BEIRUT: A war monitor said a senior commander from the security forces in northeast Syria’s semi-autonomous Kurdish-led administration was killed on Tuesday in a blast near a prison in Hasakah province.
“A commander in the Kurdish security forces was killed and another person was wounded” in an explosion near the prison in Umm Farsan on the outskirts of the city of Qamishli “at the same time as a Turkish drone was flying in the area,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The commander in the Asayish security forces had played “a prominent role in leading military operations against the Daesh group in Raqqa province,” a former bastion of the jihadists in Syria, said the Britain-based Observatory.
A local Kurdish news agency reported “the sound of an explosion... resulting from the targeting of a car” in the area.
The incident came a day after Syria’s Kurdish authorities in Hasakah province released 50 Syrian prisoners accused of belonging to Daesh as part of a general amnesty deal, an official had told AFP.
The Kurds have established a semi-autonomous administration spanning swathes of the north and northeast.
The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces spearheaded the battle that dislodged Daesh group militants from their last scraps of Syrian territory in 2019.
Turkiye sees the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which dominate the SDF, as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it considers a “terrorist” group.
The Turkish army, which has troops and proxies in northern Syria, regularly carries out strikes in Kurdish-held areas.
Turkiye controls two large strips of territory along the border after expelling Kurdish forces in successive campaigns.
Syria blast kills senior commander in Kurdish security forces: monitor
https://arab.news/rdp39
Syria blast kills senior commander in Kurdish security forces: monitor
- The commander in the Asayish security forces had played “a prominent role in leading military operations against the Daesh group in Raqqa province“
- The Kurds have established a semi-autonomous administration spanning swathes of the north and northeast
Israel becomes first country to formally recognize Somaliland as independent state
- Netanyahu said the declaration “is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President Trump”
- Somalia, Egypt, Turkey and Djibouti condemn Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, Egypt says
JERUSALEM: Israel became the first country to formally recognize the self-declared Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state on Friday — a decision that could reshape regional dynamics and test Somalia’s longstanding opposition to its secession.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would seek immediate cooperation with Somaliland in agriculture, health, technology and the economy. In a statement he congratulated Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, praised his leadership and invited him to visit Israel.
Netanyahu said the declaration “is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President Trump.”
The 2020 accords were brokered by Trump’s first administration and included Israel formalising diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with other countries joining later.
Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Somaliland’s president signed a joint declaration of mutual recognition, the Israeli statement said.
Abdullahi said in a statement that Somaliland would join the Abraham Accords, calling it a step toward regional and global peace. He said Somaliland was committed to building partnerships, boosting mutual prosperity and promoting stability across the Middle East and Africa.
Egypt meanwhile said Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held phone calls on Friday with his counterparts from Somalia, Turkiye and Djibouti to discuss what they described as dangerous developments in the Horn of Africa following Israel’s announcement.
The ministers condemned Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, reaffirmed their full support for Somalia’s unity and territorial integrity, and warned that recognizing breakaway regions poses a threat to international peace and security, Egypt’s foreign ministry said.
Somaliland has enjoyed effective autonomy — and relative peace and stability — since 1991 when Somalia descended into civil war, but the breakaway region has failed to receive recognition from any other country.
Over the years, Somalia has rallied international actors against any country recognizing Somaliland.
The former British protectorate hopes that recognition by Israel will encourage other nations to follow suit, increasing its diplomatic heft and access to international markets.
In March, Somalia and its breakaway region of Somaliland also denied receiving any proposal from the United States or Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, with Mogadishu saying it categorically rejected any such move.
