Idlib Battle Kicks Off as Turkish Forces, Al-Nusra Clash

A Turkish soldier stands on an army armored vehicle on October 8, 2017 at Syria-Turkey border at Reyhanli district in Hatay. Ilyas Akengin / AFP
A Turkish soldier stands on an army armored vehicle on October 8, 2017 at Syria-Turkey border at Reyhanli district in Hatay. Ilyas Akengin / AFP
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Idlib Battle Kicks Off as Turkish Forces, Al-Nusra Clash

A Turkish soldier stands on an army armored vehicle on October 8, 2017 at Syria-Turkey border at Reyhanli district in Hatay. Ilyas Akengin / AFP
A Turkish soldier stands on an army armored vehicle on October 8, 2017 at Syria-Turkey border at Reyhanli district in Hatay. Ilyas Akengin / AFP

Turkish forces entered Idlib in northern Syrian Sunday following clashes with militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), triggering the first signs of a battle announced two days ago by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to re-impose security in the province.

The two sides exchanged fire on Syrian grounds as Ankara deployed its forces at the border before an expected military operation to oust the Qaeda-linked militants from the province of Idlib.

Field sources at the border said that Turkish tanks offered a cover for Free Syrian Army fighters on Sunday morning while the Turkish army continued moving in the province of Reyhanli in Hatay province, near the Syrian border to help push its forces inside Idlib, part of a joint mission with Russia and Iran to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Syria’s de-escalation zones.

HTS is not part of a deal brokered by the three countries for the safe zone in the province, one of four such "de-escalation" zones across Syria.

Turkish armored vehicles and troops were waiting on the border, from where smoke could be seen from the mortar fire, an AFP photographer said.

Meanwhile, talks continued on Sunday among figures close from HTS in a bid to find an exit to the crisis.

Those figures want to allow the National Rescue Government led by its newly-elected president Mohammed al-Sheikh to become the civilian representative of Tahrir al-Sham and therefore shoulder the mission of negotiation concerning Idlib to keep the terrorist stain away from the HTS.

Separately, a final assault on ISIS’ last line of defense in its former Syrian capital Raqqa should begin on Sunday night, a field commander for the US-backed forces operating there told Reuters.

The assault on militants in the center of the northern city will focus on surrounding the sports stadium there, said a field commander in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in western Raqqa, who gave his name as Ardal Raqqa.



Blinken Lays Out Post-war Gaza Plan to Be Handed to Trump Team

 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2025. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2025. (AFP)
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Blinken Lays Out Post-war Gaza Plan to Be Handed to Trump Team

 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2025. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2025. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday laid out plans for the post-war management of Gaza, saying the outgoing Biden administration would hand over the roadmap to President-elect Donald Trump's team to pick up if a ceasefire deal is reached.

Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington in his final days as the US top diplomat, Blinken said Washington envisioned a reformed Palestinian Authority leading Gaza and inviting international partners to help establish and run an interim administration for the enclave.

A security force would be formed from forces from partner nations and vetted Palestinian personnel, Blinken said during his speech, which was repeatedly interrupted by protesters who accused him of supporting genocide by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel denies.

He was speaking as negotiators met in Qatar hoping to finalize a plan to end the war in Gaza after 15 months of conflict that has upended the Middle East.

"For many months, we've been working intensely with our partners to develop a detailed post-conflict plan that would allow Israel to fully withdraw from Gaza, prevent Hamas from filling back in, and provide for Gaza's governance, security and reconstruction," Blinken said.

Trump and his incoming team have not said whether they would implement the plan.

Blinken said a post-conflict plan and a "credible political horizon for Palestinians" was needed to ensure that Hamas does not re-emerge.

The United States had repeatedly warned Israel that Hamas could not be defeated by a military campaign alone, he said. "We assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new fighters as it has lost. That is a recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war."

PROTESTERS

Blinken's remarks were interrupted three times by protesters, who echoed accusations that the Biden administration was complicit in crimes committed by Israel in the war.

Blinken has denied Israel's actions amount to genocide and says he has pushed Israel to do more to protect civilians and to facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Israel launched its assault after Hamas-led fighters stormed across its borders on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's aerial and ground campaign has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, drawing accusations of genocide in a World Court case brought by South Africa and of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the allegations.

The assault has displaced nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million population and drawn the concern of the world’s main hunger monitor.

"You will forever be known as bloody Blinken, secretary of genocide," one protester shouted before being led out of the event.

Blinken remained calm, telling one heckler: "I respect your views. Please allow me to share mine," before resuming his remarks.

Blinken said US officials had debated "vigorously" the Biden administration's response to the war, a reference to a slew of resignations by officials in his State Department who have criticized the policy to continue providing arms and diplomatic cover to Israel.

Others felt Washington had held Israel back from inflicting greater damage on Iran and its proxies, he said.

"It is crucial to ask questions like these, which will be studied for years to come," he said. "I wish I could stand here today and tell you with certainty that we got every decision right. I cannot."