Syria Swaps 48 Iranians for Thousands of Prisoners
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DAMASCUS, Syria) — The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a lopsided prisoner swap to win the release of 48 Iranians who were captured by rebels in his country last August.It is believed that the exchange for ap…
Russia Wants World to Hear Out Syrian President
ABC News/Rob Wallace(MOSCOW) — Russia is asking the world not to dismiss Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s purported “roadmap” for peace out of hand.Earlier this week, the embattled Syrian leader made a fiery speech in which he vowed no surrender to …
Israel Building Fence Along Border with Syria
Antenna Audio, Inc./Getty Images(JERUSALEM) — Israel has plans to build a fence along the 40-mile stretch of the Golan Heights to assure that the violence in Syria doesn’t affect its own country.While there have been virtually no problems up to now, I…
Family of Abducted US Reporter in Syria Pleads for Answers
Nicole Tung(NEW YORK) — James Foley’s family is making an all-out media push to get answers about the 39-year-old freelance journalist’s abduction in Syria last Thanksgiving.Foley, who was working for The Global Post, was reportedly driving his car in…
US Mocks Syrian President’s Latest Speech
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. State Department took issue with Syria President Bashar al-Assad’s supposed “roadmap” for peace, and said his recent public speech was nothing more than a desparate attempt to cling to power.Spokeswo…
Syrian President Vows No Retreat, No Surrender in Speech to Nation
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — In a fiery speech televised to his nation on Sunday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad vowed “the enemies of God will go to hell” — a further sign that there will be no quick end to the 22-month civil wa…
Japanese ‘War Tourist’ Gets Flak Back Home
Stockbyte/Thinkstock(TOKYO) — Boredom led Toshifumi Fujimoto to one of the world’s most dangerous countries. Now, the Japanese truck driver’s daring adventure across Syria as a “war tourist” is garnering headlines all aro…
Opposition Military Forces Target Key Syrian Air Base
Scott Peterson/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Rebel forces in Syria have intensified their attacks on President Bashar al-Assad’s military by continually pummeling Taftanaz Air Base in the country’s northwest.Not far from the city of Idlib, one of th…
UN Puts Death Toll from Syrian Conflict at 60,000
BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The United Nations high commissioner for human rights announced on Wednesday that the death toll from the conflict in Syria that began in March 2011 now exceeds 60,000 victims.This represents a huge increase i…
Syrian Military Accused of Bombing Gas Station Customers
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DAMASCUS, Syria) — The new year in Syria is starting out as violently as the old one ended with reports of multiple deaths Wednesday from a gas station explosion east of Damascus that witnesses say was caused by a military airst…
Nearly 40,000 Died in Syrian Conflict Last Year
Scott Peterson/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Syria’s New Year’s Day brought no relief from the carnage that has engulfed the country for nearly two years.The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that at least 115 people died on Tue…
Nearly 40,000 Died in Syrian Conflict Last Year
Scott Peterson/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Syria’s New Year’s Day brought no relief from the carnage that has engulfed the country for nearly two years.The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that at least 115 people died on Tue…
Russia Contends Al-Assad Won’t Be Pushed Out of Syria
ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — Moscow appears unwilling to convince Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that he should forget about trying to hold on to power for the good of his country, which has been embroiled in a nearly two-year-long c…
Special Envoy to Syria Counting on Geneva Plan to End Conflict
ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images(CAIRO) — The United Nations-Arab League special envoy put in charge of helping to bring an end to the 21-month conflict in Syria made a somewhat cryptic remark Sunday about having a proposal that could achieve his goal.F…
Is Syria Getting Closer to Finding Solution to End Conflict?
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — When United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi spoke with President Bashar al-Assad earlier this week, the embattled Syrian leader must have listened carefully to Brahimi’s proposals for ending the 21-month c…
State Department Comments on Syrian Military Police Chief’s Defection
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The State Department addressed the reports of the assumed defection of Syrian Military Police Chief, Major General Abdul Aziz Jassem al-Shallal, on Wednesday.Acting Deputy Spokesperson Patrick Ventrell said, &ldquo…
UN Envoy to Syria Holds Talks with Both Sides in Conflict
ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/GettyImages(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Special United Nations envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi met with President Bashar al-Assad and a dissident group over a 24-hour period to try and craft a resolution to the 21-month conflict that has cost …
UN Envoy to Meet with Syrian President
ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — United Nations Special Envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi is making another attempt at trying to end the bloody 21-month-long conflict that has roiled the Middle East by meeting with Syrian President Basha…
Reports Calls Conflict in Syria Mostly Sectarian
Scott Peterson/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Sectarian violence now dominates Syria 21 months after President Bashar al-Assad began cracking down on activists supporting democratic reform.A report released by a committee from the United Nations Human Right…
Putin Puts Limits on Defense of Syrian President
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — There were mixed signals coming from Moscow about its stance on the Syrian conflict Thursday as President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his government’s opposition to direct international intervention while at the sa…