Syria

Beirut, Jan 26 (AFP/PTI) Syrian regime forces have reached the outskirts of a key city on the edge of the country's last rebel-held stronghold, a monitor and a pro-government newspaper said Sunday.

The mainly deserted city of Maaret al-Numan is a strategic prize lying on the M5 linking Damascus to Syria's second city Aleppo, a main highway coveted by the regime as it seeks to regain control of the entire country.

DAMASCUS, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army seems determined to capture rebel-held areas in Idlib and Aleppo provinces in northern Syria, with two official statements released Saturday regarding such intention.

The Syrian army said in a statement on Saturday evening that it's determined to put an end to the "violations" of the rebels of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and allied militant groups in Aleppo and Idlib.

GREEN VILLAGE MILITARY OUTPOST (AP) — U.S. troops at military outposts ín eastern Syria asked variations of the same question to their top commander Saturday: What is our future here? What are the goals we need to think about?

Gen. Frank McKenzie, the U.S Middle East commander, knows the future is not certain. But at least for today, he said, “this is an area where we made a commitment. I think we’re going to be here for a while.”

24 Jan 2019; MEMO: The Russian Reconciliation Centre said 40 soldiers from the Syrian regime’s forces have been killed and 80 others were wounded during a major attack by armed opposition groups against the regime’s positions in Idlib, northern Syria.

The centre said that about 200 fighters from the Islamic Party of Turkestan equipped with 20 cars, tanks and two armoured vehicles attacked the Syrian regime forces’ positions in Idlib on Wednesday evening, forcing them to move south.

LATAKIA, January 19. /TASS/: Russian servicemen gave 350 food rations to children in the school of Magrith Settlement (Latakia Province) and a military orchestra performed national and foreign hits for schoolchildren and residents of the settlement, officer of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria Yuri Tretyak told reporters.

"An idea to stage the concert came up spontaneously. The orchestra already has such experience. We staged the previous event in Masyaf Settlement. I think this tradition will take root," Tretyak said.

ALEPPO /Syria/, January 18. /TASS/: Illegal armed units continue to shell the Syrian city of Aleppo, where 28 civilians were killed in the past three days, the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria said in a statement, adding that another 56 civilians had suffered wounds.

According to the center, attacks keep coming from areas in the Idlib province that are still controlled by militants.

18 Jan 2019; MEMO: United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called on Friday for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Syria’s opposition-held Idlib province, saying the latest ceasefire attempt had yet again failed to protect civilians, Reuters reports.

Turkey, which for years has backed Syrian rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad, agreed a truce with Russia that was supposed to have taken hold in the bastion of 3 million people in the northwest earlier this month.

DAMASCUS, Jan 15 (NNN-SANA) – Israel launched airstrikes on the T-4 air base, in the central Syrian province of Homs, on Tuesday, but causing no major damages.

The Israeli warplanes fired several missiles on the base, most of which were intercepted by the Syrian air defence forces. Four missiles hit the base, the Syrian army said.

The attack was carried out from the direction of the al-Tanf area, in southeastern Syria, where a U.S. base is located, the statement added.

ALEPPO /Syria/, January 12. /TASS/: The Russian military has delivered humanitarian assistance to northern Syria’s Sharran village handing out some 1.5 tonnes of food to its residents, an officer of the Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides, Adam Evloyev told reporters on Sunday.

"Today we have carried out another event in northern Syria where we handed out more than 500 food packages to civilians. The packages are aimed for children, women and poor people," the officer said.

The food packages contain Russian-made flour, sugar, rice, condensed milk and also tea.

TASS, January 12: Three checkpoints for civilians willing to return to their homes from the Idlib de-escalation zone to the territories under the control of the Syrian government will open on January 13, Major General Yuri Borenkov, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, told reporters on Saturday.