Iraqi PM warns over attacks on Syria as Blinken visits Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has stressed the importance of preventing any aggression on Syrian territories by any party, warning that such actions pose a direct threat to security and stability in the West Asia region.
Israel launched strikes early Saturday targeting military sites in Damascus and its countryside, in the latest such raids since militants brought down Bashar al-Assad almost a week ago.
“Israeli strikes destroyed a scientific institute” and other related military facilities in Barzeh, in northern Damascus, and targeted a “military airport” in the capital’s countryside, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Sudani on Friday met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Baghdad where discussed bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States, ways to enhance mutual cooperation, and the situation in the region, particularly the ongoing developments in Syria.
The Iraqi prime minister reiterated his country’s “stance on supporting Syria during this critical phase and emphasized the importance of assisting the Syrians in rebuilding their state and addressing challenges that could impact their civil peace”, according to the prime minister’s office.
More than 4,000 Syrian army soldiers have crossed into Iraq since militant forces seized Damascus, officials have said.
The meeting with Blinken also addressed the situation in Gaza, emphasizing the need to continue efforts to end the genocidal war and ensure all necessary steps to solidify the ceasefire in Lebanon.
Since Assad’s fall, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Syrian military sites, targeting everything from chemical weapons stores to air defenses.
The head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also known as Hashd al-Sha’abi, has stressed his country’s readiness to confront any hostile plot after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
Turkish defense minister condemns Israeli attacks on Syria
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on Friday that Israeli attacks in Syria are escalating tensions and sowing instability in the region.
He described Israel’s attacks as “the clearest reflection of an occupying mindset” and called on the international community not to remain silent.
“The international community must support this historic process that opens an important window of opportunity in Syria,” Guler told lawmakers in the capital Ankara.
“As Turkey, we firmly support the territorial integrity of Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, emphasizing above all the urgent need to end the humanitarian disgrace in Gaza and establish a lasting ceasefire in the region,” he added.
Israeli forces have seized the so-called buffer zone, which separates the occupied Golan Heights from the rest of Syria, in violation of a 1974 disengagement agreement. The occupation forces have entered several towns in Quneitra, forcibly evacuating residents.
Israeli aircraft have mounted hundreds of air strikes against targets across Syria as well.
