Russian Airstrikes Hit Field Hospital, 13 Dead

Russian airstrikes on Wednesday hit a field hospital in northwestern Syria, killing more than 10 people, the AFP reports.

According to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Russian jets hit a field clinic on Tuesday in the town of Sarmin, killing at least 13 people including a physiotherapist, a guard and a civil defense member.

The clinic, which is financed and run by the Syrian-American Medical Society (SAMS), was “severely damaged.” The Sarmin area has been regularly targeted by Russia’s ongoing aerial campaign, which is now heading into its fourth week.

“Our initial reports from the ground show that we have lost two hospital staff, a physiotherapist and a nurse,” a staffer with SAMS said, although they were still unsure as to whose planes conducted the strikes.

While Russia says its warplanes have carried out more than 500 airstrikes on targets belonging to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS), Moscow has been heavily criticized for targeting non-extremist rebel groups and causing civilian casualties.

Autonomous Kurdish Area Takes in Another Syrian Town

The Syrian town of Tal Abyad officially joined the autonomous Kurdish-led political order in northern Syria on Wednesday, officials told Reuters.

Captured from ISIS by the Kurdish YPG militia back in June, the town’s local leadership – including representatives from its Arab, Kurdish, Turkmen and Armenian communities – announced they had officially joined with the self-governed Kurdish area in northern and northeastern Syria.

Political analysts say the Kurds’ growing influence along and sometimes over Turkey’s border is likely to increase tensions between the two.

Since the outbreak of violence in 2011, Syrian Kurds have created three autonomous areas, sometimes referred to as “cantons,” across the north of the war-torn country.

Wednesday’s announcement means the town of Tal Abyad will provide a crucial link between the Kurdish canton of Kobani and the larger canton of Jazira that borders Iraq.

Russian Cargo Ships Pour into Tartous as Moscow Escalates Offensive

More than 100 cargo ships have reached Syria in the past few weeks, marking the largest Russian shipment to the war-torn country in over a year, Reuters reports.

The cargo, arriving from Russia, Black Sea ports in Romania and Constantza, and even as close as Lebanon and Egypt, is most likely intended to reinforce troops loyal to beleaguered Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the exclusive report says.

Supplies reportedly include basics such as grain and sugar needed to feed newly arrived troops, although Reuters was not able to verify the specifics of the shipments.

While a mere seven ships arrived at the port of Tartous in the last week of August, the number rose sharply to 29 for the week starting October 12. According to information gathered by Pole Star, a U.K.-based maritime technology company, 95 ships arrived at the port of Tartous between mid-September and October 21.

Grain and sugar are not the only provisions Russia is shipping into Tartous. An international arms expert told Reuters the said Russian ships also include a great deal of military supplies, including ammunition, heavy weapons, bombs and electronic equipment, as well as listening and jamming devices.

Recommended Reads

• The Huffington Post: A Thousand Miles in Their Shoes
• Foreign Policy: The Sad Fading Away of the Refugee Crisis Story
• The Associated Press: Mohammed’s Journey: A Syrian’s Long Quest for a Normal Life
• Newsweek: Majority of Russian Strikes in Syria Aren’t Targeting Islamic State
• The Guardian: Three Syrian Hospitals Bombed Since Russian Airstrikes Began, Doctors Say

Top image: Syrian Kurdish militia members of the YPG make a V-sign next to a drawing of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed Kurdish rebel leader, on February 22, 2015, in Esme village in Aleppo province, Syria. U.S.-backed Kurdish forces have forcefully displaced thousands of Syrian civilians, mostly Arabs, and demolished villages in northern Syria, often in retaliation for the residents’ perceived sympathies for the Islamic State group and other militants, Amnesty International said Tuesday, October 13. (Mursel Coban/Depo Photos via AP)