Russia Threatens Syria's Kurds with New Turkish Incursion

A Syrian opposition fighter in Aleppo's northern countryside, April 5, 2022. (EPA)
A Syrian opposition fighter in Aleppo's northern countryside, April 5, 2022. (EPA)
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Russia Threatens Syria's Kurds with New Turkish Incursion

A Syrian opposition fighter in Aleppo's northern countryside, April 5, 2022. (EPA)
A Syrian opposition fighter in Aleppo's northern countryside, April 5, 2022. (EPA)

The Russian mediator in Syria warned Kurdish forces that Turkey would carry out an incursion should they reject Moscow's conditions to end the tensions between Qamishli and Damascus.

Informed sources told the German news agency (dpa) that the mediator informed the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that Turkey-backed Syrian opposition factions would invade the towns of al-Darbasiyah and Amoud to reach Qamishli if the SDF doesn't pull out of the government security zone.

The SDF was also demanded to end the siege of the security zones in Qamishli and Hasakeh.

The SDF did withdraw from the government buildings without incident.

Meanwhile, residents of the town of Tal Tamer, in Hasakeh's northern countryside, said Turkish artillery had shelled for a second consecutive day villages in northeastern Syria.

Aram Hanna, a spokesman for the SDF, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Turkey is seeking a green light to launch new offensives in northern Syria to achieve its "terrorist" interests.

It wants to exploit the world's preoccupation with the Ukrainian-Russian war to carry out the attack, he warned.

Moreover, he stated that Turkey's attacks aim to destabilize the region and allow terrorist groups to reorganize their ranks to commit atrocities.

Hanna said the SDF was in contact with the Russian mediator over Ankara's violations, but little has been seen on the ground to stop them.

The SDF, he stressed, is a defensive force and it will retaliate to the sources of fire in the right time.

It has taken the necessary measures to secure the safety of the region and stand against Turkey's malign ambitions, he added.



UN, World Bank to Fund Climate-Resilient Roads in Rural Areas in Yemen

Supporting local initiatives in Yemen to maintain rural roads (Social Fund for Development)
Supporting local initiatives in Yemen to maintain rural roads (Social Fund for Development)
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UN, World Bank to Fund Climate-Resilient Roads in Rural Areas in Yemen

Supporting local initiatives in Yemen to maintain rural roads (Social Fund for Development)
Supporting local initiatives in Yemen to maintain rural roads (Social Fund for Development)

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the World Bank are constructing climate-resilient roads in rural areas in Yemen and are enhancing road infrastructure to improve access to food and basic services for rural communities across the country, the two bodies revealed in a statement.

The constructions are part of the three-year Yemen Emergency Lifeline Connectivity project, which began in 2022.

The project aims to provide climate resilient road access and employment and entrepreneurship opportunities to the food insecure rural population of Yemen.

It comprises rural and village access roads improvement and maintenance, such as the rehabilitation of lifeline rural access roads and road maintenance through private sector participation and supply chain enhancement.

Also, the project will strengthen the management capacity of transport sector public institutions to finance the project management capacities of the road maintenance fund (RMF) and rural access program (RAP) through a program of capacity building.

This aims to prepare them to efficiently manage the network in the medium to longer-term and strengthen RAP’s and RMF’s capacity to predict, respond, and design resilient roads infrastructure to extreme climate events such as floods, to assess vulnerability of infrastructure assets and prepare and implement resilient investment plans.

In addition, the project supports monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the project is successfully and efficiently implemented and to provide immediate response to an eligible crisis or emergency following the procedures governed by the Bank policy for investment project financing.

$50 Million

With $50 million in funding from the World Bank's International Development Association, UNOPS said it is rehabilitating and upgrading 150 km of access roads in rural areas and 60 km of access roads to villages, as well as supporting the maintenance of an additional 150 km of road.

UNOPS is also procuring and installing three pre-fabricated bridges as part of the project.

To date, works on more than 70 km of roads are complete, while works on 85 km are near complete.

“We are proud to partner with the World Bank on a project that will help increase economic opportunities for rural communities by facilitating their access to markets and social services,” said Muhammad Usman Akram, Director of UNOPS Multi-Country Office in Amman.

The rehabilitated roads will help address food insecurity and foster the safe and reliable delivery of food and other essential goods to rural communities.

The all-weather roads will also provide a way for humanitarian organizations to access more communities.

“The reactivation of the Road Asset Management System will support Yemen in assessing the vulnerability of infrastructure assets, designing climate-resilient road infrastructure and preparing climate-resilient investment plans for subsequent implementation in the future,” added Usman Akram.