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☆ Drones have ushered in a brutal new phase of Syria's civil war
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewDrones are increasingly shaping warfare in the Syrian civil war that entered its 14th year in March. Kasim Rammah/Getty ImagesHowever, unlike drones, Syrian Air Force aircraft require significant support from Russia. Advertisement"The Russians might not want to spend any more jet fuel and Soviet-designed bombs on Assad just to help him blow up hospitals and marketplaces in Idlib," Lund said. Advertisement"It seems well within the means of Tahrir al-Sham, the dominant jihadi militia in Idlib, to manufacture and use kamikaze drones," Lund said. Even though many of these opposition drones are often described as crude, low-tech, and DIY, Lund also does not rule out the possibility that Syrian opposition groups have received state backing for some attacks.

Persons: —, Bashar al, Assad, Freddy Khoueiry, RANE, Khoueiry, Aron Lund, Lund, Kasim Rammah, Moscow's, they're, RANE's Organizations: Service, Business, Century International, Syrian Air Force, embroilment, Scientific Studies, Research Center, Ministry of Defense, Hezbollah, Russia Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Damascus, Hayat Tahrir, Idlib, Homs, East, North Africa, Syria, Aleppo, Soviet, Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, Hmeimim, Latakia, Tahrir, Turkey

☆ Syria says Israel strike puts Damascus airport out of service
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMMAN, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Israeli air strikes put Damascus airport out of service on Sunday, forcing incoming flights to be diverted elsewhere, the Syrian army and a pro-government newspaper said. Israel has for years carried out strikes against what it has described as Iranian-linked targets in Syria, including against Aleppo and Damascus airports. The Syrian army said in a statement its air defences intercepted Israeli missiles flying from the Golan Heights. It said the Israeli strikes, which also targeted outposts in the Damascus countryside, led only to material losses but did not elaborate on the extent of damage to the country's biggest civilian airport.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Flights scheduled to arrive in Damascus were being diverted to Latakia and Aleppo, Al Watan newspaper said.

Persons: Kinda, Adam Makary, Suleiman al Khalidi, Giles Elgood, Jan Harvey, Nick Macfie Organizations: Thomson Locations: AMMAN, Damascus, Israel, Syria, Aleppo, Latakia, Al

☆ Hamas militants were high on 'poor man's cocaine' during the October 7 terrorist attacks, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Hamas militants were high on Captagon pills during the October 7 terrorist attacks, reports say. AdvertisementAdvertisementCaptagon pills fueled Hamas militants during the October 7 terrorist attacks, Israel's Channel 12 News reported. The drug, which is also known as "poor man's cocaine," is a highly addictive, synthetic stimulant that is widely consumed across the Middle East. On board, authorities discovered more than $100 million worth of cannabis and Captagon pills that had been hidden among sawdust, coffee, and spices. In 2021, data on seizures in the region valued the Captagon trade at $5.7 billion, per the FDD.

Persons: —, Bashar Assad's, Natalie Ecanow, Assad, Ecanow, captagon, David Adesnik, Bashar Assad, SANA, Maher Al Organizations: Militant, Service, IDF, West Bank, The, United, Hezbollah, Islamic State, American Chemical Society, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Arab, Research, Fourth Division Locations: Gaza, Israel, West Germany, Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Jordan, Latakia, Libya, Crete, Salerno, Naples, Italy, Syria's

☆ Syria Suspends Operations at Two Airports, Blaming Israeli Airstrikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Syria said Israeli airstrikes have put the international airports at Aleppo and Damascus out of action, damaging runways at both sites and forcing all scheduled flights to be diverted to the airport at Latakia.

Locations: Syria, Aleppo, Damascus, Latakia

☆ Israeli attack on Syrian Aleppo airport puts it out of service
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Israel has launched an air strike against Syria's Aleppo Airport late on Saturday that put it out of service, the Syrian defence ministry said. "The Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting Aleppo International Airport, which led to material damage to the airport and it being out of service," the ministry added. The airport just got to service on Saturday after simultaneous missile attacks by Israeli forces on the airports in Syria's capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo had damaged the runways and put both hubs out of service on Thursday. read moreThe Damascus airport is still out of service. Reporting by Enas Alashray and Omar Abdel-Razek; Editing by Franklin PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Enas Alashray, Omar Abdel, Franklin Paul Organizations: Franklin Paul Our, Thomson Locations: CAIRO, Israel, Latakia, Aleppo, Syria's, Damascus, Syria

☆ Syria mourns scores killed in drone attack on military academy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Coffins carrying the bodies of some of the people who were killed on Thursday in drone attack on a military academy, lie on the ground outside a military hospital during the funeral in Homs, Syria October 6, 2023. Several weaponised drones hit the Homs Military Academy's courtyard where families were gathered with the new officers on Thursday, minutes after defence minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas had left. On Friday morning, coffins carrying victims and draped in the Syrian flag were sent out from the Homs Military Hospital. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the Syrian conflict, put the toll at above 120. Russia has helped in efforts to strengthen the Syrian military.

Persons: Firas, Ali Mahmoud Abbas, Abbas, Bashar al, Assad, Maya Gebeily, Tom Perry, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Homs Military Hospital, Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, Observatory, Authorities, Thomson Locations: Homs, Syria, Idlib, Aleppo, Qardaha, Latakia, Russia, Iran, Tehran

☆ Sudan: Ukraine's special services 'likely' behind strikes on Wagner-backed forces, a Ukrainian military source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Victoria Butenko Nima Elbagir Gianluca Mezzofiore Tamara Qiblawi Allegra Goodwin Andrew Carey Pallabi Munsi Mahamat Tahir Zene Barbara Arvanitidis Alex Platt Lauren Kent | Victoria Butenko | Nima Elbagir | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Covert strikes by Ukraine in Sudan would mark a dramatic and provocative expansion of Kyiv’s theater of war against Moscow. Aside from a string of Ukrainian drone attacks that hit deep inside Russian territory, Ukraine’s ongoing counter-offensive has been focused on the country’s occupied east and south. A high-level Sudanese military source said he had “no knowledge of a Ukrainian operation in Sudan” and did not believe it was true. What appears to be a DJI MAVIC 3 drone can be seen in the videos filming the drone strikes. Six drone strikes targeted pickup trucks driving on Shambat bridge.

Persons: Wagner, Sudan ”, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo –, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Wim Zwijnenburg, ” Zwijnenburg, Zwijnenburg, Hemedti, Gen, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Wagner’s, General Khalifa, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin’s, Prigozhin, Yunus, Bek Yevkurov, Andrey Averyanov, Dmytro Kuleba, ” Kuleba Organizations: Chad CNN, CNN, Sudanese, Kyiv, Rapid Support Forces, Ukrainian, Central African, PAX, AK, CAR, PMC Wagner, Reuters Analysts, Kremlin, Agence France, Presse Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, N'Djamena, Chad, Ukrainian, Sudan’s, Russian, Sudan, Moscow, Omdurman, Khartoum, balaclava, British, al, Zurug, Russia, Africa, Mali, Central African Republic, Libya, Ombada, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Latakia, Bangui, “, Syria, Burkina Faso, St . Petersburg, Eritrea

It left us with nothing," Zuhaira told Reuters. The speed of the wind was a factor in the excessive spread of the fires," Qatna told Reuters during a tour of the area. [1/5]A firefighter attempts to extinguish a wildfire, in the northern countryside of Latakia, Syria July 29, 2023. Syria has been severely impacted climate change in recent years, including rising temperatures and erratic rainfall which have led to forest fires and poor harvests. "Syrians were already especially vulnerable because of the impacts of more than 12 years of conflict, which makes it even harder for them to deal with the impacts of climate change," Zakkout told Reuters.

Persons: Izzadin Zuhaira, I've, Zuhaira, Mohammad Hassaan Qatna, Qatna, Suhair Zakkout, Zakkout, Firas Makdesi, Maya Gebeily, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Reuters, Firefighters, REUTERS, International Committee, Thomson Locations: Syria, Latakia, Homs, Hama, Damascus, Beirut

"Given the events, their relationship with the Syrian defence ministry is now over." Mali authorities did not respond to a request for comment on the flights and whether any Wagner fighters had been redeployed from Syria to Mali. Wagner fighters secured Syrian oilfields and Western officials say Wagner is linked to Evro Polis, a company that profits from those assets. Reuters was unable to determine the fate of those commercial interests in the wake of the Russian defence ministry's moves against Wagner in Syria and Russia. In the wake of the Wagner uprising, Syria's leadership quickly restated publicly the importance of its military alliance with Russia.

Persons: Wagner, Nawar Shaban, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Bashar al, Assad, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Russian Wagner, Evro Polis, Asmaa al, Laila Bassam, Tom Perry, Ed McAllister, Joanna Plucinska, Mike Collett, White, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Omran Center, Strategic Studies, Syrian Republican Guard, Republican Guard, Reuters, Russian Reconciliation Center, Moscow State University, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Moscow, Syria, Russian, Russia, Istanbul, Damascus, Ukraine, Belarus, Syrian, Syria's, Homs, Hmeimim, Latakia, Bamako, West African, Mali, Evro Polis, Libya, elswhere, Africa, Western, U.S, Deir, Beirut, London

☆ Russian jets said to step up strikes on Syrian rebel enclave
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

White Helmets/Handout via REUTERSAMMAN, June 25 (Reuters) - Russian jets bombed villages and towns near the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib on Sunday, killing at least nine civilians and wounding dozens in a major flare-up of violence in the country's last opposition stronghold, witnesses and rescuers said. No immediate comment was available from Russia or its allies in the Syrian army, whose artillery pounded rebel areas in the countryside west of Aleppo. During past outbreaks of fighting, Damascus and Russia have said they only target insurgent groups and deny indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Damascus has in recent rounds of Russian-brokered talks with Ankara demanded that Turkey withdraw a formidable military presence in the last foothold of the Syrian rebellion. Turkish troops based in the region have held back Russia and Damascus from a final assault to wrest back control of the enclave.

Persons: Sham, jihadists, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Russian Sukhoi, Ankara, Thomson Locations: Russian, Jisr, Shughour, Syria, REUTERS AMMAN, Syrian, Idlib, Jabal al, Russia, Turkey, Aleppo, Damascus, Turkish, Hayat, Qardaha, Latakia, Moscow

☆ Sudan: Testimonies detail atrocities by Wagner-backed militia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Nima Elbagir Tamara Qiblawi Barbara Arvanitidis Gianluca Mezzofiore Pallabi Munsi Ingrid Formanek Saskya Vandoorne | Nima Elbagir | Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

“I sat next to her in the car,” said Butheina Nourin, describing her perilous escape from Sudan’s Darfur region alongside the dead woman. A months-long CNN investigation uncovered an increase in Wagner supplies to the RSF that began in the run-up to Sudan’s conflict. Reports of atrocities committed by RSF fighters and their allied militias, clearly identified by their uniforms, are consistent across dozens of testimonies. Then-President Bashir was charged by the International Criminal Court in 2010 with crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in relation to the Darfur conflict. “Nobody in Sudan has more blood on their hands than Hemedti,” said Sudan analyst Eric Reeves.

Persons: wailed, “, ”, Butheina Nourin, Fatima, I, Nourin, Zohra Bensemra, Abdul Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Wagner, General Burhan, entrenching, –, Omar al, Bashir, Hemedti, Sergey Lavrov, Hussein Haran, ” Haran, Khamis Abbakar, Kholood Khair, ” Khair, Gen, Mahmoud Hjaj, Hala, SIHA, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalos, Hussein Malla, ” “, Gueipeur Denis Sassou, Eric Reeves, Al Jazeera, Karib, “ It’s, RSF –, Wagner –, Yeveny Prigozhin, Sudan ”, Hussein Organizations: CNN, ” Fighters, Sudanese, Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Central African, Russian, Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, UN, Strategic Initiative, Women, International Criminal Court, ICC, United Arab, United Nations, SIHA, Getty, European, US State Department, State Department Locations: Chad, Sudan, Sudan’s Darfur, Darfur, Borota, Latakia, Libya, Bangui, Central African Republic, Moscow, Ukraine, Khartoum, el, Geneina, Horn of Africa, State, Sudan’s, Yemen, Saudi, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Daman, AFP, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Europe, EU, ”, Africa

☆ Moscow's 'special' forces: An inside look at how Russia's famed Spetsnaz really operate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Mark Galeotti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +24 min

Russia's Spetsnaz forces are often depicted as a kind of Russian super troops. Osprey PublishingMost countries' special forces emphasize physical fitness, determination and aggression. Special people, for special tasksMembers of the Russian military's 16th Separate Special Purpose Brigade during an exercise in 2018. Even so, being better than most of the Soviet army's miserable and recalcitrant conscript forces did not make most of them truly special, special forces. The special operations commandMembers of Russian's 22nd Separate Guards Special Purpose Brigade during an exercise in November 2017.

☆ Opinion: How Putin’s ‘cat’s paw’ sunk into Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

International sanctions complicated Russia’s finances, so the Kremlin used the Wagner Group to get its hands on Sudan’s gold mines. It wasn’t the first time Wagner, Putin’s cat’s paw, had moved deep into mineral-rich Africa. It wanted one on the Mediterranean, which was one of the reasons it intervened – with a strong Wagner Group presence – in the Syrian civil war. But his credibility is in tatters (asked about Wagner’s massacres in Mali a few years ago, he answered “the Wagner Group does not exist”). And all for the sake of two men’s quest for power, aided by the machinations of the Kremlin and the maneuvers of its Wagner Group.

☆ Exclusive: Evidence emerges of Russia’s Wagner arming militia leader battling Sudan’s army
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Nima Elbagir Gianluca Mezzofiore Tamara Qiblawi Barbara Arvanitidis | Nima Elbagir | Gianluca Mezzofiore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —The Russian mercenary group Wagner has been supplying Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with missiles to aid their fight against the country’s army, Sudanese and regional diplomatic sources have told CNN. Haftar has backed the RSF, sources say, although he denies taking sides. That day, Russia airdropped surface-to-air missiles to Dagalo’s militia positions in northwest Sudan, according to regional and Sudanese sources. For years, Dagalo has been a key beneficiary from Russian involvement in Sudan, as the primary recipient of Moscow’s weapons and training. Egypt has a long-standing relationship with Burhan and has privately backed him in the power struggle, according to Sudanese and regional diplomatic sources.

Summary Sources: Military equipment disguised as relief suppliesSyria is a conflict zone for Israel and IranIsrael mounts swift campaign against IraniansAMMAN, April 12 (Reuters) - Iran has used earthquake relief flights to bring weapons and military equipment into its strategic ally Syria, nine Syrian, Iranian, Israeli and Western sources said. The sources told Reuters that the goal was to buttress Iran's defences against Israel in Syria and to strengthen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The supplies included advanced communications equipment and radar batteries and spare parts required for a planned upgrade of Syria's Iran-provided air defence system in its civil war, said the sources, two regional sources and a Western intelligence source said. Regional sources told Reuters that Israel quickly became aware of the flow of weapons into Syria and mounted an aggressive campaign to counter it. A radar station used for drones was also hit on April 3, the regional source added, corroborating what two Western intelligence sources had told Reuters.

☆ U.S. sanctions Syrian leader Assad's cousins, others over drug trade -Treasury
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It said the trade in captagon was estimated to be a billion-dollar enterprise and the sanctions highlight the role of Lebanese drug traffickers and the Assad family dominance of captagon trafficking, which helped fund the Syrian government. Assad's government denies involvement in drug-making and smuggling and says it is stepping up its campaign to curb the lucrative trade. Also sanctioned were Khalid Qaddour, who the Treasury said was a Syrian businessman and close associate of Bashar al-Assad's brother, the head of the army's Fourth Division. Hassan Daqqou was sentenced in 2021 to seven years in prison in Lebanon on charges of captagon trafficking, according to the same source. Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Daphne Psaledakis and Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Israeli strike hits near Aleppo airport - Syrian officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AMMAN March 22 (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike hit near Syria's Aleppo airport early Wednesday, causing "material damage" and shutting down operations there, Syrian officials said, while regional intelligence sources said the attack hit an Iranian arms depot. In the third attack on Aleppo airport in six months, Israel launched "a number of missiles from the Mediterranean Sea, west of the coastal city of Latakia, at 3:55 a.m.", the Syrian defence ministry said in a statement on state media. Two regional intelligence sources said the strike hit an underground munitions depot linked to the nearby Nairab military airport, where missile systems delivered on several Iranian military planes had been stored. Nairab military airport has been used regularly for Iranian arms deliveries and the movement of troops, the intelligence sources said. An Israeli strike on March 7 that knocked Aleppo airport out of service blew up an Iranian arms cargo shipment hours after it was delivered by a plane that Damascus said was carrying aid, the Western intelligence sources say.

The airport was being used to deliver aid to victims of last month's earthquake that killed thousands. U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that, while he could not "speak to attribution" for Tuesday's air strike, Washington would worry about any lengthy halt to the flow of humanitarian aid. He said all U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flights from Aleppo had been suspended, adding that those flights transport aid workers and life-saving supplies and must resume without delay. The Israeli military declined to comment on the Syrian state media accusation that it was behind the air strike. Foreign donors including the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Algeria have flown aid into Aleppo airport since the Feb. 6 earthquake, Syrian state media has reported.

☆ Syria says Israeli strike puts Aleppo airport out of service
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIRUT, March 7 (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike knocked Aleppo airport out of service on Tuesday and forced the Syrian authorities to reroute flights carrying aid for those affected by last month's earthquake, Syrian state media reported. The attack caused "material damage" to the airport, SANA cited the source as saying, without mentioning any casualties. Foreign donors including the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Algeria have flown aid into Aleppo airport since the Feb. 6 earthquake, Syrian state media has reported. The attack overnight was Israel's third air strike in Syria this year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. In January, the Syrian army said an Israeli missile attack briefly put Damascus airport out of service.

☆ First aid convoy bound for NW Syria from Turkey nears border -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Rescuers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Latakia, Syria February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File PhotoFeb 9 (Reuters) - The first convoy of humanitarian assistance for people in northwest Syria since Monday's devastating earthquake is en route to the southern Turkish border with the hope of crossing on Thursday, two aid sources told Reuters. A Turkish official said the Bab al-Hawa border crossing was open for humanitarian aid and authorities will open a few more crossings after two days if security is sound. The United Nations has described access to the opposition-controlled area of Syria through Bab al-Hawa as a "lifeline" for some 4 million people who it says rely on humanitarian assistance. U.N. aid from Turkey served 2.7 million people in northwest Syria per month last year compared with 43,500 people a month who received aid from routes within Syria since August 2021.

☆ Earthquake leaves Syrians across frontlines with shared catastrophe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

That’s humanity," said Suleiman, who was displaced to Idlib from Deir al-Zor in eastern Syria during the war. State media say at least 812 people perished in government-held areas including Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartous. It's a country that is inhabited by death," said Hassan Hussein, from the coastal city and government stronghold of Tartous. In the rebel-held city of Atareb, Yousef Haboush lamented how the quake had forced many from their homes yet again. One of the residents, Abu Hamid, said he felt a sense of "proximity" to other Syrians, including those in rebel-held areas.

[1/2] A man stands near a damaged vehicle, following an earthquake, in rebel-held Azaz, Syria February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Mahmoud HassanoSummary Quake strikes central Turkey, northwest SyriaHundreds of buildings across the region brought downRescuers begin hunt for untold numbers trapped in rubbleDIYARBAKIR/ANKARA, Turkey, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A major earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday, killing about 200 people as buildings collapsed across the snowy region, and triggering a search for survivors trapped in rubble. "I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived," said Erdem, a resident of the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the quake's epicentre, who declined to give his surname. The United States was "profoundly concerned" about the quake in Turkey and Syria and was monitoring events closely, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Twitter. More than 17,000 people were killed in 1999 when a 7.6-magnitude quake struck Izmit, a city southeast of Istanbul.

☆ Powerful quake rocks Turkey and Syria, kills more than 3,400
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

A man carries a girl following an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria February 6, 2023. People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. Rescuers carry out a girl from a collapsed building following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. He said their shared four-story building collapsed just as he, his wife and three children ran toward the exit. Rescuers stand on rubble of a collapsed building, following an earthquake, in Latakia, Syria, February 6, 2023 in this handout image.

☆ Second earthquake rocks Turkey and Syria as death toll from first quake reaches 1,300
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Adana, Turkey February 6, 2023. A second earthquake of 7.6 magnitude struck southern Turkey on Monday, within 12 hours of a first massive quake that already claimed hundreds of Turkish and Syrian lives, according to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority. AFAD said the second quake took place at 1:32 p.m. local time at a 7km depth and had its epicenter in the Elbistan region of the Kahramanmaras province. Earlier on Monday, roughly 1,300 lives were lost as a first powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey and northern Syria. The humanitarian White Helmets rescue service, which operates in Turkey and the opposition-controlled parts of Syria, had earlier estimated Syrian life losses near 221, with 419 injured.

Both Ukraine and the Russia-installed authorities agree that some grain has been exported from occupied Zaporizhzhia via Crimea. Ukraine says at least a part of the grain that passed through Sevastopol was taken from Ukrainian territories after Russia invaded. Prior to the current war, Syria had imported grain from Crimea on previous occasions since Russia took control of the peninsula, Reuters reported. According to the Refinitiv data, Syria imported about 501,800 tonnes of wheat from Sevastopol this year until the end of November, up from about 28,200 tonnes in the whole of 2021. During a visit to Crimea in January, Syria's economy minister said his country needed 1.5 million tonnes of wheat imports, with Russia providing the majority.

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