Israeli Missiles Land Near Syrian Capital

Missiles launched by the Israeli army struck a military site near Damascus early Saturday, CNN reported, citing Syrian state media and a war monitoring group.

Syrian air defenses intercepted two of the surface-to-surface missiles but others led to material damage to the military position, CNN said, citing the state-run SANA news agency.

There were no reports of casualties.

The United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the missiles targeted an arms depot near al-Kiswa town south of Damascus, according to Reuters. It was not immediately clear whether the warehouse was operated by the Syrian army, Lebanese Hezbollah or other Iranian-backed forces.

This is not the first time Israel has targeted arms depots or weapon convoys in Syria. Israel claims it has struck arms convoys for the Syrian army and Lebanese Hezbollah more than 100 times since the conflict started.

Israeli officials declined to comment on Saturday’s strike but Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a warning to Iran only hours after the attack, according to CNN.

“I will reiterate the policy of Israel: We will not allow a regime that is determined to destroy the Jewish nation to acquire a nuclear weapon. We will not allow this regime to establish a military presence in Syria, as its declared purpose, for destroying our state,” he said a video tweet published Saturday night.

Syrian Government Withdraws From Geneva Talks

The Syrian government’s representatives to Geneva quit peace talks on Friday, saying they would not return without a change in the opposition’s stance toward President Bashar al-Assad, Reuters reported.

The move dealt a blow to the eighth round of peace talks between the government and the opposition that opened last week in the Swiss city.

“For us (this) round is over, as a government delegation,” government chief negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari said.

“As long as the other side sticks to the language of Riyadh 2 … there will be no progress,” he added, referring to a position adopted by the Syrian opposition during a meeting in Riyadh last week, in which they called for the removal of Assad before the start of a political transition.

In a televised interview with the pro-government al-Mayadeen TV, Jaafari later said that the government would not engage seriously in peace talks if the statement is not revoked.

When asked whether they would resume negotiations this week, Jaafari said that the decision was for the government in Damascus to make.

Kurds Hold Second Round of Historic Vote

Kurdish-held regions of northern Syria held the second round of a three-phase election on Friday, as part of a plan to set up a federal system of government, Agence France-Presse reported.

Residents went to local polling stations to select from some 6,000 candidates to represent them in town and city councils. This second vote comes roughly three months after residents elected representatives for smaller-scale councils at the district level.

The final stage is expected to take place in January, with the election of a local assembly that will act as the first regional parliament.

The elections are part of a Kurdish push to establish an autonomous self-administering zone within a unified and federal Syria. Unlike Kurds in Iraq, Syria’s Kurdish groups claim they are not seeking to secede, but want autonomy within a unified state.

Bashar al-Jaafari, the Syrian government’s lead negotiator to Geneva, dismissed the election on Friday, rejecting “any unilateral act that happens without coordination” with Damascus, according to Reuters.

Separately, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a powerful Syrian Kurdish militia, announced on Sunday that the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor province had been cleared of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS), AFP reported.

The group said that the victory in Deir Ezzor came with the support of Russian forces, in a surprising announcement that marks the first official acknowledgment by Syria’s Kurds that they are receiving support from Moscow.

Recommended Reads

• The New York Times: Help Assad or Leave Cities in Ruins? The Politics of Rebuilding Syria
• Agence France-Presse: In Rebel Syria, Makeshift Refineries Process Precious Crude
• The Guardian: British Aid Scheme Suspended Amid Allegations of Payments to Syrian Jihadis
• Al-Monitor: Private Military Companies: Moscow’s Other Army in Syria
• Al Jazeera: Syrian Refugees Trapped in a No Man’s Land