Author: Steven Sahiounie

Sixteen members of the Turkish armed forces and more than 100 Syrian mercenaries have died fighting in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, the Sky News Arabia TV channel reported on Sunday, citing sources in the Libyan National Army (LNA). According to the channel’s Twitter, 16 Turkish soldiers and over 100 Syrian mercenaries have died in Tripoli clashes. Earlier in the week, the LNA commander, Khalifa Haftar, said that the rival Government of National Accord (GNA) had used the current ceasefire to deploy Syrian mercenaries to Libya. Meanwhile, the Turkish forces arrived in Libya earlier this year under an agreement between the GNA…

Steven Sahiounie, political commentator Fierce clashes between the Syrian Arab Army and the Turkish Army and their terrorist allies raged in Idlib on Thursday, killing two Turkish soldiers and wounding five. The situation has calmed somewhat on Friday as President Erdogan will call President Putin in the evening to discuss the battlefield events. Russia has maintained its position that Turkey withdraws from Idlib and honors the 2018 Sochi agreement, in which Turkey was bound to separate civilians from armed terrorist groups. The European Council stated that the 27 EU member states have called on all parties in the Idlib conflict…

Russia has continued filling its coffers with gold, having added almost 7 tons of the precious metal to its reserves in January. The country’s total gold holdings amounted to 73.2 million troy ounces (2,276.8 tons) as of February 1, and are worth around $116 billion, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). The bullion stockpile comes at a time of gold price skyrocketing to a 7-year high, as traders have turned to traditional safe havens amid the coronavirus outbreak. The precious metal soared to $1619.20 per ounce on Thursday. In recent months, Russia has been…

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi has called for parliament to hold a confidence vote on his government early next week. Nominated as a consensus candidate among divided political parties, Allawi emphasized that his cabinet was not drawn from the political elite, a key demand of the protest movement sweeping Baghdad and the south since October 1. In a speech broadcast on state TV on Wednesday, Allawi said he was proposing “an independent government without any party candidates for the first time in decades.” Iraqi officials have quietly expressed skepticism that such a government would earn parliament’s approval, AFP reported. Allawi…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he was reviving a plan for the construction of some 3,000 new settler homes near East Jerusalem. The project has been effectively frozen after international opposition. Netanyahu has pledged to annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and the area’s Jordan Valley as part of an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan presented by US President Donald Trump last month, Reuters said. Palestinians have rejected Trump’s plan. Israel’s Defense Minister called in January for Israel to establish sovereignty over nearly a third of the occupied West Bank, acting on Trump’s announcement of the peace…

In December, Syrian government forces launched an offensive to recapture areas of Idlib Province, the last remaining rebel stronghold in the country. Tensions in the region escalated further after Syrian government forces shelled a Turkish observation point on 3 February, killing seven military personnel and one civilian contractor. Syrian Arab Army units have repelled terrorist attacks on the Nayrab axis in the Idlib countryside in northwestern Syria, SANA reported on Thursday. Fierce fighting was reported close to the northwestern city of Saraqib, according to Sham FM radio. Government forces have air cover and are fighting back with artillery fire. The…

Sanctions against Iran were reintroduced by the United States in the wake of Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018. The restrictions target Iran’s economy, energy, financial and transportation sectors, among others. Washington has imposed sanctions on five Iranian individuals for “denying their countrymen free elections” by vetting scores of candidates in the upcoming parliamentary vote, the US Treasury announced on Thursday. “The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today took action against five members of Iran’s Guardian Council and its Elections…

According to the Russian Reconciliation Centre for Syria, pro-Turkish militants, with the support of the Turkish artillery, broke through the defences of the Syrian army in the areas of Qminas and Nayrab. Russian Su-24 aircraft have conducted airstrikes against pro-Turkish terrorists, which allowed the Syrian troops to repel all attacks successfully, the Russian Reconciliation Centre for Syria said in a statement. “The Syrian troops destroyed one tank, six infantry fighting vehicles and five pickup trucks containing large-calibre weapons”, the message said. The Centre also added that four Syrian servicemen were injured by Turkish artillery. The organisation went on to say…

Steven Sahiounie, political commentator The shifting sands of the Syrian conflict have left many wondering what might happen next between the Kurds, the US, and Russia inside Syria.  I reached out to, Professor Tim Anderson, an Australian political economist, and author of “The Dirty War on Syria: Washington, Regime Change and Resistance”, “Countering War Propaganda of the Dirty War on Syria”, “Axis of Resistance: towards an independent Middle East” for some answers.  Despite Dr. Anderson’s busy schedule, he replied to my interview questions.  Steven Sahiounie: What is the possible future of the Syrian Kurds, given the fact they invited the…

A unit of the Syrian Army stopped a US military patrol in northeastern Syria and forced it to turn back. This was not the first time when Syrian government forces limited the US movement in the area. Over the past months, such incidents have become a general practice. Earlier, several reports appeared that the US military blocked movements of the Russian Miltiary Police in northeast Syria. It probably forgot that this is the game for two sides