New Envoy to Syria Won’t Demand Al-Assad’s Resignation
ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Change in Syria is “necessary, indispensable, unavoidable” if an end to the 18-month-conflict that left tens of thousands dead is to ever come about, the new United Nations-Arab League special representative …
Syrian President Admits It Will Take ‘Time’ to Defeat His Foes
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave his strongest indication yet Wednesday that he is prepared to continue his government’s 18-month battle against forces opposed to his regime until one gives up the f…
Syrian President Admits It Will Take ‘Time’ to Defeat His Foes
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave his strongest indication yet Wednesday that he is prepared to continue his government’s 18-month battle against forces opposed to his regime until one gives up the f…
Hundreds Killed in Deadliest Day of Syrian Conflict
Scott Peterson/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Even for a civil war that seems to get bloodier by the hour, Saturday’s death toll in Syria was shocking by all standards.Opposition activists claimed that more than 330 people died — most of them civili…
Syrian Spillover Violence in Lebanon Fuels Fears of Wider Conflict
Scott Peterson/Getty Images(JERUSALEM) — Lebanon’s second-biggest city saw its fourth consecutive day of violence Thursday between groups supporting and opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.The sectarian fighting, some of the worst since Le…
Syrian President Accused of Violent Intimidation in Damascus
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — A Syrian opposition group based in Britain is accusing President Bashar al-Assad of using violent intimidation tactics to break rebel strongholds in the capital of Damascus.According to The Syrian Observ…
Syrian President Accused of Violent Intimidation in Damascus
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — A Syrian opposition group based in Britain is accusing President Bashar al-Assad of using violent intimidation tactics to break rebel strongholds in the capital of Damascus.According to The Syrian Observ…
Syria Open to At Least Talking About Regime Change
Alessio Romenzi/AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — Syria dropped its first hint Tuesday that it would at least be willing to discuss the possible departure of President Bashar al-Assad as a way of ending the 18-month-conflict between government and opposition…
Obama Suggests Military Action in Reponse to Syrian Chemical Threat
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama warned Syria on Monday that the U.S. would consider military action if President Bashar al-Assad’s government either moves or uses its arsenal of chemical or biological weapons against his opp…
Syrian President Turns Up at Mosque Minus His Vice President
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — A rare public appearance by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday fueled questions about whether another member of his Cabinet had defected.Al-Assad, who has grown increasingly skittish about turnin…
Obama Administration Leaning Against Syria No-Fly Zone Option
JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Washington hasn’t dismissed a plea by rebels in Syria to establish a no-fly zone over the country that would leave them better able to battle pro-government forces.That seems to be one of the options the Obama…
Assad’s Regime ‘Cracked,’ US No-Fly Zone Unlikely
LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — As a furious volley of firepower hit the streets of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, the country’s former prime minister spoke out for the first time since his defection.Ex-Prime Minister Riyad Hijab said that…
Former Syrian PM Makes First Public Comments Since Defection
LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images(AMMAN, Jordan) — Speaking for the first time since he defected to Jordan last week, Syria’s former prime minister announced on Tuesday he’s joined the rebels in their 17-month quest to out President Bashar al-Assad.”We w…
Hillary Clinton in Turkey Wants Quick End to Syrian Conflict
Win McNamee/Getty Images(ISTANBUL) – As she had been telling reporters throughout the week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came through on her promise Saturday to discuss contingency plans with the Turks regarding the possible collapse of Sy…
US Targets Hezbollah, Iran in New Syria Sanctions
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Treasury Department has announced new sanctions targeting the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and its supporters, including Hezbollah — saying the group, which was already a designated terrorist organiza…
Syrian Army Takes Over Rebel Stronghold in Aleppo
Scott Peterson/Getty Images(ALEPPO, Syria) — Syrian opposition forces have lost a key section of the country’s largest city of Aleppo in what could be the make-or-break battle of the 18-month-long civil war.Members of the Free Syrian Army acknowledged…
Hillary Clinton Foresees Inevitability of New Syrian Regime
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images(PRETORIA, South Africa) — Syria was on the mind of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, even as she was meeting with South Africa’s foreign minister in Pretoria.As the nearly 18-month-long civil war shows no…
Syrian President and Iranian Security Official Present a United Front
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — As his forces continue to pound rebel forces in Syria’s largest city of Aleppo, President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday made his first televised appearance in two weeks to promise that his government would …
Iranian Hostages in Grave Danger, Syrian Rebels Warn
Scott Peterson/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Syrian rebels who abducted a busload of Iranians last weekend near Damascus claimed on Monday that three had been killed in artillery attacks by the Syrian military.The kidnappers belong to a wing of the …
Syrian President Says His Fate Depends on Outcome in Aleppo
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — As his troops engage in a life and death struggle with rebels for control of Syria’s largest city, President Bashar al-Assad issued a statement Wednesday that his forces had proven their “steely resolve …