Historic Damascus synagogue looted
ALBERT AJI | ASSOCIATED PRESS ARABNEWS Tuesday 2 April 2013 DAMASCUS: A historic Jewish synagogue in Damascus has been damaged and looted as clashes have consumed the surrounding neighborhood, a […]
Analysis: World plans for a post-Assad Syria (what good did they do in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya?)
Countries around the globe are drawing up strategies for Syria in case the armed conflict takes a decisive turn. For more than two years, the world has stood by as the violence in Syria has intensified. Both Bashar al-Assad’s government and the opposition seem determined to fight to the death. […]
Jordan’s patience and silence on Syria has its limits
By Raed Omari, Al Arabiya There is seemingly no sign of dramatic change in Jordan’s long-held neutral position towards the ongoing violence in Syria in the near future despite the increasing border security concerns and refugees burdens, yet there might be. Since the start of the Syrian uprising in 2011, […]
Syrian refugees make their voices heard, tell their stories through initiative
by Muath Freij JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — When Syrian refugee Hamidah Al Harsha arrived in Jordan six months ago, she was anxious to get the weight of the ordeal she […]
Syrian rebels capture key town near Jordan border
March 29, 2013 – By Bassem Mroue – Daily Star, Lebanon Story Summary Syrian rebels on Friday captured a strategic town near the border with Jordan after a day of […]
Former U.S. Soldier Charged with Conspiring to Use Destructive Device While Fighting with al Qaeda-Affiliated Group in Syria
U.S. Attorney’s Office March 28, 2013 Eastern District of Virginia (703) 299-3700 ALEXANDRIA, VA—Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, was arrested and charged with conspiring to use a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) while fighting with the al Nusrah Front, an organization commonly referred to as “al Qaeda in Iraq” and designated […]
How Obama Is Failing Syria
By Fouad Ajami Bloomberg In the matter of the Syrian rebellion, the U.S. hasn’t even “led from behind.” The Obama administration has pioneered a new role for a great power: We are now the traffic controllers, directing the flow of weapons to the rebels. The money isn’t ours; it is […]
No, Islamists will not dominate in Syria – says Rami G. Khouri
By Rami G. Khouri The Daily Star Story Summary The fast pace of developments in and around Syria in the past week has pushed the country more quickly toward the end of Bashar Assad’s regime, a situation many of us thought was imminent last autumn. The Syrian government that ruled […]
Amid regional power plays in Syria, US indecisiveness (or why it is never good to impose structures from outside).
Story Summary The moderate political and military command structure the United States has been trying to foster within the Syrian opposition appears to be fracturing, a victim of bitter Arab regional rivalries. The battle for political influence has centered around the opposition’s March 19 appointment of Ghassan Hitto as interim […]
Innocent victims: “Sanctions must not punish the wrong people”
by Mohamed Cherif, swissinfo.ch Mar 27, 2013 – 11:00 The aim of international sanctions is to de-escalate and solve conflicts, but there must be no hidden agendas, says Hans-Christof von […]
KSA warning: Saudis fighting in Syria will be arrested on return
RIYADH: ARAB NEWS .Saudis fighting in Syria will be arrested when they return home. The warning has been issued by the Interior Ministry. Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, the ministry’s spokesman, […]
Syria opposition coalition chief Moaz al-Khatib resigns
The leader of Syria’s opposition National Coalition Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib has resigned from his post in protest against the institutional limitations of the foreign-backed body. Khatib issued a statement on […]
Why old Saudi men are marrying Syrian teenage refugee girls
The Toronto Star , March 22, 2013, Syria’s child brides: ‘My daughter is willing to sacrifice herself for her family’ Refugee brides: Woman takes a cut to help Syrian refugee girls in Jordan find Arab grooms from all over Middle East AMMAN, JORDAN—Nezar’s face is tight with expectation as she […]
Fearing stark future, Syrian Alawites meet in Cairo
Mar 23, 2013 – 02:20 By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) – Opposition campaigners from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite sect will meet this weekend to support a democratic alternative to his rule and try to distance the community from wholesale association with the government’s attempts to crush a two-year […]
Ocalan’s cease-fire call marks a turning point for Kurdish nation
Prashant Rao ARABNEWS Saturday 23 March 2013 Abdullah Ocalan’s cease-fire call marks a key turning point for the Kurdish nation that 25 years ago was hit by the deadliest use of chemical weapons ever and had begun an armed conflict for independence. The cease-fire call, set out in a letter […]
Israeli PM apologizes to Turkey over Gaza flotilla deaths, agrees to compensation (why now?)
In their first phone conversation since 2010, the Israeli PM has apologized to Turkish PM Erdogan for deaths in the Gaza flotilla raid, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. Israel also agreed […]
Damascus mosque blast kills 42 including senior Syrian imam
Mar 21, 2013 – 22:17 REUTERS / SWISSINFO.CH BEIRUT (Reuters) – An explosion at a mosque in the Syrian capital on Thursday killed at least 42 people, including a senior […]
UN to investigate alleged chemical attack in Syria – Ban Ki-moon
RT: UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the probe into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria’s Aleppo will start as soon as possible. Official Damascus and the rebels are […]
Robert Fisk: The cost of war must be measured by human tragedy, not artefacts – What does heritage matter in the face of such tragic desolation?
by Robert Fisk, The Independent What is a child’s life worth against all the antiquities of Syria? Any reflection of Syria’s architectural disasters must include this question. The child, a humanitarian must say, is worth all the columns of Palmyra and mosques of Damascus. The child, a cold-hearted historian might […]
Amid civil war, Syrian port prospers under Assad’s protection
Source: JORDAN TIMES TARTOUS — This once sleepy Syrian port now buzzes with shoppers milling about crowded marketplaces. Lines of cars wait patiently at traffic lights — a rare mark […]