UN: A Thousand Civilians Killed in Syria in Four Months
An estimated 1,089 civilians have been killed in fighting in the country’s northwest in the past four months, according to the UN human rights agency. The agency’s chief, Michelle Bachelet, said government forces were reportedly responsible for almost all of those deaths (United Nations)
Syrian Rebels Oppose Russian Advances in Idlib
Yesterday, Syrian rebels launched a counterattack to constraint the Syrian army’s movement north from Khan Sheikhoun (Reuters)
Syrian Government Forces Enter Rebel-Held Enclave
Government forces have surged into a rebel-held area of Hama province, state media reported. The government announced earlier that it had opened a humanitarian corridor for people to flee the battered region (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Government Seizes Rebel Towns, Tens of Thousands Flee
As Syrian and Russian forces captured rebel-held territory over the last few days, sixty thousand Syrians have reportedly fled to the Turkish border (Reuters)
Rebels Withdraw From Syrian Town As Government Forces Enter
Syrian rebels have reportedly begun to withdraw from Khan Sheikhoun after Syrian forces launched an offensive on the town (Reuters)
Separately, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reportedly said today that Russia has military servicemen on the ground in Idlib (Reuters)
Syrian Government Forces Capture Rebel-Held Town
Syrian government forces entered the town of Khan Sheikhun for the first time since they lost control of it in 2014, according to a UK-based monitoring group. More than eighty people were reportedly killed in fighting (Agence France-Presse)
Separately, a car bomb killed a Syrian troop in Kurdish-controlled Qamishli yesterday. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombing (Reuters)
Militants Down Syrian Government Plane as Assault on Idlib Continues
Militants affiliated with al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham shot down a Syrian warplane yesterday as government troops continued their advance on the town of Khan Sheikhoun, a militant stronghold in rebel-held Idlib province (Associated Press)
Syrian Government Close to Capturing Rebel-Held Town in Idlib
Syrian government forces are close to capturing Khan Sheikhoun, a rebel-held town in Idlib province that was bombed with sarin gas in 2017 (Reuters)
Syrian Forces Capture Rebel Town
Syrian government forces captured the rebel-held town of al-Hobeit in Idlib province, which the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called most significant advance since the government began its Idlib offensive three months ago (Reuters)
U.S. Defense Report Criticizes Syria Pullout
The Islamic State has established resurgent cells in Syria and sought to expand its control in Iraq, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Defense. The report said a partial withdrawal of U.S. forces has decreased support for partner forces in Syria at a time when they need assistance (U.S. Department of Defense)
Separately, Syrian government forces captured two villages in Idlib today (Associated Press)
Syria Announces Resumption of Idlib Offensive
The Syrian army reported today that it will resume its offensive in Idlib (Associated Press)
Syria blamed its decision on Turkey’s failure to abide a ceasefire agreement (Reuters)
This follows a report by Syrian state media last week that a ceasefire had been agreed in Idlib (Reuters)
Separately, the United Nations announced it will investigate accusations that Russia and Syria intentionally targeted hospitals in Idlib using UN-supplied data (Washington Post)
UN Security Council Members Seek Probe Into Syrian Hospital Attacks
The United States, France, the United Kingdom, and other members of the UN Security Council requested the UN Secretary-General to investigate recent attacks on medical facilities in Syria’s Idlib province (Reuters)
Death Toll Mounts in Syria’s Idlib
A government airstrike in Idlib killed at least thirteen people (Al Jazeera)
A day before the strike, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet condemned international indifference over the escalation in Idlib, where more than one hundred civilians had been killed in the past ten days (Deutsche Welle)
Separately, Syrian government forces captured two rebel-held villages in northwest Syria (Reuters)
Syria Accuses Israel of Attacking Daraa
The Syrian government reported today that Israel attacked al-Harra hill in Daraa province but did not provide further details. Israel previously targeted Daraa in June (Associated Press)
Syrian Air Strikes Kill Twenty-Seven People
Russian and Syrian air strikes in Idlib killed twenty-seven people yesterday (Associated Press)
Separately, in a letter to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Pope Francis urged relief for civilians in Idlib (Associated Press)
Air Strikes Kill Dozens in Syrian Rebel-Held Area
An air strike by the coalition of Syrian government and Russian forces today killed at least nineteen people and wounded nearly fifty others in a rebel-held area in the country’s northwest, a day after another strike in the region at least eighteen (Agence France-Presse)
In addition, a Syrian freight train transporting phosphate was bombed and derailed yesterday, following an attack on a gas pipeline in Homs province last week (Associated Press)
Finally, Syrian rebels claimed that Russia deployed ground forces during its raid in northwest Syria (Reuters)
Syrian Air Force Kills Twelve
Yesterday, Syrian air strikes on a market in Idlib province killed twelve people (Reuters)
In Syria, Bombings Kill Civilians in Rebel Bastion
Air strikes by Syrian and Russian forces reportedly killed fifteen civilians in Idlib and Hama provinces (Agence France-Presse)
Separately, a mass grave containing 313 bodies, including civilians, was discovered in Raqqa (Associated Press)
UN Says Progress Being Made Toward Transition in Syria
The Syrian government is near an agreement on establishing a constitutional committee to create a political transition out of the country’s civil war, a UN envoy said after two days of talks in Damascus (Associated Press)
Separately, a team of chemical weapons experts is also preparing to investigate nine alleged chemical attacks in the country between 2014 and 2018 (Reuters)
France, United Kingdom to Backfill U.S. Troops in Syria
France and the United Kingdom agreed to increase their troops in Syria by 10 to 15 percent as U.S. forces withdraw (Foreign Policy)
Separately, government airstrikes in northwestern Syria killed seven civilians (Agence France-Presse)
Hundreds Killed in Syria’s Idlib Since April
At least 544 civilians have been killed and two thousand injured since an assault by Russian and Syrian government forces on rebels in Syria’s northwest began two months ago (Reuters)
Separately, Germany denied U.S. demands to deploy ground troops in Syria (Reuters)
United States and Israel Strike Targets in Syria
Yesterday, U.S. air strikes targeted an al-Qaeda training facility in northwest Syria (Reuters)
Separately, an Israeli missile strike targeted Syrian military positions in Homs and Damascus (Reuters)
Netanyahu Calls for Removal of All Foreign Forces from Syria, UN Inquires About Russian Attacks
During a meeting with U.S. and Russian national security advisers, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for removing all foreign forces, including Iranian proxies, from Syria (New York Times)
Separately, following twenty-three attacks on Idlib’s hospitals since Russian-backed forces launched an offensive in April, the United Nations asked Russia to explain its use of the location data of Syrian hospitals (Al Jazeera)
United Nations: Try or Free Islamic State Fighters
The United Nations called for 55,000 Islamic State fighters detained in Syria and Iraq—and their 11,000 family members—to face fair trials or be freed (Reuters)
United Nations Urges Syrian Cease-Fire Compliance
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Russia and Turkey to observe a cease-fire over Idlib Governorate (Associated Press)
A UN official said that since May 1 more than 330,000 Syrians have fled their homes and 230 civilians have died in Idlib (UN News)