Syrian uprising

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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 

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...

200 Dead in Syria Assault
 200 Dead in Syria Assault 

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...

Russia: Syria Is Ready to Talk
 Russia: Syria Is Ready to Talk 

Russia: Syria Is Ready to Talk

But opposition rejects offer, as fighting rages outside Damascus

(Newser) - With fighting raging outside Damascus , Syria's regime has indicated that it is open to "informal" talks with opposition leaders in Moscow, Russian officials announced today. But the Syrian National Council swiftly rejected the idea, saying it wouldn’t talk until President Bashar al-Assad stepped down, al-Jazeera reports. Russia'...

Syria: 'Terrorists' Blew Up Pipeline

62 killed in clashes yesterday: reports

(Newser) - A gas pipeline running from central Syria to its Lebanese border was blown up at dawn today, and state-run media is blaming "an armed terrorist group," reports the AP . It's the latest in a string of such explosions since the beginning of Syria's uprising, which the...

Syrian Army Strikes Damascus &#39;Burbs
 Syrian Army Strikes 
 Damascus 'Burbs 




AT LEAST 12 DEAD

Syrian Army Strikes Damascus 'Burbs

Situation looks to be unraveling near the capital

(Newser) - The Syrian military launched an offensive to regain control of suburbs on the eastern edge of Damascus today, storming neighborhoods and clashing with groups of army defectors in fierce fighting that sent residents fleeing and killed at least 12 people, activists said. Violence elsewhere in the country killed at least...

Arab League Halts Syria Mission; 9 More Dead

UN working on resolution, but Russia is balking

(Newser) - The Arab League observers sent to Syria to observe the nation's violence say they can't continue ... because the country is too violent. The league formally suspended its mission today, reports al-Jazeera .The move isn't a surprise: The mission was widely panned as ineffective, and some participating nations...

Gulf Arab Monitors Bail on Syria

Arab League says mission will continue

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia's Persian Gulf allies are following the Saudis' lead: They're exiting the Arab League's monitoring effort in Syria, days after the League's mandate expired . The move prompted the Arab League to again review and reaffirm its mission today, Reuters reports. The Gulf Cooperation Council said...

Russians Hawk Jets to Syria Regime

Even as US senators propose tougher sanctions

(Newser) - Russia is so unconcerned with the international outcry against Syria that it has reached a deal to sell Bashar al-Assad's regime three dozen Yak-130 fighter jets, a Syrian business newspaper reported today. The twin-engined jet is capable of attacking ground targets, the AP reports. Experts say the contract, which...

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...

US May Shut Syrian Embassy
 US May Shut Syrian Embassy 

US May Shut Syrian Embassy

Washington demands better protection

(Newser) - One more tangible sign that Syria is growing increasingly isolated amid its violent crackdown on protesters: The US is threatening to shut its embassy in Damascus by the end of the month because of the growing violence, reports the Washington Post . Administration officials say they will make good on the...

Time&#39;s Up for Syria Monitors
 Time's Up for Syria Monitors 

Time's Up for Syria Monitors

Debate rages over whether to extend ineffectual Arab League mission

(Newser) - The Arab League's one-month mandate to observe the crisis in Syria ran out yesterday, prompting a major debate over whether to try to extend the woefully ineffectual mission. By yesterday, the observers were essentially confined to their hotel rooms, the LA Times reports, their presence having done nothing 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...

Russia Vows to Block Syria Intervention

Any Western attempt to step in will be vetoed, Moscow warns

(Newser) - Syria's powerful allies in Russia are vowing to block any Western attempts to intervene militarily in Syria as Damascus fights off an increasingly chaotic 10-month-old revolt against President Bashar Assad. The support came as Assad was showing fresh confidence that he can ride out the uprising with the help...

Syria Warns Arab Nations: Keep Your Troops Out

Damascus 'shocked' at suggestion from Qatar

(Newser) - Syria may have begrudgingly agreed to let Arab League observers into the country, but it's not about to do the same with Arab troops. Responding angrily to the emir of Qatar's suggestion that troops intervene , Syria's foreign ministry made clear it won't stand idly by if...

Syrians Gunned Down in Line at Bakery

As emir of Qatar calls for Arab League troops in Syria

(Newser) - Syrian security forces fired at random on civilians waiting in line at a bakery in Homs today, killing five of them and injuring nine others, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, as violence continues to grip the country. Security forces also raided a university dorm in Aleppo, arresting nine...

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