Türkiye Begins Setting up New Military Base in Syria

A firefighter extinguishes a blaze in a field, on a hot summer day on the banks Euphrates river, near the village of Tawayhinah in Syria's northern Raqqa governorate on July 12, 2022. (AFP)
A firefighter extinguishes a blaze in a field, on a hot summer day on the banks Euphrates river, near the village of Tawayhinah in Syria's northern Raqqa governorate on July 12, 2022. (AFP)
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Türkiye Begins Setting up New Military Base in Syria

A firefighter extinguishes a blaze in a field, on a hot summer day on the banks Euphrates river, near the village of Tawayhinah in Syria's northern Raqqa governorate on July 12, 2022. (AFP)
A firefighter extinguishes a blaze in a field, on a hot summer day on the banks Euphrates river, near the village of Tawayhinah in Syria's northern Raqqa governorate on July 12, 2022. (AFP)

Turkish forces have started to establish a new military base in the Raqqa province northeastern Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday a large number of Turkish troops were active inside their bases along the Aleppo-Latakia international highway to set up the base in an area east of the town of Ain Issa in Raqqa.

Türkiye had set up bases along the 140-km long highway, known as M4. It has established each base around 3 kms apart.

They were formed in wake of the 2019 Sochi agreement between Moscow and Ankara that ended Türkiye’s Operation Peace Spring against the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces deployed in areas east of the Euphrates.

In spite of the calm on the ground, tensions persist in the region.

On Tuesday, Turkish forces and their allied factions shelled with heavy artillery several regions held by the SDF in the Tal Tamr countryside northwest of al-Hasakeh.

Clashes ensued between the Kurdish forces and pro-Türkiye Syrian National Army.



UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

The UN aid chief said Wednesday that recent "horrifying scenes" of Gazans being killed while seeking food aid were the result of "deliberate choices that have systematically deprived" them of essentials to survive.

A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of its facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were "considered combat zones".

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

"The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

"Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire.

"This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived two million people of the essentials they need to survive."

He echoed the call by UN chief Antonio Guterres for immediate independent investigations, saying they were not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

"No-one should have to risk their life to feed their children," said Fletcher.

The GHF began operations a week ago, but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Meanwhile the United Nations has described the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, as a trickle.

"We must be allowed to do our jobs: we have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience," said Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"Open the crossings -- all of them. Let in life-saving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in.

"Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire."