The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which consist mainly of members of various Kurdish armed groups, declared on October 31 that they had halted their operation against ISIS in the Euphrates Valley because of Turkish attacks on their positions in northern Syria.
The SDF blamed Turkey for its own inability to eliminate the ISIS-held area of Hajin in the Euphrates Valley and called on the so-called international community to pressure Ankara to stop its strikes on SDF targets. The SDF also vowed to retaliate to attacks.
On October 30, October 31 and November 1, clashes between the Turkish military and units of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) were reported near the towns of Ayn Arab, also known as Kobani, and Tel Abyad. According to pro-Turkish sources, at least 4 members of the YPG and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) were killed and 6 others were injured there. The YPG claimed that its members had destroyed a Turkish military truck with an anti-tank guided missile.
As to the situation in the Hajin area, over the past few days ISIS units have achieved a notable progress in clashes with the SDF recapturing multiple positions from the US-backed group. The halt of the SDF operation there will likely contribute further to ISIS expansion in the direction of the Iraqi border.
The SDF and the US-led coalition have for a long time ignored the ISIS-held pocket around Hajin because its elimination would remove the main formal pretext allowing Washington to keep its forces in the war-torn country. Now, they bear the consequences of this approach.
33 soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) were killed in clashes with ISIS in the area of al-Safa in southeastern Syria, according to the terrorist group’s news agency Amaq. Pro-government sources have not commented on this claim yet. Should this be true, this would be the second failed SAA attempt to advance in al-Safa this week.
The key issue behind the SAA setbacks in the area is that most of its elite forces are now deployed near the Idlib de-escalation zone, which is mostly controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other al-Qaeda linked terrorist groups. So, by keeping a limited force in al-Safa, the SAA is able to deter ISIS operations, but is not able to put an end to the ISIS presence there.
Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman of the Russian Defense Ministry, revealed that Russian specialists are still training Syrian servicemembers to use S-300 air defense systems. Russia also supplied the advanced Polyana-D4M automated command and control system to the Syrian Air Defense Forces. Such systems, which serves as an upper level command post (CP) of air defense brigades and can handle up too 500 air targets, will be integrated into the air defense network created for the Syrian military.
The Kurds only have themselves to blame,they could have done the right thing by fighting alongside the SAA,but they chose as usual to collaborate with the Reich.
“The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which consist mainly of members of various Kurdish armed groups, declared on October 31 that they had halted their operation against ISIS in the Euphrates Valley because of Turkish attacks on their positions in northern Syria.
The SDF blamed Turkey for its own inability to eliminate the ISIS-held area of Hajin in the Euphrates Valley and called on the so-called international community to pressure Ankara to stop its strikes on SDF targets. The SDF also vowed to retaliate to attacks.
On October 30, October 31 and November 1, clashes between the Turkish military and units of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) were reported near the towns of Ayn Arab, also known as Kobani, and Tel Abyad. According to pro-Turkish sources, at least 4 members of the YPG and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) were killed and 6 others were injured there. The YPG claimed that its members had destroyed a Turkish military truck with an anti-tank guided missile.”
Sounds like a couple of platoon level skirmishes stopped a whole sdf offensive. Imagine the panic had those been company level battles. :-D
A Southfront article equally deservingly of reposting here.
Billions Of Euro ‘Disappeared’ From Frozen Accounts Of Muammar Gaddafi. They Were Used To Finance War In Libya
https://southfront.org/billions-of-euro-disappeared-from-frozen-accounts-of-muammar-gaddafi-they-were-used-to-finance-war-in-libya/
“The UN is investigating the alleged embezzlement of up to €5 billion that disappeared from accounts owned by Muammar Gaddafi, the former Libyan leader, according to Belgian MP Georges Gilkinet.
“UN documents confirm that Belgium failed to comply with a UN resolution on freezing Libyan assets,” he told the Belgian news network RTBF.
He said that so far, he had received fragmented information from Belgian authorities and that is vital “to clarify the situation, which may lead to a big scandal, because hundreds of millions of euros were sent to unknown individuals in Libya who were not known.”
RTBF also cited an anonymous source claiming that since 2013 the missing assets from the accounts have allegedly been used to “finance a civil war which led to a major migration crisis.”
In Belgium, the probe which is headed by investigator Michel Claise comes amid reports that a portion of Gaddafi’s assets could be sent to the Libyan Investment Authority, a sovereign fund.
Furthermore, a special UN report also suggested that the money was received by the Libyan Investment Authority. As reported by Sputnik, its complex structure makes it almost impossible to find out what these funds were allocated for.
“The sum could have been sent to armed groups in Libya, something that further destabilized the region,” according to the report.
This comes after in March 2018, local media reported that around €10 billion of Libyan government funds, which were frozen as part of the sanctions against Gaddafi’s inner circle had vanished from a Belgian bank between 2013 and 2017.
Back in November 2013, four Euroclear Bank accounts belonging to the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) and its subsidiary Libyan Foreign Investment Company (LFICO) in Bahrain and Luxembourg, contained some €16.1bn in frozen assets. However, when authorities tried to seize the funds in 2017, it turned out there was only just over €5bn left in those accounts, an investigation by Le Vif weekly revealed.
“There remains a little less than 5 billion euros on the four accounts opened at Euroclear Bank SA,” Denis Goeman, a spokesman from Brussels’ prosecutor’s office told the Belgian publication. Michel Claise was initially the first to discovery that the funds were missing.
He was in charge of the probe into alleged money laundering by Gaddafi’s inner circle, requested the seizure of the frozen Libyan funds.
After the death of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the UN ruled that his assets should be frozen in four Belgian banks. However, it turned out later that interests and dividends from these assets have never been blocked.
Belgium’s finance ministry insisted that the interest payments were legal, Le Vif’s investigation in March is certain that authorities must answer several crucial questions, the biggest one being: Where did the €10 billion vanish to?
The probe by the UN and Michel Claise into the suspected illegal disbursement of interests and dividends on frozen accounts comes after months of denial from Foreign Minister Didier Reynders and silence from the rest of the cabinet. There has been little progress since the discovery of the initial missing €10 billion.
Ever since the ousting and death of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has been in political turmoil, showing no signs of ending over the last 7 years.
Eastern Libya is governed by the parliament, backed by the Libyan National Army (LNA) and located in Tobruk. Whereas, Western Libya is led by the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj in Tripoli.
Libya’s population is to vote in general elections on December 10th.”
Now that the new Iraqi govt has reversed the decision of former prime minister Abadi, and allowed the PMU Resistance movement back to the East Syrian Border, things are looking bad for the last fragment of NATZO-occupied territory in Syria. The AZC plan for an Israeli-controlled oil company called Eretz Kurdistan is being rolled up from the East, according to this post from Alexandar in today’s SyrPer:
“Hajine.
This withdrawal of the Kurdish fighters leaves there only fighters from tribes, and opens the door for a joint offensive of the SAA and the PMU Iraqis from the Iraqi border towards Hajin. Which would allow to eradicate Daesh in this zone and would allow SAA control of the border with Iraq over the east shore of the Euphrates.
The units SSA and PMU being subject to any airstrike by the U$-led Coalition would be seen as a provocation by the new Iraqi government.
If done all south east of Syria along Euphrat will be liberated from Al Qaim to Der Ez Zor, and probably without firing a shot.
Kurds will never come back. A very nice forward line for ” Reconquista ” ! “