18 Besieged Areas In Syria, 500,000 Cut Off From Food
The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition is demanding that blockades on besieged areas be lifted as a precondition for peace talks to begin on Jan. 29.
The World Food Programme just tweeted this infographic about the situation in Syria regarding sieges. There are 18 besieged areas -- not all by the Syrian government, some are blockaded by rebels -- affecting some 500,000 people.
Turkey Drops Threat To Boycott Syria Talks
Turkey has dropped a threat to boycott the Syria peace talks in Geneva, Today's Zaman reports, citing a senior Turkish official as saying that Turkey will be represented at the talks at the highest level.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu threatened late yesterday that Turkey would boycott the talks, due to start Jan. 29, if the Syrian Kurdish PYD were invited to participate as part of the opposition.
The PYD has not received an invitation to the talks, it emerged today.
The authenticity of the photograph in this tweet has not been verified, but there have been other reports of IS disguising its military hardware in order to avoid targeting in air strikes.
Reports Of Large Deployment By Al-Nusra Front In Syria's Aleppo
There are reports that Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate the Al-Nusra front has deployed a large convoy of vehicles to Aleppo city.
The Britain-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Nusra had sent a "large convoy of around 200 vehicles loaded with armed militants" to the city.
SOHR also reported that the U.S.-backed Nouradine al-Zinki group intends to withdraw from Aleppo.
Lebanese news site NOW Media reports that a journalist based in the Aleppo countryside, Majid Abdelnour, has told a pro-opposition news site that Nusra had deployed near the Castello Road, which spans the northern edges of Aleppo.
According to NOW Media, there are unconfirmed rumors that the Syrian government might be planning an offensive to relieve rebel sieges on two Shi'ite villages north of Aleppo, Zahra and Nubl.
The Al-Nusra Front released a video on the evening of Jan. 26 showing a convoy of vehicles driving along a highway with a caption saying that the vehicles -- which were packed with armed men -- were going to reinforce the Aleppo front.
'A Terror Group More Dangerous Than IS'
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has tweeted CNN's Snapchat plug for a new report on the Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian Al-Qaeda affiliate. The report, by ISW and the Critical Threats Project, is downloadable here and says the Al-Nusra Front could be more of a threat to the United States than the IS group.
Libya's PFG Accused Of Handing Over Oil Assets To IS
Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG),the militia tasked with protecting the country's oil facilities, has been accused of handing over cash, oil and territory to the IS group, according to the News.com.au news site.
National Oil Corporation (NOC) chief Mustafa Sanalla told a conference in London this week that the 27,000 strong PFG was more of a hindrance than an asset and one of the largest obstacles to a unified government.
Sanalla said the PFG, rather than holding the facilities as it was supposed to, wanted to disable them.
“They have tried to sell oil themselves and then they failed to protect the places they were meant to,” he said.
“We estimate that the activities of the PFG has adversely affected 70 per cent of oil production.
“We are an autonomous body serving Libya rather than either of the governments. The PFG are also meant to be like that, but their only loyalty is to making money.”
Saudi-Backed Syrian Opposition Reiterates Demands In Letter To UN Chief
The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition has sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon demanding a halt to the bombing of civilian areas and a lifting of sieges on towns and villages before the peace talks can begin, Reuters reports.
Syrian Kurdish PYD Could Join Talks Later: Russia
The Syrian Kurdish PYD may be able to take part in a later stage of the Syrian peace talks in Geneva, but have not been invited to the first round of talks set to start on Jan. 29, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has said.
Yazidi Survivors Of IS Rape & Violence Desperately Need Mental Health Care
Yazidi survivors of the Islamic State group's abductions, forced exile, rape and violence are getting some treatment but desperately need mental health care, says Dr. Ali Muthanna, the Iraqi regional director of the Amar International Charitable Foundation.
Yazidi women and girls who escaped IS captivity are suffering from complex post traumatic stress disorder. Children suffer frequent nightmares and struggle to communicate.
Describing a visit to the Khanke Camp, half an hour from Dohuk in northern Iraq, where 18,500 displaced Yazidis are living, Muthanna writes:
The lives of these gentle people were destroyed virtually overnight. Loved ones, friends and neighbors were killed or disappeared. More than 5,000 young girls were kidnapped, sold on as sex slaves and horribly abused.
...
The 500 or so girls who have managed to escape are not doing well. On top of the horrors of war and sexual enslavement, they now live an uncomfortable and difficult life in exile -- far from their homes, in unfamiliar surroundings and without the traditional support structures of their local communities.