Hoplite Group

#Syria / #SDF - Syrian minister rejects Kurdish-led SDF’s proposal for own military bloc. Integrating Syria’s myriad armed groups into unified command structure is a priority of the new government. From Al Jazeera Media Network: Syria’s new defence minister has said it would not be right for US-backed Kurdish fighters based in the country’s northeast to retain their own bloc within the broader integrated Syrian armed forces. Speaking to the Reuters news agency in Damascus, Murhaf Abu Qasra said on Sunday that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was procrastinating in its handling of the complex issue. The SDF, which has carved out a semi-autonomous zone through 14 years of war, has been in talks with the new administration in Damascus led by former rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad on December 8. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi (also known as Mazloum Kobani) has said one of their central demands is a decentralised administration, saying in an interview with Saudi Arabia’s Asharq News channel last week that the SDF was open to integrating with the Ministry of Defence but as “a military bloc”, and without dissolving. Abu Qasra rejected that proposal on Sunday. “We say that they would enter the Defence Ministry within the hierarchy of the Defence Ministry and be distributed in a military way – we have no issue there,” said Abu Qasra, who was appointed defence minister on December 21. “But for them to remain a military bloc within the Defence Ministry, such a bloc within a big institution is not right.” One of the minister’s priorities since taking office has been integrating Syria’s myriad anti-al-Assad factions into a unified command structure. However, doing so with the SDF has proved challenging. The United States considers the group a key ally against ISIL (ISIS), but neighbouring Turkiye regards it as a national security threat linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Abu Qasra said he had met the SDF leaders but accused them of “procrastinating” in talks over their integration, and said incorporating them in the Defence Ministry like other former rebel factions was “a right of the Syrian state”. He was appointed to the transitional government about two weeks after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel group to which he belongs, led the offensive that overthrew al-Assad. The minister said he hoped to finish the integration process, including appointing some senior military figures, by March 1, when the transitional government’s time in power is set to end... “We are in a race against time and every day makes a difference,” he said. The new administration was also criticised over its decision to give some foreigners, including Egyptians and Jordanians, ranks in the new military. For full report: https://lnkd.in/ey43WtYW

Three hostages released in #Gaza, now back to #Israel. Posted here: https://lnkd.in/egNR8trd

#Iran / #Hamas #Delusion / #Messaging / #InfluenceOperations - Meanwhile, in Tehran....bit celebrations of the Hamas and Axis of Resistance victory and Israel's defeat. https://lnkd.in/ePnh2MM5 https://lnkd.in/ev6j5dU8 https://lnkd.in/evcFuRfW

#Israel / #Gaza / #Hamas - Middle East latest: A long-awaited Gaza ceasefire starts after a delay - from The Associated Press: A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday following an almost three-hour delay after Hamas was late to name the three hostage it plans to release.  The announcement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the ceasefire began at 11:15 a.m. local time (0915 GMT). Israel said earlier it would keep fighting until the names were handed over in accordance with the agreement. Hamas blamed the delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons.” It said in a statement that it is committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week. The ceasefire is set to pause the fighting after 15 months of war and see the release of dozens of hostages held by the militants in the Gaza Strip and hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israel’s Cabinet approved the deal early on Saturday. Brokered by mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt in months of indirect talks between the warring sides, the ceasefire is the second truce achieved in the devastating conflict. The Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel killed some 1,200 people and left some 250 others captive. Nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half the dead. Celebrations erupted early Sunday across the Gaza Strip as people hoped for respite after 15 months of war that killed tens of thousands and destroyed large areas of the territory. Masked militants appeared at some of the celebrations, where the crowds chanted slogans in support of them, according to Associated Press reporters in Gaza. Gaza’s Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, held a parade in Gaza City, where the rescuers waved a Palestinian flag alongside other revelers, according to AP footage. It also showed a small group of people carrying the flags of Islamic Jihad, the second largest militant group after Hamas, which took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war. https://lnkd.in/eCywAUCM

Air Commando friends and history nerds like me may enjoy this: From the past, the future... Perhaps, at some point in the not too distant future, someone will reconsider the convergence of two tribes - AFSOF and Rescue...perhaps this will serve as good "read-ahead"...or a backgrounder... Available via DoD website: https://lnkd.in/ey3kUG6H

#Iran #IRGC - Iran unveils underground naval missile base amid rising tensions with U.S. - from Shafaq News (Iraq): Iran has revealed an underground naval missile base in the Gulf just two days before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump. The announcement coincides with escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington. The disclosure comes as Iranian leaders brace for potential aggressive policies from Trump, including a possible endorsement of Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. This follows the intensification of US sanctions on Iran’s oil sector under the "maximum pressure" campaign. Iranian state television broadcast footage of Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, touring the secret base during military exercises. Salami declared, "This base is one of several underground facilities housing long-range missile-launching warships, designed to conduct wars from great distances." He added, “We assure the Iranian nation that its youth are prepared to defend the country with honor and achieve victory in any maritime battle against our enemies.” The underground base, reportedly built 500 meters beneath the Gulf, features extensive tunnels housing long lines of Tarik-class fast submarines. These submarines are described as radar-evading and capable of launching cruise missiles. Earlier this month, Iran began two weeks of military exercises, including drills by the Revolutionary Guard to defend key nuclear facilities in Natanz against simulated missile and drone attacks. Iran continues to emphasize its ballistic missile program as a cornerstone of its defense strategy against the United States and Israel. The country has previously unveiled multiple underground "missile cities," showcasing its preparedness for potential conflicts. https://lnkd.in/evCYDNfc

#India / #Pakistan / #Afghanistan - Pakistan watches with caution as old ally Taliban gets closer to India. While some analysts say Pakistan need not worry, others warn that Indian influence in Afghanistan could further strain Islamabad’s ties with Kabul amid existing tensions. Excerpts from Al Jazeera Media Network: When the Taliban took over Kabul in August 2021, then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan famously said the Afghan group had “broken the shackles of slavery” as they returned to power for the first time since 2001. Taliban’s ascension was seen as a boost to the regional influence of Pakistan, long regarded as the patron of the Afghan group in pursuit of “strategic depth” for Islamabad. This doctrine reflected Pakistan’s military interest in maintaining a strategic hold over Afghanistan through the Taliban and using it as leverage against India, its traditional adversary. Three years later, that calculation appears to have flopped, instead leaving Pakistan’s officials fuming at ties with Kabul even as the Taliban edges closer to an unlikely partner: India. India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai last week, marking the highest-profile public engagement between New Delhi and the Taliban. That meeting followed a series of steps taken by both sides that suggest a dramatic break from a quarter century of animus and distrust rooted in Pakistan’s support of the Taliban. If this shift leads to an expansion of Indian influence in Afghanistan, that could strain Islamabad-Kabul ties, warned Iftikhar Firdous, co-founder of The Khorasan Diary, a portal tracking regional security issues. “Ultimately, the Afghan people, reliant on Pakistan’s borders, will bear the brunt of this tug-of-war,” he told Al Jazeera. From the 1980s when it backed the mujahideen against the Soviet Union through the first two decades of the 21st century, Pakistan was a primary backer of the Taliban, many of whose leaders found shelter on Pakistani soil. India, by contrast, viewed the group as a Pakistani proxy, shuttering its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban first came to power in Afghanistan in 1996. It blamed the Taliban and its current allies in the government, including the Haqqanis, for repeatedly attacking Indian diplomatic missions in Afghanistan — the embassy in 2008 and 2009, and the Indian consulates in Jalalabad in 2013, Herat in 2014 and Mazar-i-Sharif in 2015. Yet, a decade later, those equations no longer stand. Meanwhile, India appeared to have recalibrated its approach, engaging diplomatically with Taliban officials. Story continues: https://lnkd.in/gCYMY8eC

Pakistan caught in China’s Gwadar trap? Pakistan and China were recently at loggerheads over the control and ownership of Gwadar Port with Islamabad stating that the port, which was built with substantial Chinese investment, belongs solely to Pakistan and won't be handed over to any "foreign entity" - from India.com: Cash-strapped Pakistan is engaged in a frantic race to outmatch India in military power, and is rapidly expanding its naval strength by modernising the Pakistan Navy with substantial financial and military help from its “all-weather ally” China. However, Islamabad’s ambitious project to modernise the Pakistani Navy has come at a heavy cost which is being paid by the country’s crumbling economy, as Pakistan is seemingly caught in a vicious debt-trap laid by China. Additionally, anger is simmering in the Balochistan province due to rampant unemployment and exploitation of resources in the region by China, with Baloch separatist groups using the resentment among locals as a rallying cry. According to experts, China’s interest in helping Pakistan’s navy expansion and modernization efforts stem from the strategic importance of the Gwadar port, which will give Beijing direct access to the Arabian Sea. However, Chinese investment have come at a heavy price for Pakistan as the country is heavily indebted to its ally due to its inflated military expenditure. As per reports, Pakistani citizens are facing the brunt of heavy taxation imposed by their government to pay off the IMF bailout package, while the Pakistan army, which reportedly has a monopoly on the country’s major industries, enjoys financial exemptions even as the civilian economy lies in ruin. Experts believe that Pakistan will continue to sink further in China’s debt trap due to the Gwadar port, and its rapid militarization efforts, which are bound to remain a costly exercise. Story continues: https://lnkd.in/e4FaZpqW

#Indonesia / #Volcano - Indonesia's Mount Ibu erupts more than 1,000 times this month - from FRANCE 24: Mount Ibu, on the remote island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, sent a column of smoke up to four kilometres (2.5 miles) into the sky in an eruption on Wednesday. Indonesian officials raised its alert status to the highest level and called for the evacuation of 3,000 people living in six nearby villages. It was one of 1,079 eruptions by the volcano recorded since January 1 by Indonesia's Geological Agency, sending columns of ash reaching between 0.3 and 4 kilometres above its peak, according to the agency's data gathered by AFP. The latest big eruption occurred on Sunday at 1:15 am local time as it spewed a towering cloud of ash 1.5 kilometres into the air. "The ash was grey, with moderate to thick intensity, drifting southwest. A loud rumbling sound was heard all the way to Mount Ibu Observation Post," the agency said in a statement. It added that the volcano had erupted 17 times on Sunday alone. Despite deciding to evacuate affected villagers, local authorities had only managed to evacuate 517 residents as of Sunday, pledging to persuade those who remained to stay in safe shelters. Many have refused to evacuate, arguing that they were used to the situation and were in harvest season. "There might be economic considerations, as many residents are in the middle of harvesting crops. However, we will continue to educate the community and encourage them to evacuate," said Adietya Yuni Nurtono, Ternate district military commander in charge of a safe shelter. Mount Ibu, one of Indonesia's most active volcanos, has shown a significant increase in activity since last June. Residents living near Mount Ibu and tourists have been advised to avoid a five- to six-kilometre exclusion zone around the volcano's peak and to wear face masks in case of falling ash. As of 2022, around 700,000 people were living on Halmahera island, according to official data. Indonesia, a vast archipelago, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity as it lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Last November, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703-metre (5,587-foot) twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores erupted more than a dozen times in one week, killing nine people in its initial explosion. Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times last year, forcing thousands from nearby islands to evacuate. https://lnkd.in/ejqbb7Kw

#China / #Philippines - PLA carries out first South China Sea patrol of year as Philippine tensions continue - from South China Morning Post SCMP: The Chinese military has carried two-day joint combat readiness patrols in the South China Sea amid ongoing tensions with the Philippines over the strategically important waters. The People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command said its naval and air forces had patrolled the waters on Friday and Saturday. “The patrols were meant to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea region, and any military activities that disrupt the South China Sea are fully under control,” the statement said, without providing further details. It was the first patrol of the year and coincided with a joint air and sea exercise involving the Philippine and United States militaries. The exercises took place days before Donald Trump’s return to the White House on Monday. China’s military and coastguards have stepped up their activities in the disputed waters in recent years and Trump’s second term could see tensions with the Philippines increasing further. Beijing and Manila  agreed to continue talks on settling their territorial differences following a meeting between Chen Xiaodong, the vice-minister for foreign affairs, and his Philippine counterpart Maria Theresa Lazaro on Thursday. But China also criticised Manila’s “provocative” activities and accused it of trying to “hype up” disputes. The Philippines is currently upgrading the infrastructure, including an airstrip, on Thitu Island, its only inhabited outpost in the disputed Spratly Islands. Meanwhile, Manila has protested about “escalatory and provocative” coastguard activity, including the presence of China’s largest coastguard ship in the waters around Scarborough Shoal. It said the 12,000-tonne “monster ship”, other coast guard vessels and a naval helicopter had entered its exclusive economic zone, and demanded that China withdraw its ships. Last year saw regular PLA and coastguard patrols in the South China Sea, including in response to other countries’ activities. These included patrols in February after Manila increased troop numbers in its northernmost provinces Batanes, which is less than 200km (120 miles) from Taiwan, and one in April, on the same day as a joint exercise between the Philippines, United States, Japan and Australia. In November the PLA carried out patrols in the waters and airspace around Scarborough Shoal – known in China as Huangyan Island and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines – after both sides moved to strengthen their claims to sovereignty over the feature. He also said Vietnam, another rival claimant, would continue its land reclamation works and step up its deployment of weapons and infrastructure building on the features it controls. https://lnkd.in/e36SSxcC