Assad Defends Hezbollah Role in Civil War

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad praised Hezbollah fighters for their role in aiding government forces against rebel groups during an interview on the Lebanese militant group’s al-Manar channel on Tuesday night.

Assad argued that non-Syrian fighters who support government forces are different from foreign fighters among the ranks of the rebels because the government requested the assistance of Hezbollah, reports Al Jazeera English.

Hezbollah’s presence “was a request by the Syrian state – which is a legitimate state – in order to help defend the Syrian people,” Assad said, decrying foreign gunmen with rebel groups as “illegal.”

Assad thanked Russia, Iran and Hezbollah for their being “beyond loyal” allies. He blasted the U.N.’s condemnation of his government’s actions, arguing that the Syrian army is at war with “terrorists.”

Palestinian Refugees from Syria Being Returned to War-Torn Country

Palestinian refugees displaced from Syria to nearby countries – including Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon – are being deported back to the war-torn country.

An estimated 70,000 Palestinians from Syria are now displaced outside the country’s borders, reports the Daily Beast. Living without residency papers in these countries, hundreds have been forcibly deported back to Syria by the host authorities.

These deportations are taking place at a time when Palestinian refugee camps in Syria are under attack, particularly the Yarmouk camp in southern Damascus. Shortly before the Islamic State occupied large swathes of the camp in April, the U.N. lost access to the camp’s residents and has since been unable to deliver humanitarian aid.

Last week, however, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees was able to access Yarmouk residents displaced to Yalda for the first time since early June. Medical staff found that dozens of them are suffering from typhoid due to the camp’s deteriorating conditions.

ISIS Releases Images of Ancient Temple’s Demolition

ISIS released photos on Tuesday depicting the destruction of the Baalshamin Temple, a Roman-era temple in the ISIS-controlled city of Palmyra. Five pictures were released and circulated on social media outlets.

After ISIS blew up the temple on Sunday, the U.N. cultural agency decried it as a “war crime,” Reuters reports. The militant group captured the city in May and has since committed several atrocities there.

In a video released in June, teenage ISIS fighters were seen killing 25 Syrian army soldiers in front of Palmyra’s historicamphitheater. Most recently, Khaled Asaad, a renowned archaeologist and Palmyra scholar, was beheaded in the city.

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• VICE News: Gay Men Face Horrors at Hands of the Islamic State, But Few Can Resettle in the U.S.
• Foreign Policy: It’s Not Too Late to Save Iraq and Syria
• Al Jazeera America: U.S., Turkey Seeking Full Alignment on Syria
• Jadaliyya: The Reality of Ethnic Cleansing and Kurdish State in Syria