Bashar al-Assad

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US Sanctions Syria&#39;s Assad
 US Sanctions Syria's Assad 
May 18, 2011 1:27 PM CDT

US Sanctions Syria's Assad

Move raises speculation US wants him out

(Newser) - The US has taken the dramatic step of personally sanctioning Syria’s president and a number of his top aides, in an attempt to pressure him to stop his ongoing violent crackdown on dissent. The Treasury Department will freeze all of Bashar al-Assad’s assets that are within US jurisdiction,...

Lebanon Turns Back Fleeing Syrians

Security forces round up refugees

(Newser) - Syrians fleeing across the border into Lebanon this weekend got a rude awakening: Lebanese security forces rounded them up and sent them right back. Hundreds of residents of the town of Tell Kalakh—including some wounded in Bashar al-Assad’s violent crackdown—came across the border hoping for refuge from...

Time for Obama to Ditch Syria's Dictator

Bashar al-Assad is a butcher, not a useful ally

(Newser) - When protesters first took to the streets in Syria, the government’s response was brutal: It opened fire. Four days later, Hillary Clinton called dictator Bashar al-Assad “a reformer.” The US and its European allies have been sluggish throughout this Arab spring, but “nowhere has that fecklessness...

Syrian Tanks Roll in New Crackdown

Coastal town Banias is now under siege, eyewitnesses say

(Newser) - Syrian tanks rolled into the Mediterranean coastal town of Banias today in an escalating crackdown by President Bashar Assad, a day after clashes with anti-government protesters left at least 30 dead nationwide, activists and an eyewitness said. Details of the troop deployment in Banias, for weeks the scene of demonstrations...

Syria Charges Hundreds With ‘Maligning the State’

Hundreds face three-year stints in jail

(Newser) - Hundreds of the Syrians rounded up in recent days have been charged with “maligning the prestige of the state,” an offense punishable by a three-year prison term, a human rights group tells Reuters . “Mass arrests are continuing across Syria in another violation of human rights and international...

Syria Forces Shell Restive Daraa

Tank fire reported in contested town

(Newser) - Syrian army tanks today shelled the old quarter of Daraa, a city at the heart of the country's six-week-old uprising and rolled in more reinforcements to the area, which has been under siege for nearly a week, said an eyewitness. Residents have remained defiant: Unable to leave their homes,...

Syrian Troops Retake Mosque
 Syrian Troops 
 Retake Mosque 
Apr 30, 2011 11:28 AM CDT

Syrian Troops Retake Mosque

Violence continues in Daraa after US penalties

(Newser) - Syrian army troops backed by tanks and helicopters today took a prominent mosque that had been controlled by residents in a besieged southern city, killing four people, a witness said. The operation in Daraa came a day after President Bashar Assad unleashed deadly force to crack down on a months-old...

Syrian Forces Again Open Fire; 42 Protesters Dead

Government troops try to quell uprest in Daraa, Damascus

(Newser) - Security forces opened fire today on demonstrators trying to break an army blockade on the southern city of Daraa, while thousands of others across Syria defied a protest ban and denounced President Bashar Assad's harsh crackdown on a six-week uprising. At least 42 people were killed, including 15 in...

US to Freeze Syrian Assets, Impose Sanctions

Europe also considering action

(Newser) - With the bloodshed mounting in the streets of Daraa , the Obama administration is preparing sanctions against Syria, including freezing the assets of top Syrian officials, the LA Times reports. That may not have a ton of impact, since Syrian officials don’t own all that many US assets to begin...

White House Blasts Syrian Government

Defends protesters; threatens 'targeted sanctions'

(Newser) - The National Security Council has condemned the “brutal violence” launched by Syria’s government against protesters, NPR reports. The crackdown is “completely deplorable and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” said an official statement. In response, “the United States is pursuing a range of...

Syria Protests: Forces Fire on Funerals, Kill at Least 3
 Syria's Two-Day 
 Death Toll Rises to 120 
UPDATED
Apr 23, 2011 12:59 PM CDT

Syria's Two-Day Death Toll Rises to 120

Two lawmakers resign over government force

(Newser) - The death toll from two days of violence in Syria reached 120 today as security forces fired on tens of thousands of mourners who shouted for the regime's downfall during funeral processions, a human rights group said. Ammar Qurabi, the head of Syria's National Organization for Human Rights,...

75 Protesters Dead; Syria Fears Worse Tomorrow

Violence could escalate after so many funerals

(Newser) - Most wire accounts are putting the day's death toll among protesters in Syria at about 75, making it what al-Jazeera calls the"deadliest day" yet in the nation's unrest. President Obama condemned the "outrageous use of violence" by the government of Bashar al-Assad, notes the BBC , and...

Syria Protesters Take Over City Square

 Syria Forces Fire on 
 City Square 
UPDATED
Apr 19, 2011 4:27 AM CDT

Syria Forces Fire on City Square

Protesters vowed not to leave until government is brought down

(Newser) - Security forces opened fire with live ammunition and tear gas on hundreds of anti-government demonstrators in a major square in Homs today, killing at least one, witnesses said. "They shot at everything, there was smoke everywhere," an activist told the AP by phone. "I saw people on...

Big Syria Concession: Emergency Law Being Lifted

It's been a main demand of protesters

(Newser) - Syria's president said today the emergency laws that have been in effect for nearly 50 years will be lifted—a key demand by a monthlong protest movement that has posed the most serious challenge yet to the regime. The big question: Whether it will appease protesters or encourage them...

Secret Hand in Syria Crackdown: Iran

And it may soon help protesters in Bahrain, Yemen

(Newser) - Iran has a hand in the revolutions currently sweeping the rest of the Arab world. In Syria, Iran is secretly assisting President Bashar al-Assad to quell the pro-democracy demonstrations, US officials say. But in Bahrain and Yemen, Iran is looking to aid Shiite protesters, thus destabilizing the countries—both US...

13 Protesters Killed in Syria, 2 in Yemen

Thousands also protest in Egypt's Tahrir Square

(Newser) - Friday continues to be a day of protest throughout the Arab world. The worst reported violence today came out of Syria, where witnesses say security forces opened fire with live ammunition and killed at least 13 protesters in the southern city of Daraa, reports the AP . The demonstrations mark the...

Syria Taps New PM, Will Form New Gov't

Adel Safar is Bashar Assad's latest attempt to quell protests

(Newser) - Syrian President Bashar Assad appointed former agriculture minister Adel Safar today as prime minister, and charged him with forming a new government in continuing overtures toward reform as the country struggles to put down a wave of anti-government protests. Safar is seen as a respectable figure in a government that...

Syrian President Blames 'Conspirators' for Protests

Thousands of people gather in streets to support him

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad gave a major speech at parliament today blaming “conspirators” for the country’s wave of anti-government protests, as crowds outside sang his praises. “I belong to the Syrian people, and whoever belongs to the Syrian people will always keep his head high,” the Syrian president...

Syria's Cabinet Resigns Amid Unrest

President Bashar Assad expected to lift emergency law

(Newser) - Syria's Cabinet has stepped down, and President Bashar Assad accepted the resignation following a meeting today, according to state-run television. It's the latest concession by the government aimed at appeasing more than a week of mass protests. Assad is expected to address the nation in the next 24 hours to...

Syria Deploys Army as Protests Continue

Officials say 12 died in port city of Latakia

(Newser) - Syria's army was out in force today in Latakia, a port city scarred by unrest aimed at symbols of the government, which is struggling to put down an unprecedented nationwide outbreak of protest and dissent. President Bashar Assad's regime has responded by both fatally shooting protesters , and promising reform , and...

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