Beirut: The Kurdish-led force controlling northeast Syria said Wednesday it had reached a US-brokered ceasefire with Turkish-backed fighters in Manbij, after Islamist-led rebels toppled Bashar Assad’s government.
The clashes in Manbij, an Arab-majority city, have killed 218 combatants since Turkish-backed groups launched offensives in the north following the ouster of Assad on Sunday.
“We have reached a ceasefire agreement in Manbij via US mediation,” said Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazloum Abdi.
He said fighters of the SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council “will be withdrawn from the area as soon as possible.”
“Our goal is to reach a ceasefire across Syria and start a political process for the future of the country,” Abdi added.
Abdi had told reporters last week that the United Nations had been in touch with the SDF about helping to “shape a political resolution for Syria” as rebels seized power.
The US-backed SDF fighters spearheaded an offensive that defeated the Daesh group’s self-declared caliphate in Syria in 2019.
On Tuesday, US Central Command said its chief General Michael Kurilla had visited US bases and SDF partners in Syria.
Earlier this month, the pro-Turkiye fighters seized the strategic northern enclave of Tal Rifaat from Kurdish forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
Ankara sees the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which dominate the SDF, as an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Arab-majority Tal Rifaat and Manbij are among three Kurdish-held areas in the north that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had repeatedly threatened to seize.
Kurdish-led force announces US-brokered truce in Syria’s Manbij
https://arab.news/rkqpz
Kurdish-led force announces US-brokered truce in Syria’s Manbij
- US-backed SDF fighters spearheaded an offensive that defeated the Daesh group’s self-declared caliphate in Syria in 2019
- US Central Command said its chief General Michael Kurilla had visited US bases and SDF partners in Syria
Bahrain arrests four for spying for Iran’s IRGC as Gulf attacks intensify
- Investigators said the suspects were found to have sent pictures and coordinates of vital locations in Bahrain to the IRGC via encrypted software
MANAMA: Bahrain has detained four citizens suspected of spying for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on Gulf states show no signs of letting up.
Bahrain’s General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science identified the four detainees as Murtadha Hussain Awal, 25; Ahmed Isa Al Haiki, 34; Sarah Abdulnabi Marhoon, 36; and Elias Salman Mirza, 22. A fifth suspect, Ali Mohammed Hassan Al Shaikh, 25, remains at large abroad.
Investigators said Murtadha Hussain and his cohorts, acting on IRGC instructions, used high-resolution equipment to photograph and record coordinates of vital locations in Bahrain, transmitting the data to the IRGC via encrypted software.
The arrests come as Iran escalates attacks across the Gulf. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry issued an advisory urging residents in Hidd, Arad, Qalali and Samaheej to stay indoors and seal windows against smoke from fires sparked by Iranian strikes. Fuel tanks at a facility in Muharraq Governorate, northeast of Manama, were among the targets. Oman’s Port of Salalah also battled blazes at fuel storage tanks following separate Iranian drone strikes.
Elsewhere in the region, two Iranian drones struck near Dubai International Airport, wounding four people, though flights continued uninterrupted. A fire broke out at a luxury apartment tower in Dubai Creek Harbour after another drone hit — extinguished by Thursday morning.
Iran also targeted commercial ships and struck what officials described as the world’s busiest international airport on Wednesday, as US and Israeli strikes continued to pound Tehran.
A war now 12 days old — and costly
The conflict began on February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes on Iran. Tehran has since retaliated by targeting Gulf states, US and Israeli assets, and critical energy infrastructure.
Iran has declared a blockade on energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for global oil and gas flows, sending commodity prices surging and rattling international markets.
The Pentagon told Congress this week that the first week of war cost the United States $11.3 billion — including $5 billion in munitions in the conflict’s opening weekend alone.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday voted to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s attacks on its Gulf neighbors. Bahrain’s UN Ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei welcomed the move.
“The international community is resolute in rejecting these Iranian attacks against sovereign countries that are threatening the stability of the peoples, especially in a region of strategic importance to global economy, energy security and global trade,” he said.
Despite the resolution, there were no immediate signs the conflict was easing.
(With AP)
