Syria: Freed Aleppo Major Defeat to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Serious Setback for US

Commenting on the success of the Syrian army and complete liberation of Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo, Kurdish political official Rezan Hiddo explained to Sputnik why it came as a serious defeat to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, while Professor Tim Anderson explained why it is the most serious setback for the US in 15 years.

"The liberation of Syria's major strategic center, Aleppo, from the armed opposition has changed the course of the Syrian war, propelled strengthening of the Syrian army and increased its morale," Kurdish political official, member of the Syrian Democratic Council Rezan Hiddo told Sputnik Turkiye. However it came as a serious defeat to those countries which have been supporting the rebel groups operating on the Syrian territory, he added.

"I mean Saudi Arabia, Qatar and particularly Turkey," he specified.

LAFIA DOLE: NIGERIAN TROOPS CLEAR BOKO HARAM AMBUSH AND CLEAR GARE

Military Troops of 155 Task Force Battalion of 29 Task Force Brigade while on clearance patrol along Banki junction on Monday encountered a Boko Haram terrorists ambush at Bolungu village which was successfully cleared.

According to the Army Public Relations' Acting Director, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, the troops killed all the 3 attackers and also recovered 1 Fabrique Nationale rifle with registration number UE16A86257 and 1G3 rifle with registration number 10f995, as well as 19 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition.

Similarly, some element of the unit stationed in Mayanti encountered 2 fleeing Boko Haram terrorists from the villages cleared yesterday and killed 1 while trying to shot the troops and arrested the other.

Putin deploys missiles in Syria after Turkey shoots down bomber

Russia deployed long-range air defense missiles at its air base in Syria Thursday in a rapid response to the downing of one of its bombers by a Turkish warplane.

Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti news agency, quoting its own reporter on the ground, reported that the shipment of S-400 long-range missiles had been delivered. They will be based in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, just 30 miles away from the border with Turkey and are capable of striking targets within a 250-mile range with deadly precision.

The deployment of the missiles came hours after Turkey released audio recordings of what it says are the Turkish military's warnings to the pilot of the Russian Su-24 bomber that was shot down at the border with Syria early Tuesday.

Latest On NATO-Russia Tensions Rise After Turkey Downs Jet - A planned Provocation says Putin

The Russian radar showed that the Turkish jet went directly to the border and shot the Russian jet without hesitation. This was deliberate to protect their agenda of eventually taking the Syrian lands just south of their border.

#Putin: "Oil and petro-products from #IS go to #Turkey. IS obviously gets protection of Turkey. Serious consequences for relations."

— Bernd Grossheim (@bgmosk) November 24, 2015

Tripoli - Libyan capital under Islamist control after airport seized

Operation Dawn captures airport in fierce fighting against pro-government militias after five-week siege in the capital

Libya has lurched ever closer to fragmentation and civil war this weekend after Islamist-led militias seized the airport in the capital, Tripoli, proclaimed their own government, and presented the world with yet another crisis.

Operation Dawn, a coalition of Islamist and Misrata forces, captured the airport on Saturday in fierce fighting against pro-government militias after a five-week siege that battered parts of the capital.

Television images from the scene showed jubilant, bearded, militias dancing on wrecked airliners, firing machine guns in the air and chanting "Allah O Akbar" ("God is great").

Artillery fire kills civilians in Ukraine's Donetsk

Obama: Russia triggering 'dangerous escalation' in region; NATO: Russian artillery units operate in Ukraine

Two civilians were killed Saturday, apparently by artillery fire in Donetsk, the main separatist stronghold in eastern Ukraine, an AFP reporter witnessed. Their bodies were seen covered with bloodied sheets in a street of central Donetsk after artillery explosions rocked the city around 6:00 am (0300 GMT).

U S President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Friday that Russia was triggering a "dangerous escalation" of the conflict in Ukraine due to its military presence and shelling there.

In a telephone call with Merkel, Obama said the conflict "has continued to deteriorate" since a Malaysian airliner was downed last month over rebel-held territory in Ukraine. The West accuses Russian-backed separatists of shooting down the plane, while Moscow blames Ukraine.

Putin's first visit to Crimea since annexation treated heroic

Russian President, Vladimir Putin flew to Crimea Friday to mark the Soviet Union's World War II victory, his first trip to the peninsula since Moscow annexed it from Ukraine in March.

Putin declared his country is now stronger with the annexation of Crimea. "I am sure that 2014 will go into the annals of our whole country as the year when the nations living here firmly decided to be together with Russia, affirming fidelity to the historical truth and the memory of our ancestors,'' Putin was quoted as saying during a speech in the port city of Sevastopol.

"There is a lot of work ahead but we will overcome all difficulties because we are together, which means we have become stronger," the Russian leader said during his remarks to military leaders and other officials.

NATO Secretary-General warns Moscow against further intervention in Ukraine

NATO Secretary-General has warned Russia that further intervention in Ukraine would be a “historic mistake” with grave consequences.

Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Moscow must pull back troops it has massed on the Ukrainian border. On Tuesday, Ukraine regained control of one of the government buildings occupied by pro-Russian activists in the east of the country.

Realities of Crimea War: Obama Unsettle, Calls for trans-Atlantic unity to isolate Russia

United State President, Mr Barack Obama made a rallying call Wednesday for countries around the world to defend the international order, which he says has been profoundly challenged by Russia’s annexation of Crimea and ongoing threat to the rest of Ukraine.

Ukraine crisis: Crimea peninsula turns to Russia

Ukraine's government appealed for Western help on Tuesday to stop Moscow annexing Crimea but the Black Sea peninsula, overrun by Russian troops, seemed fixed on a course that could formalise rule from Moscow within days.

With their own troops in Crimea effectively prisoners in their bases, the new authorities in Kiev painted a sorry picture of the military bequeathed them by the pro-Moscow president overthrown two weeks ago. They announced the raising of a new National Guard to be drawn from volunteers among veterans.

Why should Russia tolerate NATO at its borders - Vladimir Golstein

Russia is not a superpower. Its population is shrinking, and so is its military, political, and economic might. Yes, Russians have their oil money to organise Olympics or buy fancy flats in London, but Russia itself is a far cry from the big nasty "bear" that was invading Afghanistan, when I emigrated from this evil colossus in search of a political freedom so lacking at home. Yet, this cherished western freedom is being threatened by a stifling hypocrisy.