Turkey Sends New Military Reinforcements to Aleppo

A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle during a joint US-Turkey patrol, near Tel Abyad, Syria (File Photo: Reuters)
A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle during a joint US-Turkey patrol, near Tel Abyad, Syria (File Photo: Reuters)
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Turkey Sends New Military Reinforcements to Aleppo

A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle during a joint US-Turkey patrol, near Tel Abyad, Syria (File Photo: Reuters)
A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle during a joint US-Turkey patrol, near Tel Abyad, Syria (File Photo: Reuters)

Turkey on Sunday pushed new military reinforcements to areas falling under its control and regions run by forces loyal to it in the Syrian province of Aleppo.

The new military convoy of Turkish forces entered Syria via Bab Al-Salamah border crossing between Azaz city in northern Aleppo and Turkey.

The convoy, which included military equipment, ammunition and personnel carriers, headed to a Turkish military base from where the reinforcements will be deployed to other Turkish-held bases in the province.

Ankara had already announced plans to move against Kurdish forces in the areas of Manbij and Tal Rifaat in northern Syria.

In July, the Turkish army sent around 15 military convoys to the countryside of Aleppo, including armored vehicles, ammunition and tanks.

Since May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been warning about plans to launch a new military operation in Syria against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) to link up two areas already under Turkish control in the northern region near Turkey’s border.

Erdogan said the aim is to create a 30-km safe zone along the Turkish border with Syria.

His threats came despite the objection of the US, Russia, Iran and the Syrian regime, in addition to several EU countries.

Meanwhile, Turkish forces and their proxies fired during the weekend over 14 mortar and heavy artillery shells on Qart Wayran village in western Manbij countryside, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that no casualties have been reported.

The attack came in response to shelling on “Euphrates Shield” areas, which left two casualties from the Turkish-backed factions.

The Observatory said two members of the Turkish-backed “Jaish Al-Ahfad” faction were killed and two others were injured when missiles hit Sabwiran village in Qabasin town’s countryside in eastern Aleppo.

It added that the missiles were fired from areas of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) military formations, and areas of regime forces in Aleppo countryside.



Women and Children Scavenge for Food in Gaza, UN Official Says

 Palestinians walk on a destroyed street after Israeli forces withdrew from a part of Nuseirat, following a ground operation amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, November 29, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians walk on a destroyed street after Israeli forces withdrew from a part of Nuseirat, following a ground operation amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, November 29, 2024. (Reuters)
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Women and Children Scavenge for Food in Gaza, UN Official Says

 Palestinians walk on a destroyed street after Israeli forces withdrew from a part of Nuseirat, following a ground operation amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, November 29, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians walk on a destroyed street after Israeli forces withdrew from a part of Nuseirat, following a ground operation amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, November 29, 2024. (Reuters)

Large groups of women and children are scavenging for food among mounds of trash in parts of the Gaza Strip, a UN official said on Friday following a visit to the Palestinian enclave.

Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights office for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, expressed concern about the levels of hunger, even in areas of central Gaza where aid agencies have teams on the ground.

"I was particularly alarmed by the prevalence of hunger," Sunghay told a Geneva press briefing via video link from Jordan. "Acquiring basic necessities has become a daily, dreadful struggle for survival."

Sunghay said the UN had been unable to take any aid to northern Gaza, where he said an estimated 70,000 people remain following "repeated impediments or rejections of humanitarian convoys by the Israeli authorities".

Sunghay visited camps for people recently displaced from parts of northern Gaza. They were living in horrendous conditions with severe food shortages and poor sanitation, he said.

"It is so obvious that massive humanitarian aid needs to come in – and it is not. It is so important the Israeli authorities make this happen," he said. He did not specify the last time UN agencies had sent aid to northern Gaza.

US WARNING

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin set out steps last month for Israel to carry out in 30 days to address the situation in Gaza, warning that failure to do so may have consequences on US military aid to Israel.

The State Department said on Nov. 12 that President Joe Biden's administration had concluded that Israel was not currently impeding assistance to Gaza and therefore was not violating US law.

The Israeli army, which began its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip after the group's attack on southern Israeli communities in October 2023, said its operating in northern Gaza since Oct. 5 were trying to prevent militants regrouping and waging attacks from those areas.

Israel's government body that oversees aid, Cogat, says it facilitates the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and accuses UN agencies of not distributing it efficiently.

Looting has also depleted aid supplies within the Gaza Strip, with nearly 100 food aid trucks raided on Nov. 16.

"The women I met had all either lost family members, were separated from their families, had relatives buried under rubble, or were themselves injured or sick," Sunghay said of his stay in the Gaza Strip.

"Breaking down in front of me, they desperately pleaded for a ceasefire."