Russia Carries Out Raids Near Turkish Base in Northern Syria

Smoke rises from a Russian strike in northern Syria on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Smoke rises from a Russian strike in northern Syria on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Russia Carries Out Raids Near Turkish Base in Northern Syria

Smoke rises from a Russian strike in northern Syria on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Smoke rises from a Russian strike in northern Syria on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Russian warplanes launched raids near a Turkish base in the countryside of Aleppo, northern Syria, after Ankara announced the killing of a soldier in a bombing by Kurdish forces.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced the killing of one of its soldiers as a result of a missile attack in the northern countryside of Aleppo, within the area known as the “Euphrates Shield”, which is under Turkey’s control.

A leader in the Syrian National Army said the raids were the third of their kind within weeks.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin by phone on Thursday, a number of bilateral and regional issues, including developments in Syria and the situation in Idlib.

The phone call came a week after the two leaders met in Sochi, where they discussed the Syria and the tense situation in Idlib. They stressed their commitment to previous agreements and understandings in this regard.

In the same context, the spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party in Turkey, Omer Celik, warned that any attack by the Syrian regime forces or any tension that occurs in the Idlib governorate would lead to new waves migrants and humanitarian tragedies.

He added that his country was closely monitoring any violations of the ceasefire signed with Russia on March 5, 2020, and attacks targeting civilians.



International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Meets with Syrian Leader in Damascus

This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan in Damascus on January 17, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan in Damascus on January 17, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
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International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Meets with Syrian Leader in Damascus

This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan in Damascus on January 17, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan in Damascus on January 17, 2025. (SANA / AFP)

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan made an unannounced visit Friday to Damascus to confer with the leader of Syria’s de facto government on how to ensure accountability for alleged crimes committed in the country.

Khan's office said he visited at the invitation of Syria’s transitional government. He met with Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of Syria’s new administration and the foreign minister to discuss options for justice in The Hague for victims of the country's civil war, which has left more than half a million dead and more than six million people displaced.

Assad, who fled to Russia in December, waged an oppressive campaign against anyone who opposed him during his more than two decades in power.

Rights groups estimate at least 150,000 people went missing after anti-government protests began in 2011, most vanishing into Assad’s prison network. Many of them were killed, either in mass executions or from torture and prison conditions. The exact number remains unknown.

The global chemical weapons watchdog found Syrian forces were responsible for multiple attacks using chlorine gas and other banned substances against civilians.

Other groups have also been accused of human rights violations and war crimes during the country’s civil war.

The new authorities have called for members of the Assad regime to be brought to justice. It is unclear how exactly that would work at this stage.

Syria is not a member of the ICC, which has left the court without the ability to investigate the war. In 2014, Russia and China blocked a referral by the United Nations Security Council which would have given the court jurisdiction. Similar referrals were made for Sudan and Libya.

Khan's visit comes after a trip to Damascus last month by the UN organization assisting in investigating the most serious crimes in Syria. The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria was created to assist in evidence-gathering and prosecution of individuals responsible for possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide since Syria’s civil war began in 2011.

The group's head, Robert Petit, highlighted the urgency of preserving documents and other evidence before they are lost.