Kurds Reveal Meetings with Syrian Govt to Protect Border against Turkey

Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters walk at a position along the battle frontlines with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the countryside of Syria's northern city of Manbij, on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters walk at a position along the battle frontlines with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the countryside of Syria's northern city of Manbij, on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
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Kurds Reveal Meetings with Syrian Govt to Protect Border against Turkey

Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters walk at a position along the battle frontlines with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the countryside of Syria's northern city of Manbij, on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters walk at a position along the battle frontlines with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the countryside of Syria's northern city of Manbij, on June 8, 2022. (AFP)

A prominent Kurdish official revealed that meetings have been held between the autonomous Kurdish authority in the region east of the Euphrates River and representatives of the Syrian government to reach understandings on “protecting” the Syrian-Turkish border.

The talks, which were sponsored by Russia, are the first amid a rise in Turkey's threats that it will carry out a new incursion into Kurdish-held regions in northern Syria.

Forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad are deployed in limited numbers along the lines that separate the regions held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and pro-Turkey opposition Syrian factions, mainly in the al-Hasakeh, al-Raqqa and Aleppo provinces.

Amid the Turkish threats, Damascus has reinforced its positions in the northern Raqqa and eastern Aleppo countrysides.

Badran Jia Kurd, a vice president of the autonomous authority that runs the regions held by the SDF, confirmed the discussions that were held between the Kurds and the regime.

He told a press conference that an understanding between the two sides over protecting the border has been in place since 2019.

The latest talks have focused on expanding the understanding for the sake of the stability of the region, he added.

Damascus must have a clear stance on the Turkish threat and it must confront any Turkish incursion because it targets the whole of Syria and jeopardizes its unity, stability and future, he declared.

Jia Kurd warned that any Turkish attack will be met with “strong resistance.”

“Our people will not allow an attack against their gains and regions,” he vowed, stressing the need to also protect the gains claimed in defeating the ISIS terrorist group.

Turkey views the SDF, whose military backbone is formed of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), as a terrorist group. The US, however, sees the Kurdish forces as trusted allies in its war against ISIS in Syria.

Through its meetings with the regime, the SDF is hoping to transfer protection of the border to Damascus to avoid the latest Turkish offensive.

Damascus has its own interests and is seeking to reclaim the oil-rich regions that are held by the Kurdish forces. These regions are also Syria’s breadbasket, producing the bulk of its wheat and barley.



Survivors, Bodies Recovered from Capsized Red Sea Tourist Boat

25 November 2024, Egypt: Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi (R) checks on tourists rescued from capsized tourist boat called "Sea Story" that sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. (Red Sea Governorate/dpa)
25 November 2024, Egypt: Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi (R) checks on tourists rescued from capsized tourist boat called "Sea Story" that sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. (Red Sea Governorate/dpa)
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Survivors, Bodies Recovered from Capsized Red Sea Tourist Boat

25 November 2024, Egypt: Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi (R) checks on tourists rescued from capsized tourist boat called "Sea Story" that sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. (Red Sea Governorate/dpa)
25 November 2024, Egypt: Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi (R) checks on tourists rescued from capsized tourist boat called "Sea Story" that sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. (Red Sea Governorate/dpa)

Rescuers on Tuesday recovered five survivors and four bodies from a dive boat that capsized off Egypt's eastern coast a day earlier, Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi said.  

A military-led team rescued two Belgians, one Swiss national, one Finnish tourist and one Egyptian, the governor said, bringing the total number of survivors from the accident to 33.  

The "Sea Story" had been carrying 31 tourists of multiple nationalities and a 13-member crew when it was hit by a large wave near Marsa Alam in southeastern Egypt early on Monday, causing it to capsize.

The four bodies recovered on Tuesday have not yet been identified, and eight people are still missing after 28 were rescued on Monday.

A government source close to rescue operations said the five survivors were found on Tuesday morning inside the boat, which the governor said had been thrown on its side by an early morning wave but had not completely sunk.  

The group had spent at least 24 hours in the overturned vessel after authorities first received distress calls at 5:30 AM (0330 GMT) on Monday.  

"Rescue operations are ongoing today, supported by a military helicopter and a frigate in addition to multiple divers," the Red Sea governor told AFP Tuesday, declining to provide any further details about the operation.  

The four bodies recovered on Tuesday were also located inside the stricken vessel.  

The boat had embarked on a multi-day diving trip on Sunday and had been due to dock on Friday at the town of Hurghada, 200 kilometers (124 miles) north.  

The governor on Monday said it capsized "suddenly and quickly within 5-7 minutes" of the impact with the wave, leaving some passengers -- among them European, Chinese and American tourists -- unable to set out of their cabins in time.  

- Still missing -  

Rescuers from the military and a passing tourist boat pulled 28 people from the water on Monday.  

According to a source at a hospital in Marsa Alam, six tourists and three Egyptians were admitted with minor injuries and discharged on Monday.   

According to the governor's office, the boat was carrying tourists from Belgium, Britain, China, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.  

Among the missing are two Polish tourists and one from Finland, according to both countries' foreign ministries.  

Authorities in Egypt have said the vessel was fully licensed and had passed all inspection checks. A preliminary investigation showed no technical fault.  

There were at least two similar boat accidents in the Marsa Alam area earlier this year, but no fatalities.  

The Red Sea coast is a major tourist destination in Egypt, a country of 107 million that is in the grip of a serious economic crisis.  

Nationally, the tourism sector employs two million people and generates more than 10 percent of its GDP.  

Dozens of dive boats crisscross between Red Sea coral reefs and islands off Egypt's eastern coast every day, where safety regulations are robust but unevenly enforced.