SYRIA

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) confirmed that Turkey is committing crimes including ethnic and religious cleansing against the peoples of North and East Syria and called on the U.S. Government to press it to draw up a timeline for the withdrawal of its troops…

DAYRIK (AL-MALIKIYAH), Syria — An administrator at Semalka border crossing near Dayrik (Al-Malikiyah) that connects North and East Syria (NES) with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) said that approximately 150-200 residents from NES who live in the KRI demanded Sunday that they be allowed to cross back into KRI…

HASAKAH, Syria — For the first time, the Syrian Ministry of Education has issued the results of junior and secondary certificates via a smart phone application. The Ministry stated that the aim of the new application is to reduce gatherings in front of the examination departments after results are issued…

TEL TAMR, Syria — After being closed for more than five years because of terrorist attacks by the Islamic State (ISIS) against the villages of Tel Tamr, in the predominantly Christian Khabur Valley, the Church of St. Kyriakos and St. Shimon was reopened on Saturday in the Assyrian village of…

AL-HOL CAMP, Syria — The Internal Security Forces (ISF) of North and East Syria thwarted a smuggling operation inside Al-Hol Refugee Camp on Monday. Drivers of a water tanker were attempting to smuggle women associated with the Islamic State (ISIS) out of the camp by hiding them inside the empty…

MABBUG (MANBIJ), Syria — Late on Monday, Turkish forces targeted the villages of Qurt Wiran and Willanli, west of Mabbug (Manbij), with artillery and mortar fire, killing six civilians, including children. Six others were injured. Most of the dead were from one family, said Manbij Military Council spokesperson Shervan Derwish.…

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA — In a statement to Hawar News, Deputy Co-Chair of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) and Co-Chair of the Syriac Union Party’s (SUP) Hasakah branch Gabriel Shamoun condemned Erdoğan’s conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque, stressing that this “provocative deed shook the feelings of…

RISH AYNO (RAS AL-AYN), Syria ­— Turkish occupation forces in North and East Syria continue to bring trucks loaded with concrete blocks to occupied villages to fortify their positions and have begun digging trenches and building earthen berms around their bases in the region. Since the Turkish occupation of Rish…

DARAMSUQ (DAMASCUS) — Israeli strikes on targets in Syria continue to escalate as tensions increase along the border. On Friday, the Israeli Army said that its helicopters raided Syrian Arab Army targets in response to mortars in Syria targeted toward the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The Israeli Army said in a…

DARAMSUQ (DAMASCUS) ­— ­A decision issued by the Court of First Instance in Daramsuq (Damascus) ordered the seizure of the assets of one of the largest companies owned by Syrian businessman and cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Rami Makhlouf. The Court issued a decision to seize the assets of…