Bashar al-Assad

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Iran Supplying Syrian Regime via Iraq Airspace

Flights continue despite US objections

(Newser) - The Iraqi government is doing nothing to stop Iran from using its airspace for flights to supply the Syrian regime, reports the New York Times . Flights paused for a while earlier this year after the US pressured Iraq, but they resumed in July and have continued since, despite objections from...

Assad Backers Hack al-Jazeera

Hackers slam news agency for 'spreading lies'

(Newser) - Al-Jazeera's website got hacked today by loyalists to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, opposition activists say. The hackers posted a Syrian flag on the site, blaming the Qatar-based news agency for backing "armed terrorist groups and spreading lies and fabricated news." The website appeared to be back up...

Record 100K Fled Syria Last Month: UN

And that's just the registered asylum seekers

(Newser) - Not only was August Syria's deadliest month yet , it was also the month that saw the highest number of refugees fleeing the country since the uprising began. Some 103,416 people "sought asylum in neighboring countries" last month, according to the UN, bringing the total number of registered...

Rebels Strike Back at Syrian Air Force

Turkey calls for 'safe zones' to protect waves of refugees

(Newser) - Syrian rebels struck back at the nation's air force today by taking over a military airport and an air defense facility in oil-rich eastern Syria, Reuters reports. The strikes follow other rebel attacks at military airports near the Turkish border. President Bashar al-Assad has been relying on Syria's...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

As Aleppo Shelling Continues, Rebels Get More Daring

But Syrian rebels may be making progress

(Newser) - The battle for Aleppo has been going on for more than two weeks now, and the fighting spread to new parts of Syria's biggest city today. Government troops have been shelling the parts of the city the rebels control, but the opposition continues to attempt to expand its hold,...

Regime to Wage Huge Attack on Aleppo in Days: Rebels

Assad's forces are pounding city, but more troops are apparently en route

(Newser) - Assad's forces continue to pound Aleppo today, with state TV announcing that the regime is "cleansing the terrorist filth" from the country. Reuters reports that tanks are shelling the city as a helicopter sprays the rebels with machine-gun fire, and a correspondent there reported violent street fighting in...

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