Syria - Page 6

The attack comes just days before a fresh round of UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva aiming at ending Syria's six-year war.

The military actions did not go unnoticed both in the Middle East and further afield.

Any foreign forces, including those from the US, that enter Syria without invitation are invaders, Syrian President Bashar Assad told Chinese media in an interview, noting that no one had given the US troops currently in Manbij permission to be there.

The US military is deploying 2,500 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to Kuwait, with the declared goal of taking part in operations against Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS/ISIL) in both Syria and Iraq, according to the Army Times.

American soldiers have been spotted traveling in an armored convoy near the Syrian city of Manbij, with a US spokesman calling it a “deliberate action” aimed at ensuring Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) is defeated.

Russia may support the US initiative to establish so-called ‘safe zones’ for refugees in Syria, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. The plan would require close cooperation with the UN and approval from Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, he added.

In an interview with French media Sunday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he welcomed conservative French presidential candidate François Fillon’s policies on terrorism.

Russia announced on Friday that it is withdrawing its aircraft carrier and some other Russian warships from the waters off Syria as the first step in a drawdown of its forces in the war-torn Mideast country.

THE UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution supporting a Russian-Turkish peace initiative for Syria, including an ongoing ceasefire and talks next month in Kazakhstan.

The Syrian army has retaken control of the besieged city of Aleppo, following the evacuation of the last group of civilians and rebels, a statement says.

Ms. Tsurkov says that for those on the other side of the border, every show of support – no matter how modest – is paramount.

International Committee of the Red Cross says first convoy of ambulances and buses has dropped off wounded people in rebel-held rural area

A deal to evacuate rebel fighters and civilians from eastern Aleppo has stalled, with heavy shelling reported in the Syrian city.

The fighting in eastern Aleppo has stopped and the Syrian government has regained control over the territory after the withdrawal of militants from the city was agreed, Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin told the UN Security Council meeting in New York.

Syrian government forces have made major gains in southern Aleppo, state media and activists say, leaving rebels with only a small pocket in the city.

Syrian government forces have suspended “active military activities” against militants in eastern Aleppo to enable the withdrawal of civilians from the city, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has announced while speaking in Hamburg, Germany.

Russia has generally steered clear of any sharp criticism of the Turkish offensive.

President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone on Monday to discuss the future of the US-Russia relationship.

Cruise missiles and carrier-based warplanes to hit eastern Aleppo

Russia on Wednesday told rebels holed up in Aleppo to leave by Friday night, signaling it would extend a moratorium on airstrikes against targets inside the Syria city.