Syrian Special Forces Conduct Parachute Drills with Russian Aircraft

24 September 2023, Syria, Idlib: Displaced Syrians stand near a crater left by a missile as a result of an overnight missile attack targeted a camp for displaced people on the outskirts of Idlib city. Photo: Anas Alkharboutli/dpa

Asharq Al Awsat

09:42-5 October 2023 AD ـ 21 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1445 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

09:42-5 October 2023 AD ـ 21 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1445 AH

Syrian Special Forces Conduct Parachute Drills with Russian Aircraft

Syrian special forces troops performed more than 1,500 parachute jumps over the Mediterranean Sea and the Aleppo and Latakia provinces as part of training drills conducted using Russian military aircraft, Russia's defense ministry said on Thursday.

Video footage published by the ministry showed groups of Syrian troops leaping out of Russian planes and helicopters, including what the ministry said was the Syrian Arab Army's first mass landing from an IL-76 aircraft conducted at night.

"Servicemen of the Russian group of troops in Syria ensured the execution of a comprehensive exercise of Syrian special forces units," the defense ministry said.

Russia is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main allies. Moscow's intervention alongside Iran helped turn the tide in favor of Assad in the country's over decade-old conflict.

Sharaa Denies he Wants to Turn Syria into a Version of Afghanistan

This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on December 17, 2024 shows Ahmed al-Sharaa receiving the director of the Middle East and North Africa department at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in Damascus. (Photo by SANA / AFP)

Asharq Al Awsat

11:05-19 December 2024 AD ـ 18 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1446 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

11:05-19 December 2024 AD ـ 18 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1446 AH

Sharaa Denies he Wants to Turn Syria into a Version of Afghanistan

The de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has said the country is exhausted by war and is not a threat to its neighbors or to the West, denying that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan.

In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, he called for sanctions on Syria to be lifted.

"Now, after all that has happened, sanctions must be lifted because they were targeted at the old regime. The victim and the oppressor should not be treated in the same way," he said.

Sharaa led the lightning offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime less than two weeks ago. He is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant group in the opposition alliance, and was previously known by his nom de guerre of Abu Mohammed al-Golani.

He said HTS should be de-listed as a terrorist organization. It is designated as one by the UN, US, EU and UK.

Sharaa denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan, saying the two countries were very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mindset.

He also told the BCC that he believed in education for women.

"We've had universities in Idlib for more than eight years," Sharaa said, referring to Syria's northwestern province that has been held by opposition fighters since 2011.

"I think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60%."

Syrian Special Forces Conduct Parachute Drills with Russian Aircraft

Syrian Special Forces Conduct Parachute Drills with Russian Aircraft

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Sharaa Denies he Wants to Turn Syria into a Version of Afghanistan

Sharaa Denies he Wants to Turn Syria into a Version of Afghanistan

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