Ankara has said it would recognize the regime of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in exchange for guarantees that U.S.-backed Kurdish rebels in northern Syria will not be allowed to form an autonomous area, unnamed sources told Bloomberg (Bloomberg)
UAE, Syria Meet Amidst Thawing Relations
The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad yesterday; they discussed economic cooperation, and Sheikh Abdullah voiced support for a political resolution to the Syrian conflict (AP)
Syria Reports Israeli Missile Strike at Damascus Airport
The strike wounded two military personnel and briefly took the capital’s airport out of commission, Syria’s transportation ministry said; Israel did not comment, though it rarely addresses individual air strikes in Syria (WSJ)
Syria, Turkey Hold First Meeting Since Syrian Civil War
At a conference in Moscow, the Syrian and Turkish defense ministers met for the first time since the Syrian civil war began in 2011; Turkey has recently indicated that it will seek a rapprochement with Syria (Bloomberg)
Self-Declared Islamic State Kills Six Members of Syrian Democratic Forces
Fighters from the self-declared Islamic State killed six members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the city of Raqqa, an SDF spokesperson said; a United Kingdom–based war monitor said it was the latest in a series of attacks this month (AP)
Syria Has Increased Grain Imports From Russia-Occupied Crimea
The amount of wheat Syria imported from Russia-occupied Crimea increased seventeen-fold this year, with shipments being transported by vessels under U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported (Reuters)
United Nations Warns of Deteriorating Situation in Syria Without Turkish Aid
In a new report, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that millions of Syrians would not survive the winter if aid deliveries from Turkey to rebel-held northwest Syria were not renewed next month (AP)
Turkey Calls on Russia to Establish Syrian Corridor
In a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan requested a thirty-kilometer security corridor along the Turkish border with Syria in accordance with a 2019 agreement between Russia and Turkey (AP)
Erdoğan, Putin Discuss Syrian Border Corridor
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to help implement a thirty-kilometer (nineteen-mile) security corridor on Turkey’s border with Syria; Russia promised to establish the corridor in a 2019 agreement that was never fully implemented (AP)
U.S. Warns Against Turkish Military Operations in Northwest Syria
White House national security spokesman John Kirby indicated that the United States did not want to see any military action that may put civilians, U.S. troops and personnel, and the U.S. mission to counter the Islamic State in jeopardy (Reuters)
This statement came after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called his Turkish counterpart to express the United States’ “strong opposition” to a new Turkish military operation in northern Syria (AP)
Turkish Missiles Used in Northeast Syria Have European Parts
A report by Conflict Armament Research found that the components of seventeen air-to-surface missiles used to strike targets in northeast Syria were produced by U.S., Chinese, and European companies, including commercial electromagnetic brakes intended to be used in ambulances (AP)
Protestors Storm Governor’s Office
Driven by discontent with deteriorating economic conditions, anti-government protestors stormed and ransacked the governor’s office in Sweida, southern Syria; the Interior Ministry said one policeman was killed, while a source in the city hospital claimed that several civilians were being treated for gunshot wounds, and one person had died (Reuters)
U.S., Kurdish Forces Resume Patrols Along Syria-Turkey Border
U.S. officials said the patrols would be limited to areas around the al-Hol refugee camp in northern Syria (AP)
The joint patrols were temporarily paused on Friday due to the threat from Turkish airstrikes in the region (Reuters)
U.S.-Backed Syrian Fighters Pause Operations After Turkish Raids
The Syrian Democratic Forces, a predominantly Kurdish rebel group, said it stopped all joint operations with the United States and other allies assisting its fight against the self-declared Islamic State after Turkish forces bombed areas under its control (Reuters)
Turkey Calls for U.S. Understanding Before Possible Operation in Syria
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar emphasized to reporters that the United States should understand Turkey’s plans and take it as a ‘reminder’ to cut ties with “terrorist organizations,” implying the United States’ relationship with the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said that the United States has reduced the number of partnered patrols with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria ahead of a possible Turkish invasion (Reuters)
The Pentagon had made previous statements warning of the threat of Turkish airstrikes in northern Syria to the safety of U.S. military personnel in the region (Reuters)
This point was underlined by Turkish airstrikes that hit key oil installations run by the SDF in northern Syria, killing eleven fighters and dozens of civilians (Reuters)
Russia Deploys Reinforcements to Kurdish-Controlled Northern Syria
Residents of a Kurdish-controlled town north of Aleppo confirmed that Russian troops have reached the city amid fears of a Turkish ground offensive (France 24)
In addition, chief of Russian forces in Syria, Lt. Gen. Alexander Chaiko, met with Kurdish commander Mazloum Abdi in the country’s northeast on Monday; no details are known regarding their conversation (AP)
This came after Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told his Russian counterpart on November 24 that Turkey intends to respond to attacks emanating from northern Syria (Reuters)
Russia had previously asked Turkey to refrain from launching a full-scale offensive after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced his plan to attack Kurdish militants in Syria following the bombing in Istanbul (Reuters)
Islamic State Announces Death of Leader, Names Successor
U.S. Central Command confirmed the announcement by the Islamic State that the group’s leader, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi, had been killed by anti-government rebels in mid-October; his successor was identified as Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Quraishi (NYT)
Syria Receives Vaccines In Response To Cholera Epidemic
Two million cholera vaccines arrived in the country, the first such shipment since a nationwide cholera outbreak began in August; aid agencies said there were thirty-five thousand suspected cases of cholera as of November 14 (The National)
Bombing Near Damascus Kills Iranian Official
A roadside bomb near Damascus International Airport killed Col. Davoud Jafari of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard alongside his Syrian bodyguard; Iran has blamed Israel for the attack (AP)
In addition, four Syrian soldiers were killed and one wounded in “air aggression” by Israel on September 19 (Reuters)
Rocket Attack Kills Five Civilians in Syria
The rocket attack targeted the rebel-held city of Azaz in northwest Syria, killing five civilians and wounding five others (Reuters)
U.S. Central Command said another rocket attack targeted coalition forces in the Green Village base in northeast Syria, causing no injuries or damage (Reuters)
Bodies of Two Girls Recovered in Syrian Refugee Camp
The bodies of the eleven- and thirteen-year-old Egyptians were found beheaded in the sewage system of the al-Hol camp, which houses the families linked to the Islamic State in northeastern Syria; these killings are the first since US-backed Syrian fighters carried out a twenty-four day sweep of the camp in mid-September (AP)
Meanwhile, the UN special rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures urged Western and Arab countries to lift sanctions on Syria due to their disproportionate effect on Syrian civilians (AP)
Israel Launches Strikes on Base in Syria, Kills Two
Israeli missiles hit a major air base at Shayrat in Syria’s Homs province on Sunday, killing two servicemen and injuring three others according to the Syrian military (Reuters)
Israel Blamed for Airstrike on Iranian Fuel Convoy in Syria
Several news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, said Israel was behind the drone attack that killed at least ten, including several Iranians; Israel has not commented on the allegations (The Times of Israel)
Russian Bombing Kills At Least Nine Civilians in Syria
At least nine civilians, including three children, were killed and more than seventy wounded after Russian jets targeting insurgent groups bombed displacement camps in the northwestern city of Idlib (Reuters)
Additionally, Jordan and Russia agreed to increase cooperation to counter drug smuggling and militant activity in southern Syria (Reuters)
Meanwhile, two tanker trucks carrying Iranian fuel along the Syrian border with Iraq were destroyed in an airstrike by an unidentified drone (Reuters)
American Member of ISIS Sentenced to Twenty Years in Prison
Allison Flule-Ekren from Overbrook, Kansas, was given the maximum sentence after admitting to leading an all-female battalion for the Islamic State in Syria and accusations of abuse by her three children (The Guardian)