This is Beirut

Syrian Government Visits Notorious Camp for First Time Since Kurds Deal

This is Beirut, 24/05 18:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

A Syrian government delegation visited a notorious camp in the Kurdish-administered northeast that hosts families of suspected Islamic State group jihadists, the new authorities' first visit, both sides said Saturday. Kurdish-run camps and prisons in the northeast hold tens of thousands of people, many with alleged or perceived links to the ...

Syrian Forces Deploy at Key Dam Under Deal with Kurds

This is Beirut, 12/04 17:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Syrian Democratic Forces Kurds

Security forces from the new Islamist government in Damascus deployed Saturday around a strategic dam in northern Syria, under a deal with the autonomous Kurdish administration, state media reported. Under the agreement, Kurdish-led fighters of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will pull back from the dam, which they captured from the ...

Kurdish Authorities and Syrian Government Reach Deal on Tishrin Dam

This is Beirut, 10/04 20:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Kurds Damascus Tishrin dam

The Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria have struck a deal with the central government on running a key dam they captured from jihadists with US support, a Kurdish source said Thursday. "An agreement has been reached between the autonomous administration and the Syrian government for the management of the Tishrin Dam" on the Euphrates ...

Pro-Turkey Syria Groups Reduce Presence in Kurdish Area

This is Beirut, 08/04 19:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Turkey Syria Afrin Kurds

Pro-Turkey Syrian groups have scaled down their military presence in an historically Kurdish-majority area of the country's north, which they have controlled since 2018, a Syrian defense ministry official said on Tuesday. The move follows an agreement signed last month between Syria's new authorities and Kurdish officials that provides for the ...

Syria's Kurds Reject Legitimacy of New Government

This is Beirut, 30/03 17:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Syria Syrian Government Kurds

The Kurdish-led administration in northwestern Syria on Sunday rejected the legitimacy of the new national government formed by the Islamist coalition that toppled longtime autocrat Bashar al-Assad in December. "Any government that does not reflect the country's diversity and plurality cannot ensure proper governance of Syria," it said in a ...

Peace Hopes Remain Remote as Turkey's Kurds Mark 'Newroz'

This is Beirut, 21/03 17:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Middle East Turkey Kurds New Year

Three weeks after jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan urged his militants to disband, Turkey's Kurds were celebrating their Newroz New Year Friday with peace prospects still remote. The efforts to broker a solution to the decades-long Kurdish conflict have likely been complicated by the widespread unrest provoked by Wednesday's arrest of Istanbul ...

Kurds of Syria Celebrate Agreement with Damascus

This is Beirut, 13/03 20:05 - Reading : less than a minute

Damascus Syria Kurds SDF PKK

The Kurds of Syria celebrate the agreement reached between the new Syrian government and the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are primarily made up of Kurds.

Syria Rejoices: Agreement Between the SDF and the Interim Government

Yara Germany, 11/03 15:50 - Reading : less than a minute

Syria SDF KURDS Demonstrations

The Syrian presidency announced on Monday an agreement with the head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to “integrate” all civilian and military institutions of the Kurdish autonomous administration into the Syrian state—a decision welcomed with joy by Syrians.

Ocalan Calls for PKK to Drop Weapons, be Dissolved

This is Beirut, 27/02 16:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

PKK Abdullah Ocalan Turkey Kurds

Jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan on Thursday called for his Kurdish militant group to lay down its weapons and dissolve itself in a landmark declaration read out in Istanbul. "All groups must lay down their arms and PKK must dissolve itself," he said in a declaration drawn up in his cell on Imrali prison island where he has been held in ...

Explaining the Diplomatic Roller-Coaster in Damascus

Élie-Joe Kamel, 31/01 22:10 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

European Union Gulf Israel Syria Turkey Kurds

The diplomatic roller-coaster in Syria’s capital since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime suggests that a strategic shift is underway. This is all the more significant as the Prince of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, made an official visit to Damascus on Thursday, where he was received by the interim Syrian president, Ahmad ...

Fighting Continues in Syria as Turkish-Backed Forces Seek to Dislodge Kurds

This is Beirut, 23/01 18:15 - Reading : less than a minute

Syria Kurds Damascus Turkey

Fighting continues in north-eastern Syria as Turkish-backed forces intensify pressure on Kurdish forces, while al-Sharaa seeks to centralize military control.

German FM: No Financing for an Islamist State in Syria

This is Beirut, 03/01 22:11 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Baerbock Syria Kurds Ahmad el-Sharaa Barrot

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned Syria's new leaders Friday not to establish an Islamist government after the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last month. "Europe will support" Syria in its transition, "but Europe will not finance new Islamist structures," Baerbock told reporters at the end of a visit to Syria. "This ...

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