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Turkish Soldier Killed in Clashes With Kurds in Northern Syria

Nazeer al-Khatib, AFP file picture | A Turkish soldier guards a position on Mount Bersaya, north of the Syrian town of Azaz near the border with Turkey, on January 29, 2018
Nazeer al-Khatib, AFP file picture | A Turkish soldier guards a position on Mount Bersaya, north of the Syrian town of Azaz near the border with Turkey, on January 29, 2018
    Qamishli, Ankara - Kamal Sheikho, Saeed Abdelrazek
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Turkish Soldier Killed in Clashes With Kurds in Northern Syria

Nazeer al-Khatib, AFP file picture | A Turkish soldier guards a position on Mount Bersaya, north of the Syrian town of Azaz near the border with Turkey, on January 29, 2018
Nazeer al-Khatib, AFP file picture | A Turkish soldier guards a position on Mount Bersaya, north of the Syrian town of Azaz near the border with Turkey, on January 29, 2018

The Turkish Defense Ministry announced Thursday the death of a Turkish soldier during clashes with members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin, northern Syria, which is controlled by Turkey and Syrian factions loyal to it.

In a brief statement on Twitter, the ministry said that clashes between its forces and members of the YPG took place during an infiltration attempt by the Kurdish units, adding that Turkish forces responded to the attack and neutralized six of them.

Turkey took control over the Kurdish-majority Afrin region since its military operation in the region in 2018 called "Olive Branch", with the support of the Syrian factions loyal to it against the YPG forces.

Also, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that a Turkish officer and 3 soldiers were wounded in an infiltration operation by Kurdish forces on the Basufan and Kafr Khasher frontlines in the northern countryside of Aleppo in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The clashes coincided with intensive Turkish rocket attacks on the conflict zones and other positions in the Kurdish-controlled villages of Mar’naz, Baylouniyyah, Burj Al-Qas, and Masiyyah.

The war -monitor said Kurdish forces responded to the Turkish rocket fire by shelling the Turkish base in Kimar in rural Afrin.

This came as Turkish forces carried out a new patrol on Aleppo-Latakia international highway (M4) as well another joint patrol with the Russian military police in areas to the west of Ain Al-Arab city (Kobani).

The patrol which comprises four Russian vehicles and four other Turkish ones has set off from Ashmeh village in western Kobani and was supposed to tour the villages and border areas.

The new patrol marks the 35th patrol carried out by Moscow and Ankara since the agreement was signed between the two sides at the end of last year, following Operation Peace Spring, and the control of the Syrian factions and the Turkish army over the towns of Tal Abyad in the northern countryside of Raqqa and Ras al-Ain in Hasaka.

Meanwhile, Russian officials and officers from the government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad met with leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces at the Russian base in Ain Issa to discuss field developments and the recent Turkish offensive, as well as the construction of a Turkish military base near the international highway (M4).

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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)
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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.