Moscow / AFP The Kremlin on Wednesday demanded an explanation after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara intervened in Syria solely to topple President Bashar Al-Assad. Turkish forces are pressing on with a three month operation inside war-torn Syria in support of anti-Assad forces, while Russia is the chief ally of the Syrian president in the conflict that …

  Ankara / AFP Turkey is seeking multiple life sentences for nearly 70 suspects, including the leader of the main Syrian Kurdish political party, over a deadly bombing in Ankara this year blamed on Kurdish militants, state media said on Wednesday. Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) leader Salih Muslim and several prominent Kurdish militants have been indicted over the …

  Mosul / AFP Up to 500,000 civilians in Mosul are facing a “catastrophic” drinking water shortage, the UN warned on Wednesday, as Iraqi forces advance against the IS group in the city. Already suffering from a severe lack of food and electricity, civilians in Iraq’s second city are now also running out of drinkable water, said Lise Grande, UN humanitarian …