This is Beirut - Damascus

U.S. Completes Transfer of IS Detainees From Syria to Iraq: CENTCOM

This is Beirut, 13/02 15:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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The United States Central Command said on Friday it had completed the transfer of thousands of detained Islamic State group suspects held in Syria to Iraq. The detainees had been held in Syria for years in camps overseen by Kurdish-led forces, but the recapture of surrounding territory by Damascus prompted Washington to step in. CENTCOM said it ...

Most Families of Foreign Fighters Left IS-Linked Camp in Syria: Sources

This is Beirut, 12/02 14:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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Most foreign families have left northeast Syria's Al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of Islamic State group fighters, since the departure of Kurdish forces who previously guarded it, humanitarian sources told AFP on Thursday. The defence ministry meanwhile announced that the army had taken control of the Al-Tanf base after the withdrawal ...

Syria Defense Ministry Says Army Has Taken Control of Al-Tanf Base After U.S. Pullout

This is Beirut, 12/02 14:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Syria's defence ministry said on Thursday that the army had taken control of the Al-Tanf base after the withdrawal of US forces deployed there as part of the coalition against the Islamic State group. "Through coordination between the Syrian and American sides," army units have taken control of the base "and have begun ...

U.S. Pulls Troops From Northeastern Syria Amid SDF-Damascus Integration

This is Beirut, 06/02 23:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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The U.S. has begun its withdrawal of troops from the Shaddadi base in northeastern Syria this week as part of a broader drawdown of direct U.S. military presence in Syria. This event occurred amid the incorporation of civilian and security sector responsibilities to Damascus to replace the SDF and the U.S. as the primary force monitoring the ...

Lebanon and Syria Ink Deal on Prisoner Handover

This is Beirut, 06/02 15:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Lebanon signed an agreement with Syria on Friday to hand around 300 convicts over to Damascus, a move seen as key to helping turn a new page in ties between the countries. Overcrowded Lebanese prisons host more than 2,200 Syrians held on various charges. Many of them are still awaiting trial, while hundreds accused of "terrorism" or ...

The End of the Middle East’s Oil Bonanza

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 03/02 09:10 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Middle East Lebanon Bahrain Damascus Gulf

The Middle East has finally arrived at the grim reckoning long barreling toward it: a ruinous collapse of oil revenues that renders government deficits utterly unsustainable. Among the wealthy Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, four are running persistent annual budget deficits that are eroding their sovereign wealth reserves and plunging ...

Iraq Opens Probe Into ISIS Detainees Transferred From Syria

This is Beirut, 02/02 12:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iraq’s judiciary announced on Monday that it has begun investigations into more than 1,300 suspected members of the Islamic State (ISIS) group who were recently transferred from Syria as part of a U.S.-led operation. In a statement, the judiciary’s media office said investigative proceedings had started against 1,387 members of the “Daesh ...

Syria Says Hezbollah Weapons Used in Damascus Airport Attacks

This is Beirut, 02/02 11:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Syrian authorities said on Sunday they had detained a group responsible for a series of rocket attacks targeting the Mezzeh military airport in the capital, adding that investigators traced the weapons used in the strikes to Hezbollah. In a statement, the Syrian Interior Ministry said security units arrested all members of the group after weeks ...

A Month of Crisis in Syria and Its Regional Ramifications

Seth J. Frantzman, 01/02 19:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

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Syria has experienced another dramatic transformation. After a month of clashes that began in Aleppo and spread to eastern Syria, Damascus announced on January 30 that it had reached an agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for a ceasefire and its military integration. The Syrian transitional government now controls most of the ...

Syria–Kurds Reach Integration Deal After Weeks of Fighting

This is Beirut, 30/01 13:05 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Damascus Syria Kurds SDF

Syria’s government and Kurdish forces on Friday reached a broad agreement to gradually integrate Kurdish military units and administrative structures into the central state, following weeks of clashes that ended in a ceasefire. The deal, confirmed by both the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian state television, comes ...

Syrian Security Thwarts Weapons Smuggling Attempt Bound for Lebanon

This is Beirut, 26/01 13:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Damascus Syria

Syrian internal security forces announced on Monday that they had thwarted an attempt to smuggle a large shipment of weapons into Lebanese territory, following coordinated operations in central and southern Syria. According to the Internal Security Directorate in the Al-Qusayr area of Homs, acting in cooperation with the Internal Security ...

Kurdish SDF Fighters Leave North Syria Prison Under Govt Deal: State Media

This is Beirut, 23/01 09:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Syria said early Friday that government forces had begun transferring Kurdish fighters from a prison in the north where they had been holding Islamic State group detainees, as part of a weekend agreement. An AFP correspondent in Raqa saw buses and cars heading away from the Al-Aqtan prison on the city's outskirts overnight, escorted by ...

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