1. At least five civilians were killed and scores were injured in a car bombing in north-western Syria on Saturday, according to the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets). The bombing rocked the center of the opposition-held city of Idleb, heavily damaging houses and cars, according to White Helmets Director in Idleb Mustafa Haj Youssef. He said that the injured were rushed to nearby hospitals in the area. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. [Zaman Al Wasl]
2. At least 15 people, including members of a former Al-Qaeda group, were killed on Friday in a series of attacks throughout the northern province, a local reporter said. Four members from Tahrir al-Sham were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the town of al-Dana, a bastion for the group. Four fighters, also from Tahrir al-Sham, were killed when unknown assailants opened fire on their vehicle near the town of Maaret Misrin. Seven more people were killed in different security incidents in Idleb. [Zaman Al Wasl]
3. Residents in Syria’s northeastern Hassakeh province have protested against the forced arming of the city’s youth by the Kurdish YPG militia. Locals in Hassakeh gathered in the city center to protest against the Kurdish YPG group, which controls the city. YPG captured some of the demonstrators and dispersed the protest; it also closed some of the entry and exit points of the city center. [Anadolu Agency]
4. The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry has handed a list containing the names of the members of the committee tasked with discussing the current constitution to the Russian and Iranian ambassadors in Damascus. An official source at the Ministry said in a statement to SANA that the “Foreign and Expatriates Ministry of the Syrian Arab Republic has handed the ambassadors of the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus respectively a list of the members’ names of the committee tasked with discussing the current constitution who have the support of the Syrian government.” [SANA]
5. The US government says it will take “firm and appropriate measures” to protect a ceasefire in southern Syria if President Assad’s forces attack rebels there. In a statement released on Friday, the State Department said it was concerned by reports that Assad’s forces were preparing for an operation near the Jordanian and Israeli borders. The State Department warned the Syrian government against “any actions that risked broadening the conflict”. [The State Department]
6. Assad’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Walid Mouallem is reportedly in a critical conditions in the ICU following a heart attack he had two weeks ago. Groups on Syrian social media pages said that the attack has put Mouallem in a coma. Regime officials are remaining discreet about Mouallem’s medical situation. His last appearance was in April, when he received the adviser of the Iranian Supreme Leader for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati. [Al-Souria Net]
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
