Russia Deploys Jets to US-Held Regions in Syria's East

Russian helicopters at Qamishli airport on Saturday. (Russian and Kurdish media)
Russian helicopters at Qamishli airport on Saturday. (Russian and Kurdish media)
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Russia Deploys Jets to US-Held Regions in Syria's East

Russian helicopters at Qamishli airport on Saturday. (Russian and Kurdish media)
Russian helicopters at Qamishli airport on Saturday. (Russian and Kurdish media)

The Russian military sent fighter helicopters and jets to Qamishli airport in the region east of the Euphrates River in Syria's east, where American forces and their allies, the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), are deployed.

The development took place amid reports that Turkey was preparing to launch an offensive in northeastern Syria.

Six Russian helicopters carried out surveillance flights along the Syrian-Turkish border on Saturday.

An informed military source from the SDF said the Syrian army and Russian forces have reinforced their positions in the cities of Hasakeh and Qamishli and nearby areas.

American forces, meanwhile, deployed patrols in northeastern Syria, inspected the border and listened to the locals' concerns over the possible Turkish operation.

Turkey's current and future military operations on its southern borders do not target its neighbors' sovereignty but are necessary for Turkish security, the country's National Security Council (MGK) said on Thursday.

The MGK statement followed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's declaration on Monday that Ankara would soon launch new military operations on its southern borders to expand 30-km (20-mile) deep safe zones and combat what he described as terrorist threats there.

"Operations being carried out now and in the future to remove the terrorism threat on our southern borders do not target our neighbors' territorial integrity and sovereignty in any way," it said after a three-hour meeting chaired by Erdogan.

Any operations were expected to target northern Syria, where Turkey has launched several incursions since 2016, mainly targeting the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

Erdogan reiterated on Saturday that Turkey was not seeking to undermine the sovereignty of its neighbors, but it will also "not allow anyone to violate Turkish territories."

A YPG spokesman said Saturday the forces were taking Turkey's threats seriously and they were ready to defend their gains, forces and people. "We will resist to the end," he vowed.

He stressed that the forces have committed to the de-escalation agreements and ceasefire reached between Washington, Moscow and Ankara in 2019.

"We withdrew our forces to avoid a war, but are on alert for any attacks," he added.

Moreover, he stressed that any Turkish attack on the regions east of the Euphrates would not be possible without the agreement of international forces.

"We are in daily contact with Moscow and Washington, but we are relying on our forces instead of international ones," he remarked.

Russia and the US are guarantors of the de-escalation agreements with Turkey, so they should assume their responsibilities, he urged.



UN Appalled by Extrajudicial Killings in Khartoum

A Sudanese army soldier gestures from the back of a vehicle as it drives past damaged cars lying along a street in Khartoum on Thursday (AFP photo) 
A Sudanese army soldier gestures from the back of a vehicle as it drives past damaged cars lying along a street in Khartoum on Thursday (AFP photo) 
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UN Appalled by Extrajudicial Killings in Khartoum

A Sudanese army soldier gestures from the back of a vehicle as it drives past damaged cars lying along a street in Khartoum on Thursday (AFP photo) 
A Sudanese army soldier gestures from the back of a vehicle as it drives past damaged cars lying along a street in Khartoum on Thursday (AFP photo) 

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Thursday said he was appalled by reports of widespread extrajudicial killings of civilians in Khartoum following its recapture by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on 26 March.

“I am utterly appalled by the credible reports of numerous incidents of summary executions of civilians in several areas of Khartoum, on apparent suspicions that they were collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces,” said Turk.

He then urged the commanders of the Sudanese Armed Forces “to take immediate measures to put an end to arbitrary deprivation of life.”

The UN Commissioner said his Office has reviewed multiple horrific videos posted on social media since 26 March, all of them apparently filmed in southern and eastern Khartoum.

“They show armed men – some in uniform and others in civilian clothes – executing civilians in cold blood, often in public settings. In some videos, perpetrators state that they are punishing supporters of RSF,” he said.

The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has been battling the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, since April 2023.

Last week the army said it had retaken full control of Khartoum after weeks of attacks on the capital by the paramilitaries, though Daglo said his forces had only “repositioned.”

On Thursday, Sudan's paramilitary said they downed an Antonov military plane, the fourth this month, belonging to the Sudanese army near Al Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur State.

The RSF published a video that they said showed the plane wreckage. It said in a statement that the plane dropped “dozens of barrel bombs on innocent civilians in Al Fasher and other Sudanese cities.”

Meanwhile, an activist group said that the RSF killed at least 85 people in one week during attacks south of the capital Khartoum.

“For the seventh consecutive day, the Janjaweed militias continue their violent attacks on villages... west of Jebel Awliya, resulting in the deaths of more than 85 people and the injury of dozens,” said the Sudanese resistance committee, referring to the RSF by the name of its precursor.

Bashir’s Deputy Released

Also on Thursday, Sudanese authorities released former First Vice President Bakri Hassan Saleh and Youssif Abdel Fattah, a former minister.

Saleh and Abdel Fattah are among some 30 officials who are standing trial for their involvement in the June 30, 1989 coup, that brought former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir to power.

SAF leader Abdel Fattah al Burhan issued the decision based on a judicial ruling that stated the two men need to receive treatment due to deteriorating health conditions.