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Executive Summary for January 20th

We review they key developments in Syria including Turkey’s acceptance of Assad in a future settlement, unidentified airstrikes killing 40 jihadists in the north and ISIS executing 12 people in Palmyra and destroying part of the ancient Roman theater.

Published on Jan. 20, 2017 Read time Approx. 2 minutes

Turkey Will Accept Assad in Syria Settlement And Be ‘Realistic’

Turkey has to be “realistic” and accept Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in any settlement for the country’s six-year war, the Turkish deputy prime minister said on Friday, the Associated Press reported.

“Facts on the ground have changed dramatically,” said Mehmet Simsek, and Ankara must let go of its former demand that Assad would play no part in Syria’s political future.

Turkey has long supported rebels fighting to oust the Syria government, and Simsek laid the blame for the hundreds of thousands of war deaths “squarely” on Assad. However, the need to be realistic, he said, means Turkey “can no longer insist on a settlement without Assad.”

Simsek added that Ankara is optimistic about the peace talks scheduled for Monday in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Unidentified Airstrikes on Aleppo Countryside Kill 40 JFS Fighters

Forty fighters, mostly belonging to the jihadist group Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, were reportedly killed in airstrikes on Sheikh Suleiman in western Aleppo on Thursday, BBC News reported.

The nationality of the warplanes was not clear, the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The U.S.-led coalition, Russia and the Syrian government have all targeted JFS in recent weeks, Al Jazeera reported. Formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, JFS claimed to break off its ties with al-Qaida in July. The group is excluded from the current cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey.

ISIS Executes 12 People in Palmyra, Wrecks Roman Amphitheater

The so-called Islamic State executed 12 people in the ancient city of Palmyra and destroyed parts of the UNESCO-listed site’s Roman theater, BBC News reported.

Four people were beheaded and eight others shot dead by the jihadist militants, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Several of the executions took place in a museum yard, and others were carried out in the Roman amphitheater, according to activists.

Among the dead were four teachers and state employees, four government soldiers and four rebels.

The so-called Islamic State seized control of the city last month after Russian and Syrian government forces pushed it out of Palmyra in March 2016. The jihadists had taken control of the city in May 2015, destroying ancient monuments then, too.

Locally known as Tadmur, Palmyra is an UNESCO-listed archaeological site. The destruction was a “new war crime,” the head of the United Nations cultural agency said.

The destruction is a “cultural cleansing by violent extremists,” Irina Bokova said, and “an immense loss for the Syrian people and humanity.”

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