Latest in Tag: Syria Highlight
Latest in Tag: Syria
‘Islamic State’ blows up tower tombs at Syria’s Palmyra
“Islamic State” (“IS”) has blown up three ancient tower tombs in Palmyra. The loss to the UNESCO World Heritage site is the latest in a series of jihadi demolitions. The chief of Syria’s antiquities department, Maamoun Abdelkarim, confirmed the destruction of the tombs on Friday. “They blew up three tower tombs, the best preserved and …
Turkey renews military mandate for Iraq, Syria
Turkish MPs have voted to extend, for a year, the authorisation of troops to Syria and Iraq to fight “Islamic State” (IS) militants. The mandate passed, despite resistance from the pro-Kurdish opposition. The Turkish parliament convened for an extraordinary session to lengthen the current military mandate for another 12 months. The existing directive expires on …
People smugglers profiting from plight of refugees
Europe’s refugee drama is a gold mine for unscrupulous people smugglers. Police and the army are stepping up efforts to clamp down on the illegal business of human trafficking. Numbers can never tell the whole story. But they can give a good impression of the dimensions. Here’s one such number: in July alone, 107,500 migrants crossed …
German peace prize for Syrian poet Adonis sparks outrage
Syrian poet Adonis has not vocally criticized the Assad regime. Now the decision to award him a German peace prize named after the pacifist writer Erich Maria Remarque is under fire. Literarily, Ali Ahmad Said, who uses the pen name Adonis, never budged. For decades, he has shaped the avant-garde poetry scene not only in …
Refugees stranded in Budapest with no way out
After the initial joy of arriving in Europe, it becomes clear to most of the refugees in Budapest that they are trapped at the train station. Police are watching over an increasingly disgruntled crowd of thousands. It is close to 11.00am when it becomes clear that there is a problem brewing. Special police units begin …
The Middle East: Who says the popular quest for change has been quelled?
A series of recent mass protests in several Arab countries have called into question suggestions that civil wars, brutal crackdowns and military coups and interventions have quelled popular willingness to stand up for rights in the Middle East. The protests, although focussed on specific social and economic demands, fundamentally have the same objectives as popular …
Tapping refugees to combat Germany’s labour shortage
The thousands of refugees pouring into Germany every day could offer Europe’s largest economy an opportune solution to plug the ‘gray gap’ in its aging workforce. But integrating the new arrivals could be costly
Syria can only be saved at the peace table
Syrian refugees are so anxious for the brutal civil war to end, one exclaimed: “If God let the war end tomorrow, we would walk barefoot back home.” Nikki Gamer, of Catholic Relief Services, just met Syrians displaced in Lebanon and Jordan. She says: “They want the violence to stop. And they want to return to …
The industrialisation of reconciliation: Iran, Saudi Arabia and IS
I came across a curious news item the other day on Reuters about an industrial development project in Saudi Arabia, and it rang a few bells. The plan is to build a “new industrial city in the south of the al-Ahsa district in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province”, a project helmed by the state-owned oil company …
Another temple in Syria’s Palmyra severely damaged
Activists say the self-styled “Islamic State” has damaged another temple in the Syrian city of Palmyra. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is being systematically razed following occupation by the Islamist militants
Turkey launches first coalition airstrikes against IS
Turkish fighter jets have hit “Islamic State” targets in Syria – for the first time as part of the US-led coalition. Turkey took on a more active role in the fight against IS in July, ending months of indecisiveness
‘I could no longer live in Syria’
Syrian refugee Alaa Houd left his job and family and hired people smugglers to make his way to the wealthy countries of Western Europe. Hiring people smugglers was his only way of leaving war-torn Syria. DW reporter Diana Hodali spoke with Syrian Alaa Houd and recounted his story for him.
Putin discusses Syria with Al-Sisi, Arab leaders
Al-Sisi’s visit marks his fourth to Russia, and his third as president
Turkey ready for anti-IS strikes: Pentagon
Turkish officials have said they are now ready to fully participate in US-led coalition strikes against the “Islamic State” group. The Pentagon said joint strikes may begin within day
UN Security Council discusses Islamic State violence against gays
The UN Security Council has discussed violence against gays committed by the “Islamic State” in Syria and Iraq during an informal meeting Monday. The debate was the first of its kind to focus solely on gay rights
‘Islamic State’s’ destruction of Palmyra temple ‘war crime’: UNESCO
The UN’s cultural agency UNESCO has called the destruction of a famed Roman temple in the Syrian city of Palmyra a “war crime.” The site was considered the second-most significant in the ancient city. “This destruction is a new war crime and an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity,” UNESCO head Irina …
‘Islamic State’ blows up Baal Shamin temple in Syria’s Palmyra
‘Islamic State’ (IS) militants have blown up the temple of Baal Shamin in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. The head of antiquities at the Roman-era site was beheaded by Islamists just a week ago. Conflicting reports over when the temple was actually destroyed are yet to be confirmed. Syria’s antiquities chief Maamoun Abdul Karmin …
Deadly Syrian government attacks on Damascus suburb: Activists
Several civilians have been killed in air strikes and shelling by Syrian government forces in Douma, a rebel-held suburb of Damascus. The suburb has been under aerial attack for more than a week.
IS no. 2 killed in US airstrike: White House
The senior deputy to the leader of ‘Islamic State’ has died in Iraq. Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali was in charge of logistics for the terrorists, and the White House said his death thus constituted a serious blow to IS
How the IS is waging war on Syrian culture
When the terrorist organisation “Islamic State” (IS) took over Syria’s ancient desert city of Palmyra in May, they were hoping to open a lucrative business. Many of the valuable artefacts in the city, they reckoned, would make their way into the international art market and become a sizeable source of income
International cooperation needed to feed hungry Syrians
As Syrian refugees face increasing hunger, we can find inspiration from Egypt’s own history to meet this humanitarian emergency. It was April 1946, when the former United States president Herbert Hoover came to Cairo on an urgent mission. Famine threatened the globe. President Harry Truman dispatched Hoover as a food ambassador. His goal was to find food supplies that could …
Why Iraq failed and IS emerged: A way out
Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the leader and the self-proclaimed caliph of the “Islamic State” (IS), was created in the Iraqi prison-like Camp Bucca under the American occupation. The deep humiliation felt by him and the rest of the 18% Sunni population of Iraq, after the exhaustive de-Baathifiction process, disbanding of the 300,000-strong Saddam’s Sunni army, and imprisoning many Sunni leaders, the occupying power flared up hatred and revenge among the group that …
Islamic State ‘beheads’ archaeologist in Palmyra
The extremists have already destroyed famed archaeological sites in Iraq, and there were concerns they would demolish Palmyra’s 2,000-year-old Roman-era city at the town’s edge, one of the region’s most spectacular archaeological sites
Kurdish forces targeted in northeastern Syria: monitor
The target of the attack was the headquarters of the Asayish security agency set up by an autonomous Kurdish administration in northern Syria
Syrian refugees are here to stay
According to data released by the Turkish Interior Ministry, 1,905,984 Syrians are registered in 82 cities. The number of Syrians living in 25 camps set up in 10 cities is 262,134. These statistics clearly show that nearly 1.7 million Syrians are trying to survive outside the camps on their own.
Egypt welcomes UN adoption of de Mistura’s Syria plan
Syrian regime attacked marketplace in city of Douma, reportedly killing 100 people
Deadly clashes between Turkish army, PKK
Turkey’s army says at least three of its soldiers have been killed in an attack by PKK militants. Ankara is engaged in military campaigns against both the PKK and the “Islamic State” group. In a statement released Friday, Turkey’s army said militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) had attacked troops deployed in the …
Turkish attacks expose fissures among Kurdish groups
The conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has deepened the rift between rival Kurdish groups. If Turkish attacks continue, the Kurds’ fight against the “Islamic State” could be affected. Hamina Hasan sadly packs up to leave the village of Zargali with the rest of her family. She has lost count but says …
Truce called between Syrian regime, insurgents
A monitoring group has said talks yield 48-hour ceasefire in northwest Syria along Lebanon border. A simultaneous ceasefire has been called to give relief to two loyalist villages in Idlib province. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says a deal to halt attacks was reached late Tuesday by the Islamist insurgent group Ahrar al-Sham …
Shoukry discusses regional conflicts with Kerry, Lavrov
In telephone conversations, Egypt’s foreign minister discussed with Russian and US counterparts the situation in Yemen and Syria