all the faces of the children were burnt after an bombardment in northern latakia. they were in the same room next to a turkish boy whose body was burnt after a terrorist attack in turkey. they were the same generations and the features. they'll behave, have the same destiny, and the girl looked at me, and there was nothing on her face. totally burnt. i tried to imagine her beautiful face before the bombardment. it was so painful to me, as a father, as a grandfather having daughters. what we are doing here is important. but more important is what will be - what we will be doing on the ground. today turkey is hosting 2.5 million refugees, and turkey, with these statistics is the biggest refuge hosting country in the world. 700,000 schoolchildren are in turkey. 300,000 are getting regular education and are planning to have this educational facility for all the rest. 250,000 syrians are in camps. the rest 10 times more this number, are in the cities. today there is no city where we don't have syrians. in a town next door to syria. 60 persons of the population are syria

fact that so far there are no air raids, particularly russian air raids at the base of an area in latakia. there was no russian jets taking off from that base so things could be heading towards calm >>> how is the ceasefire being monitored? take us through any sort of process to make sure it doesn't breakdown. >> reporter: the syrian opposition in their statement on friday said that they are going to form a military committee that will monitor how the ceasefire plays out and who violates it. i also remember a senior russian military commander said they will establish a center at the military base in latakia. those are the russians and it will coordinate with the americans and also with the syrian regime and they also said it's quite open to everyone from the opposition to join the committee by consulting with the russians. you also have the united nations monitoring. there are a number of parties monitoring what is happening in terms of the military activities >>> thank you for that. a suicide attack in ian afghanistan has killed 11 people and injured 40 more. a local police commander is

in aleppo, latakia and idlib. >> it's five years to go since the first demonstrations would took placedamascus. syrian journalists documented what any call the revolution. the effect of the fighting on the price of gasoline, what goods and necessities are in short supply, and death notices. sons and daughters were killed. some of the most useful outlets were based in southern turkey. beyond the line of fire that can be a border crossing away. that border - who guarantees protection and movement. journalists that are willing to kill to get the message across. the "the listening post" will young on some journalists that got out and sending the news back in. >> reporter: a weekday morning in syria. those that need to make a journey might be advised to tune into this radio programme. >> translation: we broadcast a simple programme called how's the road. to alert people to the most dangerous roads in the area. we tell people where a squirmish occurs and not to use the route. we give people simple information that is not relevant to their lives. >> reporter: in between, syrians get the lates

the military base, the air base in latakia where the russians use it for their strikes was very calm as well. we also have the u.n. envoy saying that if this really holds the u.n.'s aim is to deliver much needed aid to about 100,000 people in -- held in besieged areas in syria. so the situation is pretty calm adrian. >> omar, many thanks. >>> initial results from iran's preliminary elections are held on friday to elect members of parliament and the assembly of experts the body which appoints the country's supreme leader, the election is a test for hassan rouhani, who secured the nuclear deal last year. >>> al shabaab attack in mogadishu. armed fighters tried storm the building but were stopped at a checkpoint. mohammed ali hasan says corruption is at the root of the unrest in somalia. >> somalia has some problems. the problem first is a lot of corruption is taking place, and the people from the international community trusted and using people like ngos or the neighboring countries which have the same like americans would like a general peace in somalia. but they cannot have this by u

there is news of clashes in latakia province, in the mountains. there was some syrian rebel group accusing government forces of killing 12 of its fighters. now whereas the rebels say the syrian government has violated the truce. what is more interesting is the russians are accusing turkish forces of attacking kurdish fighters across the boarder. and referred it to the coordination centre in jordan to verify the attacks. things are picking up and are heated. >> one of the main reasons for the truce is to get more aid in. is that happening? >> not now, not at the start of the truce, not in day one or gay two. they hoped on the second day, the 28th, that they would send some aid to a number of areas that are besieged in syria. we understand the delay is because of logistical reasons. they need to get permits from the government and security clearances, and check that the road is safe. what is interesting is that the u.n. is also saying that the trip doesn't take 15 minutes, up to 20 minutes from damascus, and should be an easy ride. i think probably

it is in latakia where there has been a major government offensive for week to seize the rest of the province's border. they're not the only forces on the ground fighting for the border. >> translation: the kurdish party and parties have pushed from their area in aleppo. they have captured two towns from the opposition. the regime also wards two provinces and the crossing step. >> reporter: azaz is a place of refuge for those who have escaped. government troops are not far. neither are the y.p.g. kurdish fighters. it is not clear if they are actively cooperating, but what is clear is that all sides are battling for control of the border >>> the fighting around aleppo is causing misery for people who live there. thousands have fled and are gathering along syria's border with turkey. between 10 and 35,000 people are thought to be at boarders. aid trucks have been brought in but an car are not letting the refugees in. the aid group doctors without borders say food and water crisis is looming because supply lines have been cut off. our correspondent join us from the syrian border. starti

the bashar al-assad regime has accused the rebel groups of violating, at least in latakia on sunday, but all the while, like i say, unless there is some sort of independence body that can verify and maybe put some punitive measures for those who breach those deals, then it is very much touch and go >>> thanks very much. i.s.i.l. says its forces were behind a bomb attack in the baghdad market which killed at least 70 people. it happened in the shia neighborhood of the capital. >> reporter: one of the bloodiest days iraq has seen in recent weeks. this amateur video captures chaos moments after twin bomb attacks in a busy market. it is in a mainly shia neighborhood just north of the capital. the first bomb exploded on a motorcycle. as suicide bomber blew himself up as they civilians tried to help the victims. security forces were attacked earlier. al jazeera can't verify these pictures. several military personnel are said to have been killed. a nearby village was seized by armed fighters. military barracks were raid. i.s.i.l. is being held responsible for these attacks too. >> they stil

it is in latakia where there has been a major government offensive for weeks to seize the rest of the province's borders. the government and its allies are not the only forces on the ground fighting for the border. >> reporter: the kurdish party have pushed from their enclave in aleppo. they have captured two towns from the opposition. the regime also wants to enter the crossing itself. >> reporter: it is now a place of refuge for the thousands who have escaped from the offensive. it is just a few clms from the crossing. government troops are not far. neither are the y.p.g. kurdish fighters. it is not clear if they are actively cooperating, but what is clear both sides are battling for control of the border >>> the united arab emirits is ready to send ground troops to syria to fight i.s.i.l. they're already part of the bombing campaign against i.s.i.l. in syria and iraq. the government is damascus says it will regard any attempt to send troops as a hostile act. moving to haiti where president martelly is due to step down on sunday after a last minute deal to install a new government.

there are many front lines like i mentioned in latakia, aleppo. pressure is being put on the opposition and it has been three weeks and still the government has not had the objective of reaching the turkish border >>> australia has offered to help fiji recover after cyclone winston brought winds of more than 320 km/h. at least five people died. >> reporter: heavy rains and winds continue to sweech across fiji. it is the worst to hit the island and now it has passed. >> it has affected the whole of the country. a state of natural disaster has been announced. a national wide curfew curfew has been in force. buildings are flimsy and many may not have stood up to the powerful winds. it is what it looks like from space. it shows the eye of the cyclone right over the south pacific. it is now heading west away from more than on 300 low-lying islands scattered across the ocean: land has been dumped onto the land which means crops have dn badged. >> rains that have been experienced in some parts was really destructive winds, especially one of the islands i

list incidents of barrel bombs being dropped, of heavy machine gunfire, and not all the way up to latakia in the north as well. that's why a lot of people aren't that hopeful. but the thing is also regional elements to this. turkey does not want to allow these people inside turkey because they accuse the russians of ethnically cleansing parts of northern syria. if you don't want them to come in, they'll set up something more long term than what is their present because this is not enough for them. >> thank you very much. >> iran's president hassan rouhani has won strong support in the influential council of experts. the candidates are doing well there. it is believed 3. million people voted in these parallel elections. the vote was seen as a major test for rouhani who helped to secure the nuclear deal last year. jonah hull is in the capital for us. what are the early indications of these results? >> well, he's looking as if the moderate reformists have been well. two elections. you indicated it there. the assembly of experts. more powerful than the president. more powerful than parliament

it is if in latakia where there been a major gun offensive for weeks. the government and allies are not the only forces on the ground fighting for the border. >> translation: the kurdish parties have pushed through. they have captured two tines from the opposition. the regime also wants the crossing itself. >> reporter: it is now a place of refugee for the thousands who have escaped. it is just a few kilometers from the crossing. government troops are not far, neither are the y.p.g. kurdish fighters. it is not clear whether they are actively cooperating but all sides are battling for control of the border >>> as you may imagine this fighting is causing misery for the people who live there. thousands of fled and are gathering on syria's border with turkey between 10 and 35,000 people are thought to be at the border crossings. aid trucks from turkey have been delivering supplies to the syrian side but for now ankara are not letting the refugees in. there are fears for 350,000 civilians living around aleppo as well. as the supply appliance have been cut, t

some activists are saying that the mayhem military base in the province of latakia, that's the russian military base, is very calm this morning >>> thars for that upba date. a suicide attack in afghanistan has killed 11 people and injured 40 more. a local police commander is among the dead. >> reporter: the taliban, these insurgent groups are still active in parts of afghanistan and they're going after some significant targets. the suicide attack took place a couple of hours ago in the town of assab and kumar province, next to the border of pakistan. according to police the target of this attack was a very power and international leader by the name of han john. he was in front of police headquarters this morning when high suicide attacker approached on motorbike and detonated his explosive. 11 people killed, 40 people injured. that number could go up in the coming hours. nobody has claimed responsibility for this attack, but the province is an area where the taliban have long fought government forces as well aspro government forces. this-- as pro-government forces. this begins as the g

the only border crossing with turkey under the government syrian control is in latakia where there haseen a major offensive for weeks. the government and its allies are not the only forces on the ground fighting for the that are der-- for the border. >> translation: the occurred dish party the y.p.g. and the ktt have been pushed across the crossing. the regime wants the crossing itself. >> reporter: there is a place for thousands who have escaped a few kilometers from the crossing. government troops are not far. neither are the y.p.g. kurdish fighters. it is not clear that they are actively cooperating, but what is clear is that all sides are battling for control of the border >>> haiti's president is due to step down on sunday after a last minute deal with parliament to install a transitional government. the move keeps the country from plunging into a power vacuum after last months's election was postponed amide fears of violence. it is now scheduled for april 24. more from the capital >> reporter: this is supposed to be a celebratory day here in haiti. the president was supposed to h

ahead on a number of front lines against the opposition not just in aleppo but in the province of latakia and the y.p.g. and its allies also putting pressure on the opposition taking ground from them in the northern countryside of aleppo. so many different layers in the conflict. the war rages on and no sign that there is going to be a pause in the fighting at least in the near future >>> what is your reading of the comments from moscow from the kremlin saying to bashar al-assad you've got to be on message with what we are saying vis-a-vis the timeline of this. >> reporter: well, the russians have been trying to push for political process, push for a ceasefire, push for the delivery of aid. then we heard the syrian president say we want to recapture the whole country. we're not going to stop the war until every citizen lace down its arms. they are trying to agree on laift of who is a terrorist and who is not. only when you have this list you will be able to implement a ceasefire on the ground. there is consensus in the international community that i.s.i.l. are terrorists that the al-qaeda

also we have in latakia there is some advancement from the government to a village and it has killed 12 fighters from the rebel group in that area as well >>> the ceasefire is supposed to lead to access for those providing aid. what sort of impact is this having on aid there? >> reporter: the deal which led to the truce forced everybody to accept and to allow aid, so the u.n. as well as the syrian red crescent managed to send aid into a few areas. now the u.n. were hoping that today on 28th they would send another convoy. now we're told it has been delayed for logistical reasons. they hope by tomorrow, monday, they will have another convoy to a number of areas that are similar who got aid previously. so they are not the most needy of aid, for example like the area of darayya. can that area has had no aid whatsoever. the u.n. has approval to reach at least 170,000 people in need of important aid. they are waiting on the government to give them that approval. this is a logistical might mayor, a lot of paperwork and you need to have arrangements on the ground for convoys to get to those

also explosions heard that due to government forces shelling a number of areas in the province of latakia. they clashed with rebel groups and then the syrian army took control of a village. that is a breach of the truce, but why i say it's largely holding, it's simply because when you compare it, when you care the news report that we used to get before the truce is way, way less than that and mainly when it comes to the russian or syrian airport air strikes on a number of targets. speaking of the russians and their air strikes, there are reports now this morning that they have actually carried out air raids, two air raids in the aleppo countryside. we have to wait for further dames to double-check that-- time to double-check that >>> what about the aid, how is that going? >> reporter: i think they are trying to prepare the logistics of it because as you can imagine it is a nightmare from the logistic point. i think probably it will be somewhere between 4 hours up to 48 and even beyond, depending on the situation on the ground. when the u.n. moves as their procedure in previous attempts or

label them at terrorists, saying what they call terrorist elements broke the ceasefire agreements in latakia. what is significant toments is that all sides are blaming the other for breaching this agreement. what we know for a fact is that violence that decreased significantly. the question is, this wasn't a deal about trying to find relative calm. this was a deal about trying to find complete silence for the gun to allow aid to go there. unless that's going to happen and we're less than 48 hours into this deal, it's difficult to see how this ceasefire will last for the two weeks that was mentioned. >> reports of violations on both sides, but the other key dimension to this deal was the delivery of aid to besieged towns and cities as a confidence building measure particularly as we look at the prospect of further talks later in march. is much aid getting through? >> so far not really. the places that are most in need of aid are places that are under rebel control in the sense that they are places that are besieged by the syrian government. providing aid to these places, obviously will first

they're not only pushing north of the aleppo province but also in the northern province of latakia. this is what is happening in one corner of syria, but in another corner of syria civilian $are suffering, they are store syringe and living in fear. according to activists it is the forgotten corner of syria. >> reporter: these young men came to southern turkey to escape the power on the ground, i.s.i.l. and the syrian government. activists from a group are being slaughtered. we cannot verify the truth of this video. >> translation: we don't feel safe because people are fighting back. there are sleeper cells that target i.s.i.l. members and while many syrians join i.s.i.l., they're not loyal. they've joined out of fear or to get a salary. >> reporter: live is just as hard in government districts in the provincial capital. people are poor and hungry. food is scarce and expensive. the u.n. says there have been deaths from starvation, but activist saz they are facing a double-- activities say they are facing a double probleming aid. >> translation: the people are faced with two relates.

an observatory for human rights says regime and rebel forces are fighting in latakia.re expected. isis is spearing with others in aleppo. >>> the artist and activist yoko ono is in the hospital in the new york. her publicist says she has extreme flu-like symptoms. her son says his 83-year-old mother is, quote, dehydrated and tired. ono is the widow of beatle. >>> el chapo will accept extradition to the united states with one exception. his lawyer told a u.s. radio station he'll plead guilty when he arrives to the united states if he can serve his time at a medium security prison. el chapo has escaped maximum security prisons in mexico on two separate occasions. >>> a newly aggressive marco rubio is ramping up attacks against trump. the presidential candidates went head to head at thursday night's republican debate. rubio hit on trump on his background and his character. some are calling it the most effective takedown of the billionaire so far. >>> after that savage battle of a debate, donald trump dropped a major bock shell. he appeared on stage with new jersey governo

as the air strikes focused on latakia. now we are seeing the same thing happen, a deliberate attempt to mike life as miserable as possible. >> some of the money is for refugee camps outside syria. it's needed there. you have millions of people. >> it is desperately needed. what is needed it to support those inside syria, that is a problem. $10 million has been pledged. otra. >> the u.n. agency in charge of humanitary aid. >> that's right. they said "we want 3.2 billion for syria", half of that, 1.75 is going to damascus, and then is controlled by the government. so, you know, while ocha stays at the four seasons and kids are starving in duma and maddaa, they cannot deliver aid to any civilians under siege by the government. there was 1 million civilians under siege by the government, and they can't do anything. >> you have 6.5 million internally displaced and many inside syria that need aid. you can throw as much money at it as you want. if the aid can't get to the people, we are seeing terrible pictures of children starvi

the defense ministry released these images which shows bombing of latakia. they've dropped 200 tons of humanitarian aids. it's been reported that 1400 civilians have been killed by russia since airstrikes began this september. >>> in yemen al-qaeda fighters reclaim a town that was controlled by the group unti until 2012 when they were forced out by fighters loyal to the government. aaccording to the tribal chiefs most of the fighters come from the surrounding areas. interest has been more fighting in yemen's capital sanaa. supporters of ali abdullah saleh have been killed in the city. >>> the saudi-led coalition meanwhile said it will investigate civilian deaths in yemen during airstrikes against houthi rebels. more than a hundred bombing raids violated humanitarian law. they accuse houthi rebels of carrying out attacks against civilians. the director of doctors without borders have recently return from the besieged city of taiz in yemen, and he told us more about the situation there. >> the situation in taiz is very dramatic. it's been very a long time sinc

that truce comes as the syrian army push it's closer into latakia. >> they have taken control of several villages in the northern countryside. u.k. based operation would allow them to take idlib province. omar, how significant is the news this morning that the assad government has agreed to this truce? >> it is quite important, and significant. but also the government did layout a few conditions and exceptions. they excluded isil, the islamic state in iraq and the levant also the al nusra front, which is a syrian rebel group with links to al-qaeda. they said that any groups linked to those two groups they will be targeted. that gives the them groups they can attack. clearly president assad said the fight against isil will continue. >> even if the opposition there are so many different factions involved in the fighting, omar, does this fact that assad is accepting the truce increase the possibility that the opposition groups will get on board and accept the deal before friday's deadline? >> i think even within the syrian opposition themselves, the degree of optimism is very minimal and ve

there's also fighting in latakia. the rebels there have been attacked by government forces, accusing the regime of killing their members. the latest development, according to russia's newsagency, it is saying that it got the russian center to receive information that turkey might have attack the positions inside syria. there has been no confirmation from the turkish side at all. >> is it precisely the situation that some were worrying about. what kind of mechanism is there to monitor who is attacking and who is hit on the ground? >> well, it's not clear. everyone has their own mechanism. the syrian opposition, the main group in exile saying it set up its own military committee to monitor the ceasefire. they sent a statement saying the regime violated 15 areas. you have the russians setting up a center in the military base, and the syrian regime and americans are involved. you have stefan demist era saying there are mechanisms. you can guess how complicated it is, and the rebels are monitoring the ceasefire. >> it's a

fighting is also being reported between government forces and the rebels in latakia province and in other areas. turkey's president recep tayyip erdogan is also warning kurdish fighters the ypg who are fighting i.s.i.l. in northern syria that the turkish army will stop them on turkey afns souther's southernborder, that e fragile truce. omar al saleh, al jazeera. >>> mine is located. >> a remote city in northern russia. al jazeera's rory challands reports from moscow. >> rescue efforts have been called off now. the series of methane discloses mean it's too unsafe to see if anyone is still alive. mining company is trying to work out what to do next. it has two options really, flood the mine with water to try to put out the fires that are still burning or shut off the air supplies and asphyxiate those flames. of course the conditions are so severe, down in this mine, they don't think any survivors are left. russia has a pretty lamentable record of mining regulations, therthere are regulation on papr but not often enforced. in remote parts of the country when things do go wrong it is very dif

fighting is also being reported between government forces and the rebels in the latakia province appeared in other areas. turkey's president is also warning kurdish fighters the y.p.g., who are fighting i.s.i.l. in northern syria, that the turkish army will stop them from creating a free corridor on turkey's southern border and that could worsen the fragile truce >>> russian authorities believe 36 people have died at a mine where rescuers were trying to free trapped miners. >> reporter: rescue efforts have been called off now. the series of methane explosions mean that it's just too unsafe to try and see if anyone else is still alive. the mining company is trying to work out what to do next. it has two options, really. flood the mine with water to try and put out the fires that are still burning or shut off the air supply and asphyxiate the flames. the emergency ministry here says the conditions are so severe down this mine that they don't think there are any survivors left. russia does have a pretty lamentable record for mining. there are safety regulations on paper but often these are n

also, you have clashes in latakia, where the syrian regime is attacking a number of rebels forces, saying that is a clear violation. it happened in an area, and from the other side there's a center monitoring the ceasefire. the overall situation is calmer than before. registering nine violations. it's a mix up, really. the comparison to the level of violence prior to the truth. i think the level of violence has increased. >> thank you for that >>> the united nations helps the truce will allow aid to be delivered to civilians in besieged parts of the country. it's estimated that around 480,000 people are currently trapped. the opposition says some of the aid ear-marked for besieged areas is inefficient. and the syrian government is accused of seizing some food aid and delivering it to villages under government control. let's talk to the spokesman of the international community from the red cross. >> thank you for being with us. what do you say to opposition accusations that the aid is being seized by government forces, that those trying to collect the aid are being targeted? >> well, fix,

violence was reported in aleppo, hama, and latakia.e than 70 people died from three bombings in damascus yesterday. and russia announced that its air strikes hit more than 1300 isil targets in syria since last week. >>> leaders from the syrian opposition call it an unprecedented escalation of violence. the success of any potential ceasefire could hang on the united states to play middleman. james bayes has more now from geneva. >> reporter: after the first meeting of the syrian opposition delegation here at the u.n. headquarters in geneva. the u.n. special envoy said he felt this marked the formal start of the syria peace talks process. however, one opposition spokesman said they still want to see concrete developments on the ground. >> we came here to discuss with the special envoy the resolution 2254, you know, lifting the siege and stopping the crimes that are done by russian air strikes in syria, and i believe we received, in fact, we received very positive messages from the special envoy, and tomorrow, he -- he will have a meeting

the only border crossing with turkey under the government colonel is under kasab, which is in latakia where there has been a major government offensive. the government and its allease are not the only forces on the ground fighting for the border. >> the kurdish party, the y.p.g. and the p.k.k. have pushed forward. they are gone to the border crossing. >> reporter: it is now a place of refuge for the thousands who have escaped from the offensive. it is just a few kilometers from the crossing. government troops are not far. neither are the fighters. it is not clear whether they are actively cooperating, but it is clear that all sites are battling for control of the border >>> the united arab emirits are saying they are ready to send troops to fight i.s.i.l. the government in damascus has warned it will regard any attempt to send troops as a hostile act. a security analyst who founded the institute for near eastern golf military analysis in dubai and says it's a clear commitment by the u.a.e. >> it's more or less a declaration of intent and it comes in light of the recent developments in

>> certainly, they want to be players in the region, they have some interest in latakia where they have a port, access to the mediterranean from. there but more i think it probably has to did with russia -- putin's desire for self esteem. desire for russia to look better. >> barack obama and vladimir putin have had a conversation on the phone presumably, to say look, we must stick to this. how important do you believe that there is some measure of success, how would you measure success in this situation? >> we're going to measure success first and foremost by whether or not humanitarian relief can get to these citizens, these civilians who are suffering so greatly. that's what we are really trying to do, that's kind of the first set of goals. get some relief in. number 2 then is set the conditions for a more lasting, for further negotiations which presumably would lead to a more lasting peace. >> and if the russians continue doing what they're doing, is in a red line? >> well, here in the united states military and coalition military we don't identify red lines, we react to them obvious

activists reported that the mayhem military base, which is used by the russians in the province of latakia, was unusually quiet this morning and even at night when the truce started. however, we do have reports of a nourm of minor violations, some artill refreshings ery and mortar attacks, but they were minim minimal - artillery >>> a member of the opposition syrian national coalition joins me from the turkish city of istanbul. good to have you with us. is this going to hold, do you think? there are so many holes, so many loopholes and conditions and exclusi exclusions in this ceasefire, do you think it's going to hold? >> reporter: i doubt that it will hold. even if you listen to staffan de mistura, if you listen to the talk of the ambassadors of the u.n., right from the start they say we know there will be violations, but we hope perhaps we might be able - they couldn't have given such weak faith in what's happening. just in the last 12 hours we've documented 11 violations. one is a major violation. the syrian forces, the iranian militias tried to move, actually capture a city, the rebel

>> i can say russians military presence with the air and cosmic forces was locations in latakia, ourts and our airplanes they are prevented from spreading syrian war more and more. first of all it was prevented from any foreign intervention that was planned by turkey and before this intervention russia entered according to the demand of the lego government we see assad is the authority and presented in russians in the diplomatic political relations with syria at all. and that is why russia helped syrian arab army to prevent any foreign intervention to syria. i think the desperation is absolutely a new picture. >> can i come in, i understand what russia is thinking with bashar al-assad is concerned but i'm asking you what they are predicting if saudi arabia does indeed put ground troops there and all of this in light of the deal of the cessation of hostilities which we expect in a week, how is this going to work? >> well, russia came to this conclusion after watching the situation. the situation in syria, with syrian government, situation with opposition groups, with quality of turkey

russia's intervention, they have made battlefield gains on the ground on more than one front, in the latakiadence and captured a strategic town that links the capitol damascus and managed to lay sieges to areas around the capitol and those sieges you know link and leads to starvation and this is why we see rebels accepting negotiated deals to either abandon their positions or lay down their arms so the government is in a very comfortable position and if you talk to the opposition why do we expect them to compromise when they never compromise over the past few years and right now they have the political as well as the military backing from the russian government. >> zaina speaking to us on the turkey-syria border. moving on and 18-year-old palestinian man has been shot dead in the occupied west bank and follows the killing of a palestinian police officer after he opened fire on officers at a chem.near ramallah while they carry out checks and 25 israelis have been killed in a wave of unrest that began in october. al-qaeda fighters say they reclaimed the town o azan in yemen, the town in shabwa

. >> reporter: like many of those on board, abdullah harmoush is from latakia on syria's coast, the homen of president bashar al assad. >> there are many troubles in my city because of the violence. we couldn't stay there in syria. so we left syria to get refugee status. it was a very good response from the police. we were very afraid in the sea but when we entered greek waters we have the support very quickly. we were expecting a very fast response from the police at sea from greece. it's amazing feel that when we entered the waters of greece we are rescued and we are very, very happy about it, here in this boat. >> reporter: acting purely as a rescue service, which is what you're doing, aren't you actually encouraging more people to come because they know they're going to be safe? >> we do not encourage people to come here. we're here to help patrol the waters and once the migrants cross in, if it's a search and rescue operation, we have to help them get on the boats and we have to allow them to come to greece to register them and seek asylum. >> reporter: but some of the people on thi