrictions on weapons as well as goods and technologies used for internal repression remain in force for the time being.
