Russia Mediates between Syrian Regime, Kurds

The funeral of a Kurdish fighter who was killed in clashes with pro-regime fighters in Qamishli (North Press Agency)
The funeral of a Kurdish fighter who was killed in clashes with pro-regime fighters in Qamishli (North Press Agency)
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Russia Mediates between Syrian Regime, Kurds

The funeral of a Kurdish fighter who was killed in clashes with pro-regime fighters in Qamishli (North Press Agency)
The funeral of a Kurdish fighter who was killed in clashes with pro-regime fighters in Qamishli (North Press Agency)

Pro-regime National Defense Forces and the Kurdish internal security services, aka Asayish, have reached a ceasefire in northeastern Syria’s Qamishli city as part of a Russian-sponsored mediation.

Russian military police succeeded in mediating the ceasefire agreement between the National Defense Forces and members of Arab tribes and Asayish fighters in Qamishli, sources told Sputnik News Agency.

The agreement reached on Wednesday night stipulated a complete ceasefire and the withdrawal of fighters from the streets along with Russian patrols in the city’s streets, the sources said.

“Kurdish elements tried to advance with an armored vehicle towards a neighborhood in the city and put concrete barriers before the arrival of Russian forces,” said Mohammed al-Taei, a National Defense Forces member.

“Their attempts were thwarted and they were forced to return to their bases,” he added.

We are committed to the agreement and did not shoot at their checkpoints “as they claim,” he told dpa.

Meanwhile, a source close to the Kurdish units said elements from the National Defense Forces violated the ceasefire and targeted Asayish forces, adding that they fired mortar shells on a neighborhood mostly inhabited by Kurds.

Kurdish security forces said Wednesday that regime-allied fighters killed one of their personnel in an overnight attack on a checkpoint in Qamishli, of which both groups share control.

The fighting began when the National Defense Forces attacked the position manned by the Kurdish security forces in the city.

The Asayish, said one of their own died after sustaining wounds in the fighting late Tuesday, prompting Russian forces present in Qamishli airport to intervene to end the deadly clashes.



Türkiye Resolves Residency Dispute of Exiled Brotherhood Judge Sharaby

Egyptian judge Waleed Sharaby (Facebook)
Egyptian judge Waleed Sharaby (Facebook)
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Türkiye Resolves Residency Dispute of Exiled Brotherhood Judge Sharaby

Egyptian judge Waleed Sharaby (Facebook)
Egyptian judge Waleed Sharaby (Facebook)

An exiled Egyptian judge affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood said he ended an open-ended hunger strike after Turkish authorities intervened to resolve his residency status, following a public plea to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Waleed Sharaby, who fled to Türkiye in 2016 after being sentenced in Egypt, announced on Facebook late Thursday that he was halting his protest, which began outside a police station where he had been staging a sit-in.

He said the hunger strike was in response to Turkish authorities preventing him from leaving the country and refusing to renew his residency for nearly two years.

Sharaby claimed Turkish security services had acted on pressure from Egypt’s intelligence services, prompting him to appeal directly to Erdogan. He did not provide evidence for the alleged interference.

Moreover, Sharaby said he ended a two-day hunger strike and sit-in protest in Türkiye after receiving a call from a senior Turkish official who pledged to resolve his legal and residency issues.

Sharaby wrote on Facebook that he returned home and resumed eating on Thursday after the official, whose identity he did not disclose, invited him to a meeting and assured him that part of the issue would be resolved soon. “We may succeed in fully resolving the matter following this initial step,” he said.

Sharaby, who fled Egypt in 2016 after court rulings against him, began his hunger strike on Wednesday outside a police station in protest over what he described as Turkish authorities’ refusal to renew his residency for nearly two years and a travel ban that prevented him from leaving the country.

According to sources, Turkish authorities briefly detained him on Wednesday while attempting to depart the country, citing alleged financial violations involving Turkish citizens. He was held for a day before being released, after which he launched his protest.

During his sit-in, Sharaby publicly appealed to Erdogan via Facebook, asking for a personal meeting or for the issue to be referred to the appropriate authorities.

He claimed he had been subjected to “severe harassment” and travel restrictions, including pressure on a business he owns in Türkiye and a ban on leaving the country to seek asylum, reportedly in a European state, where his wife and children relocated nearly two years ago.

Turkish authorities have not publicly commented on the case. Türkiye has hosted several exiled members of the Muslim Brotherhood following the group's ouster from power in Egypt in 2013, though Ankara has since moved to restore ties with Cairo.

Sources close to Sharaby said Turkish authorities have agreed to grant him humanitarian residency, allowing him to remain in the country permanently despite the expiry of his Egyptian passport.

The move aligns with similar measures taken for other members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is designated a terrorist organization by the Egyptian government.