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Russia’s Kremlin Speeds Up Tartus Base Expansion

The Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean Sea coast has been used by the Russian navy since the early 1970s, but has recently taken on a new -- and unclear -- purpose. Above, the Russian amphibious landing vessel Caesar Kunikov (left) is shown leaving the bay of the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol June 19, 2012. Photo: Reuters/Stringer
The Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean Sea coast has been used by the Russian navy since the early 1970s, but has recently taken on a new -- and unclear -- purpose. Above, the Russian amphibious landing vessel Caesar Kunikov (left) is shown leaving the bay of the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol June 19, 2012. Photo: Reuters/Stringer
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Russia’s Kremlin Speeds Up Tartus Base Expansion

The Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean Sea coast has been used by the Russian navy since the early 1970s, but has recently taken on a new -- and unclear -- purpose. Above, the Russian amphibious landing vessel Caesar Kunikov (left) is shown leaving the bay of the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol June 19, 2012. Photo: Reuters/Stringer
The Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean Sea coast has been used by the Russian navy since the early 1970s, but has recently taken on a new -- and unclear -- purpose. Above, the Russian amphibious landing vessel Caesar Kunikov (left) is shown leaving the bay of the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol June 19, 2012. Photo: Reuters/Stringer

Russian President Vladimir Putin has referred the expansion of the Russian naval facility in Tartus to the State Duma. The parliament, in turn, confirmed its readiness to ratify the agreement by the end of this year.

State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house being the Council of the Federation.

The agreement was signed by the Russian Defense Ministry and the Syrian regime’s Defense Ministry on January 18, 2017, in Damascus.

Under the terms of the agreement, Russia has the right to use the naval base for 49 years, a period which commences as of signing and can be automatically extended for an additional quarter a century, without a fee.

Eleven Russian naval vessels are allowed to coincidentally dock at the base. Russia had begun construction on the extension before the signing of the agreement.

Russian labor aims to transform the base into a major hub able to host Russian fleet vessels, including nuclear submarines. The agreement also grants Russian individuals and their families present at the base diplomatic immunity across Syrian territory.

The Russian government announced on December 5 that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed the Tartus agreement and referred it to the Russian presidency for approval, and later presented it to both Houses of the Russian Parliament for ratification.

Russian parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that the council plans to ratify the agreement by the end of this year.

"If the Duma sees to the agreement hastily, we are ready to ratify it by the end of the year," said Frants Klintsevich, First Deputy Head of the Federation Council (upper house) Committee on Defense and Security.

The move comes to litigate all arrangements to use Tartus base, while the withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria continues at an "active" pace for the second day in a row.

Meanwhile, Russia’s special operations medical team returned home from Syria. According to data from the Russian Defense Ministry, over 200 military medical personnel were deployed on Syrian territory.

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Arab World

Germany Moves Troops Out of Iraq, Citing Mideast 'Tensions'

FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
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Germany Moves Troops Out of Iraq, Citing Mideast 'Tensions'

FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

Germany's military has "temporarily" moved some troops out of Erbil in northern Iraq because of "escalating tensions in the Middle East," a German defense ministry spokesman told AFP on Thursday.

Dozens of German soldiers had been relocated away from the base in Erbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

"Only the personnel necessary to maintain the operational capability of the camp in Erbil remain on site," the spokesman said.

The spokesman did not specify the source of the tensions, but US President Donald Trump has ordered a major build-up of US warships, aircraft and other weaponry in the region and threatened action against Iran.

German troops are deployed to Erbil as part of an international mission to train local Iraqi forces.

The spokesman said the German redeployment away from Erbil was "closely coordinated with our multinational partners".

Arab World

UN: At Least 15 Children Killed in Sudan Drone Strike

The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
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UN: At Least 15 Children Killed in Sudan Drone Strike

The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)

A drone strike on a displacement camp in Sudan killed at least 15 children earlier this week, the United Nations reported late on Wednesday.

"On Monday 16 February, at least 15 children were reportedly killed and 10 wounded after a drone strike on a displacement camp in Al Sunut, West Kordofan," the UN children's agency said in a statement.

Across the Kordofan region, currently the Sudan war's fiercest battlefield, "we are seeing the same disturbing patterns from Darfur -- children killed, injured, displaced and cut off from the services they need to survive," UNICEF's Executive Director Catherine Russell said.

Arab World

MSF Will Keep Operating in Gaza 'as Long as We Can'

(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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MSF Will Keep Operating in Gaza 'as Long as We Can'

(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The head of Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories told AFP the charity would continue working in Gaza for as long as possible, following an Israeli decision to end its activities there.

In early February, Israel announced it was terminating all the activities in Gaza by the medical charity, known by its French acronym MSF, after it failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.

MSF has slammed the move, which takes effect on March 1, as a "pretext" to obstruct aid.

"For the time being, we are still working in Gaza, and we plan to keep running our operations as long as we can," Filipe Ribeiro told AFP in Amman, but said operations were already facing challenges.

"Since the beginning of January, we are not anymore in the capacity to get international staff inside Gaza. The Israeli authorities actually denied any entry to Gaza, but also to the West Bank," he said.

Ribeiro added that MSF's ability to bring medical supplies into Gaza had also been impacted.

"They're not allowed for now, but we have some stocks in our pharmacies that will allow us to keep running operations for the time being," he said.

"We do have teams in Gaza that are still working, both national and international, and we have stocks."

In December, Israel announced it would prevent 37 aid organizations, including MSF, from working in Gaza from March 1 for failing to submit detailed information about their Palestinian employees, drawing widespread condemnation from NGOs and the United Nations.

It had alleged that two MSF employees had links with Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the medical charity has repeatedly and vehemently denied.

MSF says it did not provide the names of its Palestinian staff because Israeli authorities offered no assurances regarding their safety.

Ribeiro warned of the massive impact the termination of MSF's operations would have for healthcare in war-shattered Gaza.

"MSF is one of the biggest actors when it comes to the health provision in Gaza and the West Bank, and if we are obliged to leave, then we will create a huge void in Gaza," he said.

The charity says it currently provides at least 20 percent of hospital beds in the territory and operates around 20 health centers.

In 2025 alone, it carried out more than 800,000 medical consultations, treated more than 100,000 trauma cases and assisted more than 10,000 infant deliveries.