Iranian Militias Set up Rocket Launchpads West of Euphrates in Syria

Pro-Iran militias in eastern Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
Pro-Iran militias in eastern Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
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Iranian Militias Set up Rocket Launchpads West of Euphrates in Syria

Pro-Iran militias in eastern Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
Pro-Iran militias in eastern Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

Iran-backed militias have set up rocket launchpads in the Deir Ezzor region where the missiles have been directed towards areas under the control of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is backed by the international coalition.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the militias have established 13 launchpads equipped with surface-to-surface Iranian-made missiles in al-Mayadeen in eastern Deir Ezzor, while nine others were placed in a barn in the Hawi al-Mayadeen area.

All the launchpads are pointed towards the eastern Euphrates region. The nearest position to the platforms is the al-Omar oil field on the opposite bank of the river.

No confirmed information has been revealed about Iran’s purpose from the move, such as whether it was planning attacks.

On April 21, reliable sources in al-Mayadeen, in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, informed the Observatory that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) transported Iranian-made missiles concealed in the al-Rahba citadel to areas under the control of Iranian militias in the eastern countryside of al-Raqqah.

The shipment was smuggled in trucks used for transporting vegetables and fruit.

Earlier, the war monitor reported that a drone attack killed a commander of of the Iran-backed militias and injured five militants in al-Sayyal town.

The non-Syrian commander died in the attack on his home, 11 kilometers northwest of Albukamal city.

On March 22, an unidentified drone targeted oil wells in the Albukamal desert in Deir Ezzor, near the Syria-Iraq border.

According to Observatory sources, the targeted wells were restored by Iran-backed militias after they were destroyed by ISIS during its control of the area.



Israel Draws up Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon, Warns People against Approaching it

Israeli artillery fire is seen in the Lebanese section of Shebaa. (AFP file)
Israeli artillery fire is seen in the Lebanese section of Shebaa. (AFP file)
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Israel Draws up Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon, Warns People against Approaching it

Israeli artillery fire is seen in the Lebanese section of Shebaa. (AFP file)
Israeli artillery fire is seen in the Lebanese section of Shebaa. (AFP file)

Israel has drawn up a map of a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, the first time it has done so since the ceasefire agreement went into effect in November.

An Israeli drone threw on Thursday leaflets with a map of the zone as it flew over the southeastern town of Shebaa.

The map delineated the zone with a red line, warning people against crossing it. “Anyone who enters the area is putting himself in danger,” read the leaflet.

Some observers said such a move is purely part of Israeli security measures, while others have interpreted it as an attempt to impose a new reality on the ground.

Field sources said Israel had previously thrown similar leaflets in Shebaa in July, warning beekeepers to clear areas Israel had deemed as “sensitive”.

On Wednesday, Israeli Chief of the General Staff commander Eyal Zamir toured areas inside southern Lebanon, in a move seen as consolidating the new security status quo on the border.

Retired Major General Dr. Abdel Rahman Shahtali said that with the new map, Israel is working on imposing a new reality along the border.

This is a very dangerous development, “rather, it is more dangerous than dangerous,” he told Asharq al-Awsat.

He warned that if Lebanon agrees to it, then it is effectively giving up Lebanese territory to Israel.

These areas are defined as Lebanese through official agreements between Lebanon and Syria, he stressed.

The area covered in the new map spans around 50 kms squared. “These are completely Lebanese areas,” Shahtali said.

He explained that Israel is aiming to prevent the owners of these territories from accessing them and planting their crops there, in an attempt to consolidate their gradual occupation, just the way it did in the Syrian Golan Heights.

At first it imposed new field realities before later annexing the Golan, he remarked.

The new map effectively draws a new border between Lebanon and Israel, which may later be used as the basis of any new agreements or settlements in the future. The new measure must be confronted immediately, he urged.

As for Shebaa, Shahtali explained that Israel had occupied one section of the area in 1967 during a war that Lebanon did not even join.

Syrian forces were deployed there at the time and so, Israel viewed the territory as Syrian, he said. Israel expanded its occupation in the following years.

Shahtali demanded that the Lebanese government take an immediate strong response to the development and file a complaint at the United Nations.