BEIRUT // Syria accused Israel of firing missiles that landed near a major military base west of Damascus, in the third such reported attack in nearly six weeks to hit near the capital.
The Syrian government was quick to respond, warning Israel of the repercussions of such attacks. But it refrained from saying whether it would retaliate.
Damascus, preoccupied with the country’s civil war for six years now, is unlikely to relish the prospect of opening a new front with Israel. Meanwhile, Israel has delivered the occasional message to Damascus by targeting shipments of weapons headed to the Lebanese Hizbollah group, which has supported Syria’s president Bashar Al Assad in the civil war by sending thousands of combatants to fight alongside his army.
Israel did not respond to the Syrian accusations but it is widely believed that Israel has carried out a number of air strikes on advanced weapons systems in Syria, including Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles and Iranian-made missiles, as well as Hizbollah positions. Israel rarely comments on such speculation, neither to deny nor confirm.
Israel has largely been spared any spillover from Syria’s war, but it has voiced concerned over the role of Hizbollah, its old guerrilla foe and adversary in many conflicts, most recently in 2006.
Mr Al Assad’s army has relied heavily on Hizbollah and Iranian and Iraqi militias, which have helped the Syian army to achieve a number of victories, most recently last month in Aleppo. Hizbollah, which regards Israel as its greatest enemy, has gained new battlefield experience, but it is likely to remain tied up in the Syria conflict.
Syria’s state news agency, SANA, said the missiles fired early on Friday fell in the vicinity of the Mezzeh military airport on the western edge of the Syrian capital and sparked a fire. The report quoted a military official, but residents of Damascus reported hearing several explosions that shook the city.
The statement made no mention of casualties.
Several missiles were launched just after midnight from an area near Lake Tiberias, or the Sea of Galilee and hit the Mezzeh airport compound, located on the southwestern edge of the capital, which was used to launch attacks on rebel-held areas near Damascus and has previously come under rebel fire.
“The Syrian army command and armed forces warn the Israeli enemy of the repercussions of this blatant attack and stress that it will continue its war on terrorism,” the military statement on SANA said, accusing Israel of assisting “terrorist groups” fighting the Syrian government.
This is the third attack for which Syria has blamed Israel. On December 7, the Syrian government reported that Israel had fired surface-to-surface missiles that also struck near the Mezzeh airport. A week earlier, SANA said Israeli jets fired two missiles from Lebanese airspace toward the outskirts of Damascus, in the Sabboura area. However, the Israeli defence minister Avigdor Lieberman recently reiterated his government’s position to not get involved in the Syrian war.
Syria’s foreign ministry condemned the missile attack in letters to the UN secretary-general and the president of the UN security council, saying it could never have occurred were it not for the “direct support from the outgoing American administration and French and British leaderships.”
Hours before the attack on Mezzeh, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a sports club in another neighbourhood of the Syrian capital, killing at least eight.
Elsewhere in Damascus, Syrian government workers entered a formerly rebel-held area near the capital on Friday to begin restoring water after weeks of shortages. An agreement was struck to halt all military operations and to allow the army to safeguard the area while work crews repaired damaged pumping apparatus at the Ain Al Fijeh spring in the Wadi Barada region, restoring water to 5.5 million people who have had none since December 22.
Speaking to reporters near the Ain Al-Fijeh spring in the Wadi Barada region, Alaa Ibrahim said a deal had been reached for the army to take control of the area and crews would restore water as soon as possible.
The truce brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran continues to hold for the most part in Syria, raising hopes for peace talks due to begin on January 23 in Astana, Kazakhstan. There was confusion over whether the US, which had been sidelined, would be invited back to the table. Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, insisted Russia had agreed to American participation. “Nobody can ignore the role of the United States. And this is a principled position of Turkey.”
he said.
However, the US state department said no invitation had been received and there was no comment from the Kremlin..
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* Agencies
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
