US troops to expand patrols in Syria despite tension with Turkey + US forces prepare to build 1st military base in Syria’s Raqqa

The Pentagon is preparing to resume full ground operations alongside Kurdish partners in northern Syria, officials said Tuesday, a move that risks further inflaming relations with NATO ally Turkey, which blames the Kurds for a deadly bombing in Istanbul last month and has threatened a ground assault in retaliation.

US troops to expand patrols in Syria despite tension with Turkey

Related:

US forces prepare to build 1st military base in Syria’s Raqqa

The Syrian Democratic Forces is an armed militia of the rebels in North and East Syria (AANES). An alliance of forces formed during the Syrian civil war composed primarily of Kurdish, Arab, and Assyrian/Syriac, as well as some smaller Armenian, Turkmen and Chechen forces. It is militarily led by the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, and also includes several ethnic militias, as well as elements of the Syrian opposition’s Free Syrian Army. Founded in October 2015, the SDF states its mission as fighting to create a secular, democratic and federalised Syria. According to Turkey, the Syrian Democratic Forces has direct links to the PKK.

Wikipedia

The SDF equals the YPG/PKK/Kurds

UN adopts resolution on Syrian, Palestinian sovereignty over natural resources in Israeli-occupied territories

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted a resolution declaring that Syrians and Palestinians have sovereignty over their natural resources in the Israeli-occupied tracts of land in the strategic Golan Heights and the West Bank, including East al-Quds.

UN adopts resolution on Syrian, Palestinian sovereignty over natural resources in Israeli-occupied territories

Colombia’s First Leftist President Charts a New Path on Venezuela + Government of Venezuela and Opposition Resume Mexico Talks

Colombia’s First Leftist President Charts a New Path on Venezuela

While critics derided the meeting as just another propaganda spectacle for Maduro, Petro has sent a signal to opposition parties in Colombia and the international community, particularly the United States, to rethink its approach if they hope to improve relations and achieve a successful political transition in Venezuela.

Related:

The recognition of Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela will end in 2023, according to two sources close to the opposition

Guaidó’s possible change of status occurs just as the opposition coalition establishes the rules to select the unitary candidate who will compete in the next presidential elections in 2024.

So Biden can support a new interim president for Venezuela.

Government of Venezuela and Opposition Resume Mexico Talks: What Is on the Table? (+Alex Saab)

Still skeptical of Gustavo Petro.

Serbian Analyst: How war in Ukraine resembles past conflict in Yugoslavia

Interview by Adriel Kasonta, Asia Times, 9/24/22

Dragana Trifković is the general director of the Center for Geostrategic Studies in Belgrade, Serbia.

On September 8, a session was held in the UN Security Council on the topic of arms delivery to Ukraine by the West.

In the introductory part of the session, Trifković spoke about the weapons that were delivered to the battlefield during the war in Yugoslavia, comparing it to the current situation in Ukraine.

In the following interview, Trifković elaborates on that point for Asia Times.

Serbian Analyst: How war in Ukraine resembles past conflict in Yugoslavia

More Conclusive Evidence that TPLF’s “Under Siege” Narrative is a lie — and that the UN is helping to peddle it

As reported in August, Tigray has had limited telecom and Internet access for some people in the region at least as far back as early May. Many sources have since confirmed they’ve received regular emails, Whatsapp and Twitter messages from contacts in Tigray for a period of at least the past 10 months.

More Conclusive Evidence that TPLF’s “Under Siege” Narrative is a lie — and that the UN is helping to peddle it