Turkey: US Sends New Weapons to YPG

Turkish armored military vehicles patrol on the Turkish-Syrian borderline in Reyhanli, Hatay province, Turkey, October 8, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
Turkish armored military vehicles patrol on the Turkish-Syrian borderline in Reyhanli, Hatay province, Turkey, October 8, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
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Turkey: US Sends New Weapons to YPG

Turkish armored military vehicles patrol on the Turkish-Syrian borderline in Reyhanli, Hatay province, Turkey, October 8, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
Turkish armored military vehicles patrol on the Turkish-Syrian borderline in Reyhanli, Hatay province, Turkey, October 8, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

US sent new weapons and military vehicles to People's Protection Units (YPG), according to Turkish media outlets.

Several Turkish media outlets revealed that the new weapons, including armored vehicles, were transferred through Hasakah and entered from northern Iraq to the Kurdish militias.

Recently, Ankara announced that President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan President Trump discussed over the phone the strategic partnership between the two countries, particularly in combating terrorism in all its forms and fostering regional stability.

On Syria, Trump pledged that the US will stop supplying Kurdish forces with any weapons.

“Consistent with our previous policy, President Trump also informed President Erdogan of pending adjustments to the military support provided to our partners on the ground in Syria, now that the battle of Raqqa is complete and we are progressing into a stabilization phase to ensure that ISIS cannot return,” the White House statement said.

However, the Pentagon announced that: "While the nature of US support to partner forces will adjust as the coalition shifts from major urban combat operations to stabilization tasks, US support will not end until the enduring defeat of ISIS and will be determined by conditions on the ground.”

This prompted wide-ranged criticism in Ankara accusing US institutions of distorting Trump’s promise.

Ankara considers Democratic Union Party (PYD), and its military wing YPG, a part of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), banned in Turkey, US and EU as a “terrorist group”.

Meanwhile, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported reliable sources saying that a convoy of several Turkish army vehicles crossed the border between the brigade "Iskenderon" and the area of Kaferlussin in Idlib countryside. The army entered the Syrian territory and headed to Afrin.

The entry of the Turkish military vehicles as part of the agreement reached mid-September to establish control points in the de-escalation ares in Idlib.

In related news, Supreme Council of Syrian Tribes will hold its first general conference on Sunday in Istanbul with the participation of representatives of over 60 tribes.

Council chairman Rafei Aqla al-Rajou told Anadolu Agency that the conference will include representatives of all Syrian, Arab, Turkman, Kurds, Christians, Druze and Armenians tribes, as well as revolutionary and opposition figures.

Rajou pointed out that conference will last for three with the participation of delegations from Syria, Turkey and a number of other countries. He stressed that the main objective of the conference is to consolidate the ranks to eliminate Kurdish Democratic Union Party, and overthrow Assad regime and sectarian militias fighting alongside. The attendees will also discuss the establishment of a national army includes all tribes.

Rajou explained that a general secretariat will be elected by the conference to oversee future events, as well as legal, political and military committees.

The Supreme Council of Syrian Tribes was established earlier this year, in Sanliurfa province, south of Turkey, and held several meetings in Urfa and Ankara in preparation for the conference.

In March, 50 Syrian tribes agreed to establish “Army of the Island and Euphrates” to liberate their areas under the control of the Democratic Union Party and ISIS.

Last November, the Supreme Council refused to attend the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi, Russia. The conference was scheduled for November and postponed to next February because several Syrian opposition factions and Turkey refused to attend it. Turkey conditioned its participation with the non-attendance of the Democratic Union Party.

The conference will coincide with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Ankara on Monday, during which he will discuss with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holding the Syrian National Dialogue Congress.



Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.


Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.


Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.