Moscow Speeds up Training of Syrian Regime Forces

A picture taken during a guided tour with the Russian army shows Syrian elite soldiers taking part in an instruction session with Russian military trainers, on September 24, 2019, at an army base in Yafour, some 30 kilometers west of Damascus. (Maxime POPOV / AFP)
A picture taken during a guided tour with the Russian army shows Syrian elite soldiers taking part in an instruction session with Russian military trainers, on September 24, 2019, at an army base in Yafour, some 30 kilometers west of Damascus. (Maxime POPOV / AFP)
TT
20

Moscow Speeds up Training of Syrian Regime Forces

A picture taken during a guided tour with the Russian army shows Syrian elite soldiers taking part in an instruction session with Russian military trainers, on September 24, 2019, at an army base in Yafour, some 30 kilometers west of Damascus. (Maxime POPOV / AFP)
A picture taken during a guided tour with the Russian army shows Syrian elite soldiers taking part in an instruction session with Russian military trainers, on September 24, 2019, at an army base in Yafour, some 30 kilometers west of Damascus. (Maxime POPOV / AFP)

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Turkish Ambassador Mehmet Samsar discussed Friday the situation in Syria and Libya, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Bogdanov and Samsar met in Moscow at the ambassador’s initiative and tackled the need to work out mutually acceptable solutions to the crises in both Damascus and Tripoli.

"They reaffirmed the need to find mutually acceptable solutions to speed up the peace process in Syria and Libya, based on the existing international laws and UN Security Council resolutions," the ministry’s statement read.

The meeting coincided with reports published by TV channel Zvezda, which is controlled by Russia's defense ministry, saying that Russian military officials are speeding up the training of Syrian regime forces on the use of artillery techniques.

The station said that in the past few days, the Russians carried out the fourth training of regime forces this month.

The channel noted that Russian military experts trained the Syrian Army’s artillery battalion in the ranks of the Fifth Brigade, on the use of radars and artillery detectors.

Other Russian media outlets said that Moscow benefited from the calm that prevailed in the past weeks on the Syrian fronts to train the regime troops.

Last Thursday, the Russian experts conducted trainings on victim rescue exercises, including the evacuation of injured people from a remote mountain site.

During the past two weeks, Russia also trained regime forces on the use of shoulder-mounted missiles and camouflage using smoke bombs.

The situation in Syria was mainly discussed during talks held Thursday between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

Following the meeting, Lavrov said, “Concerning Syria, we and Saudi Arabia have much in common in our approaches to the key problems of settlement. Like our Saudi friends, we want the Syrians to determine their own approaches to national development and decide their destiny without outside interference. This also applies to the assessment of the presence of foreign troops on Syrian territory.”

For his part, the Saudi Minister said Tehran’s proxy militias were obstructing a solution for the war in Syria.



UNRWA: West Bank Witnessing Alarming Spillover of Gaza War

26 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Tulkarem: Palestinians carry their items to flee their homes as the Israeli army continues its raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem as part of its biggest yet on going military operation in the West Bank. (dpa)
26 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Tulkarem: Palestinians carry their items to flee their homes as the Israeli army continues its raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem as part of its biggest yet on going military operation in the West Bank. (dpa)
TT
20

UNRWA: West Bank Witnessing Alarming Spillover of Gaza War

26 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Tulkarem: Palestinians carry their items to flee their homes as the Israeli army continues its raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem as part of its biggest yet on going military operation in the West Bank. (dpa)
26 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Tulkarem: Palestinians carry their items to flee their homes as the Israeli army continues its raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem as part of its biggest yet on going military operation in the West Bank. (dpa)

UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said on Wednesday that West Bank is undergoing an alarming spillover of the Gaza war.

“More than 50 people, including children, have been reported killed since the Israeli forces’ operation started five weeks ago,” he said.

In a statement posted on his X account, Lazzarini said that destruction of public infrastructure, bulldozing roads and access restrictions are commonplace.

People’s lives have been turned upside down, bringing back traumas and loss, he said, adding that around 40,000 people have been forced to flee their homes especially in refugee camps in the north.

“Fear, uncertainty, and grief once again prevail. Affected camps lie in ruins,” he wrote.

The UN official showed that more than 5,000 children who normally go to UNRWA schools have been deprived of education, some for over 10 weeks now.

Also, patients cannot access healthcare, families are cut off from water, electricity and other basic services, he said.

“More and more people are relying on humanitarian aid at a time when aid agencies are overstretched and severely under-resourced,” Lazzarini noted.

“Our UNRWA teams are tracking displaced people and continue to provide them with much needed food, health care, and basics to keep them warm,” he added.

“This must end,” the UN official concluded.

Meanwhile, the recently-appointed Palestinian governor of Tulkarem, Abdallah Kmeil, said on Wednesday that the Israeli forces had notified residents of their intention to demolish 11 homes in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank, where more than 5,000 people live.

“The Israeli occupation notice to demolish 11 homes under the pretext of constructing a road stretching from the camp square towards the Al-Manshiya neighborhood, is considered a new massacre against this camp through systematic destruction and sabotage,” he said.

Kmeil added that Israel’s unprecedented attack on Tulkarem and its camp will not break the resolve of its people.