Syrian uprising

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White House: Assad's Instagram 'Despicable'

@StateDept will not be retweeting

(Newser) - Ever abreast of the big issues facing a war-torn country like Syria, the US State Department has delivered a stern rebuke against President Bashar al-Assad's Instagram account , labeling it "nothing more than a despicable PR stunt," ABC News reports. In a press briefing, a department spokesperson told...

As Thousands Die, Assad Takes Selfies

Syrian president joins Instagram; fails to capture civil war

(Newser) - Syria is in the middle of a bloody civil war—not that you'd know it from President Bashar al-Assad's new Instagram account , which features Assad and his wife shaking hands, hugging, and chatting with smiling constituents and cheering crowds, reports CNN . With 100,000 people now dead in...

US Plan to Arm Syria Rebels Gets a Boost

But Pentagon cites continuing concerns

(Newser) - Last month, the White House said it planned to arm Syrian rebels —but members of Congress haven't been thrilled with the idea. Now, however, Capitol Hill seems to be coming around, Reuters reports. Despite "strong reservations ... We got a consensus that we could move forward with the...

Obama: I'm Not 'Bush- Cheney Lite'

President refutes charge in Charlie Rose interview

(Newser) - Appearing on Charlie Rose last night, President Obama had a few things to clear up: First, he's not, as Rose put it, "Bush-Cheney lite." "Some people say, 'Well, you know, Obama was this raving liberal before. Now he’s, you know, Dick Cheney,'"...

Egypt Severs Ties with Syria, Shuts Embassy

Morsi calls for Lebanon to follow suit

(Newser) - Egypt's president announced today that he was cutting off diplomatic relations with Syria, closing Damascus' embassy in Cairo, and withdrawing the Egyptian charge d'affaires from Damascus. The decisions were made amid growing calls from hard-line Sunni clerics in Egypt and elsewhere to launch a "holy war" against...

Obama's Weapons Won't Do Enough In Syria

Michael Weiss and Elizabeth O'Bagy say it's time to unleash the MANPADs

(Newser) - The Obama administration is at last willing to send weapons to Syrian rebels —but it looks like neither the president, nor anyone else in Washington, is willing to go far enough to actually help, write Michael Weiss and Elizabeth O'Bagy at the Atlantic . "Even the most hawkish...

US to Provide Syria Rebels With Weapons

Decision follows conclusion regime used chemical agents

(Newser) - Now that the US has determined that Bashar al-Assad's regime used chemical weapons, the Obama administration intends to help arm Syrian rebels, officials tell the New York Times . The US will send light arms and ammunition; antitank weapons are also a possibility. Rebel leaders have called for antiaircraft weapons,...

Clinton: 'Big Mistake' Not to Act in Syria

Presidents who don't act because of polls risk looking 'like total wuss'

(Newser) - With the body count mounting in Syria, Bill Clinton has joined the chorus calling for American intervention, in what some are seeing as a sharp turn away from the White House. At a closed-to-the-press event on Tuesday night, Clinton sided with John McCain—the Obama administration's biggest critic on...

Grim New Number for Syria: 92,901

UN says that's the number of documented dead

(Newser) - The United Nations' human rights office released a grim number today: 92,901 confirmed killed in Syria between March 2011 and April 2013. Even worse: The actual number is probably much higher, the AP reports. At least 6,561 children are among the dead, 1,729 of them under age...

Syrian Refugees Could End Up in US

State Department 'ready to consider the idea,' official says

(Newser) - Thousands of Syrian refugees could end up living in America, as Washington and other international capitals consider a resettlement plan to help relieve the Middle Eastern countries that have so far taken in 1.6 million refugees. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees has not yet made...

Syria, Hezbollah Grab Key Town From Rebels

Fall of Qusair a huge setback for rebels

(Newser) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops, backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, regained control today of the strategic town of Qusair where fighting has raged with rebels for nearly three weeks, according to state TV. The capture of the town near the Lebanese border solidifies some of the regime's recent...

Picture of Michigan Woman Killed in Syria Emerges

Nicole Mansfield converted to Islam after meeting Arab immigrant: family

(Newser) - The FBI has confirmed reports that a Michigan woman was killed fighting alongside anti-government forces in Syria, her family says. A number of years ago, Nicole Mansfield married an Arab immigrant; afterward, she converted to Islam, relatives tell the Detroit Free Press . After he got a green card to stay...

Syria Says It Killed a Michigan Woman

She was allegedly with rebels; US investigating

(Newser) - An unconfirmed report on Syrian TV says government forces killed a woman from Flint, Michigan, along with a British man and another unidentified Westerner, reports CNN . Syria's official news agency showed the driver's license of a woman identified as Nicole Mansfield, 33, and said the trio were fighting...

Assad: The Russian Missiles Are Here

He says in interview to air on Hezbollah TV channel

(Newser) - On the one hand, it's a fairly expected announcement: On the heels of Russia's confirmation of a missile deal with Syria, President Bashar al-Assad has confirmed that the initial shipment of S-300 air defense missiles was in fact delivered to his country, with the second portion of the...

Syria: OK, We'll Attend Peace Talks

Foreign minister says regime has 'agreed in principle' to go to Geneva

(Newser) - The Syrian government said today it has agreed "in principle" to take part in an international conference in Geneva next month aimed at ending the country's civil war. Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem says his government believes that the conference, proposed by Russia and the United States,...

Hezbollah Chief on Syria: 'We Will Be Victorious'

Militant group's leader openly throws chips in with Assad regime

(Newser) - Hezbollah's leader vowed to help propel President Bashar al-Assad to victory in Syria's bloody civil war, warning that the fall of the Damascus regime would give rise to extremists and plunge the Middle East into a "dark period." In a televised address, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah also...

Syrians Allege Chemical Attack: 'Suffocating Smell'

BBC thinks evidence begins to add up

(Newser) - Government helicopters dropped chemical weapons last month on the Syrian town of Saraqeb, eyewitness testimony strongly suggests. A BBC correspondent visited the town, and was regaled with accounts and videos of box-like devices being dropped out of helicopters and emitting deadly gas. "It was a horrible, suffocating smell,"...

Syria Rebel Filmed Biting Into Soldier's Heart

Human Rights Watch calls it a war crime

(Newser) - A Syrian rebel has been caught on video apparently cutting a dead soldier's heart from his body then taking a bite from it. "I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers, you soldiers of Bashar the dog," says the rebel, identified by Human...

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 "...

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...

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