US, Russia Deploy Military Reinforcements to Northeastern Syria

The US-led Global Coalition against ISIS increased its military points and forces deployed east of the Euphrates for the third consecutive day, including in al-Hasakeh and the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor.

The third military convoy of the Global Coalition arrived from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, through the Semalka border crossing, and headed towards its military points around Hasakeh.

The convoy consisted of 60 vehicles and trucks loaded with military and logistical equipment. A similar convoy of 50 vehicles arrived two days ago, and another entered the Coalition’s bases in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor on Wednesday carrying 100 large freight cars.

Meanwhile, Russian military and logistical equipment arrived at Qamishli airport, in northeastern Syria.

Residents of the region reported that 26 large Russian trucks carrying ammunition, weapons and logistical materials arrived at the base in Qamishli airport, coming from al-Tabqah in the Raqqa countryside, via the international highway.

The convoy toured the northern and western countryside of Hasakeh before reaching their destination, as Russian and US aircrafts hovered over the region.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Democratic Council warned of Turkish threats against regions east of the Euphrates accompanied by the withdrawal of its forces from the Hama countryside in central Syria.

Member of the council, Hikmat Habib, welcomed the withdrawal of the Turkish army from some points in Idlib, saying it was a “positive step.”

However, the council fears that Russia might strike a deal with Turkey at the expense of other regions in northern and eastern Syria.

Meanwhile, Vice President of the US Commission for International Religious Freedom, Nadine Maenza, submitted her detailed report to the US administration after a three-day visit to al-Qamishli.

Maenza said the commission documented Turkish violations such as murder, rape, forced religious conversion, and kidnapping, as well as destruction of religious sites and demographic change.

She added that the Turkish army deliberately brought displaced citizens from other areas in Syria to settle them in Qamishli, warning that all these practices amount to “mass genocide.”

The commission is very concerned about the areas occupied by Turkey, according to Maenza, who stressed: “Women are kidnapped every day. Moreover, the Yazidi shrines are destroyed. There are many reasons that the International Commission should take into consideration where these atrocities occur to religious minorities in the occupied areas.”

The goal is to make the international community consider the ignored atrocities committed against minorities, and force Turkey to withdraw from Syria, she stressed.

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