1. Russia has leaked a photo from a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Hemeimeem military base in western Syria at the end of 2017, which ridiculed Bashar al-Assad. The picture showed Bashar al-Assad standing behind Putin and a number of officers looking at the ground, while Putin speaks to his Russian cousins, which Assad considered “embarrassing and humiliating”. Syrian and Arab media and commentators said that the timing of the publication is surprising, especially since it comes about 15 months after the visit. But some social media activists, observed by The Syrian Observer, said that Putin was not happy with the arrogance of Assad’s latest speech, in which he announced victory without thanking the Russians enough. Activists believe that the leak of this picture may be a Russian warning to Syria to not make fateful decisions without Moscow’s approval. Others claim that Russia no longer clings to Assad, and may reach an agreement with Western countries forcing the head of the Syrian regime to step down from office.
2. The United Arab Emirates has agreed with pro-Assad businessmen to pump two billion dollars in Syria, including the financing of wheat shipments, fuel and foodstuffs, on the condition that Syria combat Turkish influence and not Iran, a well-informed source told Iqtissad. Last month, Abu Dhabi hosted a Syrian delegation, led by prominent businessman Mohammad Hamsho, to discuss potential cooperation in trade, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, logistics and renewable energy, state media reported. Iqtissad sources said that UAE officials had demanded that the regime confront Turkey and apply economic pressure by confiscating smuggled goods and punish traders who deal with Turkey.
3. On Friday, US-backed fighters transported civilians from the last pocket of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) dying “caliphate” in Syria, eager to press on with the battle to crush the extremists. According to Al-Araby al-Jadeed, more than four years after ISIS overran large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq, and declared a “caliphate”, they have lost all of it but a tiny patch in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border. Around 40 trucks carrying men, women and children left the enclave on Friday. A Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman, Adnan Afrin, said that more than 2,000 people were estimated to still be inside the pocket, and more trucks were expected to evacuate civilian.
4. The father of an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State in Syria has filed an emergency lawsuit after the Trump administration took the extraordinary step of declaring that she was no longer a US citizen. Asharq al-Awsat reported that Hoda Muthana, 24, says that she regrets joining the extremists and is willing to face prosecution in the United States over her incendiary propaganda on behalf of the ruthless but dwindling group. A day after President Donald Trump declared on Twitter that he had issued orders to bar her, Muthana’s father filed an emergency lawsuit asking a federal court to affirm that his daughter is a US citizen and let her return along with her toddler son, whose father, a Tunisian extremist, was killed in battle.
5. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that the United States is blocking the exit of displaced Syrians from the al-Rukban camp in the al-Tanf area through the humanitarian corridors that were opened for this purpose. “The United States is violating international humanitarian law by preventing civilians from leaving through the humanitarian corridors,” Zakharova was quoted as saying by SANA during her weekly briefing in Moscow on Friday. She noted that the majority of the camp’s residents wish to leave and return to their villages and towns that have been cleared of terrorism. Two humanitarian corridors were opened on Feb. 19, 2019, in order to evacuate the displaced Syrians besieged by US forces and their mercenary terrorists in the al-Rukban Camp.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
