Syria

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

Stories 1141 - 1160 | << Prev   Next >>

UN Council Condemns 'Outrageous' Houla Massacre

Only Russia, China, and Cuba vote against it

(Newser) - The UN Human Rights Council sent Syria its harshest rebuke yet in an emergency meeting on the Houla massacre today, approving a resolution to condemn "in the strongest possible terms such an outrageous use of force against the civilian population." Almost the entire 47-nation council approved the US-...

Here's One Reason Russia Is Balking on Syria

Influential Russian Orthodox Church worries about nation's Christians: NYT

(Newser) - So why is Russia digging in so hard against UN action in Syria? The New York Times ' Ellen Barry provides an interesting look at one often overlooked factor: the powerful Russian Orthodox Church. Church leaders oppose action against Bashar al-Assad because they want to protect the nation's Christians,...

Syria 'Investigation': Rebels Carried Out Houla Massacre

As rebels report more mass executions

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad was framed, he tells ya, framed. Syrian investigators today concluded that the infamous Houla massacre was the work of rebels trying to drum up global outrage against the regime. "Government forces did not enter the area," the general heading up the inquiry said, according to the...

Clinton Calls Out Russia on Syria

'Their policy is going to help contribute to a civil war'

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton didn't mince words today when it came to Russia's persistent backing of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. The Russians "keep telling me they don't want to see a civil war," Clinton told youth leaders in Denmark today, according to Voice of America...

Syrian Rebels to Assad: You Have 'Til Tomorrow

Peace plan is off unless regime implements ceasefire, rebel group says

(Newser) - The Free Syrian Army has warned the Syrian government it will renew its fight to overthrow Bashar al-Assad's regime unless it complies with the United Nations peace plan by lunchtime tomorrow. The rebel group, which controls parts of some towns and cities as well as large areas of countryside,...

Russia, China Stand in Way of New Syria Action

Russia today announces it won't back foreign military intervention

(Newser) - Turkey and Japan today joined a number of nations who have given Syrian diplomats within their borders the boot, as the head of the UN observers in Syria revealed that 13 bodies had been found with their hands tied in the country's east, reports Reuters . But the developments...

Fulbright Scholar Killed Filming Syria Violence

Activist returned to homeland to document uprising

(Newser) - Syracuse University is mourning a graduate film student who returned to his homeland of Syria to document the country's uprising. Bassel Al Shahade, 28, was killed while filming attacks by government forces in the embattled city of Homs, reports the Post-Standard . Associates say Shahade, a Fulbright scholar, was a...

UN: 80% of Houla Victims Were Executed
UN: 80% of Houla Victims Were Executed
UPDATED
May 29, 2012 9:41 AM CDT

UN: 80% of Houla Victims Were Executed

US, other countries kick out Syrian diplomats, envoys

(Newser) - If you thought the details coming out of Houla couldn't get any worse, brace yourself: The UN today reported that more than 80% of the 108 dead were executed. Less than 20 were killed by artillery fire, according to a rep for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,...

As World Outrage Mounts, Annan Meets Assad

Is Russia ready to turn the screws?

(Newser) - As international pressure mounts for a crackdown on Syria in the wake of the Houla massacre, UN peace envoy Kofi Annan aims to demand "bold steps" from President Bashar al-Assad at his meeting today. Annan will attempt to hold Syria's feet to the fire on the six-point peace...

Houla Massacre Survivors Recount the Horror

Syrians say they either hid or played dead

(Newser) - Survivors of the horrific Houla massacre have described the event to reporters, saying the army and dreaded shabiha militiamen were behind the door-to-door assault. Many witnesses said they played dead or hid in order to survive, the BBC reports. "We were in the house, they went in, the shabiha...

Annan Has Message for Every Syrian Holding a Gun

Lay down your arms, he says

(Newser) - Kofi Annan arrived in Syria today on the heels of the Houla massacre , and he came with tough words for both sides, reports CNN . Annan, who promised his meeting with President Bashar al-Assad tomorrow would include "serious" discussions, had a message for "everyone with a gun": Put down...

Now China Condemns Syria Massacre

41 more killed in Hama, say activists

(Newser) - Even China is stepping up its rhetoric against the violence in Syria, today condemning Friday's massacre of 108 people, including 34 children, in Houla, reports Reuters . But China, much like Russia , is still avoiding directly attacking the government of Bassar al-Assad. "China feels deeply shocked by the large...

UN Security Council Condemns Syria Massacre

Security Council scrambles to react to Houla massacre

(Newser) - The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting today and condemned Syria's killing of more than 100 people, including 34 children, in brutal attacks last week, the BBC reports. The head of the UN's observer mission in Syria briefed the council via video link, saying 108 people...

Syria: We Weren't Behind Houla Massacre

Regime denies responsibility in shelling that killed 90 Friday

(Newser) - Syria's foreign ministry spokesman has denied government troops were behind an attack on a string of villages that left more than 90 people dead. Friday's assault on Houla , an area northwest of the central city of Homs, was one of the bloodiest single events in Syria's 15-month-old...

UN Confirms: 90 Civilians Killed in Syria Massacre

Reports say about 25 children are among the dead

(Newser) - Six weeks after a supposed cease-fire, the UN has confirmed that pro-government forces killed at least 90 civilians yesterday, including more than two dozen children, reports the BBC . The violence took place in and around the town of Houla, near Homs, after an anti-government protest. About a dozen people were...

Were Rebels Able to Poison Top Syrian Officials?

Israel, rebels say yes; Syria says no

(Newser) - Syria is denying it, but Israeli officials say there's truth to the claim that Syrian rebels attempted to kill top government officials with poison last Saturday. According to Haaretz , the rebels were able to turn the bodyguard to Syria's national security chairman, and that bodyguard was able to...

Syrian Violence Spills Into Lebanon

Gun battles rage in Beirut

(Newser) - Don't look now, but the Syrian conflict might not be confined to Syria anymore. Gun battles broke out in Beirut today between factions supporting and opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the New York Times reports, in Lebanon's most intense outbreak of violence since the Syrian uprising began....

Obama Tells Karzai: 'We're on the Right Track'

At NATO summit, Obama supports 2014 pullout

(Newser) - President Obama met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai today at the NATO summit and urged world leaders to agree on post-2014 Afghanistan, MSNBC reports. "What this NATO summit reflects is that the world is behind strategy we've laid out," Obama said of the plan to pull out...

UN Suspects North Korea Shipped Weapons to Syria

Material going through China: UN report

(Newser) - UN officials fear North Korea may be involved in arms deals with Syria and Burma. Pyongyang "continues actively to defy" UN sanctions, says an unpublished panel report viewed by Reuters that cites "illicit sales of arms and related materiel and luxury goods." According to the report, in...

US Helping Arm Syria Rebels... But Not Actually Arming Them

Gulf nations providing cash, US providing information

(Newser) - Syrian rebels have been receiving large shipments of arms in recent weeks with the help of the US, but the Obama administration is going out of its way to stress that it's not forking over weapons or money. Instead, the Washington Post reports, Washington is coordinating efforts to arm...

Stories 1141 - 1160 | << Prev   Next >>