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Gunmen loyal to Syria’s Bashar al-Assad killed 16 security personnel on Thursday, a war monitor said, in attacks it described as the “most violent” since the longtime president’s ouster.The fighting took place in the Mediterranean coastal province of Latakia, the heartland of the ousted president’s Alawite minority who were considered bastions of support during his rule.The death toll “following attacks and ambushes by gunmen loyal to Assad in the town of Jableh and its surrounding areas increased to 16 members of the security forces”, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that the majority of the dead were from the former rebel bastion of Idlib.It said they were “the most violent attacks against the new authorities since Assad was toppled”.At least three of the gunmen in Jableh were killed, said the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.The province’s security director had earlier said that Syrian forces were clashing with gunmen loyal to an Assad-era special forces commander in another village in Latakia, after authorities reportedly launched helicopter strikes.”The armed groups that our security forces were clashing with in the Latakia countryside were affiliated with the war criminal Suhail al-Hassan, who committed the most heinous massacres against the Syrian people,” the security director told state news agency SANA.Nicknamed “The Tiger”, Hassan led the country’s special forces and was frequently described as Assad’s “favourite soldier”. He was responsible for key advances by the Assad government in 2015.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported “strikes launched by Syrian helicopters on armed men in the village of Beit Ana and the surrounding forests, coinciding with artillery strikes on a neighbouring village”.SANA reported that militias loyal to the ousted president had opened fire on “members and equipment of the defence ministry” near the village, killing one security force member and wounding two.Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera reported that its photographer Riad al-Hussein was wounded in the clashes but that he was doing well.A defence ministry source later told SANA that large military reinforcements were being deployed to the Jableh area “to support the security forces and restore stability to the area”.- Deadly attacks -Alawite leaders later called in a statement on Facebook for “peaceful protests” in response to the air strikes, which they said had targeted “the homes of civilians”.Tensions erupted after residents of Beit Ana, the birthplace of Suhail al-Hassan, prevented security forces from arresting a person wanted for trading arms, the Observatory said.Security forces subsequently launched a campaign in the area, resulting in clashes with gunmen, it added.The Observatory said it could not verify the identity or affiliation of the gunmen.Later on Thursday, large groups of young men, some bearing arms, gathered in Idlib, in support of the security forces fighting in Latakia, the Observatory said.Messages broadcast over the loudspeakers of mosques called for “jihad” against the gunmen, it added.The tensions erupted after at least four civilians were killed during a security operation in the city of Latakia, the monitor said on Wednesday.Security forces launched the campaign in the Daatour neighbourhood on Tuesday after an ambush by “members of the remnants of Assad militias” killed two security personnel, state media reported.Islamist rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched a lightning offensive that toppled Assad on December 8.The country’s new security forces have since launched extensive campaigns seeking to root out Assad loyalists from his former bastions.Residents and organisations have reported violations during those campaigns, including the seizing of homes, field executions and kidnappings.Syria’s new authorities have described the violations as “isolated incidents” and vowed to pursue those responsible.

Unprecedented direct talks between the US and Hamas are a sign of dysfunction in fraught negotiations to prolong a truce in Gaza, analysts said Thursday.Washington revealed it held talks with Hamas, which it designates as a “terrorist” organisation, amid a standoff between Israel and the Palestinian militant group over how to proceed with the ceasefire, whose first phase expired last weekend.The direct contact is “a sign of a breakdown in mediation for a wider ceasefire”, geopolitics expert Neil Quilliam said, calling the move “symptomatic” of United States President Donald Trump’s “impatience with complex and timely negotiations”. Israel “must be concerned that his maverick approach to policy could undermine their immediate interests”, Quilliam added.”After all, the US president has already thrown a number of key allies under the bus,” said Quilliam, associate fellow at the Chatham House think-tank’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.James Dorsey, another Middle East specialist, said the direct talks would give Hamas “a sense of having been legitimised strongly”.The Israelis are in turn “obviously worried” by the outreach, said Dorsey.- ‘Little confidence’ -“This complicates even more the ceasefire negotiations because Hamas is going to be stiffened in its insistence that the ceasefire agreement be adhered to, rather than an Israeli timetable,” Dorsey added.The first, six-week phase of the Gaza truce, when Israeli hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, ended at the weekend.Hamas has insisted on a transition to the second phase of the agreement, which should lead to a lasting ceasefire, while Israel moved away from terms of the January deal, calling for extending the first phase until mid-April.Israel said it had been consulted by the United States and “expressed its opinion”. US hostage envoy Adam Boehler’s talks with Hamas took place in Doha in recent weeks.The talks were first revealed by US media outlet Axios, which said Boehler and Hamas discussed US hostages held in Gaza as well as a longer-term truce.The decision to meet Hamas “clearly shows that the US have very little confidence in Israel and Israeli negotiators… to do what is necessary to get the hostages back,” said Andreas Krieg, a Middle East security specialist.The King’s College London academic said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “for the last 12, 13 months if not longer… tried to undermine mediation processes to get the hostages back”.”And I think the US has now understood that,” he added. – ‘Separate avenue’ -Krieg said it could be useful for Qatari mediators, who brokered the ceasefire alongside the US and Egypt, “to allow a sort of a separate avenue of negotiations happening where there isn’t a party like the Netanyahu government that constantly disrupts, subverts and undermines”. Quilliam said that while Qatar and Egypt “might appear sidelined right now… the US, Israel and Hamas will continue to need them as current US and Israeli efforts will lead to more conflict and the two Arab states are the only interlocutors that step in and play a constructive role”.Hours after Trump’s administration revealed the Hamas talks, the president warned Gaza’s population that “you are DEAD” if the hostages are not released.”He may have issued this social media posting simply, to some degree, to try and disillusion Hamas, dampen their expectations and calm Israeli fears,” Dorsey said.  “He’s not declaring a policy. He’s leaving everybody guessing,” said Dorsey, an honorary fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute.Krieg said the “ultimatum that Trump put on the table is part of that entire context of mediation where he’s using coercion, extremely transactionally, with a lot of pressure on Hamas”.But he added: “I think Trump wants to deflect from that revelation that they are directly talking to Hamas by him now saying, ‘I’m strong, I’m going to get the hostages back… this is a way for me to justify why we’re directly talking to Hamas.'” 

A major offensive in the occupied West Bank which over several weeks has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians and ravaged refugee camps increasingly appears to be part of Israel’s “vision of annexation”, a UN official told AFP.Israeli forces carry out regular raids targeting militants in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, but the ongoing operation since late January is already the longest in two decades, with dire effects on Palestinians.”It’s an unprecedented situation, both from a humanitarian and wider political perspective,” said Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs for UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees.”We talk about 40,000 people that have been forcibly displaced from their homes” in the northern West Bank, mainly from three refugee camps where the operation had begun, said Friedrich.”These camps are now largely empty,” their residents unable to return and struggling to find shelter elsewhere, he said.Inside the camps, the level of destruction to “electricity, sewage and water, but also private houses” was “very concerning”, Friedrich added.The Israeli operation, which the military says targets militants in the northern West Bank, was launched shortly after a truce took hold in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a separate Palestinian territory.The operation initially focused on Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, where UNRWA operates, but has since expanded to more areas of the West Bank’s north.Friedrich warned that as the offensive drags on, there are increasing signs — some backed by official Israeli statements — that it could morph into permanent military presence in Palestinian cities.”There are growing concerns that the reality being created on the ground aligns with the vision of annexation of the West Bank,” he said.- ‘Political operation’ -Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said troops would remain for many months in the evacuated camps to “prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism”.And Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who lives in one of dozens of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, has said that Israel would be “applying sovereignty” over parts of the territory in 2025.According to Friedrich, “the statements we are hearing indicate that this is a political operation. It is clearly being said that people will not be allowed to return.”Last year the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion saying that Israel’s prolonged presence in the West Bank was unlawful.Away from home, the displaced Palestinian residents also grapple with a worsening financial burden.”There is an increasing demand now, especially in Jenin, for public shelter, because people can’t pay these amounts for rent anymore,” said Friedrich.”Everyone wants to go back to the camps.”The UN official provided examples he said pointed to plans for long-term Israeli presence inside Palestinian cities, which should be under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA).”In Tulkarem you have more and more reports about the army just walking around… asking shop owners to keep the shops open, going out and issuing traffic tickets to cars, so almost as if there is no Palestinian Authority,” said Friedrich.”It is very worrying, including for the future of the PA as such and the investments made by the international community into building Palestinian institutions.”The Ramallah-based PA was created in the 1990s as a temporary government that would pave the way to a future sovereign state.- ‘Radicalisation’ -UNRWA is the main humanitarian agency for Palestinians, but a recent law bars the agency from working with the Israeli authorities, hindering its badly needed operations.”It’s much more complicated for us now because we can’t speak directly to the military anymore,” said Friedrich.”But at the same time, we continue to do our work,” he said, assessing needs and coordinating “the actual emergency response on the ground”.Israeli lawmakers had passed the legislation against UNRWA’s work over accusations that it had provided cover for Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip — claims the UN and many donor governments dispute.The prolonged Israeli operation could have long-term consequences for residents, particularly children traumatised by the experience of displacement, Friedrich warned.”If people can’t go back to the camp and we can’t reopen the schools… clearly, that will lead to more radicalisation going forward.”He said the situation could compound a legitimacy crisis for the PA, often criticised by militant Palestinian factions for coordinating security matters with Israel.Displaced Palestinians “feel that they are kicked out of their homes and that nobody is supporting them”, said Friedrich.A “stronger international response” was needed, he added, “both to provide humanitarian aid on the ground, and secondly, to ensure that the situation in the West Bank doesn’t spin out of control”.

Hamas said Thursday that Donald Trump’s threats would encourage Israel to ignore the fragile ceasefire, after the US president warned that unless hostages were freed, the people of Gaza would be “DEAD”.Trump had earlier floated a widely condemned plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza.Weighing in Thursday, France welcomed an alternative Arab plan to rebuild the territory while keeping Palestinians on their land, but insisted Hamas must be excluded from governing Gaza.Trump’s warning followed his administration’s revelation that it held unprecedented direct talks with Hamas — listed as a “terrorist” group by Washington — focused on American hostages in Gaza.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed Israel was consulted and said it had “expressed its opinion” on the talks.Trump said he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job”, as his administration expedites billions of dollars in additional military assistance to Israel.”This is your last warning!” Trump warned Hamas leaders. “For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance,” he posted on his Truth Social platform.Israel killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar as well as the movement’s military leader Mohammed Deif during the war in Gaza that began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.Trump also warned of repercussions for Gaza as a whole, where virtually the entire population has been displaced by Israel’s relentless military campaign in response to Hamas’s attack.”To the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”Hamas’s attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, while Israel’s military retaliation in Gaza has killed at least 48,440 people, also mostly civilians, data from both sides shows.Leaning on a cane outside a makeshift shelter in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, Mohammed Salim dismissed Trump’s talk of turning Gaza into hell.”It has already become one,” he said. “We have been devastated, our homes reduced to rubble, our sons, fathers, and elders lost. There is nothing left to mourn.”- ‘Political tool’ -Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasim said Trump’s words pushed Israel to disregard the terms of a ceasefire in place since January 19, after more than 15 months of war.”These threats complicate matters regarding the ceasefire agreement and encourage the occupation to avoid implementing its terms,” Qasim said, urging the United States to pressure Israel to enter the ceasefire’s second phase.The first phase — negotiated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt — ended at the weekend after six weeks of relative calm, during which Israeli hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.Israel wants to extend this phase until mid-April, but Hamas insists on transitioning to the second phase, seen as leading to a lasting ceasefire.Israel has ramped up its rhetoric and halted the flow of aid into Gaza, prompting Britain, Germany and France to warn against using aid as a “political tool”.”We lack drinking water. People are complaining of lack of water in general,” said Abu Hammam al-Hasanat, 34, in Gaza.- Talks with Hamas -Trump’s hawkish language came after the United States confirmed unprecedented direct talks with Hamas, with the US envoy on hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, discussing American hostages.”Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people is something that the president” believes is right, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.Washington had refused direct contact with Hamas since designating it a terrorist organisation in 1997, but Leavitt said the envoy “has the authority to talk to anyone”.Five Americans are believed to remain among the hostages — four have been confirmed dead and one, Edan Alexander, is believed to be alive.Of the 251 captives taken during Hamas’s attack, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.- ‘Serious and credible’ -Trump triggered global outrage by suggesting the United States should “take over” Gaza, turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East” and relocate Palestinians to Egypt or Jordan.Arab leaders this week endorsed an alternative plan that would finance Gaza’s reconstruction through a trust fund, and would see the return of the Palestinian Authority to the territory.The PA currently has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and is dominated by Hamas rivals Fatah.French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said the Arab proposal “constitutes a serious and credible basis to respond to reconstruction, governance and security needs after the Gaza war.”Hugh Lovatt at the European Council on Foreign Relations said the Arab plan was “far more realistic” than Trump’s.But Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian political analyst and former PA minister, said “there’s no chance” Israel would adopt it over the one proposed by Trump.burs/ser/it/dv

The United States’ move to re-classify Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebel group as a foreign terrorist organisation could have “devastating” effects on the country’s largely aid-dependent, war-wracked population, humanitarian groups warned on Thursday.The listing, which bans any interaction with the Huthis — who control large swathes of the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country — could push up prices and make it difficult to import essential goods, aid groups said.The United States re-designated the Huthis on Tuesday. The rebels were also briefly placed on the terror list during President Donald Trump’s first term in 2021.The Huthis have fired missiles and drones at Israel throughout the Gaza war and waged a campaign against shipping in the vital Red Sea and Gulf of Aden trade route.More than half of Yemen’s 38 million-plus population is dependent on aid, according to the United Nations, which says the country is suffering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.”Yemen imports around 90 percent of its food, the vast majority through commercial channels,” Eri Kaneko, spokesperson of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told AFP.”Constrictions in this supply — whether intended or incidental — will have devastating impacts on millions of people.”If the supply of essential food and medicine is not preserved, “it would have serious impacts on communities already on the precipice of disaster”, Kaneko said.Yemen’s Huthi-controlled areas, home to about 70 percent of the population, are already facing rampant food insecurity, Action Against Hunger warned.The full impact of the terror listing is not yet known, Doctors Without Borders said.”But the sanctions will inevitably impact the work of humanitarian organisations and increase the suffering of the population,” it said in a statement sent to AFP.Former president Joe Biden removed the Huthis from the US list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations after humanitarian groups protested that they could not get aid to Yemen’s needy without dealing with the rebels.Last year under Biden, they were placed on the less-severe list of Specially Designated Global Terrorist groups, which still had the effect of freezing their assets and cutting off sources of financing.

Turkey on Thursday insisted the PKK and all groups allied with it must disarm and disband “immediately”, a week after a historic call by the Kurdish militant group’s jailed founder. “The PKK and all groups affiliated with it must end all terrorist activities, dissolve and immediately and unconditionally lay down their weapons,” a Turkish defence ministry source said. The remarks made clear the demand referred to all manifestations of Abdullah Ocalan’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has led a four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state, costing tens of thousands of lives.Although the insurgency targeted Turkey, the PKK’s leadership is based in the mountains of northern Iraq and its fighters are also part of the Kurdish-led SDF, a key force in northeastern Syria.Last week, Ocalan made a historic call urging the PKK to dissolve and his fighters to disarm, with the group on Saturday accepting his call and declaring a ceasefire. The same day, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that if the promises were not kept, Turkish forces would continue their anti-PKK operations. “If the promises given are not kept and an attempt is made to delay… or deceive… we will continue our ongoing operations… until we eliminate the last terrorist,” he said. – Resonance in Syria, Iraq -Since 2016, Turkey has carried out three major military operations in northern Syria targeting PKK militants, which it sees as a strategic threat along its southern border. Ankara has made clear it wants to see all PKK fighters disarmed wherever they are — notably those in the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which it sees as part of the PKK. The SDF — the bulk of which is made up of the Kurdish YPG — spearheaded the fight that ousted Islamic State extremists from Syria in 2019, and is seen by much of the West as crucial to preventing a jihadist resurgence.Last week, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi welcomed Ocalan’s call for the PKK to lay down its weapons but said it “does not concern our forces” in northeastern Syria. But Turkey disagrees. Since the toppling of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in December, Ankara has threatened military action unless YPG militants are expelled, deeming them to be a regional security problem. “Our fundamental approach is that all terrorist organisations should disarm and be dissolved in Iraq and Syria, whether they are called the PKK, the YPG or the SDF,” Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan’s ruling AKP, said on Monday. Ocalan’s call also affects Iraq, with the PKK leadership holed up in the mountainous north where Turkish forces have staged multiple air strikes in recent years. Turkish forces have also established numerous bases there, souring Ankara’s relationship with Baghdad. “We don’t want either the PKK or the Turkish army on our land… Iraq wants everyone to withdraw,” Iraq’s national security adviser Qassem al-Araji told AFP. “Turkish forces are (in Iraq) because of the PKK’s presence,” he said, while pointing out that Turkey had “said more than once that it has no territorial ambitions in Iraq”.

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 11:38:19 GMT