Russia, Turkey Hold Joint Patrol in Northern Syria

Turkish officers talk with Russian officers near Turkish-Syrian border. (AP)
Turkish officers talk with Russian officers near Turkish-Syrian border. (AP)
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Russia, Turkey Hold Joint Patrol in Northern Syria

Turkish officers talk with Russian officers near Turkish-Syrian border. (AP)
Turkish officers talk with Russian officers near Turkish-Syrian border. (AP)

Russian Military Police held on Tuesday a joint patrol with Turkish forces in the eastern countryside of northern Syria’s city of Ain al-Arab (Kobani).

The patrol was the 92nd between the two forces in the region since both countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 2019.

It comprised eight Russian and Turkish military vehicles and set off from Ashma village, nearly 20 km west of Kobani.

The Turkish military vehicles then returned to Turkey through the gate near Gharib village, while the Russian military vehicles returned to their position near the town of Sirrin, south of Kobani.

Separately, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced the killing of 12 members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) that were allegedly plotting a terror attack in areas held by Turkish forces and allied Syrian factions in northern Syria.

The killed members of the YPG, the largest component of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), were neutralized after they opened fire into Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield zone in northern Syria, said the ministry in a statement on Tuesday.



Israeli Military Says Gaza Polio Vaccination Campaign Completed

A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, November 2, 2024. (Reuters)
A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, November 2, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Military Says Gaza Polio Vaccination Campaign Completed

A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, November 2, 2024. (Reuters)
A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, November 2, 2024. (Reuters)

The Israeli military said on Wednesday aid organizations had completed a second polio vaccination round for children in Gaza, administering more than 1.1 million vaccinations in different areas of the enclave, achieving 90% coverage.

Limits on the area covered by a humanitarian pause in the fighting to conduct the campaign, meant the campaign in northern Gaza was largely restricted to the area around Gaza City, the World Health Organization said.

The polio campaign began on Sept. 1 after the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed in August that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.

Out of a total of 1,107,541 vaccinations for children across Gaza there were 211,170 vaccinations in northern Gaza, 379,361 vaccinations in central Gaza and 517,070 vaccinations in southern Gaza, the military said in a statement.

COGAT, the military agency that deals with Palestinian civilian affairs, has been working with international agencies to coordinate the campaign, which requires two vaccine doses per child.

On Tuesday, Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the Palestinian Territories, said the mass evacuations from areas in northern Gaza where the Israeli military has been operating for more than a month, had made it difficult to estimate the number of children who might be missed in the north.

The first round of the polio vaccination campaign, which began on Sept. 1, reached its target of 90% of children under 10 years of age, according to the United Nations.