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2018 Missile Strikes Against Syria
On 14 April 2018, beginning at 04:00 Syrian time (UTC+3), the United States, France, and the United Kingdom carried out a series of military strikes involving aircraft and ship-based missiles against multiple government sites in Syria during the Syrian Civil War. They said it was in reprisal for the Douma chemical attack against civilians on 7 April, which they attributed to the Syrian government. The Syrian government denied involvement in the Douma attacks and called the airstrikes a violation of international law. Background A Syrian government offensive to recapture the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta suburb began in February 2018. The offensive was condemned by Western media and human rights organizations for its reportedly brutal humanitarian consequences. By the beginning of April, Douma was one of the last rebel enclaves remaining in the region, with rebel group Jaysh al-Islam in control of the city. Russian and Syrian state media reported a deal between the rebel grou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is a unitary republic that consists of 14 governorates (subdivisions), and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. Cyprus lies to the west across the Mediterranean Sea. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including the majority Syrian Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Armenians, Circassians, Albanians, and Greeks. Religious groups include Muslims, Christians, Alawites, Druze, and Yazidis. The capital and largest city of Syria is Damascus. Arabs are the largest ethnic group, and Mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barrel Bombs
A barrel bomb is an improvised unguided bomb, sometimes described as a flying IED (improvised explosive device). They are typically made from a large barrel-shaped metal container that has been filled with high explosives, possibly shrapnel, oil or chemicals as well, and then dropped from a helicopter or aeroplane. Due to the large amount of explosives (up to ), their poor accuracy, and indiscriminate use in populated civilian areas (including refugee camps), the resulting detonations have been devastating. Critics have characterised them as weapons of terror and illegal under international conventions. The earliest known use of barrel bombs in their current form was by the Israeli military in 1948. The second known use of barrel bombs was by the US military in Vietnam in the late 1960s. Starting in the 1990s, they were also used in Sri Lanka, Croatia and Sudan. Barrel bombs have been used extensively by the Syrian Air Force during the Syrian Civil War—bringing the weapon to w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mil Mi-8
The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition to its most common role as a transport helicopter, the Mi-8 is also used as an airborne command post, armed gunship, and reconnaissance platform. Along with the related, more powerful Mil Mi-17, the Mi-8 is among the world's most-produced helicopters, used by over 50 countries. As of 2015, when combined the two helicopters are the third most common operational military aircraft in the world. Design and development Mikhail Mil originally approached the Soviet government with a proposal to design an all-new two-engined turbine helicopter in 1959 after the success of the Mil Mi-4 and the emergence and effectiveness of turbines used in the Mil Mi-6. After design and development, the Mi-8 was subsequently introduced into the Soviet Air For ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrian Air Force
) , mascot = , anniversaries = 16 October , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War * Six-Day War * Yom Kippur War * 1982 Lebanon War * Syrian Civil War , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , flying_hours = , website = , commander1 = President Bashar al-Assad , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 = General Issam Hallaq , commander2_label = Chief of Air Staff , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Roundel , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = Fin flash , identification_symbol_3 = , identification_symbol_3_label = Flag , aircraft_attack ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Helmets (Syrian Civil War)
The White Helmets ( ''al-Ḫawdh al-bayḍāʾ'' / ''al-Qubaʿāt al-Bayḍāʾ''), officially known as Syria Civil Defence (SCD; ar, الدفاع المدني السوري ''ad-Difāʿ al-Madanī as-Sūrī''), is a volunteer organisation that operates in parts of opposition-controlled Syria and in Turkey. Formed in 2014 during the Syrian Civil War, the majority of the volunteers' activity in Syria consists of medical evacuation, urban search and rescue in response to bombing, evacuation of civilians from danger areas, and essential service delivery. As of April 2018, the organisation said it had saved about 114,000 lives, and that 204 of its members had lost their lives while performing their duties. They assert their impartiality in the Syrian conflict. The organisation has been the target of a sustained disinformation campaign by supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian state-sponsored media organisations such as RT and Sputnik; the campaign has promote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chemical Attack
Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (warfare or weapons), all of which are considered "weapons of mass destruction" (WMDs), a term that contrasts with conventional weapons. The use of chemical weapons is prohibited under customary international humanitarian law. Definition Chemical warfare is different from the use of conventional weapons or nuclear weapons because the destructive effects of chemical weapons are not primarily due to any explosive force. The offensive use of living organisms (such as anthrax) is considered biological warfare rather than chemical warfare; however, the use of nonliving toxic products produced by living organisms (e.g. toxins such as botulinum toxin, ricin, and saxitoxin) ''is'' considered c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaysh Al-Islam
) , successor = , allies = * * * * * Free Syrian Army * Ahrar al-Sham *al-Rahman Legion (sometimes) *1st Brigade of Damascus (sometimes) * Al-Nusra Front (formerly) * Saraya Ahl al-Sham * Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis , opponents = * Syrian Armed Forces * Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant *al-Rahman Legion (sometimes) *1st Brigade of Damascus (sometimes) *Tahrir al-Sham *Jaysh al-Ummah , battles = , url = , status = , founding_leader = Zahran Alloush , military_leader = Essam al-Buwaydhani (2015–2019) Abu Jamal (military chief) , political_leader = Mohammed Alloush , spokesman = Islam Alloush (former) , groups = , designated_as_terror_group_by = Jaysh al-Islam ( ar, جيش الإسلام, Jayš al-ʾIslām, meaning ''Army of Islam''), formerly known as Liwa al-Islam ( ar, لواء الإسلام, links=no, Brigade of Islam), is a coalition of Islamist rebel units involved in the Syrian C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghouta
Ghouta ( ar, غُوطَةُ دِمَشْقَ / ALA-LC: ''Ḡūṭat Dimašq'') is a countryside and suburban area in southwestern Syria that surrounds the city of Damascus along its eastern and southern rim. Name Ghouta is the Arabic term (''ghuta'') for 'garden'. Geography The Ghouta is an oasis formed by the Barada River, as its waters flow east of Mount Qasioun, and its seven tributaries. It surrounds the city of Damascus. To the east and south of the Ghouta lies the Marj plain, which forms a narrow belt of fields, and south of that lies the Hauran plain. The Barada River Valley borders the Ghouta to the northeast. The area north of the Ghouta is less fertile and eventually desolate hill country. To the west of the region is the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. The Ghouta is historically the most celebrated 'green zone' (a verdant, fertile area around an urban center) in the Levant, according to the historian Beshara Doumani. He also notes that its fame in this regard persists, desp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rif Dimashq Offensive (February–April 2018)
The Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018), code-named Operation Damascus Steel, was a military offensive launched by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in February 2018 in a bid to capture the rebel-held eastern Ghouta suburb during the Syrian Civil War. East Ghouta, a pocket of towns and farms, had been under government siege since 2013 and had been a major rebel stronghold in the vicinity of the capital of Damascus. According to the United Nations, nearly 400,000 people live in East Ghouta. On 14 April, the Syrian Army fully captured the Eastern Ghouta pocket. Before the offensive had concluded, the Associated Press reported that the capture of the whole rebel-held Eastern Ghouta enclave would represent one of the most significant victories for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war, and the worst setback for the rebels since their defeat in the Battle of Aleppo in late 2016. Similarly, Reuters stated the capture of Eastern Ghouta would represent the biggest prize f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the Secretariat, the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Trusteeship Council. The UN Charter mandates the UN and its member states to maintain international peace and security, uphold international law, achieve "higher standards of living" for their citizens, address "economic, social, health, and related problems", and promote "universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion". As a charter and constituent treaty, its rules and obligations are binding on all members and supersede those of other treaties. During the Second World War, the Allies— formally known a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douma, Syria
Douma ( ar, دُومَا, Dūmā) is a city in Syria. Its centre is about northeast of the centre of Damascus. Being the centre of Rif Dimashq governorate (which completely surrounds the Damascus Governorate), the city is also the administrative centre of Douma District. Douma is a major city of the region known as Ghouta, for the peri-urban settlements to the east and south of Damascus. History 21st century During the Syrian Civil War, Douma was a major flashpoint and witnessed numerous demonstrations against the Syrian government and armed clashes against the Syrian Army and security forces during the Civil uprising phase of the Syrian Civil War, early stages of the conflict. On 30 January 2012, the Syrian Army gained control of the city after the Battle of Douma, a major operation against the opposition armed groups in Rif Dimashq Governorate. On 29 June 2012, the Syrian Army was accused of committing a massacre in Douma, where more than 50 people were killed. As of 18 Oct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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