Refugees
Syrian clashes could reshape domestic and regional alliances
BEIRUT (AP) — An eruption of violence in Syria this week that entangled government forces, Bedouin tribes, the Druze religious minority and neighboring Israel highlighted just how combustible the country remains seven months after its longtime authoritarian leader was toppled.
The Druze and other minorities increasingly mistrust a central government run by a man once affiliated with al-Qaida, even though he has pledged to protect Syria’s diverse ethnic and religious groups since helping to oust Bashar Assad after a nearly 14-year civil war.
This sectarian turbulence within Syria threatens to shake-up postwar alliances and exacerbate regional tensions, experts say. It could also potentially draw the country closer to Turkey and away from Israel, with whom it has been quietly engaging since Assad’s fall, with encouragement from the Trump administration.
The spark for this week’s violence
Deadly clashes broke out last Sunday in the southern province of Sweida between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes.
Government forces intervened, ostensibly to restore order, but ended up trying to wrest control of Sweida from the Druze factions that control it.
Hundreds were killed in the fighting, and some government fighters allegedly executed Druze civilians and burned and looted their houses.
Driven by concerns about security and domestic politics, Israel intervened on behalf of the Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority within Israel and often serve in its military.
Israeli warplanes bombarded the Syrian Defense Ministry’s headquarters in central Damascus and struck near the presidential palace. It was an apparent warning to the country’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led Islamist rebels that overthrew Assad but has since preached coexistence and sought ties with with the West. The Israeli army also struck government forces in Sweida.
By Wednesday, a truce had been mediated that allowed Druze factions and clerics to maintain security in Sweida as government forces pulled out — although fighting persisted between Druze and Bedouin forces. Early Saturday, U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack announced a separate ceasefire had been brokered between Israel and Syria.
Worsening ties with minorities
This past week’s clashes aren’t the first instance of sectarian violence in Syria since the fall of Assad.
A few months after Assad fled and after a transition that initially was mostly peaceful, government forces and pro-Assad armed groups clashed on Syria’s coast. That spurred sectarian attacks that killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority to which Assad belongs.
Those killings left other minority groups, including the Druze in the south, and the Kurds in the northeast – who have a de facto autonomous area under their control — wary that the country’s new leaders would protect them.
Violence is only part of the problem. Syria’s minority groups only have been given what many see as token representation in the interim government, according to Bassam Alahmad, executive director of Syrians for Truth and Justice, a civil society organization.
“It’s a transitional period. We should have a dialogue, and they (the minorities) should feel that they’re a real part of the state,” Alahmad said. Instead, with the incursion into Sweida, the new authorities have sent a message that they would use military force to “control every part of Syria,” he said.
“Bashar Assad tried this way,” and it failed, he added.
On the other hand, supporters of the new government fear that its decision to back down in Sweida could signal to other minorities that it’s OK to demand their own autonomous regions, which would fragment and weaken the country.
If Damascus cedes security control of Sweida to the Druze, “of course everyone else is going to demand the same thing,” said Abdel Hakim al-Masri, a former official in the Turkish-backed regional government in Syria’s northwest before Assad’s fall.
“This is what we are afraid of,” he said.
A rapprochement with Israel may be derailed
Before this week’s flare-up between Israel and Syria, and despite a long history of suspicion between the two countries, the Trump administration had been pushing their leaders to post-Assad to work toward normalizing relations – meaning that Syria would formally recognize Israel and establish diplomatic relations, or at least enter into some limited agreement on security matters.
Syrian officials have acknowledged holding indirect talks with Israel, but defusing decades of tension was never going to be easy.
After Assad’s fall, Israeli forces seized control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria and carried out airstrikes on military sites in what Israeli officials said was a move to create a demilitarized zone south of Damascus.
Dareen Khalifa, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group, said she believes Israel could have gotten the same result through negotiations.
But now it’s unlikely Syria will be willing to continue down the path of reconciliation with Israel, at least in the short term, she said.
“I don’t know how the Israelis could expect to drop bombs on Damascus and still have some kind of normal dialogue with the Syrians,” said Colin Clarke, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, a New York-based organization that focuses on global security challenges. “Just like Netanyahu, al-Sharaa’s got a domestic constituency that he’s got to answer to.”
Yet even after the events of this past week, the Trump administration still seems to have hope of keeping the talks alive. U.S. officials are “engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis and reach a lasting agreement between two sovereign states,” says Dorothy Shea, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Shea said during a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting on Thursday that “the United States did not support recent Israeli strikes.”
Syria could be drawn closer to Turkey
During Syria’s civil war, the U.S. was allied with Kurdish forces in the country’s northeast in their fight against the Islamic State militant group.
But since Assad’s fall, the U.S. has begun gradually pulling its forces out of Syria and has encouraged the Kurds to integrate their forces with those of the new authorities in Damascus.
To that end, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces agreed in March to a landmark deal that would merge them with the national army. But implementation has stalled. A major sticking point has been whether the SDF would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army or be dissolved completely.
Khalifa said the conflict in Sweida is “definitely going to complicate” those talks.
Not only are the Kurds mistrustful of government forces after their attacks on Alawite and Druze minorities, but now they also view them as looking weak. “Let’s be frank, the government came out of this looking defeated,” Khalifa said.
It’s possible that the Kurds, like the Druze, might look to Israel for support, but Turkey is unlikely to stand by idly if they do, Khalifa said.
The Turkish government considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey. For that reason, it has long wanted to curtail the group’s influence just across its border.
Israel’s latest military foray in Syria could give its new leaders an incentive to draw closer to Ankara, according to Clarke. That could include pursuing a defense pact that has been discussed but not implemented.
Turkish defense ministry officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity according to procedures, said that if requested, Ankara is ready to assist Syria in strengthening its defense capabilities.
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Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed to this report.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A volunteer firefighter died on Wednesday in Turkey after helping local emergency services tackle a large wildfire in the Mediterranean coastal province of Antalya, an official said.
The fire broke out on Monday in Antalya’s Aksu district and, fanned by strong winds, quickly spread into the neighboring Kepez district, forcing hundreds of residents from their homes. The cause of the wildfire is not known.
Hasan Kahya, an Aksu resident who was helping firefighters tackle the blaze, suffered a heart attack after being affected by the smoke and later died in hospital, the district’s mayor, Isa Yildirim, said.
Two people were hospitalized with burns to their legs on Tuesday, while six others were treated for smoke inhalation. More than 100 dogs were evacuated from an animal shelter in Aksu.
Turkey’s forestry directorate said efforts to bring the blaze under control were continuing on Wednesday, adding that the fire’s intensity had been “reduced.” At least three firefighting planes, nine helicopters, 169 fire extinguishing trucks and more than 1,000 firefighters were deployed, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Separately, firefighters were also tackling a wildfire in the district of Kozan, in the southern Adana province, where hundreds of residents have been evacuated, the forestry directorate said.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Firefighters on Tuesday battled a wildfire in Turkey’s Mediterranean coastal province of Antalya that forced hundreds of people from their homes and injured at least two people, the state-run news agency reported.
The fire broke out Monday evening in Antalya’s Aksu district and, fueled by strong winds, quickly spread into the neighboring Kepez district, Anadolu Agency reported.
Two people were hospitalized with injuries to their legs while six others affected by smoke were treated on site, the report said.
Authorities evacuated people from at least 254 homes in Aksu and Kepez and temporarily closed a highway between Antalya and the city of Isparta, located some 130 kilometers (80 miles) north.
As flames and heavy smoke threatened the area, more than 100 dogs were evacuated from an animal shelter in Aksu and taken to safety, Antalya Municipality said. Video footage showed veterinarians treating a dog affected by the smoke.
More than 2,000 homes in the region were affected by power outages, Anadolu reported.
The agency said at least five firefighting aircraft, 10 helicopters, 110 fire extinguishing trucks and 600 personnel were deployed to battle the blaze.
Firefighters were also battling wildfires in the nearby provinces of Adana and Mersin.
BERLIN (AP) — Emma Meesseman led Belgium to the quarterfinals of women’s FIBA World Cup and Puerto Rico finished strongly to eliminate Turkey in their final group games on Monday.
Meesseman had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help Belgium top Australia 80-68 for first place in Group C.
The European champions are now off until Thursday. Australia faces a qualifying playoff on Wednesday against the loser of the Italy-China matchup that takes place later Monday.
Belgium had a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, before using a 11-2 run to start the period and gain a double-digit advantage. The Opals couldn’t recover.
The pro-Belgian crowd cheered on their team, waving flags in support.
Puerto Rico celebrates
Arella Guirantes led Puerto Rico with 21 points for a 75-71 win over Turkey.
Puerto Rico was trailing by seven points going into the final quarter, but Imani McGee-Stafford scored and Pamela Rosado followed with two 3-pointers to take a 59-58 lead.
Turkey power forward Elif Bayram went off early in the final quarter with what looked a left leg injury.
Turkey fans outnumbered their counterparts at Berlin’s Max-Schmeling-Halle and they tried to put off Guirantes but couldn’t stop her from securing the win with two free throws.
Puerto Rico next plays the winner between Italy-China on Wednesday.
Assist queen Allemand
Belgium’s Julie Allemand became the all-time women’s FIBA World Cup assist leader in the game. She got the record-breaking assist when Meesseman hit two free throws with 1:58 left in the first half against Australia.
FIBA gives an assist out when a player is fouled and makes the free throws. Allemand passed Laia Palau of Spain, who had 108 assists in her career.
Allemand started the tournament in eighth place all-time with 87, but had 17 assists in her first two games to get within striking distance of the record.
She finished the game with seven assists to give her 111 in World Cup play.
Decisive day
The four group winners progress directly to Thursday’s quarterfinals, while the teams that finish second and third face playoffs Tuesday or Wednesday to determine which join the group winners already through to the final eight. The bottom teams are eliminated.
Host Germany (1-1) faces Mali (1-1), and Spain (1-1) plays Japan (1-1) later with all scenarios open in Group A. Any one of the four teams can win the group and progress to the quarterfinals or finish bottom and be eliminated.
France (2-0), already through to the quarterfinals, plays already eliminated Nigeria (0-2) later, with Hungary and South Korea (both 1-1) contesting second place in Group B.
Italy (1-1), after coming close to upsetting the United States Sunday night, faces China (1-1) to decide second place in Group D. The U.S. (2-0) has already advanced to the quarterfinals before its final group game against the Czech Republic, which was eliminated after two losses.
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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here
BERLIN (AP) — China needed overtime to edge the Czech Republic 74-70 in a thrilling game at the Women’s Basketball World Cup on Sunday.
Han Xu scored 22 points and drew China level at 53-53 in the final quarter after her team had trailed for most of the game.
Eliška Joklová put the Czechs 64-59 up with 27 seconds left only for Luo Xinyu to respond with a 3-pointer and Yang Shuyu to level at 64-64 with 3 seconds to go – after Joklová missed two free throws. There was still time for Joklová to miss another chance to clinch the win.
Yang also completed the scoring in overtime for China, which failed to get the most from 7-foot-3 Zhang Ziyu. The 19-year-old sensation could only score three points in her second game after 13 on her World Cup debut against the United States on Friday.
“She has very great talent and we need to fix how we play together,” Yang said of the teenager’s performance. “Today everybody could see that we did not play so well with her, and we have to fix it.”
China (1-1) next faces Italy on Monday in a game that will likely decide second place in Group D. The Czech Republic (0-2) faces elimination after two losses before its final group game against the United States (2-0).
The U.S. was playing Italy (0-1) later Sunday with Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers bidding to stretch the Americans’ winning run to 32 games. The U.S. hasn’t lost a game at the World Cup since the semifinal game of the 2006 tournament.
Belgium advances
Emma Meesseman completed the scoring as European champion Belgium (2-0) booked its place in the final phase with a comfortable 76-64 win over Puerto Rico (0-2).
Imani McGee-Stafford finished with 25 points for Puerto Rico, which lost against Belgium for the third time at a World Cup.
Maxuella Lisowa Mbaka was top scorer for the Belgians with 16 points, followed by Julie Vanloo with 15. Meesseman finished with 6.
Australia makes it 2 from 2
Ezi Magbegor scored 21 points as Australia reached the final phase with a physical 87-71 win over Turkey earlier.
Turkey, led by Sevgi Uzun with 24 points, was down 8-0 at the start but fought back after a timeout to lead 15-14. That was brief, however, as the Opals rallied to end the first quarter 21-15 up and did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.
Turkey’s Goksen Fitik went off with what appeared to be a right-ankle injury in the third quarter but she returned in the fourth.
The Australian team features seven World Cup debutants. Team captain Sami Whitcomb of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury had to withdraw before the tournament with a lingering knee injury.
Australia (2-0) next faces Belgium on Monday for a showdown that will decide which team progresses directly to the quarterfinals as group winner. Australia, after two wins, is already assured of at least a playoff place in the final phase of the competition.
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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece will press ahead with its strategic defense cooperation with Israel but also wants to deepen relations with other states in the Middle East, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Sunday.
Greece-Israeli ties and defense, security and energy cooperation have become increasingly close over the past decade and Mitsotakis enjoys a friendly rapport with his counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu. Shared concerns about Turkey have helped boost ties. The two countries signed a 3-billion-euro ($3.5 billion) deal on Aug. 31 for Israel to build an air defense shield in Greece.
Mitsotakis told reporters in Thessaloniki that Greece is only one of five NATO countries spending at least 3.5% of its GDP on core defense.
Greece’s traditionally high spending has been fueled by almost constant tensions with Turkey, and its questioning of Greek sovereignty over parts of the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. Greece recognizes only the demarcation of the two countries’ respective maritime zones as an issue to be negotiated or sent to international arbitration.
Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s expressed desire to sell the advanced F-35 multirole combat aircraft to Turkey, Mitsotakis replied that he will not tell the U.S. what to do, but noted that legal obstacles remain as Turkey was sanctioned for buying the S-400 air defense system from Russia.
Greece will take delivery of its first 20 F-35s in late 2028, with an option to buy 20 more.
Mitsotakis also said he planned to visit Saudi Arabia soon, and that the recently concluded Mecca Joint Defense Agreement among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey changes nothing in Greece’s relations with Riyadh.
Greece has maintained an air defense battery in Saudi Arabia since 2021, and has used its Patriot missiles four times since July to down drones and ballistic missiles, allegedly from Yemen, aimed at the kingdom’s oil refineries.
Mitsotakis will visit Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi.
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Associated Press writer Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece, contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced Friday that it has imposed sanctions on a Turkish financial institution as part of its latest effort to sever “critical financial lifelines” for the Iranian government.
The actions against Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi come after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week launched “Operation Economic Outcast, ” Washington’s new effort to isolate already heavily sanctioned Iran from its remaining trading partners to try to get it to capitulate to U.S. demands after more than six months of war.
The Treasury Department accused the Turkish bank and its entities of being established to enable Iran’s efforts to transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey, where they could then be converted to cash and gold. It also said the institution “knowingly offered” banking services to Iranian financial entities, including those already sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2022 for funneling Tehran’s oil sales.
Bessent, who had told The Associated Press earlier this week that another bank would face economic penalties, said financial institutions with ties to Iran will “continue to find out the hard way that we are serious about Operation Economic Outcast.”
“While we hope no more banks will need to be sanctioned, that ultimately depends on how quickly the international community comes to its senses and ceases support of the murderous Iranian regime,” he said in a press release Friday. “We know who you are, we know where you are, and we will continue to take action together with our allies and partners until we have buried the head of the Iranian snake.”
But so far, the goal to force those that still do business with Iran to cut off financial ties or face U.S. retaliation has fallen flat, with promises of an “economic D-Day” for a group of countries that could include China and India quickly turning into warnings and negotiations with Iran’s trading partners.
Bessent had previously told reporters that he wanted countries to have an opportunity to shift away from Iran before it was too late in a bid to avoid upending the global financial system.
The Trump administration’s reluctance to penalize major trading partners that still do business with Iran was on display last week when the U.S. took steps to limit an Egyptian bank’s operations in the United Arab Emirates but stopped short of imposing sanctions.
The U.S. also has resumed military strikes in recent days, prompting Iranian retaliation in the region. It’s unclear what the outcome of the two-pronged strategy will be for President Donald Trump, who has struggled to end an unpopular war with an intransigent Iranian government as energy prices rise and pose problems for Republicans before November’s midterm congressional elections.
Targeted in the latest U.S. sanctions is Golden Global Investment Bank, which was founded in 2019 as Turkey’s first investment bank to offer “banking services and alternative financing methods” to foreign companies, according to its website.
The Istanbul-based bank, which is largely unfamiliar to most Turks, says it aims to increase Turkey’s foreign trade through target markets in neighboring countries.
The Treasury announcement came a day after Turkey’s state-run Halkbank declared it had reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in a nine-year case focused on violating sanctions with Iran.
In that case, senior officials at Halkbank were said to have illegally moved about $20 billion worth of Iranian oil revenues. U.S. prosecutors claimed high-ranking Turkish government officials received millions of dollars in bribes to protect the scheme.
The Halkbank case caused a rift in U.S.-Turkey relations, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally lobbying the White House to have the case dropped.
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Wilks reported from Istanbul.
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