Syria

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Assad AWOL as Executions Rumored in Aleppo

Free Syrian Army gains anti-aircraft missiles

(Newser) - As the battle for Aleppo grinds on in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad's location remains a big question mark. Today, to mark Armed Forces Day, Assad published a message in the military's magazine encouraging his troops. But, though the president has been seen on TV, he has not appeared...

Rebels Claim Countryside as Aleppo Battle Rages
 Rebels Claim Countryside 
 as Aleppo Battle Rages 
Syria Update
Jul 31, 2012 7:35 AM CDT

Rebels Claim Countryside as Aleppo Battle Rages

The story of how one town drove out the regime

(Newser) - While Syrian troops have expended most of their effort trying to retain the regime's grip on the country's biggest cities—from Homs to Damascus and now Aleppo—rebel uprisings have claimed increasingly large swathes of the countryside, the Washington Post reports. The Post uses as a case study...

Syrian Diplomat Defects as Aleppo Fighting Rages

Rebels seize key strategic points outside the city

(Newser) - Syria's most senior diplomat in London defected today, saying that he no longer wanted to represent a "violent and oppressive" government, the UK Foreign Office announced today. The office says Charge d'Affaires Khaled al-Ayoubi is staying in a safe place in Britain, the BBC reports, and hailed...

Panetta: Aleppo Attack Is 'Nail in Assad's Coffin'

Hundreds of thousands flee onslaught

(Newser) - As brutal fighting continued for control of Syria's largest city, a furious Leon Panetta vowed that the regime's assault on Aleppo would be a "nail in the coffin" of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Some 200,000 residents have fled the besieged city as rebels battle to hold...

Syrian Rebels Hold Off Regime, But Onslaught Continues

Rebels say international community bears responsibility if they're defeated

(Newser) - Government tanks, artillery, and helicopters continued to pound rebel-held Aleppo today, in what could be one of the biggest battles of the Syrian uprising yet, reports the AP . Rebels have so far managed to keep government forces at bay, but the cost has been high, with 29 killed in Aleppo...

29 Dead in 'Fierce' Syrian Assault on Aleppo

Ground troops enter nation's biggest city

(Newser) - Syrian troops have bombed and strafed rebels in the key city of Aleppo for days now in preparation for a major assault—and that assault is under way, report al-Jazeera and the BBC . Ground troops and tanks that had been massing on the city's outskirts poured in today, according...

Helicopters Pound Aleppo
 Helicopters Pound Aleppo 
Jul 27, 2012 7:02 AM CDT

Helicopters Pound Aleppo

Mosques close as civilians flee Damascus, Aleppo

(Newser) - Syrian helicopters have kept up the heavy attacks on Aleppo today, as the military continues to build its force on the city's outskirts in anticipation of a possible all-out invasion of the country's commercial capital, reports the New York Times . But despite the possibility of serious civilian casualties,...

Syria Showdown: Regime Descends on Aleppo, Damascus

Syrian forces pulling out of country to retake biggest 2 cities

(Newser) - Heavy shelling was reported today in Aleppo and Damascus, as government forces and rebels both gear up for a major showdown, reports Reuters . The Syrian military is sending convoys of tanks, troop carriers, and other hardware to the vital central cities, leaving rebels in control of much of the countryside....

Syrian Planes Bomb Aleppo
 Syrian Planes Bomb Aleppo 
Jul 25, 2012 7:48 AM CDT

Syrian Planes Bomb Aleppo

Meanwhile, al-Qaeda makes an appearance

(Newser) - Syrian military planes dropped bombs on Aleppo today, in a dramatic escalation of the conflict, according to a BBC reporter on the outskirts of the city. It's the first aerial bombing of the conflict, the Washington Post says, speculating that the regime is trying to intimidate rebels with its...

Israel Issues Gas Masks Near Syrian Border

Will act instantly if chemical weapons fall into Hezbollah hands

(Newser) - Worried Israeli officials are beginning to distribute new gas masks to residents living close to the Syrian border. The equipment is the starkest sign that concern is escalating that Syria could soon tap its stockpile of chemical weapons as the regime grows desperate. Syria is known to have the largest...

Syria Moved Chemical Weapons to Airports: Rebels

And allegedly guns down prisoners in jail sit-in

(Newser) - The Free Syrian Army believes that the Assad regime has moved chemical weapons to airports near the country's borders, in what the rebels say is a bid to put "pressure on the region and the international community," according to the Telegraph . The regime yesterday threatened to use...

Syria: Here's When We'd Use Chemical Weapons

Not against rebels, but possibly against 'external aggression': official

(Newser) - Despite recent reports that Syria may be preparing to use its chemical weapons, a foreign ministry spokesperson today tried to assure the world that they will not be used on the Syrian people—officially acknowledging for the first time that the country actually has such weapons, reports Reuters . "Any...

Arab League to Assad: 'Safe Exit' If You Go Now

US, meanwhile, steps up non-military efforts against Assad

(Newser) - The UN Security Council may be preventing nations from becoming involved in Syria's civil war, but the US is increasingly pushing secret, non-military efforts to hurt Bashar al-Assad's regime, reports the Wall Street Journal . And the Arab League is trying to shoo him out the door. The main...

Syria Sees Deadliest 2 Days Since Uprising Began

More than 550 reported killed as fighting continues in key city

(Newser) - Fighting continues for the second straight day in the strategically important Syrian city of Aleppo, reports AP and al-Jazeera . Syria's "second city," which is heavily populated by elites who have benefited from the regime of Bashar al-Assad, has largely avoided violence until now. Anti-government troops are apparently...

Syrian Rebels Seize Border Outposts

Thousands flee fighting in Damascus

(Newser) - Syrian rebels seized control of all four of the country's border crossings with Iraq and two with Turkey yesterday as the military concentrated on the battle for Damascus. The rebels also claimed to have gained control of part of the capital, although government forces are fighting back fiercely and...

Russia, China, Veto Syria Sanctions

As Bashar al-Assad swears in new defense minister

(Newser) - Russia and China once again thumbed their nose at international pressure and vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to impose sanctions on Syria today. The move drew instant criticism from Western officials; Britain's UN ambassador accused them of putting "their national interests ahead of the lives of millions...

US Prepares for Assad&rsquo;s Fall
 US Prepares for Assad’s Fall 
Jul 19, 2012 7:51 AM CDT

US Prepares for Assad’s Fall

Panetta: Syria 'spinning out of control'

(Newser) - Describing the suicide blast that killed Bashar al-Assad's security chiefs yesterday as a turning point, American officials are now getting ready for the Syrian regime's collapse, reports the New York Times . Pentagon officials have urged the Israelis not to attack Syrian weapons facilities, fearing that such a move...

Suicide Blast Kills Syria Defense Minister
 Suicide Blast Kills 
 Key Assad Henchmen 
UPDATED
Jul 18, 2012 7:43 AM CDT

Suicide Blast Kills Key Assad Henchmen

State TV reports that more officials seriously wounded

(Newser) - A regime-shaking suicide attack on the National Security building has killed Bashar al-Assad's defense minister and brother-in-law, according to the country's state-run TV. The New York Times calls the death of defense minister Daoud Rajha the "first assassination of a prominent official" in the entirety of the...

Assad Willing to Use Chemical Weapons
 Assad Willing to Use 
 Chemical Weapons 
defector speaks
Jul 17, 2012 7:48 AM CDT

Assad Willing to Use Chemical Weapons

Indeed, defector Nawaf Fares thinks he may have already

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad is a "wounded wolf and cornered," and hence is ready, and probably willing, to use his stash of chemical weapons , according to Nawaf Fares, Syria's ex-ambassador to Iraq and its highest-level official to defect so far. "There is information, unconfirmed information of course, that...

Russia: The West Is Blackmailing Us
 Russia: The West 
 Is Blackmailing Us 
Syria Roundup
Jul 16, 2012 12:59 PM CDT

Russia: The West Is Blackmailing Us

In other developments, European firms sent equipment to Assad

(Newser) - Kofi Annan traveled to Moscow today to try to persuade one of Bashar al-Assad's most persistent allies to put more pressure on the regime, but Russia doesn't appear to be softening its stance. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today accused the West of using "elements of blackmail" to...

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