Turkey Warns of New Migration Wave from Idlib Offensive

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. (AP)
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. (AP)
TT
20

Turkey Warns of New Migration Wave from Idlib Offensive

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. (AP)
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. (AP)

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim warned on Friday that the offensive against Syria’s rebel-held Idlib will create a new migration wave, calling on Russia and Iran to rein in the Syrian regime offensive near Turkey’s southern border.

“Carrying out increased attacks in Idlib will cause new migration waves and victimization there. This is very dangerous and wrong,” Yildirim told reporters after Friday prayers.

“It is very wrong for the regime to launch an offensive, without differentiating civilians, in order to gain land ... while the initiative by Turkey, Russia and Iran on a lasting peace in Syria has made progress,” Yildirim said.

The offensive supported by Iran-backed forces has gathered pace and displaced tens of thousands of people since November, according to the United Nations.

Already host to 3 million refugees from the six-year-old conflict, Turkey fears a further influx across its border from Idlib. The northwestern province is the largest region still held by rebels driven out of other strongholds in Syria, and is home to more than 2 million people, many in need of aid.

Turkey has been deploying forces inside northern Idlib and setting up bases there after agreeing with Iran and Russia to establish a “de-escalation zone” in Idlib and nearby areas.

Russia aims to convene a Syria peace congress later this month, though it is not yet clear who will attend.

Earlier on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had discussed the situation in Syria with his Iranian counterpart Mohammed Javad Zarif.

On Thursday, rebels launched a counter attack against regime forces and their allies in Idlib province.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
TT
20

Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed 18 people on Friday, including 10 who were waiting for aid in the south of the war-ravaged territory.

The fresh deaths came as the United Nations said nearly 800 people had been killed trying to access food in Gaza since late May, when Israel began easing a more than two-month total blockade on supplies.

UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said most of the deaths occurred near facilities operated by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, AFP reported.

"We've recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the GHF sites," from the time the group's operations began in late May until July 7, Shamdasani said Friday.

An officially private effort, GHF operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and frequent reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations.

The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives and violates basic humanitarian principles.

Responding to the UN's figures, Israel's military said it had worked to minimize "possible friction between the population and the army forces as much as possible".

"Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted... and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned," it added.

Gaza civil defense official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that 10 people were shot by Israeli forces on Friday while waiting for supplies in the Al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah, where there are regular reports of deadly fire on aid seekers.

- 'Extremely difficult' -

The civil defense reported six more people killed in four separate Israeli airstrikes in the area of Khan Yunis, in the south of the territory.

Two drone strikes around Gaza City in the north killed two more people, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

There was no immediate comment on the latest strikes from the Israeli military, which has recently expanded its operations across Gaza.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.

A Palestinian speaking to AFP from southern Gaza on condition of anonymity reported ongoing attacks and widespread devastation, with Israeli tanks seen near Khan Yunis.

"The situation remains extremely difficult in the area -- intense gunfire, intermittent airstrikes, artillery shelling, and ongoing bulldozing and destruction of displacement camps and agricultural land to the south, west and north of Al-Maslakh," an area to Khan Yunis's south, said the witness.

Israel's military said in a statement that its soldiers were operating in the area, dismantling "terrorist infrastructure sites, both above and below ground", and seizing "weapons and military equipment".

The civil defense also reported on Friday five people killed in an Israeli strike the previous night on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza.

Nearly all of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once during the more than 21-month war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people living there.

Many have sought shelter in school buildings, but these have repeatedly come under Israeli attack, with the military often saying they were targeting Hamas militants hiding among civilians.