Syria opposition

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Russia: We Won't Stop Arming Assad

Assad's forces capture Free Syrian Army stronghold of Idlib

(Newser) - Russia has rejected calls to stop arming and training Bashar al-Assad's regime, despite evidence that its weapons are being used against civilians. "Russia enjoys good and strong military technical co-operation with Syria, and we see no reason today to reconsider it," Russia's deputy defense minister said...

Intervening in Syria Riskier Than Libya: US Officials

Military intervention would likely require long, dangerous mission

(Newser) - Using the US military to intervene in Syria would be much more complicated and dangerous than the military intervention in Libya was, senior Pentagon officials say. President Obama asked the Pentagon for preliminary military options following increasing pressure from Republicans including John McCain , the New York Times notes. However, the...

Kofi Annan 'Optimistic' After Meeting Syria's Assad

But no peace deal yet

(Newser) - Kofi Annan left a second round of talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad today without a deal to stop the bloodshed, but "optimistic for several reasons," the UN-Arab League envoy tells al-Jazeera . "It's going to be tough. It's going to be difficult but we have...

More Syrian Generals Defect to Opposition

Rebels slam Kofi Annan's calls for dialogue: He's 'on Mars'

(Newser) - More military leaders are defecting in Syria: Reuters reports that four high-ranking officers jumped ship and reached a deserters' camp in Turkey. One rebel leader says a total of seven brigadier generals have now joined the opposition. The AP also notes four military defections, though the ranks are different. Regardless,...

Syria's Deputy Oil Minister Defects, Joins Rebels

Abdo Hussameddin slams 'barbaric' Assad regime

(Newser) - A top Syrian official has decided to abandon Bashar al-Assad's "criminal regime" and join the uprising. Deputy oil minister Abdo Hussameddin is the highest-ranking civilian to defect since the rebellion began a year ago, reports the BBC . "I am joining the revolution of the people who reject...

Troops Rounding Up, Killing Civilians: Fleeing Syrians

UN leaders to visit country this week

(Newser) - Following the departure of rebel fighters from the Baba Amr neighborhood , Syrian troops and pro-government militias have taken to the streets, rampantly grabbing, torturing, and killing men and boys, fleeing people tell the BBC . One woman said 35 males had been rounded up near her home, and two soldiers slit...

Trapped French Journalists Escape Syria

Edith Bouvier, William Daniels arrive in Lebanon

(Newser) - After being trapped for more than a week in Homs, a pair of French journalists have been smuggled out of Syria. "Edith Bouvier and William Daniels are currently safe on Lebanese territory and will within moments be under the protection of our embassy in Beirut," Nicolas Sarkozy told...

Syrian Rebels Retreat From Homs Stronghold

Government troops take over Baba Amr neighborhood

(Newser) - Syria's opposition forces made a "tactical retreat" from a crisis-torn section of Homs today. The rebels left Baba Amr after a month of fighting, hoping to curb the threat to the 4,000 civilians who have stayed in the area despite the violence, al-Jazeera reports. Syrian government forces...

Syria Launches Ground Assault to 'Clean' Baba Amr

Western journalists trapped inside city

(Newser) - Syrian ground troops advanced on Homs today, indicating that the regime was about to launch a ground assault to take the restive city. One Syrian official told the AP that the rebel-held Baba Amr neighborhood would be "cleaned" in a matter of hours. Three western journalists are still trapped...

Syria: 89% Approved New Constitution

West not convinced, though much of opposition may have boycotted

(Newser) - Syria's new constitution was backed by more than 89% of voters, the nation's Interior Ministry announced today, even as violence continues to rage across the country and the West decries the referendum as a sham . The Interior Ministry claims that more than 57% of Syria's 14 million...

US Journo Dies in 'Sickening' Homs Shelling

Reporter Marie Colvin's last video said, 'I saw a baby die today'

(Newser) - Two veteran war journalists were killed as Syrian government forces shelled the city of Homs, opposition activists say. The pair were named as Marie Colvin, an American working for Britain's Sunday Times, and French photographer Remi Ochlik, Reuters reports. Three other journalists were injured when a shell hit a...

China to Syria: End Violence, Diss the West

China foreign minister calls for peace in Syria, but wants UN out

(Newser) - China may have voted against the UN Security Council resolution calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down , but Beijing says it wants an end to the violence there, reports al-Jazeera . "China supports all the mediation efforts by the Arab League to find a political solution to the...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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