Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

NEWS ABOUT: Syrian civil war

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Switch to grid view »

Hezbollah, Assad Make Massive Push Into Key Town

Israel threatens more strikes as battle for Qusair rages

(Newser) - Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon have taken their most prominent role yet in the Syrian civil war, fighting alongside Bashar al-Assad's forces as the military attempts to regain control of a strategic rebel-held city near the Lebanese order. Activists say at least 23 members of the Iran-backed militant group have... More »

Russia, US Agree to Try to End Syria War

John Kerry, Sergei Lavrov announce peace conference

(Newser) - Russia and the US haven't exactly been on the same page when it comes to dealing with Syria. That appears to have changed: John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced at a midnight press conference that their respective countries have agreed to hold a peace conference "... More »

UN Suspects Syrian Rebels Used Nerve Gas

'Strong suspicions' but no proof yet, top investigator says

(Newser) - Another game-changer? One of the United Nations' chief investigators says evidence is building that sarin gas was used in the Syrian conflict—but by rebels, not Bashar al-Assad's regime. "Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors, and field hospitals" and "there are strong, concrete... More »

Insiders: Obama Ready to Arm Syrian Rebels

President planning more aggressive Syria policy, officials say

(Newser) - President Obama may not have sounded very threatening during yesterday's White House press conference , but senior administration officials say he is planning a much more aggressive line on Syria, the Washington Post reports. The president is planning to supply the Syrian opposition with lethal weaponry for the first time,... More »

Syria PM Survives Assassination Attempt

He escapes blast in central Damascus

(AP) - Syria's prime minister escaped an assassination attempt today when a bomb went off near his convoy in Damascus in the latest attack targeting a top regime offical, state media reported. Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was unhurt in the bombing in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh, according to... More »

Hagel: Syria Likely Used Chemical Weapons

Defense secretary says sarin gas probably used on 'small scale'

(Newser) - Have we crossed the red line? US intelligence has concluded with "some degree of varying confidence" that Bashar al-Assad's regime has used chemical weapons, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters in Abu Dhabi today, per the AP . The determination apparently came within the past day, and the White... More »

Gunmen Seize 2 Syria Bishops

Prominent Christian clerics abducted in rebel-held region

(Newser) - Unknown gunmen abducted two prominent Syrian bishops as they traveled through rebel-held territory from the Turkish border, according to both state media and the opposition leadership. Christians make up around 10% of Syria's population and the kidnapped pair—the Syriac Orthodox and Greek Orthodox archbishops of Aleppo, Yohanna Ibrahim... More »

US, EU Ready to Step Up Aid to Syrian Rebels

But President Obama insists on keeping aid 'non-lethal' for now

(Newser) - The United States and several leading EU states appear poised to increase non-lethal aid to Syrian opposition groups, adding equipment such as body armor and night-vision goggles, reports the Wall Street Journal . Arms, however, remain off the table, as President Obama fears they could fall into the hands of al-Qaeda-affiliated... More »

6K Dead Make March Syria's Bloodiest Month

Death rate hits 200 per day as conflict grinds on

(Newser) - The death rate in Syria's civil war is accelerating, with more than 6,000 deaths making March the deadliest month of the conflict that began more than two years ago. The deaths include hundreds of women and children as well as a large number of rebel fighters and government... More »

Syria Fires Rockets at Lebanon

No injuries reported as empty buildings are hit

(Newser) - Syria fired three rockets into Lebanon today, as it threatened to do last week . The jet-fired rockets hit empty buildings in the border town of Arsaal, CNN reports. Syrian officials claim armed terrorists have infiltrated Syria from Lebanon, and the UN has voiced concern over the growing tension and cross-border... More »

Syria Warns It May Strike Lebanon

Assad's regime says rebels are crossing back and forth over border

(Newser) - With Syrian militants crossing back and forth across the northern Lebanon border, the Syrian foreign ministry has told Lebanon to put a stop to it or else face military strikes, reports Reuters via the Christian Science Monitor . "Syrian forces have so far exercised restraint from striking at armed gangs... More »

Fearing Syria Spillover, CIA Ups Iraq Presence

Al-Nusra Front and al-Qaeda in Iraq closely tied, experts say

(Newser) - The US military may have pulled out of Iraq in December 2011, but now the CIA is going back in, reports the Wall Street Journal . In a series of secret decisions in 2011 and 2012, the White House directed US intelligence to take over from the military in supporting Iraq'... More »

Syria Using Militias for Mass Killings: UN

As more than 2.5M displaced by civil war

(Newser) - The latest travesty the Syrian government has been accused of: using local militias to carry out mass killings. UN human rights investigators say these "Popular Committees" commit killings that sometimes have "sectarian overtones," Reuters reports. (The rebels in Syria are mainly Sunni Muslims, while President Bashar al-Assad... More »

49 Syrian and Iraqi Troops Killed in Border Ambush

Fears increase that civil war will spill over into Iraq

(Newser) - At least 42 Syrian soldiers and seven Iraqi soldiers were killed in an ambush near a border crossing in Iraq today, sharpening fears that Syria's civil war could spill into Iraq and destabilize the region, the AP reports. The Syrian soldiers ( Reuters reports the group also included government... More »

In Sea Change, Saudis Arming Syrian Opposition

Plus, opposition agrees to attend international summit

(Newser) - A big shift in the Syrian conflict: Saudi Arabia is arming the opposition. It's a decidedly more activist approach than had previously been taken by regional and Western powers, the New York Times reports, and it signals an attempt to counter the weapons Iran is sending to Bashar al-Assad'... More »

Syrian Coalition OKs New Gov't, Rebels Grab Nuke Plant

Leader will be chosen within 10 days: coalition member

(Newser) - Syria's leading opposition group agreed today to establish a transitional government at the same time rebels said they had taken over the nuclear facility that Israel bombed in 2007, the Jerusalem Post reports. A top member of the Syrian National Coalition said the group will choose a leader within... More »

Huge Blast Rocks Damascus

Kids dead, Russian embassy damaged

(Newser) - A powerful car bomb exploded in central Damascus today, blowing out the windows of the Russian embassy, and killing at least some children at a nearby school. The bomb detonated at a security checkpoint between the embassy and the Baath Party Headquarters, the BBC reports. Activists say at least 31... More »

65 Bodies Found With Hands Bound in Syria

Meanwhile, rebels take regime intelligence compound

(Newser) - The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is reporting what it calls a "new massacre" near Aleppo. At least 65 people have been found dead, all apparently shot in the head, and all with their arms tied behind their backs, Reuters reports. The death toll could rise as high as... More »

Assad's Wife Pregnant

Syrian leader's wife expecting 4th child, Lebanese paper says

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad has taken time out of his schedule extinguishing thousands of lives to create a new one, at least according to a Lebanese paper sympathetic to the Syrian leader. The paper mentioned the pregnancy of Assad's wife, Asma, in an article that described the leader as confident of... More »

As Syria Unravels, Israel Threatens Hit on Chemical Weapons

Chemical arsenal won't be allowed to fall into Hezbollah's hands, officials warn

(Newser) - Israel has warned that it will launch a strike to prevent Syrian chemical weapons from falling into the hands of Hezbollah or other extremists, the AP reports. Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told reporters that top security officials met last week to discuss the threat Syria's chemical weapons pose.... More »

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Timelines   |   POPSUGAR Tech   |   Business Insider   |   HuffPost Entertainment   |   NewsOne