Syria

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Assad Orders Referendum on New Constitution

It would allow more parties, and include term limit

(Newser) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ordered that a referendum be held later this month on a new constitution that would allow for additional political parties and limit the president to two 14-year terms, Syria's state-run TV station announced today. But opposition leaders immediately dismissed the gesture as an attempt...

Defiant Syrians Changing Streetscape —Via Google

Streets renamed in honor of fallen revolutionaries via Map Maker

(Newser) - Defiant Syrians are winning a virtual battle over President Bashar al-Assad. They're eradicating the name Assad from streets and bridges, and renaming them in honor of fallen Syrian rebels—with the help of Google crowdsourcing program Map Maker . The map modifications are believed to be the first time a...

Arab League Resolution OKs Arming Syrian Rebels

Homs shelling continues as UN warns of civil war

(Newser) - The Arab League has delivered a veiled threat to Bashar al-Assad's regime in the form of a resolution passed Sunday urging Arabs to "provide all kinds of political and material support" to Syrian rebels—and yes, "material support" means guns, diplomats confirm for Reuters . "We will...

Syria Continues Assault on Homs

23 reported killed yesterday as Arab League seeks peacekeepers

(Newser) - Syrian tanks have relaunched their assault on Homs, shelling the beleaguered city for a 10th day today after the government's rejection of the Arab League's attempts to launch a UN peacekeeping mission in the country. The League's push was today also rejected by Russia, which said a...

Arab League Wants UN Peacekeepers in Syria

Saudi minister: 'Bloodshed is a disgrace for us as Muslims and Arabs'

(Newser) - The Arab League called today for the UN Security Council to create a joint peacekeeping force for Syria and urged Arab states to sever all diplomatic contact with President Bashar Assad's regime, the League's latest effort to bring an end to the violence that has killed more than...

Al-Qaeda: Help Syria Boot Assad

Al-Zawahri confirms terror group seeking to turn tide in Syrian uprising

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda's chief has called on Muslims from other countries to support rebels in Syria seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, saying they cannot depend on the West for help. Ayman al-Zawahri, in a videotaped statement released late yesterday, asked Muslims in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey to join the...

Gunmen Kill Syrian General in Capital

Fighting continues in Homs, elsewhere

(Newser) - Here's yet another milestone that doesn't bode well for Syria: Gunmen killed a Syrian general as he left his home in the capital of Damascus today, reports AP . The attack on Brig. Gen. Issa al-Khouli marks the first time a high-ranking military official has been killed in Damascus,...

US Suspects al-Qaeda Behind Syria Bombings

Group may be looking to exploit the chaos

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda's Iraq branch is moving into the chaos in Syria, and is responsible for two recent bombings and most likely yesterday's bombing in Aleppo , US officials tell McClatchy . Intelligence reports seem to back up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad assertions—disputed by the opposition—that al-Qaeda has been involved...

Syrian Tanks Surround Homs

 Syrian Tanks Surround Homs 
UPDATED
Feb 10, 2012 4:34 AM CST

Syrian Tanks Surround Homs

Plus: Blasts kill 25 in Aleppo

(Newser) - Time is running out for Syrian civilians as tanks surround Homs and the UN continues to fiddle for answers. Food, water, and medicine are running out, and sealed roads are preventing the evacuation of children and the wounded, witnesses tell the Guardian . "Communications have been completely cut off,"...

Arab League, UN Struggle to Respond to 'War on Syrians'

Even worse is yet to come, fears Ban Ki-Moon

(Newser) - As Syrian forces continue to bombard civilians in Homs , a desperate Arab League is considering reviving a monitoring mission with the help of the United Nations in a bid to stem the violence. UN chief Ban Ki-Moon said the "disastrous" failure to agree on a UN resolution on Syria...

Doctors' Group: Syrian Forces Commandeer Hospitals

Wounded can't get proper care, says international agency

(Newser) - Many Syrian civilians who have been wounded in their country's violence are unable to get adequate medical treatment—in part because security forces have taken over many public hospitals, an international aid group said today. Doctors Without Borders released a video in Paris showing interviews with 10 wounded Syrians...

Pentagon Weighs Syria Options
 Pentagon Weighs Syria Options 
Feb 8, 2012 4:43 AM CST

Pentagon Weighs Syria Options

Arming rebels not being considered 'right now'

(Newser) - As the slaughter continues in Syria, the Pentagon has begun looking at options for supporting the rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad's regime—though officials were quick to note that US policy remains focused on using only non-military options at present. Arming the rebels "is not being considered for now,...

Assad's Staff Needs Better Computer Passwords

Anonymous hacks into emails, showing he tried to manipulate 'American psyche'

(Newser) - The hackers of Anonymous got their hands on emails going in and out of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's office, and two items stick out:
  • Gullible Americans: As Assad prepped for an interview with Barbara Walters last year, a press official wrote: "It is hugely important and worth mentioning
...

Syria Still Pounding Homs as Russia Arrives

Sergei Lavrov reportedly has own peace plan

(Newser) - Syria's regime is raining devastation down on Homs for a fourth day today, with the Telegraph reporting that hundreds of shells are hitting the city with each passing hour. Rebels there have been rendered defensively helpless, incapable of responding with anything more than gunshots. "We can't count...

US Closes Embassy, Flees Syria
 US Closes Embassy, Flees Syria 
Feb 6, 2012 8:52 AM CST

US Closes Embassy, Flees Syria

Ambassador Robert Ford and other diplomats leave country

(Newser) - The US closed its embassy in Damascus today, pulling Ambassador Robert Ford and his 16 remaining staffers out of the country. Two of the staffers flew out last week, and the rest headed to Jordan today via convoy, CNN reports. Syria was notified of the move only after all the...

Syrian Troops Step Up Homs Bombardment

Activists say 50 people have been killed so far today

(Newser) - Syrian troops resumed their shelling of Homs this morning, with the BBC reporting near-constant explosions in the restive city. Some rebels are reportedly returning fire (though a BBC correspondent describes their efforts as a "futile gesture"), and Reuters reports that 50 people have been killed today. According to...

Syria Releases Mastermind of 7/7 Bombing

Al-Suri's release likely a warning to US over Syria unrest

(Newser) - The alleged mastermind behind the 2005 7/7 bombings in London has been released from a Syrian prison, reportedly as a warning to the United States and West by the regime of Bashar al-Assad, reports the Telegraph . Abu Musab al-Suri, also known as Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, is also suspected of being...

Russia, China Veto UN Resolution on Syria

It called on Bashar al-Assad to step down

(Newser) - Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution backing calls for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down, despite international outrage today over a devastating bombardment of the city of Homs by his regime's forces. Activists said more than 200 were killed in the bloodiest episode of the...

200 Dead in Syria Assault
 200 Dead in Syria Assault 
Feb 4, 2012 5:21 AM CST

200 Dead in Syria Assault

Worst killings since uprising began as UN prepares to vote

(Newser) - With anti-government forces stepping up, the Syrian military killed more than 200 people yesterday with artillery fire in the city of Homs, reports Reuters . It was the single-worst day of civilian casualties since the uprisings began early last year. Other reports put the death toll as high as 337 in...

Army Defector: 'Hitler Awoke in Syria'

Rebel tells New York Times of atrocities by Assad's forces

(Newser) - What drives the rebels of the Free Syrian Army? Ask Ammar Cheikh Omar. Raised in Germany to Syrian parents, he'd moved to Syria to attend law school and start a family. But in 2010 he was drafted into the Syrian military, and soon found himself in Daraa, ordered to...

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