Syria

Read recent Syrian news stories and current events on Newser.com

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As Syria Unravels, Israel Threatens Hit on Chemical Weapons

Chemical arsenal won't be allowed to fall into Hezbollah's hands, officials warn

(Newser) - Israel has warned that it will launch a strike to prevent Syrian chemical weapons from falling into the hands of Hezbollah or other extremists, the AP reports. Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told reporters that top security officials met last week to discuss the threat Syria's chemical weapons pose....

Planes Sent to Evacuate Russians in Syria

As power outage strikes Damascus

(Newser) - Moscow sent two planes to pick up Russian citizens trapped in Syria's civil war today as a power outage struck Damascus and a swath of the country's south, report Russia Today and the AP . The Russian planes were headed for Beirut, where about 100 people, mostly women and...

Syria Opposition Again Can't Form Government

Second attempt by Syrian National Coalition fails

(Newser) - Two months after Syria's fractious opposition movement came together to form the Syrian National Coalition , a second attempt to form a transitional government has failed. SNC leaders said Istanbul talks broke up with no agreement on an interim prime minister to run opposition-held areas, Reuters reports. It's yet...

106 Dead in New Syria Massacre

Burned bodies point to pro-Assad militia

(Newser) - Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appear to have carried out another massacre, killing 106 people in Homs this week, reports Reuters . While it is unclear whether the killings were done by the Syrian military or a militia loyal to Assad, activists pointed out Homs has been the center...

Report: US Suspects Syria Used Chemical Weapons

State Department cable makes the case, says 'Foreign Policy'

(Newser) - Did Bashar al-Assad already use chemical weapons on his own people? A secret State Department cable obtained by Foreign Policy makes the case that a Syrian tank fired a shell loaded with a poison gas known as Agent 15 during fighting in Homs on Dec. 23. Doctors say five people...

Dozens of College Students Killed in Syria Bombing

Blasts at university in Aleppo leave about 80 dead

(Newser) - The University of Aleppo had somehow managed to avoid much of the violence engulfing Syria—until today. At least two huge blasts struck the university as exams were beginning, reports the Wall Street Journal . Most accounts put the death toll at about 80, with another 150 or so wounded. Most...

Rape a &#39;Weapon of War&#39; in Syria
 Rape a 'Weapon of War' in Syria 
Jan 14, 2013 7:32 AM CST

Rape a 'Weapon of War' in Syria

And a main reason people are fleeing the country, activist group says

(Newser) - Rape is "a significant and disturbing feature of the Syrian civil war," and a major reason refugees are fleeing the country, according to a report released today by a US-based activist group. The International Rescue Committee interviewed refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, and found that many identified rape...

Syrian Rebels Free 48 Iranians in Prisoner Swap

In exchange, regime releases more than 2,000

(Newser) - Syrian rebels freed 48 Iranians held captive since August, Iranian state TV reported today, part of what appeared to be the first major prisoner swap of the civil war. The deal—reportedly coordinated by a Turkish Islamic aid group—will also involve the release of more than 2,000 held...

Syria's Chemical Weapons Sparked Global Unity

'New York Times' takes a look at international response

(Newser) - The New York Times today takes a behind-the-scenes look at the Syria chemical weapons scare that erupted in early December . Israel first contacted the Pentagon in late November, concerned by satellite images showing Syrian troops likely making sarin gas bombs . That call sparked a rare show of cooperation between countries...

Syrians Ignore Assad's 'Peace Plan' Speech

And it could turn off UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi

(Newser) - Syria's civil war raged on today, without the slightest pause of acknowledgement for yesterday's rare Bashar al-Assad speech . It was billed as the unveiling of a "peace plan," but Assad offered essentially no concessions and spent much of the speech justifying his bloody crackdown. And there...

Nervous Israel Plans Syria Border Fence

Extremists moving to border area, Netanyahu warns

(Newser) - Israel is building a new security fence along the entire length of its disputed border with Syria in the Golan Heights, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced. With an election less than three weeks away, Netanyahu's Likud-Beiteinu ticket is losing votes to the far-right Jewish Home party and he...

Assad Outlines Peace Deal, Blasts 'Terrorists'

Rebels blast speech as intended to derail diplomatic solution

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad today took to Syria's airwaves to outline a new peace initiative that wasn't terribly likely to result in peace of any kind. Staunchly refusing to step down, Assad said he's now ready to negotiate with those "who have not betrayed Syria," dismissing rebels...

US Troops Take Charge of Missiles in Turkey

Meanwhile, Damascus gas station bombing kills 11

(Newser) - Twenty-seven US troops have landed in Turkey to operate missiles near its border with Syria. The troops, whose deployment was announced last month , will be in charge of Patriot missiles officially controlled by NATO, CNN reports. Meanwhile, in Syria itself, opposition forces are battling for control of a government-held helicopter...

US Journalist Missing in Syria
 US Journalist Missing in Syria 
Jan 2, 2013 2:30 PM CST

US Journalist Missing in Syria

James Foley's family issues statement after kidnapping

(Newser) - An American journalist has been missing in Syria since he was kidnapped more than one month ago, his family said today, less than two years after he was held by government forces in Libya while covering that country's civil war. The family of James Foley, of Rochester, NH, said...

UN: True Number Killed in Syria a 'Shocking' 60K

Dozens killed in gas station attack today

(Newser) - A new UN analysis finds that at least 60,000 people have died in the Syria conflict, a "much higher" number than was expected and one that is "truly shocking," says the UN human rights commissioner. The exhaustive, months-long study compiled data from seven sources to come...

UN Envoy: Syria Faces 'Hell' Without Deal

Lakhdar Brahimi warns of dire consequences if solution isn't reached soon

(Newser) - UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is warning that a political solution must be reached in the Syrian crisis, lest the nation ravaged by a 21-month-old civil war tumble "into more and more chaos and perhaps a failed state." Speaking in Moscow where he's negotiating, Brahimi said the world...

Syria Using Advanced Iranian Missiles: US

Meanwhile, two Syrian air force generals defect, Russia may meet opposition

(Newser) - The Syrian military has fired two missiles in the past week that US officials believe are a newer, more-accurate model from Iran. These Fateh A-110 missiles have less range than the Scud variants the regime has been relying on, with a maximum distance of 125 miles versus 185. But they...

Syria's Chief of Military Police Defects, Joins Opposition

Latest high-profile defection another setback to Assad regime

(Newser) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad suffered another high-profile defection last night, as the head of the Syrian military police declared he had switched to the rebels, reports the Guardian . Major General Abdul-Aziz Jassem al-Shallal said he was joining the "people's revolution" on al-Arabiya TV, although it was unclear when...

UN Envoy Worried After Talks With Assad

Brahimi doesn't appear to be making progress

(Newser) - The international envoy tasked with pushing to end Syria's civil war emerged from talks with Bashar al-Assad today saying that the situation was "worrying," and giving no indication of progress toward a negotiated solution to the conflict. "We hope that all the parties will go toward...

Syria Strike Kills Dozens: Activists

As Lakhdar Brahimi in Damascus for peace talks

(Newser) - A government airstrike killed dozens of people today in a town near the central city of Hama, anti-regime activists in Syria said. The attack came as main international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was beginning talks in Damascus aimed at ending the civil war. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said...

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