Syria: Recent Stories and News - Page 69

Dec 15, 2011 8:21 AM CST

Syrian Defectors Kill 27 Soldiers

Civil war fears grow amid anti-government attacks

(Newser) - Syrian army defectors killed at least 27 of their former comrades in Daraa province today, in one of the deadliest battles yet in what many fear is a budding Syrian civil war, activists tell the AP . The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it has eye-witness reports of at least...

Syria Death Toll Tops 5K

Dec 13, 2011 6:54 AM CST

Syria Death Toll Tops 5K

20 more killed yesterday

(Newser) - The death toll in the Syria protests now tops 5,000, according to the UN human rights chief, who wants the situation referred to the International Criminal Court. That number, which does not include soldiers or security personnel killed by the opposition, is up by 1,000 from the one...

Syria Votes Amid
Strike, Violence

Dec 12, 2011 10:05 AM CST

Syria Votes Amid Strike, Violence

At least 31 killed in latest wave; opposition holds general strike

(Newser) - Syria's official news agency says voters are "flocking" to the polls to vote in today's local elections—but with activists calling for a voting boycott, the actual turnout is likely to be small. Some 43,000 candidates are running for more than 17,500 seats, al-Jazeera reports....

Syrian Oil Pipeline Explodes

Dec 8, 2011 8:53 AM CST

Syrian Oil Pipeline Explodes

Government blames protesters, protesters blame government

(Newser) - An explosion ripped through a pipeline pumping oil to the Syrian flashpoint city of Homs today, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky, the New York Times reports. Syria's state-run Sana news agency blamed the blast on "armed terrorist groups," while anti-government activists speculated that the...

Syria Uprising: President Bashar al-Assad Tells Barbara Walters He Did Not Order Crackdown (VIDEO)

Assad: I Didn't
Order Crackdown

barbara walters interview

Dec 7, 2011 7:29 AM CST

Assad: I Didn't Order Crackdown

He feels no guilt, says he tried to protect his people

(Newser) - A defiant Bashar al-Assad sat down with Barbara Walters and denied ordering a brutal crackdown against Syrian protesters, saying that he feels no guilt because "I did my best to protect the people." In fact, most of the dead are his own supporters and troops, Assad insisted, blaming...

New Clashes
Leave 25 Dead
in Syria

Dec 3, 2011 8:44 AM CST

New Clashes Leave 25 Dead in Syria

Reports growing of army defectors fighting Syrian forces

(Newser) - Violence sweeping across Syria killed 25 people today, most of them in a battle between troops and a growing force of army defectors who have joined the movement to oust the autocratic Bashar al-Assad, activists said. The pre-dawn clashes in the city of Idlib between regime forces and defectors killed...

UN: Syria Now a 'Civil War'

Dec 1, 2011 11:51 AM CST

UN: Syria Now a 'Civil War'

Because so many soldiers are defecting army

(Newser) - Words that describe the situation in Syria: conflict, uprising, revolt ... civil war? The latter now applies, according to the UN's top human rights official. Navi Pillay today said that more than 4,000 people are dead, though "really the information coming to us is that it's much...

UN: Syrian Forces Killed, Tortured 256 Children

Nov 28, 2011 6:20 PM CST

UN: Syrian Forces Killed, Tortured 256 Children

Human Rights Council adds to pressure on President Assad

(Newser) - A UN investigation concluded today that Syrian forces committed crimes against humanity by killing and torturing hundreds of children, including a 2-year-old girl reportedly shot to death so she wouldn't grow up to be a demonstrator. The inquiry added to mounting international pressure on President Bashar Assad, a day...

Arab League Sanctions Syria

Nov 27, 2011 9:22 AM CST

Arab League Sanctions Syria

Syria calls move a betrayal of Arab solidarity

(Newser) - The Arab League has approved sanctions against Syria to pressure the regime to end its deadly eight-month crackdown on dissent. Damascus slammed the move as a betrayal of Arab solidarity. At a press conference in Cairo, Qatar Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim said 19 of the League's 22 member...

Syria Misses Key Deadline,
Reports 6 Pilots Killed

Nov 25, 2011 9:01 AM CST

Syria Misses Key Deadline, Reports 6 Pilots Killed

Damascus ignores Arab League request to allow in observers

(Newser) - Tensions in Syria continue to rise in ominous fashion: The Syrian armed forces said today in a rare televised statement that six elite military pilots were killed in an ambush in the city of Homs. The statement also warns that Syria will "hit back" at any attempt to cause...

Rice: Syria
on Verge
of Civil War

Nov 20, 2011 8:18 AM CST

Rice: Syria on Verge of Civil War

Bashar al-Assad is 'no friend' of the US, says former secretary of state

(Newser) - Syrian President Bashar Assad is taking his country to the brink of civil war, says former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. She tells CNN's State of the Union that Assad "is no friend of the United States" and that his overthrow would be a "great thing" for...

Syrian Rebels
Escalate, Shell
Baath HQ

Nov 20, 2011 5:31 AM CST

Syrian Rebels Escalate, Shell Baath HQ

Rebels takes credit for big escalation of violence against Assad regime

(Newser) - Two rocket-propelled grenades rocked the Baath party headquarters in Damascus this morning just before dawn, the first insurgent attack in the Syrian capital since unrest began in March, reports the Telegraph . The Syrian Free Army took credit for the attack, although the AP said that it could not confirm the...

Troops Crack Down
in Syria, Egypt

Nov 19, 2011 1:45 PM CST

Troops Crack Down in Syria, Egypt

Tahrir Square strike comes 9 days before elections

(Newser) - So much for peaceful transitions of power in Syria and Egypt, where regime forces brutally cracked down on protesters today. In Syria, the day after officials agreed "in principle" to let the Arab League oversee a peace process, troops invaded a region near the Turkish border and a town...

Syria Agrees 'in Principle'
to Let Observers In

Nov 18, 2011 8:34 AM CST

Syria Agrees 'in Principle' to Let Observers In

As violence from dissidents mounts

(Newser) - As anti-government protests intensified and armed rebels started attacking government installations, Bashar al-Assad's regime has agreed "in principle" to allow Arab League observers into Syria, a senior official tells the AP . "Syria has agreed in principle to the Arab League proposal ," he said. "We are...

Arab League Gives Syria 3 Days

Nov 17, 2011 7:25 AM CST

Arab League Gives Syria 3 Days

Assad must accept its peace plan, let monitors in

(Newser) - The Arab League has given Syria three more days to implement its peace plan, offering to send monitors to the country to ensure the bloodshed has stopped, in what amounts to a temporary reprieve from Saturday’s decision to suspend the country . But Qatar’s foreign minister insisted that sanctions...

Bloody Wave Claims 70 in Syria

Nov 15, 2011 6:00 AM CST

Bloody Wave Claims 70 in Syria

Bashar Assad soldiers targeted by army defectors

(Newser) - More than 70 Syrians died in a single day yesterday, many of them soldiers killed at the hands of army defectors in Daraa, activists tell the AP . The bloody wave was also felt in Homs, where the morgue had taken in 19 bullet-riddled corpses. Witnesses on the ground in Daraa...

Jordan's King
to Syrian Prez:
'Step Down'

Nov 14, 2011 5:36 PM CST

Jordan's King to Syrian Prez: 'Step Down'

King Abdullah's comment is latest blow for Assad

(Newser) - Jordan's king said today that Syrian President Bashar Assad should step down for the good of his country, the first Arab leader to publicly make such a call as Syria's neighbors close ranks against an increasingly isolated regime. "If Bashar has the interest of his country, he...

Protests Rock Syria
After Embassy Attacks

Nov 13, 2011 10:11 AM CST

Protests Rock Syria After Embassy Attacks

Protesters attack Saudi, Qatari embassies after Arab League vote

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of Syrian government supporters poured into the streets today to protest an Arab League vote to suspend the country's membership, as Turkey sent planes to evacuate diplomatic staff and their families after a night of attacks on embassies. Facing growing isolation, the Syrian government called for...

Arab League Suspends
Syria Membership

Nov 12, 2011 8:00 AM CST

Arab League Suspends Syria Membership

It calls on Assad to stop violence against protesters

(Newser) - The Arab League voted today to suspend Syria in four days and warned it could face sanctions if it does not end its bloody crackdown against anti-government protesters. The decision was a symbolic blow to a nation that prides itself on being a powerhouse of Arab nationalism. Qatar Foreign Minister...

56 Killed in Syria Clashes

Nov 11, 2011 10:06 AM CST