Syrian state-run TV says President Bashar Assad has visited a tense Damascus suburb to inspect his troops on the occasion of the country’s Army Day. …read more
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Tag Archives: President Bashar Assad
Syrian Army Bombs Northern Rebel Town Of Saraqeb, Children Among The Dead
By The Huffington Post News Editors
BEIRUT — Syrian government forces bombed a strategic rebel town in the country’s north for the third straight day Saturday, pounding it with airstrikes that killed at least five people, activists said.
President Bashar Assad’s troops in recent weeks have seized the momentum in the civil war, now in its third year. Regime forces have been on offensive against rebels on several fronts, including in the northern Idlib province along the border with Turkey.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
Lebanon: Killing of Assad supporter not political
The Lebanese army says the killing of a Syrian journalist who often spoke out stridently in favor of President Bashar Assad was not politically motivated.
Lebanon’s leading LBC TV said Mohammed Darrar Jammo was killed by relatives of his wife.
Syria’s civil war has set off political and sectarian tensions in neighboring Lebanon. It was thought the killing was part of that.
The army said in a statement Thursday that military intelligence identified the killers and captured the weapons used in the killing in the southern town of Sarafand.
“Early investigations show there were no political motives behind the attack,” the statement said.
Jammo was married to a Lebanese woman. He was killed Wednesday in his home in Sarafand.
Jammo is expected to be buried off Syria’s coast on Friday.
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UN: Syria's war children will grow up illiterate
A U.N. envoy is warning that Syria’s devastating civil war, now in its third year, will force a generation of children to grow up illiterate and filled with hate.
Leila Zerrougui, the special representative for children and armed conflict, says both sides of the Syrian conflict continue to commit grave violations against children.
She says scores of children have been killed, injured, detained, and forced to witness or to commit atrocities as President Bashar Assad’s troops battle opposition fighters trying to oust his regime.
Zerrougu also said on Thursday that thousands of schools have been destroyed. She spoke to reporters in Beirut after a visit to Syria where she met government officials and rebel commanders.
She says she has urged both sides to spare the children.
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Syrian activists: Car bomb near Damascus kills 13
Syrian activists say a car bomb north of the capital has killed at least 13 people, including 10 policemen.
The Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights said Monday the blast struck overnight near the police headquarters in the town of Deir Atiyeh. The Observatory said a child was among the three civilians killed.
Syria’s state news agency confirmed the attack. It said a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car in a residential area of the town, causing an unknown number of casualties.
The agency said “terrorists” were behind the attack — a government term for rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad’s regime.
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Islamic militants leave Pakistan to fight in Syria
Suleman spent years targeting minority Shiite Muslims in his home country of Pakistan as a member of one of the country’s most feared militant groups. Now he is on his way to a new sectarian battleground, Syria, where he plans to join Sunni rebels battling President Bashar Assad’s regime.
It is a fight he believes will boost his reward in heaven.
The short and stocky Pakistani, who identified himself using only his first name for fear of being targeted by authorities, is one of an increasing number of militants who have left Pakistan for Syria in recent months. The fighters have contributed to a growing presence of Islamic extremists and complicated U.S. efforts to help the rebels.
Many fighters like Suleman believe they must help Syria’s Sunni majority defeat Assad’s Alawite regime — an offshoot of the Shiite sect. Radical Sunnis view Shiites as heretics.
The presence of Islamic extremists in Syria looms large over U.S. efforts to help the rebels, especially when it comes to providing weapons that could end up in the hands of America’s enemies. The extremists have also sparked infighting with more secular rebels concerned about the increasing power of the Islamists.
Most of the foreign fighters in Syria are from Arab countries, including al-Qaida militants from Iraq on the rebel side and Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon on the regime’s side. The flow of militants from Pakistan adds a new element to that mix.
Pakistani Interior Ministry spokesman Omar Hamid Khan said provincial authorities throughout Pakistan deny that militants have left the country for Syria.
But three Pakistani intelligence officials based in the tribal region that borders Afghanistan, as well as militants themselves, say the fighters leaving Pakistan for Syria include members of al-Qaida, the Pakistani Taliban and Suleman’s group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
The fighters fall mainly into two categories. One includes foreign combatants from places like Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and likely the Middle East who came to Pakistan’s tribal region to fight U.S.-led forces in neighboring Afghanistan and are now heading to Syria because they view it as the most pressing battle, said the Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
This group includes members of al-Qaida who trained the Pakistani Taliban in areas such as bomb-making and are …read more
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Syrian rebels, al-Qaida fighters battle in Aleppo
Activists say Syrian rebels and fighters from an al-Qaida-linked group have turned their guns on each other and are fighting for control of a key checkpoint in the northern city of Aleppo.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Saturday’s clashes are focused on the strategic checkpoint in Aleppo’s Bustan al-Qasr district.
The checkpoint is the only gateway between rebel-held eastern districts and the city’s western areas, controlled by President Bashar Assad’s troops.
Earlier this week, al-Qaida-linked militants seized the checkpoint and closed it for several days, cutting the flow of food supplies to the city and triggering the confrontation.
Residents angry over the blockade have staged protests against the anti-Assad forces as food prices soar in Aleppo at the start of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan.
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Major assassination attempts in Syria's conflict
Syrian opposition forces have targeted government officials, army and police officers and civil servants in their campaign to topple President Bashar Assad‘s regime.
Here is a list of some of the major assassination attempts in Syria since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011:
— April 29, 2013: A bomb attached to a parked car detonates as Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi’s car drove by. Syrian state media reported the prime minister was not hurt in the bombing in the upscale Damascus neighborhood of Mazzeh, which is home to many embassies and officials in Assad’s regime.
— March 21, 2013: A suicide bomber blows himself up in a mosque in central Damascus, killing Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, a leading Sunni Muslim preacher and outspoken supporter of Assad, and 41 others.
— Dec. 12, 2012: A car bomb targets the Interior Ministry in Damascus, wounding Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar. Initially, Syrian state media said al-Shaar was not hurt in the blast, but “several” were killed. News of his injuries emerged a week later, after he was brought to neighboring Lebanon for treatment.
— July 18, 2012: A blast at the Syrian national security building in Damascus during a high-level government crisis meeting kills four top regime officials, including Assad’s brother-in-law and the defense minister.
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Syrian prime minister survives an assassination attempt, state television says
State-run Syrian TV says the country’s prime minister has escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb went off near his convoy.
The TV says Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was unhurt in the attack in the capital’s western neighborhood of Mazzeh. The TV said Monday’s bombing left a number of casualties.
The attack was not the first targeting a high official in the Syrian capital.
On July 18, a blast at the Syrian national security building in Damascus during a meeting of Cabinet ministers killed the defense minister and his deputy, who was President Bashar Assad‘s brother-in-law. That attack also wounded the interior minister.
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State TV: Syrian premier escapes bomb attack
State-run Syrian TV says the country’s prime minister has escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb went off near his convoy.
The TV says Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was unhurt in the attack in the capital’s western neighborhood of Mazzeh. The TV said Monday’s bombing left a number of casualties.
The attack was not the first targeting a high official in the Syrian capital.
On July 18, a blast at the Syrian national security building in Damascus during a meeting of Cabinet ministers killed the defense minister and his deputy, who was President Bashar Assad‘s brother-in-law. That attack also wounded the interior minister.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Syrian TV reports blast near Damascus school
Syrian state-run TV says an explosion has taken place near a school in the capital, Damascus.
The TV says the blast struck on Monday in the capital’s western neighborhood of Mazzeh. State-run news agency said there are casualties.
Damascus has been hit by a string of explosions in recent months that has left hundreds of people dead or wounded.
The Syrian government says Muslim extremists trying to overthrow President Bashar Assad are to blame for the attacks.
Syria‘s conflict started with largely peaceful protests against Assad’s regime in March 2011 but eventually turned into civil war. The United Nations says that more than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far.
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Syrian rebels, troops clash at military air bases
Activists say Syrian rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad are again fighting his troops in two military air bases in northern Syria.
The fighting is taking place inside the sprawling Abu Zuhour air base in the northwestern Idlib province which has been under siege from the rebels for months.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other activist groups said fighting is also taking place inside the Kweiras military air base in the northern Aleppo province.
The group reported losses on both sides but did not provide figures.
Rebels control much of Idlib and Aleppo provinces, which border Turkey, although government troops still hold some areas including the provincial capital of Idlib province and parts of Aleppo city.
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Activists fear large death toll near Damascus
Two Syrian activist groups say they fear the past six days of clashes in two Damascus suburbs may have killed hundreds of people.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the number of dead could be as high as 250.
Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Observatory, says the group has documented 80 names of those killed in Jdaidet Artouz and Jdaidet al-Fadel suburbs.
The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, says the death toll is 483. It says most of the people were killed in Jdaidet Artouz.
State-run news agency SANA said Syrian troops “inflicted heavy losses” on the rebels in the suburbs.
Monday’s reports came as President Bashar Assad‘s forces continued a major offensive in the suburbs against opposition fighters who were closing in on parts of Damascus.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/DGxUIGH8p6s/
Activists fear large death toll after 6 days of clashes in Syria
Two Syrian activist groups say they fear the past six days of clashes in two Damascus suburbs may have killed hundreds of people.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the number of dead could be as high as 250.
Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Observatory, says the group has documented 80 names of those killed in Jdaidet Artouz and Jdaidet al-Fadel suburbs.
The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, says the death toll is 483. It says most of the people were killed in Jdaidet Artouz.
State-run news agency SANA said Syrian troops “inflicted heavy losses” on the rebels in the suburbs.
Monday’s reports came as President Bashar Assad‘s forces continued a major offensive in the suburbs against opposition fighters who were closing in on parts of Damascus.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/0THO01FX6Ws/
US pledges to double Syrian aid to $250M, rebels want more
The United States said Sunday that it will double its non-lethal assistance to Syria‘s opposition as the rebels’ top supporters vowed to enhance and expand their backing of the two-year battle to oust President Bashar Assad‘s regime.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~3/HC31-f1eht4/
US, allies seek to boost Syrian opposition
Foreign ministers from the main supporters of the rebels trying to topple the Syrian government worked Saturday to increase pressure on President Bashar Assad, but the opposition demanded direct military involvement.
The United States prepared a major boost in nonlethal military aid while European nations considered changes to an arms embargo that would allow arms transfers to the Syrian opposition.
But European Union action seemed unlikely before May, and the fresh U.S. help was certain to fall short of the strongest demands from the Syrian National Congress: drone strikes to disable Assad’s chemical weapon and missile capability; a no-fly zone requiring significant military operations; and a U.N. resolution that condemns Assad for attacks on Syrians.
“The technical ability to take specific action to prevent the human tragedy and suffering of innocent civilians, mostly women and children, is available in the form of specific intelligence and equipment,” the group said in a statement before the conference ended.
“Syrians understand that such ability is within the reach of a number of members of the Friends of Syria group, yet nothing serious has been done to put an end to such terror and criminality.”
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry planned to announce that the Obama administration was ready to provide up to $130 million in supplies, which could include body armor, armored vehicles, night vision goggles and advanced communications equipment.
Officials said the exact amount was being determined in consultation with the rebels and allies, but was expected to be at least $100 million.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss Kerry’s announcement.
Opening Saturday‘s meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said he wanted the conference to help bring peace to Syria, which has endured more than two years of civil war.
The United Nations estimates that the fighting has killed more than 70,000 people, many by the Assad government as it tries to repress the uprising.
“I hope this meeting will be helping to peace in Syria, to regional peace and global peace. At the end of the day, we are all working together to end the pains of Syrian people,” he said.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/hZLnUzMmM-k/
Heavy clashes in Syria near Lebanese border
Syrian troops backed by pro-government gunmen fought fierce battles with rebels on Saturday in a strategic area in Homs province near the Lebanese border, activists and state media in Damascus reported.
The latest fighting came as U.S. officials said the Obama administration was poised to send millions more in non-lethal military aid to rebels trying to oust President Bashar Assad.
The clashes around the contested town of Qusair, close to the Syria-Lebanon boundary, had intensified over the past two weeks amid a fresh offensive by the Syrian army and a pro-government militia known as Popular Committees, backed by the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.
The border region near the provincial capital of Homs is strategic because it links Damascus with the coastal enclave that is the heartland of Syria‘s Alawites, a sect from which Assad hails, and is also home to the country’s two main seaports, Latakia and Tartus.
The U.N. Security Council has been deadlocked for months on the Syrian war, and even the most modest attempts to end the bloodshed have failed. Western and many Arab nations blame the conflict on Assad’s government. Russia insists on assigning equal blame for the suffering to the Syrian opposition and rebels fighting on the ground, and has cast vetoes, along with China, to block draft council resolutions.
On Friday, U.S. officials in Washington said Secretary of State John Kerry was expected to announce a significant expansion of non-lethal military aid to the Syrian opposition at an international conference on Syria he will attend Saturday in Turkey. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to preview Kerry’s announcement publicly.
Also, the European Union is looking for ways to bolster the forces fighting to oust Assad, and is set to ease its oil embargo on Syria, two diplomats said Friday. The decision would allow the import of oil production technology and the sale of crude from territory held by the Syrian opposition, in close coordination with the movement’s leaders, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal decision by the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers at a meeting Monday in Luxembourg.
On the Lebanese side of the border, schools were evacuated Saturday in the mostly Shiite villages of al-Qasr, Bouweydah and Hawch amid fears that Syria‘s rebels could target the residents. Later in the day, state-run National News Agency reported that two rockets fell near al-Qasr, causing material damage.
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Diplomats: EU set to ease Syria oil embargo
Two diplomats say the European Union is set to ease its oil embargo on Syria to bolster the forces fighting to oust President Bashar Assad‘s regime.
The EU diplomats said Friday the decision would allow the import of oil production technology and the sale of crude from territory held by the Syrian opposition, in close coordination with the movement’s leaders.
The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity Friday ahead of a formal decision by the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers at their meeting Monday in Luxembourg.
Syria was never a major oil producer, but exports could open an important revenue stream for Syria‘s opposition.
However, the diplomats acknowledged that it was still unclear when and how much crude could be exported, due to the volatile security situation.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/8bFzJvIBj_M/
Israeli PM doesn't rule out helping Syrian rebels
Israel‘s prime minister declined to rule out the possibility of providing arms to Syrian rebel groups, saying in a television interview broadcast Thursday that the decision of whether to intervene in the neighboring civil war is a “complicated question.”
Although Benjamin Netanyahu made no clear commitments, his comments indicated that he is at least considering a shift away from two years of neutrality in the Syrian civil war that pits rebels against President Bashar Assad‘s regime. Key Israeli allies, including the U.S. and Jordan, already have begun assisting secular and moderate factions inside Syria despite fears that Islamic extremists are gaining influence among the rebels.
Netanyahu was discussing the deteriorating security situation in Syria on BBC World News when the interviewer asked whether Israel is arming any of the rebel groups. Netanyahu said he could not confirm such speculation but did not deny it.
“We are very careful,” he said. “I have said that the arming of rebels presents the question of which rebels and which arms, and it is a very complicated question for every country, including my country Israel.”
Israel has been warily watching the fighting in Syria since the uprising against Assad erupted in March 2011. Although Assad is a bitter enemy, Israel has been careful not to take sides, in part because the Assad family has kept the border with Israel quiet for the past 40 years and in part because of fears of what will happen if he is toppled.
Israeli officials are especially concerned that Assad’s stockpile of chemical weapons and other advanced arms could reach the hands of Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon or other hostile groups in the region. As Assad’s position has weakened, Israeli leaders have grown increasingly concerned that some of the groups trying to topple him, particularly extremist factions linked to al-Qaida, will turn their guns toward Israel.
“There are the worst Islamist radicals in the world, so obviously we are concerned that weapons that are ground breaking, that can change the balance of power in the Middle East would fall into the hands of these terrorists,” Netanyahu said.
In January, Israel all but confirmed that it carried out an airstrike in Syria that destroyed a shipment of anti-aircraft missiles allegedly bound for Hezbollah, a powerful militia that battled Israel to a stalemate in a monthlong war in 2006. In the BBC interview, Netanyahu refused to confirm whether Israel targeted the convoy, but noted that Israel “has the
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/X3NrSrWJ5d8/
Syrian rebels capture parts of army base in Homs
Syrian rebels captured large parts of a military base in the strategic central Homs province on Thursday as opposition fighters try to expand territory under their control near the Lebanese border, activists said.
The region is important to President Bashar Assad as it links Damascus, his seat of power, with one of his main allies, the militant Hezbollah group in neighboring Lebanon.
The latest rebel advances came a day after Assad accused the West of backing al-Qaida in Syria‘s 2-year-old conflict. In a rare TV interview, Assad also lashed out at Jordan for allowing “thousands” of fighters to enter Syria to fight in the civil war.
The rebels have in the past months chipped away at the regime’s hold in northern and eastern Syria. They have also made significant gains in the south, in the area between Damascus and the Jordanian border, helped in part by a recent influx of foreign-funded weapons across the boundary.
The Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights said the opposition fighters took control of most of the Dabaa military complex on Thursday morning, after weeks of fighting with government forces for control of the facility. Sporadic fighting was still ongoing in some parts of the base, the Observatory said.
Dabaa, in Homs province, is a former air force base and has an airfield, which hasn’t been used since the fighting broke out. Instead, the army has based ground troops in the facility to fight the rebels, the Observatory said. It did not say how many — if any — government troops were in the parts of the base overrun by rebels.
The base is located near Qusair, a contested central Syrian town near a key highway between Damascus and the coastal enclave that is the heartland of Syria‘s Alawite community and also home to the country’s two main seaports, Latakia and Tartus.
Syria‘s regime is dominated by the president’s minority Alawite sect — an offshoot of Shiite Islam — while the rebels fighting to overthrow Assad are mostly from the country’s Sunni majority. Assad’s major allies, Hezbollah and Iran, are both Shiite.
Homs province saw some of the heaviest fighting during the first year of the Syrian conflict, which erupted in March 2011, and intermittent episodes of violence since.
Syria‘s crisis began
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