Author: Steven Sahiounie

Despite claiming to fight jihadists in Syria, the Americans are gladly using them to further anti-Damascus policies and occasionally giving them a helping hand, the Syrian foreign minister told RT. “The Americans are using ISIS as a scarecrow,” Minister Walid Muallem said in an interview with RT Arabic. “At the same time they are feeding ISIS, encourage them, protect ISIS leaders and help them move from one area to another.” The US policy is aimed at investing into terrorism. The Syrian government has long accused the US of fueling groups of foreign Islamist fighters, even those bragging of committing atrocities in Syria,…

On December 26, a group of angry locals intercepted and stoned several U.S. armored vehicles in Syria’s northeastern region. According to the available information, the vehicles were conducting a patrol near oil fields in northern al-Hasakah, when they were intercepted by a group of angry locals near the town of Dhabanah, in the outskirt of Qamishli. A video released by activists in northeast Syria shows the locals throwing rocks at the vehicles and ripping a U.S. flag apart after taking it from one of the vehicles. The incident last for a few minutes only, with the U.S. patrol leaving Dhabanah…

by Tim Korso The US recently announced its intent to stay in the Arab Republic in order to “keep the oil” and channel revenues from it to the local Kurdish militia, despite protests from Damascus. Syria is considering filing an international suit against the American government over its actions in the eastern part of the country, Syrian presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban said in an interview with Al-Mayadeen TV. “Syria is looking into the possibility of filing an international lawsuit against the United States, due to the fact that they steal Syrian oil”, she said. Previously, Syrian Ambassador to UN Bashar al-Ja’afari accused…

The office of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) officially requested Turkey’s military aid. The head of the Russian Contact Group for the intra-Libyan settlement, Lev Dengov, confirmed that GNA officially requested military aid – “air, sea, ground” support – from Turkey. Earlier in the day, several media reported that Tripoli-based GNA had made a formal request. “Yes, it is true. The office of GNA confirmed that it had officially asked Turkey for military aid — air, sea, ground,” Dengov said. Earlier, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stated that Ankara is still ready to consider the possibility of sending troops to Libya if such a…

Russia and Turkey have conducted joint patrols in Syria’s Aleppo province along the Syria-Turkey border, Major General Yuri Borenkov, the head of the Russian Centre for Syrian reconciliation, said on Thursday. “Another joint Russian-Turkish patrol was conducted along a route … in the province of Aleppo”, Borenkov said at a briefing, adding that air patrolling was also being conducted by the Russian forces. In addition, he said that patrols by Russian military police continued on several routes in Hasakah and Aleppo provinces. These patrols are part of the Russia-Turkey deal on the buffer zone in northern Syria. Following talks between Russian…

Syrian and Russian companies began joint work on oil and gas geological exploration in the Mediterranean Sea, Bouthaina Shaaban, an adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad, said Wednesday. “This is the first time I say this — Syria began joint work with Russian companies on oil and gas geological exploration in the Mediterranean Sea,” Shaaban said in an interview with Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen broadcaster. She added that the Syrian authorities began preparing for this project several years ago. In 2017, Syrian President Assad said that the Syrian government has reached contracts with a number of Russian oil and gas companies and would continue…

By Tim Korso The Trump administration is trying to find a new approach to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as it believes that further pressure on him and his country over the purchase of Russian defence systems and Turkey’s operation in Syria could push Ankara to develop closer ties with Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources in the US. Despite this understanding, however, the US still intends to impose economic sanctions against Turkey, the sources told the media outlet, explaining that President Donald Trump would have to “contend with angry US lawmakers”, who recently passed bills that envisage…

Twenty American soldiers have been recorded this year among those killed during the US conflicts in Afghanistan, making 2019 the deadliest year since Washington officially announced an end to operations in 2014. A 33-year-old US Army Green Beret was the 20th person to die on Monday after sustaining injuries in an explosion in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz on December 22. Sgt. 1st Class Michael James Goble was on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan, when he got killed. Sgt. 1st Class Goble was more than just a member of the 7th Special Forces Group,” the group’s commander,…

Hong Kong marked Christmas Eve with a new round of clashes between rioters and Police officers. The main clashes took place in the shopping hubs of Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok. In order to contain the violence, in some cases, Police were forced to use tear gas and pepper balls at the rioters. Police added that a “large group of rioters” had built barricades, damaged traffic lights and dug up bricks on the area pf Peninsula Hotel. The scale of riots in comparison with the previous rounds of violence remained relatively low. However, the fact that the leaders of the…

Drones from the US base in Al Tanf conducted a strike against oil facilities in the Syrian province of Homs on December 12, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on December 23 at the meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “The US, using its illegal military base in Al Tanf, sent drones to Homs and committed air strikes by them against the oil refining infrastructure. It took place four days ago,” the Minister commented. “I would like to note that this occured in winter, when we have a pressing need for oil and gas. Yesterday Israel made an attack…