Region

ISTANBUL — Turkey's air force on Sunday said it downed an unidentified drone on the Syrian border after it breached Turkish air space six times, the defence ministry said.

"An unmanned aerial vehicle which violated our air space six times [on Saturday]... was downed by two of our F-16s which took off from Incirlik" air base in southern Turkey, the defence ministry said, sharing pictures of the downed drone.

The ministry said it was not known who the drone belonged to but said it was grounded at 13:24 (10:24 GMT) local time.

"The wreck of the drone was found at the Cildiroba base" by the Turkish gendarmerie in the Kilis province near the Syrian border, the ministry said.

The Turkish military conducted two offensives in northern Syria against Kurdish militia forces in 2016 and 2018.

The two NATO allies, Turkey and the United States, reached a deal last month to establish a safe zone between the Turkish border and Syrian areas east of the Euphrates River controlled by the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

The United States views the YPG as a close ally in the fight against the Daesh terror group.

But Ankara says the YPG is a terrorist militia linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency inside Turkey since 1984.

The PKK is blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara, the US and the European Union.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to launch a cross-border offensive against the YPG if the plans to realise a safe zone with Washington fail by the end of this month.

Erdogan has said up to 3 million Syrian refugees could be returned to a "safe zone" it is seeking to establish in northern Syria.

The country is already playing home to more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees — the highest number in the world — and there have been signs of a public backlash over their presence after eight long years of war in its neighbour to the south.

SANAA — Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said Sunday they had killed some 200 pro-government fighters and took 2,000 others prisoner in an August offensive near the southern Saudi region of Najran.

On Saturday, the Houthis had said that officers from Saudi Arabia — which leads a military coalition against the Houthis — were among the captives, but those claims were not repeated in Sunday's televised press conference.

"More than 200 were killed in dozens of [missile and drone] strikes while trying to escape or surrender," Huthi spokesman Yahya Saree said.

"Over 2,000 fighters were taken prisoner," he added, saying most of them were Yemeni but that they included other prisoners.

He said that the three-day "large-scale" operation was launched on August 25, and showed footage purportedly of the attack, but it was not clear why the announcement was being made weeks later.

The coalition had no response to the Houthi claims on Saturday that Saudi troops were among those taken captive.

A Yemeni government source confirmed to AFP that some 200 soldiers were killed in an attack in late August, but that only about 1,300 fighters were still being held, including 280 who were wounded.

The source said that Yemeni troops were surrounded for four days by the Houthis in the rebels' northern stronghold of Saada province.

The Houthis have made a series of big announcements in recent weeks, including an offer to halt drone and ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia as part of efforts to end the long-running war.

The rebels also claimed responsibility for massive September 14 attacks on Saudi oil installations that knocked out half of the OPEC kingpin’s production and sent shock waves through world energy markets.

The United States and Saudi Arabia however blamed Iran, saying the strikes were carried out with advanced weaponry that was beyond the capability of the Houthis.

Riyadh and its allies intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March 2015 to bolster the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi after the Houthis seized much of the country, include the capital Sanaa.

ATME, Syria — Desperate to escape war and find medical care for their daughter, Jaber Karawan and his wife have spent hundreds of dollars trying to escape north-western Syria into next-door Turkey.

They have tried five times to smuggle themselves and their two children across the border in recent weeks.

But all their attempts have failed, forcing them back each time to temporary shelter in Syria’s war-torn northwestern region of Idlib.

“There is no work for me here, the situation is disastrous,” 31-year-old Jaber said.

Dreaming of proper treatment for their three-year-old daughter who suffers from an eye condition, Jaber and his wife Walaa have borrowed money from relatives and drained their savings to pay smugglers $1,200.

But on their fifth attempt this week, Jaber tumbled from the grey concrete wall separating the two countries, breaking his leg.

Just hours earlier, wearing a crisp white shirt, his face neatly shaven, Jaber had helped his wife and two children straddle a motorbike outside their camp in the town of Atme.

With two small bags in tow, the family of four were aim to cross the nearby Turkish border illegally.

When an AFP correspondent first met Jaber, it was after a previous such attempt.

He was helping his children disembark from a taxi that drove them back from the Turkish frontier, where they were briefly detained by border guards.

The family has landed in Turkish custody several times after trying to cross.

‘This is no life’ 

Each time, they trek for hours through rocky terrain under the cover of night, before trying to scale the border wall, where they are intercepted by Turkish patrols.

“This is not a life,” Jaber told AFP, sitting inside his tent in a camp for the displaced before the fifth attempt.

“I’ll try 50, 60, 100 times until I get in,” he said.

Originally from southern Idlib, Jaber and his family are among more than 400,000 people driven from their homes by months of fierce bombardment.

“I want to go there to find a job, to provide for my children and to look after my daughter,” Jaber said, as nearby his three-year-old girl ate crisps scattered on a thin mattress.

Air strikes by Damascus and regime ally Moscow have killed nearly 1,000 civilians since late April, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

But since August 31, a Russian-backed ceasefire has largely held, despite sporadic strikes.

“We risk our lives to go to Turkey, and in the end, we cannot,” Walaa said, her expression hidden by a full-face veil.

‘Take us to Turkey’ 

Turkey hosts the most Syrian refugees in the world at 3.6 million.

But it now seems determined to send some of these refugees back home.

In recent weeks, human rights groups have decried reports of hundreds of refugees being deported back to Syria as part of a crackdown on those without the right residency papers.

Ankara, however, says all returns are voluntary.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that eventually 2 to 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey or Europe could be resettled in Syria if a so-called “safe zone” is created along the Syrian side of the border.

Also displaced by violence in Idlib, Abu Salloum, his two wives and eight children now live in a rough, cinderblock home, only metres from the border wall.

The yard of their house is visible to Turkish guards posted on nearby watchtowers.

Sitting cross-legged on a carpet, Abu Salloum smokes a cigarette and sips tea, surrounded by three of his sons.

His wife prepares a traditional aubergine dish called makdous, while one of his daughters stares across an open field at a Turkish watchtower.

The 45-year-old farmer said he dreams of escaping to Turkey, but with such a large family, crossing illegally would cost a fortune.

“Take us to Turkey, or find us a solution that would bring us back to our villages,” he said.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — An NGO accused Israeli security forces on Sunday of torturing a Palestinian arrested on suspicion of leading a cell allegedly behind a West Bank bomb attack that killed an Israeli teenager.

Israeli police and the Shin Bet domestic security agency said late Saturday they had arrested three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine several weeks ago for the August 23 bombing.

The explosion near a spring close to the Jewish settlement of Dolev, northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, killed 17-year-old Rina Shnerb and wounded her father and brother.

Shin Bet identified the cell leader as Samer Al Arbeed. It said the cell “was preparing other attacks when the arrests occurred, notably gun attacks and a kidnapping”.

On Sunday, Palestinian prisoner support group Addameer said that Arbeed was hospitalised after suffering a “serious health deterioration due to torture and ill-treatment during interrogations”.

According to a statement by Addameer, Arbeed was “harshly beaten” by the Israeli police who arrested him.

Shin Bet investigators “continued using torture and ill-treatment”, the NGO alleged.

Arbeed suffered several broken ribs as well as “severe kidney failure”, according to his lawyer, cited by Addameer.

Both Shin Bet and Addameer gave Arbeed’s age as 44.

Police refused to comment on the nature of Arbeed’s arrest, while the Shin Bet said that during his interrogation he said, “He did not feel well.”

“In accordance with procedures, he was transferred to medical examination and care at a hospital,” the security agency said in a statement.

Shin Bet refused to provide further details since “the investigation of the terror cell was still ongoing”.

Following Addameer’s statement, Palestinian Health Minister Mai Al Kaila appealed to international organisations to “intervene to save the prisoner”.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club called the incident “a crime authorised [by the Israeli] judiciary”.

CAIRO — Egyptian police dispersed a protest in Cairo while mounting a huge show of force in the centre and other cities after calls to demonstrate against President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, witnesses said, as a large pro-Sisi rally was held in the capital.

Last week, protests broke out in central Cairo and other cities following calls for demonstrations against alleged graft and waste by Sisi and the powerful military, accusations Sisi denies.

Police on Friday fired tear gas to disperse up to 1,000 protesters in Cairo’s Warraq Island, shouting “Leave Sisi”, witnesses and security sources said.

Protesters also tried to gather in Qus in southern Egypt but police dispersed them, security sources said.

There was no demonstration at Tahrir Square, as police closed all roads leading there, or in other parts of central Cairo. Tahrir Square was the epicentre of protests that led to the overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Security forces have stepped up their presence in main squares in major cities and plainclothes police have been checking motorists’ and pedestrians’ mobile phones for political content, measures that continued on Friday.

Sisi, who was in New York last week attending the UN General Assembly, returned to Cairo on Friday morning, where he was greeted off his plane by senior ministers and later stopped to speak to a crowd of supporters on the roadside.

Asking them why they were up so early on a Friday, the first day of Egypt’s weekend, he said: “The situation isn’t worth it. You need to know that the Egyptian people are very aware ... Don’t worry about anything”.

Sisi also appeared to repeat his earlier rejection of allegations of corruption posted online by Mohamed Ali, a former contractor and actor, in the run-up to the protests. Ali’s videos have attracted a wide following.

“This is an image being painted as was done before, comprised of lies and defamation and some media working to present an image that isn’t true,” he said.

Since last weekend’s protests, authorities have carried out a campaign of mass arrests that has resulted in the detention of about 2,000 people, according to rights monitors. Egypt’s public prosecutor said on Thursday that “not more than 1,000” had been questioned in the presence of lawyers after participating in protests.

Ali’s calls for new protests on Friday were countered by calls for pro-Sisi, “pro-stability” rallies, the largest of which was held along a major Cairo highway that had been cordoned off east of the city centre.

Heavy police presence

Buses ferried people including company employees from Cairo and other cities to the rally, where crowds waved Egyptian flags and pictures of Sisi. Delta Sugar Company, a state firm, said it had bussed in workers from its factory in the Nile Delta and offices in Cairo.

Last weekend’s protests unnerved investors and led to a pro-Sisi campaign in Egypt’s strictly controlled media, which have tried to tarnish Ali’s image and that of Egypt’s enfeebled opposition.

There was a heavy police presence on Friday around Tahrir Square and at some junctions in central Cairo, including vehicles with water cannon. Many shops and several central metro stations were closed.

At Cairo’s Al Fateh Mosque, a starting point for protests in 2011, dozens of police, some in uniform and others in plain clothes with masks and large guns, stood near the exit as prayers finished. At least 20 security vehicles were stationed around the mosque or patrolling nearby.

Police also closed off an area outside Sidi Bishr Mosque in Alexandria where protesters had gathered last week, and shut a square in the Red Sea city of Suez where there were protests on Saturday to traffic, witnesses said.

DUBAI — The British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero arrived in Dubai on Saturday, after being detained with its crew in Iran for more than two months in an incident that inflamed tensions in the region.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on July 19 after surrounding it with attack boats and rappelling onto its deck.

It was then impounded off the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas for allegedly failing to respond to distress calls and turning off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat.

But the seizure was widely seen as a tit-for-tat move after authorities in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar detained an Iranian tanker on suspicion it was shipping oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.

Tehran repeatedly denied the cases were related.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, however, that the tanker was "unlawfully seized by Iran" as part of attempts to "disrupt freedom of navigation".

On Friday, the Stena Impero was finally cleared to sail from Iran and into international waters of the Gulf.

"Despite the vessel's clearance, its legal case is still open in Iran's courts," Hormozgan province's maritime organisation in southern Iran said on its website.

The tanker's captain and crew have "given a written, official statement that they have no claims", it added.

The ship docked at Port Rashid in Dubai on Saturday after halting off the coast of the emirate overnight, according to data from ship tracking website MarineTraffic.com. 

Pool reporters at the commercial port confirmed the ship had moored and the Swedish-owned vessel was seen surrounded by several small boats, including at least one flying the United Arab Emirates flag. 

‘High spirits’ 

The CEO of Stena Bulk, the firm that owns the vessel, had said the ship’s sailing was “obviously a relief” and that the priority was those on board. Seven of its 23 crew members were released on September 4.

“When we reach Dubai we will firstly take care of the crew and then try and get the ship in operational order again,” Erik Hanell told AFP on Friday.

The tanker’s crew are “safe and in high spirits” and arrangements had been made for them to return to their families upon arrival in Dubai, he said.

“The crew will have a period of time to be with their families following 10 weeks of detainment on the vessel. Full support will be offered to the crew and families in the coming weeks to assist with their recovery.”

Photos released by the Iranian agency Fars News on Saturday showed the black and red-hulled tanker sailing from Bandar Abbas in southern Iran the previous day. 

The images also showed the captain apparently signing the ship’s release documents before it left port, and the crew — dressed in red overalls and safety gear — lifting anchor ahead of the journey.

Gulf tensions 

Tensions have risen in the Gulf since May last year when US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal between major powers and Iran and began reimposing crippling sanctions in a campaign of “maximum pressure”.

They flared again this May when Iran began reducing its own commitments under the deal and the US deployed military assets to the region.

Since then, ships have been attacked, drones downed and oil tankers seized.

In June, Trump called off air strikes against Iran at the last minute after the Islamic republic’s forces shot down a US drone.

This month, twin attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, which knocked out half the kingdom’s production, drew accusations of blame against Iran not only from the US but also from its European allies.

Tehran has denied any involvement in the attacks, which were claimed by Iran-backed rebels fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

The US has since formed a coalition with its allies Australia, Bahrain, Britain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to escort commercial shipping in the Gulf.

Tehran has warned that the planned US-led International Maritime Security Construct will cause more, not less instability. It has proposed a rival security plan of its own.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, President Hassan Rouhani this week announced a plan dubbed the “Hormuz Peace Endeavour” or “HOPE”.

He gave no details but called on all of Iran’s Gulf neighbours to join, saying: “Security cannot be provided with American weapons and intervention.”

UNITED NATIONS, United States — Syria's foreign minister told the UN Saturday that "no deadlines" should be imposed on a constitution-writing committee formed to try to find a political settlement to the country's civil war.

Walid Muallem's comments came after the United Nations released a document showing that the new committee is mandated to either amend Syria's current constitution or write an entirely fresh one.

The UN hopes the committee will help end a war that has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since erupting in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.

The document adds that once the process of drafting the constitution is completed, “free and fair elections” will be held in Syria under the supervision of the world body.

The committee, announced earlier this week, was negotiated by the UN’s envoy to the war-torn country, Geir Pedersen, and has been accepted by the Syrian regime and opposition.

Muallem told the UN General Assembly Saturday that while the government of President Bashar Assad welcomed the committee, “no deadlines or timetables must be imposed” on it.

“The whole process should be owned and led by Syrians themselves who have the exclusive right of determining their country’s future without any foreign intervention or interference,” he said.

“No preconditions must be imposed on the committee, nor should its recommendations be prejudged,” Muallem added.

A first meeting of the committee, which took almost two years to negotiate, has been scheduled for October 30 in Geneva, the UN document said.

The body will be made up of 150 members, split evenly between the Syrian government, opposition and Syrian civil society.

ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes a new "safe zone" in northern Syria will kill two birds with one stone — easing the refugee burden and pushing Kurdish militants away from his southern border.

The US and Turkey have already launched joint patrols this month with the aim of establishing the "safe zone".

But analysts say the scheme is unrealistic.

 What is the 'safe zone'? 

In his speech at the UN General Assembly this week, Erdogan unveiled a chart showing ambitious plans for the zone, that would be 30 kilometres deep and run 480 kilometres  along the north of Syria.

He said it could eventually allow 2 to 3 million Syrian refugees to return to their country.

That has become a priority for Erdogan, who has faced a growing popular backlash over the presence of 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey — the highest number in the world.

Turkish broadcaster TRT said on Friday that the first stage of the plan envisioned one million Syrians being resettled in 140 villages and 10 towns.

The plan would also create a buffer against Syrian Kurdish militants, who control much of the region.

The Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) has been a close ally of the West in the fight against the Daesh group but Ankara sees them as a dangerous offshoot of Kurdish "terrorists" in Turkey.

The "safe zone" was first publicly mooted earlier this year by President Donald Trump as a way to stop Turkey attacking the YPG, as Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to do.

 Will it happen? 

Experts are sceptical that the plan will come together, despite joint air and ground patrols by the US and Turkey this month.

The US has struggled to balance its ties with Turkey and the Kurdish YPG militia.

"Even if efforts to create a 'buffer zone' succeed — and there is no sign that they will — the underlying source of tension will remain and with it, the potential for a Turkish military response to Ankara's perceived YPG threat," Dareen Khalifa, of the International Crisis Group, told AFP.

She also said the US has made it clear that Washington has "not signed off on any agreement that would entail involuntary relocation of Syrians to the northeast".

Despite the obstacles, however, Washington is desperate to prevent another unilateral attack by Turkey, which has already launched two cross-border operations against Daesh and the YPG, in 2016 and 2018.

Before his US visit, Erdogan warned that plans were already in place for a unilateral operation if there was not significant progress on the "safe zone" by the end of September.

 Will refugees return? 

According to Syria expert Fabrice Balanche, it is not possible to send 3 million people to the proposed region.

"The liveable area is limited since the majority of the space is semi-desert," he said, and the region east of the Euphrates River is "very under-developed".

It would also mean major demographic change, since the area is mostly Kurdish and 90 per cent of Syrian refugees in Turkey are Arab.

Hasan Unal, foreign policy analyst at Istanbul's Maltepe University, said it would be difficult for both sides.

"Are all these people from that part of Syria? If not, they might say: 'We don't want to go to somebody else's land,'" said Unal.

Erdogan has said the zone should extend to the eastern Deir Ezzor region and Raqqa, but Balanche said neither area was ready.

Raqqa still needs reconstruction after the Kurds led a bitter battle to recapture the city from Daesh in 2017.

According to Unal, the best way to repatriate Syrians would be in cooperation with the Syrian government following a normalisation of relations between Ankara and Damascus.

"As far as international law is concerned, you can't force them to move."