War

The White House have formally asked Russia to leave al-Qaeda alone, fearing that Russian military forces could destroy the CIA-run terrorist organisation with their military might.  Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said that Washington pleaded with him in a private meeting to leave Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front in Syria alone, citing fears that Russia “might accidentally hit civilians”. ABC News reports: Sergey Lavrov said that Russia has long insisted that the moderate, U.S.-backed opposition groups should leave the areas occupied by Nusra.

Turkish President Erdogan has issued an angry warning to Germany, saying that if they dare to recognise the Armenian genocide, Turkey will cut off diplomatic ties with the country.  Following the Berlin vote to officially recognise the mass-killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces in the First World War as an “act of genocide,” Erdogan hit back by delivering a furious televised speech in Turkey. Alaraby.co.uk reports: Turkey would never accept the charge that Ottoman troops were guilty of “genocide”, he said.

Assad’s military forces have entered the province of Raqqa in order to confront ISIS for the first time since 2014.  Syrian regime forces alongside Russian forces have entered Raqqa with the aim of eliminating ISIS’ Syrian headquarters and regaining control of the area. Speisa.com reports: On Saturday, Bashar al-Assad’s army entered into the province of Raqqa for the first time since IS conquered large areas of northern Syria in 2014, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) today.

It was less than three ago that Prime Minister David Cameron announced ‘mission accomplished’ in Afghanistan, yet up to 100 more British soldiers are likely to be sent back to protect Kabul from a resurgent Taliban. Defense sources said the US had called on its allies to contribute more troops and that the UK was in discussions with NATO to settle on numbers, according to a report in the Telegraph RT reports: The news follows a flying visit to Kabul by UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon on Thursday.

Politicians and human rights campaigners have slammed the British army for sending troops to train and mentor authoritarian regimes like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, saying the “deeply concerning” practice needs to be addressed. Criticism came after it was revealed that British troops are taking part in a combined exercise in Turkey with Saudi, Qatari and Turkish troops.