Fierce Fighting in Deir Azzor. There were overnight strikes between regime and rebel forces in several neighborhoods of Deir Ezzor, Syria’s sixth-largest city. It’s an escalation in what has largely become a fight there between government forces and extremist groups.
Beirut’s Daily Star reports: “Initial reports suggested rebels had taken an area near the Rashdiya district that had been under government control. ‘Fighters from the al-Nusra front executed 10 soldiers from the regime forces after they captured them following clashes in Rashdiya,’ said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. On Thursday, state television said a senior military intelligence officer was killed in Deir Ezzor city. ‘Major General Jamaa Jamaa was martyred while carrying out his national duties to defend Syria and its people and pursuing terrorists in Deir Ezzor.’”
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Rebels’ Leading Ally, Faces Shift in Policy. On the heels of Turkeys’s first shelling of Syrian rebel positions, the New York Times takes an in-depth look at the country’s changing Syria policy. Once the rebels’ best ally, Turkey now “finds itself in the same position as many of the rebels’ early backers, including the United States — concerned that Islamist radicals have come to dominate the ranks of the Syrian opposition.
“Mr. Erdogan was one of the first world leaders to call for Mr. Assad to step down, and from the start he provided a lifeline to the rebels. But with radical Islamists controlling territory along the Turkish border, and the United States working with the Assad government to rid it of chemical weapons, his policy is in turmoil and his country without a viable ally in Syria. Mr. Erdogan has himself been criticized for allowing weapons to get into the hands of jihadists.
“While many countries — including the United States, which recently contemplated military strikes against Syria in response to the use of chemical weapons there — have called for Mr. Assad to go, the focus has lately shifted to seeking and carrying out a political solution, or what Washington has referred to as an orderly transition of power.”
Syrian Refugees Find New Ground in Bulgaria. Another 40 Syrian asylum seekers have arrived in Bulgaria, the latest country to see an influx of refugees as Syrians are priced out of overflowing neighboring countries like Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan and receive a hostile reception in others, notably Egypt.
The Sofia News Agency reports that the refugees enter via the Bulgarian-Turkish “green border,” where there are few checkpoints.
“Bulgaria has the capacity to accommodate about 5,000, while over 6,500 refugees have arrived in the country since the beginning of 2013, with local authorities expecting the number to exceed 11,000 by the end of the year. The total capacity of 3,740 in the shelters under the authority of the Interior Ministry and the State Agency for Refugees has been exceeded by 207 beds. The Agency is working on easing the red tape and shortening the procedure to grant asylum status of foreigners in Bulgaria.”
Saudi Arabia, Major Financial Backer of Syrian Opposition, Declines Security Council Seat
In a move that will likely have repercussions for Syria’s opposition, Saudi Arabia, which has been a key funder and backer of the Syrian National Coalition and Free Syrian Army, has declined its rotating seat on the U.N. Security Council.
“The Kingdom sees that the method and work mechanism and the double standards in the Security Council prevent it from properly shouldering its responsibilities towards world peace,” the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA. Reuters reports: “The Security Council has been divided on how to handle the civil war in Syria, with Western powers pushing for stronger sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad and Russia vetoing resolutions to that end.”
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:
International Crisis Group: Anything But Politics: The State of Syria’s Political Opposition
Reuters: Rebel Snipers Kill High-Ranking Syrian General
Reuters: Russia, U.S., Deny Date Set for Syria Peace Conference
Guardian: Syria Crisis: Date Set for Geneva Peace Talks, says Deputy PM
Reuters: Syrian Refugees Camp Out in Milan Train Station
Guardian: Syrian Opposition Under Pressure to Attend Geneva Peace Conference
Global Post: Lebanese Official in Syria for Deal on Kidnapped ‘Pilgrims’
Al Monitor: Gaza Salafists Killed in Syria