Contents tagged with Syria

  • Assad said that his children were on vacation in the annexed Crimea

    Syrian President Bashar al-Assad mentioned at a meeting with Russian parliament members that his children were at Artek children camp in the Crimea last year, RIA Novosti reports, citing the coordinator of the State Duma group on relations with the parliament of Syria, Dmitry Sablin.

    "First of all we would like to focus on [political] party related work with young people, organize two-week long camps. My children were in Artek last year," Sablin quoted Assad as saying. Bashar Assad has two …

  • Russia sends another batch of military equipment to Syria

    Russian large landing ship the Orsk was sighted in the Bosporus strait with military equipment on board, the Turkish Bosphorus observer Yörük Işık reported on Twitter. The ship appeared to be bound for the Syrian port city of Tartus.

    The Orsk is reportedly transporting BTR-80 armored vehicles, Iveco LMV armored cars, and Ural and KamAZ trucks to Syria.

    Russian BTR-80s are manufactured at the Arzamas Machinery Plant. They are equipped with a Pelena-6 jammer system, which protects the combat …

  • Macron: France convinced Trump to limit targets in Syria strike

    During an interview with BFM TV, French President Emmanuel Macron said that it was France that convinced US President Donald Trump to limit the strike it inflicted against facilities in Syria.

    "We convinced Trump to limit the targets of the strikes only to sites with chemical weapons capacity," he said.

    According to Macron, the US media and Trump’s Twitter initially used more aggressive rhetoric.  

    He also noted that Paris earlier persuaded Washington to stay in Syria.

    "Ten days ago, …

  • Macron congratulates French military for 'perfectly conducted' strike on Syria

    President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with the television channel BFMTV on April 15 that the French military "perfectly conducted" its recent operation in Syria.

    "Three chemical weapon production points were our [intended targets]; we successfully completed our objectives on the military side," said Macron.

    "First of all, I want to thank our soldiers and our army. The operation was conducted perfectly," the French president stressed.

    When asked whether he still plans to attend a …

  • First journalist to report on Wagner mercenary deaths in Syria dies in Russia

    In the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, New Day News journalist Maxim Borodin apparently fell out of the window of his fifth-floor apartment. He was found unconscious and taken to the local hospital, where he later passed away.

    Polina Rumyantseva, chief editor of New Day News, considers it possible that the journalist’s death was neither accidental nor suicide.

    “In order to understand what happened, we need to gain access to the apartment, and we are working on this. If there are any signs of …

  • Israel considers attack on Syria an 'important signal' to Iran and Hezbollah

    The Reuters news agency quotes the Israeli government as saying that missile strikes against targets in Syria have become an "important signal" to Iranian authorities and the Hezbollah movement.

    "The use of chemical weapons is the crossing of a red line that mankind can no longer tolerate," Yoav Galant, the country’s Minister of Construction and former Commander of the Southern Command of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), wrote on Twitter. "The American strike is an important signal to the …

  • Syrian command claims complete control of Eastern Ghouta

    The Syrian military announced that it has taken complete control of Eastern Ghouta, SANA reports. Fighters from the Jaysh al-Islam armed group and their families reportedly left Douma, which was the final rebel-controlled city in Eastern Ghouta.

    Damascus said that it had begun sweeping the streets and squares of Douma for mines, in order to ensure the safe return of the civilian population to the city. 500 people in the Syrian city showed signs of poisoning with a chemical substance.

    A …

  • France: Russia neglects its obligations to UN

    France accused Russia of neglecting its obligations to the UN, both in 2013 with respect to its guarantee to destroy all chemical weapons in Syria, and now, by attempting to accuse the US, France and Britain of violating the UN Charter.

    A statement to this effect was made by François Delattre, France’s Permanent Representative to the UN, during an extraordinary UN session, Ukrinform reports.

    “The Security Council was unable to meet its obligations due to the systematic vetoes used by Russia. …

  • Syrian sources: unidentified warplanes strike Iranian weapons depot in Syria

    Syrian Observatory for Human Right (SOHR) reports a powerful explosion in the area of Mount Azzan in southern Aleppo. The Iranian weapons storage facility, said to be one of the biggest in the country, is located in Mount Azzan and was reportedly used by Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, and other Iranian militias in Syria.

    Skynews Arabia and Al Jazeera claim that unidentified warplanes struck the Iranian weapons depot.

    Unidentified planes were seen in the area during the strikes. Syrian …

  • Media: another strike against Assad coming soon

    The newspaper Baghdad Post reports, citing its sources, that it is likely that the US and its allies will carry out another strike on Assad regime targets by the end of this month. According to the sources, the additional warships of the coalition that are located in the Mediterranean, show that the operation against Assad is not over yet.  "The next strike will be much more destructive for Assad and his allies," the Baghdad Post notes. The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, …