Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator St. Elijah Maronite Cathedral in Aleppo re-opened after years of disuse due to the severe destruction the 18th century cathedral endured during battles in the period of 2012 to 2016.  Aleppo had been Syria’s largest city and its commercial and industrial hub before the conflict which began in March 2011. Syria is a secular nation, with the pre-war population ratio standing at about 80% Sunni Muslim, and the remaining divided between Christians, Jews, and other Muslim sects. It is estimated that only 30,000 Christians remain in Aleppo, compared to a pre-war population of 180,000. …

Khaled Iskef، Journalist The joint Russian-Turkish patrol on the international “Aleppo-Lattakia” highway is cancelled for the second consecutive day, according to a field source, and the Turkish forces conducted an individual patrol from “Al-Nairab” village on the international highway to “Ain Al-Hour” area, the last point under ​​the militants’ control on the road towards Lattakia. By this, the Turkish forces are trying to secure the highway completely in anticipation of any attack by militants or planting explosive devices before the Russian forces join the patrols.According to the source, the Turkish forces were deployed extensively yesterday in the areas surrounding the…

Saint Sophia Cathedral converted to a Mosque by force Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Europe is historically a group of Christian nations, now banded together as an economic unit known as the European Union (EU). Turkey is a Muslim nation, on the edge of Europe, with a long stated goal of entering the EU, but consistently denied on the basis of religion. Turkey’s President Erdogan decided to benefit by the crisis in Syria, by using migrants flooding into Europe as a method to change the demographics to Turkey’s favor. Turkey has been sending boat loads of asylum seekers and…

Police Department of Portland, a city in the US west coast Oregon state where public unrest has been on for almost two months, said in a press release on Sunday they had declared a fresh wave of protests overnight a riot and conducted arrests, with no specific number provided. “Portland Police declared a riot based on the conduct of people in the crowd and gave repeated warnings that anyone who remained may be subject to arrest or citation and may be subject to force including impact weapons or tear gas”, the press release read, adding that police followed to disperse…

An unknown group launched an attack on the small town of Al-Seen in the Al-Salamiyeh countryside of Hama last night.According to reports, the group, which is suspected to be the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh), attacked Al-Seen last night, killing one person and the town’s cattle before burning the area down.Furthermore, there were reports that the group also stole vehicles and supplies from the townspeople before fleeing to an unknown area.Armed groups carry out attacks from time to time in the Hama countryside, which has since prompted the redeployment of troops from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and National Defense Forces (NDF).ISIS…

Rumors are swirling that the Chinese navy is looking to build a new type of warship. A recently leaked request for proposals (RFP) points to an amphibious assault ship with an electromagnetic aircraft catapult and arresting gear. In a request for proposals posted on July 19 and subsequently leaked on social media, the project is referred to only as “Project XX6,” but observers have been calling the ship the “Type 076.”Judging from some of the details included in the RFP, the Type 076 will be much like the Type 075 landing helicopter dock (LHD), of which China has already built…

On Sunday, the Iraqi security forces found a stack of Katyusha missiles buried underground, with 20 rockets inside, in the Salaheddine Governorate.The Iraqi Security Media Cell said in a statement that “within the sequence of Iraq’s fourth-stage of their operation, the task force within Salaheddine sector found the underground hideout of Katyusha rockets with more than 20 missiles inside.”The Baghdad Operations Command had announced earlier this month that a missile had been found that was similar to the one that targeted the government green zone in the center of Baghdad.Furthermore, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced, last Thursday, the seizure…

Earlier this week, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the country’s armed forces were stepping up security measures on the northern border on the heels of an escalation unfolding on the frontier with Lebanon and Syria.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday morning announced that Israel is “following a consistent policy that does not allow Iran’s military to be established along our northern border”.“We cannot undermine our security and we cannot threaten our citizens. We will not suffer a blow to our forces. Along with the defence minister and the chief of staff, I am conducting…

A Russian think tank reported on Sunday, that Turkey has allegedly concluded a military cooperation agreement with a country bordering Libya.According to Eurasia Political Studies website, “Katehon“, who quoted private sources in the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), Turkey had signed a military cooperation agreement with the country of Niger, which is located at the southern border of Libya.The site indicated that this agreement between Turkey and Niger will strengthen Ankara’s control in the region, as the latter will support African countries, especially the Sahel countries, to be more effective in the issue of resolving the Libyan crisis.A Libyan…

Khaled Iskef, Journalist Local sources from Afrin in Aleppo northern countryside said that Turkish-backed armed groups stormed large areas of agricultural lands in the region, and stole the sumac crops in those lands during the past two days. The sources pointed out that the militants focused on storming and stealing the lands belonging to the people who were displaced from Afrin during the Turkish operation called “Olive Branch”, in which the Turkish forces managed to occupy the area, and the stolen crops were transferred to the Turkish lands to be sold there. The stolen sumac crops amounted to more than…