Page 5 - Syria

Fire rages at Iskenderun Port after devastating earthquakes in Turkey

A frantic race was underway on Tuesday to find more survivors and help the injured as the death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria the previous day reached 4,600. The toll is likely to climb as freezing weather and multiple aftershocks are hurting the rescue efforts despite massive international assistance. A large fire that broke out at a section of a port in an earthquake-stricken city in southeast Turkey is raging for a second day. Television images Tuesday showed thick black smoke rising from burning containers at Iskenderun Port on the Mediterranean Sea, in the city of Iskenderun. Reports said the fire was caused by containers that toppled over during the powerful earthquake that struck southeast Turkey on Monday. Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said a Turkish Coast Guard vessel was assisting efforts to extinguish the fire.

Syria calls for international aid after deadly earthquakes kills 900

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has called for international help after powerful earthquakes hit the country and killed nearly 900 people in Syria

European states dispatch rescue teams to Turkey, Syria after deadly quakes

Teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania had been sent to the earthquake-stricken areas

Top headlines: Quake kills 4,000 in Turkey, Syria, Vi eyes come back

Business Standard brings you the latest headlines at this hour

UN launches emergency responses following earthquakes in Turkey, Syria

In the wake of devastating earthquakes that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, UN aid agencies have scrambled to help many thousands of reported victims, including those still buried

Massive earthquake kills over 2,400 in Turkey, Syria; rescue ops underway

A 7.8 magnitude quake has knocked down multiple buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. At least five deaths were reported initially in Turkey. In northwest Syria, the opposition's Syrian Civil Defense described the situation in the rebel-held region as disastrous adding that entire buildings have collapsed and people are trapped under the rubble. The civil defense urged people to evacuate buildings to gather in open areas. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital. It was felt in several provinces The earthquake came as the Middle East is experiencing a snowstorm that is expected to continue until Thursday.

2 rockets hit US base with American troops in eastern Syria; no casualties

Two rockets struck a base housing American troops in eastern Syria on Wednesday without causing any human or material losses, the US military said. The morning attack on Mission Support Site Conoco came as Iran and its allies in the region marked the third anniversary of the killing of Iran's leading general and chief of the powerful Quds force, Qassem Soleimani, in a US drone strike in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. No one claimed responsibility for the attack in eastern Syria, where it is not uncommon for bases housing US troops to come under rocket fire or mortar attacks. Iran-backed militia are based nearby as are sleeper cells of the Islamic State group that was defeated in Syria in March 2019. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the rockets were fired by Arab tribesmen in the region who are armed by Iran. Attacks of this kind place Coalition Forces and the civilian populace at risk and undermine the hard-earned stability and ...

Israeli missile strikes put Damascus airport out of service, kills 2

Israel's military fired missiles toward the international airport of Syria's capital early Monday, putting it out of service and killing two soldiers and wounding two others, the Syrian army said. The attack, the second in seven months to put the Damascus International Airport out of service, caused material damage in a nearby area, the army said, without giving further details. Israel has targeted airports and ports in government-held parts of Syria in an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Lebanon's Hezbollah. An opposition war monitor reported the Israeli strikes hit the airport as well as an arms depot close to the facility south of Damascus. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said four people were killed in the strike. There was no comment from Israel. On June 10, Israeli airstrikes that struck Damascus International Airport caused significant damage to infrastructure and runways. It reopened t

Militant attack kills 10 in Syria, Kurdish forces arrest 52 militants

A militant rocket attack in eastern Syria on Friday targeted a bus with oil industry employees, killing at least 10, the government said. To the north, Syrian Kurdish-led forces announced they arrested 52 militants in an operation against the Islamic State group's sleeper cells. According to Syria's petroleum ministry, the rocket struck in the Al-Taym gas field in eastern Deir el-Zour province. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitoring group, said IS was behind the attack. The Observatory also reported a higher death toll from the rocket attack, saying at least 12 workers were killed. Also Friday, the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said their raids had reportedly thwarted an attack planned for New Year's Eve. The IS militants were hiding in residential areas and farms, a statement from the forces said. The years long US-backed campaign had succeeded in crushing the ...

India offers $280 million to Syria for building power, steel plant

About 1500 scholarships have been provided to Syrian students to study in India in diverse streams, including 200 scholarships in the current academic year itself

Turkey's Erdogan calls on Russian prez Putin to establish Syrian corridor

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a 30-kilometer security corridor on Turkey's border with Syria in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdogan's office said Sunday. Referring to Kurdish militants that Ankara considers terrorists, Erdogan reiterated the importance and urgency of creating the corridor in northern Syria in accordance with a 2019 agreement between Turkey and Russia, the statement added. The call came three weeks after Turkey launched air and artillery strikes in Syria and Iraq in response to a bomb attack in Istanbul on Nov. 13 that killed six people and wounded dozens. The Turkish government has blamed the bombing on the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and its Syrian affiliate the People's Protection Units, or YPG. Both groups have denied involvement in the attack. The PKK has waged a 38-year insurgency against Turkey that has led to the loss of tens of thousands of lives. It is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the Uni

Lebanese PM calls on UN to help secure safe return of Syrian refugees

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the UN should help authorities in his country to secure a safe return for Syrian refugees to their homeland

US official urges 'de-escalation' as Turkey conducts airstrikes on Syria

A US. official in Syria on Friday called for an immediate de-escalation following days of deadly airstrikes and shelling along the Syria-Turkey border, saying the actions destabilise the region and undermine the fight against the Islamic State group. Turkey this week launched a wave of airstrikes on suspected Kurdish rebels hiding in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, in retaliation for a deadly Nov. 13 bombing in Istanbul that Ankara blames on the Kurdish groups. The groups have denied involvement in the bombing and say the Turkish strikes have killed civilians and threatened the anti-IS fight. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said that 67 civilians, gunmen and soldiers, have been killed in Turkish attacks in northern Syria since the airstrikes began. Nikolas Granger, the U.S. senior representative to northeastern Syria, said Washington strongly opposes military action that further destabilizes the lives of communities and families in Syr

Erdogan doesn't rule out meeting with Syrian counterpart Bashar al- Assad

The two leaders had close ties before Turkey-backed Syrian rebels when the civil war erupted

Turkey launches airstrikes in Syria, Iraq a week after Istanbul bombing

Turkey launched airstrikes over northern regions of Syria and Iraq, the Turkish Defence Ministry said o Sunday, targeting Kurdish groups that Ankara holds responsible for last week's bomb attack in Istanbul. Warplanes attacked bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and the Syrian People's Protection Units, or YPG, the ministry said in a statement, which was accompanied by images of F-16 jets taking off and footage of a strike from an aerial drone. There was no immediate comment from either group. The ministry cited Turkey's right to self defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter in launching an operation it called Claw-Sword late on Saturday. It said it was targeting areas used as a base by terrorists in their attacks on our country. Turkey said it was seeking to prevent attacks, secure its southern border and destroy terrorism at its source. The airstrikes came after a bomb rocked a bustling avenue in the heart of Istanbul on November 13, killing six

Turkey launches airstrikes in Syria, Iraq a week after Istanbul bombing

Turkey launched airstrikes over northern regions of Syria and Iraq, the Turkish Defence Ministry said on Sunday, targeting Kurdish groups that Ankara holds responsible for last week's bomb attack in Istanbul. Warplanes attacked bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and the Syrian People's Protection Units, or YPG, the ministry said in a statement, which was accompanied by images of F-16 jets taking off and footage of a strike from an aerial drone. There was no immediate comment from either group. The ministry cited Turkey's right to self defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter in launching an operation it called Claw-Sword late on Saturday night. It said it was targeting areas used as a base by terrorists in their attacks on our country. Turkey said it was seeking to prevent attacks, secure its southern border and destroy terrorism at its source. The airstrikes came after a bomb rocked a bustling avenue in the heart of Istanbul on November 13, kil

Israeli missile attack on central Homs area in Syria, reports war monitor

Israel fired missiles toward Syria's central province of Homs Sunday evening targeting an airbase and positions of Iran-backed fighters, an opposition war monitor reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in London, said strong explosions were heard when four Israeli missiles hit the Shayrat airbase in Homs province. It said the missile attack targeted the positions of Iran-backed fighters in the area. State news agency SANA said Syrian air defenses were responding to hostile targets over Homs province adding that some missiles were shot down. It gave no further details. Syrian TV said an Israeli aggression was targeting the province adding that air defenses were responding to the attacks. The strikes occurred after Israeli warplanes were seen flying over neighboring Lebanon whose airspace Israeli air forces sometimes cross to carry out attacks on Syria. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in rec

UN chief Guterres voices concern over escalation of violence in Syria

Guterres calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from escalating the situation, said Stephanie Tremblay, an associate spokesperson for the Secretary-General, on Wednesday.

Syria facing 'acute violence', worst economic crisis since war: UN

Syria is facing acute violence, the worst economic crisis since the war began in 2011, and a rapidly spreading cholera outbreak with more than 24,000 suspected cases reported throughout the country and at least 80 deaths, U.N. officials have said. U.N. special envoy Geir Pedersen told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that the conflict remains very active across the country despite the strategic stalemate that has blocked efforts to launch a political process between the government and opposition. He pointed to infighting between armed opposition groups in Afrin in northern Aleppo province in recent weeks, pro-government airstrikes in the northwest, violence in the northeast, security incidents in the southwest, airstrikes attributed to Israel on airports in Damascus and Aleppo, and discovery in the northeast of one of the largest Islamic State arms caches since its so-called caliphate fell in 2017. In recent weeks, Pedersen said, the Syrian currency, the pound, lost a tremendous

Fight against terrorism can't be compromised for politics: India on Syria

Calling for a long-term solution to the Syrian conflict, India at UNSC said the global fight against terrorism cannot and should not be compromised for narrow political games