Bashar al-Assad

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Syria Using Militias for Mass Killings: UN

As more than 2.5M displaced by civil war

(Newser) - The latest travesty the Syrian government has been accused of: using local militias to carry out mass killings. UN human rights investigators say these "Popular Committees" commit killings that sometimes have "sectarian overtones," Reuters reports. (The rebels in Syria are mainly Sunni Muslims, while President Bashar al-Assad...

Syrian Rebels Seize Key Provincial City

Fighters smash statue of President Assad's father

(Newser) - Syrian rebels today captured most of the key north-central city of Raqqa, possibly dashing President Bashar al-Assad's hope of ever reclaiming northern and eastern Syria, the New York Times reports. The rebels posted a video of them destroying a statue of al-Assad's father—former President Hafez al-Assad—in...

US May Give Direct Aid to Syria Rebels

Washington Post: Expected policy shift does not include weapons

(Newser) - The Washington Post reports that the US is poised to give direct aid to Syrian rebels for the first time. That doesn't mean weapons, however. Think body armor, military vehicles, humanitarian assistance, and maybe military training. John Kerry is expected to hash out the details this week and next...

In Sea Change, Saudis Arming Syrian Opposition

Plus, opposition agrees to attend international summit

(Newser) - A big shift in the Syrian conflict: Saudi Arabia is arming the opposition. It's a decidedly more activist approach than had previously been taken by regional and Western powers, the New York Times reports, and it signals an attempt to counter the weapons Iran is sending to Bashar al-Assad'...

Syrian Rebels' New Cash Source: Stolen Artifacts

Fighters have become 'archeologists': rebel

(Newser) - Short on funds, Syrian rebels have been turning to a new source of income: selling snatched artifacts. "Some days we are fighters; others we are archeologists," says a rebel who counts ancient Sumerian tablets among his finds. Fighters, who control most of the top archeological areas, say a...

Assad: Syria Can Handle 'Any Aggression'

As Ehud Barak confirms Israel was behind Wednesday's aggression

(Newser) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says his military is capable of confronting any "aggression" that targets the country. The comments by Assad are the first since an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday that US officials say was targeting a convoy of anti-aircraft weapons inside Syria bound for Hezbollah. Assad's remarks...

Assad&#39;s Wife Pregnant
 Assad's Wife Pregnant 
Jan 29, 2013 12:37 AM CST

Assad's Wife Pregnant

Syrian leader's wife expecting 4th child, Lebanese paper says

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad has taken time out of his schedule extinguishing thousands of lives to create a new one, at least according to a Lebanese paper sympathetic to the Syrian leader. The paper mentioned the pregnancy of Assad's wife, Asma, in an article that described the leader as confident of...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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'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...

Syrian Cluster Bombs Target Civilians

Explosives can cover hundreds of yards

(Newser) - As war rages on in Syria, Bashar al-Assad's government hasn't hesitated to direct its attacks at civilians. Just last week, a military plane used cluster bombs—explosives capable of blanketing hundreds of yards—against the small town of Marea, the New York Times reports. Four were killed and...

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