the key is a major part of the syrian opposition or important part of the syrian opposition both military and the military and the political one which actually have access and they have support of the turkish or the turkish government but after all we don't we shouldn't be forgetting actually that. the president. and when we talk about him i mean he's he's clearly the president of the turkish republic and he was elected actually to take care of the interest of the of the turkish republic of the interests of his own country not the interests of the syrian people so we have been seeing this shift and changes in turkish foreign policy towards the syrian conflict from from the fears that the from the early stages of this conflict in which he was actually calling for president bashar assad to step down and until then the later stages in which he actually started to become the haps more interested actually in containing the core dish and of course this issue in the north of syria let's move on what do you think u.n. special envoy if there is that hundred mistura is doing in sochi what's his. we

the syrian kurdish forces. and then the syrian government moves in and then they can withdraw but the political issue is complicated in that russia and the u.s. are not happy but will not i think will limit the pressure they'll do to try to reverse this but the syrian government is kili would be very uncomfortable doing it how allowing a turkish control turkish and claves in their northern reporter for any length of time so this may be resolved quickly at the upcoming peace talks in sochi or to rest on our geneva or this if the turkish government's willing to to confront the syrian government very small and really and perhaps hurt its relations with the united states and russia then they may decide it's worth staying in and the turkish government so in a determination to ignore the pressure of other governments when it when it wants to go in i mean the for the turkish government to be able to advance its political agenda when it comes to this with the oprah she needs to win the war as soon as possible well you

>> senator, i have worked with the syrian puzzle since 1983. my view is that the russians, above all, as the soviets before them, treasure stability and fear chaos. assad represents in their eyes, i believe, a source of stability at a very high price and we would argue, ultimately instability as a generator of further violence, radicalism and terror, but i think that's the prime motive. it's not assad, it is stability and an end to threatening chaos. >> senator young. >> thank you, chairman. good to see you, ambassador, thanks for being here today. >> i think a lot of hoosiers will be watching this hearing with great interest. on january 2nd i attended a ceremony for the -- the 38 sustainment brigged a of the national guard. we are sending 250 of our best men and women in uniform into kuwait to support our operations in iraq and syria and these hoosiers, all americans demand the best possible strategy for our operations there. >> i asserted in the letter to secretary tillerson back in february of 2017 that my own belief is that if we're going t

revolution and with the syrian people. in a sense to have a real stars for a realistic political solution for see. what are the good all these efforts will continue now tomorrow and the day after. we'll continue to exert efforts with all the sides here namely the russians a genuine that a political solution being checked which was welcomed by them so that common ground can be reached to put an end to the crimes perpetrated in syria here i would like to state that he and i am not representing myself i am representing the syrian negotiation commission it is it that a president of the syrian opposition and more than one million fall in bars charges over the past seven years they are also to present a defense of thousands of day to nice. behind the syrian regime's bods many of them have gone. i. now know i'm wishing to meet their end but we are also here to represent tens of thousands of detained and raped women and representatives of hundreds of thousands of children who have been targeted physically and mentally. and as we s

secretary of state rex tillerson says russia the ultimate responsibility for the syrian government's use of chemical weapons it comes after at least twenty one people suffered breathing problems after an alleged chemical attack on a rebel held enclave near damascus rebels and the syrian observatory for human rights are accusing the syrian government of being behind the attack a similar attack was reported that ten days ago it has been besieged by government forces since twenty thirty four hundred thousand people are trapped. only yesterday more than twenty civilians most of them children were victims of the per chlorine gas attack. the recent attacks and these are a serious concerns that bashar assad's syrian regime may be continuing its use of chemical weapons against its own people who were conducted the attacks russia ultimately burbs responsibility for the victims and. and countless other syrian targeted with chemical weapons since russia became involved in syria tillerson was speaking at a conference in paris to launch an international partnership against impunity for the use of

backed syrian democratic forces crucial and the most effective in the battle against on. this is said to be video that is an area close to the border with turkey that has been heavily targeted sources have told al-jazeera that most people in these areas have fled due to the heavy bombardment. and the u.n. estimates around fifteen thousand are now displaced inside the region about and we're also told there been civilian casualties often random shelling in turkey denies this and says it only targets why peachey positions turkey's offensive is now well into its second week the village where the smoke coming from it is inside syria now turkey has been shelling these border areas on a daily basis there is also supported on the ground by free syrian army fighters this is the syrian rebels that turkey supports and they have a presence here in turkey along the border. we spot a few free syrian army fighters on the side of the road there rarely seen this openly in turkey turkey has brought many of these episodes. fighters from syria they are now waiting along the border for orders

welcome back now in the russians the city of seoul train pace talks between the syrian government and opposition groups on a bouncy get underway the u.n. special envoy to syria stephan de mistura will be attending. gives us a preview. minutes after landing in cinci camera man jokingly asked if we'd been diverted to beirut look at the banners he said. they're everywhere the entire city seems to be plastered in the peace for the people of syria five hundred ten journalists were registered for the sochi peace conference in just four days representatives from seventy eight different channels as well as dozens and dozens of different news agencies most of them foreigners these army of journalists covering this event. only by the number of delegates one thousand six hundred delegates a descending on sochi to take part in these talks syrian politicians and the opposition reconciled rebels and active ones commanders and thousands of men christians e.d.'s limbs all faiths and denominations aiming for peace. crews are hard at work putting the finishing touches in place they even have special pr

there is this initiative of syrians in congress. we do our best to harmonize the interest of all the syrian parties and all the external players that can influence the situation. all those who would like to advance their interest in the region as part of the syrian process. this is a complex process. but like i said, we have reasons to believe that the group of iran and turkey which was able one year ago to launch a process to set up the de-escalation zones and despite all the attempts to undermine these efforts, this initiative still proved effective. the other process stimulated the united nations before we started. the u.n. process did nothing for about 10 years. so i hope that the initiative involved in the syrian national dialogue, congress will stimulate the u.n. to step up its efforts. in any case, the sochi congress pursues the goal of helping the geneva talks. and we clearly said as much to our colleagues, including the u.n. leadership, and the countries involved in the syrian settlement. the second story of the year, i gue

syrian opposition members refused to leave sochi airport ahead of russian backed talks. i'm richelle carey this is our sara life and also coming up. so you can see the president wasn't part of this is making process often essential target of the president the f.b.i.'s deputy director steps down. colombia suspends peace talks with the island rebels after a series of bomb attacks. and no more anonymity the south korean government cracks down on trade digital currencies. russia back talks aimed at finding a solution to the syrian war are getting underway in sochi they appear to have run into more problems some opposition members who arrived in the black sea resort are refusing to leave the airport ahead of the meeting they say they are offended by the presence of official syrian flags in the terminal building about sixteen hundred syrian politicians rebels and members of civil society have been invited to the black sea resort town live pictures of this happening there moscow says it's bringing all sections of the conflict together but the main opposition groups and the kurd

they had several raids against the syrian army. time, there have been provocations against the russian airbase we had to respond because these were direct violations of the de-escalation agreement. western part -- counterparts are saying it is the syrian side that is violating the agreement. but this is exactly the opposite. turkishmuch hope our complete thewill deployment of the remaining checkpoints around the de-escalation zones. they currently have three, but overall there needs to be 20 checkpoints. have contacted our counterparts in turkey. they said they will try to complete at the deployment. we hope this will help to resolve the situation. situation.imilar western politicians have been raising a lot of buzz about the allegedoperation -- offensive of the syrian army. again, every step the syrian army is taking, it is taking in theonse to the raids by shelling of damascus. including where the russian embassy is located we cannot turn a blind eye to it. we have crack down on those illegal actions. moving ahead, in line with t

these are members of the free syrian army advancing into the area — they're rebels fighting the syrianof their fighters are joining the turkish forces. here's the minister with lyse again. the turkish invasion is an open violation of the sovereignty of syria. it is an aggression against the sovereignty of syria. russia gave the green light for that. we don't think russia can act on behalf of the syrian government or against its principles which russia has a lwa ys its principles which russia has always defended in syria. so it is turkish aggression against the sovereignty of syria, and syria has every right to answer such an aggression. i should also tell you about syrian peace talks which started today in vienna. they're brokered by the un, but this is an early stage — the two sides are not meeting face—to—face. here's an opposition figure earlier. our main goal is to see the commitment of all the sides to the implementation of un security council resolution to 254 —— 2254. this session was described by the un special envoy to be a crucial one, and we believe that it is. on our behalf

the syrian government came there but those people who claimed to represent the syrian opposition camelaces, london, istanbul... but not syria proper. my question to you was how it fits into the sochi talks, do they take into account what has been agreed in the geneva peace process, that there will be a transitional government and president assad does not represent the future of syria. actually, that was not agreed in geneva. there is an understanding described in the geneva conclusions of 2012, that there will be a political transition, yes, but not in the current... you accept that president assad will not remain as president of syria once this peace process is over? once there are elections and somebody else is elected. but that could take years. no, not necessarily. part of this political process would be to draft a new constitution. and hold elections on that basis. there's a un diplomat who says of the secretary general, antonio guterres, that so far sochi doesn't pass the smell test. you are not seen as an honest broker. it is unfair, to say the least. do you seriously think tha

to washington it's also at the same time something which the syrian government would object to the syrian government considers a.

supervisions in which all syrians including those displaced outside syrian borders can participate. a stable syria absolutely requires the departure of president assad and his regime they have inflicted suffering and countless death on people, including the use of chemical weapons. this regime is a magneter the er the -- magnet for terror incapable of leading syria. our allies have come to russia with a path towards the syrian political transition, towards a political solution, on many occasions and we call on russia again today to pressure the regime to work seriously towards a political resolution to this conflict. thank you, mr. chairman, i welcome your questions. >> thank you for being here. i was going to typically defer to senator cardin first because of the last portion of your stateme statement. we are now not demanding that assad leave. instead, as i understand it, we' we're embracing the u.n. resolution as putin has recently done, is that correct? >> that's correct, mr. chairman. >> and that would mean there would be an election that would take place? >> there would be a c

the russian backed syrian talks had a snag in sochi opposition members refused to leave the airport for the negotiations. i'm richelle carey this is al jazeera life and also coming up live pictures from nairobi were supporters of opposition leader right looting are said to witness and take a symbolic oh as kenya's so-called people's president. leaked documents show a top australian immigration minister went against policy and tried to keep hundreds of refugees from settling in the country plus. the president wasn't part of this is you making process often a central target of the president deputy director steps down. syrian president bashar al assad's key backer russia is holding talks aimed at a political solution to the civil war about sixteen hundred syrian business and politicians rebels and members of civil society have been invited to the black sea resort town moscow says it's bringing all sections of the conflict together however the main opposition groups and the kurds they are boycotting the talks world powers like france and britain are also staying away a small section of the

is a syrian army of the kurdish workers party. it considers the a terror group. just on workers party and the why p.g. in syria they couldn't stand worker's party is on the terror list of the u.s. and the e.u. the organization that works within syria is exactly the sign. this is. but the syrian operation doesn't come without risks for turkey of a not sever rockets from syria landed in a turkish border city one person has been reported wounded as turkey escalates its involvement in syria the dangers for civilians grow on both sides of the border. the correspondent delia han joins us for more you you know we understand that turkish forces have crossed the border into syria and are attacking the african region what more can you tell us. well this weekend turkey opened another front in the syrian war a war that is going on for nearly seven years now making an already very complex situation even more complex yes we have confirmation by the military now that the ground offensive has started turkish soldiers have moved into a friend alongside fighters of the so-called f

what the syrian military did was against that.ffectively besieged, and in which very little military aid has gone in, will there be more evacuations, not least of children in days of ad in goutha? 0f course there will be. humanitarian aid will be reaching goutha, as will as many other difficult places inside syria. russia is saying to the eu, you have to help with the reconstruction. we are talking about 250 billion, how much is russia putting up? not exclusively. the eu and all the others. how much is russia putting up? those who have joined the us coalition they should alsojoin the joined the us coalition they should also join the international effort to assist in the reconstruction of syria. how will russia joined that effort? how much will it put up?” cannot give you a specific figure, because they are estimates. the wine you referred to, citing, that is one estimate, there may be others —— the one. i have not heard any estimates coming from the syrian government. certainly it will be a huge sum. does russia recognise is respo

kurdish militia by again the free syrian army which have been trained by the turkish military on top of that airstrikes are still continuing along with artillery and with that reports of growing numbers of civilian casualties so an intense offensive is a clear dorrian what turkey is trying to achieve in northern syria. i think the message is coming from is that they want to have a permanent solution to the threat that they believe is posed by the syrian kurdish militia they claim that it is linked to an insurgency inside turkey a decades long insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives they see the presence of this militia on its border as an intolerable threat and they want a solution prime minister been a yale drama now it's the creation of what they would seek is a thirty kilometer security zone into africa they see this is a way of securing turkey's borders with it will be permanently manned by turkish forces or elements of the free syrian army it's unclear but the message from turkey is that in no longer appear to accept the presence of the syrian kurdish militia on i

the price for it any it needs syrian territory or at least quiet border and syrian turkish border so i think he will go on with the question mostly is russia and not the united states i think at this stage is ready to risk a diplomatic of course confrontation with the united states if not even more he feels that throughout these week internally and regionally but i don't think he will risk a confrontation with russia and i think they're called the nation between turkey and russia will determine how far this will go. into to hear your views appreciate your time my guest dr allan liril former director general of the israeli ministry of foreign affairs thank you again. thank you very much. ok service evening of breaking news let's head to a story that's come out of afghanistan where several people have been reported killed after a group of up to four gunmen attacked a major hotel in the capital kabul witnesses say that there are up to fifteen fatal it is at this point there is no official information yet though on casualties media reports citing officials who say the gunman started shoo

the syrian war is not only about the fight against islamic state it's also about the political struggle between the opposition and the government now damascus representatives and opposition groups are gathering in the russian city of sochi for a new round of peace talks. has been previewing the event. minutes after landing in syria. we being diverted to beirut look at the ballasts said. they're everywhere the entire city seems to be lost in the peace for the people of syria five hundred ten journalists were registered for the sochi peace conference in just four days representatives from seventy eight different channels as well as dozens and dozens of different news agencies most of them foreigners these army of journalists covering this event. only by the number of delegates one thousand six hundred delegates. to take part in these talks syrian politicians and opposition reconciled rebels and active ones commanders and thousands of men christians muslims need faiths and denominations aiming for peace. the hard work putting the finishing touches in place they even have special prayer roo

a makeshift refugee camp hit by a missile strike as hundreds of thousands more syrians are displaced by not fighting. on maryam namazie in london you're watching al-jazeera also coming up. thousands protest in the tunisian capital to mark seven years since the revolution that spot the arab spring. homes destroyed by flooding and now a new threat emerges for the people of the democratic republic of congo. and the pope speaks out in defense of migrants saying fear and doubt should not determine how you respond to new arrivals. in syria a new wave of attacks by government forces in that russian allies is forcing thousands of syrians to flee their homes around one hundred twenty thousand civilians have been displaced in rebel held and live province in recent weeks but instead of finding safety many continue to face danger. no love no love up i don't really know what to do but i know the people. there are very few you know a lot. but well that will be an al-jazeera crew was filming in a makeshift camp and when this attack happened they tell us the missile hit very close to civilians it es

to washington it's also at the same time something which the syrian government would object to the syrian government considers this to be a violation of its sovereignty so we have the you know the reactions could come from everywhere you we have a u.s. turkish dispute i think as a result of what's happening at the same time you have a dispute between the syrian government and turkey because the syrian government has cut the categorical or express that it's categorical rejection for any such step so you could this could lead even to a confrontation between the syria between syria and turkey or so where there are a lot of you know possible scenarios which do lead to escalation and i think that now that it's begun i think it might be very difficult to to seize control of the situation. well mr rizk you've mentioned that the united states probably didn't do think that turkey were going to follow through with their threat of a military operation now that turkey has followed through indeed do you think what do you make of washington's reaction to this operation and what do you think this reacti

turkey civilians cheering on the tanks headed towards the syrian border. many support and kurds light is military operation dubbed olive branch. to save turkey why shouldn't we be placed. take is air and ground forces have been pounding kurdish positions in africa that targeting the y. page a militia which is backed by the us. took his tanks have been shelling the kurdish controlled syrian on clay and fighter jets have been bombing from the sky and chris says the wipe a.j. is a syrian army of the kurdish workers party opaque. it considers the a terror group. he. says pissed on workers party and the why p.g. in syria they couldn't stand worker's party is on the terror list of the us and the e.u. the organization that works within syria is exactly the sign. but the syrian operation doesn't come without risks for turkey i've been not several rockets from syria landed in a turkish border city one person has been reported wounded as turkey escalates its involvement in syria the dangers for civilians on both sides of the border. or got date of your correspondent

army forces to the north east and west and syrian government forces to the south it's believed most of those fleeing are traveling through government help territory to an enclave inside aleppo city that's controlled by kurdish forces but the syrian observatory for human rights is accusing government forces of blocking them stephanie decker has the latest from antakya in the turkish syrian border. the village of how man which is now been announced at the f.s.a. have taken a significant why because it lies very close to the turkish border in the area just close to where we are just a further east of a hyundai and it does play into the narrative that we heard from the turkish prime minister just a few days ago that their plan is to establish what he called up to a thirty kilometer security zone pushing the y.p. gee away from its borders it has been a fluid fight however on the ground there are incidents when villages have been taken by the free syrian army and turkish forces and you know a day or so later retaken by the white b.g. but of course turkey has superiority when it comes to t

militia the move opens a new front in syria's civil war the syrian government. has warned against any incursion and is also threatening to shoot down turkish jets turkish president richard type out of the water is promising to expand his country's border operations is well he had to say earlier today not yet up now we will clear this terror corridor from our border step by step just as we have prevented a terror corridor from being formed along our border with drabble those and bob operations. we've launched a military operation into the northern afferent province of syria an operation in mamby it will come after offering. the promises made to us have not been kept up to now so nobody can object if we do what is necessary. ok for more we're going to talk to door injun's our correspondent in istanbul adoring are there any signs at this point that turkey is preparing to send large numbers of ground troops into syria. no not yet and i think that what's going on is a very sustained air bombardment already over one hundred targets have been hit according to the turki

to syrians document the route that is claimed so many lives searching for sanctuary to people in power at this time on al-jazeera. turkey says its offensive in northern syria wants to all pantelis the stablished a security zone along the border. and a welcome to al jazeera live from my headquarters in doha with me elizabeth purana also ahead. israel's prime minister hosts the u.s. vice president as palestinians boycott his visit over trump's jerusalem declaration . ending the trip by violence and the fallout from the sex abuse scandal pope francis says goodbye to pollute after holding mass a million people plus. in the far east of indonesia is facing a serious health crisis i'm stuck reporting from the us market region in the south of where children die because of undernourishment and measles outbreak. russia has for the first time weighed in on turkey's offensive in northern syria that it may not accept as plans to create a buffer zone but his operation in a free district is now in its third day. that's trying to push out why b.g. fighters and create a so-called safe zone thirty kilom

against to against a syrian regime against turkey. it doesn't make sense to militarize the situation. in syria when the search by russia by iran by turkey is first to stop it as a situation to end the conflict on conflicts in syria and to move to the put in the call process to achieve what happens in geneva. now with in collecting any international reaction been reporting on the what other countries have had to say about turkey's and moves of the past few days the message from damascus is one of condemnation they say that it actually supports terrorists do you think that we could see the syrian army entering into the conflict perhaps. i think that that is a possibility and that's why. while turkey had i think of it it cleared of entry strategy into offer and at this talk of this all petitions turkey must also have a clear exit strategy and is partition as soon as possible to get draw from syrian territory its own soldiers to turkey at the first opportunity otherwise it is a dangerous if not us turkey confrontation but more likely syri

and for israel, that means notjust that the syrian military is coming closer to its border, it's that of syria's most important allies are also approaching israel, and they happen to be israel's against enemies in this region. so i think it's fair to say that the real target of these strikes is not syria, the syrian military. it is iran and hezbollah. and what we know of the strike — it hit arms depots north—east of damascus, which are used both by the syrian military and by lebanese hezbollah forces. now, israel never comments on these strikes, either to confirm or deny, but today, the israeli prime

the coalition is working jointly with the syrian democratic forces to establish and train the new syrian border security force currently there are approximately two hundred thirty individuals training in the inaugural class with the goal of a final full size of approximately thirty thousand so it is a very very detailed explanation of what the united states were going to do there in syria thirty thousand troops training some training a few hundred most of them kurdish backed but then turkey went mad with this exactly why well because they think that they are terrorists turkey went mad they sent troops to the border saying look we are going to destroy your terrorist force that's how they described it they said we were going to destroy your terrorist forces even before it even before it comes into action even before you have a chance to create it in the first place and that was when the united states decided to do some damage control have a listen they have to refer you to the turkish government about what they became so concerned about and the fact that somebody misspoke and i'm not going

pretty much no one all the syrian ones either withdrew or were forced to is drew like. or were arrested by the military police like the case of journal on and so now more all of the you can call them the threatening candidates the deal candidates there one can contest against c.c. credibly. are gone so we'll probably see someone who's not that threatening probably pop up to have some sort of legitimacy so as he would want that probably wouldn't he would want someone to run they get said that just to my eyes is the election that's why he was twenty fourteen he was desperate for someone like. me to to run and he got i think only three percent of the landslide victory was for c.c. so i think he will need somebody like that but someone with much less caliber than the ones who withdrew are the ones who are arrested as they are saying is that we saw these very high caliber military men coming forward to run against the theories that suggest that c.c. doesn't enjoy total support from the ruling elite they come from different periods to cause a prime minister who is the head of

a new wave of attacks by syrian government forces and their russian allies is forcing fountains of syrians to leave their homes around one hundred twenty thousand civilians have been displaced in rebel held province in recent weeks but instead of finding safety many continue to face danger. the whole lot lot lot of up i don't really know what's real but there are no the police. we have very few you know law. but look at look at. this al jazeera crew was filming in a makeshift camp in need live when an attack happened they tell us a missile hit very close to civilians who had escaped earlier bombing attacks in the nearby hama countryside which is there a correspondent maillard follow can be seen among men women and children desperately trying to find. a meanwhile tension is growing between russia and turkey who back opposing sides in the conflict sit him because he has more from southern turkey. intensified a strike by the syrian regime and russian military forces actually threatens the peace process achievements the peace process that was launched in the ca's our capital astana turkey russ

syrian government forces one of the syrian war's detectable trends last year was the emerging axis ofcooperation between russia and turkey often joining together to criticize steps taken by the united states while if today's developments around the thing to go by that's a trend that looks set to continue into two thousand and eighteen where we challenge to zero moscow. more than three hundred fifty migrants for europe from libya have been rescued while trying to cross the mediterranean libyan coast guards received a distress call from one boat carrying violence but soon after a successful rescue another distress signal was sent from two more boats even though the route remains a death trap for many trying to cross continents it hasn't deterred thousands of people from trying to get to europe. the military build up along the border between sudan and eritrea is adding to tensions along the red sea sudan's army says it sent more troops to the area to stop weapons smugglers but eritrea's government says it's just an excuse for a military buildup hiper morgan reports. these police here are

by the syrian government the syrian observatory for human rights say the army has captured dozens of villages in the past three days and is closing in on rebel forces further north turkey has threatened to attack the kurdish held town of a freend monitoring group say shelling has already begun ankara had been hoping for washington support instead a fresh conflict is brewing between the countries the us led coalition says it is setting up a thirty thousand strong security force to inhibit the activities of the so-called islamic state along the borders with turkey and iraq these areas are controlled by the syrian democratic forces a u.s. backed militia alliance led by syrian kurds but turkey regards the kurds as terrorists and does not want them controlling territory along its border turkish president red chip tire paired one accuse the u.s. of acting against turkish interests should the article read occur now the u.s. has acknowledged it has a stablished an army of terror along our country's border. it's up to us to drown this army of terror before it's born almost. the syrian governm

maybe restore the borders to the syrian government and the syrian military in effect restoring the sovereignty of a large part of syria while giving the kurds. you know an autonomous region which is you know which they want. no according to the u.n. at least twenty four civilians have been killed and five thousand displaced in the turkish offensive against. the kurds there in northern syria do you think that there's any possibility that this operation could backfire on turkey well yes it could because you know it's much easier to start a war than it is to to end one and. if they get into prolonged. combat with kurdish forces over i mean you know after in man be are just two and claves really but there's a much larger area extending all the way east to the iraqi border that is now controlled by by the white p.g. the whole the whole enclave of. and you know if if if turkey and fighting a war. all the way across that whole area. you know this could get very very ugly and. a lot a severely a lot more civilians could be. killed by by the turkish turkish air strikes and turkish artillery fire and. a

army the syrian rebels that are already taking part in this operation that. while we were here two bullets whizzed overhead. and. for this. sort of. pushed out of here in two thousand and. thirteen members of her family she tells us she is. war has now become the norm she says i mean but the now. people are used to the shelling and the explosions the young children are still scared but we've been facing this for a few years now we're not afraid anymore. there is hardly any electricity here generators are the only way to get light or heat in the winter rain has left the streets with mud. the black paint on this will be for sale. it seems some still dream of moving on from here. the landscape in this part of syria is dotted with tents millions of syrians are made homeless in their own country in the history we've been here for three years in the tent has never been fixed because of the ryan the tent leaks and there are seven people in tents a situation is terrible. this is a country ripped apart by almost seven years of war millions of syrians have had to leave

from syrian government itself to syrian sovereignty to how the military will be overhauled the other big thing that was agreed on is a constitutional reform committee to amend or rewrite the syrian constitution the interesting thing here is that seats on it that will be saved for those that were unwilling or unable to attend these talks this will be passed on to the u.n. so the u.n. will oversee this new committee and the u.n. special envoy to syria will personally guide this initiative there was also of course drama nobody saw it coming this morning there was no we interviewed but from late arrivals to cancel participation even arguments and shouting matches there's even heckling i want to express my sincere gratitude to our colleagues. mushroom. friends again i would like your attention. if it's a long list russia then let me speak please. that was sides as i mentioned the. unwilling to come to these talks were talking about the hard good position of the high negotiations committee that is based in saudi arabia and compromises many rebel groups they've sent a delegation on the turk

but opposed by turkey stephanie decker has more from the turkish syrian border. shortly before sunset on saturday turkey launched its air campaign on after the turkish officials had said all week that the operation was imminent. president legit tired everyone spoke just a few hours before the jets took off. we would wipe out this corridor will step by step starting from the list after the operation has defectors started in the field this will be followed but. since the promises made it look and kept so far nobody can say anything we do what is necessary. throughout the morning along turkey's western border with the turkish army had brought in bulldozers gravel and concrete blocks appearing to build up their defenses along the border with syria. tank shelled specific locations on the mountain and hours later this mountain would be targeted by airstrikes the army made us move from this position a few hours before the campaign officially began and this is just one of the locations that the turkish army is shelling out free in is pretty much surrounded turkey to its

a voice objection even the syrians of amid some threats that the americans aren't happy about it so they don't have a full green light but they're apparently pushing the envelope to see what happens if you shoot a statement saying we have no choice but to intervene and let's see how far deep they can go into that territory without you know having a further diplomatic resistance or a serious one from the big players like the u.s. and the russians at least questions i was called the syrian kurds is part of an ally but now in the face of this turkish offensive there effectively being abandoned what do you make of america's actions or lack thereof. well the americans have never been associated with this enclave in our free which is in northwestern syria there wasn't any american presence there was no direct armament and funding and so on even though one could argue that a bit of training at least would have resulted from some people going east to where the american forces are situated in northeastern syria and then gone back to preen or could also argue about command and control. but st

for a news conference with syrian opposition leaders in vienna will take that live. hello i'm adrian fit again this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up we'll get a first look inside the ritz carlton hotel in riyadh where saudi billionaire prince albert he'd been to allow others of being held he says he'll be cleared of corruption charges within days plus. an uncensored gene my former flan well i still respect or. don't want to hear that u.s. diplomat bill richardson calls me an ass lead up powerless and afraid of the bill a free hand. china's ban on ivory forces craftsman to find new ways to use their skills. against those stories in just a moment but first some breaking news out of afghanistan there's been an explosion in the capital kabul that happened close to the old interior ministry and several embassies these are the latest pictures from the area we understand that been several casualties it comes just a week after an attack on the intercontinental hotel in the city lived out of kabul and al-jazeera isabella shah who. what more can you tell us. they're

syrian kurds have been involved in terrorism on his territory but he created this by illegally arming training and cellaring sectarian militants you know the united states. were arming him and supporting the kurds are there is one thing in a bottle of this situation the final you become of the truth about the united states financing terrorists out of the mold of babes no out of the mouth of mr had to go and so he's the guy who. well that's why you see it's not exactly a challenge to the model to be no shortage of people who are being punished in terrorism. but here basically admit to something that all the other need to remember us have no home but they have been hiding it yet so ever they're gonna put in these. where he drove himself by his decision to change the regime in syria he is now i'm sorry he's now spewing the truth let me know where to go if i want to if i go if i put in. the existence the possibility of a kurdish state when turkish border is an existential threat to a president of literature and that's where his name is there anything else would do right now do exactly wha