Russian Forces Deploy near Highway Used by Washington East of Euphrates in Syria

A Russian military patrol in Syria. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A Russian military patrol in Syria. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Russian Forces Deploy near Highway Used by Washington East of Euphrates in Syria

A Russian military patrol in Syria. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A Russian military patrol in Syria. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A Russian military police patrol deployed over the weekend in the town of Malikiyah in Syria's northeastern-most region, near oil fields and the Turkish borders, and adjacent to the highway linking the city of Qamishli and the Semalka border crossing to the Kurdistan Regio.

The highway is used by the anti-ISIS international coalition and US forces as a supply line to send military and logistic enhancements to their bases in Iraq.

Seven armored vehicles and dozens of soldiers took up position at the ancient Roman bridge in the village of Ain Dewar, north of the city of Derik.

The patrol was accompanied by the over flight of four Russian helicopters.

A member of the patrol told North Press that the deployment would continue until Sunday morning, after which they would return to their bases in Qamishli. He did not disclose the reasons for the deployment.

Russian forces had previously attempted to establish a base in the region, despite opposition by locals.

A week ago, the Russian Military Police carried out a patrol of four armored vehicles in the countryside of Derik.

Badran Jia Kurd, a vice president of the regional administration east of the Euphrates, said the Russian activity and deployment in the area aims to “control oil resources.”

He said: “The Russian forces seek to end the presence of the Coalition and US forces in the area. Our villages have become a scene for settling scores between Moscow and Washington.”

Hundreds of residents had demonstrated in the villages and towns of the Malikiyah countryside against the presence of Russian patrols.

“Russia plans to re-impose control of pro-Assad forces over all Syrian territories,” Jia Kurd said, adding that attention is now focused on the new American administration and that stances it will take on Syria.



Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
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Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.

Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.

She has long criticized Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Washington to reverse course.

"Even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures," he said, Reuters reported.

Juerg Lauber, the Swiss permanent representative to the UN who now holds the rotating presidency of the Human Rights Council, said he regretted the sanctions, and called on states to "refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal" against the body's experts.

Mariana Katzarova, who serves as the special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, said her concern was that other countries would follow the US lead.

"This is totally unacceptable and opens the gates for any other government to do the same," she told Reuters. "It is an attack on UN system as a whole. Member states must stand up and denounce this."

Russia has rejected Katzarova's mandate and refused to let her enter the country, but it has so far stopped short of publicly adding her to a sanctions list.

Washington has already imposed sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for suspected war crimes in Gaza. Another court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide.

Israel denies that its forces have carried out war crimes or genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023.

"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the US sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".

The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.