Displaying items by tag: rebels

On 8 December, Syrian rebels overthrew Bashar al-Assad, ending his 24-year rule and his family’s half-century grip on power. Their victory caps a devastating 13-year civil war which killed over 500,000 people, displaced millions, and involved major global powers. Turkey, a key player, supported rebel groups, primarily to counter Kurdish militias. Turkey, which would also like to repatriate three million Syrian refugees, has played a role in brokering ceasefires and aiding the rebels’ recent offensive. Russia, Assad’s staunch ally, provided air support and troops starting in 2015, securing key military bases in Syria. However, its focus on the Ukraine war weakened its ability to sustain Assad’s regime, leading to his downfall. Assad has reportedly fled to Moscow. The USA has backed moderate rebels and Kurdish-led forces against Assad and ISIS, maintaining about 900 troops in the northeast. Iran and Hezbollah, longtime Assad allies, have also seen their influence wane due to internal and external conflicts. Breaking news: the rebels have announced that the Syrian parliament and constitution will be suspended for three months.

Covid jab appointments at mass vaccination centres are being block-booked by people who have no intention of getting inoculated. Wembley Stadium, which is being used to roll out thousands of shots before Christmas, is one of the sites where they have been employing this tactic. On 19 December staff said that patients had not arrived for their bookings and the centre was ‘really quiet’. The site had hoped to inoculate 10,000 people, but only 2,500 had been administered by mid-afternoon. Anti-vaxxers have employed similar tactics at other sites around the country. However, a spokesman said, ‘Any suspected disruption has been offset by the number of walk-ins, including thousands of local residents, many of whom have made a big step in coming forwards to start their vaccination journey, as well as very high numbers of boosters.’

Vehicles were stolen and torched during disorder linked to loyalist bonfires. A pipe bomb exploded close to a police operation in Belfast. Police were warned that loyalist paramilitaries were planning to ‘orchestrate and participate in serious disorder’. There were nights of disorder in Londonderry. Petrol bombs and missiles were thrown. Hundreds of fires were lit at midnight to usher in the 12 July Orange parades. Masked men used burning cars to block roads close to the Ulster Hospital. A bus with passengers was hijacked before being set alight. Security alerts resulted in main roads being closed, while one incident prevented passengers from leaving Belfast City Airport. Fire and Rescue Service had received 327 emergency calls by 01:00 on 12 July. Dissident republicans were blamed for firing six shots at police with an automatic weapon. The police are treating the incident as attempted murder.