Regional
Turkey’s Erdogan hopes Syrian rebels will advance, but raises alarm about some fighters
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday he hoped Syrian rebels will continue their advance against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria, but voiced concern about what he said were terrorist organizations in their midst.
Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers he was closely following the push which he said was heading to the Syrian capital. But he suggested he had mixed feelings, given some of the forces involved.
“The target is Damascus,” he said. “I would say we hope for this advance to continue without any issues.
“However, while this resistance there with terrorist organisations is continuing, we had made a call to Assad,” he added, referring to his approaches to Assad earlier this year to meet and normalise ties after more than a decade of animosity.
“These problematic advances continuing as a whole in the region are not in a manner we desire, our heart does not want these. Unfortunately, the region is in a bind,” he said, without elaborating.
Erdogan’s comments underlined the complex structure of the rebel forces fighting Assad, and the mixed allegiances among actors on the ground, including Turkey.
Ankara has for years supported Syrian opposition forces looking to oust the Iran and Russia-backed Assad, but also views some regional players as terrorists, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist former Al-Qaeda affiliate that is part of the rebel force.
Syrian rebels captured the city of Hama on Thursday, a major victory in a week-old lightning advance across northern Syria and a devastating new blow to Assad.
Turkey has said it had no involvement in the operation and that it provided no support to the rebels.
It has repeatedly said Assad needs to engage in talks with the Syrian people for a political solution and that Ankara did not want to see a fresh wave of migrants fleeing the violence.
The foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran and Russia will meet in Doha on Saturday as part of the Astana Process, established to seek a political solution to the 13-year old Syrian conflict.
(Reuters)
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Islamabad on Friday on his first official visit to Pakistan, at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Geo News reported.
He was received by Prime Minister Sharif and senior officials, with his aircraft escorted by Pakistan Air Force jets upon entering Pakistani airspace. The UAE president is accompanied by a high-level delegation.
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, the visit aims to review bilateral relations and discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has signaled that the country will continue developing missiles over the next five years, following visits to major munitions enterprises in the last quarter of 2025, state media KCNA reported on Friday.
Kim said the country’s missile and shell production sector is “of paramount importance in bolstering war deterrence,” according to KCNA.
The report said Kim ratified draft documents on the modernization of key munitions enterprises, which will be submitted to a major ruling party congress expected to be held in early 2026. The congress is set to outline North Korea’s development plan for the next five years.
KCNA’s report follows Thursday’s disclosure that Kim oversaw the construction of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine alongside his daughter, widely seen as a potential successor, as well as the test-firing of long-range surface-to-air missiles.
Turkish authorities have detained 115 suspected Daesh members they said were planning to carry out attacks on Christmas and New Year celebrations in the country, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.
Istanbul Police obtained information that Daesh members had planned attacks in Turkey, against non-Muslims in particular, during Christmas and New Year celebrations, the prosecutor’s office posted on X, Reuters reported.
The police raided 124 places in Istanbul, capturing 115 of the 137 suspects they were seeking, the statement said. Several pistols and ammunition were seized, it said.
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