When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Geopolitics

Syria: 18 Die In Bomb Attack, UN Special Envoy Describes Mission As 'Nearly Impossible'

AFP (France), BBC (UK), AL JAZEERA (Qatar)

Worldcrunch

A Syrian fighter-jet killed 18 people in the rebel-held town of Al-Bab on Monday.

AFP reports that the airstrike on Monday was the latest in a series of attacks on towns and villages in Aleppo province.

Victims of the attack on the building in Al-Bab included 10 men, six women and two children.

The pro-rebel Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has released a statement alleging that 5,440 people have been killed in Syria in August, with at least 26,283 deaths since the uprising began in March 2011.

As fighting escalates across Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi told the BBC that his role as the UN-Arab League special envoy was "nearly impossible."

The former Algerian diplomat was appointed special envoy to Syria after former UN General Secretary Kofi Annan stepped down from the position, similarly describing his work as "mission impossible."

Brahimi told the BBC: "I'm scared of the weight of responsibility. People are already saying: "People are dying and what are you doing?""

Brahimi will meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on September 8. He has refused to call for Assad to step down. He told Al-Jazeera yesterday "it is too early to speak about who should go and who should stay."

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

Ukrainians In Occupied Territories Are Being Forced To Get Russian Passports

Reports have emerged of children, retirees, and workers being forced by the Russian military and occupying administration to obtain Russian Federation passports, or face prison, beating or loss of public benefits.

Image of a hand holding a red Russian passport.

Russian passport

Iryna Gamaliy

It's referred to as: "forced passportization." Reports are accumulating of police and local authorities in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine requiring that locals obtain Russian passports. Now new evidence has emerged that Ukrainians are indeed being coerced into changing their citizenship, or risk retribution from occupying authorities.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

Ever since late September, when President Vladimir Putin announced Russia hadd unilaterally annexed four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine (Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson), Moscow has been seeking ways to legitimize the unrecognized annexation. The spreading of Russian passports is seen as an attempt to demonstrate that there is support among the Ukrainian population to be part of Russia.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest