Syria has asked Turkey for defence support amid sectarian clashes, officials say
It follows sectarian violence over the past two weeks that have increased tensions in Syria and drawn intervention by Israel.
Advertisement
The defence ministry officials said that Syria has also sought assistance to combat 'terrorist organisations', including the so-called Islamic State group.
Turkey – which has long expressed readiness to assist Syria – was working towards providing training, advisory services and technical support to help strengthen Syria's defence capacity, the officials added.
A convoy of ambulances and buses arrives at a checkpoint in a village in southern Syria on its way to Sweida (Omar Sanadiki/AP)
Tensions escalated in southern Syria last week, with violent clashes erupting between Bedouin Arab tribes and Druze militias in the province of Sweida.
The conflict triggered Israeli air strikes on convoys of government forces in Sweida and on the Ministry of Defence headquarters in central Damascus, which Israel justified as efforts to protect Druze communities.
Advertisement
Turkey, which strongly supports Syria's interim government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, has been seeking a defence agreement with Syria that could reportedly include establishing Turkish military bases on Syrian territory.
Ankara also backs an agreement reached between the interim Syrian administration and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate into Syria's national army.
Implementation of the deal has stalled, with a major sticking point being whether the SDF would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army or be dissolved completely.
Bedouin fighters gather in a village in southern Syria (Omar Sanadiki/AP)
On Tuesday, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan warned Kurdish and other groups in Syria against exploiting the tensions to pursue autonomy, stating that any attempt to divide Syria would be viewed as a direct threat to Turkey's national security and could prompt intervention.
Advertisement
Turkey considers the SDF a terrorist organisation because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey.
The defence ministry officials said Turkey expects the SDF to follow through on its commitments under the agreement, adding that Turkey would be 'following' the situation.
The situation in Syria has increased tensions between Turkey and Israel.
In April, Israel struck five cities in Syria, including more than a dozen strikes near a strategic air base in the city of Hama, where Turkey reportedly has interests in having a military presence. Israel accused Turkey of trying to build a 'protectorate' in Syria.
Advertisement
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Iran's Supreme Leader 'high' and issuing threats to Israel
By Iran's Supreme Leader spends his days 'sleeping and high on substances' in his hidden bunker, according to insiders within Israel's national intelligence agency. A Mossad-linked X account last week shared the new information on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a series of attacks on his leadership. 'How can a leader lead when they sleep half the day and spend the other half high on substances? Water, electricity, life!' the account wrote. 'Consuming drugs and conversing with spirits are not desirable traits for someone leading a country,' a second post read earlier this month. It comes after Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Khamenei to stop threatening the existence of his people from his underground bunker. 'I want to convey a clear message to Khamenei the dictator,' Katz recently said. 'If you continue to threaten Israel, our long arm will again reach Tehran and with even greater force — and this time to you personally. Do not threaten, lest you be harmed.' A ceasefire has been in place between Israel and Iran since late June, following days of fiery attacks from both sides after Israel's surprise strikes wiped out top Iranian military figures and nuclear scientists. At the height of the 12-day conflict, there were widespread reports that Khamenei was hiding out in a bunker amid increased concerns for his safety. At this point, Israel had dismantled and destroyed Khamenei's senior network, wiping out key leaders and allies of the Supreme Leader. Mohammad Bagheri, the commander in chief of Iran's military and second highest commander after Khamenei, was among the first casualties identified after the strikes. Hossein Salami, commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was also killed, along with Gholamali Rashid, the deputy commander in chief of the armed forces. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the airspace unit of the Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Gholamreza Mehrabi, the deputy intelligence chief of the Armed Forces and Gen. Davood Sheikhian, the commander of air defense, were also wiped out. Simultaneously, bombs exploded at the homes of nine scientists, killing them instantly and at the same time. While the Mossad has not formally confirmed the X account's affiliation, two intelligence agents recently said the account appears authentic. 'Some of the information it has shared could only have come from Mossad,' said Beny Sabti, an Iran expert at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies. The accountholder urges supports who are 'contacting us through private messages, for your own security, please ensure you are using a VPN.' Khamenei has been accused of abusing drugs in the past, despite declaring illicit substances 'un-Islamic' in 1979 after the Iranian Revolution. Iranians face the death penalty for drug related offenses. In 2022, an Iranian academic publicly claimed the Supreme Leader had a drug habit. 'Many viewers do not know this, but Khamenei himself uses drugs,' Nour Mohamed Omara told a television station in Turkey at the time. 'He has a special village in Balochistan, where the drugs used by the leader are produced,' the academic added. 'This village is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and no one is allowed in.' The same Mossad-linked account has been making efforts to reach and communicate with Iranians who are increasingly disenfranchised with their leadership. After the 12-day Iran-Israel war, the account posted: 'A ceasefire has been put into effect. Now, the extent of the damage is becoming clear. At this moment, the regime is focused on its senior officials, not on caring for its citizens.' 'We stand with you and have formed a team of specialized doctors, including experts in cardiology, diabetes. pulmonary diseases, infectious diseases, oncology, as well as support for pregnant women and psychological assistance.' The account warned Iranians interested in utilizing the services to contact them via a VPN for their own safety.
The Sun
10 minutes ago
- The Sun
Iran planning to execute 30,000 in repeat of horror 1988 ‘massacre' as part of desperate crackdown, insiders fear
IRAN'S merciless regime is plotting to kill tens of thousands of prisoners in a repeat of the 1988 massacre, insiders fear. Rattled supreme leader Ali Khamenei has ordered a surge in executions - turning hangings into public spectacles in a chilling warning to dissidents. 9 9 9 It comes as callous mullahs yesterday hanged two political prisoners who had been jailed on trumped-up charges. Mehdi Hassani, 48, and Behrouz Ehsani, 70, were killed in cold blood for daring to oppose the barbaric regime they were forced to live under. Earlier this year, The Sun shared a haunting voice message from dad-of-three Hassani as he lambasted the cruelty of mullahs. Ehsani meanwhile bravely vowed he was "ready" to sacrifice his life in the ongoing fight for freedom for the Iranian people. Iran has repeatedly unleashed lethal force on its own people - especially at times of crisis - in a sickening bid to stamp out rebellion. Glaring vulnerabilities in the regime's grip on power have been exposed after Israel and the US launched a monumental effort to destroy its nuclear threat. Executions and arrests are weaponised to scare dissidents, and it is feared panicked Ayatollah Khamenei is planning a similar plot to the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners. The regime was also in turmoil that year after accepting a ceasefire with Iraq. Now, death sentences against those affiliated with the main democratic opposition, the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK), are being expedited as Khamenei scrambles for control. Chillingly, state-run Fars News Agency - a mouthpiece of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - this month issued a public call to repeat 1998's inhumane massacre as the regime fears for its survival. British politicians and leading human rights lawyers have urged the UK government to intervene to prevent such an atrocity. Alongside the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), they also criticised the focus on Tehran's nuclear programme, warning that it has overshadowed the worsening human rights crisis. Baroness O'Loan DBE said: "Those threatening our national security are the same individuals planning atrocities in Iran's prisons. So, we must act, now." Dowlat Nowrouzi, the NCRI's UK representative, told The Sun: "The international community's failure to hold the regime accountable for its atrocities, including crimes against humanity and genocide, has allowed the regime to enjoy impunity. "It is long overdue to hold Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, and others accountable for committing these crimes. It comes as one of Iran's longest-serving political prisoners has laid bare the dire situation in a handwritten letter shared with The Sun. Saeed Masouri, who has spent 25 years behind bars, was forcibly dragged from his cell Qezelhessar Prison to solitary confinement. More than 100 armed guards raided the ward Masouri was on, beating prisoners before hauling them across the floor with handcuffs and leg shackles and bags over their heads. Masouri has been exiled to the notorious Zahedan Prison - just days after penning a haunting letter warning a massacre is looming. 9 9 9 9 He wrote: "Just as it happened in 1988, today we fear that the same path is being repeated, albeit with different language and methods. "Back then, it was called the 'Death Committee'; today, it is 'Fire at discretion'. "But this widespread repression and intensification of executions are not signs of strength—they are admissions of the regime's helplessness in the face of truth and the will of the people. "Likewise, this so-called 'fire at discretion' is nothing but an attempt to conceal the depth of infiltration, decay, and structural collapse within the ruling system—failures they now seek to compensate for by exacting revenge on the people of Iran and their prisoners." All contact between political prisoners and their families has now been cut off. Ms Nowrouzi added: "The assault on Mr. Masouri is not an isolated incident. "It is part of a broader campaign of escalating executions, arbitrary detentions, and systematic repression. "The regime, emboldened by decades of impunity and inaction, is now openly signaling its intent to repeat the horrors of 1988. "As Mr. Masouri warned in his message from prison, 'a crime is in progress,' and the world must not remain silent." Iran's calculating mullahs meanwhile are refusing to hand the bodies of slain Ehsani and Hassani back to their grieving families. How Iran is stifling critics after defeat to Israel by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital) TYRANNICAL leaders in Iran have demanded citizens act as undercover informants to turn in anyone who dares oppose the regime, insiders say. Panicked mullahs have also ordered "telecom cages" be installed around prisons as the regime wages war against its own people. Political prisoners - largely banished to death row on trumped-up charges - have been subject to extreme torture and a disturbing rate of executions in the face of growing tensions in the Middle East. Insiders say their treatment is being weaponised to deter opposition. The fight against repression has loomed large for decades in the rogue state - but the so-called 12-day war last month has made the barbaric Ayatollah more fearful than ever of being toppled. Sources inside Iran told The Sun how a direct alert has been issued to the public, urging them to report any activity linked to resistance groups of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Regime loyalists have been implored to act as informants - compiling detailed reports with photos, times, locations, licence plates and facial features of suspected individuals. Orders were publicised in an official government news outlet - marking a distinct shift in the paranoid regime's usual strategy of covert suppression. Insiders noted it points to the regime's growing perceived threat posed by the PMOI's grassroots operations. The PMOI has long fought for a secular, democratic Iran, and is understood to be gaining traction amid frustration with economic hardship, political repression, and international isolation. Insiders say they are instead planning to secretly bury them in a twisted bid to cover up their actions. Hassani's devastated daughter, who bravely campaigned for her dad's release, wept as she told how they had not been informed of his execution. In a harrowing video message shared with The Sun, she said: "They didn't grant him a final visit before the execution. "None of us knew, not even my father, who had told my sister to visit him on Monday. "I don't know what to say. I fought so hard. I had so much hope, so much… I still can't believe what has happened." Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the NCRI, has called on the United Nations to take "concrete and effective measures against a regime built on executions and torture". Mrs Rajavi said: "They [Ehsani and Hassani] now join the eternal ranks of those who have given their lives in the struggle for freedom and justice. "In what appears to be a desperate act during the twilight of his rule, Khamenei has perpetrated yet another grave crime - an effort to delay the inevitable collapse of his regime. Ayatollah 'on his heels' by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital) IRAN'S merciless regime is "fully on its heels" - leaving the Ayatollah's days numbered, a former US ambassador says. But the West will not be able to topple Tehran's brutal dictatorship, Mark D. Wallace, CEO & Founder of United Against Nuclear Iran, warned. The ex-ambassador to the UN said it will be down to the Iranian people - who have suffered outrageous repression for decades - to finally end the regime's rule. Iron-fist fanatics have used violent and ruthless measures, including executions and torture, in a twisted bid to stamp out opposition and silence critics. The regime's future now appears to be hanging by a thread, however, as it sits in a "combustible state" following the obliteration of its nuclear empire by the US and Israel. Several of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's top military brass were wiped out in the 12-day war - leaving the barbaric ruler vulnerable. Power held by Iran's terror proxies - including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen - has also been severely depleted. Wallace told The Sun: "The regime isn't just wounded, they're fully on their heels." "Far from securing his hold on power, this brutality only intensifies the outrage of the Iranian people and reinforces the determination of Iran's courageous youth to bring an end to this theocratic tyranny. "Honour to these steadfast Mojahedin who, after three years of unwavering resistance under torture, pressure, and threats, fulfilled their solemn pledge to God and the people with pride and dignity." It comes after The Sun reported how Iran's wounded regime massacred defenceless inmates at a prison before blaming their deaths on shrapnel from airstrikes. As Israeli missiles rained down on a nearby military site on June 16, panicked inmates at Dizel-Abad Prison in Kermanshah begged to be moved to safety. But they were instead met with a hail of bullets from the regime's merciless enforcers in a "deliberate and cold-blooded act", a witness said. Meanwhile, sweeping arrests are also plaguing Iran's population - with around 700 people understood to have been detained last month with reported links to a "spy network". Iran has one of the most horrific human rights records in the world, and according to campaigners also holds the harrowing title for the highest execution rate. Official records show that the number of executions last year reached 1,000 - the highest number in 30 years and 16 percent higher than the previous. Insiders believe this year that distressing toll will be much higher. 9 9
The Independent
39 minutes ago
- The Independent
Gaza latest: Trump says Israel must ‘make a decision' on future of war as starvation crisis worsens
Donald Trump has said Israel will 'have to make a decision' about its next steps in the Gaza war, as aid officials warn that the coming days are 'make or break' for starving Gazans. "They don't want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision," Mr Trump said after the collapse of ceasefire negotiations with Hamas. "I know what I'd do, but I don't think it's appropriate that I say it,' he added. It comes as a temporary pause in Israel's military action from 10am to 8pm each day is set to allow more aid to be delivered to starving Palestinians. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher told the BBC that the halt in action in three areas of Gaza may only last 'a week or so' - but that the UN needs 'weeks, months to build up supplies again'. Aid blockades in recent months caused fatal levels of starvation to tear through the enclave. Israel says the blockade is to prevent Hamas stealing aid from trucks, but internal US government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by Hamas of US-funded humanitarian supplies, Reuters reported. Donald Trump has said the US will increase aid to Gaza, and on Monday is due to discuss the topic during a meeting with British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer in Scotland. Trump: Israel will 'have to make a decision' on Gaza Donald Trump said on Sunday that Israel would have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire negotiations with Hamas. "They don't want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision," Mr Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland. "I know what I'd do, but I don't think it's appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision," he said, while also claiming, without evidence, that Hamas was stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it. The US president added that Washington would provide more aid to the Palestinian enclave devastated by US ally Israel's military assault. Alex Croft28 July 2025 10:23 Israeli forces kill 63 Palestinians in Gaza within hours of 'humanitarian pause', health officials say The Israeli military killed at least 63 people across Gaza just hours after declaring daily 'pauses' in operations to facilitate the passage of humanitarian aid, health officials said. The military said on Sunday it would suspend operations daily from 10am until 8pm in parts of central and northern Gaza, including al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah and Gaza City, and promised to open aid corridors from 6am to 11pm to let in food and medical supplies. However, within hours of the so-called 'humanitarian pause' taking effect, Israeli forces resumed air raids. One reported strike targeted a bakery in an area designated as a 'safe zone', according to Al Jazeera. Maroosha Muzaffar reports: Alex Croft28 July 2025 10:20
