Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani, who was appointed by the country’s new administration, arrived in Qatar on Sunday to meet with senior Qatari officials, a Qatari official told Reuters.
The Syrian news agency “SANA” said, “The Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Asaad Al-Shaibani, arrives in the Qatari capital, Doha, accompanied by the Minister of Defense, Murhaf Abu Qasra, and the Head of General Intelligence, Anas Khattab, on the first official visit to discuss prospects for cooperation and coordination between the two countries.” Among those he will meet is the Minister of State at the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Al-Khulaifi.
This is the second foreign visit made by Syrian Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani in less than a month since the overthrow of the Syrian regime by armed opposition groups on December 8.
The first Saudi land bridge convoys enter Syria
In a related context, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center announced on Sunday the entry of the first Saudi land bridge convoys into Syria through the Jordanian Jaber border crossing, as part of the Saudi aid campaign to Syria.
Earlier, the center announced the operation of a land bridge to Jordanian territory towards Syria, indicating that it would transport heavy medical equipment.
Meanwhile, the sixth Saudi relief plane arrived a short while ago at Damascus airport, as part of an air bridge operated by the King Salman Relief Center.
The plane carries food, medical and shelter aid, to contribute to alleviating the effects of the difficult conditions that the Syrian people are currently going through.
100 killed in battles between the SDF and pro-Turkish factions in northern Syria
More than 100 people were killed within two days until dawn on Sunday, in the ongoing clashes between pro-Turkey factions and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the countryside of Manbij, northern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the number of deaths on both sides as of Sunday dawn reached “101, distributed as follows: 85 from the factions loyal to Turkey, and 16 from the Syrian Democratic Forces and its affiliated military formations.”
The source explained that “the clashes are concentrated in the southern and southeastern countryside of Manbij.” For its part, the Syrian Democratic Forces announced on Saturday that they had foiled “all attacks by the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries, supported by military aircraft and the Turkish march, on the areas east and south of Manbij and north of the Tishreen Dam.”
In parallel with the surprise attack launched by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and factions loyal to it on November 27 from its stronghold in northwestern Syria, which allowed it to overthrow the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, factions loyal to Ankara launched an attack against the Kurdish forces, during which they seized the Tal Rifaat region and the city of Manbij from the Kurds. Since then, clashes between the two parties have continued in the countryside of the city of Manbij, despite a declared truce between the two parties.
Last updated: January 5, 2025 – 17:55
Suggest a correction