News Roundup: 1/13/2016
Social Media Welcome, Ahmad. So glad to have you here […]
1 January 2015
Social Media
Welcome, Ahmad. So glad to have you here for the #SOTU @WhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/BcaalMJwkq
— Seth Moulton (@sethmoulton) January 12, 2016
News
Madaya: ‘Horrifying conditions’ in besieged Syrian town
BBC
A senior UN official says the suffering in the besieged rebel-held Syrian town of Madaya is the worst he has witnessed during the country’s brutal civil war.
UN refugee agency representative Sajjad Malik found “horrifying conditions” while delivering food overnight for the 40,000 people trapped there. Read more at bbc.com>>>
Syria Direct’s coverage of Madaya
Despite truce with regime, two more Madaya residents die of starvation
When is a ceasefire not a ceasefire? ‘I am not a terrorist…I am hungry’
Analysis
Turkish-US ties face fresh turbulence over Iraq, Syria
by Semih Idiz
al-Monitor
Turkey and the United States may be strategic partners, but this has not prevented a rise in tensions between them stemming from differences over developments in Iraq and Syria. Turkish-US relations face potentially fresh turbulence as US-led coalition forces make headway against the Islamic State (IS), amplifying their differences. Both countries are nevertheless trying to keep a lid on their strained relations. Read more at al-monitor.com>>>
Syria Direct’s coverage of Syrian Democratic Forces
Tribes’ Army disbands in north amidst accusations of YPG blockade
Accusations, recriminations and bloodshed in north Aleppo arena as Kurds fear for Afrin
Analysis
Russia Targeting Civilians to Support Syrian Regime’s Advance in Northern Syria
by Saleem al-Omar
Syria Source – Atlantic Council
On December 22, Russian warplanes launched ten air raids against three northern Syrian villages in close proximity to one another: Bidama in western Idlib and Shahroura and Ain al-Ghazal in Latakia. These strikes killed 10 civilians, including four children and two women, and displaced hundreds of local families, turning the villages into ghost towns, according to the Bidama-based journalist Ahmad Khair. The objective of these strikes cannot be to combat the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL), since the group has no fighters in these areas. Rather these strikes targeted the Syrian opposition in this region—a task for which the regime has found a capable partner in Russia. Read more at atlanticcouncil.org>>>
Syria Direct’s coverage of regime advances in northern Syria
New regime campaign aims for ‘total isolation’ of Idlib province