Author: Steven Sahiounie

At least two people have lost their lives and several others sustained injuries when Turkish military forces and allied militants launched barrages of mortar shells at residential neighborhoods in the western sector of Syria’s northeastern province of al-Hasakah. Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Syria’s official news agency SANA that Turkish troops and their proxies targeted buildings in the villages of Qabr al-Saqir and al-Abosh, which lie in the Tall Tamr district of the province, on Thursday afternoon, leaving two civilians dead and four others injured.  The sources added that the projectile inflicted material damage on people’s property in the targeted…

Syrian Kurds are not ready to fight the COVID-19 pandemic as no international body has provided help the requested by the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), SDC Representative in the US and member of Presidential Committee Bassam Saker says. “North and East Syria is in a very dangerous situation. We need aid and support from the international community, but so far we have received absolutely no aid or support”, Saker said. “Our region does not even have the capacity to test for coronavirus, let alone effectively treat or quarantine patients.” Saker said that due to poor living conditions, that have worsened…

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo told his Saudi counterpart, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, that the United States backs UN special envoy Martin Griffiths’ efforts to negotiate a reduction in violence in Yemen’s civil war, the State Department said in a readout of their conversation. “Secretary Pompeo expressed support for the de-escalation efforts led by UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, and the Secretary and the Foreign Minister agreed that an unstable Yemen only benefits the Iranian regime and that the regime’s destabilizing behavior there must be countered”, the readout said Wednesday. The two officials also discussed global…

Larijani, tested due to having some of the coronavirus symptoms, has been quarantined and is receiving treatment, IRIB added. Earlier, Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar and former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati also tested positive for COVID-19. In the Middle East, Iran has been the nation worst-hit by the pandemic, and its response to the crisis has been affected by continuing US sanctions. As of 2 April, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Iran stands at 50,468, with 3,160 deaths; more than 16,000 have recovered, Johns Hopkins University says. Globally,…

On 10 March, General Kenneth McKenzie, chief of the US Central Command, said in an apparent reference to the Patriot interceptors, that the Pentagon is in the process of delivering its “air defence systems” to Iraq. The Middle East Eye news outlet quoted unnamed sources as saying on Monday that the US military had deployed its Patriot missile defence system to the Ain al-Asad base in the western Iraqi province of Anbar. According to the sources, the system is currently being assembled amid reports that the Pentagon plans to send two more Patriot batteries to an undisclosed location in Iraq.…

In January, an international conference on Libya took place in the German capital, counting Russia, the United States, the European Union, Turkey, and Egypt among its participants. The sides agreed to a ceasefire and for third parties not to be involved in the conflict. US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have spoken by phone about efforts to “defeat the virus and bolster the global economy”, the White House said in a statement. The presidents underlined the need for ceasefires in Syria and Libya during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a White House statement. Trump and…

The Department of Defense (DoD) announced a grim milestone Monday — it’s total number of COVID-19 cases among US service members, civilian contractors, on-base civilian staff, and family dependents of troops has surpassed 1,000. “Total DoD Cases (current, recovered and deaths) is 1,087,” according to DoD fact sheet released on Monday. The numbers are as follow: 569 military cases220 civilian cases190 dependent cases64 contractor cases The Pentagon said 569 service members have been infected, among these 26 hospitalizations, and 34 have recovered. The remainder of total cases involve civilian contractors working on military bases and/or at the Pentagon, as well as dependents. This number is up significantly…

Last night, the Libyan National Army shot down another Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat drone near the Libyan city of Tripoli. The Turkish military uses Bayraktar TB2 drones to support operations of forces (including al-Qaeda-linked groups) of the Tripoli-based ‘Government of National Accord’. Ankara also sent own military specialists and redeployed several thousands of own proxy fighters from Syria to Libya to support the Government of National Accord. Despite this, Turkish-backed forces have failed to make any gains in the battle against the Libyan National Army so far.

On March 30th, the US registered a record number of new registered COVID-19 cases – 20,353, to a total of 163,844. It also registered 573 deaths, to a total of 3,156. Additionally, New York’s Empire State Building lit up in red and white, revolving around the famous needle to resemble the lights that accompany a siren. The building’s owners call the display “the heartbeat of America.” The US Navy Ship (USNS) Comfort arrived in New York City, bringing 1,000 hospital beds to help relieve the city’s overwhelmed hospital system amid COVID-19 pandemic. Both New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and…

The price of crude rebounded on Tuesday from an 18-year low after Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump have agreed talks to stabilize energy markets. International benchmark Brent rose 1.5 percent to $23.15 per barrel, as of 08:06 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up six percent at $21.19 a barrel. Both Brent and the WTI closed the previous session at their lowest levels since 2002. According to the Kremlin, Trump and Putin agreed during a phone call on Monday to have their top energy officials discuss stabilizing oil markets. “Oil prices are clawing back…