One of the most interesting features of the Syrian protest movement is the prominent role women have been taking in it.

Syria’s Protest Movement

On Wednesday April 27, additional troops and tanks were deployed to the southern city of Daraa. The same day, 233 members of the Baath Party resigned from their positions in protest against the use of violence against civilians in Daraa. As those who resigned were all relatively low-ranking members and the Baath Party membership is thought to total an estimated 2 million, their move was more symbolic than influential.

Syria’s Protest Movement

In the last eight days, the security environment in Syria has taken a significant turn for the worse. After-prayers protests last Friday were reported by some to have reached their largest numbers since the inception of unrest in Syria on March 15. Though there were few reports of violence on Friday, there were grave reports of violence Sunday through Tuesday – irregardless of President Bashar al-Assad’s conciliatory address to the cabinet on Saturday April 16.  

The President has made gestures in the way of reform, however, it remains to be seen if both proposed reforms and those that have already been implemented, will bring about changes compelling enough to satisfy the country’s growing protest movement. 

On Wednesday April 13, a three-page document dated March 23, 2011 reportedly issued by a Syrian intelligence agency, was leaked to the international media. The document detailed the government’s alleged strategy for dealing with the protest movement and given its highly grim nature, it was the subject of considerable international attention. However, no source has been able to verify its authenticity. For more details, see here. 

That day, the protest movement reached a critical turning point as hundreds of women from the town of Bayda – perhaps even thousands – took over a highway not far from the neighboring city of Baniyas, to protest against the mass arrests of men from their town – 350 of whom were detained on Tuesday. The scene was utterly unprecedented in Syria. The protest movement also reached Aleppo that day – another first. 

On Thursday, state media announced that all those detained since March 15, save for those guilty of committing “criminal acts”, will be released from prison. Newly appointed Syrian Prime Minister Adel Safar also announced the members of the new government that day, which saw the loss of Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Abdullah al-Dardari. This was a major blow to those encouraged by Syria’s recent economic reforms. Indeed, Dardari’s name had become synonymous with economic reform, which according to his plans, included efforts to eliminate key subsidies. However unfortunate, it is unsurprising that he was removed from his position – his path of reform, was hard for many to swallow. For The Syria Report’s detailed analysis of all recent changes in the government see here, here and here. 

Thursday’s announcements of reform were interpreted by many, as an effort to appease protestors in advance of Friday’s planned demonstrations. However, the country nevertheless erupted in protests again on Friday – with a number of reports suggesting that they were the largest yet. In Douma, a Damascus suburb, protestors apparently held up yellow cards – a warning for the government inspired by football. Some international sources report that 100,000 demonstrated in the neighborhoods surrounding Damascus only to be dispersed by security forces as they approached the capital’s Abbassiyen Square, while another estimated 20,000 took to the streets in Daraa, where security forces apparently were ordered not to intervene. 

However, a number of other reputable sources put the numbers of protestors out across the country at significantly lower numbers – figures which are likely more accurate. According to those sources, 3,000 people marched in Daraa; 5,000 in Qamishli in the northeast; 4,500 in Raas al-Ayn, Amuda and Derbassiye – three Kurdish neighborhoods near Qamishli; 1,000 in Lattakia; 4,000 in Homs; 50 in Barz – an area near Damascus, and; 2,000 in Jobar just outside of Damascus. The day was largely free from violence, however, state media reported that a policeman was killed by protestors in Homs. 

Signs of hope following the President’s address to his newly sworn-in cabinet on Saturday, were abruptly stifled as protestors took to the streets around the country in the days after his speech – a full transcript of which, can be found here. More conciliatory than his March 30 speech, the President announced that the 1963 emergency law would be lifted in the coming week, declared the hundreds who have died here during recent unrest martyrs, and noted that corruption and unemployment are among the country’s biggest issues going forward.

Sunday was Independence Day, a national holiday that commemorates the departure of French forces from Syria 65 years ago, and protestors took to the streets in droves. Homs, Syria’s third largest city, was the scene of serious violence. According to international media, about 40 protestors gathered outside of the city’s Bab al-Sibaa mosque to call for “freedom” only to be surrounded by seven cars full of men dressed in street clothes. The men open fired on the protestors, killing between 12 and 25. The town of Talbisa, near to Homs, also saw the deaths of five protestors that day and according to local news, 11 policemen and members of security forces were injured. 

The same sources, however, attribute the violence to “a group of armed criminals”. The sources also report that armed groups also began “terrorizing innocent civilians” and “cutting off public roads” near the town. A military unit was apparently deployed to the scene and more violence ensued, resulting in the killing of “three members of the armed groups”, the wounding of another 15, and the injuring of five army personnel. International media attributes all such violence to the efforts of security forces to quell demonstrations. 

International media report that the unrest in Homs was sparked by the arresting of Sheikh Baddar Abu Moussa on Friday while he participated in demonstrations in Homs.  Sheikh Abu Moussa was killed while in police custody, with most sources reporting torture as the cause. 

On Monday, an estimated 5,000 took over Al-Saa Square in Homs, following mass funerals for the people killed the day before. The demonstrators allegedly set up checkpoints around the area in an effort to ensure that those entering were unarmed. International media reports that the demonstrators referred to the area “Tahrir Square” throughout the day – a reference to the square in Cairo that became the home of the protest movement that eventually ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Security forces used loudspeakers to order the protestors to leave – eventually setting a curfew of 2:30am. However, according to some sources, gunfire could be heard at the square beginning at 2:15am. International media estimate that between five and 17 people were killed. 

This came the same day that the Ministry of Interior released a statement attributing violence in recent days to a “mutiny led by Salafi armed groups” aiming to “create chaos and terrify the Syrian people, exploiting the reform and freedom process launched within a comprehensive program according to specific timetables announced” by President Assad. 

On Tuesday, protestors in Homs initiated a three-day strike, promising to continue with their demonstrations in Al-Saa Square. International reports suggest that Homs is in a state of disarray with nearly all of its businesses closed and security forces blocking off many roads. The city’s protestors are planning for huge demonstrations this coming Friday – terming the day “Great Day of Protests.” The city of Homs, with a population of about 800,000, is critically important to the country’s industrial sector and there is little doubt that the worsening of unrest there, will have a strongly negative impact on the country’s economy.

  In another show of the increasing brazenness of Syrian protestors, a group of Damascus University students attempted to stage a protest in front of the university’s medical school on Tuesday. Though they were quickly dispersed by security, their efforts are indicative of changing attitudes – tight security in Damascus has thus far served as an effective deterrent and suppressant of protests in the city.

The government also came forward with a number of key reforms on April 19, including that it passed a bill to officially end the state of emergency, that the Higher State Security Court – which is responsible for the trials of political prisoners, has been abolished, and that a new law allowing for peaceful demonstrations has been drafted. In its announcement, the government explained that “(t)his package of strategic bills is part of the political reform program that aims at bolstering democracy, expanding citizens’ participation, strengthening national unity, guaranteeing the safety of country and citizens, and confronting various challenges.” 

Nevertheless, it seems the Syrian protest movement has gained sufficient momentum to be unappeased by such reforms. Protestors in Homs, for example, are rumored to have vowed not to leave Al-Saa Square, until the entire regime is overthrown. This at least, is how the international media reports it. 

Further reading: 

“Twisting Assad’s Arm” in Foreign Policy – Andrew Tabler, a journalist posted for a number of years in Syria, critiques the US approach to diplomacy with Syria.

“The Continuing Protests in Arab Countries – The Case of Syria” in the Huffington Post – a detailed assessment of the particularities of Syria’s protest movement couched in related history of the region. 

“Who Are the Shabbiha?” in The Weekly Standard – a discussion of the group’s alleged origins, membership, activities and interests. (For more related takes on the group and its rumored activities, see here.) 

Two articles on the cyber component of the unrest here:

“Syria’s Cyber Revolution” in GlobalPost and “Is the Syrian Government Responsible for Spam Polluting #Syria on Twitter?” in Radio Free Europe: Radio Liberty.

“Syria’s Assad “Faces Strong Challenge Without Reform” in Reuters – Mariam Karouny’s analysis of the demands of members of Syria’s opposition groups. 

“Syria Crisis Could Change Face of Middle East” in the BBC – an assessment of how unrest in Syria could and likely will destabilize the entire region. 

“Syria on the Boil” in Arab News – an editorial on why the lifting of the emergency law and other such reforms will not bring an end to the unrest.   

Now, for the remainder of the weekly international news roundup.

Politics & Diplomacy

Last week, US State Department spokesman Mark Toner, announced that the US government has “credible information that Iran is assisting Syria” in managing the country’s unrest. Toner’s allegations rapidly spread across international media, causing debates and considerable anger.  According to Toner, the US government believes that Iran is channeling riot control gear into Syria and providing it with technical advice on related matters. The Syrian government adamantly denies all such allegations. 

A number of international analysts expressed concern that Iranian meddling in Syrian affairs could spark disastrous results. For many, Iran’s relative silence on the unrest in Syria and vocal support for it in other Arab states is quite telling. Iran has gained key economic and political strategic ground as a result of the region’s turmoil – but a worsening of unrest in Syria would take a serious toll on its interests and security. 

Only a few days before Toner’s statement, Hilary Clinton made a statement on the situation in Syria for a CNN report, saying that “(i)t is time for the Syrian government to stop repressing their citizens and start responding to their aspirations.” 

On April 15, during a meeting in Moscow, a number of Russian politicians affirmed their support for the Syrian government. 

The same day, a Lebanese daily reported that Wikileaks cables indicate that Saad Hariri, Lebanon’s outgoing premier, had aimed to politically isolate Syria and oust its current leadership. The day before, Syrian State TV ran a broadcast featuring an interview with an alleged terrorist claiming to have been paid and armed by Lebanese Future movement MP, Jamal al-Jarrah to incite unrest in Syria and carry out violent attacks against the government. 

On Friday, the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdulkarim, stated while attending a press conference that he was sure that the “majority of Lebanese people are keen on Syria’s independence…and that they realize that any harm that becomes Syria will affect Lebanon.”

On Sunday and Monday and Tuesday, a number of Lebanese officials came forward with statements in support of the Syrian government. The MP of Lebanon’s Change and Reform Bloc, Michel Aoun, also reiterated his country’s commitment to the Taif Agreement, which essentially states that Lebanon cannot serve as a base or launching point for attacks against Syria. 

The Washington Post published an article on Sunday which revealed that the US State Department has been secretly financing Syrian opposition groups since 2006. The initiative, started by former US President Bush, has been continued by the Obama Administration. Though the funding, totaling USD 6m is small, its political cost to the US government now that its efforts have been made public, is enormous. The news plays well for the Syrian government, which has maintained throughout the unrest, that the country’s recent turmoil is the result of foreign meddlers – including the US goverment.

On Monday, Hezbollah MP Nawwaf Moussawi made a statement in support of President Assad and the Syrian government, noting that Lebanon’s stability and security hinges on that of its neighbor and blaming unrest in Syria on “the American-Zionist-Western plot to undermine its national, pan-Arab and resistance role.” 

That day, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem held a meeting with a number of Arab and foreign ambassadors in Damascus to discuss the unrest in Syria and President Assad’s speech over the weekend. Mr. Moallem stated that, “(w)e believe that those who want reform express their opinion peacefully from the basis that this reform is a national necessity… those who want reform do not use violence”.

On Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said that he welcomed the Syrian government’s decision to lift the state of emergency, but that there was “still much more to do“. 

At the same time, EU foreign policy chief, Baroness Catherine Ashton, told Al Jazeera that EU member states are “very worried” about the violence in Syria and continued on to state, “(t)here has to be an end to violence. The first thing is we’ve got to stop the violence. The government has got to take its responsibilities seriously.” 

Meanwhile, Syrian communities in Austria, Kuwait, Iran, and Poland held rallies in support of the Syrian government around the week.

Security

On Friday April 15, between 400 and 500 trucks were held at the border crossing between Syria and Lebanon for inspection by Syrian authorities. The inspections were the result of increasing concerns about Syria’s security situation and had been put in place three days earlier. The border where the trucks were stopped, Abboudiyeh crossing, leads directly to Homs. 

Syrian authorities stopped a refrigerated truck at the al-Tanf border crossing with Iraq on Monday April 18. The driver, an Iraqi, was allegedly attempting to smuggle a massive load of weapons, including machine guns and sniper rifles into Syria. 

Economics & Agriculture

It is telling that in recent weeks, news related to Syria’s economic development and trade agreements has plummeted.

This week in Aleppo, scientists are holding an international conference aimed at building up a scientific ‘counteroffensive’ against a fungus called Yellow Rust, that is systematically destroying wheat crops in Syria as well as in a number of countries around the world. The International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas is based in Aleppo. 

Last week, the Syrian government announced that it will allow three government-owned lenders – Popular Credit Bank, Savings Bank and Industrial Bank – to sell foreign currencies to their customers.

Highlight

Fraught with troubles, the events of last week were significant as they suggest that recent unrest in Syria is unlikely to come to an end in the near future. 

On Wednesday,  President Bashar al-Assad made an address to the nation that attributed recent violence to the actions of “conspirators” and left many key questions with regard to government reforms unanswered.  

After his address, a number of cities around the country were soon the scenes of further “angry” protests, including in Daraa and Lattakia – where reports suggest that protestors were fired upon.

The UK’s Foreign Secretary William Hague was quick to respond to the events by expressing that he was “deeply concerned” by the violence and that he “strongly” encouraged the government to respond by moving forward with reform.

Perhaps in an effort to address concerns about the absence of clear detail in the President’s speech on the 30th, the government announced on Thursday a number of more specific government plans for possible reform and for investigating the deaths in Daraa and Lattakia – among them, the creation of a committee to analyze approaches to protecting the security of the population (i.e. the emergency law) and another to consider the possibilities of extending citizenship rights to the country’s large Kurdish population. For details on all of such announcements, follow this link. The international media’s response to announcements of potential reforms here was largely skeptical.

On Friday, many protestors came out in cities across the country following morning prayers. While the locations in which protests occurred increased, the actual numbers of participants were smaller than hoped for by activists. Lattakia and Daraa had the largest showings and violence ensued in a number of locations – Douma, Damascus and the aforementioned cities among them. Deaths were reported in Damascus, Douma, Daraa, and Lattakia, among others. While local media reported that “armed gangs” were responsible for the shootings and fatalities in Douma, Homs, Daraa and Lattakia, international media reported a very different story – particularly with respect to Lattakia. Internationally and locally, there is increasing concern about the possibility of sectarianism motivating current and future violence in Syria.

In one of the more interesting bits of international coverage of the situation that encapsulates the international media’s struggle to report on what is happening here in Syria, Al Jazeera reporters walked the streets of Damascus’s Old City dressed as tourists in an effort to observe Friday’s protests. Unsurprisingly, their mission was abruptly halted by security.  For more on the day’s events, see here.

On Saturday morning, media reported that police raided homes across the country in search of suspected dissidents. Large numbers were detained. Protests continued throughout the day – particularly in Douma, where hundreds gathered to chant “Freedom.”

President Assad issued a decree on Sunday that tasked Adel Safar, the previous adminstration’s agricultural minister, with forming the country’s new cabinet and on Monday, he appointed Mohammad Khaled al-Hannusa the new governor in Daraa. The same day, a group on Facebook termed the week the “Week of Martyrs” and called for more protests around the country on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  Khaled al-Hariri, a Reuters photographer based in Syria, was also released from prison following six days of detention as was Suhair Atassi, a rights activist detained during a protest weeks earlier.

On Tuesday, two police were shot dead near Douma (for reasons unknown at this time) and the government suspended upcoming football matches – a move likely intended to reduce the risk of more protests. Wissam Tarif, the executive director of Insan, a rights group, also increased the group’s estimate of the total number of fatalities here in recent unrest to 173 people. 

Analysis of the recent unrest here in Syria put forth by the international media continues to vary widely. Some examples:

In a Los Angeles Times article, analyst at the Carnegie Middle East Center, Lahcen Achy, attributes the protests to anger over “economic hardship” noting that though the country has experienced a strong economic growth rate of five percent over the preceding same number of years, five key issues detract from its progress: 

1) rapid population growth (estimated at 2.5% annually) and the corresponding entrance of a quarter of a million new job-seekers into the locally economy – which only creates about 20,000 new jobs a year; 

2) droughts that have ravaged agricultural output leading to a 25 percent decline production (approximately 20 percent of both the work force and the GDP are derived from the agricultural industry) which in turn, has prompted more of the rural poor to migrate to urban areas where they struggle to find employment; 

3) a private sector dominated by big businesses all connected to the government, a large informal economy that has developed in response to oppressive bureaucracy, corruption, and limited access to the capital required to start businesses (interestingly, the author cites a statistic from the World Bank 2010 Doing Business survey that ranked Syria 181 out of 183 countries in its assessment of credit accessibility – however, the same report in 2011 shows some improvement – putting Syria at 168 out of 183);

4) a drop in oil revenues (from around 14 percent GDP ten years ago, to only about four percent in 2010) and a resulting cut in government social spending – noting that the government has not been able to use tax revenues to offset costs, and;

5) a stark increase in income inequality – while average monthly wages increased over 20 percent in the three years between 2006 and 2009, gains were effectively eliminated by rising inflation and those with higher levels of education experienced more wage increases than those with less – but, an estimated 60 percent of the labor force can be categorized as having achieved only low levels of education.

Robert Baer, a former CIA operative and a well-known political commentator in the US known for his alarmist take on Iran’s engagements in the Middle East, offered up a different take on events here and enunciated a bleak view of the underlying motivations for the government’s ‘managing’ of the unrest as well as of the probable outcome (both domestically and internationally) of an increase in violence. 

Similarly, in an article for The Independent, Robert Fisk maintained that Syria is “a hard, tough country” and that the people here “do not obey the rules” and “follow the other Arabs like sheep” – and noted that Daraa has always been home to the “rebellious”. Regarding the unrest here, Fisk employed lines of reasoning similar in part to both Baer and Achy (i.e. religion and economics, respectively) to put forth his interpretation of events here yet he also highlighted the fact that in his view, Syria has always been a “unitary” nation – and one that is of essential importance to the diplomatic maneuverings of the west. The article makes for an interesting read. 

Meanwhile, Foreign Policy published an article “The Syrian Time Bomb” by Patrick Seale that argues that events in Syria could spell the country’s implosion – as well as that of the entire region. 

The US government continues to seem unsure of how to respond to or interpret events in Syria. Obama’s new policy of increased engagement with Damascus has yet to bear results – and many view his administration’s recent foreign policy as plagued with hypocrisy. Relatedly, in one of the week’s more diplomatically comical events, the White House announced that the US will seek a second term on the UN’s Human Right’s Council – an effort to stifle Damascus’ plans to continue bidding for the same seat. 

Now, for the remainder of the weekly international news roundup.

Politics & Diplomacy

On Wednesday March 30, reports emerged that Hamas was kicked out of Syria, however all such claims are heavily disputed by Ezzat al-Rashq, a member of the group’s political bureau. 

The President received a number of calls and letters throughout the week from those expressing their strong political support for him and the government – among them, the Emir of Qatar, the Omar Hasan al-Bashir, the President of Sudan and President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Local press also reported that Syrian communities abroad, including those in Venezuela, Romania and Argentina, rallied on Monday in support of the government. 

Today April 6, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu arrived in Damascus to meet with the President and the Foreign Minister to discuss event in Syria as well as the region at large. 

Energy & Water

Syria is set to receive 30m Kuwaiti dinars (108m USD) and 375m Saudi riyals (100m USD) from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, to help finance a power project in the country’s eastern province of Deir ez-Zor. The loan will be formally signed during meetings running April 6 through 7 in Damascus. During the meetings, officials will also discuss the possibility of financing a project in Hassakeh that will redirect water from the Tigris River.

On Monday, the 4th Syrian International Power and Electricity Exhibition (SYRPOWER 2011) started in Damascus. Participants include a number of foreign companies working in the Syrian energy sector. One of the event’s key aims is the exchange of new ideas between Syrian and international power companies.

Economic Development & Trade

On Sunday April 3, there was a joint Syrian-Iranian workshop in Damascus to discuss opportunities for collaboration between the two countries on the manufacturing of nanotechnologies. Of particular relevance to both sides, is the practical application of such technologies towards efforts to solve issues of water shortages and drought. 

The same day, Deputy Telecommunications Minister Mohammad al-Jalali announced that Qatar Telecom QSC and Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) were still in the running for the third mobile license here in Syria. For more information, see this link. 

The 7th International Dentistry Forum started on Tuesday April 5 in Aleppo. The forum aims to bring together regional scientists and professionals to discuss advances in techniques, research and technology. 

Regarding the weekend’s unrest in Daraa, there are differing reports regarding who was responsible for the worst of it. Authorities here blame the situation on outsiders, including Palestinian extremists. The President has also promised an official investigation into the deaths of the protestors and indeed sacked the governor of the city. Inhabitants of Daraa, all quite close and interconnected due to tribal affiliations, have put forth a number of issues for the consideration of the government, including requests to curb local corruption. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has also called on the government to conduct an open and transparent investigation into the weekend’s unrest.

For obvious reasons, international media coverage of the turn of events here in Syria has been extensive. Over forty major international news sources ran feature stories on the situation here. Setting aside those articles already referenced above, there are a number of additional notable reads as well as one audio report: Foreign Policy: “The Revolution Reaches Damascus”; National Public Radio: “Unrest Erupts in Syria” (audio clip); The BBC: “Syria Unrest: US Condemns ‘Disproportionate Force’”; Al Jazeera: “Syria’s Coming Revolution?”; The Guardian: “Standing Up to the West Isn’t Enough to Save Assad,” and; The Economist: “The Arab Awakening Reaches Syria.”

Now, for the remainder of the weekly international news roundup.

Regional Unrest, Politics & Diplomacy

Last week, President Bashar al-Assad met with Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trinidad Jimenez, to discuss efforts to bolster bilateral relations between Syria and Spain, the impasse in the Middle East peace process, and the issue of foreign intervention in neighboring states. During the meeting, President Assad stressed the importance of respecting state sovereignty – an issue of particular relevance given the international community’s recent decision to implement a no-fly zone over Libya under the guise of protecting Libyan civilians. 

To that end regional unrest, the so-called Arab Spring, seems to be trending towards increased violence. In response to the implementation of the no-fly zone, Syrian officials, including Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, made a number of official statements expressing Syria’s strong position against any foreign intervention in Libya. Relatedly, Moallem also met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the 18^th, to discussed methods of promoting increased peace and stability throughout the region.

The President also met the Advisor to the Saudi King, Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah, last week to discuss the status of social unrest in Bahrain. During the meeting, President Assad received a message from Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz affirming the Kingdom’s commitment to strengthening relations between the two countries. In 2009, Saudi-Syrian relations showed signs of warming after several years of marked tension – namely following the assassination of Rafik Hairiri. Given the failed joint Saudi-Syrian effort to mediate Lebanon’s crisis of government in January of this year, there has been much speculation regarding the future of Saudi-Syrian relations.

While attending the Leaders of Change Summit 2011/Istanbul World Political Forum, Syrian Presidential Political and Media Advisor Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban discussed the issue of political stability in the region, reiterating that the west and the United States in particular, only act on the basis of strategic interests (e.g. oil) and that issues of human rights and freedom throughout the Middle East were not on the American agenda. She encouraged the west to rethink its policies and respect the will of the people and governments throughout the region. 

Economic Development & Trade

In a matter of weeks, Syria will sign a contract with Ukraine to swap wheat grains between the two countries. Syria will export hard wheat in exchange for Ukrainian soft wheat. The volumes of grain to be traded have not yet been disclosed. According to the US Department of Agriculture, it is likely that Syria’s wheat production will increase in the coming growing season from 3.6m metric tones to 4m. 

Additionally, Syria and Ecuador signed a number of agreements on trade, tourism and political cooperation last Thursday at the International Cooperation and Planning Commission, headquartered here in Damascus. The agreements include increased promotion and marketing of tourism-related products as well as in trade. 

Finally, the government of Japan sent Syria 92 garbage trucks on Sunday at a cost of 12m. The trucks are set to make their way to Homs, Idleb, Lattakia, Suweida, Hama and Damascus. 

Security

On March 19^th, Turkey intercepted an Iranian cargo plane allegedly en route to Syria. Turkish security forces boarded and searched the plane and discovered only 150 tons of food. Turkish authorities again intercepted and searched another such suspicious plane on the 21^st – with the same outcome. 

Energy

Following the Syrian-Turkish Energy Cooperation Forum held in Damascus on the 17^th, Syria’s Assistant Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Hassan Zeinab, stressed the importance of furthering Turkish-Syrian economic and political relations – particularly in the field of energy. At present, a 62km oil pipeline between Aleppo and Syria’s border with Turkey, is under construction. Turkey’s Assistant Minister of Electricity, Hisham Mashafj, likewise highlighted the significance of the two countries’ cooperation in the field of electric power. In 1993, Turkey and Syria signed an Agreement of Electric Linkage. Egypt, Jordan and Iraq were also signatories of the agreement and in 2008, Lebanon, Palestine and Libya likewise joined.