Situation Reports

The Syrian army issued an evacuation order for parts of Aleppo and subsequently launched a "limited operation" against military targets associated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, in order to push the group out of the country's second-largest city and strengthen the government's control over it, Reuters reported on Jan. 8.

Cambodia announced that an unspecified senior U.S. State Department official will visit its capital, Phnom Penh, to assist in stabilizing the country's fragile ceasefire with Thailand, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 8.

The Lebanese Armed Forces announced the completion of the first phase of its plan to disarm non-state armed groups south of the Litani River, namely Hezbollah, AP reported on Jan. 8.

U.S. security forces launched an operation to seize an oil tanker, the Russia-flagged Marinera, formerly known as the Bella 1, in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Iceland, despite Russia's deployment of naval vessels to escort the ship and a request that the United States stop pursuing the tanker, BBC reported on Jan. 7.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there was still no clear answer on whether Ukraine's partners would deliver a strong response to renewed Russian aggression after a ceasefire, noting that any security guarantees would require parliamentary approval, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reported on Jan. 7.

Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi began his annual start-of-the-year tour of Africa, during which he will visit Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho, Reuters reported on Jan. 7.

South African trade minister Parks Tau amended the country's anti-trust rules to allow companies operating in "industries in distress" to jointly negotiate the purchase of power as well as collaborate on backup energy generation capacity and alternative energy supply, News24 reported on Jan. 7.

Chinese security forces detained six members of the Early Rain Covenant Church, an unregistered "house church," in Chengdu on Jan. 6, Reuters reported the next day.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Venezuela would turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil worth up to $2.8 billion to the United States, Reuters reported on Jan. 6.

China's commerce ministry on Jan. 7 commenced a 12-18-month anti-dumping investigation into Japanese imports of dichlorosilane, a chemical used in semiconductor manufacturing.