Inside A Rebel-Blockaded Government-Held Town In Syria
Syria Direct has spoken -- via two Syrian pro-government journalists -- to residents of al-Fuaa, a Syrian government-held Shi'ite village that together with the neighboring village of al-Kafariya is under siege by rebel forces.
Syria Direct notes that both villages have been encircled by rebels since March, when rebels led by Ahrar al-Sham and Al-Qaeda affiliate the Al-Nusra Front blockaded them during an offensive.
Residents in al-Fuaa say the town's hospital is "almost shut down" because of a lack of medicine and diesel fuel.
"My father was injured in his hand and foot, and he is in a terrible state because of the medicine shortage," says Abu Jawad, a 31-year-old al-Fuaa resident.
Dozens of residents have died of heart attacks, kidney failure and other preventable causes due to a lack of specialists and medication, Saleh [a nurse in al-Fuaa] says. "There are also dozens of illnesses due to cold and malnutrition."
"We have records," the nurse said, adding, "the UN can verify this."
British Man Who Fought Against IS Says He Was 'Terrified The Whole Way'
The Guardian has spoken to Joe Robinson, a 22-year-old former soldier who returned to the UK two months ago after fighting alongside Kurdish forces in Syria against the IS group.
Since returning to the UK jobless, penniless and homeless, Robinson has found it hard to return to civilian life.
"When you go [to a war zone] with the military you’re getting paid, you’re getting lots of support, you have decompression and stuff like that," he said.
"When I came back, I’d spent every penny I had to get over there, I left my job to get over there. I’ve had nowhere to live. I’ve come back with nothing, no support and nobody to talk to."
Robinson's story highlights some of the uncomfortable truths about Western volunteers who are going to Syria to fight against IS alongside Kurdish and other militias.
When Robinson returned to the UK on November 28, he was arrested by counter-terrorism police in Manchester airport and questioned for 10 hours. He will remain on police bail, unable to leave the country, until March.
Rwandan Police Kill Suspected IS Recruiter
Police in Rwanda have shot and killed a Rwandan man suspected of recruiting for the IS group, police have said, according to Reuters.
Muhammad Mugemangango, a deputy imam at Kimironko Mosque in Kigali, was under investigations for encouraging Rwandan youth to join the Islamic State, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria. No charges had been brought.
Syrian Government Forces Capture Key Southern Rebel Town
Syrian pro-government forces have captured a key rebel town close to the Jordanian border, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.
According to SOHR, government troops, Iranian officers and allied militias including from the Lebanese Shi'ite Hizbullah movement seized control of Sheikh Miskeen in Daraa province overnight with the help of Russian and Syrian government air strikes.
The town is also just 12 km from the strategic rebel stronghold of Nawa.
A security source had told AFP the Sheikh Miskeen was a "launching pad" for rebel operations, and one of the opposition's "centers of gravity for the whole of Daraa province".
He said seizing control of the town would sever a rebel supply route to areas under opposition control around Damascus.
IS Claims Responsibility For Suicide Attack In Syria's Homs
Russia Did Not Offer Assad Political Asylum: Lavrov
Moscow did not offer Syrian President Bashar al-Assad political asylum, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.
"In Moscow we agreed that, during the political process, for which he is prepared to send a delegation, President Assad would be prepared to consider political reforms which were ultimately incorporated into the decisions of the Vienna group and in the UN Security Council resolution 2254," Lavrov said.
"No one asked for any political asylum and no one proposed anything of the sort."
Suicide Blasts In Syria's Homs Kill 22: State Media
At least 22 people have been killed in a double suicide bombing in Syria's Homs province early this morning, according to Syrian state media.
The attacks took place in the al-Zahraa district of Homs city and targeted a government controlled checkpoint.
Video Footage Inside Syria's Sheikh Miskeen, Recaptured By Government
Syrian state news agency SANA has published this video report, which includes footage taken inside the southern Syrian town of Sheikh Miskeen, a rebel stronghold in Daraa province recaptured by government forces on January 25.
Davutoglu: No Difference For Us Between PKK, Syrian YPG
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said that Turkey sees no difference between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the YPG.
The YPG is fighting against the IS group in Syria.
In Turkey, however, the Turkish military has intensified its campaign against the PKK separatist militants, particularly in towns and villages in predominantly Kurdish south eastern Turkey.
Turkey has said that the Syrian YPG should not be invited to Syria peace talks, scheduled for later this week. Russia says that it would be a "serious mistake" not to invite Kurdish groups.