Contents tagged with Syria

  • Germany demands extradition of Assad's associate from Lebanon

    Berlin has asked Beirut to extradite Jamil Hassan, former head of Syria’s Air Force Intelligence, Der Spiegel reported on Sunday 17 February. German Public Prosecutor Peter Frank has accused Hassan of crimes against humanity, systematic torture and the killing of prisoners.

    The German public prosecution office believes that Hassan is currently undergoing medical treatment in Lebanon. According to Der Spiegel, Berlin understands that Beirut is unlikely to extradite one of Bashar al-Assad’s …

  • British politician expelled from his party over plans to visit Crimea

    The deputy chairman of the Libertarian Party UK and Member of the European Parliament, Bill Etheridge was forced to leave the party after it became known that he intends to lead a British politicians and entrepreneurs delegation to the annexed Crimea. 

    Etheridge’s actions damage the party’s reputation, its chairman Andrew Withers told the BBC Russian Service. 

    “We have sent a compromise agreement for Mr. Etheridge, which presupposed his departure from the party on March 29, 2019. He refused …

  • Widow of mercenary from Wagner private military companu asks Kremlin to declassify operation in Syria

    A contractor of the Russian Private Military Company Wagner, Dmitry Makarelov, who served on the territory of Ukraine, was killed in 2017 in Syria fighting a secret mission in the interests of Russia. His ex-wife asks the Kremlin to "take responsibility" for the killed PMC private military contractors, reports Reuters.

    “People still know everything. There is no point to keep silent and hide that, yes, they were in Syria on some combat assignments,” said Olga Markelova. "I would like to appeal …

  • Bashar Assad and Marine Le Pen to visit annexed Crimea

    Russia announced that French politician Marine Le Pen and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would visit annexed Crimea and take part in economic forum in Yalta as guests of honor. 

    "The honorary delegations at the fifth Yalta International Economic Forum will be the French delegation headed by Marine Le Pen and the delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic headed by Bashar al-Assad. Sergey Aksyonov invited him [Assad] when we were there [in Syria] and got confirmation of his visit,” TASS agency  …

  • Syria accuses Israel of tank attack

    The information agency SANA, serving the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, alleged that Israeli tanks had shelled the Syrian border territory. According to the military sources that the agency cites, fire came from tanks and from the air.

    "At about 6:30 p.m., the Israeli enemy hit Tal al-Dahhur in Jabata al-Lahud, Tall al-Darya and Khaled several times. At about 7:50 p.m., an Israeli drone launched four missiles against Quneitra Hospital and one of the government service points. …

  • Russia demands that Israel stop bombing Syria

    TASS reports, quoting the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Vershinin that Moscow consider Israel’s strikes against Syrian targets unacceptable and demanded they stop.

    According to the diplomat, Israel’s attacks “add to the destabilization of the situation” and “nobody should do anything in Syria that does not support antiterrorist goals.”

    “Concerning the latest Israeli attacks, we stated that such arbitrary attacks on Syrian sovereign territory must be stopped and …

  • US: Russia has 175 Wagner mercenaries in Central African Republic

    The US is concerned by Russia’s growing presence in African countries, said General Thomas Waldhauser, commander of the US Africa Command, during hearings of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

    “In the Central African Republic (CAR), Russia has consolidated its influence through expanded military collaboration, including arms shipments, and in exchange it gains access to markets and mineral rights in the country,” the general said.

    Waldhauser also noted that the US has reason to believe …

  • Russian soldier killed in Syria

    On 31 January, a Russian contract soldier was killed “while carrying out a combat assignment” in Syria. The 24 year-old, Maxim Pletnev, was a resident of town of Tikhoretsk in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, Radio Liberty reports.

    The fact that he died in the Near East was confirmed by Sergey Zakharov, deputy head of the Tikhoretsk region. Journalists discovered that Pletnev had also served on the Russian-Ukrainian border at the height of the conflict in the Donbas.

    Pletnev’s death was reported by …

  • Putin and Netanyahu to discuss Iranian presence in Syria

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow later this month, to discuss Iranian presence in Syria.

    Negotiations on February 21st will be devoted to Israel’s efforts to prevent Iran from creating a “new [ant-Israeli] front on the other side of Golan Heights,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

    Moscow has not yet confirmed that the meeting would take place.

    This will be the third meeting between Netanyahu and Putin since July 2018 …

  • Media: the US transferred military equipment to Syria

    On Tuesday, February 5th, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that the United States transferred about 150 trucks with armored vehicles and generators to the Kurdish-controlled territory of Syria.

    At night trucks loaded with armored personnel carriers, working equipment and generators crossed the Simelka checkpoint on the Iraqi-Syrian border, Anadolu says.

    On Tuesday, the trucks reached the US logistical centers in the Syrian districts of Harap Ishk and Sarrin, which Americans share with the …