The military operation in Idlib continues

1 Syria

On Monday the «Al-Watan» newspaper reported that due to the heavy rains in south of Idlib, the Syrian army has suspended the advance of their infantry in that area. The military continues to deliver artillery, air, and MLRS strikes against the terrorists in the western Idlib. The General Staff of the Syrian Armed Forces stated that on 24th of December, during the military operation launched in 19th of December in the province of Idlib, more than 40 villages were liberated. Some of them are strategically important.

2 Ukraine — Donbass

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russia welcomes the exchange of PoWs between Kiev and Donbass. The Ministry called the procedure »an important humanitarian step», and expressed a hope that the exchange of PoWs will continue during the next year. The exchange of PoWs between Donbass and Kiev took place on 29th of December. The LPR transferred 25 people to Ukraine and received 63. The DPR transferred 52 people to Kiev, Ukraine transferred 60 people in return. The exchange was monitored by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the OSCE. The head of the working group on the exchange of PoWs of the LPR, Olga Kobtseva, said that the representatives of the LPR in the humanitarian subgroup will continue the dialogue on the further release of people during the negotiations in Minsk.

3 Iran

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi announced that Tehran considers the US attacks in Syria and Iraq to be «an act of terrorism». He demanded the US to leave the region. «Those attacks once again proved that the US are lying about the fight against the Islamic State, since the US fired on the positions of those forces that, during the past years, dealt a serious blow to the ISIS terrorists» — Mousavi explained. Earlier the Pentagon announced that the US attacked the ‘Kataib Hezbollah’ movement in Iraq and Syria «in response to repeated attacks on the Iraqi bases».

4 Sudan

The news website «Masravi» reported that on Monday the Sudanese criminal court sentenced 27 law enforcement officers to death for torturing and killing a teacher Ahmed al-Kheir during a protest rally in February of 2019. It was reported that during 26 hearings the court considered the evidence from the witnesses, and ascertained the guilt of the former Sudanese law enforcement officers. The death of the Sudanese teacher provoked an indignation in society and caused protests that culminated in the removal of the President Omar al-Bashir from power.