‘Where will we go?’ Syrians fear threatened Turkish assault

People shop in a market in Syria’s northern city of Manbij, near the border with Turkey, as a threatened onslaught looms over the town. (AFP)
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Updated 23 July 2022
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‘Where will we go?’ Syrians fear threatened Turkish assault

  • Syrian Democratic Forces dig trenches on the outskirts of Manbij in preparation for an attack

MANBIJ, Syria: Ghazwan Al-Atman thought he had found refuge in Manbij after years of displacement, but he now fears his family will be uprooted once again as a threatened Turkish onslaught looms over the Syrian town.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has repeatedly vowed to launch a new offensive in northern Syria in what he says is an operation to protect his country from Kurdish militias who have been waging a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
Turkey has launched a string of offensives in Syria in the past six years, most recently in 2019 when it conducted a broad air and ground assault against Kurdish militias after former US president Donald Trump withdrew American troops.
“Our people are completely exhausted,” Atman said, standing in his empty shoe store in downtown Manbij, which lies just 30 kilometers (less than 20 miles) from Syria’s border with Turkey.
“We enjoyed safety and security here. Now, we don’t know where to go.”
The market where he set up shop is usually bustling with customers, but they have now been reduced to a trickle.
Atman said his family settled in Manbij in 2018 having already been displaced “four or five times.”
The 43-year-old built a house and established his business “from scratch,” but is now ready to flee again as he fears for the lives of his children.
“War has destroyed me... All we want is stability in this country,” he said.
The threat of a new assault has intensified, with Turkey saying Thursday it never seeks “permission for our military operations” despite failing to get the green light from Russia and Iran this week.
Turkish media said any potential operation is unlikely to take place before the end of August or early September.
Analysts have warned an attack on densely populated Manbij would cause mass displacement and suffering.

The people of Manbij have been busy stocking up on food in preparation.
Hussein Hamdoush said customers have been flocking to his grocery store to stockpile essentials like milk, rice and bulgur.
Hamdoush said he does not want to leave.
“Displacement means ruin,” he said. “Where will we go? I would rather die in my home.”
Food prices have shot up in the Kurdish-run town, residents say.
Umm Nidal, 48, said she feared displacement as much as she feared for her four children.
“We are facing an economic war rather than air strikes,” she said as she scanned supermarket shelves.
This is not the first time Ankara has threatened to attack Manbij, an Arab-majority town run by Kurdish fighters who expelled Daesh group militants in 2016.
Between 2016 and 2019, Ankara launched three military offensives it said were to root out the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the main component of the autonomous Kurds’ de facto army, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Analysts have told AFP that even without Moscow and Tehran’s stamp of approval, Erdogan could still launch a limited attack.
“Turkish threats are nothing new in Manbij, but the level of these threats ebbs and flows, and it has highly intensified lately,” said Sherfan Darwish, a spokesman for the SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council.

The SDF has dug trenches on the outskirts of Manbij in readiness for a potential attack, AFP correspondents said.
“We have trained our forces... based on our experience fighting against IS, though the war against Turkish forces calls for new tactics,” Darwish said.
The SDF has reached out to Damascus for help in fending off a potential Turkish onslaught — as they have done in past campaigns.
Government and Kurdish forces have struggled to find common ground, because Damascus rejects Kurdish self-rule.
In the past few days, the regime has deployed reinforcements near Manbij, as part of a Russia-mediated agreement, to act as a buffer between Kurdish and Ankara-backed forces.
They have come bearing “heavy and high-quality weapons,” Darwish said.
Regime flags were visible on the front lines, while Manbij Military Council fighters were scattered farther back in small numbers, hiding from possible Turkish drone strikes in the shade of olive trees, an AFP correspondent said.
Syrian soldiers have trickled in over the past two days, setting up camp in nearby villages.
Hamdoush said he hopes the army will be able to protect Manbij, but others are skeptical.
“I wish we could have peace,” said Ali Abu Hassan, a 50-year-old Manbij resident. “But this (war) is an international game and we are the victims.”
 


Israel’s military warns people to evacuate the area around Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor

Updated 59 min 4 sec ago
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Israel’s military warns people to evacuate the area around Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor

  • Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors and produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons

DUBAI: Israel’s military warned people Thursday to evacuate the area around Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor.
The warning came in a social media post on X. It included a satellite image of the plant in a red circle like other warnings that proceeded strikes.
The Arak heavy water reactor is 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran.
Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. That would provide Iran another path to the bomb beyond enriched uranium, should it choose to pursue the weapon.
Iran had agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to relieve proliferation concerns.
In 2019, Iran started up the heavy water reactor’s secondary circuit, which at the time did not violate Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Britain at the time was helping Iran redesign the Arak reactor to limit the amount of plutonium it produces, stepping in for the US, which had withdrawn from the project after President Donald Trump’s decision in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw America from the nuclear deal.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, has been urging Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear sites. IAEA inspectors reportedly last visited Arak on May 14.
Due to restrictions Iran imposed on inspectors, the IAEA has said it lost “continuity of knowledge” about Iran’s heavy water production — meaning it could not absolutely verify Tehran’s production and stockpile.


US officials preparing for possible strike on Iran in coming days, Bloomberg reports

Updated 19 June 2025
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US officials preparing for possible strike on Iran in coming days, Bloomberg reports

  • Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel’s campaign

WASHINGTON: Senior US officials are preparing for the possibility of a strike on Iran in the coming days, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The report, citing the people, noted that the situation is still evolving and could change. Some of the people, according to Bloomberg, pointed to potential plans for a weekend strike.
Speaking to reporters earlier on Wednesday outside the White House, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel’s campaign. “I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he said.


Trump keeps world guessing about US military action against Iran

Updated 19 June 2025
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Trump keeps world guessing about US military action against Iran

  • ‘I may do it. I may not do it,’ Trump says on joining attacks
  • Netanyahu says Israel ‘progressing step by step’ toward eliminating Iranian nuclear, missile threats

WASHINGTON/DUBAI/JERUSALEM: President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States will join Israel’s bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel’s campaign. “I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he said.
Trump in later remarks said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting and that “we may do that.” But he added, “It’s a little late” for such talks.
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva aimed at persuading Iran to firmly guarantee that it will use its nuclear program solely for civilian purposes, a German diplomatic source told Reuters.
But while diplomatic efforts continue, some residents of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, on Wednesday jammed highways out of the city as they sought sanctuary from intensified Israeli airstrikes.
The Wall Street Journal said Trump had told senior aides he approved attack plans on Iran but was holding off on giving the final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program.

Asked if he thought the Iranian government could fall as a result of the Israeli campaign, Trump said: “Sure, anything could happen.”
Referring to the destruction or dismantling of Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment center, Trump said: “We’re the only ones that have the capability to do it. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it — at all.”
Military analysts believe that Israel might need US military help to destroy Fordow, dug beneath a mountain near the city of Qom.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday.
The Americans “should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,” he said. “The Iranian nation will not surrender.”
In its latest bombings, Israel said its air force destroyed Iran’s police headquarters.
Israel’s military said sirens sounded in northern Israel just before 2 a.m. local time on Thursday  and that it had intercepted a drone launched from Iran. It said several minutes later that another drone was intercepted in the Jordan Valley area.
The Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defenses, killing Israelis in their homes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on Wednesday, said Israel was “progressing step by step” toward eliminating threats posed by Iran’s nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal.
“We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime,” Netanyahu said.
Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
Netanyahu also thanked Trump, “a great friend of the state of Israel,” for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact.
Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it.
In social media posts on Tuesday, he mused about killing Khamenei.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked what his reaction would be if Israel did kill Iran’s Supreme Leader with the assistance of the United States, said on Thursday: “I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to.”
A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations mocked Trump in posts on X, describing him as “a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance.”
Israel’s military said scores of Israeli jets had struck targets in and around Tehran and in western Iran in the previous 24 hours in three waves, hitting sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles.
Fleeing Tehran
Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out of the city to the nearby resort town of Lavasan.
“My friend’s house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians,” she said. “Why are we paying the price for the regime’s decision to pursue a nuclear program?”
In Israel, sirens rang out anew at dusk on Wednesday warning of further incoming Iranian missiles. A motorist was injured by missile debris, Israeli medics said. The army later advised civilians they could leave protected areas, signalling the threat had passed.
At Ramat Gan train station east of Tel Aviv, people were lying on city-supplied mattresses or sitting in the odd camping chair, with plastic water bottles strewn about.
“I feel scared, overwhelmed. Especially because I live in a densely populated area that Iran seems to be targeting, and our city has very old buildings, without shelters and safe spaces,” said Tamar Weiss, clutching her four-month-old daughter.
Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days.
Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defenses, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.

Leverage
Iran has been exploring options for leverage, including veiled threats to hit the global oil market by restricting access to the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important shipping artery for oil.
Inside Iran, authorities are intent on preventing panic and shortages. Fewer images of destruction have been allowed to circulate than in the early days of the bombing, when state media showed pictures of explosions, fires and flattened apartments. A ban on filming by the public has been imposed.
The communications ministry said on Wednesday that temporary restrictions on Internet access would be imposed to help prevent “the enemy from threatening citizens’ lives and property.”
Iran’s ability to hit back hard at Israel through strikes by proxy militia close to Israeli borders has been limited by the devastating blows Israel has dealt to Tehran’s regional allies — Hamas and Hezbollah — in conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon since 2023.


Iraqi foreign minister calls for emergency meeting of Arab counterparts next week

Updated 18 June 2025
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Iraqi foreign minister calls for emergency meeting of Arab counterparts next week

  • Its aim would be to coordinate Arab positions on the escalating military confrontation between Israel and Iran
  • Fuad Hussein suggests it take place during the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers session that begins in Istanbul on Saturday

LONDON: Iraq’s foreign minister, Fuad Hussein, on Wednesday called for an emergency meeting of his Arab counterparts to discuss the conflict between Israel and Iran, which he said poses destabilizing risks to the wider Middle East.

He suggested it take place on the sidelines of the 51st session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers, which is due to begin in Istanbul on Saturday. The aim of the emergency meeting would be to coordinate Arab positions on the escalation of the military confrontation between Israel and Iran, who have been exchanging attacks since Friday.

Also on Wednesday, Hussein called his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, to discuss the conflict and its repercussions for the security and stability of the region, officials said. Iraq currently chairs the Arab League, which held its most recent summit in Baghdad in May. Egypt hosts the League’s headquarters in Cairo.


Iran-Israel war fears spark fuel shortages in West Bank

Updated 18 June 2025
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Iran-Israel war fears spark fuel shortages in West Bank

  • “Fearing potential supply disruptions or further escalation, citizens across the West Bank have begun stockpiling fuel,” said Abu Al-Rob
  • In the northern West Bank city of Nablus, dozens of drivers waited in line for fuel

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Fears over the war between Israel and Iran have led to fuel shortages in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority told AFP Wednesday, as drivers queued in long lines to buy fuel.

“Fearing potential supply disruptions or further escalation, citizens across the West Bank have begun stockpiling fuel, putting additional pressure on an already strained market,” said Mohammad Abu Al-Rob, director of the PA’s communications center.

After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel on Friday launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones.

The PA official said there has also been “a noticeable decline in the number of fuel tankers arriving from Israel, some of which have been redirected for use by the Israeli occupation army.”

In the northern West Bank city of Nablus, dozens of drivers waited in line for fuel.

Mohammad Ayoub, a resident of Nablus who had been waiting in line for two hours, said he hoped to finally purchase fuel after several failed attempts.

“I came yesterday at about 11:00 p.m. and found the gas stations closed. I also came early in the morning and the situation was the same.”

Ahmad Samaana, a truck driver from Nablus, complained of limits placed on fuel purchases.

“Large trucks, like the one I have, need about 500 liters, but when we enter the station, the worker at the station tells me that he allows filling up with a value of 500 shekels, which is less than 100 liters of diesel,” he told AFP.

“This is not enough for a truck.”

Abu Al-Rob noted that “the (fuel) supply chain remains entirely subject to Israel’s will and control,” as the country controls all entry points into the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.

He relayed the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority’s call “to safeguard the flow of essential supplies — particularly fuel for hospitals, bakeries, and other critical sectors” should the situation worsen.