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A member of the Turkish Red Crescent was killed and another member was injured attack against the charity organization’s vehicle in northern Syria on September 14th.
The Turkish Red Crescent vehicle with three personnel on board was caught in a crossfire between two vehicles without license plates, carrying people wearing masks and camouflage, in an area between northern Syrian towns of al-Rai and al-Bab.
Attacking staff of the Red Cross or Red Crescent constitutes a war crime, but militants likely care little about those rules of engagement.
After the attackers escaped, the injured were immediately hospitalized. Reports said the injured were out of danger and will be transferred to Turkey for further treatment.
The name of the employee who was killed was revealed as Mehmet Arif Kıdıman.
Turkish flags have been draped along the street where Kıdıman’s house is located. His funeral is expected to take place on September 15th.
The head of the Turkish Red Crescent’s Düzce branch Halil Aydın condemned the attack and labeled it as “terrorism.”
“Before anything, this is a terrorist attack, and it targeted a charity organization that aims to deliver aid to innocent people. It has international immunity even in war conditions. That vehicle was in there only to deliver aid. This is a vicious attack that targeted people who were fighting to help,” Aydın said.
The attack took place in the area that was subject to the Turkish operation Euphrates Shield that presumably liberated the area from ISIS between August 2016 and March 2017th.
Head of the Turkish Red Crescent Kerem Kınık condemned the attack and reportedly traveled to the province to further inspect the incident.
“I strongly condemn the despicable attack on the Red Crescent personnel, who should be protected by international law and who have immunity according to international humanitarian law because their vehicles bear the Red Crescent emblem,” Kınık said.
“I believe that with the efforts of our country, the attackers will be caught as soon as possible. My condolences to the entire Red Crescent community,” he added.
Kınık said that the organization’s activities in Syria will continue.
“Both to protect civilians in the region and to provide aid to these people we will continue our struggle,” he said.
Emphasizing the organization’s joint work with the Turkish Health Ministry in the region, Kınık said aid is crucial for Syria given that millions of vulnerable people.
“We are obliged to engage in these activities as there is not much else support from the international community to the region,” he added.
Turkey’s National Defense Ministry also released a statement on the issue, vowing a response.
“All measures have been taken by both our land and air forces in order to find the responsible terrorists, who degraded themselves to the point of attacking an aid agency that has immunity in international law,” the ministry said.
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Separately, a US MQ-9 Reaper drone struck a Hyundai Santa Fe in the town of al-Qusur in Idlib, Syria.
Two individuals were reportedly killed and both of them are Tunisian citizens.
The first target was Sayaf at-Tunisi, a military instructor and field commander. The second was Safina at-Tunisi, a field commander.
Both of them were part of the Hurras al-Din faction, which is essentially the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda. This group is currently in tensions with another al-Qaeda-linked organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Accrording to reports, the both eliminated terrorists were wanted by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Thus, it turned out that an US drone did the job for the terrorist group.
Ten days ago, the head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Sharia Committee, Abdul Rahim Atun, also known as “Abu Abdullah ash-Shami” gave a comment to the French newspaper Le Tempes.
The plenipotentiary to make official statements on behalf of the entire organization, Atun, said that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is seeking an international support and wants to “clear its name.”
Atun made a special emphasis on the words of Abu Muhammad al-Juliani, voiced in an interview with Al-Jazeera in 2015:
“Nusra (the old Hayat Tahrir al-Sham name) is focused only on the “Syrian revolution” and “jihad in the Levant”, which is limited to “fighting the regime” (with which they are ready to fight for another hundred years) and “occupiers” (Russia and Iran).”
The thesis that the “jihad” of the HTS is directed only to the territory of Syria has once again been confirmed in practice – at least in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham they are doing everything they can to create such a “decent appearance of their activities.”
The Tunisians were put on the wanted list by Interpol and then they were discovered, they were left alone for a while to move about the area under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham control. Then presumably a tip was given to the US-led coalition through some Turkish sources.
The Coalition reported on the elimination of the next al-Qaeda field commanders who, both in words and in deeds, were engaged in “exporting jihad” abroad.
Of course, in the eyes of MSM, they were true terrorists, while Hayat Tahrir al-Sham members are simply the ones who focus their fight inside Syria and have no interest in anything beyond, presumably.
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RIP.
U mean rest in piss
stupid idiot filfy c… nt https://media4.giphy.com/media/l41YtyRlh28gTCEla/giphy.gif
While the US is heroically destroying its own creation, Great US leaders discuss the future of humanity: Trump says he wanted to ASSASSINATE Assad, blames ex-defense chief Mattis for staying his hand — RT World News
Assad keeps saying the Turkish Red Crescent provides food and humanitarian aid to the terrorist forces as well as displaced refugees, he also accuses them of establishing their operations bases and refugee camps right next door to terrorist encampments, or vica versa, and he also says they willfully spy for Turkey and the terrorists when they can, so I don’t think Assad will be shedding too many tears for these humanitarian workers.
This is resolution 2254 at work. The US isn’t doing HTS’s dirty work at all, they’re doing Erdogan’s dirty work, so why is SF lying to the readers, why don’t they want you to know the truth. The people the US are killing are all pro Turkish factions and they’re usually allegiant to the Syrian Interim Government, so why is the US killing them instead of killing HTS, it’s because the pro Turkish factions are revolting against the implementation of resolution 2254, that’s why. They were left out of the deal Russia, Iran and Turkey made and they’re upset about it, that’s why they oppose the M4 reopening and any cooperation between Russia and Turkey, and because Erdogan can’t murder them himself for opposing resolution 2254, he gets the US to do it for him instead, and the Russians too, so nothing stands in the way of resolution 2254, except for Assad. :]
Here’s some news from an opposition source I like to read, I find out so much from them I can’t find elsewhere.
“On the American interest in the committee, the spokesman for the opposition “High Negotiations Committee” and a member of the Constitutional Committee, Yahya al-Aridi, considered that Washington is interested and willing to find a political solution.
Al-Aridi said, in an interview with Enab Baladi, that “the Constitutional Committee is the only valid entry point now in the articles of Resolution 2254, which constitutes the road map on which the political process is based. He added as the US considered the regime’s involvement in this process as one of the items that contribute to lifting Caesar Act sanctions, noting that “the statements of the US envoy and his presence reflect the interest and desire to find a political solution.
In exchange for the American interest, Geir O. Pedersen, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, expected that the meetings of the Constitutional Committee will produce no miracle or a breakthrough. In contrast, the opposition expected the Syrian regime’s stalling policy.
Pedersen called, in a press conference held last Saturday at the United Nations office in Geneva, not to expect a “miracle” or “turning point” in the third round of the committee’s discussions, which he considered a “long and arduous process,” as it “would not constitute a solution to end the Syrian war.”
This comes in light of al-Assad’s description, and he said the “political initiatives” have turned into “political mockery,” considering any political process a “noise and dust that are raised from time to time, making no significant change.” He highlighted in his speech that “the use of political initiatives aims to make us fall into the traps they set in order to achieve through them what they have failed through terrorism, and this will only be in their dreams. However, we will “believe the liar up to the door of his house and go no further than that.”
However, al-Assad confirmed, after he met with the Senior Assistant to Iranian Foreign Minister for Special Political Affairs Ali Asghar Khaji, that “Syria is on this track (the constitutional committee) despite the attempts of some of them to divert the committee from its tasks and the goals of its formation, and to seek to change its working mechanisms.”
Al-Aridi considered that al-Assad’s talk about his commitment to the process after the Iranian envoy’s visit “is not because Iran or he is fond of the process, but rather is a demonstration and hope for lifting or easing the sanctions. It is a political play.”
Regarding his expectations of the committee’s outcomes, al-Aridi believes that formal progress may occur. Still, in essence, procrastination and attempts to elude the situation will dominate, pending real pressure to implement the international resolution, so that everyone can get out of their crisis.”
https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2020/08/us-interests-in-syrias-constitutional-committee-in-geneva-is-met-by-al-assads-procrastination/
Assad and HTS are doing deals with each other and the Turks and the factions they back are furious about it, especially the pro Turkish factions that were left out of the resolution deal [like Hurras al-Din], they’re jealous that HTS is finding a solution to being left out of the resolution and they can’t, they worried because the deal Turkey has with Russia and Iran designated them as terrorist combatants which meant they weren’t included in resolution 2254 or the Astana deals, and therefore have no political future. The Astana deals were made to more quickly implement resolution 2254, that’s the ONLY thing the Astana agreements did. If Assad offered HTS a pardon to reconcile with the Syrian government, Turkey and it’s UN backed Syrian Interim Government would be stuffed, they’d have to move out or endure local opposition, but resolution 2254 and all the Astana agreements just give Turkey even more cause to remain there, good on you Putin, just keep helping Erdogan steal even more of Syria. Assad’s not helping them though and neither is HTS, both would like to see Turkey back where they belong.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, especially when my allies act more like enemies. Resolution 2254 and all the 16 Astana agreements were crap deals for Assad, that’s why he always refused to abide by them, good on you Assad, you’re definitely not a lamb being led to slaughter.