Syria

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

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Assad Rains Leaflets on Damascus: 'Surrender or Die'

In interview, he suggests he's dug in for the long haul

(Newser) - Syrian government helicopters rained fliers across Damascus yesterday telling rebels to surrender or "die a dishonorable death." One of the fliers was a "safe passage card," promising humane treatment for fighters who showed up at a checkpoint unarmed, the Washington Post reports. Rebels fear the fliers...

Hundreds of Iranian Soldiers Bound for Syria: Sources

As Syrian jets strike Damascus suburbs

(Newser) - Egypt's new president, Mohamed Morsi, has joined the growing global calls for regime change in Syria. "Now is the time to stop this bloodshed and for the Syrian people to regain their full rights and for this regime that kills its people to disappear from the scene,"...

Hollande to Syria Rebels: Form a Gov't

France will recognize provisional body in move to oust Assad

(Newser) - French President Francois Hollande urged Syria's divided opposition today to form an "inclusive and representative" provisional government, promising that France would recognize it in hope of accelerating the departure of President Bashar Assad's regime as violence escalates. "We are including our Arab partners to accelerate this...

&#39;Smell of Death&#39; Permeates Daraya

 'Smell of Death' 
 Permeates Daraya 
syrian uprising
Aug 27, 2012 8:28 AM CDT

'Smell of Death' Permeates Daraya

Meanwhile, rebels say they shot down government copter as revenge

(Newser) - A government helicopter crashed today in Damascus, with rebel groups claiming they shot it down. "It was in revenge for the Daraya massacre," a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army told AFP . A video posted online shows the burning helicopter falling to the ground, reports the AP . Syria'...

Syrian Rebels Report New 200+ Massacre

More than 200 executed by Syrian forces in Daraya

(Newser) - Another grisly massacre is being reported from Syria today, with activists saying that more than 200 bodies killed execution-style have been discovered in Daraya, a blue-collar Sunni town southwest of Damascus, reports Reuters . Government tanks swept into Daraya on Aug. 23 , killing many, and were apparently followed by house-to-house raids...

Damascus Wakes Up to Bodies in Street
 Damascus Wakes Up 
 to Bodies in Street 
Syrian Uprising
Aug 24, 2012 10:31 AM CDT

Damascus Wakes Up to Bodies in Street

Fighting intense in capital

(Newser) - Syrian regime tanks swept into a Damascus suburb yesterday, killing 25 people and wounding 200 more, opposition activists said today. Government forces met with little resistance there, Reuters reports; rebels had already cleared out of the town. Damascus isn't getting as much press as Aleppo , but it's become...

Why US Special Ops Might Enter Syria

If regime falls, they're part of Pentagon plan to secure chemical weapons

(Newser) - If the Syrian regime falls, the US plans to deploy troops to stop its chemical weapons from becoming a first-come, first-served bonanza for insurgent groups, senior officials say. Plans are in place to secure the sites if necessary, a move that would probably involve teams of special forces operatives entering...

Obama: Chemical Weapons a 'Red Line' in Syria

He also defends tax return attacks on Romney as 'standard stuff'

(Newser) - President Obama gave perhaps the strongest indication yet today that the US is prepared to use military force in Syria. In a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room, Obama said he has not ordered military action "at this point," but that he hadn't ruled it...

UN Observers Leave Syria
 UN Observers Leave Syria 
Aug 20, 2012 7:52 AM CDT

UN Observers Leave Syria

Four-month mission a bust, and violence continues

(Newser) - The UN's Syria observer mission officially ended last night, and monitors were seen leaving today after their four months in the country failed to bring an end to the violence. The last monitors should be out by Friday, leaving just a small liaison office in Damascus, Reuters reports. But...

Air France Crew to Fliers: Could You Chip in for Gas?

Air France plane makes unscheduled Syria landing

(Newser) - Travel nightmare No. 1: Your flight out of Paris makes an unscheduled stop in the volatile capital of ... Syria. And No. 2: Your crew asks passengers to help cover the cost of refueling. That's what happened to Air France Flight 562 on Wednesday, when tensions near its destination—the...

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,...

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