Syria opposition

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Syria Nixes Arab League Peace Plan

Calls for Assad to leave power are a 'flagrant interference'

(Newser) - Syria has quickly rejected a peace plan floated by the Arab League, today calling it a "flagrant interference" in the country's internal affairs. The plan, proposed as the Arab League's observer mission flounders , called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down within two weeks, transfer power...

Arab League Extends Syria Mission 1 Month

Will boost number, training of observers

(Newser) - Arab League officials say the 22-member organization's observers mission in Syria, which ran out Thursday, has been extended for an extra month. Today's decision has been made by Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to...

Iran Helping Syria Skirt Sanctions

And Russia is shipping in weapons

(Newser) - Iran is quietly helping Syria evade US and European Union sanctions by selling its oil on the international market, US officials have discovered. Transit records show that one shipment last month saw more than 91000 metric tons of crude sent to Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports. An Iranian spokesman...

UN Chief to Syria's Assad: Stop Killing Your People

Ban Ki-moon says 'old order is crumbling'

(Newser) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon demanded today that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stop the slaughter of his own people, and said the "old order" of one-man rule and family dynasties is over in the Middle East. In a keynote address at a conference on democracy in the Arab world, Ban...

Syria Monitor Quits, Calls Mission a 'Farce'

And a second says he's on the verge of doing the same

(Newser) - An Arab League monitor has bailed on the Syria mission, and another says he's on the verge of doing so, amid frustrations about how ineffectual the mission has been. On Tuesday, Algerian observer Anwar Malek told al-Jazeera he was resigning because the mission was a "farce" and unable...

Syria's Assad Makes Rare Public Appearance

Bashar al-Assad tells supporters he wants to 'draw strength' from them

(Newser) - President Bashar al-Assad hasn't exactly been a man of the people since the Syrian uprising began, but today he joined thousands of supporters at a Damascus rally, the AP reports. "I wanted to be with you so I can draw strength from you in the face of everything...

Assad Vows to Meet 'Terrorists' With 'Iron Fist'

He condemns Arab League as hypocrites for pushing democracy

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad gave a rare speech on state-run TV today, in which he lashed out at the Arab League and vowed to deal harshly with violent unrest. The Syrian president asked what right the Arab League, which includes absolute monarchies, had to preach about democracy and reform. "Their situation...

Arab League Sending 135 New Monitors to Syria

League hopes more observers will lead to decreased violence

(Newser) - Amid concerns that its monitors are not making much of a difference in Syria, Arab League officials have decided to almost double the number of observers in the country in an effort to put more pressure on the regime. At a meeting yesterday, League members decided to bring the total...

10 Killed, Thousands Protest in Syria

But Arab League monitors fuel activists' hope

(Newser) - Tens of thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—of protesters rallied across Syria today in an effort to show Arab League monitors the extent of opposition anger. At least 10 were reported killed in ensuing clashes with security forces, the BBC reports; the deaths follow up to 40 others yesterday. But...

Syrian Activists Lambaste Arab League Observers

Say violence rages despite their presence

(Newser) - Arab League observers are scheduled to visit Daraa today, but activists are quickly losing faith that their presence will make much difference. Human rights activists had criticized the Arab League’s choice to lead the mission—former Sudanese military intelligence head Mohammed al-Dabi—from the start, the New York Times...

Syrian Army Leaving Homs
 Syrian Army Leaving Homs 
Dec 27, 2011 7:46 AM CST

Syrian Army Leaving Homs

Arrival of Arab League observers leads to withdrawal

(Newser) - Soldiers and tanks began pulling out of Homs this morning, in response to the arrival of Arab League observers in Syria yesterday. Prior to the army’s retreat, fighting in Homs had been on the rise , with 34 civilians reportedly killed there yesterday. “The government’s goals haven’t...

Arab League Observers Land in Syria

Team of 60 likely headed for Homs

(Newser) - Arab League monitors are officially on the ground in Syria, reports Reuters . The Arab League delegation includes some 50 monitors and 10 other officials, and will eventually number 150 people working to ensure that Bashar al-Assad is in fact backing off his nine-month-long crackdown on protesters. The monitors come not...

Syrian Defectors Kill 27 Soldiers

Civil war fears grow amid anti-government attacks

(Newser) - Syrian army defectors killed at least 27 of their former comrades in Daraa province today, in one of the deadliest battles yet in what many fear is a budding Syrian civil war, activists tell the AP . The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it has eye-witness reports of at least...

Syria Death Toll Tops 5K
 Syria Death Toll Tops 5K 
Dec 13, 2011 6:54 AM CST

Syria Death Toll Tops 5K

20 more killed yesterday

(Newser) - The death toll in the Syria protests now tops 5,000, according to the UN human rights chief, who wants the situation referred to the International Criminal Court. That number, which does not include soldiers or security personnel killed by the opposition, is up by 1,000 from the one...

Syria Votes Amid Strike, Violence

At least 31 killed in latest wave; opposition holds general strike

(Newser) - Syria's official news agency says voters are "flocking" to the polls to vote in today's local elections—but with activists calling for a voting boycott, the actual turnout is likely to be small. Some 43,000 candidates are running for more than 17,500 seats, al-Jazeera reports....

Syria Uprising: President Bashar al-Assad Tells Barbara Walters He Did Not Order Crackdown (VIDEO)


 Assad: I Didn't 
 Order Crackdown 
barbara walters interview
Dec 7, 2011 7:29 AM CST

Assad: I Didn't Order Crackdown

He feels no guilt, says he tried to protect his people

(Newser) - A defiant Bashar al-Assad sat down with Barbara Walters and denied ordering a brutal crackdown against Syrian protesters, saying that he feels no guilt because "I did my best to protect the people." In fact, most of the dead are his own supporters and troops, Assad insisted, blaming...

New Clashes Leave 25 Dead in Syria

Reports growing of army defectors fighting Syrian forces

(Newser) - Violence sweeping across Syria killed 25 people today, most of them in a battle between troops and a growing force of army defectors who have joined the movement to oust the autocratic Bashar al-Assad, activists said. The pre-dawn clashes in the city of Idlib between regime forces and defectors killed...

Arab League Sanctions Syria
 Arab League Sanctions Syria 
Nov 27, 2011 9:22 AM CST

Arab League Sanctions Syria

Syria calls move a betrayal of Arab solidarity

(Newser) - The Arab League has approved sanctions against Syria to pressure the regime to end its deadly eight-month crackdown on dissent. Damascus slammed the move as a betrayal of Arab solidarity. At a press conference in Cairo, Qatar Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim said 19 of the League's 22 member...

Protests Rock Syria After Embassy Attacks

Protesters attack Saudi, Qatari embassies after Arab League vote

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of Syrian government supporters poured into the streets today to protest an Arab League vote to suspend the country's membership, as Turkey sent planes to evacuate diplomatic staff and their families after a night of attacks on embassies. Facing growing isolation, the Syrian government called for...

Turkey Harboring Rebel 'Free Syrian Army'

Group claims to have 10,000 fighters, more than 18 battalions

(Newser) - Turkey isn’t just playing host to camps of Syrian refugees, it’s also harboring an armed opposition group calling itself the Free Syrian Army, the New York Times reports. The group claims to have more than 10,000 fighters across at least 18 battalions, and claims responsibility for the...

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