Syrian Government Offensive Against Eastern Ghouta Continues
The UN secretary-general today called for an immediate cease-fire in the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, which he called “hell on earth,” as Syrian government forces backed by Russian airpower continued bombardment of the Damascus suburb. The UN says nearly three hundred and fifty people have been killed and nearly nine hundred wounded in recent days (BBC)
Separately, Russia’s foreign ministry said that dozens of its citizens who were not regular armed forces were killed in a “recent armed clash” in Syria (BBC)
Syrian Regime Lays Siege to Enclave Ahead of Ground Assault
Nearly two hundred civilians in Syria have been killed in the last two days as a government siege of the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta continues; local counts put the death toll yesterday alone at more than a hundred, bringing the total over the last three months to more than eight hundred (Guardian)
Today, the United Nations called on Syrian government forces, which are believed to be preparing a ground assault on the enclave, to immediately cease the “targeting of innocent civilians and infrastructure” (Agence France-Presse)
Syrian Civilians Killed on ‘Horrific’ Scale, UN Envoy Says
The UN special envoy to the Syrian conflict told the UN Security Council yesterday that reports indicate more than a thousand civilians in the country were killed in the first week of February alone, and said now is “as violent and worrying” a time as any in his four years as envoy (Al Jazeera)
Separately, fifteen Russian employees of a private security firm were killed in an explosion at an arms storage facility in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor (Agence France-Press)
Mattis Says Unaware of Russians Killed in Syria Strike
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he had received no information about Russian deaths in a U.S. air strike on Syria’s Deir ez-Zor last week, which Syria said killed about a hundred people (RFE/RL)
Russian news outlets have reported at least four Russian casualties, and reports indicate that total Russian casualties may be in the dozens (New York Times)
Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France will strike weapons-producing facilities in Syria if he finds evidence that chemical weapons have been used against civilians, but noted that he did not yet have proof of such an attack (France 24)
Israel Ups Role in Syria Against Iranian Targets
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military delivered “serious blows” to Iranian targets in Syria after a weekend of cross-border strikes, and signaled confrontation between Israel and Iran could escalate further if “aggression” against his country continues. Syria’s air force shot down an Israeli fighter jet, the first downed since 1982, after Israel reportedly sent aircraft over central Homs province to carry out strikes on Syrian and Iranian targets. The move by Israel came after the country intercepted a drone allegedly operated by Iran in Israeli airspace (Al Jazeera)
Mattis: Syria Strikes Do Not Mean U.S. Engagement
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said U.S. air strikes earlier this week against forces allied with the government of Bashar al-Assad were carried out in “self defense” after pro-regime forces attacked a base used by a U.S.-backed militia, and that the clash did not signal a deepening of U.S. engagement in the country (Voice of America)
U.S.-Led Coalition, Pro-Regime Forces Clash in Eastern Syria
The U.S.-led coalition in Syria carried out air strikes that reportedly killed more than one hundred pro-regime forces, following what U.S. officials called an “unprovoked attack” on U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor (BBC)
Separately, nearly thirty people were killed and more than sixty injured by Syrian government airstrikes in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta (CNN)
Syrian Government Assault on Opposition Enclave Intensifies
The United Nations called for an immediate cease-fire in Syria after government bombings and artillery strikes on the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta reportedly killed at least eighty people yesterday. The international body referred to the situation as “extreme” (New York Times)
Chlorine Gas Reportedly Used in Syria’s Idlib
Medics said nine people were treated for breathing difficulties in Idlib province caused by what they believed was a bomb carrying chlorine gas. The Syrian opposition attributed that and conventional air and artillery strikes elsewhere in Idlib and in the rebel-held town of Eastern Ghouta to government forces and their Russian allies (BBC)
Russian Warplane Shot Down by Syrian Rebels
A Russian fighter jet was shot down in a rebel-controlled area of Idlib province in northern Syria in one of the de-escalation zones established last year by Russia, Iran, and Turkey (New York Times)
Rebel-held Hospital in Syria Hit by Airstrikes
A hospital in a rebel-held area of Syria’s Hama province was hit and put out of service in an airstrike yesterday, as the Syrian government and its Russian allies have stepped up attacks in rebel-held areas over the last week (BBC)
Separately, the U.S. State Department said it will “pursue accountability” over alleged chemical weapons use following a suspected chlorine gas attack in the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta (Al Jazeera)
Civilian Deaths in Turkish Operations in Afrin
At least eight civilians were killed by Turkish airstrikes near Afrin, bringing the total number of civilian deaths since the Turkish operation began on January 20 to fifty-one (Al Jazeera)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed yesterday that Turkey will “clean” the entire Syrian border (Reuters)
Kurdish Forces Call for Syrian Government to Step In
Kurdish authorities governing the Syrian border city of Afrin have called on the Syrian government to intervene and protect its border after Turkey began an offensive last week against Afrin’s Kurdish forces (Guardian)
Trump Warns Erdogan Over Offensive in Syria
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced yesterday that Turkey will extend its operations against Kurdish forces in northern Syria to the city of Manbij, moving its troops closer to the U.S.-backed Kurdish presence in Syria’s northeast (Guardian)
President Erdogan spoke with U.S. President Donald J. Trump earlier yesterday, who warned Erdogan that the ongoing Turkish offensive “risks undercutting our shared goals” and urged his Turkish counterpart to “limit” his country’s military actions and avoid civilian casualties (Washington Post)
U.S. Accuses Syria of New Chemical Weapons Attack
Top U.S. officials accused the Syrian government yesterday of using chemical weapons on civilians in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta, where more than twenty people, including children, were reported injured in attacks the day before by rockets loaded with chlorine gas. U.S. officials also blamed Russia for failing to stop the Syrian regime from carrying out such attacks and refusing last year to renew the mandate of a UN panel investigating chemical weapons use in Syria (New York Times)
Top U.S. Officials Tour Syria’s Raqqa
The U.S. military commander overseeing the fight against the Islamic State and an administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development visited the city of Raqqa, which was once considered the capital of militant group’s caliphate but was reclaimed by U.S.-backed forces three months ago (Wall Street Journal)
Turkey Bombs U.S.-Allied Forces in Syria
On Saturday, Turkish jets carried out airstrikes on an enclave in northern Syria before launching a ground invasion on Sunday targeting a U.S.-backed, mainly Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG. Turkey considers the YPG be a terrorist group that supports Turkish separatists from the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (Financial Times)
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the United States was warned by Turkey ahead of the bombing campaign, and that Ankara, a NATO ally, has “legitimate” security concerns along its border (Voice of America)
Syria Threatens to Destroy Turkish Aircraft
The Syrian government warned that it will shoot down any Turkish aircraft that crosses into its territory following vows from Ankara to carry out an offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria’s northern Afrin region (Al Jazeera)
After massing troops and tanks along the border this week, Turkish forces began shelling Kurdish villages in the region overnight as Turkey’s defense minister declared that an assault on the enclave is now underway (Guardian)
Tillerson Indicates U.S. Military to Stay in Syria
The Syrian foreign ministry called the U.S. military presence in the country a violation of sovereignty following a speech by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that laid out plans for long-term military engagement there. Tillerson also affirmed the continued U.S. stance on ousting the Syrian regime, saying “post-Assad leadership” is necessary for the country’s stability (Voice of America)
Tillerson said that recent reports that the United States is training a new force to be located near Syria’s border with Turkey have mischaracterized the effort (Al Jazeera)
Iran Joins Countries Against U.S.-Backed Syria Force
Iran has condemned a U.S. plan for a Kurdish-led border force to comprise some thirty thousand troops in northeastern Syria, joining Russia, Turkey, and the Syrian government in protest of the move (Associated Press)
A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State in Syria said that the coalition is working with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to train a new Syrian Border Defense Force, drawing up to fifteen thousand of its members from SDF ranks (Al Jazeera)
Yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened action against Kurdish forces along his country’s southern border, where the new U.S. force is to be stationed, saying an offensive there “may begin at any time” (Rudaw)
One Hundred Thousand Displaced From Syria’s Idlib, UN Says
Turkey, one of the parties responsible for monitoring de-escalation zones in Syria, has called on the Syrian government and its allies to end the siege of Idlib, the largest remaining opposition stronghold. The United Nations says an estimated one hundred thousand civilians have fled the area since November (BBC)
Yesterday, Russia said drones that attacked its Khmeimim Air Base over the weekend came from Idlib (Washington Post)
Two Dozen Civilians Reported Dead in Syria’s Idlib
An explosion and air strikes in Syria’s opposition-held city of Idlib on Sunday have killed some forty people, including at least twenty-one civilians. The explosion happened near a site used by an Islamist rebel group that draws fighters from Russia and the Caucasus, some of whom are among the dead, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Local media also reported two attacks outside the city, which is one of the last major rebel strongholds, including an air raid on the town of Jarjanaz (BBC)
Two Dozen Civilians in Syria Killed in Russian Strikes, Says Monitor
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said twenty-three people across three parts of the besieged rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta were killed in strikes by what witnesses said were Russian aircraft (BBC)
Evacuations Underway in Besieged Syrian Enclave
Medical evacuations to Damascus began on December 27 in the opposition-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, which has been under siege by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (Reuters)
Report Says Weapons Supplied to Syrian Rebels Instead Ended Up With Islamic State
A significant portion of weapons supplied by Western and Gulf nations to rebels fighting the government of Bashar al-Assad have instead ended up in the hands of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, according to a new study by a UK-based weapons-tracking organization (Voice of America)