World
Hundreds of Civilians Killed by Government Forces in Syria, War Monitors Say
Three days of clashes between fighters affiliated with Syria’s new leaders and those loyal to the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad have left scores of civilians dead, according to two war monitoring groups, who reported on Saturday that many of them had been killed by the government’s forces.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has monitored the Syrian conflict since 2011, said early Sunday that more than 1,000 people had been killed in the coastal provinces of Tartus and Latakia. That figure included about 700 civilians, most killed by government forces. The information could not be independently verified.
Another monitoring group, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, reported earlier that government security forces had killed some 125 civilians. It said that men of all ages were among the casualties and that the forces did not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Information Ministry officials, responding to the charges of killing civilians, said they rejected “undocumented allegations accusing government forces of committing violations.” But they also said the government was committed to conducting comprehensive investigations and would hold to account those found to have harmed civilians.
“The Syrian government confirms that its forces operate according to strict standards that respect international humanitarian law and are keen to protect civilians during their operations,” a ministry statement said.
The Observatory said most of the civilians killed were from the country’s Alawite religious minority, to which Mr. al-Assad belongs, but this could not be independently verified either. The monitoring group said scores of combatants on both sides of the conflict had also been killed.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said the Assad loyalists had killed more than 100 security forces for the new government.
The Defense Ministry told Syrian state media on Saturday afternoon that forces had regained control over most areas that had been taken by the former regime remnants ,and that roads leading to the coastal area had been closed “to regulate violations, prevent transgressions and gradually restore stability to the area.”
The unrest has been the bloodiest outbreak of violence since the Assad regime was ousted in early December by rebels who became the country’s new leaders. It presents a major test of the new government’s authority and has raised the specter of a larger sectarian conflict in Syria, where tensions were already high as a result of the civil war.
By Saturday afternoon, the Syrian Red Crescent had been given permission to enter one of the towns to evacuate the injured, said Haidera Younes, a spokesman for the Red Crescent’s branch in Tartus.
The clashes began on Thursday after Assad loyalists killed 16 government security personnel in Latakia province, in the deadliest attack yet on Syria’s new security forces, according to government officials and the Observatory.
Violence quickly spread across Latakia and Tartus provinces, longtime strongholds of Mr. al-Assad along the Mediterranean coast and home to most of the country’s Alawites. Armed remnants of the ousted regime are believed to be scattered across the two provinces and have presented a challenge to the country’s new leaders as they try to exert their authority and unite a fractured country after more than 13 years of civil war.
The government responded to the initial attack on Thursday by deploying thousands of security forces and soldiers from other parts of the country to the restive coast. The government has sought to present the clashes as a legitimate authority fighting the remnants of a brutal regime.
For the first time, the new government forces deployed helicopters outfitted with machine guns on Thursday around the mountainside of the coastal region, according to a government official on the coast, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. The helicopters were deployed to areas where armed Assad loyalists were stationed, the official added.
A video verified by The New York Times and filmed along the coast west of Latakia airport appears to show government fighters repurposing Russian-made anti-submarine depth charges by dropping them as bombs from the rear of a helicopter. A spokesman for the government in Latakia did not respond to a request for comment about the video. A journalist with Syrian state media, Muhammad al-Othman, said that the munitions were dropped over mountainous areas where old regime remnants remain.
The Assad regime drew international condemnation for its frequent use of helicopters for indiscriminate bombings, dropping improvised “barrel bombs” onto civilian populations for years. The use of anti-submarine munitions for that purpose fits the old regime’s pattern of using whatever it could either fabricate or repurpose for launching aerial attacks via helicopter.
The munitions used in the helicopter attacks appeared to be Russian RBG-25 depth charges, which are normally launched from ships for use against submarines, said Trevor Ball, a former U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal technician. They most likely originated from old Assad regime stocks, he said.
“This is quite a bit different from how they are designed to be deployed,” said Mr. Ball. “These aren’t going to cause as much damage as the barrel bombs the Assad regime commonly used.”
Christina Goldbaum, Muhammad Haj Kadour and Reham Mourshed contributed reporting.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Billionaire Elon Musk said Tuesday he’s committed to being CEO of Tesla in five years’ time as the automaker faced intense consumer and stockprice pressure over his work with President Donald Trump’s government.
The question came as Musk made a video appearance at the Qatar Economic Forum hosted by Bloomberg after Musk recently traveled to Doha as part of Trump’s Mideast trip last week.
A moderator asked: “Do you see yourself and are you committed to still being the chief executive of Tesla in five years’ time?”
Musk responded: “Yes.”
The moderator pushed further: “No doubt about that at all?”
Musk added, chuckling: “I can’t be still here if I’m dead.”
Tesla has faced intense pressure as Musk worked with Trump as part of its self-described Department of Government Efficiency effort, particularly amid its campaign of cuts across the U.S. federal government.
FIRST ON FOX: In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital at the annual Jerusalem Post Conference in New York, Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler responded to a Washington Post report that claimed President Donald Trump threatened to abandon Israel unless the war ended as “fake news.”
“That sounds like fake news to me,” he said. “I think the president has maintained a very high degree of support for Israel.” He added, “He may be saying, ‘Hey, listen, let’s try to end the war,’ he might speak strongly, but I think American president, in particular, this president’s support, President Trump’s support for Israel is ironclad.”
Separately, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also rejected the claim. In an interview with Israel’s Ynet, he said, “Their reporting is nonsense. They need to listen to what the President says – not what some uninformed ‘source’ pretends to know.’”
ISRAELI AMBASSADOR LASHES OUT AT UN OFFICIAL, CONDEMNS UK, FRANCE, CANADA STATEMENT ON AID
United States Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler spoke at The Annual Jerusalem Post Conference in New York City on Monday, May 19, when he said a deal to return Israeli hostages is “closer than we ever were.” (Credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Boehler emphasized that the U.S. government’s primary focus remains on securing the release of the 58 hostages still held by Hamas. “I think there’s obviously continued back and forth. The President made it very clear that he wants something to come to conclusion.”
“I know that he and Steve [Witkoff] are working very hard right now to try to bring that home. So, a very fluid situation, but our primary focus is number one, the hostages, and number two, Israel’s security,” he said.
On the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Boehler addressed the recent development of opening borders to allow aid trucks into Gaza after two months of a blockade. He also discussed the new U.S.-backed mechanism that could potentially replace the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
“Perhaps there needs to be a replacement for UNRWA. We’ve had a lot of issues with the U.N. And if this works, if it gets food to the Palestinian people who need it, then I greatly favor it,” Boehler said.
Later, in an interview on stage at the Jerusalem Post conference, Boehler recalled the tense moments surrounding the release of American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander. “It’s an unbelievable moment. It was an unbelievable moment on Sunday. The whole time, we couldn’t sleep. It was exciting, nerve-wracking. We watched pretty much real-time. We were waiting for Steve Witkoff to come. We were waiting the whole time for the Red Cross. When the helicopter landed, we saw it on TV. That first phone call was unbelievable. It was right on Mother’s Day when we went over. It had a lot of meaning — for me, Steve, and everybody.”
ISRAEL TURNS TABLES ON UN OFFICIAL CLAIMING ‘GENOCIDE’ IN GAZA WITH BASIC QUESTIONS
U.S. Special Envoy Adam Boehler and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff met with the families of hostages for nearly two hours in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. (Paulina Patimer)
As for the timeframe for the hostage deal, Boehler expressed cautious optimism: “I think it’s getting closer and closer to making a deal here. If Hamas wants to come forward and make a legitimate offer, they’re willing to stand by and release hostages, we’re always open to that.”
He also credited the recent Israeli ground operations for increasing pressure on Hamas, saying, “I do think we’re closer than we ever were. Part of that is because of the movement of Israel and the IDF on the ground.”
Finally, addressing the recent joint statement from the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada, which condemned Israel’s military operations in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire, Boehler responded firmly. “The United States has always been a fervent supporter of Israel. If I were a European country, I’d be particularly sensitive in how I criticize Israel.”
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
Sanctions were levied during the rule of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.
European Union countries have given a green light to lifting economic sanctions on Syria in a bid to help the war-torn country recover after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, according to diplomats speaking to news agencies.
Ambassadors from the EU’s 27 member states struck a preliminary agreement for the move, which should be formally unveiled by foreign ministers meeting in Brussels later on Tuesday, diplomats said, noting that the final decision is up to ministers.
This follows an announcement by the United States last week that it is lifting sanctions on Damascus.
Reporting from the EU headquarters, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra described the reported agreement to lift the sanctions as a “really significant” development.
“It’s first of all an acknowledgement that the EU recognises the authority which is operating now in Syria, and that there need to be more financial transactions to pave the way for the creation of financial stability and improve the living standards of the people in Syria,” he said.
Sanctions were levied during the rule of al-Assad in 2012 and 2013 and concern the transport, energy and the banking sectors, Ahelbarra said.
The country’s new leadership has urged the West to ease the restrictions to help Syria recover from years of despotic rule and civil war.
EU diplomats told the AFP news agency the agreement should see sanctions cutting Syrian banks off from the global system and freezing central bank assets lifted.
But diplomats said the bloc was intending to impose new individual sanctions on those responsible for stirring ethnic tensions, following deadly attacks targeting the Alawite minority.
Other measures targeting the al-Assad regime and prohibiting the sale of weapons or equipment that could be used to repress civilians were set to remain in place.
The latest move from the EU comes after its first step in February, suspending some sanctions on key Syrian economic sectors.
Officials said those measures could be reimposed if Syria’s new leaders break promises to respect the rights of minorities and move towards democracy.
This is a developing story, more to come…
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