Al-Bahra demands the withdrawal of Lebanese militias from all regions of Syria and compensation for those affected
ARK News… The head of the Syrian National Coalition, Hadi al-Bahra, called on the head of the Lebanese caretaker government, Najib Miqati, to issue orders to withdraw the Lebanese militias - which are part of his government - from villages, towns and all Syrian regions, and to compensate their residents for the homes they lost because of those militias.
Al-Bahra said, in statements reported by the Coalition’s media department, that Miqati can request funding for these compensations from the aid that Lebanon receives in exchange for hosting refugees, the latest of which is the amount of one billion euros that the European Union allocated a few days ago to support refugees and the Lebanese communities in which they live.
Al-Bahra pointed out that Miqati can also "mediate with the United Nations and the permanent members of the Security Council to secure a force of Blue Helmets to secure the protection of the areas to which the refugees will return, and to ensure their safety and that they will not be attacked by the Assad regime."
The head of the National Coalition, the head of the Lebanese caretaker government, reminded that “there is in Syria a militia affiliated with a Lebanese party that is a partner in the Lebanese authority within the Miqati government, which controls villages, towns and entire regions from which its Syrian residents were forcibly or under threat displaced years ago, and this militia has contributed to the regime.” Assad killed, arrested and displaced hundreds of thousands of Syrians.”
Regarding the return of refugees, Hadi al-Bahra said: “We support the return of all Syrians from Lebanon to their homeland, a voluntary, safe and dignified return.
But Syria is an unsafe country for the return of refugees, for several reasons, the first of which is the continuation of the Assad regime’s brutal policy against Syrian citizens.”
He pointed out that the regime "is still killing dozens of civilians every month, including women and children, and is still killing detained citizens through torture."
Al-Bahra thanked the Lebanese people for hosting the refugees, expressing his appreciation for their patience, hoping that they would understand the suffering of the Syrians, and stressed that “international neglect of serious work towards advancing a comprehensive political solution in Syria has prolonged the duration of asylum, and thus prolonged the suffering and pain of the Syrians.”
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"World Press Freedom Day"... Hundreds of journalists and media professionals have been killed in Syria since 2011
ARK News… The Syrian Network for Human Rights said in a statement on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day that it has documented the killing of 717 journalists and media workers since March 2011.
The statement stated that the various parties to the conflict “have mastered, since the outbreak of the popular movement in Syria, practices that violate the freedom of the press, opinion, and expression, and have committed multiple types of grave violations, including extrajudicial killing, forced arrest/disappearance, torture, attacks on facilities, and enactment of laws against... This would restrict freedom of the press, opinion and expression.”
The statement held the Syrian regime most responsible for the worst rankings Syria has achieved in the world “with regard to freedom of the press and media work, and distorting the image of Syria and the Syrian people.”
Violations against journalists and media workers were not limited to the Syrian regime only, but “extended to include all parties to the conflict and the controlling forces.”
Victim toll from March 2011 to May 2024
The Syrian Network recorded the killing of 717 journalists and media workers at the hands of the parties to the conflict and the controlling forces in Syria, including 7 children, 6 women (adult female), 9 foreign journalists, and 53 killed due to torture.
In addition, at least 1,612 people were injured with varying injuries.
Arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearance
In terms of arbitrary arrest/detention or enforced disappearance, at least 1,358 cases of arrest and kidnapping of journalists and media workers were recorded at the hands of the parties to the conflict and the controlling forces in Syria.
While about 486 of them, including 9 women and 17 foreign journalists, are still under arrest or forcibly disappeared.
The statement affirmed that there will be no freedom of the press, opinion, and expression as long as dictatorship and tyranny remain, and that “the only way to change the reality of suppressing and restricting basic freedoms is to achieve a political transition in Syria.”
It said that all parties to the conflict and the controlling forces in Syria “have violated many of the rules and laws of international human rights law in the areas they control, especially freedom of opinion and expression, such as Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article (19-2) of the International Covenant.” Concerning civil and political rights.
It also violated many rules and laws of international humanitarian law, most notably Rule 34 of martial law, which requires respect and protection of journalists in conflict areas as long as they do not make direct efforts in hostilities.
The statement recommended that the UN Security Council and the international community make "clear efforts to end the state of conflict in Syria through a political process that transfers Syria from a totalitarian state to a democratic state that respects freedom of the press, opinion and expression."
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Faisal Youssef: The Kurdish National Council will not participate in the PYD administration elections
ARK News… The PYD administration in the areas under its control is preparing to hold municipal elections at the end of this month of May, and the Kurdish National Council in Syria has confirmed that it will boycott these elections.
In a special statement to ARK News, Faisal Youssef, the official spokesman for the Kurdish National Council in Syria, said: “The elections, and establishing a mechanism for them, were part of the negotiations that took place between the Kurdish National Council in Syria and the Kurdish National Unity Parties in 2020.”
Youssef added: “The elections were supposed to be held after agreeing on the political vision, and based on it, a mechanism for sharing management would be established, a supreme Kurdish authority with decision-making power would be established, an election mechanism would be agreed upon, and a suitable environment would be created and neutral bodies would be created for oversight.”
The official spokesman for the Kurdish National Council in Syria indicated that the negotiations stopped at the end of the year 2020, despite the Kurdish National Council’s agreement to continue them. However, the PYD and its allies were the ones who set the standards and mechanisms on their own according to their vision and ideology, and therefore the Kurdish National Council will not participate. In the elections, it stresses the importance and necessity of completing the negotiations that took place under American sponsorship to reach a comprehensive agreement that guarantees the participation of all components.
The PYD administration announced new administrative divisions in the areas under its control, which include 7 provinces, including 6 large cities, 40 small cities, and 105 towns. The provinces are: Al-Jazira - Deir Ez-Zour - Raqqa - Tabqa - Euphrates (Kobani) - Manbij – Afrin, and al- Shahbaa
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Syria... Meteorology announces the continuation of rain showers accompanied by thunderstorms
ARK News… The General Directorate of Meteorology in Syria revealed that the Syrian airspace is exposed to an unusual depression that will cause active westerly winds in the next few days.
The General Directorate of Meteorology in Syria said that the Syrian airspace is exposed to an unusual depression as a result of the descent of a cold and humid air mass into the Mediterranean Sea. This depression will cause active westerly winds in the coming days with strong gusts, in addition to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms.
According to the General Directorate of Meteorology, the winds will be moderate west to southwesterly, with gusts exceeding 80 kilometers per hour, especially in the southern and central regions and coastal highlands, and will raise dust in most inland areas.
According to the General Directorate of Meteorology in Syria, temperatures during today, Friday, and tomorrow, Saturday, tend to drop to become slightly lower than their average for this period of the year, and the weather will be spring moderate, partly cloudy in general, with the opportunity for rain showers remaining in the northwestern region. The coastal areas, the island, and parts of the southern and eastern regions.
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Dirk... An accident kills a child and injures his uncle
ARK News... A traffic accident in the countryside of the city of Derik in Syrian Kurdistan claimed the life of a child and injured his uncle.
Local sources said that the child, Dawoud Nabil Dawoud, and his uncle, Muhammad Abdul Rahman Dawoud, from the village of (Banê Şikeftê) were involved in a traffic accident on Thursday (2/5/2024) in the countryside of the city of Derik in Syrian Kurdistan.
According to local sources, as a result of the accident, the child, Dawoud Nabil Joli, lost his life, and his uncle, Muhammad Abdul Rahman Joli, was injured and was subsequently transferred to the hospital to receive treatment.
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America admits to mistakenly killing a civilian in Syria during a strike it carried out in 2023
ARK News… The US Army's Central Command acknowledged that a strike it launched last year in Syria led to the death of a civilian, after it was mistakenly suspected of being a leader in al-Qaeda.
The US Army's Central Command, Centcom, said that a strike it launched in 2023 in Syria led to the killing of a civilian by mistake, after it was mistakenly suspected of being a leader in al-Qaeda.
The strike was carried out on May 3, 2023, on the outskirts of the village of Qorqanya in the Harem region of Idlib Governorate, but suspicions quickly arose that the man who was targeted was not a jihadist leader, and the Commander of Central Command, Eric Corella, ordered the following month to open an investigation into the operation.
Centcom explained in a statement, on Thursday, 2/5/2024, that the investigation showed that the American forces made a mistake in identifying the target of al-Qaeda, and instead, a civilian was targeted and killed.
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Qamishlo... The Syrian Writers Union holds a lecture entitled “The Role of Language in Building Homelands”
ARK News… The Kurdistan Writers Union invited Syria to attend a lecture entitled “The Role of Language in Building Homelands,” delivered by writer Nasr Brik.
According to the invitation, the lecture entitled “The Role of Language in Building Homelands” and delivered by writer Nasri Brik will be held on Saturday, 4/5/2024, at six in the evening at the Union’s office on Hansa Street in the city of Qamishlo in Syrian Kurdistan.
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سكرتير الديمقراطي الكوردستاني-سوريا يوجه رسالة شكر للرئيس بارزاني
وجه محمد إسماعيل سكرتير الحزب الديمقراطي الكوردستاني-سوريا رسالة شكر إلى الرئيس مسعود بارزاني لتفضله الكريم بحضور "مخيم البارزاني - الدورة الأولى" لعدد من أعضاء الحزب الديمقراطي الكوردستاني سوريا.
فيما يلي نص رسالة الشكر:
تحية واحتراماً
يسعدني ويشرفني أن أتقدم بفائق الشكر والتقدير لفخامتكم على تفضلكم الكريم بحضور "مخيم البارزاني - الدورة الأولى" لعدد من أعضاء حزبنا، الحزب الديمقراطي الكوردستاني-سوريا.
إن حضوركم الكريم لهذه الدورة يُعدّ حدثاً تاريخياً هاماً ووساماً نفتخر به جميعاً في حزبنا قيادة وقواعدنا وجماهير وطنية من أبناء شعبنا الكوردي في سوريا.
حيث كان لحضوركم الأثر الكبير في رفع الروح المعنوية لكوادرنا وتعزيز إيمانهم بنضالنا العادل من أجل تحقيق حقوق شعبنا القومية والديمقراطية.
إن هذه اللفتة الكريمة وهي ليست غريبة على فخامتكم تُجسد مدى اهتمامكم بقضية شعبنا الكوردي في سوريا ودعمكم لنضاله المشروع كما عهدناكم، ونطمح بالاستمرارية لهكذا أنشطة.
إنّنا في الحزب الديمقراطي الكوردستاني - سوريا ، ندرك تماماً حجم المسؤولية الملقاة على عاتقنا من خلال دعمكم ومساندتكم، وكذلك في هذه اللفتة الكريمة من فخامتكم، ونعاهدكم على أن نبذل قصارى جهدنا من أجل مواصلة النضال حتى تحقيق أهداف شعبنا العادلة كافة.
مع خالص الشكر والتقدير والاحترام
أخوكم محمد إسماعيل
سكرتير الحزب الديمقراطي الكوردستاني – سوريا
4 أيار 2024
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A thunderbolt ends the life of a child in the city of Derbasiye
ARK News… A child from Derbasiye city in Syrian Kurdistan died as a result of being struck by a thunderbolt yesterday, Thursday.
Local sources said that the 15-year-old child, Maher Ahmed al-Isso, was exposed to a thunderbolt on Thursday, 2/5/2024) in the city of Derbasiye in Syrian Kurdistan.
Local sources confirmed that the child, Maher Ahmed al-Isso, died immediately after being struck by the thunderbolt.
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Israeli aircraft bombed a site in the vicinity of the Syrian capital
ARK News… The bombing by Israeli aircraft of a security site belonging to the Syrian regime resulted in the injury of about 10 militants affiliated with the Syrian regime, and Syrian media revealed that a military point belonging to the Iranian militias had been targeted.
Syrian media sites said that last night, Thursday, Israeli aircraft bombed a site in the vicinity of the Najha area in the countryside of the Syrian capital, Damascus, wounding eight soldiers from the Syrian regime army, while media outlets reported targeting a military point where there was an Iranian presence.
The local Voice of the Capital website reported hearing the sounds of explosions in the vicinity of Damascus, noting that an air strike targeted a military point near the Fifth Bridge on the road to Damascus International Airport.
The Voice of the Capital website revealed that the Syrian regime's air defenses did not deal with the Israeli missiles.
For its part, the local "Suwayda 24" website confirmed that an air strike targeted the State Security School building, opposite the village of Hosh al-Sha'ir, east of the martyrs' graves in the Najha area, on the Damascus-Suwayda Road, and led to major destruction at the site.
Russia Today channel reported that the Israeli bombing targeted a military point with an Iranian presence in the vicinity of the Najha area in the Damascus countryside, noting that a number of casualties occurred as a result of the explosions that affected the targeted area.
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