SYRIA UPDATE

Lavrenteiv says there is a determination to continue fight against terrorism in Syria

Alexander Lavrenteiv affirmed that there is a clear determination to continue the fight against terrorism in Syria.

“Talks dealt with the situation in Syria in general, and in Idleb in particular where the terrorist organization of Jabhat al-Nusra controls the majority of the area,” Lavrenteiv said in a press statement on the sidelines of the 12th round of Astana on settling the crisis in Syria on Thursday. “Talks will give fruit to lead to stabilizing the situation in Syria and continuing the political process in the country.”

https://sana.sy/en/?p=164256

Instagram Bans the Syrian Presidency

The social media app Instagram closed the account of the “Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic” according to the presidency in a statement published on its Facebook page. It said that: “the account was closed without prior warning or any logical reason. Additionally, all devices through which this account was managed have been blocked from entering the site entirely.“

https://syrianobserver.com/EN/news/50010/instagram-bans-the-syrian-presidency.html

US-led forces killed 1,600 civilians in Syria's Raqqah in 2017: Report

"Our conclusive finding after all this is that the US-led coalition's military offensive (involving the US, UK, and French forces) directly caused more than 1,600 civilian deaths in Raqqah," the report said.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/04/25/594325/Syria-United-States-coalition-civilian-deaths-Raqqah-Amnesty-Airwars

Syrian Transport Minister Says Russia Will Invest $500M In Development Of Tartus Port

“The new port will be constructed in accordance with the latest international standards and measures and with the highest level of modern technology and advanced administrative systems, which will reduce many expenses,” Hammod said in the interview, which was released on April 24.

https://southfront.org/syrian-transport-minister-says-russia-will-invest-500m-in-development-of-tartus-port/

4 civilians injured due to terrorist rocket attack on Lattakia

SANA reporter said that terrorists holed up in Lattakia northern countryside near the Turkish border, fired a rocket shell on Lattakia city fell in al-Ghraf neighborhood in al-Raml al-Shemali, injuring four civilians, including a child, and causing material damage to houses.

https://sana.sy/en/?p=164230

Several Civilians Killed In New Wave Of Protests Against Kurdish Forces In Deir Ezzor

According to local sources, hundreds of Arabs took at the streets in the towns of Muhaymadiah, al-Hosan, Sufirah Tahtani, Sufira Fuqani, al-Wasi’a, al-Muylih, al-Hosin, Gharibyah and al-Daman. The protestors called on the SDF to end its “occupation” of their areas and chanted against the economic and security measures of the Kurdish-dominated group.

“No for the stealing of oil and underground resources,” one of the signs raised by the protestors reads.

In the course of the protests, the civilians clashed with the SDF’s security forces. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that at least three protestors were killed by security forces fire in al-Daman.

https://southfront.org/several-civilians-killed-in-new-wave-of-protests-against-kurdish-forces-in-deir-ezzor/

Military Situation In Syria On April 25, 2019 (Map Update)

Two Syrian Police officers were killed and three others were injured during a security operation in the district of Zakyah west of Damascus on April 23;

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham special forces attacked SAA positions near the town of al-Hakura. According to the militant group, at least 10 SAA soldiers were killed;

At least one person was killed and five others were injured in a supposed IED explosion in southern Damascus;

At least 15 people were killed and 30 others were injured in a car bomb explosion in Jisr al-Shughur;

Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, said that the military phase of the Syrian conflict is ended.

https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-syria-on-april-25-2019-map-update/

>>6316337

Syrian Arab Republic delegation holds meetings with Russian, Iranian delegations and Pedersen in framework of Astana talk

Nur-Sultan, SANA- Delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic, headed by Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, on Thursday held a meeting with the Russian delegation, headed by the Russian President’s Special Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev in framework of the 12th round of Astana talks on settling crisis in Syria.

The meeting dealt with the coordination of views and positions between the Syrian and the Russian delegations regarding the raised issues to discuss in the 12th round of Astana talks.

Earlier, Delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic, headed by al-Jaafari held a meeting with the Iranian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister’s Senior Assistant for Special Political Affairs Ali Asghar Khaji.

Delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic also held a meeting with UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen.

Discussions during the meeting touched upon the continuation of combating terrorism in northern Syria, the situation in Idleb, the aggressive acts of terrorist organizations against citizens there and in the neighboring areas where the need to eradicate the hotbed of terrorism in this area was underlined.

The meeting also dealt with the United States’ actions that impede the exit of citizens from al-Rukban camp and the continued occupation of the Syrian al-Tanf area.

The Russian delegation, headed by Lavrentiev, held a meeting with the Iranian delegation.

“The joint work over long years will continue between our two delegations and we are coordinating our stances and we pay a great attention to the meeting with the Syrian delegation headed by Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari ahead of the trilateral meeting with the Turkish delegation,” Lavrentiev said at the beginning of the meeting,

For his part, Asghar Khaji expressed confidence in the success of Astana process and the enhancement of the Iranian-Russian relations to achieve that, indicating that the common goal is guaranteeing security, peace and stability in Syria.

Earlier, the 12th round of talks on settling crisis in Syria kicked off at the Kazakh capital city of Nur-Sultan with the participation of the delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic headed by Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari.

Representatives of the guarantor states of Astana process (Russia, Iran and Turkey) are participating in the meeting, in addition to a delegation from the UN headed by UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen as an observer.

11 meetings in Astana format have been held, one of them was held in the Russian city of Sochi, and all of them affirmed firm adherence to preserving Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and to continuing war against terrorist organizations in the country till completely eliminating them.

https://sana.sy/en/?p=164180