Bashar al-Assad

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Syrian Army Agrees to Holiday Truce

Ceasefire in effect for Eid al-Adha

(Newser) - The Syrian military says it will cease military operations for four days starting tomorrow in observance of a major Muslim holiday. In the announcement read on state TV today, however, the army said it would still respond to gunfire or roadside bombs and keep rebels from bolstering their positions or...

UN: Syria, Rebels Agree to 4-Day Eid Truce

There will be a truce for the upcoming Muslim holiday

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad's regime and Syrian rebels have agreed to a temporary truce that coincides with the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday, a UN mediator tells Reuters . Lakhdar Brahimi said that various rebel groups had agreed to the ceasefire "in principle," but CNN notes that Assad's side says...

Defected Female Officer Training Syrian Rebels

Zubaida al-Meeki is featured in upcoming film

(Newser) - Zubaida al-Meeki isn't your average Syrian rebel. As a woman, she stands out among her male colleagues, but she's also the first female officer to defect from President Bashar al-Assad's army, and is a member of his same religious sect, Alawite, reports al Jazeera . Al-Meeki says she...

Lebanese Protesters Riot at Funeral for Slain Official

Beirut unrest escalates amid funeral of intel chief

(Newser) - Lebanese soldiers have fired machine guns and rifles into the air and lobbed volleys of tear gas at hundreds of angry protesters who are trying to storm the Lebanese government headquarters in Beirut. The chaotic scene in Lebanon's capital today comes in the midst of a funeral for a...

Damascus Blast Kills 10
 Damascus Blast Kills 10 
Oct 21, 2012 5:52 AM CDT

Damascus Blast Kills 10

Explosion in Christian area comes as UN envoy visits

(Newser) - An explosion hit the Old City of Damascus today, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens of other civilians, Syrian activists said. It came as President Bashar al-Assad discussed the civil war in his country with visiting UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. The blast targeted a police station in...

Syria Booby-Traps Rebels&#39; Ammo
Syria Booby-Traps
Rebels' Ammo
Oct 20, 2012 10:39 AM CDT

Syria Booby-Traps Rebels' Ammo

New York Times reports on 'dirty trick' of war

(Newser) - Syria has resorted to what the New York Times calls "one of the dirty tricks of the modern battlefield"—booby-trapping ammunition used by rebels. As war correspondent CJ Chivers explains, the government puts the sabotaged ammo on the black markets where the rebels get their weaponry. It's...

Captured Syrian Pilot: I Just Followed Orders

Video: He says pilots were unaware they were hitting civilians

(Newser) - A Syrian fighter pilot shot down by rebels has a simple explanation for why he and other pilots have had no qualms about bombing civilian targets: He swears they didn't know civilians were present. The imprisoned Roni Ibrahim, who got shot down outside al-Bab, tells Al Jazeera that the...

Now Syrian Rebels Have Missiles

Meanwhile, war reaches Damascus, the wealthy

(Newser) - This could change things: Some Syrian rebels now have antiaircraft missiles, rebels and regional officials say. Video footage appears to show the rebels using such weapons, which have been smuggled into the country, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rebels say they downed a military helicopter yesterday, one of at least...

Turkey Forces Another Plane Bound for Syria to Land

And White House finds most arms sent to rebels end up in jihadists' hands

(Newser) - Turkey forced another Syria-bound plane to land today, but the Armenian plane was allowed to continue to Syria after its cargo—humanitarian aid—was searched, Reuters reports. Last week, Turkey forced down a jet en route to Syria from Russia, claiming it held weapons for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's...

Rights Group: Syria Dropping Cluster Bombs in Civilian Areas

Widely banned munitions pose long-term risk

(Newser) - Human Rights Watch today blasted Syria, saying it has new evidence that the Assad regime is dropping cluster bombs into populated areas, reports the AP . "Syria's disregard for its civilian population is all too evident in its air campaign, which now apparently includes dropping these deadly cluster bombs...

Turkey Bans Syrian Civil Flights

Suspects regime smuggling military equipment

(Newser) - Turkey's foreign minister says the country has barred its airspace to Syrian civilian flights. Ahmet Davutoglu said today that Turkey had made the decision because the Syrian regime, which is battling an insurgency, was "abusing" civilian flights by transporting military equipment. He says Syria's government was notified...

Turkey Forces Syrian Jet to Land

Passengers detained briefly over suspected military cargo

(Newser) - Relations between Syria and Turkey got even more volatile today when Turkish fighter jets forced a Syrian passenger plane to land in Ankara, reports the BBC . Turkish officials detained the plane and passengers briefly and confiscated suspected military cargo. They wouldn't specify what came off the plane, which was...

NATO Ready to Defend Turkey in Syria Conflict

Border conflict continues for sixth day

(Newser) - As Turkey continued firing back at Syria for a sixth day today after a Syrian shell crossed the border and killed five civilians last week, NATO says it is prepared to defend Turkey. The alliance has "all necessary plans in place to protect and defend Turkey if necessary,"...

New Conspiracy: France Killed Gadhafi to Hide Secrets

Sarkozy allegedly wanted to keep a lid on 'campaign donations'

(Newser) - Conspiracy theorists, start your engines. In a new account of Moammar Gadhafi's death, the former Libyan dictator was tracked and killed by a French agent in order to protect France's then-President Nicolas Sarkozy, Time reports. First told by an Italian newspaper, this version of events hinges on the...

Turkey Shells Syria After Border Town Gets Hit

Turkish official calls it 'last straw' as NATO prepares to meet

(Newser) - Syria has all it can do to keep rebels at bay, but its problems may have just gotten bigger. Turkey today said it launched artillery attacks on Syrian targets after Syrian shells struck a Turkish border town and killed at least five civilians, reports al-Jazeera . "The latest event was...

Syria Bulldozes Homes in Hama

Thousands forced out; clashes continue in Damascus

(Newser) - Syrian government forces are bulldozing large swaths of homes in Hama in a sweep that's uprooting thousands of residents, according to new videos. "So far they have razed 120 buildings," says one local. City blocks are being plowed over as officials go door-to-door asking residents to leave,...

Reporter Killed by Sniper in Syria During Live Broadcast

As military HQ is hit by 2 explosions

(Newser) - Damascus has been rocked by bombings for the past two days, with at least two large blasts hitting Syria's military headquarters there this morning. The Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the attack, said to be the largest since July explosions killed President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law and other...

Hillary Spurns Russia's Syria Plan: It Has 'No Teeth'

Clinton: US will join 'like-minded states' if standoff persists

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton heated up the diplomatic standoff over Syria today by saying Russia's plan for the UN Security Council is "without teeth." Russia's proposal, approved in Geneva in June, demands a ceasefire and transition of political power in Syria—but President Bashar al-Assad will dismiss it...

Syria's Chemical Arsenal: Bigger Than Thought?

Intelligence officials worry they can't secure it all

(Newser) - It's no secret that Syria's Bashar al-Assad has stockpiled a major cache of chemical weapons, but the Washington Post suggests that Assad has an ever bigger arsenal than previously thought. Two officials who have seen new intelligence reports tell the newspaper that the stockpile is not only bigger,...

US to Iraq: Inspect Iranian Planes en Route to Syria

Officials say planes are carrying weapons for regime

(Newser) - If Iraq is going to let Iran fly over its airspace to get to Syria, then it's going to have to inspect Iranian planes to ensure they're not smuggling weapons to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops, the Obama administration said yesterday. American officials tell the New York ...

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