– Next round of Syria talks in Vienna on Saturday
– Clashes near Syrian base besieged by ISIS
– Militants shell Syrian city of Latakia
– ICRC works to avoid massive water crisis in Aleppo
– Turkey detains eighteen al-Qaeda suspects, days before G20
– Turkey’s Erdogan calls for new constitution, reform in next four years
– Attacks kill at least ten civilians in Baghdad
Next round of Syria talks in Vienna on Saturday
US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Vienna for the latest round of negotiations on the conflict in Syria on Saturday. The talks will be the continuation of a dialogue between seventeen nations, along with UN and EU representatives, to agree on a plan to end the Syrian civil war. One of the main points of contention will be determining which opposition groups to include in future negotiations. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Monday said that the West may back groups that are less than “moderate … In my judgment, people we should be talking to will include people who have a vision for the future of Syria that is different from ours, a vision that we will not agree with.” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the talks on Syria are the first “serious attempt to break the spiral of increasing violence and chaos,” though he dampened hopesfor quick solutions. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a press briefing that China will also take part in the next round of talks. [Syrian Observer,NYT, AFP, 11/10/2015]
Clashes near Syrian base besieged by ISIS
Pro-government forces in Syria clashed with Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) fighters around a military air base east of Aleppo city in northern Syria on Tuesday as they tried to break the jihadists’ siege of the facility, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said. SOHR added that forces fighting on the side of the Syrian government, including Lebanese and Iranian militiamen, were trying to enter and secure Kweires air base, which has been under attack for nearly two years. There were some initial reports that the pro-government forces had managed to break through the encirclement and enter the base after heavy clashes. The assault comes a week after the Syrian army battled ISIS to regain control of a road southeast of Aleppo and took back control of the government’s only supply route into the city. [Reuters, 11/10/2015]
Militants shell Syrian city of Latakia
Syrian state TV says militants have shelled the coastal city of Latakia, leaving a number of people dead and wounded. State TV said two shells hit an area near Tishrin University on Tuesday afternoon. TV footage showed at least one car on fire and several others, including a minibus, hit with shrapnel. Syrian government forces have been on the offensive in the mountains overlooking Latakia in recent weeks under the cover of Russian airstrikes. The shelling of Latakia comes as residents in the capital Damascus said rebels shelled several neighborhoods in the city. There was no immediate word on casualties in Damascus. [AP, 11/10/2015]
ICRC works to avoid massive water crisis in Aleppo
As water cuts in Aleppo reach an all-time high, the Red Cross and its local partner organizations are asking for help in publicizing a GPS-enabled map that gives users the ability to pinpoint themselves in relation to a network of restored water wells throughout the city. After working for months repairing dozens of antiquated wells to provide the people of Aleppo with safe drinking water, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and its local partners have hit an unanticipated problem: They do not have a foolproof way to inform people of the whereabouts of their new local water sources. Alongside efforts to get the word out that include printing new maps and handing them out one by one, the humanitarian agency has created a new GPS-enabled map and has launched an appeal for help to distribute it to Syrians through social media. [Syria Deeply, 11. 10/2015]
Turkey detains eighteen al-Qaeda suspects, days before G20
Turkish police detained eighteen people on Tuesday suspected of recruiting fighters for Syria’s al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, days before world leaders are due to meet at a G20 summit in southern Turkey. The suspects included two women and a number of people who had crossed into Turkey after being wounded fighting the war in neighboring Syria. [Reuters, 11/10/2015]
Turkey’s Erdogan calls for new constitution, reform in next four years
On Tuesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called for reforms and the creation of a new constitution in the next four years, steps that would move the country closer to the executive presidency he has long sought. “The Nov. 1 election ushered in four years of stability and confidence. Let’s make this period a time of reforms, prioritizing a new constitution,” Erdogan said at a commemoration ceremony for Turkey’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The comments were later echoed by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who said the country would embark on a major reform process in the next six months and would carry out economic, social and judicial reforms, without giving further details. [Reuters, 11/10/2015]
Attacks kill at least ten civilians in Baghdad
Officials say attacks in different parts of the Iraqi capital have killed at least ten civilians. A police officer said a bomb went off Tuesday morning in an outdoor market in Baghdad’s northern Sabi al-Bore neighborhood, killing three shoppers and wounding eight others. Another police officer said three more civilians were killed and seven wounded in a bomb explosion in the eastern suburb of Hussainiya. [AP, 11/10/2015]