Search

Syria Today – US Strikes; Hungary Along Russia & Syria at Security Summit; EU Countries Discuss Voluntary Return of Refugees

Your daily brief of the English-speaking press on Syria.
Syria Today – US Strikes; Hungary Along Russia & Syria at Security Summit; EU Countries Discuss Voluntary Return of Refugees

In Syria’s ongoing fight against ISIS, U.S. airstrikes targeted key sites, killing 35 militants and aiming to disrupt the group’s operational capabilities. Meanwhile, a new investigation has exposed severe human rights abuses under Assad’s regime, revealing systematic detentions and executions of minors under a counterterrorism law. In regional geopolitics, Kurdish forces have urged diplomatic solutions amid intensifying Turkish strikes in northeastern Syria. Additionally, a DW analysis delves into Assad’s precarious position between Iran and Israel as both countries navigate strategic tensions through Syria. Humanitarian concerns also remain pressing, with Care.com reporting that severe malnutrition and healthcare shortages continue to threaten Syrian families. In the EU, a controversial discussion is emerging around the voluntary return of Syrian refugees despite unsafe conditions in their homeland, raising questions about Syria’s readiness for repatriation.

US airstrikes target multiple sites in Syria, killing up to 35 Islamic State militants

The U.S. military has struck a number of Islamic State group camps in Syria this week, killing as many as 35 militants, U.S. Central Command said Wednesday, according to AP.

The airstrikes in the desert of central Syria were done Monday evening and targeted multiple locations and senior leaders of the group. The attacks came on the heels of a number of joint operations with Iraqi forces that targeted IS militants in Iraq.

Pentagon officials have said that the Islamic State group remains a threat in the region, but it is no longer as powerful as it was 10 years ago when the militants swept across Iraq and Syria, taking control of large swaths of the two countries.

U.S. Central Command said the latest strikes in Syria will disrupt the group’s ability to plan, organize and conduct attacks against civilians and U.S. and allied forces in the region. It said there were no indications of civilian casualties in the strikes.

Backlash builds over Hungary joining Russia, Syria and Belarus at security summit

Criticism grew late Tuesday over Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó’s trip to Minsk to participate in a security forum with senior officials from Russia, Belarus and Syria, Politico reported.

Current and former senior officials lambasted Hungary — a member of the NATO military alliance — over its increasingly cozy relationship with Russia as it wages war on Ukraine.

“The Hungarian government never wastes an opportunity to shame us,” said Nathalie Loiseau, a French MEP from the Renew Europe group who sits on the Parliament’s foreign affairs committee.

“In French, we say ‘when you cross boundaries, there are no limits,’” said Camille Grand, a former NATO assistant secretary-general. “Extremely troubling,” he added.

Marko Mihkelson, chairman of the Estonian Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, echoed their frustration, asking, “How long more?”

Szijjártó, the top diplomat in Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government, is set to speak on October 31 at the Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security, a summit seen by Russia and its allies as a rival to the Munich Security Conference.

Syria regime detained children until 18 before executing them under ‘terrorism’ law, investigation reveals

The Syrian regime under President Bashar Al-Assad has been detaining children until they reach the age of 18, after which it then executes them, a new investigation has revealed, according to Middle East Monitor. 

According to an investigative report by the Syrian Investigative Journalism Unit (SIRAJ), since the outbreak of protests and the Syrian resolution in 2011, Syrian authorities have arrested and detained minors without trial until they reach the legal age of execution – 18 years old – at which point they then transferred them to military field courts to be sentenced to death.

A team of investigative journalists and researchers reportedly used inside sources, exclusive interviews with victims’ families, as well as open sources such as social media posts and groups, to obtain a list which included the names of 25 Syrian children who were disappeared as minors, later referred to military field courts, and received death sentences.

Through those sources, the investigative team confirmed that all the children in that list were forcibly disappeared by Syrian regime forces and security services. Those children were also subjected to the confiscation of movable and immovable assets, despite the fact that they were minors at the time of their arrests.

Assad regime arrests disappears 200 Syria civilians returning from opposition areas

Kurdish leader in Syria calls for diplomatic solutions to conflict with Turkey

The leader of the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northeast Syria in an interview with The Associated Press called for international mediators to continue pushing for diplomatic solutions to the complex web of conflicts in the Middle Eastern country, including the escalating Turkish bombardment of Kurdish areas, ABC News reported.

Turkey has intensified its airstrikes in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria following an Oct. 23 attack on a defense company in Ankara that killed five people and wounded more than 20. Turkish airstrikes targeted dozens of sites believed to be linked to or affiliated with the Kurdistan’s Workers’ Party (PKK), which claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mazloum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said that the attack in Ankara served as an excuse for a long-planned Turkish operation in Syria.

“The Turks claim that these attacks are a response to the recent activity in Ankara. But that is not the reason, because the type and continuity of the attacks now entering their sixth day show that this is not a mere response. The Ankara incident was just an excuse,” Abdi told the AP in an interview Monday evening.

“When we get sick, we just suffer through it”

CARE published a report highlighting the escalating humanitarian crisis in Syria, where severe malnutrition, lack of healthcare, and chronic underfunding threaten the lives of countless families.

In northwest Syria, nine out of ten children are malnourished, with malnutrition rates soaring to critical levels since 2019. Nearly 20% of children are now stunted due to long-term malnutrition, and half of the women and children in northern Aleppo suffer from anemia. In response, CARE, in partnership with the Shafak Organization and funded by the European Union, launched a cash assistance program in April 2024 to support families like Sama’s, a mother of three, who now relies on this $65 monthly support to provide essential food and medicine. “The aid has changed our lives,” Sama shared, though she fears for winter, lacking resources for heating and warm clothing.

Meanwhile, in northeast Syria, the crisis takes a different form, as healthcare access is rapidly diminishing. Rana, a mother of six living in a school-turned-shelter, described her family’s struggle without proper medical services. “When we get sick, we just suffer through it,” she explained, with healthcare facilities barely operational and unable to handle the growing needs.

CARE’s report underscores the urgency of increased funding, with the Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria funded at only 12.7% of its 2024 requirements. Without greater international support, critical services like healthcare and food aid will continue to fall short, leaving families in dire conditions. CARE Türkiye’s Country Director, Rishana Haniffa, emphasized the need for long-term funding and cross-border access to help rebuild Syrian communities and reduce their dependence on aid.

Through programs like cash assistance and healthcare initiatives, CARE is working to provide immediate relief, but the report calls for a renewed commitment from the global community to meet Syria’s urgent humanitarian needs.

Syria’s dictator caught between Iran and Israel

In deep political analysis in DW, Cathrin Schaer explores how Syrian dictator Bashar Assad is caught between Iran and Israel amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

While Assad has maintained a strategic silence on the current Israel-Iran conflict, Israel’s recent airstrikes on Iranian targets via Syrian airspace have intensified pressures on him. DW reports that Assad’s historical alliance with Iran dates back to his father’s era, positioning Syria as a crucial link for Iranian support to Hezbollah. However, with Israel aggressively targeting Syrian-Lebanese border routes used for arms transfers, Assad faces difficult choices.

Middle East expert Eva Koulouriotis suggests that Assad is attempting to balance competing pressures, withdrawing troops near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to avoid conflict with Israel, while redeploying forces to allow Hezbollah greater freedom to operate in Lebanon. Assad’s careful stance reflects a focus on self-preservation, says Haid Haid from Chatham House, as any direct involvement could provoke severe Israeli retaliation, potentially weakening his hold on power in Syria’s fragmented landscape.

Iran, however, is pushing for open supply routes to support Hezbollah, even as it refrains from activating Golan forces. As economic hardships escalate for ordinary Syrians due to disrupted supply lines and rising prices, DW’s analysis suggests that Assad’s loyalty to Iran remains steadfast, with his alliances rooted in a pragmatic balance between Iran’s demands and Israel’s red lines.

EU countries discuss voluntary return of Syrian refugees, despite unsafe conditions

European Union members discussed on Wednesday ways to increase the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to the war-torn country, an idea that has gained traction in recent months but that remains controversial.

The talks among ambassadors were promoted by Hungary, the country currently chairing the EU Council’s presidency, and were based on a document presented by the European Commission, several diplomats said.

The document stressed the role played by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in supporting the return of Syrian refugees, which the EU is looking to strengthen.

These returns would take place on a strictly voluntary basis. The bloc cannot forcibly deport Syrians because they are almost always granted asylum. Additionally, the principle of non-refoulement forbids authorities from deporting migrants to nations where they could face persecution, torture or any other form of ill-treatment.

Ambassadors also touched on the lack of diplomatic relations with the autocratic regime of Bashar al-Assad, who has publicly called on his citizens to return, and the fraught situation in the Middle East, where hostilities between Israel and Lebanon have triggered the movement of tens of thousands into Syria.

The start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011 prompted millions to flee their homes and seek international protection in nearby countries, with many crossing into Europe.

The UNCHR estimates that European countries host over one million Syrian asylum seekers and refugees, with 59% of them based in Germany alone. Sweden, Austria, Greece, the Netherlands and France also host significant populations.

Helpful keywords