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Ankara to Moscow: Our Military Presence in Syria Aimed at Fighting Terrorism

A Turkish-Russian joint patrol is seen in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
A Turkish-Russian joint patrol is seen in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
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Ankara to Moscow: Our Military Presence in Syria Aimed at Fighting Terrorism

A Turkish-Russian joint patrol is seen in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
A Turkish-Russian joint patrol is seen in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

Türkiye reiterated that the “sole purpose” of its deployment in northern Syria is to secure its borders and fight terrorism to avert more human suffering.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar held telephone talks overnight on Wednesday with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu to discuss developments in Syria.

Akar stressed that Türkiye will continue to secure peace in the region and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.

A Turkish Defense Ministry statement said the officials discussed the talks that had kicked off by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The talks will “greatly help in paving the way for peace and stability in the region and Syria,” it added, underscoring the importance that they continue.

Days earlier, Akar had declared that Turkish military presence in Syria was aimed at combating terrorism and protecting Türkiye’s borders and Syria’s territorial integrity.

The deployment is not an occupation, he stressed.

Moreover, he added that Ankara was waiting on Damascus to acknowledge its position from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the military backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which Türkiye views as an extension of the banned terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had demanded the withdrawal of Turkish forces from northern Syria as a condition to meeting Erdogan as part of Russian-sponsored efforts to normalize ties between Ankara and Damascus.

Soon after the talks between Akar and Shoigu, Turkish and Russian forces deployed on Thursday a joint patrol in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside north of al-Hasakeh province.

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UN Appeal for Aid to Support 10 Million Yemenis

 In Yemen around 3.3 million IDPs are living in family hosting arrangements and rental accommodation (UN)
 In Yemen around 3.3 million IDPs are living in family hosting arrangements and rental accommodation (UN)
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UN Appeal for Aid to Support 10 Million Yemenis

 In Yemen around 3.3 million IDPs are living in family hosting arrangements and rental accommodation (UN)
 In Yemen around 3.3 million IDPs are living in family hosting arrangements and rental accommodation (UN)

The United Nations and partners launched last week the 2025 Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, seeking urgent humanitarian and protection assistance to more than 10 million Yemenis in need.
In its plan, the UN warned that more than half of the country’s population – 19.5 million people – needs humanitarian assistance and protection services.
The collapse of the Yemeni riyal, now trading at over 2,160 riyals per US dollar in the legitimate government-controlled areas, has significantly worsened living conditions for Yemenis and left authorities struggling to pay public sector salaries for the past four months.
Yemen’s financial crisis further worsened after the Houthi militia suspended oil exports, causing an electricity blackout in Aden, the country's temporary capital, for more than half a day.
In its Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, the UN appealed for $2.47 billion to provide urgent humanitarian and protection assistance to more than 19.5 million people in need.
Under the 2025 appeal, humanitarians aim to deliver life-saving assistance to 10.5 million of the most vulnerable people in need, Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Julien Harneis, said.
Despite significant challenges, Harneis said 197 aid organizations reached more than 8 million people with life-saving assistance last year – two-thirds of which were local Yemeni organizations.
This was made possible by the sustained support of donors, who contributed more than $1.4 billion to the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan.
The Humanitarian Coordinator said much more is needed this year to reduce needs, achieve peace, revive the economy and build the resilience of communities through sustainable development activities.
He noted that climate shocks, increased regional tensions and chronic underfunding of critical humanitarian sectors are further worsening people’s vulnerability and suffering.
This year, more than 17 million people will experience acute food insecurity—almost half the country’s population—with 5 million expected to experience emergency levels of food insecurity.
Moreover, 13.6 million people face challenges to access a water source of sufficient quality to prevent diseases while 40% of Yemen's health facilities are partially functioning or completely out-of-service due to shortages in staff, funding, electricity, medicines and equipment, and infrastructure integrity.
The UN last year requested $2.7 billion for a humanitarian response plan, but received only meager pledges, causing a huge gap in meeting the needs of the targeted population.
Jamal Belfaqih, head of Yemen's Supreme Relief Committee, confirms the numbers of humanitarian needs declared by the United Nations, its agencies and international organizations.
However, Belfaqih said the appeal that agencies request fail to meet their efforts to secure funding.
Also, he said, the UN and its agencies face challenges to reach the targeted population due to a lack of information and demographic changes caused by internal displacement.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Belfaqih said the funds required from donors to finance the humanitarian response plan will probably not be obtained due to a poor promotion of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
“The relief organizations have not changed their response plan methods since 2015, despite their failure to meet the needs of the Yemenis and to end or reduce the humanitarian crisis,” he said.
In 2025, an estimated 19.5 million people across Yemen need humanitarian assistance and protection services – 1.3 million people more than last year.
An estimated 4.8 million people, most of whom are women and children, remain internally displaced, with repeated displacement trapping families in cycles of dependency on humanitarian assistance.
In a briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Yemen, Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said people in Yemen continue to face a severe humanitarian and protection crisis.
Almost half of Yemen’s population – over 17 million people – is unable to meet their basic food needs.
The most marginalized, including women and girls, those displaced and communities such as the Muhamasheen, are the worst affected.
Msuya said almost half of all children under the age of 5 suffer from moderate to severe stunting caused by malnutrition, while cholera is at appalling levels.