Thousands of people have fled from the northern Iraqi city of Sinjar and surrounding areas due to clashes between Iraq’s army and the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a Yazidi militia with ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The Iraqi military launched an operation to clear the area of YBS forces on Sunday, but heavy fighting continued into Monday, Al Jazeera reported.

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Turkey launched a new ground and air cross-border operation against suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) bases in Duhok province, the Turkish defense minister announced early on Monday.

Turkish jets and artillery struck PKK targets consisting of “shelters, bunkers, caves, tunnels, ammunition depots and a so-called headquarter belonging to the terrorist organization,” Hulusi Akar said.

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The spokesman for Yemen’s Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, says “according to what was agreed upon with the national delegation in Muscat, we announce the implementation into force of the humanitarian and military truce and our commitment to a comprehensive cessation of military operations as long as the other party adheres to it.”

Saudi Arabia also declared it’s a commitment to the ceasefire despite reports emerging that Saudi forces launched an artillery attack on the Yemeni border region of Sa’ada killing three civilians.

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Yemen’s Houthi group has announced a three-day truce and dangled the prospect of a “permanent” ceasefire if the Saudi-led coalition ends its operations against the impoverished country.

The statement came a day after a wave of drone and missile attacks hit targets across Saudi Arabia, including an oil plant near the Formula One race in Jeddah, triggering an inferno.

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Meanwhile, some Syrian mercenaries see participation in the war on the side of Russia as a chance to eventually defect and illegally cross to the EU.

That’s according to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, Ukrinform reports.

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