US Boosts Efforts to ‘Unite Kurds’ in Eastern Euphrates

William Roebuck meets Kurdish party leaders | SDF Press
William Roebuck meets Kurdish party leaders | SDF Press
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US Boosts Efforts to ‘Unite Kurds’ in Eastern Euphrates

William Roebuck meets Kurdish party leaders | SDF Press
William Roebuck meets Kurdish party leaders | SDF Press

The US has intensified meetings with leaders from the Kurdish groups in Syria to ‘unite’ the Kurds and establish a joint civil administration and a Kurdish delegation to take part in international talks on the Syria crisis.

US Ambassador William Roebuck, who is currently the Deputy Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, met this month with leaders from the Democratic Union Party and the Movement for a Democratic Society.

Roebuck also convened with the presidency of the Kurdish National Council and commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi.

Also two days ago, he had two separate meetings with representatives of the Kurdish National Alliance in Syria and the Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party.

Sources close to the matter revealed that the meetings discussed progress with the initiative to unite Kurdish parties following the Turkish attack and seizure of Tel Abyad and Ras al Ain.

For his part, Abdi expressed optimism while some sources ruled out any possibility of reaching a final agreement between the two parties.

Sources added that sovereign positions will likely be handled by the Democratic Union Party and the Movement for a Democratic Society. Also, a joint military command will be formed and a map will be prepared showing the deployment of fighters in certain zones.

Moreover, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed that US forces conducted a military patrol, setting off from Tal Baydar base in rural Al-Hasakah and touring the area of Al-Derbasiya. The Observatory stated that the US forces intend to take the task of protecting oil fields and pipelines in eastern Euphrates away from the “Self Defence Forces” and put SDF fighters in charge.



Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio and prevent the spread of the virus began on Saturday, Gaza's Health Ministry said, as Palestinians in both the Hamas-governed enclave and the occupied West Bank reeled from Israel's ongoing military offensives.

Children in Gaza began receiving vaccines, the health ministry told a news conference, a day before the large-scale vaccine rollout and planned pause in fighting agreed to by Israel and the UN World Health Organization. The WHO confirmed the larger campaign would begin Sunday.

“There must be a ceasefire so that the teams can reach everyone targeted by this campaign,” said Dr. Yousef Abu Al-Rish, deputy health minister, describing scenes of sewage running through crowded tent camps in Gaza.

Associated Press journalists saw about 10 infants receiving vaccine doses at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Israel is expected to pause some operations in Gaza on Sunday to allow health workers to administer vaccines to some 650,000 Palestinian children. Officials said the pause would last at least nine hours and is unrelated to ongoing cease-fire negotiations.

“We will vaccinate up to 10-year-olds and God willing we will be fine,” said Dr. Bassam Abu Ahmed, general coordinator of public health programs at Al-Quds University.

The vaccination campaign comes after the first polio case in 25 years in Gaza was discovered this month. Doctors concluded a 10-month-old had been partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus after not being vaccinated due to fighting.

Healthcare workers in Gaza have been warning of the potential for a polio outbreak for months. The humanitarian crisis has deepened during the war that broke out after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants.

Hours earlier, the Health Ministry said hospitals received 89 dead on Saturday, including 26 who died in an overnight Israeli bombardment, and 205 wounded — one of the highest daily tallies in months.