More Than 30 Killed in Idlib Airstrikes

At least 33 people have been killed by airstrikes on Idlib province since Sunday, Reuters reported on Monday, citing a war monitor and rescue workers.

Most of the dead were killed in attacks on the town of Saraqib, 12 miles (20km) northwest of the Abu Zuhour air base, which government forces captured from insurgents earlier this month.

Airstrikes hit a vegetable market in the town on Monday. The hospital at which the wounded were being treated was also targeted shortly after, Reuters said, citing the head of Syrian civil defense in Idlib.

Syrian state media did not mention the attacks but said on Monday that government forces had expanded their foothold around the strategic airbase.

Kurdish Forces Try to Reclaim Hill Near Afrin

Fierce fighting erupted around the Kurdish enclave of Afrin on Monday as Kurdish forces tried to win back a strategic hill captured by Turkey-backed forces one day earlier, the Associated Press reported.

The Bursayah Hill, which separates the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin from the Turkey-controlled town of Azaz, was captured by Turkish troops and allied rebels on Sunday. The advance marked one of the most significant gains for Turkey since it launched operations against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia in Afrin last week.

The YPG is now trying to reclaim the area but they are meeting stiff resistance from Turkish troops and allied Free Syrian Army rebels. The Turkish army canceled a press tour of the hill because of “security concerns,” the AP said.

Separately, Turkish authorities on Monday said they had detained 311 people for disseminating “terrorist propaganda” through social media posts criticizing Ankara’s Afrin offensive, the AP reported. The suspects were detained over the past week, the interior ministry said without providing further details.

On Tuesday, Turkey also detained eight members of the Turkish Medical Association, including the head of the organization, Rasit Tukel, for breach of Turkey’s anti-terror laws, the AP reported, citing Turkish state media.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the members of the organization of betrayal and of being “terrorist lovers” after they issued a statement warning of the humanitarian implications of a Turkish offensive on Afrin.

Russian Peace Congress Delays: Opposition Delegation Refuses to Leave Airport

A Russian-sponsored peace congress was delayed by two hours on Tuesday after an opposition delegation that had arrived in Sochi refused to take part in talks, Agence France-Presse reported.

Russia is hosting the Syrian Congress of National Dialogue with the aim of drafting a new constitution for Syria. The event was originally supposed to run for two days (January 29–30). However, it got underway as a one-day event on Tuesday.

Syria’s main opposition group, the Syrian Negotiation Commission, said on Friday that it would boycott the talks. Kurdish authorities have also declined to attend because of continued Turkish attacks on Afrin.

A separate opposition delegation that flew into Sochi from Turkey has also refused to participate in the event until Russia changed or removed the symbol of the congress, which features only the Syrian regime flag, AFP said, citing an unidentified rebel source.

“There have been some problems with an armed opposition group arriving from Turkey, which said its participation depended on additional requirements,” Artem Kozhin of the Russian foreign ministry was quoted as saying. He added that the Russian and Turkish foreign ministers spoke twice on the phone in an attempt to resolve the issue.

According to Reuters, the opposition delegation refused to leave Sochi airport on arrival.

“We will go back to Turkey,” Ahmad al-Burri, an opposition representative, told Reuters by phone. “Whatever happens we will not enter Sochi. We informed them (the Russians) of our conditions that they should remove all the logos and flags representing the Syrian government.”

Mohammad Adnan, a member of the Syrian opposition based in Turkey, said on Tuesday that there were about 70 people waiting for a plane to take them back to Ankara.

Recommended Reads

• Agence France-Presse: Syria’s Kurds: From the Margins to De Facto Autonomy
• Reuters: Exclusive: Tests Link Syrian Government Stockpile to Largest Sarin Attack – Sources
• NPR: U.S. Military Options in Syria
• The New York Times: America Has Chosen the Wrong Partner
• The Economist: Why Turkey’s Troops Are in Syria Again