International Coalition Brings Military Equipment to Northeast Syria

US soldiers patrol the countryside of the oil-rich town of Rumeilan in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on June 7, 2023. (AFP)
US soldiers patrol the countryside of the oil-rich town of Rumeilan in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on June 7, 2023. (AFP)
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International Coalition Brings Military Equipment to Northeast Syria

US soldiers patrol the countryside of the oil-rich town of Rumeilan in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on June 7, 2023. (AFP)
US soldiers patrol the countryside of the oil-rich town of Rumeilan in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on June 7, 2023. (AFP)

The International Coalition forces sent new military equipment to their bases in the Hasakah countryside in northeast Syria, a war monitor revealed Monday.

The equipment included dozens of trucks, armored vehicles loaded with military equipment and vehicles likely to be missile launchers, in addition to trucks carrying logistical materials.

“The Coalition continues to strengthen its bases in Syrian territories by land and air,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.
Headquartered in London, the war monitor said the military reinforcements consist of 25 trucks carrying fuel tanks, sealed boxes and logistic equipment.

They were sent on Sunday from the Kurdistan-Iraq region, passed through Al-Waleed border crossing and then headed towards the military bases in the Hasakah countryside.

There are nine US bases in Syria: One in al-Tanf, two in Deir Ezzor's countryside, and six in Hasakah.

Meanwhile, SOHR sources said a security meeting was held at Al-Baqer Brigade villa in the suburbs of Al-Jourah neighborhood in Deir Ezzor city, within areas controlled by regime forces and Iranian militias, amid tightened security.

The meeting was attended by second-ranking leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, in addition to security and military officers in the Syrian regime forces, the commander of the Iran-backed Usud al-Uqaydat militia, Hashem al-Sattam, leaders of Liwaa Al-Baqir, Fadi Al-Afees and Nawaf Al-Bashir, and commander of the National Defense militia, Firas Al-Iraqiyah.

The meeting discussed means to enlist local affiliates from Deir Ezzor city, aged between 18 and 45, in the ranks of the Iranian-backed militias, in exchange for financial and security offers, including a monthly salary instead of a salary paid every three months.

Also, all members would be offered security cards that exempt them from arrests or probing.

The sources told SOHR that these measures aim to compensate for the shortage of members in the ranks of the militias, after a recent decision to move all Iraqi, Lebanese and Iranian militia members from Deir Ezzor to Damascus.

On July 17, the Observatory reported that Iranian militia leaders in Deir Ezzor are leaving to Damascus.
According to the sources, the leaders will conduct security meetings to assess their military situation in Deir Ezzor and their combat readiness to deal with the US bases east of the Euphrates.



Knesset Votes to Label UNRWA a Terror Organization

FILED - 30 June 2022, Israel, Jerusalem: Overview of the Israeli Knesset. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
FILED - 30 June 2022, Israel, Jerusalem: Overview of the Israeli Knesset. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
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Knesset Votes to Label UNRWA a Terror Organization

FILED - 30 June 2022, Israel, Jerusalem: Overview of the Israeli Knesset. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
FILED - 30 June 2022, Israel, Jerusalem: Overview of the Israeli Knesset. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa

The Israeli parliament gave preliminary approval on Monday to a bill that declares the main United Nations relief organization for Palestinians a terrorist organization and proposes to sever relations with the body.
The vote against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) is the latest step in a Israeli push against the agency, which Israeli leaders have accused of collaborating with Hamas in Gaza.
The bill was approved in a first reading and will be returned to the foreign affairs and defense committee for further deliberation, the Knesset information service said.
According to Reuters, the bill's sponsor, Yulia Malinovsky, was quoted as describing UNRWA as a "fifth column within Israel.”
UNRWA provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel but relations have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded.
"It's another attempt in a wider campaign to dismantle the agency," UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma said. "Such steps are unheard of in the history of the United Nations."
Israel has said hundreds of UNRWA staff are members of terrorist groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but has yet to provide evidence to a UN-appointed review.
Several donor countries halted funding to UNRWA following the Israeli accusations but many have since reversed the decision, including Britain which said last week it would resume funding.