Bashar al-Assad – News Stories About Bashar al-Assad - Page 15

Aug 14, 2012 1:49 AM CDT

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

Aug 11, 2012 6:00 AM CDT

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

Aug 10, 2012 8:08 AM CDT

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

Aug 9, 2012 7:35 AM CDT

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'

Aug 8, 2012 7:55 AM CDT

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

Aug 7, 2012 2:34 PM CDT

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

Aug 7, 2012 7:52 AM CDT

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

Aug 5, 2012 6:57 AM CDT

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...

Syrian Forces Pound
Aleppo, Damascus

Aug 4, 2012 9:05 AM CDT

Syrian Forces Pound Aleppo, Damascus

Government wants to retake two most important cities

(Newser) - The UN General Assembly may have formally condemned the violence in Syria yesterday, but today Bashar al-Assad's regime made clear what it thinks of the rebuke: Not much. Government forces are reportedly waging a fierce assault on rebel positions in Aleppo, and they've also launched an attack on...

Britain: We'll
Boost Support
for Syria Rebels

Aug 3, 2012 10:14 AM CDT

Britain: We'll Boost Support for Syria Rebels

Regime's arsenal looks shaky

(Newser) - With Kofi Annan stepping down from his diplomatic post, Britain is trying to pick up the slack in Syria. Foreign Secretary William Hague today promised more "practical but non-lethal support to the opposition," citing "communications" as an example, Reuters reports. "We don't give up on...

Assad AWOL
as Executions
Rumored in
Aleppo

Aug 1, 2012 7:40 AM CDT

Assad AWOL as Executions Rumored in Aleppo

Free Syrian Army gains anti-aircraft missiles

(Newser) - As the battle for Aleppo grinds on in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad's location remains a big question mark. Today, to mark Armed Forces Day, Assad published a message in the military's magazine encouraging his troops. But, though the president has been seen on TV, he has not appeared...

Panetta: Aleppo Attack
Is 'Nail in Assad's Coffin'

Jul 30, 2012 6:50 AM CDT

Panetta: Aleppo Attack Is 'Nail in Assad's Coffin'

Hundreds of thousands flee onslaught

(Newser) - As brutal fighting continued for control of Syria's largest city, a furious Leon Panetta vowed that the regime's assault on Aleppo would be a "nail in the coffin" of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Some 200,000 residents have fled the besieged city as rebels battle to hold...

29 Dead in 'Fierce'
Syrian Assault
on Aleppo

updated

Jul 28, 2012 3:30 PM CDT

29 Dead in 'Fierce' Syrian Assault on Aleppo

Ground troops enter nation's biggest city

(Newser) - Syrian troops have bombed and strafed rebels in the key city of Aleppo for days now in preparation for a major assault—and that assault is under way, report al-Jazeera and the BBC . Ground troops and tanks that had been massing on the city's outskirts poured in today, according...

Syria: Here's
When We'd Use
Chemical Weapons

Jul 23, 2012 9:02 AM CDT

Syria: Here's When We'd Use Chemical Weapons

Not against rebels, but possibly against 'external aggression': official

(Newser) - Despite recent reports that Syria may be preparing to use its chemical weapons, a foreign ministry spokesperson today tried to assure the world that they will not be used on the Syrian people—officially acknowledging for the first time that the country actually has such weapons, reports Reuters . "Any...

Arab League to
Assad: 'Safe Exit'
If You Go Now

Jul 23, 2012 7:46 AM CDT

Arab League to Assad: 'Safe Exit' If You Go Now

US, meanwhile, steps up non-military efforts against Assad

(Newser) - The UN Security Council may be preventing nations from becoming involved in Syria's civil war, but the US is increasingly pushing secret, non-military efforts to hurt Bashar al-Assad's regime, reports the Wall Street Journal . And the Arab League is trying to shoo him out the door. The main...

Syria Sees
Deadliest
2 Days Since
Uprising Began

Jul 21, 2012 10:02 AM CDT

Syria Sees Deadliest 2 Days Since Uprising Began

More than 550 reported killed as fighting continues in key city

(Newser) - Fighting continues for the second straight day in the strategically important Syrian city of Aleppo, reports AP and al-Jazeera . Syria's "second city," which is heavily populated by elites who have benefited from the regime of Bashar al-Assad, has largely avoided violence until now. Anti-government troops are apparently...

Syrian Rebels
Seize Border
Outposts

Jul 20, 2012 5:40 AM CDT

Syrian Rebels Seize Border Outposts

Thousands flee fighting in Damascus

(Newser) - Syrian rebels seized control of all four of the country's border crossings with Iraq and two with Turkey yesterday as the military concentrated on the battle for Damascus. The rebels also claimed to have gained control of part of the capital, although government forces are fighting back fiercely and...

Russia, China, Veto
Syria Sanctions

Jul 19, 2012 10:39 AM CDT

Russia, China, Veto Syria Sanctions

As Bashar al-Assad swears in new defense minister

(Newser) - Russia and China once again thumbed their nose at international pressure and vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to impose sanctions on Syria today. The move drew instant criticism from Western officials; Britain's UN ambassador accused them of putting "their national interests ahead of the lives of millions...

US Prepares for Assad’s Fall

Jul 19, 2012 7:51 AM CDT

US Prepares for Assad’s Fall

Panetta: Syria 'spinning out of control'

(Newser) - Describing the suicide blast that killed Bashar al-Assad's security chiefs yesterday as a turning point, American officials are now getting ready for the Syrian regime's collapse, reports the New York Times . Pentagon officials have urged the Israelis not to attack Syrian weapons facilities, fearing that such a move...

Suicide Blast Kills
Key Assad Henchmen

UPDATED

Jul 18, 2012 7:43 AM CDT

Suicide Blast Kills Key Assad Henchmen

State TV reports that more officials seriously wounded

(Newser) - A regime-shaking suicide attack on the National Security building has killed Bashar al-Assad's defense minister and brother-in-law, according to the country's state-run TV. The New York Times calls the death of defense minister Daoud Rajha the "first assassination of a prominent official" in the entirety of the...