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by Karam al-Masri with Sara Hussein in Beirut Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) – ebels in Aleppo called for a five-day truce and the evacuation of civilians Wednesday after losing more territory including the Old City to a Syrian army offensive. Heavy fighting in the city stoked mounting international concern, with six Western powers urging a ceasefire and UN chief Ban Ki-moon describing the plight of civilians as “heartbreaking”. US Secretary of State […]
ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) – by Karam al-Masri with Maya Gebeily in Beirut Syrian regime forces were on the verge Tuesday of seizing a major rebel district of Aleppo as Moscow and Washington traded barbs over stalled efforts to end fighting in the battle-worn city. After retaking control of about two-thirds of east Aleppo in recent days, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad were advancing Tuesday in the large residential district of Shaar. The Syrian Observatory […]
JIBRIN, Syria (AFP) – by Maher Al-Mounes Fawwaz al-Ashaari stayed on in rebel-held east Aleppo through the loss of his eldest son and his home. But as fighting got closer, he joined a mass exodus to government territory. Some 20,000 civilians have made the same journey since Saturday as a government offensive on rebel-held areas has intensified. Another 30,000 have sought refuge in a Kurdish-controlled enclave between the city’s two sectors. “I can’t lose any […]
KHAZIR, Iraq (AFP) – by Rouba El Husseini Ihsan Ismail has spoken to his family just twice in a month. In the desperate flight from their village outside Mosul they were separated and are now confined to different camps for the displaced. More than 70,000 people have fled their homes since Iraqi forces launched their offensive on October 17 to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, from the Islamic State group. As if living under IS rule […]
ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) – by Karam al-Masri with Sara Hussein in Beirut The Syrian government offensive to recapture rebel-held parts of Aleppo sparked international alarm on Tuesday, with the UN saying nearly 16,000 people had fled the assault and more could follow. France called for an immediate UN Security Council session on the fighting, which has seen the army capture a third of opposition-controlled east Aleppo in recent days. The fighting has prompted an exodus […]
ALEPPO, Syria (AFP ) – by Karam al-Masri with Sara Hussein in Beirut Syria’s rebels lost all of the northern neighbourhoods of their stronghold in east Aleppo on Monday, as the army made significant advances in its offensive to recapture the entire city. The regime gains have prompted an exodus of thousands of desperate civilians, some fleeing to districts held by the government or Kurdish forces, others heading south into areas still under opposition control. […]
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – by Fulya OZERKAN A car bomb exploded in the car park of the governor’s office in the southern Turkish city of Adana Thursday killing two people and wounding 33, officials said, in the latest attack to rock Turkey this year. The explosion sparked a fire, with a cloud of dark smoke spewing into the sky, and caused damage to the governorate itself, state-run Anadolu news agency said, describing the blast as […]
HAIFA, Israel (AFP) – by Jonah Mandel Raging bushfires forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from parts of Israel’s third city Haifa on Thursday as firefighters struggled to control blazes across the country. Some residents were trapped in their homes as the army called up reservists to help cope with a third day of fires which authorities speculated could have been started deliberately. Haifa municipality spokeswoman Or Doron told AFP that 50,000 […]
HILLA, Iraq (AFP) – by Abbas al-Ani with Max Delany in Mosul A suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least 70 people, mainly Shiite pilgrims, south of Baghdad Thursday, in the latest jihadist attack as Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul. The huge truck bomb blast ripped through a petrol station where buses packed with faithful returning from the Arbaeen commemoration in Karbala were parked, officials said. Most of the victims […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) – by Joe Dyke Israel revived plans on Wednesday to build 500 new homes for Jewish settlers in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, an ominous sign for Palestinians wary of a Donald Trump presidency, an NGO said. “The political significance of this action is that it is the first plan to be promoted since the US elections,” Betty Herschman from the Ir Amim NGO said. The plan for 500 housing units in Ramat Shlomo, […]
ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) – Syrian air strikes and shelling killed 25 civilians in eastern districts of Aleppo on Thursday, a monitor said, on the third day of a wide-ranging regime assault on rebel-held areas. The bombardment hit at least six rebel-held neighbourhoods, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. At least 65 civilians have been killed in east Aleppo since the start of a regime offensive on Tuesday, the Observatory said. The renewed […]
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) – by W.G. Dunlop and Ali Choukeir Iraqi forces have broken into jihadist-held Mosul and recaptured neighbourhoods inside the city, but a month into their offensive, there are still weeks or more of potentially heavy fighting ahead. Iraq launched the massive operation to recapture Mosul, which has been held by the Islamic State group since 2014, on October 17, advancing on the city from the north, east and south. Iraq’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service […]
