Heather Saul, The Independent A father who says he risked his own life to rescue his son from militants in Syria has been returning to the region in a bid to help other families track down European youngsters. Former Belgian soldier Dimitri Bontinck claims he undertook a dangerous ten-month journey […]
Foreigners fighting Islamic State in Syria: who and why? Reuters By Benedetta Argentieri DERIK, Syria (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – While illegally crossing the Iraqi-Syrian border, Canadian Peter Douglas was adamant that his incursion was for humanitarian reasons – to help the people of Syria. Douglas is one of a growing […]
Obama Envoy John Allen: No ‘Short-Term Solutions’ for Stopping Islamic State Interview Conducted By Matthias Gebauer and Holger Stark AP/dpa Islamic State fighters parade in Mosul, Iraq in June: “When you can defeat the idea, then you have destroyed the organization” says Obama’s envoy tasked to help stop the terrorist group’s menace. In an interview, […]
The Kingdom has decided to allow Syrians to stay in the country without iqamas as long as their visit, Haj, or Umrah visas are valid, but they would have to correct their status later. According to the Minister of Justice Mohammed Al-Issa, the ministry would allow Syrians holding these visas […]
25/12/2014 Damascus, SANA – Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All East Mar Ignatius Aphram II stressed the role of an inter-Syrian dialogue to have Syrians of different backgrounds talk about the future of their country and means of reconstruction, calling upon “the opposition” to work for Syria. The […]
Andrew Rosenbaum Monday, December 29, 2014 Assad regime survives on funds from Iran and Russia — Tehran is now dominant force in country, political analysts say ANKARA – The Syrian economy has effectively ceased to function, and President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is almost entirely dependent on loans from Iran and some aid from […]
Associated Press BEIRUT: ISIS published Monday an interview with the Jordanian pilot captured last week after his plane crashed in northern Syria. First Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh’s F-16 went down near ISIS’s de facto capital of Raqqa Wednesday. The 26-year-old Jordanian is the first foreign military pilot to fall into the extremists’ hands […]
AMMAN: Jordan vowed Thursday to make every effort to save a pilot captured by the Islamic State group in Syria as Washington denied claims the terrorists shot his warplane out […]
The first Western journalist in the world to be allowed extensive access to Isis territories in Syria and Iraq has returned from the region with a warning: the group is “much stronger and much more dangerous” than anyone in the West realises. Jürgen Todenhöfer, 74, is a renowned German journalist […]
12.14.14 On scene at what’s becoming Italy’s makeshift Ellis Island. Will Europe learn to accept Syria’s huddled masses yearning to breathe free? AUGUSTA, Sicily—“There is a little office near the port where a broker takes your money and gives you a password,” said Ali Saed, explaining how he and his […]
Summary by David Ignatius, Daily Star, Lebanon Gen. John Allen must sometimes feel that he’s navigating a maze as he organizes the coalition to defeat ISIS: Iran is a silent partner in Iraq but a potential adversary in Syria and elsewhere; Turkey and Saudi Arabia are crucial allies, but skittish […]
Summary Rami G. Khouri, The Daily Star, Lebanon It is exasperating to listen to American officials pontificate about events in the Middle East and offer what sounds like reasonable proposals to resolve the area’s problems, when those same officials and the entire political power structure they represent refuse to acknowledge […]
Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who is in Washington to meet with President Barack Obama, described the battle against the Islamic State, or ISIS, terror group in Iraq and Syria as “a third world war” and “a Muslim problem,” they need to take ownership of. “This is a Muslim problem,” Abdullah […]
Reports by UN observers in the Golan Heights over the past 18 months reveal the type and extent of cooperation between Israel and Syrian opposition figures. The reports, submitted to […]
by Khetam Malkawi | Dec 04, 2014 JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — Jordan on Thursday stressed its commitment to supporting Syrian refugees on its territory, but warned that the same level […]
Wednesday, 3 December 2014 Chris Doyle Two brothers faced each other in wheelchairs. Only by sheer accident of fate did these two Syrian refugees find themselves reunited in a small center in central Amman. Every refugee there had a story, each one enough to scar for a lifetime. Many at […]
One of the more remarkable documents found in the Osama bin Laden compound included a letter to the Islamic State group of Iraq and Syria cautioning Abu Musab al-Zarqawi over his group’s extreme violence. The insurgency in Fallujah and Tal Afar had alarmed the al-Qaida leadership in Pakistan as to […]
The Daily Star The situation on the ground in Syria is extremely complicated, in contrast to the skies, where things are crystal-clear. The U.S.-led coalition carries out daily airstrikes against ISIS targets, while Syrian aircraft bomb regime opponents and anyone who happens to be in the way. After a series […]
By Laura Smith-Spark and Arwa Damon, CNN Ankara, Turkey (CNN) — Pope Francis called Friday for religious tolerance and dialogue to counter extremism in the Middle East as he met […]
BY NICHOLAS PAPHITIS | AP ARABNEWS.COM Published — Friday 28 November 2014 IERAPETRA, Greece: More than 700 people, most fleeing Syria, were disembarking Thursday on the Greek island of Crete […]