International
Bashar al-Assad, still in Syria but increasingly surrounded by the insurgent offensive
Syrian President, Bashar al Asad, is increasingly surrounded after the insurgent coalition led by Islamists and with the support of Turkey that launched an offensive against his government last week has advanced this Saturday from different fronts towards Damascus.
The Syrian Presidency confirmed today that Al Asad “continues with his work, and his national and constitutional tasks from the capital, Damascus,” and denied that he had made any lightning trip or left the country, in response to the persistent rumors that he had fled the city after almost five days without news of the president.
Meanwhile, Abu Mohamed al Jolani, Islamist leader of the Levant Liberation Agency – heir to the former Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda and who leads the offensive – sent a message this Saturday to Syrian citizens and told them that Damascus awaits them as the final destination of the contest.
“I ask you not to waste a single bullet except in the chest of your enemies, because Damascus is waiting for you,” he said.
From northern Syria to Damascus
Lieutenant Colonel Hasan Abdelghani, who acts as military spokesman for the insurgent alliance, said in a statement that his units have entered the city of Al Mashrafah, in addition to 13 villages and towns on the outskirts of the city of Homs.
He also indicated that the defensive lines of the Syrian Army are “collapsing,” both in the city and on the periphery.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an NGO headquartered in the United Kingdom but which has a wide network of collaborators on the ground both in official areas and taken by the rebels, indicated that the advance of Islamist factions towards the city of Homs has stalled due to the counterattacks of the Syrian Army and its ally Russia.
The Syrian Army reported that its units operating on the outskirts of Hama (city occupied this week) and Homs are carrying out “intense artillery and missile fire against positions and supply lines of the terrorists, achieving direct impacts between them,” according to the official Syrian news agency, SANA.
“The Syrian-Russian joint war aviation also carried out attacks against terrorist concentrations in northeastern Homs, eliminating dozens of them, and destroying their vehicles and equipment,” he added.
The conquest of Homs would leave Damascus without a land connection with the Mediterranean cities of Tartús, a fief of the Al Asad family, and Latakia, the main base of the Russian troops that support the president.
Three key capitals in southern Syria
While the great offensive is being fought in northern Damascus, the greatest advances of the day came from the south, after the Military Operations Command of the rebels announced that they had control of three capitals in southern Syria.
The capitals are: Deraa, cradle of the popular revolts that began in 2011 within the framework of the so-called “Arab Spring”; Al Sueida, whose population is Drusa and has demonstrated in recent years against the Syrian Government for the living conditions in the country; and, Quneitra, which borders the Golan Heights occupied by Israel.
These cities have been taken by local factions opposed to the government, within the framework of a broad insurgent coalition that, in addition to the Levant Liberation Agency (HTS in Arabic), the groups supported by Turkey, and, in the case of Al Sueida, the Druse population, participate.
The Syrian Army confirmed today that it was retaching its units from Deraa and Al Sueida to reposition themselves in other areas due to the “terrorist attacks” against its troops.
About 50 kilometers south of the Syrian capital
In the north of the province of Deraa, the insurgents indicated that they took control of the city of Al Sanamayn.
That means they would be about 50 kilometers south of the Syrian capital.
In the province of Rif Damascus, which borders Damascus, protests against the Government took place in the city of Jaramana, where they knocked down a statue of Hafez al Asad, former president and father of the current leader, reported the Observatory, which published a video of the moment, a recording that could not be verified independently.
The city of Jaramana is already located on the outskirts of Damascus and is an area inhabited by the Druse population, the NGO said.
However, a Syrian Army source denounced that “some sleeping cells linked to terrorist organizations are publishing videos on their media channels from squares and streets in areas of Rif Damascus and other provinces, stating that terrorist elements have taken control of them, all with the aim of sowing chaos among citizens and terrorizing them,” the official Syrian agency reported.
Iran, Russia and Turkey, steps to start a dialogue
The two main allies of the Syrian government, Iran and Russia, and the greatest support of the armed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey, brought positions closer on Saturday to call for a cessation of hostilities in the midst of the offensive of the Islamist rebels and to start a dialogue that ends the war in Syria.
The Doha Forum was the scene of the first contact between the foreign ministers of these three powers that guarantee the ceasefire in Syria and that are part of the so-called Astana Format, a mechanism established in 2017 to find a solution to the war in the Arab country.
Official silence in the US over a possible fall of Al Asad in Syria
Joe Biden’s government considers that there is a growing possibility that the Executive of Syrian President Bashar al Asad will collapse “in days” due to the rapid advance of the insurgent coalition led by Islamists and backed by Turkey, according to five US officials revealed to CNN.
For its part, the CBS network, which cites three US officials, reported this Saturday that “Damaskus is destined to fall,” although, unlike CNN, its sources did not offer a specific deadline.
According to officials quoted by CBS, the Iranian forces defending the Syrian president have evacuated “practically in its entirety” from the country.
Despite these media leaks, the US government has not yet made public a formal assessment of the future of Al Asad, who until just a week ago seemed to be in a stable position after having managed to crush the opposition in fourteen years of civil war.
International
U.S. Senate Rejects Budget, Bringing Government Closer to Shutdown Amid DHS Dispute
The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday against a budget proposal in a move aimed at pressuring changes at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), following the killing of two civilians during a deployment of immigration agents in Minneapolis.
All Senate Democrats and seven Republican lawmakers voted against the bill, which requires 60 votes to advance, pushing the country closer to a partial government shutdown that would cut funding for several agencies, including the Pentagon and the Department of Health.
The rejection came as Senate leaders and the White House continue negotiations on a separate funding package for DHS that would allow reforms to the agency. Proposed measures include banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face coverings and requiring them to use body-worn cameras during operations.
The vote took place just hours after President Donald Trump said he was “close” to reaching an agreement with Democrats and did not believe the federal government would face another shutdown, following last year’s record stoppage.
“I don’t think the Democrats want a shutdown either, so we’ll work in a bipartisan way to avoid it. Hopefully, there will be no government shutdown. We’re working on that right now,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
International
Trump Says Putin Agreed to One-Week Halt in Attacks on Ukraine Amid Extreme Cold
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he secured a commitment from Russian President Vladimir Putinto halt attacks against Ukraine for one week, citing extreme weather conditions affecting the region.
“Because of the extreme cold (…) I personally asked Putin not to attack Kyiv or other cities and towns for a week. And he agreed. He was very pleasant,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting broadcast by the White House.
Trump acknowledged that several advisers had questioned the decision to make the call.
“A lot of people told me not to waste the call because they wouldn’t agree. And he accepted. And we’re very happy they did, because they don’t need missiles hitting their towns and cities,” the president said.
According to Trump, Ukrainian authorities reacted with surprise to the announcement but welcomed the possibility of a temporary ceasefire.
“It’s extraordinarily cold, record cold (…) They say they’ve never experienced cold like this,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later commented on the announcement, expressing hope that the agreement would be honored.
International
Storm Kristin Kills Five in Portugal, Leaves Nearly 500,000 Without Power
Storm Kristin, which battered Portugal with heavy rain and strong winds early Wednesday, has left at least five people dead, while nearly half a million residents remained without electricity as of Thursday, according to updated figures from authorities.
The revised death toll was confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson for the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANPEC). On Wednesday, the agency had reported four fatalities.
Meanwhile, E-Redes, the country’s electricity distribution network operator, said that around 450,000 customers were still without power, particularly in central Portugal.
Emergency services responded to approximately 1,500 incidents between midnight and 8:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, as the storm caused widespread disruptions.
The Portuguese government described Kristin as an “extreme weather event” that inflicted significant damage across several regions of the country. At the height of the storm, as many as 850,000 households and institutions lost electricity during the early hours of Wednesday.
Several municipalities ordered the closure of schools, many of which remained shut on Thursday due to ongoing adverse conditions.
Ricardo Costa, regional deputy commander of the Leiria Fire Brigade, said residents continue to seek assistance as rainfall persists.
“Even though the rain is not extremely intense, it is causing extensive damage to homes,” he noted.
In Figueira da Foz, a coastal city in central Portugal, strong winds toppled a giant Ferris wheel, underscoring the severity of the storm.
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