Page 4 - Syria

Having a name: In Syria, they want to be wanted by the Assad regime

For more than five decades, the dictator Bashar al-Assad and his father before him ruled Syria by terror. Anyone wanted by any of the regime's numerous intelligence

Lebanon, Syria defence officials agree to ceasefire after 2 days of clashes

Lebanese and Syrian defense officials reached an agreement late Monday for a ceasefire to halt two days of clashes along the border, Syria's state-run SANA news agency reported. The agreement also stipulates enhanced coordination and cooperation between the two sides, the statement from the Syrian Ministry of Defense said. Lebanon's president earlier Monday ordered troops to retaliate against the source of gunfire from the Syrian side of the border after more deadly fighting erupted overnight along the frontier. Lebanon's Health Ministry reported that seven Lebanese citizens were killed and another 52 injured in the clashes, including a 4-year-old girl. The fighting happened after Syria's interim government accused militants from Lebanon's Hezbollah group of crossing into Syria on Saturday, abducting three soldiers and killing them on Lebanese soil. Hezbollah denied involvement and some other reports pointed to local clans in the border region that are not directly affiliated with .

Syria to join donor conference for 1st time, a key step for its new leaders

The European Union hosts a donor conference for Syria on Monday to muster support to ensure a peaceful transition after President Bashar Assad was ousted by an insurgency last December. Ministers and representatives from Western partners, as well as Syria's regional neighbors, other Arab countries and UN agencies will take part in the one-day meeting in Brussels which will be chaired by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. Syria will attend the conference the ninth edition of its kind for the first time, and will be represented by Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. The event was organized in haste by the EU to try to take advantage of the change sweeping the country. The gathering comes at a precarious time. Syria's new leaders are trying to consolidate control over territory that was divided into de facto mini-states during nearly 14 years of civil war and to rebuild the country's economy and infrastructure. The United Nations in 2017 estimated it would cost at least $250

16 killed after ordnance from Syrian war explodes in port city of Latakia

Ordnance from Syria's 13-year conflict exploded in the coastal city of Latakia, collapsing a building and killing more than a dozen people, the Syrian Civil Defense said Sunday. The paramedic group known as the White Helmets said it worked overnight, searching through debris and recovered 16 bodies, including five women and five children, and that 18 others were injured. The group and residents said the explosion occurred in a metal scrap storage space on the ground floor of the four-story building. Elsewhere, the Syrian Defense Ministry late Sunday accused the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group of crossing the Lebanon-Syria border and killing three Syrian soldiers. Hezbollah denied any involvement in the killing that took place near northeastern Lebanon, where clashes between Syrian forces and Lebanese clans happened last month. Local Lebanese media have reported Syrian shelling on the northeastern Lebanese border town of Al-Qasr. The Defense Ministry will take all the necessary ..

Turkey, Israel face mounting tensions over future of post-Assad Syria

The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government has aggravated already tense relations between Turkiye and Israel, with their conflicting interests in Syria pushing the relationship toward a possible collision course. Turkiye, which long backed groups opposed to Assad, has emerged as a key player in Syria and is advocating for a stable and united Syria, in which a central government maintains authority over the whole country. It welcomed a breakthrough agreement that Syria's new interim government signed this week with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, to integrate with the Syrian government and army. Israel, on the other hand, remains deeply suspicious of Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, pointing to his roots in al-Qaida. It's also wary of Turkiye's influence over Damascus and appears to want to see Syria remain fragmented after the country under Assad was turned into a staging ground for its archenemy, Iran, and Tehran's proxies. Syria has become

Qatar to supply natural gas to Syria to increase electricity supply

Qatar will provide natural gas supplies to Syria with the aim of generating 400 megawatts of electricity a day, in a measure to help address the war-battered country's severe electricity shortages, Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported Friday. Syria's interim Minister of Electricity Omar Shaqrouq said the Qatari supplies are expected to increase the daily state-provided electricity supply from two to four hours per day. Under the deal, Qatar will send 2 million cubic meters of natural gas a day to the Deir Ali power station, south of Damascus, via a pipeline passing through Jordan. Qatar's state-run news agency said that the initiative was part of an agreement between the Qatar Fund for Development and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Jordan in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program and aims to address the country's severe shortage in electricity production and enhance its infrastructure. Syria's economy and infrastructure, including electrici

Who are Syria's Alawites? The sect facing violence after Assad's fall

Alawites, a Shia sect, ruled Syria for decades under the Assads. Now, after Bashar al-Assad's fall, they face violence as sectarian tensions escalate in the war-torn country

Syria's Druze seek place in changing nation, navigating pressure Israel

Syria's Druze minority has a long history of cutting their own path to survive among the country's powerhouses. They are now trying again to navigate a new, uncertain Syria since the fall of longtime autocrat Bashar Assad. Members of the small religious sect find themselves caught between two forces that many of them distrust: the new, Islamist-led government in Damascus and Syria's hostile neighbor, Israel, which has used the plight of the Druze as a pretext to intervene in the country. Syria's many religious and ethnic communities are worried over their place in the new system. The transitional government has promised to include them, but has so far kept authority in the hands of the Islamist former insurgents who toppled Assad in December -- Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. That and HTS's past affiliation with Sunni Muslim extremist al-Qaida, has minorities suspicious. The most explosive hostilities have been with the Alawite religious minority, to which Assad's family belongs. Hea

US condemns attacks on Syrian minorities as coastal violence escalates

The violence erupted in Syria's coastal cities of Latakia and Tartous, where security forces clashed with fighters loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad

Death toll crosses 1,000 in violence on Syrian coast, war monitor reports

The death toll from two days of clashes between security forces and loyalists of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to more than 1,000, including nearly 750 civilians, a war monitoring group said Saturday, making it one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence since Syria's conflict began 14 years ago. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that in addition to 745 civilians, 125 members of the government security forces and 148 militants with armed groups affiliated with deposed President Bashar Assad were killed. The observatory also said that electricity and drinking water were cut off in large areas around the coastal city of Latakia and many bakeries shut down. The clashes, which erupted Thursday, marked a major escalation in the challenge to the new government in Damascus, three months after insurgents took authority after removing Assad from power. The government has said that they were responding to attacks fro

Over 600 killed in two days of clashes and revenge attacks in Syria

The death toll from two days of clashes between security forces and loyalists of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to more than 600, a war monitoring group said Saturday, making it one of the deadliest acts of violence since Syria's conflict began 14 years ago. The clashes, which erupted Thursday, marked a major escalation in the challenge to the new government in Damascus, three months after insurgents took authority after removing Assad from power. The government has said that they were responding to attacks from remnants of Assad's forces and blamed individual actions for the rampant violence. The revenge killings that started Friday by Sunni Muslim gunmen loyal to the government against members of Assad's minority Alawite sect are a major blow to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the faction that led the overthrow of the former government. Alawites made up a large part of Assad's support base for decades. Residents of Alawite villages and tow

Over 200 killed in clashes between govt forces and Assad loyalists in Syria

Fighters siding with Syria's new government stormed several villages near the country's coast, killing dozens of men in response to recent attacks on government security forces by loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad, a war monitor said. The village assaults erupted Thursday and continued Friday. Ongoing clashes between the two sides have marked the worst violence since Assad's government was toppled in early December by insurgent groups led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The new government has pledged to unite Syria after 14 years of civil war. More than 200 people have been killed since the fighting broke out, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. In addition to around 140 killed in apparent revenge attacks in the villages, the dead include at least 50 members of Syria's government forces and 45 fighters loyal to Assad. The civil war that has been raging in Syria since March 2011 has left more than half a million people dead and ...

Assad loyalists kill at least 13 police officers in ambush on Syrian forces

Gunmen ambushed a Syrian police patrol in a coastal town Thursday, leaving at least 13 security members dead and many others wounded, a monitoring group and a local official said. The attack came as tensions in Syria's coastal region between former President Bashar Assad's minority Alawite sect and members of Islamic groups escalate. Assad was overthrown in early December in an offensive of insurgent groups led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the ambush in the town of Jableh, near the city of Latakia, killed at least 16. Rami Abdurrahman, head of the monitoring group, said the gunmen who ambushed the police force are Alawites. These are the worst clashes since the fall of the regime, Abdurrahman said. A local official in Damascus told The Associated Press that 13 members of the General Security directorate were killed in the ambush. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release secur

Israeli military told to prepare to defend Druze community outside Damascus

Israel's defence ministry has said the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of Damascus, asserting that the minority it has vowed to protect was under attack by Syrian forces. The Saturday's statement, citing an order from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, follows an Israeli warning last weekend that the forces of neighbouring Syria's new government and the insurgent group that led last year's ouster of former President Bashar Assad should not enter the area south of Damascus. Saturday's statement indicates that Israeli forces could push farther into Syria as its new authorities try to consolidate control after more than a decade of civil war. Israeli forces recently set up posts in a buffer zone and on strategic Mt Hermon nearby. There have been no major clashes between Israeli troops and Syria's new forces. We will not allow the terrorist regime of radical Islam in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regi

Israel won't allow Syrian forces to enter 'south of Damascus': Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not allow Syria's new army or the insurgent group that led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad to enter the area south of Damascus. His government made clear Israeli forces would stay in parts of southern Syria for an indefinite period. Netanyahu's comments Sunday at a military graduation led to new concerns over the Israeli presence, and sway, in a swath of southern Syria as Damascus' new leaders attempt to consolidate control after years of civil war. Take note: We will not allow HTS forces or the new Syrian army to enter the area south of Damascus, Netanyahu said, referring to Syria's new authorities as well as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main former rebel group. We demand the complete demilitarisation of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Suwayda from the forces of the new regime. Likewise, we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria. There was no immediate respons

Experts push to restore Syria's war-torn heritage sites, including Palmyra

Experts are returning to Syria's war-ravaged heritage sites, hoping to lay the groundwork for restoring them and reviving tourism, which they say could provide a much-needed boost to the country's decimated economy after nearly 14 years of war. Once-thriving landmarks like the ancient city of Palmyra and the medieval Crusader castle of Crac des Chevaliers remain scarred by years of conflict, but local tourists are returning to the sites, and conservationists hope their historical and cultural significance will eventually draw international visitors back. Palmyra One of Syria's six UNESCO World Heritage sites, Palmyra was once a key hub to the ancient Silk Road network linking the Roman and Parthian empires to Asia. Located in the Syrian desert, it is renowned for its 2,000-year-old Roman-era ruins. It is now marked by shattered columns and damaged temples. Before the Syrian uprising that began in 2011 and soon escalated into a brutal civil war, Palmyra was Syria's main tourist ...

Trump's aid freeze shocks Syria camp holding families linked to IS group

Ahmad Abdullah Hammoud was lucky to have some food stored to feed his family after a US-funded organisation abruptly suspended its aid activities at the sprawling tent camp in northeastern Syria where they have been forced to stay for nearly six years. His family is among 37,000 people, mostly women and children, with alleged ties to the Islamic State group at the bleak, trash-strewn al-Hol camp, where the Trump administration's unprecedented freeze on foreign aid caused chaos and uncertainty and worsened the dire humanitarian conditions. When the freeze was announced shortly after Trump took office, US-funded aid programmes worldwide began shutting down operations, including the organisation that runs many operations at al-Hol, which works under the supervision of the US-led coalition formed to fight IS. The US-based Blumont briefly suspended operations, according to the camp's director. It had been providing essentials such as bread, water, kerosene and cooking gas. Blumont didn't

Syria's interim president visits Saudi Arabia, signaling shift on Iran

Syria's interim president made his first trip abroad Sunday, travelling to Saudi Arabia in a move likely trying to signal Damascus' shift away from Iran as its main regional ally. Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once aligned with al-Qaida, landed in Riyadh alongside his government's foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani. The two men travelled on a Saudi jet, with a Saudi flag visible on the table behind them. Saudi state television trumpeted the fact that al-Sharaa, first known internationally by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, made Riyadh his first destination. Syria's new three-star, tricolour flag flew next to Saudi Arabia's own at the airport as al-Sharaa in a suit and tie walked off the plane. He later met with a smiling Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, at al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh. The state-run Saudi Press Agency described their discussions as examining ways to support the security and stability of sisterly Syria. Syria's state-run SA

Donald Trump refuses to say whether he will pull US troops out of Syria

President Donald Trump is declining to say whether he intends to maintain current US troop levels in Syria. We'll make a determination on that, Trump told reporters on Thursday when asked if he intends to withdraw US troops deployed to Syria to fight the Islamic State group. We're not involved in Syria. Syria's its own mess. They got enough messes over there. They don't need us involved with everything. The US had said for years that there were about 900 troops in Syria, but the Pentagon acknowledged in December that US troop levels had surged to about 2,000. There has long been friction between the US and Syria's neighbours - Turkiye and Iraq - about the ongoing presence of American forces in Syria and the need to keep them at a particular level. Israel meanwhile has urged the US to maintain a presence in the country. Trump said just before rebels ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad in December in that the US military should stay out of Syria. Trump is also not giving up on the ide

Leader of Syria's rebels who toppled Bashar Assad named interim president

The leader of Syria's rebels who toppled President Bashar Assad last month was named the country's interim president on Wednesday as former insurgents cancelled the existing constitution, saying a new charter would be drafted soon. The appointment of Ahmad al-Sharaa, a rebel once aligned with al-Qaida, as Syria's president in the transitional phase, came after a meeting of the former insurgent factions in Damascus, the Syrian capital. The announcement was made by the spokesperson for Syria's new, de facto government's military operations sector, Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani, the state-run SANA news agency said. Al-Sharaa had been expected to appear in a televised speech following the meeting, but did not immediately do so, and it remained unclear if he would. The exact mechanism under which the factions selected him as interim president was also not clear. Al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist former insurgent group that