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.



Sudan’s Military Again Detains International Criminal Court Fugitive Haroun, Lawyers Say

Governor of South Kordofan Ahmed Haroun addresses the participants of Civil Administrative Conference during the visit by Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to Kadogli capital of South Kordofan State August 23, 2011. (Reuters)
Governor of South Kordofan Ahmed Haroun addresses the participants of Civil Administrative Conference during the visit by Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to Kadogli capital of South Kordofan State August 23, 2011. (Reuters)
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Sudan’s Military Again Detains International Criminal Court Fugitive Haroun, Lawyers Say

Governor of South Kordofan Ahmed Haroun addresses the participants of Civil Administrative Conference during the visit by Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to Kadogli capital of South Kordofan State August 23, 2011. (Reuters)
Governor of South Kordofan Ahmed Haroun addresses the participants of Civil Administrative Conference during the visit by Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to Kadogli capital of South Kordofan State August 23, 2011. (Reuters)

Sudan’s military authorities on Sunday once again detained a former senior Islamist official who is wanted by the International Criminal Court over atrocities related to the Darfur conflict in the early 2000s, two defense lawyers said.

Ahmed Haroun, a senior security official during the rule of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir, and later chairman of the former ruling National Congress Party, was detained in Omdurman, the sister city of the capital, Khartoum, according to two lawyers on his defense team. The lawyers had said earlier he was detained in the eastern province of Kassala.

The lawyers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media, said Haroun’s whereabouts were unknown.

Haroun was detained in April 2019 when a monthslong uprising forced the military ouster of al-Bashir and his government.

He had been detained along with the former president and other senior officials, including those who are wanted by the ICC, in a Khartoum prison. The military declined to hand them over to the international court.

The conflict in Darfur broke out when rebels from the territory’s ethnic central and sub-Saharan African community launched an insurgency in 2003, complaining of oppression by the government in Khartoum.

Haroun was accused by the ICC of crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, rape, persecution, forced transfer of the population and torture in Darfur at least between 2003 and 2004.

Haroun has denied the charges. He walked away from the prison after the facility was attacked in April 2024 during the war between the army and the notorious paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The lawyers said no reasons were given for Haroun’s re-detention, but they linked it to his recent comment in a podcast in which he said his party and the military might not be aligned, but are united in the fight against the RSF in the war that broke out in April 2023 in Khartoum and elsewhere across the country.

The National Congress Party called for the immediate release of Haroun, saying in a statement that he was detained merely for expressing his opinion. The party didn’t address that Haroun is wanted by the ICC.

The latest war has also been marked by atrocities such as mass rape and ethnically motivated killings. The United Nations and international rights groups say these acts also amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, which has been facing a bitter onslaught by the RSF. The RSF's multiday attack on el-Fasher in Darfur last year bore “hallmarks of genocide,” according to UN experts.

In the interview on Sudan Podcast, Haroun addressed a wide range of topics, including the ouster of al-Bashir, ties with the military and RSF leaders, a proposal for the future governance of Sudan and the origins of the RSF.

The RSF grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias, which were mobilized two decades ago by al-Bashir against populations that identify as Central or East African in Darfur.

The interview stirred up outrage among rights and activist groups that were behind the uprising against al-Bashir. The Emergency Lawyers group condemned the interview as a “legal scandal and a direct challenge to international justice.”

The group called for the army to detain Haroun and hand him over to the ICC along with al-Bashir and former Defense Minister Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein.

“Justice for victims of crimes committed in Sudan cannot be held hostage to political or military balances, and ending impunity requires subjecting all accused and wanted persons to judicial accountability, without exception or immunity,” it said.


Production Suspended at Iraq’s Khor Mor Gas Field After Drone Attack

The Khor Mor gas field in Sulaymaniyah province, Iraq, November 27, 2025. (Reuters)
The Khor Mor gas field in Sulaymaniyah province, Iraq, November 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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Production Suspended at Iraq’s Khor Mor Gas Field After Drone Attack

The Khor Mor gas field in Sulaymaniyah province, Iraq, November 27, 2025. (Reuters)
The Khor Mor gas field in Sulaymaniyah province, Iraq, November 27, 2025. (Reuters)

Production ‌was halted on Sunday at Iraq's Khor Mor gas field, one of the largest in the Kurdistan region, after a drone attack hit the field, sources said.

Two sources in the region's electricity ministry said production at the field was suspended after a single drone strike hit the LPG storage tank, causing a fire that was still raging. Two security sources said smoke was seen rising from the field.

Employees at the field were evacuated ‌to shelters ‌inside the facility following the attack, the ‌two ⁠ministry sources said.

Iraq's ⁠prime minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Ali al-Zaidi, said the attack did not result in casualties, based on an initial assessment.

A joint statement by the region's natural resources and electricity ministries described the attack on the field as a "terrorist attack," saying they ⁠are working on minimizing its impact.

There was no ‌claim of responsibility for ‌the attack.

The gas field provides supplies for regional power generation.

Some ‌2.8 gigawatts of power generation in the Kurdistan region ‌was lost following the attack, the region's electricity ministry said in a statement.

Joint field operator Dana Gas had previously shut down the main production facilities at the field in July ‌due to credible security threats and regional tensions before restarting production later in the ⁠same month.

Iraq ⁠has been among the countries most affected by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic in the strait remains disrupted as ships continue to face attacks in the area.

Baghdad has been striving to balance its ties with neighboring Iran and the US amid the military escalation between the two countries.

However, Tehran has launched attacks against Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq, while Iran-backed armed factions in Iraq launched attacks against Gulf neighbors earlier in the conflict.


US Asks Iraq to Shut Most Iran Border Crossings, Iraqi Foreign Minister Says

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks as he attends a joint press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (not pictured), in Baghdad, Iraq June 4, 2023. (Reuters)
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks as he attends a joint press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (not pictured), in Baghdad, Iraq June 4, 2023. (Reuters)
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US Asks Iraq to Shut Most Iran Border Crossings, Iraqi Foreign Minister Says

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks as he attends a joint press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (not pictured), in Baghdad, Iraq June 4, 2023. (Reuters)
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks as he attends a joint press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (not pictured), in Baghdad, Iraq June 4, 2023. (Reuters)

The US Treasury has asked Iraq to close all border crossings with Iran except for two as part of Washington's policy of ‌increasing economic ‌pressure on Tehran, Iraqi ‌Foreign ⁠Minister Fuad Hussein ⁠said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

One of the exceptions is in the Kurdistan region.

"There ⁠are many official ‌and ‌unofficial border crossings with Iran, ‌and closing all ‌of them would be difficult and would affect our economy. The Americans ‌are still demanding the closure of the crossings, ⁠and ⁠we are currently in discussions with them," Hussein said.

Last month, Iraq closed the busy Sheeb border crossing with Iran to review security and install detection equipment to stop smuggling.