Syrian civil war

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Jackie Chan Producing Film Shot in Controversial Locale

The town of al-Hajar al-Aswad is now a movie set

(Newser) - A Chinese action movie that has Jackie Chan on board as executive producer is catching flak for one of its film locations: a Syrian town leveled and largely empty after years of civil war and ISIS occupation. The Guardian reports the film Home Operation is "inspired by China’s...

He Dug a Mass Grave. Then an Ice Cream Truck Showed Up

'NYT' reports on 2 mass gravesites in Syria, which could hold evidence of war crimes

(Newser) - The murdered dissidents of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad ended up in mass graves, which could hold evidence of war crimes, the New York Times reports after speaking with four men who claim to have worked around two mass gravesites near Damascus, which the Times located using satellite images. Each one...

A Ruling Against a 'Small Fish' Is Being Hailed as Historic

Germany for first time convicts Syrian regime officer of crimes against humanity

(Newser) - A landmark decision in Koblenz, Germany, on Wednesday marks the first time a court outside of Syria has ruled in a case involving officials with Bashar al-Assad's regime who are accused of committing crimes against humanity. The Guardian calls it "a historic first victory for efforts worldwide to...

This Might Be the Worst Moment in Syria's 9-Year War
His Daughter Froze to Death.
She Wasn't the Only One
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His Daughter Froze to Death. She Wasn't the Only One

The battle for Idlib is causing a mass exodus, and children are dying

(Newser) - If you've grown somewhat numb to the nine-year-old Syrian civil war, this week's headlines may be enough to give you a jolt: "Syria's worst humanitarian catastrophe in its ... civil war is now unfolding," proclaims Vox . "Children Freeze to Death as Attack Prompts Largest Exodus...

Thursday Deaths Mark Serious Escalation in Syria

Attack raises risk of Turkey, Russia confrontation

(Newser) - Turkey says a Syrian government airstrike on its forces in northwestern Syria Thursday night killed 33 of its troops, the highest number of Turkish soldiers killed in a single day since Ankara first intervened in the Syrian conflict in 2016. The deaths were a serious escalation in the direct conflict...

Assad Wins Back 'Coveted Prize' in Syria's Civil War

Loss of M5 is a massive blow to rebels

(Newser) - It is arguably one of the most coveted prizes in Syria's civil war, and after eight years of fighting, Syrian President Bashar Assad has got it back. The Damascus-Aleppo highway, or the M5, is known to Syrians simply as the "International Road." Cutting through all of Syria'...

Report: Airstrikes Triggered 'Huge Explosion' on Syria-Iraq Border

Activists say unidentified planes hit targets

(Newser) - Unidentified planes struck targets in Syria near the border with Iraq on Friday, reports said, triggering "a huge explosion" amid soaring tensions in the region between the US and Iran. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the planes targeted positions belonging to pro-Iran militias in the Boukamal area,...

Report: Trump Now Plans to Send Tanks, More Troops to Syria

He says Kurds should 'head to oil region'

(Newser) - America will never desert Syria's oil, President Trump promised Thursday—and he suggested that if the Kurds want protection, they should move closer to the oil. Syria's oil fields "were held by ISIS until the United States took them over with the help of the Kurds,"...

New Syria Proposal: Internationally Controlled 'Security Zone'

Ceasefire is set to expire

(Newser) - Germany's defense minister proposed Tuesday the establishment of an internationally controlled security zone in Syria, hours before a five-day ceasefire between Turkish troops and Syrian Kurdish fighters was set to expire in the war-torn country. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told German news agency dpa that "the creation of an internationally...

Turkey Rejects Calls for Syria Ceasefire

Turkish leader says he's 'not concerned' by US sanctions

(Newser) - Russia said it was working to prevent a conflict between advancing Turkish and Syrian government forces on Wednesday, as Turkey's president defied growing pressure and sanctions from Western allies for a ceasefire in northern Syria. Russia moved quickly to further entrench its leadership role in the region after President...

ISIS Down to Its Last Scrap of Land

Group's last stronghold in Iraq and Syria is the size of Central Park

(Newser) - The territory of the sprawling caliphate ISIS declared in 2014 should be completely liberated from the group by next week, President Trump announced Wednesday at a meeting of coalition partners. "Their land is gone. It's a big factor—their land is gone," the president told a gathering...

Israel Makes Rare Move After Syria Airstrikes

Military confirms that it hit Iranian targets

(Newser) - In an extraordinary statement, the Israeli military confirmed early Monday that it attacked Iranian military targets in Syria, hours after carrying out a rare daylight air raid near the Damascus International Airport. The statement was issued hours after Israeli missile defenses intercepted an incoming missile over the Golan Heights in...

Bolton: US Will Stay in Syria as Long as It Takes

He says there's no longer a fixed timetable

(Newser) - The timeline for the withdrawal of American troops from Syria has gone from 30 days to four months and now to no fixed date, according to John Bolton. He said "certain objectives" must be met before an American withdrawal could happen, the Washington Post reports. Bolton said there was...

Trump Warns Syria, Iran, Russia Against 'Grave Mistake'

He says 'reckless attack' on Idlib would trigger crisis

(Newser) - President Trump sent a tweet Monday warning Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies against a "reckless attack" on Idlib province. "The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed....

She Vanished in 2013. The AP Went Looking for Her

Razan Zaitouneh was kidnapped in Douma, Syria

(Newser) - Razan Zaitouneh earned enemies on all sides of her homeland's civil war. One of Syria's most well-known rights activists, she chanted in protests against President Bashar Assad, but she was also unflinching in documenting abuses by rebels fighting to oust him. Then she vanished. Her fate has been...

In Unprecedented Move, Israel Evacuates White Helmets

Syria's vaunted rescuers pulled from Golan Heights frontier in 'exceptional humanitarian gesture'

(Newser) - The Israeli military evacuated hundreds of members of the White Helmets, a Syrian volunteer organization, from the volatile frontier area on the Golan Heights and transported them to Jordan, reports the AP . It was the first such Israeli intervention in Syria's lengthy civil war, now in its eighth year....

Syria Army Celebrates 'Total Recapture' of Damascus

Military in full control for first time since 2011

(Newser) - Syrian state TV says the military and police forces are celebrating recapturing the last neighborhoods in Damascus that were held by the rebels and ISIS militants. Al-Ikhbariya TV broadcast footage of a ceremonial police motorcade entering the Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood with sirens blaring on Tuesday. The state broadcaster then showed...

Israel Hits 'Nearly All' Iranian Targets in Syria

It was biggest-ever confrontation between Israel, Iran

(Newser) - Israel's defense minister says the military has struck "nearly all" of the Iranian infrastructure sites in Syria. Avigdor Lieberman says Israel responded fiercely to an unprecedented rocket attack by Iranian forces in Syria against Israel. He says no one was harmed in Israel and all the rockets were...

Syria Slams 'US Aggression' as Missiles Hit Air Base

Activists say strike killed at least 14

(Newser) - In what Syria's state-run news agency says was probably an act of "American aggression," missiles hit an air base in central Syria early Monday. Syrian activists say the strike killed at least 14 people, including Iranian citizens and fighters with Iran-backed groups, the AP reports. The US...

In a Syrian Rebel-Held Town, a Fresh Horror

Rescuers say at least 40 are dead in apparent chemical attack

(Newser) - Syrian opposition activists and rescuers said Sunday that a poison gas attack on a rebel-held town near the capital has killed at least 40 people, reports the AP . The alleged attack in Douma occurred late Saturday amid a resumed offensive by Syrian government forces after the collapse of a truce...

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