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Syria: US Bolsters Troops as Kurdish Residents Protest Against Russian Patrols

Russian helicopter near an oil well in the countryside of Hasaka, northeastern Syria (AFP)
Russian helicopter near an oil well in the countryside of Hasaka, northeastern Syria (AFP)
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Syria: US Bolsters Troops as Kurdish Residents Protest Against Russian Patrols

Russian helicopter near an oil well in the countryside of Hasaka, northeastern Syria (AFP)
Russian helicopter near an oil well in the countryside of Hasaka, northeastern Syria (AFP)

Dozens of residents of in Malikiya countryside, northeastern Syria, protested to prevent Russian forces from advancing near their town and forced the troops to withdraw as US forces intervened and surrounded the area.

The incident, which aimed at preventing Russians from setting a military post in the area on the borders with Turkey, has provoked the Russian-US competition to establish military presence in areas east of the Euphrates.

The Russian Defense Ministry and Hmeimim base avoided commenting on the development on Monday.

According to activists, villagers of Ain Diwar halted the advancement of a Russian patrol, consisting of 11 military vehicles and prevented them from reaching an area in which a military post was supposed to be established.

Sources explained that the patrol was supported by helicopters, which flew at low altitude, to scare the protesters who insisted on their demands and called on the patrol's commander to leave the area immediately.

The commander tried to speak with the civilians and inform them that his troops will remain for two weeks only to train regime forces, field sources noted, affirming that his attempts had failed to convince the residents.

The sources said that the US forces interfered and closed all roads on the Russian patrol, noting that a US helicopter flew and chased two Russian helicopters.

US forces had repeatedly intercepted Russian attempted patrols along the international road, starting from their bases in or near the cities of Qamishli, Tel Tamr and Kobane.

In light of its understandings with Turkey, Moscow has reinforced its military presence around areas under the control of Syrian Democratic Forces near the Turkish borders, but the US forces prevent it from moving freely.

The Russian withdrawal was met with the reinforcement of US troops in the region.

Reports said that a US patrol consisting of Bradley and other military vehicles stationed in the village of Gir Ziro village met with the residents and remained there for some time before returning to its base in Rmelan.

Press sources also pointed out that the incident revealed the resentment of residents following recent Russian statements, in which it warned against Washington’s actions in the eastern Euphrates region.

“US actions in the Euphrates region create an explosive situation around the Kurdish problem, the consequences for the region can be catastrophic,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had recently stated.

“The situation on the Eastern Bank of the Euphrates is a cause for concern, where the US military illegally stationed there clearly encourages the separatist tendencies of the Kurds,” he stressed.

Americans are inciting the Kurds against the Syrian government, hindering the Kurds’ natural desire to start a dialogue with Damascus, Lavrov added.

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Arab World

Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
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Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam led a high-level ministerial delegation to Syria on Monday for talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the most significant diplomatic visit between the two countries since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December.

"My visit to Damascus today aims to open a new page in the history of relations between the two countries, based on mutual respect, restoring trust, good neighborliness," Salam said in a statement on X.

At the center of discussions was implementing a March 28 agreement signed in Saudi Arabia by the Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers to demarcate land and sea borders and improve coordination on border security issues, Salam said in the statement.

The Lebanese-Syrian border witnessed deadly clashes earlier this year and years of unrest in the frontier regions, which have been plagued by weapons and illicit drug smuggling through illegal crossings.

During Monday’s meeting, Salam and Sharaa agreed to form a joint ministerial committee to oversee the implementation of the border agreement, close illegal crossings and suppress smuggling activity along the border.

The border area, especially near Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and Syria’s Qusayr region, has long been a corridor for illicit trade, arms trafficking, and the movement of fighters — including Hezbollah fighters who backed the Assad government during Syria’s 14-year civil war.

Hezbollah has been significantly weakened in its recent war with Israel and since Assad's ousting, it lost several key smuggling routes it once relied on for weapons transfers.

Lebanon also pressed Syria to provide clarity on the fate of thousands of Lebanese nationals who were forcibly disappeared or imprisoned in Syrian jails in the 1980s and 1990s, during Syria’s nearly 30-year military presence in Lebanon. Human rights groups have long documented the lack of accountability and transparency regarding these cases, with families of the missing holding regular demonstrations in Beirut demanding answers.

Syrian officials for their part raised the issue of Syrian nationals detained in Lebanese prisons, Salam said. Many of the detainees were arrested for illegal entry or alleged involvement in militant activity. Rights advocates in both countries have criticized the lack of due process in many of these cases and the poor conditions inside detention facilities.

Lebanon pledged to hand over people implicated in crimes committed by the Assad government and security forces, many of whom are believed to have fled to Lebanon after the government’s collapse, if found on Lebanese soil, a ministerial source told The Associated Press.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly comment.

In return, Lebanese officials requested the extradition of Syrians wanted in Lebanese courts for high-profile political assassinations, "most notably those involved in the bombing of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques, those convicted of assassinating President Bashir Gemayel, and other crimes for which the Assad regime is accused," Salam said.

For decades, Lebanon witnessed a long series of politically motivated assassinations targeting journalists, politicians and security officials, particularly those opposed to Syrian influence. The 2013 twin bombings of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques in Tripoli in northern Lebanon killed more than 40 people and intensified sectarian tensions already heightened by the spillover from the Syrian war.

Syria has never officially acknowledged involvement in any of Lebanon’s political assassinations.

Salam said he also pushed for renewed cooperation on the return of Syrian refugees.

Lebanese government officials estimate the country hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, of whom about 755,000 are officially registered with the UN refugee agency, or UNHCR, making it the country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world.

While Lebanese authorities have long urged the international community to support large-scale repatriation efforts, human rights organizations have cautioned against forced returns, citing ongoing security concerns and a lack of guarantees in Syria.

Since the fall of Assad in December, an estimated 400,000 refugees have returned to Syria from neighboring countries, according to UNHCR, with about half of them coming from Lebanon, but many are hesitant to return because of the dire economic situation and fears of continuing instability in Syria.