Fighting Between Pro-Turkey Factions Escalates in Syria

File photo of a car bombing in Aleppo's countryside. (Aleppo News)
File photo of a car bombing in Aleppo's countryside. (Aleppo News)
TT

Fighting Between Pro-Turkey Factions Escalates in Syria

File photo of a car bombing in Aleppo's countryside. (Aleppo News)
File photo of a car bombing in Aleppo's countryside. (Aleppo News)

Fighting between pro-Turkey factions in Syria's Aleppo countryside has escalated with assassinations and bombings being reported in regions under Ankara's control in the north.

Syrian sources said on Sunday that several people were wounded in a car bombing at the entrance of the al-Bab city in Aleppo's eastern countryside, amid a "war between opposition factions."

State news agency SANA reported other sources as saying that an explosive planted in a car went off at the entrance of the city.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on the same bombing, saying it took place at a checkpoint of a pro-Turkey faction.

It confirmed injuries but did not provide further details.

Al-Bab in northeastern Aleppo has been held by pro-Ankara factions since 2016. Turkey had seized the area from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terrorist group.

The Observatory also reported that unknown gunmen attempted to assassinate a leading member of the Jaysh al-Sharqiya unit of the pro-Turkey National Army.

He came under fire on the Afrin-al-Tranda road in northwestern Aleppo.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
TT

US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.