Spain to Evacuate Citizens from Lebanon, Defense Minister Says

 A civil defense worker extinguishes a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP)
A civil defense worker extinguishes a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP)
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Spain to Evacuate Citizens from Lebanon, Defense Minister Says

 A civil defense worker extinguishes a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP)
A civil defense worker extinguishes a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP)

Spain plans to send two military aircraft to evacuate as many as 350 citizens from Lebanon as early as Thursday, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on Wednesday.

"The Spanish airplanes are ready, the staff are ready, as always with the professionalism of the Spanish army," she said in an interview with Antena 3 TV station.

A group of 350 Spanish citizens present in Lebanon have asked to go to Spain, Robles said in the interview.

Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares had said earlier this week around 1,000 Spaniards were in Lebanon.

Israel was hit on Tuesday evening by rockets launched from Iran following a ground incursion of the Israeli armed forces into south Lebanon where they clashed with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

The operation followed intense air strikes that have devastated Hezbollah's leadership, including longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah who was killed in Beirut last week.

Beside the 1,000 Spanish residents in Lebanon, Spain has commanded the United Nations' Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and deployed 650 troops along the southern Lebanese border with Israel, since 2022.



Türkiye Says It Believes Kurdish Fighters Will Be Forced Out of All Syrian Territory

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Says It Believes Kurdish Fighters Will Be Forced Out of All Syrian Territory

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)

Türkiye believes Syria's new rulers, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive Kurdish YPG fighters from all territory they occupy in northeastern Syria, Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on Sunday.

Türkiye regards the Syrian YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington, and the European Union.

The YPG spearheads an alliance, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is backed by the United States and controls territory in northeastern Syria. Since the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, Türkiye and Syrian groups it backs have fought against the SDF, seizing the city of Manbij.

"We believe that the new leadership in Syria and the Syrian National Army, which is an important part of its army, along with the Syrian people, will free all territories occupied by terrorist organizations," Guler said during a visit to Turkish troops on the Syrian border with military commanders.

"We will also take every necessary measure with the same determination until all terrorist elements beyond our borders are cleared," he said in a video released by his ministry.

Ankara has demanded the Syrian Kurdish fighters disband, and has called on Washington to withdraw its support. The US military acknowledged last week it has 2,000 troops on the ground in Syria, twice as many as it had said previously.

On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye would do "whatever it takes" to ensure its security if Syria's new administration was unable to address its concerns.