Syria protests

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Trapped Syrians Communicate With Pigeons

Activists in Homs resort to age-old method

(Newser) - Syrian activists have resorted to using carrier pigeons to send out messages for help. The protesters are trapped in the central city of Homs, where government forces have laid siege. With no access to telecommunications or electricity, the isolated protesters in various neighborhoods have been communicating with each other by...

Assad Orders Referendum on New Constitution

It would allow more parties, and include term limit

(Newser) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ordered that a referendum be held later this month on a new constitution that would allow for additional political parties and limit the president to two 14-year terms, Syria's state-run TV station announced today. But opposition leaders immediately dismissed the gesture as an attempt...

Arab League Resolution OKs Arming Syrian Rebels

Homs shelling continues as UN warns of civil war

(Newser) - The Arab League has delivered a veiled threat to Bashar al-Assad's regime in the form of a resolution passed Sunday urging Arabs to "provide all kinds of political and material support" to Syrian rebels—and yes, "material support" means guns, diplomats confirm for Reuters . "We will...

Syria Continues Assault on Homs

23 reported killed yesterday as Arab League seeks peacekeepers

(Newser) - Syrian tanks have relaunched their assault on Homs, shelling the beleaguered city for a 10th day today after the government's rejection of the Arab League's attempts to launch a UN peacekeeping mission in the country. The League's push was today also rejected by Russia, which said a...

Arab League Wants UN Peacekeepers in Syria

Saudi minister: 'Bloodshed is a disgrace for us as Muslims and Arabs'

(Newser) - The Arab League called today for the UN Security Council to create a joint peacekeeping force for Syria and urged Arab states to sever all diplomatic contact with President Bashar Assad's regime, the League's latest effort to bring an end to the violence that has killed more than...

Al-Qaeda: Help Syria Boot Assad

Al-Zawahri confirms terror group seeking to turn tide in Syrian uprising

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda's chief has called on Muslims from other countries to support rebels in Syria seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, saying they cannot depend on the West for help. Ayman al-Zawahri, in a videotaped statement released late yesterday, asked Muslims in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey to join the...

Syria Still Pounding Homs as Russia Arrives

Sergei Lavrov reportedly has own peace plan

(Newser) - Syria's regime is raining devastation down on Homs for a fourth day today, with the Telegraph reporting that hundreds of shells are hitting the city with each passing hour. Rebels there have been rendered defensively helpless, incapable of responding with anything more than gunshots. "We can't count...

Syrian Troops Step Up Homs Bombardment

Activists say 50 people have been killed so far today

(Newser) - Syrian troops resumed their shelling of Homs this morning, with the BBC reporting near-constant explosions in the restive city. Some rebels are reportedly returning fire (though a BBC correspondent describes their efforts as a "futile gesture"), and Reuters reports that 50 people have been killed today. According to...

Russia: Syria Is Ready to Talk
 Russia: Syria Is Ready to Talk 
Jan 30, 2012 12:56 PM CST

Russia: Syria Is Ready to Talk

But opposition rejects offer, as fighting rages outside Damascus

(Newser) - With fighting raging outside Damascus , Syria's regime has indicated that it is open to "informal" talks with opposition leaders in Moscow, Russian officials announced today. But the Syrian National Council swiftly rejected the idea, saying it wouldn’t talk until President Bashar al-Assad stepped down, al-Jazeera reports. Russia'...

Syria: 'Terrorists' Blew Up Pipeline

62 killed in clashes yesterday: reports

(Newser) - A gas pipeline running from central Syria to its Lebanese border was blown up at dawn today, and state-run media is blaming "an armed terrorist group," reports the AP . It's the latest in a string of such explosions since the beginning of Syria's uprising, which the...

Syrian Army Strikes Damascus &#39;Burbs
 Syrian Army Strikes 
 Damascus 'Burbs 
AT LEAST 12 DEAD
Jan 29, 2012 12:36 PM CST

Syrian Army Strikes Damascus 'Burbs

Situation looks to be unraveling near the capital

(Newser) - The Syrian military launched an offensive to regain control of suburbs on the eastern edge of Damascus today, storming neighborhoods and clashing with groups of army defectors in fierce fighting that sent residents fleeing and killed at least 12 people, activists said. Violence elsewhere in the country killed at least...

Gulf Arab Monitors Bail on Syria

Arab League says mission will continue

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia's Persian Gulf allies are following the Saudis' lead: They're exiting the Arab League's monitoring effort in Syria, days after the League's mandate expired . The move prompted the Arab League to again review and reaffirm its mission today, Reuters reports. The Gulf Cooperation Council said...

Russians Hawk Jets to Syria Regime

Even as US senators propose tougher sanctions

(Newser) - Russia is so unconcerned with the international outcry against Syria that it has reached a deal to sell Bashar al-Assad's regime three dozen Yak-130 fighter jets, a Syrian business newspaper reported today. The twin-engined jet is capable of attacking ground targets, the AP reports. Experts say the contract, which...

Syria Nixes Arab League Peace Plan

Calls for Assad to leave power are a 'flagrant interference'

(Newser) - Syria has quickly rejected a peace plan floated by the Arab League, today calling it a "flagrant interference" in the country's internal affairs. The plan, proposed as the Arab League's observer mission flounders , called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down within two weeks, transfer power...

Arab League Extends Syria Mission 1 Month

Will boost number, training of observers

(Newser) - Arab League officials say the 22-member organization's observers mission in Syria, which ran out Thursday, has been extended for an extra month. Today's decision has been made by Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to...

Time&#39;s Up for Syria Monitors
 Time's Up for Syria Monitors 
Jan 20, 2012 7:55 AM CST

Time's Up for Syria Monitors

Debate rages over whether to extend ineffectual Arab League mission

(Newser) - The Arab League's one-month mandate to observe the crisis in Syria ran out yesterday, prompting a major debate over whether to try to extend the woefully ineffectual mission. By yesterday, the observers were essentially confined to their hotel rooms, the LA Times reports, their presence having done nothing to...

Russia Vows to Block Syria Intervention

Any Western attempt to step in will be vetoed, Moscow warns

(Newser) - Syria's powerful allies in Russia are vowing to block any Western attempts to intervene militarily in Syria as Damascus fights off an increasingly chaotic 10-month-old revolt against President Bashar Assad. The support came as Assad was showing fresh confidence that he can ride out the uprising with the help...

Syrians Gunned Down in Line at Bakery

As emir of Qatar calls for Arab League troops in Syria

(Newser) - Syrian security forces fired at random on civilians waiting in line at a bakery in Homs today, killing five of them and injuring nine others, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, as violence continues to grip the country. Security forces also raided a university dorm in Aleppo, arresting nine...

UN Chief to Syria's Assad: Stop Killing Your People

Ban Ki-moon says 'old order is crumbling'

(Newser) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon demanded today that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stop the slaughter of his own people, and said the "old order" of one-man rule and family dynasties is over in the Middle East. In a keynote address at a conference on democracy in the Arab world, Ban...

Arab League Boss: I Fear a Civil War in Syria

Would pose threat to 'neighboring states,' says Nabil Elaraby

(Newser) - As Arab League observers begin to bail on their Syria mission—frustrated over their own failure to end the government crackdown against protesters—the leader of the League says he's concerned the crisis could escalate. "I fear a civil war and the events that we see and hear...

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