Syrian Rebels Recapture Town in Northwestern Syria
Turkish-backed Syrian fighters reclaimed the town of Nairab after clashes with pro-government forces and Syrian troops, according to Turkish state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Russian defense ministry rejected these reports, while Syrian state media claimed that the government offensive in Idlib was continuing unabated (Al Jazeera)
Turkey and Russia Escalate Fighting in Syria’s Idlib
Airstrikes killed two Turkish soldiers and wounded five others in Idlib, prompting Turkish forces to kill fifty Syrian troops and destroy several armored vehicles, according to the Turkish defense ministry. Turkish artillery also shelled Syrian government positions near the town of Nairab in support of a rebel offensive, while Russian aircraft bombed advancing rebels to stop the attack (Associated Press)
Syrian President Declares Imminence of Government Victory
President Bashar al-Assad gave a televised address after the government consolidated control of towns in the Aleppo Governorate’s northwestern countryside, calling the advance a prelude to the opposition’s final defeat. More than forty thousand people have been displaced from western Aleppo in the last four days, a UN spokesperson said (Reuters)
U.S. Forces, Syrian Regime Troops Clash
A U.S. patrol in exchanged fire with pro-government troops at a checkpoint in northern Syria yesterday (Wall Street Journal)
Idlib Clashes Cause Largest Displacement of Syria’s War
More than 690,000 people have fled clashes in northwestern Syria since December 1 in the largest wave of displacement since the country’s nine-year conflict began, the UN refugee agency said (Agence France-Presse)
The Syrian regime’s assault on rebel-held areas in Idlib province has met continued retaliation from Turkey, which backs the rebels, and Turkey attacked 115 regime targets after five Turkish soldiers were killed yesterday, the Turkish defense minister tweeted (Anadolu)
Regime forces gained control of the main highway between Aleppo and Damascus today for the first time since 2012, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said (Reuters)
Syrian Kurds to Try Islamic State Fighters
Syrian Kurds will hold trials for fighters belonging to the Islamic State from more than fifty countries due to a lack of an international consensus about what to do with them, the Syrian Kurdish external affairs ministry announced (Guardian)
Israeli Air Force Attacks Targets Near Damascus
Israeli aircraft struck Syrian government forces and Iran-backed militias in the suburbs of Damascus, killing twelve fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Syria denounced Israel’s attack and claimed that the city’s air defenses had intercepted most of the warplanes’ missiles (BBC)
U.S. Defense Analysts Warn of Islamic State Resilience
The Islamic State likely increased its attacks in northeastern Syria by at least 20 percent after an October U.S. troop drawdown and subsequent Turkish incursion, according to U.S. government estimates cited in a new report (Defense Department)
The report said the group’s command structure remains intact despite the killing of leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October. Supporters of the Islamic State have rallied around Baghdadi’s replacement, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said (Voice of America)
A U.S. special envoy to the coalition to defeat the group said last week that “we are seeing ISIS come back as an insurgency, as a terrorist operation” (State Department)
Turkey Urges Russia to Control Syrian Troops
Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu called on Russia to better control Syrian government forces in their offensive in Idlib following armed clashes between Turkey and Syria (Reuters)
Turkey Hits Syrian Government Positions
The Turkish military struck dozens of Syrian government targets in retaliation for the deaths of five Turkish soldiers killed in Syria’s northwest, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said (Reuters)
Syrian Government Captures Major Town in Idlib Offensive
Syrian government forces captured the town of Maaret al-Numan in its latest offensive into the rebel-occupied Idlib province (BBC)
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Syrian Civil Defense reported that Russian warplanes supporting the offensive struck the town of Ariha, killing at least ten civilians and stopping a local hospital’s operations (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Government Forces Renew Assault in Idlib
Syrian government troops resumed an assault to recapture the last rebel-held pocket of territory in northwest Idlib province yesterday (Washington Post)
Turkish defense officials warned that the country would strike back against Syrian government forces if any of Turkey’s observation posts in Idlib were attacked (Reuters)
UN Calls for Cease-fire in Syria’s Idlib
The United Nations yesterday called for an end to the Syrian government assault, backed by Russian air power, on Idlib province, noting that civilians are being killed on a daily basis and that an estimated 350,000 people have fled the area since early December (Reuters)
Russia’s Putin Meets With Syrian, Turkish Leaders
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul today after visiting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus yesterday. Russia and Turkey have recently been at odds over their involvement in wars in Syria and Libya (Washington Post)
Ankara, Moscow Negotiate Over Syria Bombardment
A Turkish delegation is in Russia today for talks aimed at stopping strikes on Syria’s northwestern Idlib province that have reportedly forced tens of thousands of people to flee toward Turkey. Turkey hosts the world’s largest refugee population, with more than three million from Syria alone (Reuters)
Russia Adds Presence to Former U.S. Positions in Syria
Russian forces began providing humanitarian aid in Raqqa, a former base for the Islamic State that U.S. and Kurdish forces captured two years ago, according to Russian state media. U.S. troops operated in the area before suddenly withdrawing in October (Reuters)
U.S. Troops Out of Syria’s Northeast
U.S. military forces have completed their withdrawal from northeastern Syria, leaving a total of around six hundred U.S. troops in other parts of the country, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said (Reuters)
Strikes Kill Twenty in Northwestern Syria
Air strikes hit three towns held by rebels and Kurdish forces in Syria’s northwest, killing at least twenty civilians, according to the White Helmets civil defense group and a Kurdish military group. Some strikes were suspected to be carried out by Damascus, while others were blamed on Turkish forces (Washington Post)
Several Killed in Syrian Military Air Strikes
At least eleven people were killed and several others wounded following Syrian military air strikes in Idlib. A British human rights group said separately that Russia also conducted air strikes in the rebel-held region, targeting a prison (Reuters)
U.S. Resumes Counterterrorism Operations in Syria’s North
U.S. troops and allied Kurdish fighters have restarted joint operations against the Islamic State in the country’s north after a partial U.S. troop withdrawal in recent weeks, according to the head of the U.S. Central Command (New York Times)
Turkey Threatens Further Action Targeting Kurds in Northern Syria
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the United States and Russia have not fulfilled their agreements with Turkey in northern Syria and that Ankara “will do whatever is necessary” to clear the region of Kurdish forces it sees as terrorists (Anadolu)
U.S. to Keep Six Hundred Troops in Syria
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced plans to keep approximately six hundred U.S. soldiers stationed in Syria. Esper noted the U.S. military presence will remain in Syria to both defeat Islamic State militants and secure oil fields in the region (Defense One)
British Co-Founder of Syria’s White Helmets Found Dead
Former British army officer James Le Mesurier, a co-founder of the Syrian emergency rescue force known as the White Helmets, was found dead in Istanbul yesterday. His death is being investigated (Financial Times)
U.S. Envoy Criticizes Syria Policy
The top U.S. diplomat in northern Syria, in an internal memo, criticized a lack of U.S. effort to prevent Turkey’s recent military offensive in the region. He said Turkey-backed forces committed war crimes and ethnic cleansing during the operation (New York Times)
Syrian Constitutional Committee Meets in Geneva
One hundred fifty representatives from Syria’s government, opposition, and civil society gathered for the first meeting of a constitutional committee aimed at ending the country’s eight-year civil war (Al Jazeera)