File photo
Amid Syria’s humanitarian suffering due to the seven-year civil war, over the past four months the U.S.-backed YPG/PKK terror group has increased its occupation of Syrian lands from 25 percent to 28 percent.
According to map calculations by Anadolu Agency, between April 18 and Aug. 8, both the terror group YPG/PKK and the Assad regime increased their areas of dominance while the military opposition and terror group Daesh lost ground.
Over the past four months, the Assad regime has increased by 1 percent its control over Syria, now controlling 109,136 of Syria’s total area of 185,180 square kilometers.
While sometimes violating the Astana deal with Russian air support, the Assad regime has recently seized previously opposition-held areas of Eastern Ghouta, Daraa, and Quneitra.
Four PKK terrorists handed themselves over to security forces in Turkey's southeastern Şırnak province on Wednesday, according to a security source.Among the terrorists were two women and two underage boys, said the security source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.In its 30-year-plus terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the death of nearly 40,000 people, including women and children.
Four PKK terrorists surrender in southeastern Turkey
Terrorist YPG/PKK and Daesh
With the loss of Afrin due to Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch earlier this year, which rid a large part of Turkey's borders of the terrorist group, the YPG/PKK lost some ground but also stepped up its occupation of eastern parts of the country.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- recognized as a terror group by the U.S., EU, and Turkey -- has claimed some 40,000 lives, including many women and children. The YPG is its Syrian branch, as documented by Turkey, but denied by the U.S.
The terror group, backed by U.S. air support, increased its occupation in Syria from 51,379 to 45,967 square kilometers, boosting its area of dominance from 25 percent to 27.7 percent.
The terror group Daesh, for its part, is currently present in three different areas in Syria totaling 6,040 square kilometers. Having earlier lost some 3,700 kilometers, the terror group's occupation of Syrian soil has dropped 3.3 percent since April.
Today, Daesh is present in some the villages on the eastern side of the Euphrates River, eastern rural sections of Homs, and certain districts in As-Suwayda.
Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the Assad regime has deliberately targeted civilian infrastructures such as hospitals, schools and mosques in heavy air and ground attacks.A special report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) revealed that over 1,356 schools were targeted across the country between March 2011 and August 2018. These attacks on educational infrastructures resulted in the death of at least 171 children and 528 civilians.The NGO said more than half of the schools have been left unserviceable by attacks carried out by regime forces, Russian warplanes, a U.S.-led coalition, Daesh and YPG/PKK terrorist organizations and anti-regime opposition groups.US rips Assad regime over death noticesThe rights group noted that the number of attacks has sharply increased since 2015 when Russian forces began its massive air campaign in support of Syrian regime forces.According to the NGO, regime forces carried out 996 attacks on schools, while Russian warplanes were responsible for 169 attacks.The U.S.-led coalition launched 87 attacks on schools, while anti-regime groups were responsible for 36 attacks, Daesh launched 23 attacks and YPG/PKK terrorists carried out three attacks.Turkey to open sports facilities for youth in SyriaThe NGO said unidentified elements were responsible for 42 attacks on schools in Syria.Idlib province the most targetedDue to the regime’s indiscriminate attacks, many Syrian families are unable to send their children to schools. Instead, they have to work at an early age to support their families.Most of the government strikes are on the opposition-controlled areas, especially Idlib, which rendered most of the schools unserviceable.'Assad regime keeping over 500,000 captives in prisons'SNHR also said that a total of 361 schools have been damaged in the northwestern province of Idlib, 260 in Aleppo, 198 in Damascus and its countryside, 118 in Homs, 76 in Raqqah, 103 in Daraa, 122 in Hama, 106 in Deir ez-Zour, 8 in Hasakah and 4 in Latakia.Last month, Virginia Gamba, the UN special representative for children in armed conflict, said more than 7,000 children have been killed in Syria since 2011.The UN had earlier said that some 2.1 million Syrian children were unable to continue their education due to the ongoing conflict in Syria.UN awaits details of US-Russia plan on Syrian refugees
Assad regime takes away
children’s right to education
Opposition to Assad regime
After losing Damascus’ Eastern Ghouta suburb in April, the military opposition and anti-regime armed groups left the Daraa and Quneitra provinces to regime forces, within the framework of a deal.
The opposition’s area of dominance nationwide thus fell to 18,625 square kilometers, or about 10 percent of Syria.
An American news site reported Wednesday that a United States Marine Corps sergeant in Syria was wounded by a member of the YPG/PKK-led SDF in February and the Pentagon covered it up.The attack was carried out at a military base in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province, the Task Purpose news site reported, citing sources familiar with the incident.Despite objections from the YPG/PKK, Sergeant Cameron Halkovich reportedly attempted to help wounded Arab civilians in a truck that had arrived outside the base, the report said.The wounded, mostly women and children, were eventually ushered in and treated by army medics, who managed to save four of them, it said.Later that night, however, as Halkovich and Corporal Kane Downey were doing security rounds and went to check on a colleague, they were ambushed by a YPG/PKK member who had been lying in wait.Halkovich was shot in the leg.Downey then reportedly shot the attacker dead with an M-4 rifle.
US marine in Syria reportedly shot by YPG/PKK
Today the opposition maintains control over the northwestern province of Idlib, western Aleppo, northern rural areas of Mt. Turkmen in Latakia, and the Al-Tanf region, near Syria’s borders with Iraq and Jordan.
Some 4,147 of the opposition-controlled 18,625 square kilometers is included within the zones liberated by Turkey's operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch.
Some 7,700 square kilometers of the Al-Tanf region in eastern Syria are currently under U.S.-backed opposition control.