Syrian government forces 25 km from Turkey border
Syrian government forces are 25 kilometers from the border with Turkey, VoA reports.
Kuwait backs international efforts against hardline Islamist groups in Syria, Iraq -- but no troops
Kuwait backs international efforts against hardline Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq but its constitution prevents it from sending troops, a senior Kuwaiti government official has told Reuters.
"Kuwait stands shoulder-to-shoulder with our brothers in Saudi on all fronts. We are always ready and able to provide what is needed to our Gulf partners within the confines of our constitution," said Sheikh Mohammad al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Kuwait's minister for cabinet affairs, in an interview in Dubai.
UN fears Aleppo assault could cut off 300,000 civilians
The UN fears that as many as 300,000 civilians could be cut off from food supplies if Syrian forces encircle rebel-held parts of the city.
A road from Turkey used by the World Food Programme to reach eastern Aleppo with food aid was cut off last week after the government launched a major offensive backed by Russian air strikes. The WFP has an alternative route but that may soon be blocked as well.
WATCH: Displaced Syrians at the Turkish border after fleeing Aleppo fighting
This footage of displaced Syrians near the Bab al-Salameh border crossing with Turkey was uploaded on Feb. 8. Syrian refugees are waiting near the border -- which remains closed -- after fleeing a government offensive in northern Aleppo province.
Kurds must participate in Syria peace talks: Lavrov
Kurds must participate in the Syria peace talks and only Turkey wants to exclude them from negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.
"The Turks have openly said that we have spoiled their hand. And now they are trying to pillory the Americans too. The President of Turkey, Erdogan, demanded that Washington choose either the Kurds or Turkey. The answer has already come from Washington (so far anonymously) that the Kurds, including the Syrian Democratic Union Party, which the Turks associate with terrorism, are Washington's partners in the fight against IS," Lavrov said.
"We are also working with them. The fact that they are excluded from the Syrian talks is the exclusive arrogant position of Turkey, that is not shared with anyone else."
Russia will help the U.S. solve the Syrian crisis -- but only on the basis of existing agreements: Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov has said that Moscow will help the United States solve the crisis in Syria but only on the basis of existing agreements.
"[The United States] is trying to impose on us responsibility for a great deal that is going on in Syria and in Ukraine. But at the same time they come to us and ask us to help solve the problem in Syria and to ensure a cease fire," Lavrov said in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets.
Lavrov said that Washington's "rhetoric" was accompanied by "a very pragmatic approach to us with a request for help. We are ready, but we will rely, of course, on the principles and concrete agreements that have been secured regarding Ukraine and the Syrian [political] settlement."
Indonesia imprisons seven Islamic State supporters
A court in Indonesia has sentenced seven men to between three and five years in jail for supporting IS group -- the first time an Indonesian court has passed prison sentences for recruiting and helping people travel to Syria to fight alongside IS.
The move comes after IS carried out an attack in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta last month.
MSF: air strike hits field hospital in southern Syria, 3 dead
Medicins Sans Frontieres have told AFP that an air strike has hit an MSF-supported field hospital in southern Syria, killing three people.
The hospital is in Tafas (click here for a map) in Daraa province, 12 kilometers from the Jordanian border. The strike hit on the night of Feb. 5, MSF told AFP's Jean-Marc Mojon.
Tafas is just north of Daraa city and of the town of Athman, which Syrian government forces captured from rebels on Feb. 5. It is not clear who carried out the air strike on the hospital -- the Syrian government or Russia.
Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes and assisted by Iranian-backed militias have been carrying out an offensive in Daraa.
MSF said that the strike has caused partial damage to the hospital and put its heavily used ambulance service out of action.
MSF released this eye witness account from a staff member at the hospital.
“I was on my way to the hospital to help admit people who had been injured by the airstrikes,” says one staff member.
“But as soon as I reached the hospital, I myself got injured. It all happened very quickly. I saw what looked like an explosion and then a flash of light, and then I lost consciousness for five minutes. My colleagues saw me lying on the ground, bleeding, and rushed me inside. I was injured in both my arm and leg by shrapnel.”
We are now closing the live blog for today. We'll be back Tracking Islamic State tomorrow morning.