STORY SUMMARY An international “peace” conference to tackle the crisis in Syria is taking shape for next month, but as the preparations for the event are ramping up, so is the level of pessimism. The conference has been preceded by the setting of a number of conditions, by both sides. […]
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE ARABNEWS Friday 31 May 2013 DUBAI: Bahrain has urged its citizens not to travel to Syria to fight alongside fighters ranged against government forces after a Bahraini youth was killed there in battle, local press reported yesterday. “Supporting the right of the Syrian people to self defense […]
REUTERS Friday 31 May 2013 BEIRUT: Syria’s opposition fighters said yesterday they should be granted half the seats in the opposition Syrian National Coalition, warning that without strong representation of […]
By ANNE BARNARD THE NEW YORK TIMES BEIRUT, Lebanon — President Bashar al-Assad of Syria said in a television interview to be broadcast on Thursday that Russia has delivered S-300 […]
By sending help to Syria’s warring factions, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are struggling to gain influence in the Middle East. The conflict between Sunnis and Shiites has become a proxy war over strategic regional goals. At the moment, several conflicts are being fought simultaneously in Syria. The civil war […]
by Barbara Surk AP BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s main Western-backed opposition group says it will not participate in U.S.-Russian sponsored peace talks while the regime is carrying out massacres in Syria. Thursday’s announcement came at the end of weeklong opposition talks in Istanbul to try and forge a united view […]
Source: TOI BEIRUT: The Syrian president has told Lebanon’s Hezbollah-owned TV station that Damascus received the first shipment of Russian air defense missiles, according to remarks released on Thursday. Bashar Assad’s comment on the arrival of the long-range S-300 air defense missiles in Syria will further ratchet up tensions in […]
Report and Appeal to the International community to support a process of dialogue and reconciliation in Syria between its people and Syrian government and reject outside intervention and war. After […]
After regional and international stances became clear, the struggle in Syria and over Syria has become clear. This is a war that will alter the region’s map. If Bashar al-Assad’s regime survives, Hezbollah and Iran win as well. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that this is crucial […]
Foreign affairs chief Omer Celik states June meeting is only chance for nations to salvage credibility after 80,000 deaths Julian Borger in Ankara, Ian Traynor Brussels guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 29 May 2013 If the planned Geneva peace talks on Syria fail, it will mark the end of the road for attempts […]
SOURCE: REUTERS BAIDA, Syria (Reuters) – Awakened by the sound of gunfire, Ahmad could hear the armed men knocking on his brother’s door, shouting insults and calling the family “dogs”. Ahmad’s sister-in-law said the gunmen told her husband to “bow to your god, Bashar” — the Syrian president. She and […]
Britain and France clashed with other EU states as they pushed for sanctions to be lifted so they could arm the rebel forces Deep divisions emerged today among European countries […]
Source: JORDAN TIMES AFP BAGHDAD — Syria’s foreign minister said on Sunday that his government will take part in a peace conference in Geneva, terming it a “good opportunity for a political solution” to the civil war in Syria. Walid Mouallem also praised an Iraqi army operation against Sunni fighters […]
By Serene Assir (AFP) – GOOGLE NEWS ISTANBUL — A Saudi-led bid to dilute the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence over Syria’s main opposition has thrown the group into disarray, dissidents said Saturday, with some even warning that the power tussle is “killing” the group. Syria’s main opposition National Coalition has been […]
The fall of Assad would be a great blow to Iran’s ambitions for Middle East dominance. It is a mistake for Israelis to express support for Bashar Assad. Israel should stay out of the Syrian conflict altogether while hoping for the fall of the Assad regime. Ultimately, Israel would be […]
by Taylor Luck, JORDAN TIMES DEAD SEA — The prospects of launching peace talks between Syrian regime and opposition forces remain “dim”, leading diplomats said on Saturday, calling for UN […]
May 25, 2013 – 03:19 By Khaled Yacoub Oweis ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Syrian opposition talks aimed at presenting a coherent front at an international peace conference to end the civil war faced the prospect of collapse after President Bashar al-Assad’s foes failed to cut an internal deal, opposition sources said […]
Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida affiliate, consolidates position as scramble for control of wells accelerates by Julian Borger and Mona Mahmood THE GUARDIAN The EU decision to lift Syrian oil sanctions […]
By Kevin Sullivan, Saturday, May 25, 2013 ISKENDERUN, Turkey — The Nissos Rodos, a 630-foot ferry, used to cruise the Greek islands, moving tourists from one sunny paradise to the next. Business dried up when the Greek economic crisis hit three years ago. But then came the war in Syria, […]
by Simon Bradley in Lebanon, swissinfo.ch May 22, 2013 – 11:01 Resettlement in the West for the most vulnerable of the more than 1.5 million people who have fled Syria is as good as winning the lottery. For its part, Switzerland has only taken a handful and there are obstacles […]