Latest in Highlight
Latest in
Kurds in Syria flee regime shelling in terror
Analysts say that like their Iraqi brethren, Syrian Kurds, could find in the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan a valuable ally
Clashes, air strikes in Syria after truce bid fails
The fighting came after the failure of efforts to impose a four-day ceasefire in the battle-scarred country for the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha, which started on Friday
Syria truce hopes dim as violence rages
President Bashar Al-Assad in a pre-Eid gesture issued an amnesty on Tuesday for all crimes committed in Syria “up until today.”
Syrian opposition announces democratic transition report in Cairo
The report aims to draw a map of post-revolution Syria
HRW condemns Syria use of cluster bombs
HRW reported increased use of cluster bombs in the past week, notably in the Maaret al-Numan area.
Syria rebels advance in north, pushed back in south
“Assad should be replaced by Vice President Faruq al-Shara.” says Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
Syrian opposition uses government tanks against Al-Assad forces
After claiming to have overun three police stations in Aleppo this week, Syrian opposition forces are now saying they have turned captured tanks onto to Bashar Al-Assad’s forces
Arab League offers Al-Assad exit option
Fighting rages on in major cities as military claims to regain control.
Syria neighbour Iraq potential key to peace
Annan held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister and Iraqi Prime Minister to discuss the escalating violence in neighbouring Syria.
Syrian troops clash with rebels in eastern city
By Bassem Mroue / AP BEIRUT: Syrian troops clashed with army defectors in an eastern city Thursday, leaving at least one person dead, while government forces bombarded rebel-held neighborhoods of the central city of Homs, activists said. The renewed violence comes as the international community struggles to salvage a week-old cease-fire that is seen as …
Syrian truce marred as Assad forces kill four
By Dominic Evans / Reuters BEIRUT: Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad killed at least four people as the opposition tried to stage protests after Friday prayers, marring a ceasefire brokered by UN-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan. Syrians took to the streets across the country in small demonstrations after prayers, trusting that the truce, …
Ex-Arab League chief: change in Syria is coming
By AP CAIRO: Former Arab League Chief Amr Moussa, a leading candidate in Egypt’s presidential elections, says Syrian regime change is inevitable, but hopes it won’t be Libya-style where NATO strikes helped topple the regime. Moussa told Associated Press on Saturday that what is happening in Syria now is part of “history in making,” as …
Syrians have a long memory
By Murhaf Jouejati Assuming that the Assad regime is about to collapse — many indications support this assumption — Russian-Syrian relations are set to go south in the post-Assad era. This conclusion is based on what one Syrian opposition leader who prefers to remain anonymous described as “outrageous” Russian behavior throughout the Syrian uprising that began …
Syria forces attack town; Annan receives Assad response
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis / Reuters AMMAN: Heavily armed forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad pounded the southern city of Deraa with anti-aircraft fire on Wednesday, reasserting control over rebel strongholds a year after the start of the Syrian revolt. On the diplomatic front, the UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan was considering Damascus’s response to “concrete …
Syria’s Assad meets peace envoy Annan again
By Dominic Evans and Alistair Lyon / Reuters BEIRUT: Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan, on a difficult peace mission to Syria, held a second day of talks with President Bashar Al-Assad on Sunday as Syrian forces pursued a drive to crush rebel bastions in the northwest. A UN spokesman said the two men had resumed …
Syria faces mounting pressure on aid, rights abuses
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi / Reuters AMMAN: Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad faces growing pressure for blocking humanitarian aid and human rights abuses, with the UN humanitarian chief set to visit the country this week and the broadcast of harrowing pictures said to show torture victims at a hospital in the embattled city of Homs Secretly shot video …
EU hits Assad’s ministers with new Syria sanctions
By Agencies BRUSSELS: The European Union imposed sanctions on seven Syrian cabinet ministers on Tuesday for their role in a bloody crackdown on dissent, the latest move aimed at pressuring President Bashar Al-Assad to step down. As Assad’s forces continued to shell opposition strongholds the EU issued a list of top officials it said were …
89.4 percent ‘yes’ for new Syria constitution: minister
By AFP DAMASCUS: Almost 90 percent of voters approved Syria’s new constitution brought in after 11 months of anti-regime protests, the interior minister announced on Monday. Mohamed Al-Shaar also told a news conference that turnout reached 57.4 percent of eligible voters, with 89.4 percent of the 8.376 million who cast their ballots in Sunday’s referendum …
West vows to up pressure on Assad at ‘Friends of Syria’ meet
By AFP TUNIS: Western powers vowed Thursday to boost pressure on the Syrian regime and push it to allow in vital humanitarian aid at a global conference on Friday to tackle the country’s increasingly bloody crisis. As the flashpoint city of Homs came under renewed shelling, officials said Friday’s “Friends of Syria” meeting of over …