Damascus Slams Paris, Accuses it of Having ‘Destructive Role

Refugees at Syria's al-Hol camp. Reuters file photo
Refugees at Syria's al-Hol camp. Reuters file photo
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Damascus Slams Paris, Accuses it of Having ‘Destructive Role

Refugees at Syria's al-Hol camp. Reuters file photo
Refugees at Syria's al-Hol camp. Reuters file photo

The Syrian government has strongly condemned the visit of a French Foreign Ministry delegation to Kurdish-controlled areas in northeast Syria.

“Syria condemns in the strongest terms the illegitimate entry of a delegation from French Foreign Ministry into Syrian territory,” a Foreign Ministry statement said Tuesday.

Last week, a French delegation headed by Stephane Romatet visited the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) and met Kurdish leaders.

The visit was mainly related to the issue of returning the families of ISIS militants carrying the French nationality.

A total of 169 children and 57 women have been brought back to France since ISIS lost all its territory in 2019.

The delegation also discussed the mechanism of supporting local communities in northeastern Syria and the security conditions in the camps that house thousands of local and foreign ISIS families, as well as the heavy burden borne by the local administrations.

A Syrian Foreign Ministry source said Tuesday that the visit of the French delegation is a flagrant violation of the most basic international laws and norms.

It added that the delegation’s meeting with the separatist organizations, in reference to the Kurdish Autonomous Administration and the Syrian Democratic Forces, “constitutes a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and reveals the destructive role and the extreme French hostility to Syria.”

The visit also reveals “France’s full partnership in aggression against Syria through its support for terrorist groups and separatist militias,” the source said.

It added that Syria reminds the French government that “the fight against terrorism is to be in cooperation with the Syrian state that faced this terrorism, but not in cooperation with the separatist organizations that formed a cover for the French government and are united by one goal, which is hostility to Syria and its people, and violation of its sovereignty and undermining its territorial integrity.”

The source concluded by saying that Syria calls on the international community to condemn the “reckless acts” of the French government and demands it to respect international legitimacy and laws.

Early this month, France repatriated 10 women and 25 children on the fourth and last state-organized flight, which followed international pressure on countries to take back their nationals who travelled to territory controlled by ISIS from 2014-2019.

On July 4, the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office said that of the 10 women aged 23 to 40, seven have been arrested over pending warrants. The others were to appear before an investigating judge.

The prosecutor said there is a 17-year-old girl among the minors for whom there was a search warrant.

Thousands of people, including ISIS suspects and family members from 60 countries, are currently detained in the camps of a-Hol and Roj, run by Kurds in northeast Syria, and in Iraqi prisons.

The French women had voluntarily gone to territories across Syria and Iraq then controlled by ISIS.

They were captured when the group was ousted from its self-declared “caliphate” in 2019.

In France, any adult who went to the Iraq-Syria zone and remained there is subject to legal proceedings.

A total of 16 women and 35 children were brought back to France during the first repatriation operation a year ago, followed in October by the return of 15 women and 40 children, AFP had reported.



Israeli Army is Setting Up Rapid Response Unit on Border with Syria

Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
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Israeli Army is Setting Up Rapid Response Unit on Border with Syria

Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)

The Israeli military has announced the formation of a special rapid response unit in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights to fend off threats from Syria, when necessary.

Commander of the 210th Bashan Division Lieutenant Colonel Yair Palai said the unit would operate as an effective attack force capable to launch in seconds and prevent threats on Israel similar to the one Hamas launched on October 7, 2023.

“The Unit will be prepared 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of events,” he said.

“In the case of any security incident, the Unit will strike the enemy mercilessly. There is no possibility of failure, because this unit depends on constant vigilance,” Palai said.

The unit, which is comprised of elite soldiers from reconnaissance units and special reserve units, will operate under the 210th Division.

Sources said the unit has fully mobilized and operated continuously over the past three months.

Its goal was initially to counter Iranian, Syrian, Yemeni, Iraqi or other militias that might operate from the Golan against Jewish settlements there.

But recent developments in Syria compelled the army to prepare for any additional threats.

Last week, Syrian army soldiers were killed in a major attack by opposition fighters led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, who swept into the city of Aleppo in the northwest, forcing the military to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar Assad in years.

On Tuesday, Haaretz said the Israeli military fears that amid the Syrian opposition assault and their taking over of military sites belonging to the Assad regime in the country, chemical weapons could fall into the wrong hands.

If such weapons fall into the hands of the opposition fighters or Iranian militias, Israel would have to act in a way that “may affect Syria and the entire Middle East,” according to Haaretz.

The report said that after the country's civil war, Assad tried to rebuild his chemical weapons production facilities, with most having been removed from Syria under an international agreement. But a substantial part of the chemical weapons project, particularly the knowledge accumulated over the years, still remains in Assad's hands.

Haaretz wrote that Israel has relayed messages to the Syrian regime via the Russians insisting that Assad assert his sovereignty and bar Iran from operating from within Syria.

“The army is monitoring with concern the surprise Syrian rebel offensive on Assad strongholds in Syria that began last week,” it said.

Also, intelligence officials believe that while the Syrian president's standing has been weakened, Iran, with Russia's support, is exploiting the chaos in order to send in tens of thousands of fighters from the armed militias that support it.

According to Haaretz, the army's current estimate is that there are 40,000 Iranian militia fighters in Syria.

In tandem with the ceasefire with Hezbollah, the Israeli army has been carrying out strikes almost daily on the border between Syria and Lebanon in order to thwart attempts to smuggle weaponry destined for Hezbollah.

Although to date there is no firm evidence that the Iranian forces plan to station themselves in Damascus, the newspaper said one Israeli diplomatic official involved in the discussions referred to this on Sunday as a known fact. “Iran has begun to send an influx of forces into Syria in an attempt to aid Assad and suppress the revolt,” he said.