Foreign ministers from Syria and countries in the Arab League, which suspended Syria’s membership in 2011, will discuss a potential political settlement of the Syrian civil war and consider restoring Damascus’s membership in the group (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Turkish intelligence forces killed Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, the suspected leader of the Islamic State group in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced (CNN)
Syrian, Turkish Envoys Meet in Moscow for Talks on Normalizing Relations
Iranian officials will also be present at today’s meeting, which aims to restore ties that were severed when Syria’s civil war began in 2011 (AFP)
Syrians Protest Arab Countries’ Rapprochement With Assad
Hundreds of people across rebel-held northwestern Syria yesterday demonstrated against the warming ties between the government of President Bashar al-Assad and multiple Arab nations (Al Jazeera)
Saudi Foreign Minister Visits Damascus, First Trip Since 2011
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister visited Syria today for the first time since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011, resulting in Syria’s suspension from the Arab League (The National)
Saudi Arabia Hosts Delegations From Syria, Iran
The countries’ foreign ministers held talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, about ending the Syrian civil war and resolving tensions between Syria and other Arab nations, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said; a delegation from Iran, which recently restored ties with Saudi Arabia, was also visiting the city (AFP)
On Friday, nine countries will meet to discuss Syria’s potential return to the Arab League; Syria was suspended from the regional alliance in 2011 after violently suppressing anti-government protests (AFP)
Iran Sends Weapons To Syria Under Premise of Earthquake Relief
After the February 6 earthquake in northern Syria and Turkey, Iran used earthquake relief flights to send weapons and military equipment into Syria, according to Syrian, Iranian, Israeli, and Western sources (Reuters)
Rocket Attack Targets U.S. Base
According to the United States military, a rocket attack targeted the Mission Support Site Conoco in eastern Syria but caused no injuries or damage; the attack has not been claimed, but Iran-backed fighters based in eastern Syria are suspected by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor (AP)
IS Land Mines Kills At Least Twelve Civilians
According to the news agency SANAA, a land mine explosion killed at least six civilians foraging for truffles in the countryside of the southern Deir Ez-Zor province; the state media blamed the Islamic State (IS) group for the land mine stating the area was a former stronghold for the militants (AP)
Six more civilians who were also on their way to look for truffles were killed by an anti-tank mine planted by IS a day earlier, according to SANA, in the desert of Homs’ eastern countryside (AP)
France Indicts Three Regime Officials For War Crimes
French authorities announced indictments against three former and current advisors to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes (Al-Monitor)
The charges are related to the reported torture and killing of a French Syrian high school counselor and his son in 2013; the accused will likely be tried in absentia (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Says Strike Killed Senior Islamic State Leader in Syria
U.S. Central Command said its forces killed Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri, an Islamic State leader who planned attacks in Europe (CNN)
Meanwhile, an Israeli air strike killed two civilians in Damascus today, Syrian state media reported; an “unknown number” of Iran-backed fighters were also killed, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said (AFP)
It was the fourth Israeli strike reported in Syria in less than a week (France24)
Moreover, Russia hosted four-way talks on a potential Syria-Turkey rapprochement aimed to reinforce a peaceful resolution of differences between Ankara and Damascus, Iran’s state-backed news agency Tasnim reported (Tasnim)
Iran: Israeli Attack Kills Iranian
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that an Israeli attack in Syria killed an officer in its forces; a semi-official Iranian news outlet Tasnim reported that the Guards vowed to respond to the attacks (Reuters)
IDF Missile Strike Kills Two Syrian Soldiers
Israeli missile strikes near Damascus injured two Syrian soldiers, Syria’s defense ministry said; the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes were targeting pro-Iran militias (AFP)
U.S. Bombs Syrian Targets After Drone Attack Kills U.S. Contractor
U.S. forces struck Iran-backed groups in Syria yesterday after an Iranian-made drone killed one U.S. contractor and wounded six Americans, the Department of Defense said (NYT)
The U.S. airstrikes killed eleven people (Al Jazeera)
Today, rockets were fired at a U.S. base in northern Syria, but no casualties were immediately reported (CBS)
Meanwhile, according to regional sources, Syria and Saudi Arabia have agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties and re-open their embassies (Reuters)
President Assad Calls for Increased Russian Presence in Syria
During a visit to Moscow, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed his support for any Russian proposals for increased military bases and a potentially permanent Russian troop presence in Syria; Assad also recognized the Kremlin’s claim to territory in Ukraine (Al Jazeera)
Putin Hosts Talks Aimed at Syria-Turkey Rapprochement
Russia is hosting envoys from Iran, Syria, and Turkey in Moscow today; the four-way talks will follow a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (Bloomberg)
UN-Backed Panel Criticizes Slow Delivery of Earthquake Aid to Syria
Neither foreign donors nor the Syrian government did enough to deliver aid to Syria in the wake of last month’s earthquakes, a UN-backed commission said; it called for a formal probe into the response to the disaster, which killed over seven thousand people in Syria and tens of thousands more in Turkey (UN News)
General Milley Visits U.S. Military Base in Northeast
Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark A. Milley made an unannounced visit to U.S. troops in Syria on Saturday, where he defended their nearly eight-year-old mission to combat the self-declared Islamic State; he said “an enduring defeat” of the group is still possible (Reuters)
Arab Lawmakers Visit Syria’s Assad in Damascus
A delegation of senior officials from eight countries in the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union met with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in a show of solidarity following Syria’s recent earthquake and an indication of warming ties; many Arab countries pulled their envoys from Damascus after the Assad government’s violent suppression of protests in 2011 (Reuters)
EU Eases Sanctions To Facilitate Earthquake Aid
The European Union temporarily adjusted its sanctions on Syria to speed up deliveries of earthquake aid (AFP)
Syrian Government to Open Two More Border Crossings for Quake Aid
The United Nations could previously use only one crossing into opposition-held areas to reach survivors of last week’s earthquake, which has killed nearly forty thousand people in Syria and Turkey (BBC)
UN: Extremist Group Is Blocking Syrians’ Access to Quake Aid
In opposition-held northwestern Syria, aid for survivors of last week’s earthquake is being hampered by a lack of approval from Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a UN spokesperson said; most deaths in Syria have occurred in areas largely controlled by the group (Reuters)
First UN Aid Convoy Reaches Northern Syria
The first UN aid convoy for Syrian victims of Monday’s devastating earthquake entered northern Syria after a delay due to damage at the only UN-authorized aid corridor (Al Jazeera)
Death Toll in Syria, Turkey Quake Passes Eleven Thousand
Rescue teams are struggling to work through cold weather and equipment shortages as they approach the end of a seventy-two-hour window that aid groups consider crucial for finding survivors (NYT)
WHO Predicts Death Toll in Syria, Turkey Quake Could Rise by ‘Thousands’
Syrian and Turkish officials said at least five thousand people were killed by yesterday’s consecutive earthquakes at the Syria-Turkey border and their aftershocks, making the quakes one of the deadliest natural disasters to occur this century; as rescue efforts continue, an official from the Eastern Mediterranean office of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said the death toll could rise by thousands and that there is a “substantial” risk of another aftershock (NYT)
Aid teams from more than sixty-five countries have arrived in southern Turkey to support relief efforts, Hürriyet reported, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has declared a three-month state of emergency in ten provinces (Hürriyet)
Meanwhile, the Syrian government is unable to receive direct aid from many countries because of sanctions on Bashar al-Assad’s government; additionally, a border crossing used to deliver humanitarian aid to rebel-held northern Syria was damaged in the disaster (NYT)
Air Base Restored For Dual Use By Syria, Russia
The countries restored a military air base in Syria’s north that was recaptured from the self-declared Islamic State in 2017; the base is intended for the countries’ joint use (Reuters)