Syria

Read recent Syrian news stories and current events on Newser.com

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Gunmen Seize 2 Syrian Bishops
 Gunmen Seize 2 Syria Bishops 
Apr 23, 2013 2:48 AM CDT

Gunmen Seize 2 Syria Bishops

Prominent Christian clerics abducted in rebel-held region

(Newser) - Unknown gunmen abducted two prominent Syrian bishops as they traveled through rebel-held territory from the Turkish border, according to both state media and the opposition leadership. Christians make up around 10% of Syria's population and the kidnapped pair—the Syriac Orthodox and Greek Orthodox archbishops of Aleppo, Yohanna Ibrahim...

Britain, France: Syria Used Chemical Weapons

They want UN to launch broad investigation

(Newser) - Syria's Bashar al-Assad has indeed defied repeated US warnings not to use chemical weapons, say France and Britain. The two nations told the UN they have evidence that Syrian troops used nerve agents more than once in Aleppo, Homs, and maybe even Damascus, reports the Washington Post . Investigators drew...

200 US Troops Headed to Jordan—and It's a Big Deal

LAT explains it's the first acknowledged step toward military involvement in Syria

(Newser) - Some 200 US troops are headed to Jordan, where some US troops are already stationed. So why is this deployment notable? How it's being played:
  • The Los Angeles Times pulls no punches in its explanation: "The move marks the first deployment that Pentagon officials explicitly described as a
...

'Syrian Electronic Army' Hacks NPR

Group said to back Assad

(Newser) - Several NPR sites and Twitter feeds were hacked last night; visitors saw a message saying "Syrian Electronic Army Was Here," the Two-Way blog reports. "We will not say why we attacked @NPR ... They know the reason and that enough #SEA #Syria," read a tweet from the...

US, EU Ready to Step Up Aid to Syrian Rebels

But President Obama insists on keeping aid 'non-lethal' for now

(Newser) - The United States and several leading EU states appear poised to increase non-lethal aid to Syrian opposition groups, adding equipment such as body armor and night-vision goggles, reports the Wall Street Journal . Arms, however, remain off the table, as President Obama fears they could fall into the hands of al-Qaeda-affiliated...

Syrian Jihadis Pledge Allegiance to al-Qaeda

But powerful al-Nusra denies reports of official merger

(Newser) - The head of Jabhat al-Nusra, a jihadist group at the forefront of Syria's civil war, has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda honcho Ayman al-Zawahiri. What that means isn't exactly crystal clear at this point. While Al-Qaeda in Iraq says the groups have merged under the snappy title of the...

Maliki: Don&#39;t Worry America, Iraq Is Grateful
Maliki: Don't Worry America, Iraq Is Grateful
OPINION
Apr 9, 2013 12:30 PM CDT

Maliki: Don't Worry America, Iraq Is Grateful

Iraqi prime minister writes op-ed in Washington Post

(Newser) - It's been 10 years since Saddam Hussein's fall, and Nouri al-Maliki is using the occasion to set the record straight on US-Iraqi relations. In an op-ed in today's Washington Post , the Iraqi prime minister assures Americans that Iraq is a "sovereign partner" for the US, and...

UN Adopts Landmark Arms Treaty

Most nations back, but Russia, China abstain

(Newser) - The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the first UN treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar international arms trade today, a goal sought for more than a decade to try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters, and organized crime. The resolution adopting the landmark treaty was approved...

6K Dead Make March Syria's Bloodiest Month

Death rate hits 200 per day as conflict grinds on

(Newser) - The death rate in Syria's civil war is accelerating, with more than 6,000 deaths making March the deadliest month of the conflict that began more than two years ago. The deaths include hundreds of women and children as well as a large number of rebel fighters and government...

Iran, N. Korea, Syria Block UN Arms Trade Treaty

Other countries to keep pushing for pact

(Newser) - Iran, North Korea, and Syria blocked adoption of a UN treaty that would regulate the multibillion-dollar international arms trade for the first time, saying it fails to ban sales to terrorists, but other countries refused to let the treaty die. The treaty's adoption required agreement by all 193 UN...

Feds Charge US Army Vet Who Fought in Syria

Eric Harroun faces serious WMD charges after joining foes of Assad

(Newser) - It sounds pretty serious on the surface: A US Army vet admits fighting alongside an al-Qaeda group, and the feds have charged him with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction outside the US. But the details about Eric Harroun's case are a little less frightening. The 30-year-old...

Syrian Opposition Chief Quits, Blasts Global Support

Mouaz al-Khatib says 'international parties' wrongly push for dialogue with Assad

(Newser) - The leader of the Western-backed Syrian opposition coalition resigned today, citing what he called the insufficient international support for those seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Mouaz al-Khatib, a respected preacher who has led the Syrian National Coalition since soon after its creation in November, said in a statement on...

Kerry to Iraq: Stop Weapons to Syria

US continues to push Iraq to inspect Iranian flights

(Newser) - John Kerry dropped in unannounced on Iraq today, the first visit by an American secretary of state in four years, and he used the opportunity to continue prodding Nouri al-Maliki to slow the Iranian weapons that flow through his skies and into the hands of Syria's Bashar al-Assad. “...

'Uncountable' Syrians Seek Refuge in Roman Caves

Villagers hide from government forces underground

(Newser) - Terrified of attacks by government forces, an untold number of Syrian villagers have found an odd refuge: Roman caves. These squatters in Syria's northwest typically stock their caves with bedrolls, blankets, and kerosene lamps; one villager even put in a wood-burning box stove. But he says his children are...

CIA Increases Help to Syrian Insurgents

Agency providing intelligence to certain rebel groups

(Newser) - The US military might not have plans to intervene in Syria anytime soon, but the CIA is a different story. The agency has actually increased its aid to insurgents of late, mostly in the form of passing along intelligence about the Syrian army, reports the Wall Street Journal . The move...

Review Suggests Syria Didn't Use 'Chemical Weapons'

But it might have been a lesser 'caustic agent,' US officials tell CNN

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad may not have crossed the red line after all. US intelligence officials don't think Syria used chemical weapons in Aleppo this week, reports CNN . At least, that's the conclusion after an initial review, which could change as more intelligence arrives. But analysts examining video say victims...

In Israel, Obama Warns Syria on Chemical Weapons

On Iran, says there's still time for diplomacy to work

(Newser) - Maybe the most newsworthy item out of President Obama's news conference today with Benjamin Netanyahu centered on Syria, not Israel. Obama said the US is investigating claims that chemical weapons were used in Aleppo, and he warned that Bashar al-Assad will be held accountable if he employed them, reports...

House Intel Chief: I Think Syria Used Chemicals

Assad blames rebels amid much confusion

(Newser) - So did Bashar al-Assad cross the "red line" that could trigger US involvement by using chemical weapons on rebels in Aleppo? Or did the rebels use them? Or neither? Confirmation remains elusive after an attack today that Syria's official news agency says left more than 30 dead and...

Chemical Weapon Fired in Syria: Report

Rebels blame regime, regime blames rebels; no verification yet

(Newser) - Both the government and rebels in Syria say a chemical weapon has been fired—but each side blames the other, the AP reports. Official Syrian news said "terrorists" (its term for the rebels) blasted a rocket "containing chemical materials" in Aleppo province today, killing 15, mostly civilians. Meanwhile,...

Syria Opposition's New PM Comes From ... Texas

US citizen Ghassan Hitto new leader in rebel-held areas

(Newser) - Syria's main opposition council has elected American citizen Ghassan Hitto to be prime minister of a new interim government responsible for overseeing refugees and rebel-held areas. Hitto, 50, was born in Damascus but has lived in the US for decades. He abruptly quit his job at a Texas electronics...

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