Pro-Government Forces Capture T2 Station

Pro-government forces seized an oil pumping station near the Iraqi border on Thursday as part of a larger push toward the so-called Islamic State’s last stronghold in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

Syrian troops and allied forces captured the T2 pumping station west of the ISIS stronghold of Boukamal after fierce shelling and a slew of Russian airstrikes, according to the United Kingdom-based monitor.

Reuters cited a report by a Hezbollah-run news service saying the T2 station is “considered a launch pad for the army and its allies to advance toward the town” of Boukamal – the last Syrian town before the Iraqi frontier.

The SOHR added that pro-government forces were advancing south along the western banks of the Euphrates river. Forces stationed south of al-Mayadeen were heading to al-Asharah, ready to launch operations in Boukamal.

The push toward the town coincides with the start of a campaign in Iraq to capture the last ISIS strongholds of al-Qaim and Rawa, just across the border, according to Reuters.

Tillerson: No Room for Assad in Post-War Syria

United States secretary of state Rex Tillerson said on Thursday that President Bashar al-Assad should have no role in the future of Syria, Reuters reported.

His comments come ahead of the eighth round of peace talks in Geneva scheduled for Nov. 28.

“The U.S. wants a whole and unified Syria with no role for Bashar al-Assad in the government,” Tillerson told reporters after holding talks in the Swiss city with the United Nations special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura.

“It is our view, and I have said this many times, that we do not believe that there is a future for the Assad regime and Assad family. The [family] reign is coming to an end. The only issue is how that should that be brought about,” he added.

Tillerson made similar statements in April.

Commenting on the upcoming talks in Geneva, de Mistura said he would work to move into “real negotiation on a constitution and U.N.-supervised elections,” as part of a political transition in Syria, the Associated Press reported.

U.N. Panel Blames Assad for Khan Sheikhoun Chemical Attack

A U.N. panel investigating an April chemical weapons attack on a village in Idlib province has found the Syrian air force responsible, the New York Times (NYT) reported on Thursday.

The panel said it was “confident that the Syrian Arab Republic is responsible for the release of sarin at Khan Sheikhoun on April 4, 2017.”

According to the NYT, the findings of the report mark the first time that an independent investigation has concluded who was responsible for carrying out the attack that killed more than 80 people.

The investigation by the U.N. and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) – known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) – was set up by Russia and the U.S. in 2015 to identify the source of chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Its mandate was extended last year and expires next month.

Russia on Tuesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have extended the JIM mandate by another year. It marks the ninth time Moscow has used its power of veto in the council to block resolutions targeting Assad.

Recommended Reads

• Reuters: After Islamic State, Ruined Raqqa Fears New Strife
• Stratfor: The Syrian Civil War Is Decided
• Open Democracy: Syria, the Uprising and the Media Scene
• The Wall Street Journal: As Wars Wind Down in Syria and Iraq, Jordan Sees Opportunity
• Bloomberg: Thousands Died Fighting Islamic State in Iraq, Syria, U.S. Says