Syria Hopes to Hold New Talks with Kurdish Forces

Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) queue to settle their status with Syrian government in Raqqa, Syria January 27, 2026. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) queue to settle their status with Syrian government in Raqqa, Syria January 27, 2026. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
TT

Syria Hopes to Hold New Talks with Kurdish Forces

Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) queue to settle their status with Syrian government in Raqqa, Syria January 27, 2026. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) queue to settle their status with Syrian government in Raqqa, Syria January 27, 2026. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri

The Syrian government hopes to hold a new round of talks with the Kurdish-led ​Syrian Democratic Forces, possibly later on Tuesday, to spell out how the force would merge into the central state, a senior Syrian government official said.

Syria's government and the SDF have been locked in a year-long dispute over whether and how Kurdish civilian and military institutions, which have operated autonomously in northeast ‌Syria for ‌a decade, would integrate into ‌the Damascus-based ⁠government.

After ​a ‌deadline to merge passed at the end of 2025 with little progress, Syrian troops seized swathes of northern and eastern territory from the SDF in a rapid turn of events that has consolidated Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's rule.

The two sides signed a sweeping integration ⁠deal on January 18 but have yet to hammer out the ‌details, Reuters reported.

The Syrian official said that ‍would be the aim ‍of the upcoming meeting, which he said would ‍be held "with US support".

Washington has been engaged in shuttle diplomacy to reach a lasting ceasefire and political resolution between the SDF - once its top ally in Syria - and Sharaa, now ​its favoured partner in the country.

The official declined to say where exactly the meeting ⁠would take place but said it would be inside Syria and likely in a neutral location - neither Damascus nor the remaining Kurdish-held cities of the northeast.

The spectre of resumed fighting between the two sides still looms over the talks, with Syrian government troops amassed around a cluster of Kurdish-held cities in the north, where Kurdish fighters are reinforcing their defensive lines.

The ‌two sides agreed to a ceasefire that was extended on Saturday until February 8.



EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
TT

EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.


Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
TT

Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

 

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

 

 

 

 


Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

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)
TT

Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

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)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.