Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

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ISIS Carries Out 'Largest Execution Operation' of 2017

33 young men executed in Syria, activists say

(Newser) - Syrian activists say the Islamic State group has killed 33 young men in eastern Syria, close to the border with Iraq, in the group's "the largest execution operation" of the year, reports CNN . The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says ISIS members slit the throats of the...

US Airstrikes Hit ISIS in the Wallet: Oil Fields

Reports: Compounds, checkpoints hit; terror arrests made; terror leader killed

(Newser) - American-led airstrikes hit the Islamic State in the wallet overnight and early today, targeting Syrian oil installations held by the terror group and killing nearly 20 people as the militants released dozens of detainees in their de facto capital of Raqqa, fearing further raids, activists tell the AP . The latest...

ISIS Claims It's on an Execution Spree in Syria

Rights group says up to 65 soldiers slaughtered; militants say 200

(Newser) - The Islamic State group has killed dozens of Syrian soldiers it captured after overrunning a military base in northeastern Syria, shooting some and using knives on others in the latest brutal mass killing attributed to the extremists, activists said today. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the militants rounded...

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...

Now Syrian Rebels Claim They Rescued UN 'Guests'

Video making demands for their release pulled offline

(Newser) - You got it all wrong, a Syrian rebel group protested today. They weren't abducting UN peacekeeping troops in the Golan Heights yesterday, they were rescuing them. The rebel group, known as the Yarmouk Martyrs' Brigade, has pulled down a video they'd posted on Facebook saying they wouldn't...

UN Envoy: Syria Faces 'Hell' Without Deal

Lakhdar Brahimi warns of dire consequences if solution isn't reached soon

(Newser) - UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is warning that a political solution must be reached in the Syrian crisis, lest the nation ravaged by a 21-month-old civil war tumble "into more and more chaos and perhaps a failed state." Speaking in Moscow where he's negotiating, Brahimi said the world...

Syrian Rebels Capture Contested Oilfield

Win after 3-day battle could mean serious revenue

(Newser) - Activists say Syrian rebels have captured an oilfield in the country's east after three days of fierce fighting with government troops protecting the facility. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights' chief Rami Abdul-Rahman says rebels overran the al-Ward oilfield in the province of Deir el-Zour near the border with...

Damascus Blast Kills 10
 Damascus Blast Kills 10 
Oct 21, 2012 5:52 AM CDT

Damascus Blast Kills 10

Explosion in Christian area comes as UN envoy visits

(Newser) - An explosion hit the Old City of Damascus today, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens of other civilians, Syrian activists said. It came as President Bashar al-Assad discussed the civil war in his country with visiting UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. The blast targeted a police station in...

5K Die in August, Syria's Deadliest Month Yet

Gov't use of air power greatly stepped up violence, say rebels

(Newser) - With the Syrian government now using air power against rebels, the civil war keeps getting bloodier: Anti-regime activists say about 5,000 people were killed in August alone, reports the AP . Another report by UNICEF put the death toll at 1,600 just for last week, the worst single week...

11 Dead as Syria Shells Homs
 11 Dead as Syria Shells Homs 
Jun 17, 2012 9:01 AM CDT

11 Dead as Syria Shells Homs

'Clear escalation' since UN pullout, say activists

(Newser) - A day after the UN abandoned its mission in Syria , Bashar al-Assad's troops are turning up the heat in Homs, riddling the city with shelling that activists say has killed at least 11 so far. "Around 85% of Homs is now under shelling or bombardment with mortar rounds...

Observers in Syria Find Traces of Mass Killing

Journalists suspect 'cover-up' in Qubair

(Newser) - Qubair was filled with blood and body parts, broken buildings, and the smell of burnt flesh, according to UN observers and journalists who examined the tiny Syrian town yesterday, reports the BBC . "This has basically been a scorched-earth policy by whoever this was; they've killed the people, they'...

80 Killed as Syria Rebels Dump Annan Plan

Peace plan looks 'essentially dead'

(Newser) - Syrian rebels killed 80 government soldiers this weekend, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said today, after the regime ignored its Friday deadline to implement Kofi Annan's peace plan. A rebel spokesman told Reuters that they had "decided to end our commitment" to Annan's plan. "We...

200 Dead in Syria Assault
 200 Dead in Syria Assault 
Feb 4, 2012 5:21 AM CST

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...

Activists: Syria Is Tricking Monitors

Even as Syria releases another 500 prisoners

(Newser) - Arab League observers in Syria have been claiming as their chief triumph the regime's evacuation of its troops from protest-prone cities. But activists say that hasn’t actually happened—the regime is just using some cheap tricks to make it look like it has, Reuters reports. Activists say the...

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