Author: Steven Sahiounie

On June 2nd, Lebanese outlet Daily Star reported that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks crossed the technical fence and entered the Blue Line for the first time since 2006. The Israeli version is that they didn’t cross the Blue Line, but there was, regardless, a standoff between IDF and Lebanese troops. In response to the crossing, a number of Lebanese troops armed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers arrived at the scene, standing several meters from the tanks. Israel handed over to Lebanon a Syrian shepherd who was shot by their forces as he was herding his goats in the…

On June 3, the Russian Military Police established a new position in the northeastern countryside of Syria’s al-Hasakah. The position was established near the village of Qasr Deep that’s located in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiyah. Vedeng, a news outlet based in northeast Syria, released a video showing Russian troops establishing the position. A unit of the Russian Military Police attempted to conduct a patrol inside al-Malikiyah while the new position was being built. However, it was blocked by U.S. forces, according to the North Press Agency. A day earlier, Qasr Deep locals prevented a unit of the…

The Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation (NFL) has declared the al-Zawiya Mount in the southern countryside of Idlib a “military zone.” In its statement, the al-Sham Falcons, one of the NFL’s factions, called on civilians to evacuate the entire eastern part of the mountain. The faction claimed that the step is meant to ensure the safety of the region’s residents. According to the group’s statement, which was released on June 2, the military zone will cover the areas located to the east of the following points: The town of Benin;The Benin-Farkia road;The town of Majrashah;The al-Ruyha junction;The town of Moataf;The…

Jaysh al-Izza, one of the remaining armed factions in Greater Idlib, announced on May 31 that a new batch of its special forces has completed training. The group released a video on June 2 showing the training of its new special forces personnel. In the video, 28 fighters can be seen training with live ammo and battle tanks in a military camp located right beside refugees’ tents in northern Idlib. The camp is named after Abdul Baset al-Sarout, the so-called “icon” of the Syrian opposition who was killed by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in northern Hama last year. Jaysh al-Izza has been…

China has been buying record volumes of Russian oil over the last couple of months, taking advantage of rock bottom prices for Russia’s flagship Urals grade combined with a collapse in demand in Europe. The volumes make for consecutive monthly records of Urals supply to China after they surpassed 1.2 million tonnes in January. They also provide a lifeline to Russian firms as they struggle to sell oil in Europe because the coronavirus has led to a deep fall in demand. At the same time, rival Saudi Arabia had been flooding customers with crude in a market share battle with…

Former Vice President Joe Biden has won Democratic presidential primaries in seven US states, gathering further momentum for the Democratic National Convention in August. His wins in Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Indiana, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania as well as the District of Columbia on Tuesday push him closer to the 1,911 delegates he needs to capture the Democratic presidential nomination. He will also be the presumptive nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, which was rescheduled from July to August due to coronavirus concerns. “The country is crying out for leadership,” Biden said Tuesday in remarks released by…

Syria has lambasted the United States for practicing ‘economic terrorism,’ saying the new financial sanctions that Washington is due to impose this month will intensify the sufferings of the Syrian people. On Wednesday, an unnamed source with the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates denounced the so-called Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act – also known as the Caesar Act and expected to come into force in mid-June – as another form of terrorism which has shed the blood of Syrian civilians and ravaged their achievements, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported. “The Syrian Arab Republic strongly condemns the imposition of further sanctions on…

Venezuela says it plans to import more gasoline and additives from Iran after receiving five shipments of fuel from the Middle Eastern country in the face of US sanctions. The announcement by officials at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s office, quoted by price reporting agency Argus Media, came after Tehran said it would continue fuel shipments to Venezuela if Caracas requested more supplies. “Tehran yesterday offered to supply Venezuela with more gasoline and refinery additives. President Maduro very likely will accept the offer because we need the fuel,” one official said Tuesday. Other officials said the government will ask Iran for…

Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah popular defensive movement has denounced the recent so-called donor conference that was organized under the guise of collecting aid for the war-torn country as “an attempt for begging” by countries in the Saudi-led military coalition. Saudi Arabia co-hosted the virtual United Nations’ fundraising summit on Tuesday. The conference was reportedly attended by more than 100 countries. The kingdom and its allies have been waging a war on Yemen since March 2015 to return Riyadh’s favorite officials to power there. The war, which also has the support of the United States, has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis and…

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Libya’s eastern-based renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar will not manage to emerge victorious out of the ongoing conflict in the country. Ankara provides military support to the rival Government of National Accord (GNA) to fend off offensives by Haftar’s forces. “Taking back the coastline from Tripoli to Tunisia, recapturing international airports, and progress made from air and land operations shows essentially that Haftar cannot win this war,” Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying in a televised interview on Wednesday. Haftar’s militias recently stepped up their attacks, but GNA forces – who are under the command…