Syria

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

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UN Calls Off Syria Observer Mission

As Human Rights Watch reports new massacre

(Newser) - The UN will allow its observer mission in Syria to expire Sunday, even as reports of extreme violence continue to pour in. A government airstrike on a rebel-held town killed more than 40 people and injured at least 100 more, Human Rights Watch reported today, and that wasn't the...

UN Panel: Syria Has Committed War Crimes

Rebels have too, but on a smaller scale, panel concludes

(Newser) - As violence continues to pummel Syria, a UN panel has concluded that President Bashar Assad's forces have carried out war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that the highest levels of government have likely been involved in the murders, torture, sexual violence, and other atrocities. Specifically, it blames the...

Ex-PM: Assad Only Controls 30% of Syria

'The regime is falling apart,' Riad Hijab says

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad's days sound awfully numbered if you listen to ex-Prime Minister Riad Hijab. "The regime is falling apart morally, materially, economically," the defector told reporters in Jordan today. "Its military is rusting and it controls only 30% of Syria's territory." Hijab wasn't...

Libyan Veterans Lend Syrians a Hand

Fighter says rebels hamstrung by lack of no-fly zone

(Newser) - Rebels battling Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria are getting assistance from people who might know a thing or two about getting rid of dictators: Reuters sits down with Hussam Najjar, a Libyan-Irish sniper, who says he is among many veterans of last year's Libyan conflict helping train Syrian...

Syrian Rebels: We Need a No-Fly Zone

20 killed near Damascus yesterday

(Newser) - As clashes continue in Aleppo and Damascus, a Syrian rebel leader is reaching out to the West for help: It's time for a no-fly zone, says Syrian National Council head Abdelbasset Sida. The opposition is making gains, "but the problem is the aircraft, in addition to the artillery...

US: Hezbollah Is Helping Syria

White House announces more sanctions, but avoids military intervention

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad's pariah-state world tour rolls on: Not content with getting support from Iran , Syria is now getting help from Hezbollah, or so the White House charged yesterday, reports the Washington Post . "It’s safe to say that Hezbollah is playing a critical role in advising the Syrian...

Syrians' New Woe: Soaring Crime

Ban Ki-moon warns: No one will win this war

(Newser) - As the Syrian conflict rages on, police officers have abandoned their stations and the civilian infrastructure has all but disappeared. The result: soaring crime. Despite rebel attempts to monitor the situation, kidnapping and theft have become commonplace, the New York Times reports, relaying the tale of a kidnapped businessman (released...

Fight for Aleppo Intensifies as Both Sides Claim Advantage

Assad appoints new PM

(Newser) - Syrian government troops launched a fresh ground assault to retake Aleppo yesterday, and shelling continues today, but conflicting reports on the state of the fight persist. State media claims "huge numbers" of rebels have been killed and that Bashar al-Assad's forces control the particularly strategic Salah al-Din district,...

Angry Syria Rebels to US: 'All We Get Is Words'

America should be offering more help, they say

(Newser) - Anti-American sentiment is growing in Syria, where rebels are increasingly frustrated that the US is not giving them more support. "All we get is words," says a Free Syrian Army spokesperson. The Syrian opposition says it does not want direct military intervention, but it has asked many times...

Syria's Assad Gets Public Backing From Iran

He appears on state TV for first time in weeks

(Newser) - Syrian President Bashar Assad made his first appearance on state TV in nearly three weeks today in a show of solidarity with a senior Iranian envoy. The day's contrasts couldn't have been more vivid: Assad and Iran's Saeed Jalili vowed to defeat the rebels and their backers,...

As Aleppo Shelling Continues, Rebels Get More Daring

But Syrian rebels may be making progress

(Newser) - The battle for Aleppo has been going on for more than two weeks now, and the fighting spread to new parts of Syria's biggest city today. Government troops have been shelling the parts of the city the rebels control, but the opposition continues to attempt to expand its hold,...

Syrian PM Defects: Rebels
 Syrian PM Defects: Rebels 
Aug 6, 2012 6:19 AM CDT

Syrian PM Defects: Rebels

But government claims Riad Hijab was fired

(Newser) - The Syrian opposition is claiming a big defection to its side: Prime Minister Riad Hijab. Hijab, who became prime minister two months ago, would be the highest-level defection of the uprising so far, the AP reports. An opposition source tells CBS that Hijab and his family are already out of...

Pro-Syrian Regime Hackers Hit Reuters

Hackers seize agency Twitter account, post 22 fake messages

(Newser) - As Bashar al-Assad's forces continue to pound Syria's biggest city , his allies on the Internet have laid siege to Reuters . One of the news agency's Twitter accounts was hacked yesterday, and 22 fake messages were posted, many of them spreading false news about heavy rebel defeats or...

Regime to Wage Huge Attack on Aleppo in Days: Rebels

Assad's forces are pounding city, but more troops are apparently en route

(Newser) - Assad's forces continue to pound Aleppo today, with state TV announcing that the regime is "cleansing the terrorist filth" from the country. Reuters reports that tanks are shelling the city as a helicopter sprays the rebels with machine-gun fire, and a correspondent there reported violent street fighting in...

Syrian Forces Pound Aleppo, Damascus

Government wants to retake two most important cities

(Newser) - The UN General Assembly may have formally condemned the violence in Syria yesterday, but today Bashar al-Assad's regime made clear what it thinks of the rebuke: Not much. Government forces are reportedly waging a fierce assault on rebel positions in Aleppo, and they've also launched an attack on...

UN Condemns Syrian Assault
 UN Condemns Syrian Assault 
Aug 3, 2012 2:35 PM CDT

UN Condemns Syrian Assault

Symbolic resolution passes by overwhelming margin

(Newser) - The UN General Assembly gave Syria a fierce, albeit entirely symbolic, rebuke today for the violent crackdown on dissent that has plunged the country into a civil war. The Assembly voted 133-12 in favor of a resolution condemning the violence, with 31 abstaining, the AP reports. "The conflict in...

Britain: We'll Boost Support for Syria Rebels

Regime's arsenal looks shaky

(Newser) - With Kofi Annan stepping down from his diplomatic post, Britain is trying to pick up the slack in Syria. Foreign Secretary William Hague today promised more "practical but non-lethal support to the opposition," citing "communications" as an example, Reuters reports. "We don't give up on...

Kofi Annan Quits Role as Syria Envoy

Ban Ki-moon accepts Annan's resignation

(Newser) - Kofi Annan said today he will step down as special envoy for Syria effective Aug. 31, delivering a blistering criticism of world powers' failure to unite over the country's escalating violence. At an impromptu press conference, Annan told reporters he cannot go on when the 15-nation council provides no...

Obama OKs Secret Backing for Syria Rebels

Signed order allows CIA to support rebels

(Newser) - Syrian rebels have become much more organized and effective in recent weeks, and it appears the CIA deserves some of the credit. President Obama has signed a secret order, approved earlier this year, allowing the CIA and other American agencies to support rebels seeking to oust Bashar al-Assad, sources tell...

Assad AWOL as Executions Rumored in Aleppo

Free Syrian Army gains anti-aircraft missiles

(Newser) - As the battle for Aleppo grinds on in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad's location remains a big question mark. Today, to mark Armed Forces Day, Assad published a message in the military's magazine encouraging his troops. But, though the president has been seen on TV, he has not appeared...

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