Syria and Middle East conflict: Kurds expect Turkish attack in northern Syria

According to Kurdish sources, Turkey and its allied militias are preparing an offensive against the northern Syrian border town of Kobane. The Turkish army and its Syrian allies would send reinforcements to the region south of the Kurdish-held city, spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Farhad al Schami, told the German Press Agency. An attack on the city from the south and west is possible. There have been fierce battles around the city for a long time.

The SDF has contacted the US-led coalition and the US government to stop the Turkish offensive, al Schami said. On Tuesday, SDF commander Maslum Abdi proposed a buffer zone for northern Syria. They are ready to set up a demilitarized zone in Kobani in which security forces should be set up under US supervision and presence. A demilitarized zone under international protection could serve as a security guarantee for the Kurds and alleviate Turkey’s concerns about the Kurds.

Kurds are allies for the USA and PKK branches for Turkey

Turkey is accused of wanting to use the power vacuum following the overthrow of ruler Bashar al-Assad in Syria to bring under its control the areas in the north of the country that are under the administration of Kurdish militias. The Kurds and the SDF are supported by the USA, for which the SDF is an important partner in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Turkey, on the other hand, sees the militia as an offshoot of the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) – and therefore as a terrorist organization.

Syrian interim government fills important positions

Syria’s rebel-led interim government has appointed a foreign minister and a defense minister, according to official sources. Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani is taking over the Foreign Ministry, the former state agency Sana reported on Telegram. According to the interim government, the new defense minister was agricultural engineer Marhaf Abu Kasra, one of the best-known leaders of the rebels who overthrew ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Al-Shaibani has been active in the opposition since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in spring 2011. Syria was deeply divided during the civil war. Assad brutally cracked down on any opposition forces and controlled around two-thirds of the country until his fall. In the northwest, the Islamist group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) founded a parallel administration in 2017.

Shaibani had set up the political affairs department there. He is said to have worked in the humanitarian sector and for foreign affairs. According to informed sources, he had established good connections with the United Nations, among others.

US military attacks Houthi positions in Yemen

Meanwhile, US forces again bombed Houthi militia positions in Yemen. As the US Central Command Centcom announced, air strikes were carried out on a missile depot and a command center of the Iranian-backed militia near the capital Sanaa. In addition, several rebel drones and a cruise missile were shot down over the Red Sea. There were initially no reports of victims. Since the beginning of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, the rebels allied with the Islamists have regularly attacked targets in Israel and ships in the Red Sea with rockets and drones. It was only on Saturday that Israel was again the target of a rocket attack from Yemen. A projectile fell in the port metropolis of Tel Aviv, leaving 16 slightly injured. The Houthi militia claimed responsibility for the attack.

After the failed attempt to intercept the rocket fired by the Houthi militia, the Israeli army said it launched an investigation. It was the third hit by Houthis projectiles in Israel in December.

Hospital in Gaza: Can no longer care for patients

A hospital in the north of the embattled Gaza Strip urgently asked the international community for supplies of medicine and food. Israeli shelling continues around the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the town of Beit Lahia and patients can no longer be cared for, said the Health Ministry, which is controlled by the Islamist Hamas. There is also hardly any food and drinking water left. According to Palestinian information, the Israeli army called for the hospital to be evacuated that evening. The Israeli army did not provide any information on this despite a request.

The Israeli army has been fighting in the coastal strip since the massacre by Hamas and other extremists from the Gaza Strip in Israel on October 7, 2023, with 1,200 dead and around 250 abducted. Efforts to reach a ceasefire repeatedly failed.

Pope Francis speaks of “cruelty” in Gaza

In a speech at the Vatican, Pope Francis recalled the devastating consequences of the Gaza war. The head of around 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide complained that children in the Gaza Strip had been bombed the day before. “This is cruelty. This is not war. I want to say this because it touches the heart,” said the pontiff, visibly moved. Israel described the pope’s words as “disappointing” because the pontiff ignored the fact that Israel was waging a multi-front war that was forced upon it.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Francis of having directed the accusation of cruelty to the wrong address. “Cruelty is when terrorists hide behind children while attempting to murder Israeli children; cruelty is when 100 hostages, including a baby and children, are held and mistreated by terrorists for 442 days,” Saar explained.