The fall of the Assad regime in Syria continues to reshape the country and the greater Middle East. In Damascus, leaders of the armed group HTS have retained most services of the civilian government but vowed to dissolve Assad’s security forces and shut down Assad’s notorious prisons. “People have this sense of regained freedom,” says Syrian architect and writer Marwa al-Sabouni in Homs. Still…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Less than two weeks after a surprise rebel offensive began to retake areas of Syria for the first time in nearly a decade, the Assad regime fell on December 8. Once seen as entrenched and immovable, the government’s collapse came 53 years since Assad family rule began in Syria and nearly 14 years after the start of an uprising that called for its overthrow. The rebel takeover was rapid…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
War criminal Turkey has been taking advantage of the jihadist victory in Syria to intensify an anti-Kurdish campaign of terror in the north of the country. Ten years ago, in 2014, NATO’s second-biggest army looked on from across the border as Daesh (Isis/Isil) terrorists advanced on the largely-Kurdish city of Kobanî.
The resistance of left-wing revolutionaries, however, attracted the world’s attention, forcing it to offer limited strategic support. They eventually defeated Daesh in Kobanî, and across the north of Syria. But now, Turkey is looking to finish off the job Daesh couldn’t.
Turkish-led mercenaries have been advancing their occupation in the north of Syria amid the collapse of the Assad regime. And as the Kurdish Red Crescent said on 9 December, “a humanitarian disaster is escalating in northern Syria” as a result. The group explained that:
In just two weeks, more than 120,000 people have been displaced from the Shahba (Til Rifat) to northern Syria.
Doctors Without Borders is currently “providing critical aid to tens of thousands of displaced people” who have fled to “the areas of Tabqa, Raqqa and Hassakeh”. The co-chair of the Kurdish-led administration’s health committee for the Shahba area, Alia Mohamed, spoke to the Canary about the refugee situation in northern Syria as a result of the expansion of Turkish-led occupation. Speaking from Tabqa, she told us that:
Following the displacement from the Sheba regions, the situation in Tabqa is dire. The lack of adequate shelter is a significant concern, with many individuals resorting to sleeping in the open. The prevailing circumstances are severely challenging, particularly for children who are among the most vulnerable. The lack of access to essential resources, including medicine and food, further exacerbates the situation.
And it seems Turkey’s anti-Kurdish offensive is just getting started.
“Turkish proxies, with support from Turkish airstrikes”, wrote journalist Amberin Zaman on 10 December, “advanced today toward the town of Kobani“. As she explained:
Kobani emerged as a symbol of Kurdish resistance when the town was besieged by ISIS in 2014 and Erdogan appeared to cheer them on, saying “Kobani is falling.” His perceived support for the jihadis provoked bloody riots inside Turkey, accelerating the collapse of peace talks between the government and the PKK and a ceasefire with the militants that formally ended in July 2015.
In short, the victory of Kurdish-led revolutionaries in Kobanî pushed the autocratic Turkish regime to end peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The NATO superpower had long repressed its domestic Kurdish population. And seeing that there was new momentum for the cause of Kurdish freedom, Turkey opted to restart its anti-Kurdish war.
Kobane has no strategic value, no economic resources, a very small population.
Before the war, many Kurds hadn’t even heard of it, let alone Turks, Syrians or Westerners.
Turkey only wants this city because it did not fall to ISIS in 2014, despite Erdogan’s best efforts. pic.twitter.com/D7nvPeBErS
— Meghan Bodette (@_____mjb) December 10, 2024
My heart is with all my friends in Kobane and Rojava right now. These people have given so much to humanity. They deserve peace and freedom. pic.twitter.com/6cBTmUUGx8
— Meghan Bodette (@_____mjb) December 10, 2024
Turkey has increased its attacks on the left-wing, Kurdish-led Rojava revolution in northern Syria ever since international attention waned after Daesh’s defeat in 2017. For years, it has subjected the multi-ethnic but largely-Kurdish communities of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to a humanitarian crisis, with a campaign of regular attacks, ethnic cleansing, and illegal occupation.
Kurdish-led defence forces were among the “most effective” ground forces in the battle against Daesh. And they have been protecting the formation of a democratic, co-operative system; one that is secular, feminist, multi-ethnic, and which opposes all religious discrimination. But US and UK governments simply piggybacked on their bravery to claim victory over Daesh before then repeatedly throwing them to the Turkish wolves.
As the Rojava Information Center reported on 10 December, Turkish-led forces killed “at least 31 civilians” in just 48 hours. Having invaded and occupied the city of Manbij, which local self-defence forces had liberated from Daesh in 2016, the Turkish proxies have sought to advance on Kobane.
The important Tishreen Dam has also come “under heavy attack”, and is now out of service due to shelling by Turkish proxies. According to the Northeast Syria NGO Forum:
Damages sustained to the infrastructure itself could lead to the loss of lives and livelihoods of up to one million people in the downstream subdistricts should the dam collapse.
A Turkish drone also reportedly:
targeted an ambulance belonging to Kobani Hospital, near Tishreen Dam, while it was transporting wounded people, which led to the death of the ambulance driver and one of the wounded, and the injury of a nurse and another person.
Rojava Information Center also noted:
Field executions of wounded individuals in a hospital by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) caught on camera, alongside other atrocities
In the early days of the latest Turkish-led attacks in Syria, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) – “a political assembly representing political parties and organizations in North and East Syria” – urged:
the international community to take swift action to protect all Syrian civilians from the imminent threat posed by Turkish-backed groups, which have previously committed war crimes, genocide, and forced displacement.
It warned that Daesh could exploit the situation, and emphasised “its openness to engage in dialogue with Turkey, rejecting all pretexts used to justify further occupation of Syrian territory”.
It has also pledged “to continue working to establish a democratic and pluralistic state that guarantees equality, justice, and respect for diverse components of the Syrian society”. But it has highlighted “the necessity of addressing… the expansionist plans of Turkey”.
Turkey is clearly the belligerent in northern Syria. It seems to be making the most of the international community’s clear inability to prevent war crimes (see the Gaza genocide) to bully Syrian people into submission. It aims to destroy the only good thing to come out of Syria’s war – the democratic, cooperative, ecological, gender-egalitarian Rojava Revolution.
In Britain, genocide apologist prime minister Keir Starmer has just claimed the UK is “protecting the most vulnerable in Syria” and aiming to “support stability”. But that’s clearly bullshit. Because vulnerable people are suffering right now and, yet again, Starmer’s inaction shows he’s siding with a powerful war criminal ally instead.
Turkey needs to be stopped. And again, in the absence of government action, the responsibility falls on people around the world to spread the message and take action.
Featured image via the Canary
By Ed Sykes
This post was originally published on Canary.
As Israel expanded its illegal occupation in south-west Syria amid the jihadist victory over the Assad regime, independent MP Jeremy Corbyn called for foreign troops from the apartheid state to leave the country – but there is another illegal occupation in Syria, by NATO’s second-biggest army Turkey.
Corbyn asked UK foreign secretary David Lammy to assure that Turkish troops would leave northern Syria and respect the rights of Kurdish-majority communities there. Unfortunately, no assurance came. So Turkey’s anti-Kurdish campaign of terror in Syria looks set to continue.
Corbyn said:
Can we be assured that the foreign troops that are in Syria at the present time, particularly the Turkish troops in the north, will leave; and that they will respect the right of the Kurdish people to be able to live safely in their own area and that any incoming government in Damascus will also respect the diversity of the country and all of the minorities, particularly the Kurdish minority?
As the people of Syria come out of the horrors of war, torture and imprisonment, I asked the Foreign Secretary what he was doing to protect the rights of Kurdish people, and whether he would call for an end to Israel's illegal occupation of the Golan Heights. pic.twitter.com/7LNV8fYLK6
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) December 9, 2024
Unfortunately, however, Western governments ignore the bloody hands of their close allies. So Turkey shares in Israel’s shameful impunity. In particular, British authorities have long played along with Turkey’s anti-Kurdish warmongering, failing to challenge its war crimes and ethnic cleansing in northern Syria and elsewhere. And this is despite the key role the Kurdish people played in defeating Daesh (Isis/Isil).
At the end of November, Turkey began to expand its occupied territory in north-west Syria to the south and the east.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have been advancing and gaining territories from the Syrian government in the southern and eastern countryside of Aleppo since November 26 – the most significant conflict following a 2020 ceasefire brokered between Turkey and Russia. pic.twitter.com/u1FoFdxtGP
— Rojava Information Center (@RojavaIC) November 30, 2024
The city of Manbij has been one of the key battlegrounds between Turkish-led mercenaries and local Kurdish-led defence forces. And Manbij now appears to have fallen to the chauvinist invaders, amid “unprecedented Turkish artillery & drone strikes“.
Manbij update from source on the ground:
"SDF have withdrawn [from Manbij]. Turkey and its militias are now trying to reach the Tishreen dam. There are a lot of attacks against Tishreen and the dam, with SDF fighting the SNA outside Tishreen at present. They are using heavy… pic.twitter.com/Ru7uLctapp
— Rojava Information Center (@RojavaIC) December 10, 2024
On 9 December, the Kurdish Red Crescent said:
a humanitarian disaster is escalating in northern Syria, receiving insufficient attention from public opinion or an adequate humanitarian and security response.
It explained:
In just two weeks, more than 120,000 people have been displaced from the Shahba (Til Rifat) to northern Syria.
And it added:
On December 7, these armed factions launched a large-scale attack on the city of Manbij and its surrounding areas, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis that surpasses the capacity of organizations operating in northeast Syria. The attacks targeted infrastructure and health facilities, resulting in the destruction of some and
rendering them out of service, while many humanitarian workers were forced to leave the Manbij area.This situation has directly impacted humanitarian aid efforts for displaced people in northern and eastern Syria. Humanitarian organizations face immense challenges in these circumstances, compounded by pre-existing dire conditions in the region. These include large camps like Al-Hol Camp and detention centers that still hold thousands of ISIS members, adding further pressure to the already strained resources.
Manbij is a multi-ethnic city whose population grew from 100,000 in 2004 to around half a million people, including surrounding villages. Kurdish-led forces liberated it from Daesh (Isis/Isil) in 2016.
The autocratic, war criminal regime in Turkey has been waging its campaign of terror in northern Syria ever since the left-wing, Kurdish-led Rojava revolution gained international attention for successfully resisting Daesh advances in 2014 and 2015. Turkey has subjected the largely-Kurdish communities of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to a humanitarian crisis, resulting from regular attacks, ethnic cleansing, and illegal occupation.
Corbyn is absolutely right. It’s essential that we stand alongside Kurdish and other people in northern Syria who helped to defeat Daesh. And that means opposing Turkey’s ongoing war against them.
Featured image via the Canary
By Ed Sykes
This post was originally published on Canary.
HTS jihadists with links to Al-Qaeda have been crucial in defeating Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Most Western headlines won’t focus on this, but a terrorist group (with a wanted terrorist at its helm) was largely responsible for the ‘rebel’ victory they’re praising. And now, the UK is considering taking the group of its terror list to help legitimise the new Syrian regime.
While mainstream media outlets have focused on using fairly neutral words like ‘rebels’, ‘insurgents’, or ‘militias’ to describe Syria’s jihadist victors, the fact is that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was the group at the forefront in the last battle against Assad.
Currently, the UK has proscribed “Al Qa’ida (AQ)” on its terror list. And it notes that “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” and others “should be treated as alternative names” for the group. Because of this, lawyer Iain Darcy points out:
if any British politician associates with the new regime, they will be breaking British law
HTS and its leader Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani have tried to convince the world not to focus on their record of human rights abuses, particularly against women. They’ve miraculously ‘changed’, apparently.
For now, however, al-Jawlani still has a $10m bounty on his head. And HTS remains on the US terror list.
So it looks like the US and the UK may need to drop their ban on HTS and its leader if they’re going to deal with the new Syrian regime.
At the end of November, the British police went after people it claimed were supportive of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK and its allies in Syria were at the centre of the fight against Daesh (Isis/Isil), and were pivotal in defeating it.
Around the First World War, the UK and France artificially divided the Middle East between themselves (and the emerging state of Turkey), leaving people like the Kurds stateless. After Turkey came into existence in 1923, in the shadow of the Armenian genocide, it thoroughly repressed its Kurdish population. After increasing social tensions in the 1970s, a right-wing coup occurred in 1980. The PKK arose in this context and has been fighting the Turkish state since the 1980s.
Because Turkey claims the PKK are terrorists, its Western allies agree. But it’s important to note here that Turkey’s war criminal leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has also called anti-war students “terrorists”. It also ignores the fact that Turkey’s government ended peace talks with the PKK in 2015 largely because a left-wing, Kurdish-led revolution had emerged in northern Syria and had attracted international attention for its brave resistance to jihadist attacks. It saw this, and decided to attack both the PKK and its allies in Syria (as it continues to do today).
The UK echoes Turkey’s claims that the PKK is “a separatist movement that seeks an independent Kurdish state in southeast Turkey”. But as the BBC has reported, the group changed its aims in the 1990s, with military leader Cemil Bayik insisting:
we don’t want to separate from Turkey and set up a state… We want to live within the borders of Turkey on our own land freely… The struggle will continue until the Kurds’ innate rights are accepted
The PKK and its allies have condemned all attacks on civilians. They’ve reportedly never attacked Western targets. And European courts have previously criticised the political weaponisation of the ‘terrorist’ designation. But their left-wing ideology includes a desire for self-governance, which centralised states like Turkey oppose.
By Ed Sykes
This post was originally published on Canary.
“We needed to turn this page. … We’ve been under this inhuman condition for 54 years.” Following a lightning 12-day offensive, armed opposition groups have overthrown President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and his family’s five-decade rule in Syria. Assad has fled to Russia, where he has been granted asylum, while tens of thousands of political prisoners have been freed. The uprising was led by Hayat…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Bashar al-Assad has finally fled Syria. Since 2011, he had dug in as a proxy war developed against him. But 2024 was the year when his luck ran out. And it’s a big victory for the US empire and its junior partner in Israel.
NATO’s second-biggest army, however, isn’t too happy about the situation. So Syria is unlikely to have a lasting peace any time soon.
Russia cared about Syria mainly because of its two bases in the country. That’s why it helped Assad to fight back against his opponents from 2015 onwards. But in 2024, Russia’s priority is Ukraine, where another proxy war has it bogged down and left it unable to invest enough resources into protecting Assad.
Israel, meanwhile, took advantage of the complete impunity the US empire has given it during its genocide in Gaza to go further afield. It has killed Iranians and dealt severe blows to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both Iran and Hezbollah were on the back foot. And that meant these two allies of Assad weren’t in a position to come to his aid either in the last week.
As Sky News defence analyst Michael Clarke said, Russia and Iran were only helping Assad with “very low-cost operations”, and they’d have to either “commit much more, or they were going to have to pull out”. In the end, he stressed:
Both of them decided they would throw Syria under the bus and pull out.
Israel has always been an outpost, a station, a proxy, a tool, and a defender of the US empire’s interests in the Middle East. In particular, it helped to separate Arab territories that may well have united if there hadn’t been a divisive force between them. And specifically, that helped to ensure that a chunk of the region’s precious natural resources remained in friendly hands, and those that didn’t could become the target of covert or overt hostility.
The Assad dynasty in Syria was in the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence, and then Russia’s. It also showed solidarity with the Palestinian cause, which put Washington’s junior imperialist partner in Israel at risk. All of that made it a target for US meddling. It wasn’t the fact that the Assads were bastards, because plenty of US allies are. It was the fact that they weren’t under the control of the US empire.
The US (and its allies) backed Assad’s opponents after 2011 because it knew that would be good for the empire.
Israel already occupied some Syrian land, but amid Assad’s downfall, it has now occupied even more. As Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi reported:
What is happening is certainly to the benefit of the Israeli military, of the Israeli government… They are getting what they have said they have wanted all along: weaker neighbours, so that they can push their regional agenda.
So although it’s an Al-Qaeda jihadist group the US considers to be terrorists which has led the final offensive against Assad’s regime, the empire is happy today.
Wars that don’t end in negotiations tend to go on for a long time, until conditions lead to one side clearly having the upper hand. And NATO superpower Turkey has its own war going on – but not against Assad.
The left-wing, Kurdish-led Rojava revolution emerged in northern Syria at the start of country’s conflict. Assad’s forces had retreated, and the local multi-ethnic (but largely-Kurdish) communities had to defend themselves from jihadist attacks. Turkey had long repressed its own Kurdish population, so it couldn’t accept an independent Kurdish-led revolution on its border. It thus ended its own negotiations and restarted its anti-Kurdish war, increasing its efforts to suppress the movement at home and abroad. In doing so, it committed numerous war crimes.
Turkey has long sought to demonise its opponents by calling them terrorists, but the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) has actually been the victim of a Turkish terror campaign that has caused a humanitarian crisis there. This was part of a long campaign of ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation in northern Syria.
And it very much seems that Turkey isn’t going to stop its anti-Kurdish war in northern Syria any time soon:
Well there you have it. Without a miraculous change in Turkish priorities, the first act of the creation of the new Syria may be Efrîn-style ethnic cleansing of the Kurdish cities and communities that remain. https://t.co/Gd7HkTTHHq
— Meghan Bodette (@_____mjb) December 8, 2024
There is collective amnesia about what Turkey's been doing in Syria. TR took over the FSA (SNA now), put nationalist Turkmen in charge, ethnically cleansed Afrin, invaded Tel Abyad/Ras al-Ain, sent SNA to Libya and Karabakh. Is still fighting SDF.
Wasn't fighting Assad, though. https://t.co/iaKVwfxnC4
— Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) December 8, 2024
A jihadist victory against Assad is like replacing one ill for another. The AANES, on the other hand, is the closest thing to a left-wing government in the entire Middle East. And if there was any cause the international left should now get behind, especially in Syria, that would be it.
Featured image via the Canary
By Ed Sykes
This post was originally published on Canary.
The Turkish government has refused to respond to allegations of systematic repression against individuals allegedly affiliated with the Gülen movement made by United Nations special rapporteurs, according to official documents published on Friday by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In a joint letter dated October 7, 2024, seven UN special rapporteurs asked the Turkish government about alleged measures of “systematic repression against persons ostensibly affiliated with the Gülen Movement through the misuse of counter-terrorism legislation, and the concomitant impact on civil society, human rights defenders, political dissidents, and journalists.”
The allegations center on Turkey’s treatment of people allegedly associated with the faith-based Gülen movement, inspired by the late Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen.
In its response via a diplomatic note dated October 30, the Turkish government refrained from answering the allegations brought up by the special rapporteurs and instead listed their accusations against the Gülen movement and requested the “Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council not to allow FETÖ and its members to abuse these mechanisms, and to dismiss their allegations.”
FETÖ is a derogatory acronym used to refer to the Gülen movement as a terrorist organization.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been pursuing followers of the Gülen movement since corruption investigations revealed in 2013 implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan and some members of his family and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch in 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. The movement has strongly denied involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
The rapporteurs outlined practices they say violate international human rights laws, including arbitrary arrests, torture, transnational renditions and surveillance abuses.
The UN Rapporteurs said these individuals face intensified crackdowns involving mass detentions, forced disappearances and unjust prosecutions under vague anti-terrorism laws. Between June 2023 and June 2024, more than 8,800 people were detained and 1,500 were charged with terrorism offenses, they said.
Among the rapporteurs’ chief concerns was the treatment of children detained as part of these operations. In May 2024, 16 children were arrested in İstanbul and allegedly subjected to psychological pressure, physical torture and denial of legal counsel. The UN rapporteurs described these actions as clear violations of international protections for children under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The rapporteurs also criticized Turkey’s use of public “grey lists,” wanted lists where individuals — ranging from journalists to human rights defenders — are labeled as terrorists, often without evidence or due process. These lists, which include photos and personal details, are made public alongside monetary rewards for information leading to their capture. This practice, according to the rapporteurs, endangers lives, undermines freedoms and creates a “hitman economy.”
Another key concern involved transnational renditions. The rapporteurs alleged that Turkey has systematically abducted and forcibly returned suspected Gülen affiliates from other countries under vague bilateral security agreements. Victims were reportedly detained in secret, subjected to torture and coerced into confessions used in prosecutions.
The misuse of surveillance powers also drew heavy criticism. Turkey’s intelligence agency was accused of fabricating evidence from the ByLock messaging app to convict thousands of people on tenuous charges of affiliation with the Gülen movement. The UN noted that such actions lack due process and violate privacy rights under international law.
The rapporteurs called on Turkey to address these alleged violations, halt ongoing abuses and ensure compliance with international human rights standards. They expressed particular concern about the government’s expansive interpretation of anti-terrorism laws, which they argue target legitimate political activity, dissent and human rights advocacy.
The letter was authored by seven UN special rapporteurs and a UN expert, including Mary Lawlor, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Alice Jill Edwards, special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism. Other contributors included Gabriella Citroni, chair-rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and Irene Khan, special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression.
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.
Jihadist forces have invaded the Syrian city of Aleppo (Heleb) as part of a new escalation in the country’s ongoing proxy war. But the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud (Şêxmeqsûd) and Ashrafiyeh have been resisting the invading extremists. And the Canary spoke to a resident of Sheikh Maqsoud to find out more about the situation.
Al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has invaded Aleppo in recent days. As has often been the case with jihadist groups in Syria, NATO’s second-largest army Turkey has given HTS its ‘tacit approval’. The war-criminal NATO superpower also essentially controls the Syrian National Army (SNA), which took advantage of the HTS advance to invade and occupy areas to the north of Aleppo. Invaders have reportedly abducted Kurdish women and carried out executions, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights warning that the coming days could bring even more atrocities. Thousands of civilians have now managed to escape to safety in the east to avoid potential massacres.
Turkey has been adding to Syria’s suffering for years via its anti-Kurdish campaign of ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation in northern Syria. And the NATO superpower’s jihadist friends in the HTS are now laying siege to the progressive and independent Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods of northern Aleppo. Journalist Amberin Zaman noted the response of a prominent Turkish politician, who said Aleppo:
is Turkish and Muslim to its very marrow. It is not just us who says so, history says so, geography says so. The Turkish flag that was hoisted over Aleppo citadel says so.
Around 100,000 civilians reportedly live in these largely Kurdish areas of Aleppo, which have become a safe haven for many during the war. Attacks on them have unfortunately been commonplace since Syria’s proxy war started in 2011, so they have grown resilient and are refusing to back down. Volunteers have stepped up to defend the neighbourhoods at night, and the official self-defence forces have been trying to negotiate with the invaders to end the siege. Nonetheless, the food supply is low right now, and the situation is a real cause for concern.
The Canary spoke to Sheikh Maqsoud resident Menan Cehfer, who is a translator. He said:
Access of food is so rare, but there is water. The food supply is cut since the attacks.
With a few hundred people protecting the neighbourhood from the invaders, Cehfer insisted that civilians can only move around during the day. At night, it’s too dangerous, so there’s a curfew.
The situation is tense. But there have been negotiations to allow around six hours of electricity a day. And there has reportedly been a “promise not to attack on civilians”. The HTS focus for now appears to be attacking government facilities. As Cehfer explained:
They go after former soldiers of the Assad government. But the airplanes follow them closely, while they hide between civilians. They are in the city of Aleppo. They don’t stay in one place. They always move and attack old establishments of the Assad regime.
He believed that many people in the city were actually sympathetic to the invasion, “except Christians, Yazidis and Kurds” who have faced numerous abuses from jihadists previously during Syria’s 13-year conflict.
Since 2011, Cehfer told us:
I feel as if the Third World War is happening. Often the sense of darkness, famine, immigration and frustration. In Syria, we moved five times from one place to another in north-eastern Syria. I know many people spread all over the world.
He implored the international community to “stop the massacres”. And he insisted:
The only hope is peace and settlement.
The 22nd round of the Astana Process peace talks took place last month in Kazakhstan. However, with regional and international superpowers standing to benefit from keeping Syria at war (particularly in light of the country’s previous solidarity with Palestine), a settlement seems unlikely unless there is mass campaign of public pressure.
Featured image via the Canary
By Ed Sykes
This post was originally published on Canary.
Do a quick search for mainstream news about Syria right now, and you’ll see lots of headlines about the ‘rebel’ gains in recent days. One BBC headline even said the “rebel offensive is astonishing”. But you’ll see little focus on the fact that these ‘rebels’ actually seem to be “an international jihadist force” in cahoots with NATO’s second-largest army. Nor are you likely to see news emphasising how extremist advances around the city of Aleppo have left 250,000 civilians facing “the threat of a massacre“.
Amid the anti-government uprising of 2011 in Syria, the country very quickly turned into a proxy war battleground. There were legitimate reasons for Syrian people to be angry at Bashar al-Assad’s regime, but other forces saw an opportunity they could exploit for their own reasons.
The US and Israel, for example, had long wanted to get rid of the Assad dynasty because of its consistent support for Palestinians. And religious extremists had long opposed its commitment to secularism. But it was clear from early on that extremists were the driving force of resistance to Assad.
Now, amid the biggest anti-Assad offensive in north-western Syria since 2020, this reality is clearer than ever. As Syria’s allies were focusing energy elsewhere, an al-Qaeda offshoot shattered the idea that the war was coming to a close.
The group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has a totalitarian stronghold in Idlib, and has spent years inserting itself into Turkish-occupied areas of north-west Syria too, sometimes “with tacit Turkish approval”. And NATO superpower Turkey, which has been adding to Syria’s suffering for years via its anti-Kurdish campaign of ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation in northern Syria, has joined in.
The Syrian National Army (SNA), essentially under Turkish control, has long absorbed or protected Daesh (Isis/Isil) fighters in the territories they occupy and oppress. And in recent days, it has encircled the Şehba (al-Shahba) region, along with refugee tent camps in the area.
Turkey had previously displaced many of these refugees in its 2018 invasion of Afrin. Amid the new assault, Turkish proxies reportedly blocked attempts to create a humanitarian corridor for civilians, but Kurdish-led forces have been leading efforts to evacuate them successfully to safe areas. There are also reports of Turkey attacking the area.
The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) responded by saying:
The Turkish state is pursuing genocidal and racist ambitions to eliminate the Kurdish people and democratic governance in Syria
The left-wing, Kurdish-led Rojava revolution emerged in northern Syria at the start of country’s conflict. Assad’s forces had retreated, and the local multi-ethnic (but largely-Kurdish) communities had to defend themselves from jihadist attacks.
The region’s self-defence forces defeated Daesh, despite Turkey putting up obstacles. Turkey had long repressed its own Kurdish population, so it couldn’t accept an independent Kurdish-led revolution on its border. It thus increased its efforts to suppress the movement at home and abroad. And in doing so, it committed numerous war crimes.
It sought to demonise its opponents by calling them terrorists, but the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) has actually been the victim of a Turkish terror campaign that has caused a humanitarian crisis there.
AANES diplomat Ilham Ahmed has insisted that the current jihadist advances are more than just a proxy war. In particular, she worries about the “systematic targeting of diverse cities like Aleppo”.
The hostilities, she said, are putting “its rich social fabric and pluralistic identity” at risk, “endangering coexistence and the cultural mosaic of Syria’s most diverse city”. HTS has taken control of parts of Aleppo, but the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and AshrafiehIn are still resisting its siege.
The AANES has also sent a message to the world, stressing that the current jihadist-Turkish offensive:
represents a threat not only to Syria, but is a new form of ISIS terrorism that will have serious regional and global repercussions
The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) added:
Turkish-backed forces have launched attacks on Kurdish areas, including Shahba [Şehba] and Tel Rifaat, where many refugees from Afrin [Efrîn] are sheltering. People in these regions are under attack and face the threat of a massacre
Describing the HTS as “an international jihadist force” and the SNA as a Turkish operation, the KNK stressed that:
Their victory would transform Syria into a base for jihadist and Salafist forces, destabilising the region further… The success of HTS and the SNA would mean a scenario similar to the rise of ISIS, turning Syria into a hub for extremist forces
And while the US may have designated HTS a terrorist organisation, you don’t have to go far back to find it being in cahoots with the group, either. It is believed that HTS provided the US-led Coalition Against Daesh intelligence that led to the killing of two former al Qaeda leaders in an airstrike by the in Idleb province on 20 September 2021.
Featured image via the Canary
By Ed Sykes
This post was originally published on Canary.
Global land systems manufacturer OTOKAR and ROMTEHNICA, as the representative of the Ministry of National Defense signed a 4.26 billion Romanian lei (approximately EUR-857 Million) multiannual contract to supply 1,059 COBRA II 4×4 armored vehicles to Romanian Ministry of Defense. Under the contract a large number of COBRA II 4×4 vehicles will be manufactured locally […]
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This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
Istanbul, November 27, 2024—Turkish authorities should stop treating journalists like terrorists by raiding their homes and detaining them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.
“Turkish authorities once more raided the homes of multiple journalists in the middle of the night, in order to portray them as dangerous criminals, and detained them without offering any justification. CPJ has monitored similar secretive operations in the past decade, and not one journalist has been proven to be involved with actual terrorism,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “The authorities should immediately release the journalists in custody and stop this systematic harassment of the media.”
In a statement Tuesday, Turkey’s Interior Ministry said police had conducted simultaneous operations in 30 cities and detained a total of 261 people who suspected of having ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or alleged offshoot organizations. At least 12 journalists are reported to be held in custody:
The reasons for the detentions are unknown, as there is a court order of secrecy on the investigation, preventing the detainees and their lawyers from being informed of the investigation’s details and possible charges, a common practice in such crackdowns.
CPJ emailed Turkey’s Interior Ministry for comment but received no reply.
Separately, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), threatened the pro-opposition outlet Halk TV and its commentators for criticizing his party with a vow that the MHP will make them suffer.
“We are taking note, one by one, of the ignorant and arrogant commentators, especially Halk TV,” Bahçeli said Tuesday at a MHP meeting in Ankara. In October, he had told the outlet to “watch your step.”
Editor’s note: The alert was updated to correct the name of Ahmet Sümbül.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
Under cover of Israel’s genocidal crimes against Palestinians in Gaza, Turkey has intensified its own efforts to force an entire population into submission in the last year. NATO’s second-largest army has been destroying civilian infrastructure in northern Syria in a campaign that has left over a million people with a severe water shortage. And as a new BBC investigation documents, this is likely a “severe violation of international law”.
There are a number of similarities between Turkey’s actions and Israel’s. The ethno-religious nationalist regimes in both countries, for example, have a record of ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation under their belts. And they both prefer to use their massive military machinery over diplomacy in efforts to defeat those who challenge their power.
Like Israel, Turkey has long subjugated a native population. And British colonialism played a role in setting things up there too. Around the First World War, the UK and France artificially divided the Middle East between themselves (and the emerging state of Turkey), leaving people like the Kurds stateless. Turkey has repressed its Kurdish population almost ever since.
A left-wing Kurdish-led revolution emerged in northern Syria at the start of the country’s civil war. And its fighters defeated Daesh (Isis/Isil) despite Turkey putting up obstacles. So Turkey stepped up its efforts to suppress the movement at home and abroad. As the Canary reported in 2018, the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal found that Turkey had committed numerous war crimes during this campaign.
Turkey, like Israel, seeks to demonise its opponents by calling them terrorists. Accordingly, autocratic Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calls the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) a “terror state”. But in reality, it’s Turkey that’s been terrorising the AANES. And the BBC‘s latest investigation has used a variety of sources to confirm the scale of the damage Turkey has caused by attacking civilian infrastructure there. As it reported:
Turkish air strikes in drought-struck north-east Syria have cut off access to electricity and water for more than a million people, in what experts say may be a violation of international law.
Since Turkey illegally occupied parts of northern Syria in 2019, the key Alouk water station has been under the occupation’s control. Two years later, the UN criticised the regular interruption of the water supply to the people of the AANES. This combined with a severe drought to worsen conditions in the region. Then, in October 2023, Turkey’s foreign minister insisted that “infrastructure, superstructure and energy facilities” in the hands of progressive Kurdish forces would be “legitimate targets” for attacks. Accordingly, Turkish planes targeted electricity infrastructure, which cut the power supply to Alouk. It has been out of action since then.
If the Gaza genocide has taught the world anything, it’s that Western allies can commit war crimes with impunity. And that’s precisely the case with Turkey. Because just as international opposition has been unable to stop Israel or hold it to account, it has been equally impotent at stopping Turkey’s crimes.
As the BBC reports, “Turkey carried out more than 100 attacks between October 2019 and January 2024 on oil fields, gas facilities and power stations” in AANES. The investigation includes comments from legal experts. For example, a February 2024 UN commission said Turkey’s infrastructure attacks “could amount to war crimes because they deprived civilians of access to water”. Barrister Aarif Abraham, meanwhile, suggested Turkey’s campaign “could constitute a severe violation of international law”. And lawyer Patrick Kroker stressed that “the indications that international law was violated here are so strong that they should be investigated by a prosecutorial authority”.
The water board co-director of the city of Al-Hasakah told the BBC “north-east Syria is facing a humanitarian catastrophe”. At the start of the BBC‘s documentary, a man says [1:48] “we’re dying here without water”. Towards the end, meanwhile, a woman says Turkey is “slowly killing people by cutting off the water”.
Things have deteriorated significantly as a result of the cutting of Alouk water station. Tankers bringing water in from elsewhere are an expensive, temporary, and insufficient solution. Well owners say that the water levels are down 80% from last year. And there are scenes and words of desperation from the struggling inhabitants of the region.
Near the end of the documentary, a local woman explains that Turkey’s attack “was on the civilian population”. She adds:
Turkey wants to put pressure on the local authorities, to provoke people, get them on the streets protesting. Turkey is using these tactics against us. They use the water situation against us, just like the military campaign.
By Ed Sykes
This post was originally published on Canary.
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined six other press freedom and free-speech advocacy organizations in a Wednesday, November 13, statement asking Turkish authorities to release recently arrested journalist Furkan Karabay.
Karabay, a reporter with the independent news site 10Haber, was detained on November 8 during a police raid in Istanbul and jailed by a court November 9 pending trial. A court document seen by Reuters said that the allegations against Karabay related to his social media posts on X, where he named the prosecutors investigating an opposition mayor.
“Karabay’s arrest is the latest example of the increasing criminalization of reporting on the judiciary,” the statement said. “These actions against journalists who are simply fulfilling their duty to inform the public are not only a violation of the public’s right to access information but also a breach of freedom of expression and press freedom, which are protected under the constitution and international agreements, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), to which Turkey is a signatory.”
You can read the full statement here.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
HAVELSAN continues to deliver innovative solutions for modern battlefields with the ADVENT Combat Management System (CMS), reinforcing its position as a global leader in naval defense technologies. Playing a significant role in Türkiye’s Blue Homeland defense strategy, ADVENT is not just a combat management system but also a comprehensive network-supported solution that enhances the operational […]
The post HAVELSAN ADVENT: The Admiral of Naval Defense appeared first on Asian Military Review.
This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
Indonesian state-owned company PT Pindad – a key member of the DefendID defence industry consortium – has partnered with Türkiye military vehicles specialist FNSS to collaborate on the development and production of a new tracked armoured personnel carrier (APC) for the Indonesian Army (TNI-AD). The proposed new 30 tonne vehicle is named the Kaplan APC […]
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This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 63 press freedom and human rights organizations, media outlets, and NGOs in an October 18 joint statement condemning Turkey’s media regulator RTÜK for canceling independent Açık Radyo‘s (The Open Radio) broadcast license as an act of censorship.
In May, RTÜK fined and issued a gag order after the outlet mentioned the mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule in 1915, which Turkey refuses to recognize as genocide as the successor of the Ottoman Empire. RTÜK canceled the outlet’s license in early July when the outlet continued to broadcast. The matter went to court while the outlet remained on air, but Açık Radyo announced the final cancellation in an October 11 statement.
“The decision by Turkey’s broadcast regulator to revoke Açık Radyo’s license has significant implications for media freedom and public access to information,” the Friday statement said. The signatories asked RTÜK to restore Açık Radyo’s broadcasting license and “cease its censorship of critical and independent outlets.”
Read the joint statement here.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Istanbul, October 16, 2024—CPJ expressed deep concern after a recently released recording of an August 15 press conference included comments from Tatvan Mayor Mümin Erol, in which Erol told reporters that he would attack journalist Sinan Aygül if he could and congratulated the former mayor’s bodyguards, who attacked and hospitalized the journalist in June 2023.
“Unfortunately, the change of power in the local government of Tatvan did not favor journalist Sinan Aygül, who was prosecuted and assaulted because of his reporting during the former mayor’s administration. Now, the current mayor has threatened him,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Mayor Mümin Erol should publicly apologize for his violent comments about Aygül, and local authorities must ensure Aygül’s safety. Politicians should always refrain from threatening journalists, an action for which there can never be an excuse or reasoning.”
Erol, a member of the pro-Kurdish DEM party, was elected mayor of Tatvan, a city in the eastern province of Bitlis, in March, beating a candidate from the leading Justice and Development Party (AKP). “Sinan will know his place,” Erol said in the recording. “We will teach him his lesson.”
Aygül, who was not present at the August 15 press conference, told CPJ he believes the reason for the threat was his reporting on three expensive cell phones that were allegedly bought for the mayor and his aides. Aygül, who is also the chair of the local trade group Bitlis Journalists Society, said he would soon file a criminal complaint.
A representative of Tatvan city’s press desk told CPJ by phone that they would not comment on the recording.
Aygül was found guilty of “insulting” the bodyguards who attacked him in January 2024 and was later charged with “threatening” his attackers. Aygül told CPJ that while he was separately acquitted of these charges, prosecutors have appealed.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing a sweeping indictment on federal corruption charges accusing him of taking bribes, committing fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations. The charges, which involve a long-running conspiracy with Turkish officials, allege that Adams accepted lavish gifts and campaign contributions in exchange for political favors…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors announced they are charging New York City Mayor Eric Adams for a bribery and wire fraud scheme spanning nearly a decade. Adams allegedly accepted illegal campaign contributions from corporations and foreign donors, including the Turkish government. Adams is accused of manipulating regulators for the Turkish Consulate and not recognizing the Armenian genocide in…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Istanbul, September 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urged the Turkish authorities on Monday to drop the disinformation investigation into Rabia Önver, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish news website JİNNEWS, and stop using house raids to harass journalists.
“The police raid of JİNNEWS reporter Rabia Önver’s house was completely unjustified for an alleged disinformation investigation and is yet another example of the tactics frequently used in Turkey to intimidate journalists,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Turkish authorities should drop the investigation into Önver’s work, stop harassing journalists with house raids, and allow the media to report without worrying about retaliation.”
On September 20, police in the southeastern city of Hakkari raided Önver’s house.
The police had a prosecutor’s order to take the journalist into custody, but the warrant was discontinued after they did not find her at home, Önver’s lawyer Azad Özer told CPJ on Monday. The lawyer also confirmed that Önver was being investigated for “publicly spreading disinformation” due to her reporting on alleged corruption by some authorities involved in a possible narcotics trafficking and prostitution crime ring.
CPJ emailed the Hakkari chief prosecutor’s office for comment but received no immediate reply.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Turkey announced on Thursday that it has opened an investigation into Israel’s killing of Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi and will be seeking arrest warrants in relation to her death. Eygi “was deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli soldiers during a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. “We will make every effort to…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
New York, September 12, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Turkey’s July 25 denial of entry to Ruslan Myatiev, director and chief editor of Turkmen.news, a Netherlands-based independent Turkmen news website.
“Journalist Ruslan Myatiev’s account that Turkey acceded to Turkmenistan’s request to ban him is a startling suggestion of Turkey’s complicity in transnational repression with one of the world’s worst press freedom violators,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Turkish authorities should revoke the travel ban against Myatiev, and Turkmenistan must stop retaliating against exile-based journalists.”
When Myatiev arrived with his family at Antalya airport in southern Turkey for a holiday, police denied him entrance to the country, citing an entry ban. Myatiev told CPJ that he had not been officially provided with further information, but that he overheard law enforcement officers telling each other the ban was classified under code G-82 — which pertains to “activity against state security” — and had been requested by Turkmenistan. Officers detained Myatiev for four hours and questioned him about his work and travel before escorting him onto a flight back to the Netherlands.
Turkmen.news is among a small number of exile-based independent media reporting on Turkmenistan, which has one of the most repressive media environments in the world. The news website has repeatedly been targeted by cyberattacks in recent years, and Turkmen.news correspondent Nurgeldi Halykov recently completed a four-year prison sentence in retaliation for his reporting.
Myatiev told CPJ that cooperation between Turkish and Turkmen law enforcement has significantly increased since protests by Turkmen labor migrants in Turkey in 2020, leading Turkmen journalists working in Turkey to feel insecure.
CPJ’s emails requesting comment from the Communications Directorate of the Presidency and the Interior Ministry of Turkey, and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan did not receive any replies.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 22 press freedom and freedom of expression groups on Wednesday in a joint statement calling on the authorities in Turkey to ensure that journalist Murat Ağırel, who has been receiving death threats because of his reporting, remains safe.
The statement listed a number of incidents in which Ağırel, a columnist for the pro-opposition daily Cumhuriyet, has been threatened or harassed since late 2023 over his reporting on allegations of drug trafficking, money laundering, sports betting fraud, and the highly publicized murder trial of Sinan Ateş, the former chair of the far right group the Gray Wolves, which is the youth branch of the government-allied Nationalist Movement Party.
“We are profoundly alarmed by the relentless death threats and the escalating harassment aimed not only at Murat Ağırel, but also at his family. These brazen acts of intimidation are a stark reminder of the perilous environment in which independent journalists in Turkey must operate,” the statement said.
Read the joint statement here.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Journalist Rêbîn Bekir was driving near the Kurdish town of Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq on the morning of August 23, when a rocket slammed into his car. The vehicle immediately burst into flames. Bekir was lucky. He was thrown from the car by the explosion and survived with injuries. But Bekir’s colleagues, Gülistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn, died instantly, their bodies burned beyond…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Mehmet Onat Sarıtaş, UN Volunteer with UNICEF in Türkiye supports the design and implementation of climate change-related programmes.
Diana Assenova, Mehmet Onat Sarıtaş and Madinabonu Salaidinova have one thing in common — They are young volunteers who believe that progress cannot be made without youth. Let’s hear from them in their own words.
“By investing in education, building the capacity of community members, and fostering global citizenship, young people play a crucial role in creating a better future that is inclusive, equitable, and sustainable for generations to come.” The words of Diana Assenova, a UN Volunteer Education Assistant with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Kazakhstan resonate with the importance of youth and progress.
Diana focuses on the rights of youth refugees by making sure they have equal access to education. She coordinates the DAFI Scholarship Programme, through which, young refugees get education support. She encourages many more opportunities for education for refugee youth in Kazakhstan via awareness and advocacy campaigns.
The enthusiasm of youth propels her efforts — she recounts how she volunteered to organize a summer camp for teenagers from the displaced population.
The energy of working together with young people was unforgettable! This reaffirmed my dedication to making a positive impact through volunteerism.” Diana Assenova, UN Volunteer with UNHCR Kazakhstan
Another young and skilled UN Volunteer is Mehmet Onat Sarıtaş who serves with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Türkiye as an Adolescent Development and Participation Assistant. Onat is witness to the disproportionate impact of climate change on the lives of children and adolescents in Türkiye and that is when he decided to volunteer. He values collective volunteer action to create a greener world for children.
Onat supports the design and implementation of environment-related projects. He also coordinates UNICEF’s climate-focused youth platforms, performs administrative tasks and collects data.
Youth platforms give Onat the opportunity for peer-to-peer support and technical assistance to young people. This close communication and learning has helped strengthen UNICEF’s relations with young people, he notes.
Next, we have the voice of UN Volunteer, Madinabonu Salaidinova, “I focus on increasing the engagement of young leaders from the south of Kyrgyzstan in civic activism and strengthening their potential to promote human rights.”
Madinabonu serves as a Legal and Monitoring Volunteer with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Regional Office for Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan.
She monitors media channels, observes trials, and engages with the government and civil society partners, including human rights defenders. She also responds to individual complaints of alleged human rights violations submitted to OHCHR from five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Being familiar with the UN Human Rights Instruments and Mechanisms, Madinabonu deems locally-led solutions as effective in safeguarding human rights.
Including youth in decision-making is crucial, says Madinabonu. She feels that her voice is heard and appreciated. This gives her momentum to bring her ideas to fruition.
I appreciate that OHCHR gives me opportunities to integrate my interests and ideas into my work. I feel that I’m where I’m supposed to be right now.” Madinabonu Salaidinova, UN Volunteer with OHCHR Kyrgyzstan.
https://www.unv.org/index.php/Success-stories/torchbearers-today-leaders-tomorrow
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.
The chief of the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) has asserted that the service will acquire Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 medium altitude-long endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (MALE UAVs) to boost the Southeast Asian country’s air defence capabilities. Air Chief Marshal Mohammad Tonny Harjono told local media that the service will acquire an undisclosed number of TB2 UAVs […]
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This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
The Malaysian government’s budgeting process still does not give its armed forces a clear vision of what procurement to expect, and when. In contrast to its neighbours in South East Asia, progress in Malaysia’s defence has been limited since 2018 due to a combination of various factors. The main factor has always been fiscal limitation […]
The post Malaysia’s Defence Budgeting Still Not Fit for Purpose appeared first on Asian Military Review.
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The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has taken delivery of all six of its Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) T-129B ATAK helicopters on 17 May, the service announced on its social media account. The helicopters are assigned to the PAF’s15th Strike Wing and will be used to conduct a variety of missions, including aerial surveillance and reconnaissance, […]
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Turkey’s global land systems manufacturer Otokar, continues to exhibit its products and capabilities around the world. Otokar participates in DSA 2024 between May 06-09, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. During the four – day exhibition, Otokar will display its worldwide known vehicles COBRA II and AKREP II. Otokar continues to showcase its products and capabilities […]
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