Syria

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

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Red Cross: Syria Now a Civil War

Move comes as regime denies using heavy weapons on civilians

(Newser) - The International Committee of the Red Cross says it now considers the conflict in Syria a civil war, meaning international humanitarian law applies throughout the country. The Geneva-based group's assessment is an important reference that helps parties in a conflict determine how much and what type of force they...

US: Syria Mobilizing Chemical Weapons

It's unclear why, but intelligence says part of its stockpile is on the move

(Newser) - Syria is pulling many of its chemical weapons out of storage facilities, for reasons that aren't entirely clear, US officials tell the Wall Street Journal . Some believe Assad is simply moving the weapons to a safer location, or attempting to spook rebel-friendly Sunnis. But others believe he intends to...

Opposition: New Syria Massacre Kills 200

Most of the victims in Hama said to be civilians

(Newser) - Opposition forces in Syria are reporting a new massacre by government troops, and this one might be the worst yet. Activists tell Reuters that more than 200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the village of Tremseh in central Hama province. They cite a familiar pattern : strafing by helicopters and...

Syria's Ambassador to Iraq: I'm Joining the Revolution

Diplomat urges his countrymen to abandon Assad

(Newser) - The Syrian ambassador to Iraq has defected, becoming the most senior diplomat to abandon the regime during its bloody 16-month uprising. "I'm announcing from this moment on that I'm siding with the revolution in Syria," Nawaf Fares said in a statement broadcast on al-Jazeera yesterday, denouncing...

Chavez Powering Syria&#39;s Tanks
 Chavez Powering Syria's Tanks 
Jul 10, 2012 10:24 AM CDT

Chavez Powering Syria's Tanks

Venezuela sending diesel fuel to Assad regime

(Newser) - Syria's latest ally: Venezuela. President Hugo Chávez is sending diesel fuel to Syria in order to help Bashar al-Assad sidestep those pesky sanctions, the Wall Street Journal reports. And the fuel is a big deal: It's powering the tanks and vehicles currently bearing down on rebels in...

Annan: We Need Iran in Syria
 Annan: We Need Iran in Syria 
Jul 10, 2012 9:30 AM CDT

Annan: We Need Iran in Syria

Envoy meets with officials in Iran and Iraq

(Newser) - Iran must be "part of the solution" to the Syria crisis, international envoy Kofi Annan declared today, after meeting with Iran's foreign minister in Tehran. "My presence here proves that I believe Iran can play a positive role," Annan told reporters, saying he had "received...

Russia Halting Arms Exports to Syria

Meanwhile, Annan and Assad 'agree on approach' to conflict

(Newser) - Russia will stop selling weapons to Syrian authorities until the conflict in the country simmers down, a senior official says. So far, he tells Russian news agencies, Moscow has simply been sending spare parts to the Syrian army and helping with repairs, not sending fighter planes or helicopters. From here...

Annan in Syria for Talks With Assad

UN envoy arrives as Clinton warns time is running out

(Newser) - Kofi Annan is on the ground in Syria, with a spokesman confirming that the UN special envoy has arrived in Damascus and will meet with embattled President Bashar al-Assad. Annan's arrival comes a day after he admitted to Le Monde that his six-point peace plan "had failed,"...

Clinton: Russia, China 'Should Pay a Price' on Syria

She calls for Beijing, Moscow to get involved at 'Friends of Syria' meeting

(Newser) - At a "Friends of Syria" meeting today in Paris, Hillary Clinton called in strong terms for Russia and China to "get off the sidelines" and intervene in Syria. "I don’t think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all for standing up for...

Member of Assad's Inner Circle Defects

General's defection a sign regime may be falling apart

(Newser) - Is Bashar al-Assad's regime starting to crumble? The Syrian leader's staying power has been credited to the resilience of his inner circle (in contrast to Moammar Gadhafi's), but one of the regime's main figures has reportedly defected to Turkey. Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlass is a close...

Entering Syria From Iraq: al-Qaeda

Meanwhile, UN monitors remain glum about their prospects there

(Newser) - Syria is being flooded by al-Qaeda fighters crossing in from Iraq "to help, to liaise, to carry out terrorist attacks," according to "solid information and intelligence" obtained by the Iraqi government, reports Reuters . Further, Iraq's foreign minister today noted that the warning about the al-Qaeda flow...

WikiLeaks Dumps 2.4M Syria Emails

Emails come from politicians, companies, government ministries

(Newser) - The latest from WikiLeaks: some 2.4 million Syrian emails that, the organization says, "shine a light on the inner workings of the Syrian government and economy" while also revealing "how the West and Western companies say one thing and do another." CNN notes that the emails,...

Fires Blaze Along Syria-Turkey Border

Turkish state TV accuses Syrian forces of starting them

(Newser) - The latest trouble to hit Syria: Fires, apparently started deliberately, are blazing along the border with Turkey. Turkish firefighters are battling the flames as strong winds caused them to cross the border and spread into Turkey, the AP reports. Turkey's state-run TV blames Syrian forces for starting the fires...

Downed Turkish Pilots Found in Seabed

Discovered by US deep-sea exploration vessel

(Newser) - The bodies of two pilots whose jet was shot down by Syria have been found in the seabed, according to Turkey's military. State-run TRT television says a US deep-sea exploration vessel found the bodies in the eastern Mediterranean today. Sky News notes that the Turkish military is currently working...

Syria Running 'Torture Archipelago': Rights Group

Detainees beaten, burned, electrocuted, sexually assaulted

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad's regime has been running a "torture archipelago," Human Rights Watch alleged today, documenting vicious abuses at a string of 27 Syrian detention facilities. The New York-based group interviewed more than 200 former detainees and Syrian defectors, who say prisoners were routinely beaten with batons and...

Assad on Turkish Jet: 'I Wish We Did Not Shoot It Down'

Syrian president calls event an 'isolated incident'

(Newser) - Apparently Bashar al-Assad isn't relishing his standoff with Turkey. In an interview published in a Turkish newspaper today, Assad said he "100%" regretted shooting down a Turkish jet and would "not allow" the incident "to turn into open combat," the BBC reports. He said the...

Syrian General, 84 Soldiers Defect to Turkey

Arab League urges opposition to unite at Cairo conference

(Newser) - A Syrian general and 84 other soldiers have fled to Turkey in one of the largest mass defections since the Syrian uprising began. The group, which has joined some 2,000 other former members of the Syrian military in a refugee camp in southern Turkey, included a colonel, lieutenant colonel,...

Turkey Sends Fighter Jets to Syria Border

Syria allegedly sent helicopters too close to neighbor

(Newser) - Tensions heightened along the Turkey-Syria border yesterday as Syrian helicopters flew too close and Turkey dispatched six fighter jets to scare them off, the Turkish army says. The F-16s reportedly responded to three such incidents, although the helicopters never violated Turkish airspace. Turkey says it has begun placing rocket launchers...

US Intel on Downed Jet: Turkey's Story Rings False

US finds plane was likely shot down while still in Syrian airspace

(Newser) - Turkey is sticking to its story: Syria shot down one of its jets on June 22 in international airspace, and did so far enough from Syria that the plane couldn't have been felled by an antiaircraft gun. US intelligence, however, indicates the very opposite may have happened, reports the...

190 Killed in Syria Uprising's Bloodiest Day

As tanks mass on the border with Turkey

(Newser) - As many as 190 are believed to have been killed in Syria yesterday, including up to 139 civilians, in what activists said was deadliest day of the uprising so far. Casualties poured in from across the country as Bashar al-Assad's forces clashed with the opposition Free Syrian Army, but...

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