The battle for Aleppo may be over but the struggle for the future of Syria will continue. Indeed, it may become even more chaotic and bloody. The crushing of the rebel enclave in eastern Aleppo represents a major propaganda victory for the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which now controls virtually all of the major population centres of the country…. Read more »
(CNN)Aleppo residents will be allowed to leave on Thursday under a new ceasefire agreement reached overnight, a rebel group said. According to Ahmad Qurah Ali, spokesman for the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group, the deal was reached late Wednesday and will permit injured people to be evacuated beginning in the morning. The original ceasefire brokered Tuesday collapsed less than a day… Read more »
(CNN)-Wrapped in a blanket and wearing pink sandals, a little girl sobs in fear as she walks down the street, gunfire blasting at the end of the road. Confused, she turns around and covers her face with the blanket. At that moment, a soldier from Iraq’s elite special forces the Golden Brigade rushes forward to help — “don’t cry,” he… Read more »
(CNN)Forces loyal to the Syrian regime have been entering homes in the last pockets of Aleppo held by rebels and shooting people on the spot, the United Nations has said. A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said he had been told that 82 civilians, including women and children, were shot in their homes or on the… Read more »
I find amazing that in the middle of all the war and hate that is accuring there is always time fora friendly soccer match. To be able able to put weapons aside and come together shows that there really is hope for a peaceful solution in the middle east. I’m aware of the fact that a soccer match is not very earth… Read more »
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has backtracked on his earlier statements that his country’s military forces launched operations in neighboring Syria to end the rule of the incumbent Damascus government, asserting that the offensives there are aimed only at terrorists.
More than 50,000 Syrians have joined a growing exodus of terrified civilians from east Aleppo, a monitor said Wednesday, as the UN Security Council was set for emergency talks on fighting in the city. As government forces pressed an assault in the divided city, regime artillery fire killed at least 21 civilians in east Aleppo on Wednesday morning, the Syrian… Read more »
Irbil, Iraq (CNN)At least 80 people were killed Thursday when a truck bomb exploded at a gas station in Iraq, the U.S. State Department said. Most of the victims were Iranian Shi’ite pilgrims, according to authorities in Iraq. ISIS, a Sunni terror group, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted online. “The flames of battles in Mosul will… Read more »
The Syrian government has sent text messages and dropped leaflets on Wednesday inviting rebels in eastern Aleppo to participate in a “friendly” football match, opposition activists and a member of parliament reported. The message asked fighters to attend the game on Thursday at Hamdania Stadium, located in the western government-controlled part of the city, adding that rebels who planned to… Read more »
Irbil, Iraq (CNN)Sunni politicians raised an alarm Monday after the Iraqi Parliament passed a law recognizing Iraq’s Shiite-led Hashad al-Shabbi, known as the Popular Mobilization Units, or PMU, as an independent military force. The more than 110,000 strong fighting group has been at the forefront of the fight against ISIS in Iraq. Its role is critical but controversial with human… Read more »