fighting

From an Israeli strike on a displacement camp in Gaza City that killed at least three people and deadly battles in the Syrian city of Aleppo to Orthodox Christmas celebrations and pro-government demonstrations in Venezuela, here is a look at the week in photos.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas recounts scenes from Aleppo amid escalating clashes between the Syrian army and SDF forces.

I arrived in Aleppo early on Wednesday morning after receiving reports of serious clashes between the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). What I encountered was far worse than I expected.

Heavy artillery shelling was constant, extreme. My team came under attack four times; one bullet hit our equipment.

This round of clashes, we quickly understood, would not be easily contained like earlier bouts over the past year.

The root of the conflict is the government’s demand for the SDF, which has tens of thousands of troops, to integrate into state institutions, as per an agreement reached between the two sides last March. But there are numerous disputes over how that should happen, including the number of SDF troops that will join the army.

‘Overwhelming sense of despair’

Fighting has centred in heavily populated parts of Aleppo, specifically the districts of Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud. In total, these areas have about 400,000 inhabitants. Within 24 hours of fighting erupting, 160,000 fled their homes. It was like an exodus.

On Thursday, when the fighting peaked, people struggled to make their way through the streets without being caught in the crossfire. Children screamed and cried in panic. Families held each other’s hands and clothes in order to not lose track of each other.

One elderly man said he had seen enough after nearly 15 years of civil strife: “May God take my soul so I can rest,” he said.

An elderly woman, barely able to walk, fell to the ground amid the crowd and several people trampled over her. I saw her son break into tears as he tried to pull her from the ground.

The last time I saw scenes like this was in 2014, when ISIL (ISIS) attacked Syria’s Kurdish-majority town of Kobane. There was an overwhelming sense of despair, helplessness, and a feeling that everything was ending.

Short-lived ceasefire

On Friday, the warring parties agreed to a morning ceasefire and the SDF leadership agreed its fighters would lay down their heavy weapons and leave the area. However, when buses arrived to take them, more fighting broke out. When the buses came back later, the same thing happened. Our sources told us this was due to divisions within the SDF, with more radical factions resisting the calls to lay down their arms.

The back and forth ended with the Syrian government setting a deadline of 6pm (15:00 GMT) on Friday for remaining civilians to flee, after which it would restart military operations against SDF targets. Heavy fighting has since resumed in Sheikh Maqsoud.

The government, careful to avoid the perception of demographic engineering, has said that once it clears the area of SDF fighters, everyone will be able to come home. It has stressed that this is not a fight between Arabs and Kurds, but between government forces and a non-state force.

Meanwhile, people from Aleppo are sitting between hope and fear. On the one hand, they hope an agreement is finally reached between the SDF and Syrian army so they can return to their homes. But on the other hand, after 15 years of civil war, they fear that history could be repeating itself.

The Syrian army is locked in intense fighting in Aleppo after SDF fighters refused to withdraw under a ceasefire.

As a ceasefire between the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces collapses, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reminded all parties that they’re bound by international humanitarian law to protect civilians.

Good Morning Britain hosts Kate Garraway and Ranvir Singh were left stunned on Friday

A Good Morning Britain guest has revealed the “horrific” ordeal that left her “fighting for her life”. Friday’s (January 9) edition of the hit ITV breakfast show saw Kate Garraway and Ranvir Singh bring viewers the latest developments from Britain and beyond.

Weather presenter Laura Tobin was also on hand in the studio to provide crucial updates on Storm Goretti, following the Met Office’s stark “danger to life” alert.

During the programme, Kate and Ranvir interviewed Sara Platt, whose botched cosmetic procedure in Turkey left her facing serious health complications.

“The government has issued a fresh warning on botched cosmetic surgery, saying it’s going to take decisive action to crack down on rogue operators and treatments that offer, when you look at them, do seem too good to be true,” Kate explained, reports Wales Online.

Ranvir continued: “It’s the subject ITV News has been investigating for two years, and as part of that, we met Sara Platt. She travelled to Turkey for surgery, and she says it left her life at risk.”

Before the interview progressed, Ranvir cautioned viewers: “[The surgery] went horribly, horribly wrong. We’re going to show some pictures which might be distressing.”

As photographs of Sara’s injuries appeared on screen, she explained: “I lost 12 stone [during] Covid. I had severe excess skin, so I went and had an uplift implant and a tummy tuck, because I had constant skin infections.”

She continued, “[The surgery] just made it tenfold worse. What I’m left with now, not just body but my mental health, is really bad.”

As Sara delved into the difficulties she encountered, including multiple infections, Kate and Ranvir were visibly taken aback. “You thought you might die,” Ranvir said.

Sara responded: “It was extremely bad. I lost my right breast. I had gaping holes in my stomach. I was only supposed to have a tummy tuck and impact, but they cut from my arms, sides, and my back because, obviously, there was not enough skin to close me.

“On day nine, I was operated on awake and part of my body was placed by the side of my head.”

A shocked Kate replied: “Oh, Sara. We’re hearing this [and] it’s obviously horrific.”

The guest concluded: “We do get bad comments and this is why I’m trying to get change made, so people coming back from Turkey don’t use the NHS. It was life-saving surgeries for me. This is why we need regulations. The government need to take a stand.”

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am

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Civilians were seen fleeing several northern Aleppo neighbourhoods en masse as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian military escalate their fighting after a breakdown in integration talks. Estimates vary widely, but some have placed the number of evacuees at more than 100,000.

The separatist Southern Transitional Council accuses Saudi Arabia of bombing its forces near the border.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

Agreement follows talks aimed at ending weeks of deadly clashes along the Thailand-Cambodia border.

Thailand and Cambodia said they have signed a ⁠ceasefire ​agreement to end weeks of fierce fighting along their border that has killed more than 100 people and forced the displacement of more than half a million civilians in both countries.

“Both sides agree to an immediate ceasefire after the time of signature of this Joint Statement,” ‍the Thai and Cambodian defence ⁠ministers said in a statement on Saturday.

“Both sides agree to maintain current troop deployments without further movement,” the ministers said.

The ceasefire is scheduled to take effect at noon local time (05:00 GMT) and extends to “all types of weapons” and “attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas”.

The agreement, signed by Thai Defence Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Seiha, ‌ends 20 days of fighting, the worst between the two Southeast Asian neighbours in years.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow soon.

At least two people killed in clashes in northern city of Aleppo during Turkish FM Fidan’s visit to Syria.

Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces agreed to stop fighting in the northern city of Aleppo, after a wave of attacks left at least two civilians dead.

Syria’s state news agency SANA cited the defence ministry as saying that the army’s general command issued an order to stop targeting the SDF’s fighters after the deadly clashes erupted during a visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Fidan, whose country views the SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, as a ‘terrorist’ organisation, said on Monday that the SDF appeared to have no intention of honouring its pledge to integrate into the state’s armed forces by an agreed year-end deadline.

Following the SANA report on Monday evening, the SDF said in a later statement that it had issued instructions to stop responding to attacks by Syrian government forces following de-escalation contacts.

More to follow.

Planned talks come as Southeast Asian leaders urge both countries to show ‘maximum restraint’ and return to dialogue.

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to hold a meeting of defence officials later this week as regional leaders push for an end to deadly violence along the two countries’ shared border.

Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow announced the planned talks on Monday after a special meeting in Kuala Lumpur of Southeast Asian foreign ministers, who were trying to salvage a ceasefire.

That truce was first brokered by Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chair Malaysia and United States President Donald Trump after cross-border fighting broke out in July.

Sihasak told reporters that this week’s discussions would be held on Wednesday in Thailand’s Chanthaburi, within the framework of an existing bilateral border committee.

But just hours after the regional crisis talks were held in Malaysia, Cambodia’s Ministry of Defence said the Thai military deployed fighter jets to bomb areas of Siem Reap and Preah Vihear provinces.

The Thai army said Cambodia had fired dozens of rockets into Thailand, with Bangkok’s air force responding with air strikes on two Cambodian military targets.

Thailand and Cambodia have engaged in daily exchanges of rocket and artillery fire along their 817km (508-mile) land border following the collapse of the truce, with fighting at multiple points stretching from forested regions near Laos to the coastal provinces of the Gulf of Thailand.

Despite the cross-border fire, Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior said it remains “optimistic that the Thai side will demonstrate sincerity” in implementing a ceasefire.

Thailand’s Sihasak, however, cautioned that the upcoming meeting may not immediately produce a truce. “Our position is a ceasefire does not come with an announcement, but must come from actions,” he said.

His ministry said the two nations’ militaries would “discuss implementation, related steps and verification of the ceasefire in detail”.

The planned meeting comes as ASEAN on Monday urged both countries to show “maximum restraint and take immediate steps towards the cessation of all forms of hostilities”.

In a statement after the talks in Kuala Lumpur, ASEAN also called on both Thailand and Cambodia to “restore mutual trust and confidence, and to return to dialogue”.

ASEAN members also reiterated their concerns over the ongoing conflict and “called upon both parties to ensure that civilians residing in the affected border areas are able to return, without obstruction and in safety and dignity, to their homes”.