Airstrikes Hit Rebel Outpost Near Turkish Border

Airstrikes hit rebel positions near a major border crossing with Turkey on Sunday, Reuters reported.

At least one fighter was killed in the air raids, believed to have been carried out by Russian jets, rebel sources told Reuters. The strikes hit Babeska, a village in Idlib province with a strong presence of rebel groups fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Jaish al-Islam.

Jaish al-Islam controls the last rebel enclave outside Damascus, and is a signatory to a cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey in December 2016. Russia is a key ally of the Syrian government, whereas Turkey has provided support to rebel groups. Rebels have accused Russia of failing to hold up its end of the December 2016 deal and pressure the government to abide by the cease-fire.

Located in northwestern Syria, Idlib province is controlled by an array of rebel groups, including the former al-Qaida affiliate in Syria. Rebel fighters and their families from around the country have been relocated to Idlib after surrendering to government forces.

E.U. Does Not See Future Role for Assad, but It’s up to Syrians to Decide

E.U. foreign ministers said on Monday that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad does not have a place in a post-conflict Syria – but his fate will be decided by the Syrian people, Agence France-Presse reported.

The remarks came a few days after the U.S. said it would no longer focus on Assad’s fate in Syria, in a change from the previous administration’s demands that Assad not be part of any peace deal.

“It seems completely unrealistic to believe that the future of Syria will be exactly the same as it used to be in the past,” said E.U. bloc foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini.

E.U. foreign ministers subsequently endorsed a statement saying “there can be no lasting peace in Syria under the current regime.”

“But this is for the Syrians to decide, that is clear … any solution that can be acceptable by all Syrians, we will support it,” Mogherini said.

50,000 Syrian Refugees Return to Parts of Syria Controlled by Turkish Troops

An estimated 50,000 Syrians have returned to parts of Syria controlled by Turkey and the opposition groups it backs, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Saturday, the Associated Press reported.

Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in Turkey have gone back into Syria after Ankara’s military operation there, said Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Last week, the Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim said Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield in Syria was over. In August, Ankara sent troops across the border to assist rebel forces in rolling back the so-called Islamic State from Turkey’s border, as well as to curb Kurdish ambitions in consolidating territory in northern Syria.

“People started returning to these places,” Cavusoglu said. “Our soldiers are still there and we need to conduct the work there. We need to establish a terror-free zone. The necessary work needs to be done for security to be handed over to local forces.”

Nearly 3 million Syrian refugees are registered in Turkey.

RECOMMENDED READS:

• The Wall Street Journal: Syria’s Civil War Produces a Clear Winner: Hezbollah
• Politico: The Syrian Rebel Who Tried to Build an Islamist Paradise
• The Guardian: Skeleton Cities and Snipers: The Shocking Photographs That Show the Scale of Syria’s Loss
• The Washington Post: ‘The Hospitals Were Slaughter Houses’: A Journey into Syria’s Secret Torture Wards
• BBC News: Free Syrian Police Go Unarmed to Help Their Community