Opinion: ‘Assad Must Go’ Is the Wrong Solution
By Susanne Koelbl DER SPIEGEL The West insists that for any negotiations on an end to the Syrian civil war to happen, President Bashar Assad must first step down. The […]
Rebels pick US citizen as Syrian prime minister
By BEN HUBBARD | Associated Press YAHOO NEWS ..ISTANBUL (AP) — The man chosen to head the Syrian opposition’s new interim government is a Syrian-born American citizen who has spent […]
Jordan downplays tensions with Damascus
by Taylor Luck, Jordan Times AMMAN — Jordan downplayed reports of rising tensions with Damascus on Sunday, refuting accusations by Syrian officials of Jordanian support for rebel forces. Minister of […]
CIA may target Syrian extremists with drones
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE Saturday 16 March 2013 LOS ANGELES: The US Central Intelligence Agency is collecting information on radicals in Syria for possible lethal drone strikes against them at a later stage, The Los Angeles Times reported late Friday. Citing unnamed current and former US officials, the newspaper said President […]
EU’s Ashton urges caution on lifting arms ban for Syria rebels
Reuters | Mar 16, 2013 | JORDAN TIMES BRUSSELS — The European Union’s foreign policy chief urged caution on Saturday about a Franco-British drive to lift an EU arms embargo to help rebels in Syria, questioning the impact such a step might have on attempts to reach a political settlement […]
Syrian general, 20 soldiers defect — opposition : General says only those with special interests now back Assad
BEIRUT — A brigadier general and about 20 soldiers defected from the Syrian army in two separate incidents on Saturday, activists said, in another sign that the strength of President Bashar Assad’s armed forces is diminishing. Brigadier General Mohammed Khalouf appeared dressed in a camouflage military uniform in a video […]
The war in Syria: Can Jordan keep out of it for ever?
The civil war is hotting up on Syria’s southern front Mar 16th 2013 | RAMTHA |From the print edition THE ECONOMIST TWO long years ago, on March 18th, Syrians rose up in Deraa, a dusty town on the agricultural plain of Hauran that spreads south into Jordan. The revolt marked […]
Syria crisis: rebel war crimes increasing says Amnesty • Rebels resorting to kidnap, torture and summary killings
• Amnesty International has documented an increase in war crimes and other human rights abuses committed by rebel groups including hostage taking, torture and summary killings. Its Middle East and North Africa deputy director Ann Harrison said: “While the vast majority of war crimes and other gross violations continue to […]
Damascenes panicked by call for men to fight Assad’s war
Mar 14, 2013 – SWISSINFO DAMASCUS (Reuters) – When a government-linked Islamic body in Syria said this week it was a “sacred duty” to join the army and fight the […]
How the new $60 million of Syria aid is being spent (mostly on US contractors – as usual).
Posted By Josh Rogin Wednesday, March 13, 2013 SOURCE: FP FOREIGN POLICY Secretary of State John Kerry announced $60 million in new U.S. aid for the Syrian opposition late last month, but the State Department has refused to detail how that money will be spent. The Cable has obtained the […]
Britain could sidestep EU ban on arming Syria rebels: PM
LONDON — Britain would consider ignoring a European Union arms ban and supplying weapons to Syrian rebels if it would help topple President Bashar al-Assad, Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday. The EU last month amended its embargo to allow member nations to supply “non-lethal” equipment and training to the […]
Syria: When Nonviolent Revolutions Spin Into Bloodshed
by by Janine di Giovanni THE DAILY BEAST Srdja Popovic goes around the world teaching nonviolent techniques to activists to overthrow autocrats. Whenever he talks about the Arab Spring, he […]
Syrian conflict turns Lebanon into transshipment hub
By Lysandra Ohrstrom The Daily Star Story Summary Before the conflict in Syria erupted in 2011, potatoes exported from the Bekaa Valley would travel by truck to Latakia’s port, where […]
US, UK and France training Syrian rebels in Jordan – reports
Foreign instructors are training Syrian rebels in modern warfare in Jordan, suggest media reports from Europe. Sources claim the trainees will be the security force if Assad goes, while the […]
UN peacekeepers seized by Syrian rebels freed, arrive in Jordan
AMMAN — Filipino UN peacekeepers seized by Syrian rebels on the Golan arrived in Jordan on Saturday, hours after their captors released them from an ordeal of more than three […]
Data shows upsurge in investments by Syrian businessmen in Jordan
The number of Syrians investing in Jordan shot up by 197 per cent during the first two months of this year, the general controller of companies, Burhan Akroush, told The Jordan Times on Saturday. Burhan Akroush said 101 Syrian investors launched new ventures at the Companies Control Department (CCD) during […]
NEW HOMES : Switzerland takes in 37 more Syrian refugees
Mar 8, 2013 – 18:35 swissinfo.ch Thirty-seven refugees fleeing violence in Syria have arrived in Switzerland as part of a United Nations resettlement programme. This is the second such group […]
Arab League clears member states to arm Syria rebels
CAIRO — Arab League ministers decided on Wednesday to let member nations arm Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar Assad, and invited an opposition coalition to take the League seat formerly […]
U.N. Peacekeepers Held by Syrian Insurgents in Golan Region
By RICK GLADSTONE and ALAN COWELL New York Times Syria’s civil war entangled the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the disputed Golan Heights area between Syria and Israel on Wednesday, when 30 armed fighters for the insurgency detained a group of 20 peacekeepers investigating a damaged observation post, the United […]
Robert Fisk: Alawite history reveals the complexities of Syria that West does not understand – The maps long favoured in the West partition off Arab countries into ethnic divisions, but all these make clear is our own ignorance
In Syria these days, we are resorting to our racist little maps. The Alawite mountains and the town of Qardaha, home of the Assad family – colour it dark red. Will this be the last redoubt of the 12 per cent Alawite minority, to which the President belongs, when the […]