Jabhat al-Nusra Attacks Government-Held Town in Southern Syria
Jabhat al-Nusra fighters and other militants attacked Baath city in southern Syria, “the army’s last major bastion in a province flanking the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,” Reuters reports.
The southern offensive is part of an attempt by nearly 2,000 fighters to gain control of the entire Quneitra province.
“Their advances, which expand insurgent control close to the Golan Heights and Jordan, are also important because Assad’s power base in Damascus lies just 40 miles (65 km) to the north.”
Jabhat al-Nusra has coordinated with other Islamic brigades and U.S.-backed rebels and made several gains in Syria’s southern front in the recent past, however with this offensive, “they have eroded the dominance of the Western-backed rebels that control areas further southeast towards Deraa city and along the Jordanian border.”
According to activists on the ground, Jabhat al-Nusra fighters have regrouped in southern Syria, after being out of the eastern Deir Azzor province by ISIS earlier this year.
Report Sheds Light on Abuse, Dire Circumstances Facing Syrian Refugees in Turkey
A new report by Amnesty International sheds light on Turkey’s struggle to meet the basic needs of 1.4 million Syrian refugees and the destitution and abuse facing Syrians fleeing the violence at home.
“While Turkey has officially opened its border crossings to Syrian refugees, the reality for many of those trying to escape the ravages of war is a different story. Many are pushed back into the war zone, with some even facing live fire,” according to the report.
Turkish border guards have abused and killed refugees escaping the violence in Syria, shooting and killing at least 17 people at unofficial crossing points between December 2013 and August, the report claims.
Only 220,000 of the 1.6 million Syrian refugees inside Turkey are living in the 22 recognized government camps, leaving over 1.3 million refugees to fend for themselves.
The report urges Turkey to “radically revise its border practices, ending the necessity for refugees to use dangerous irregular crossings,” and sheds light on the reluctance of the international community “to take meaningful financial responsibility for the refugee crisis.”
Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt host 97 percent of Syria’s refugees.
Syrian Delegation to Meet Vladimir Putin to Discuss Relaunch of Peace Talks
A high-level Syrian delegation will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the possibility of relaunching peace talks, AFP reports.
“President Putin will receive the delegation headed by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, and the meeting will center on the relaunch of negotiations,” a senior Syrian official said.
Waddah Abed Rabbo, editor-in-chief of Al-Watan daily, claims the meeting “will revolve around ideas proposed by Moscow to bring together the state and ‘an opposition’ and initiate a first dialogue.”
The first round of Geneva talks between the regime and opposition began in 2012 and the second in 2013. Both ended with no agreement on either side.
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Photo Courtesy of AP Images