ceasefire

BEIRUT, Dec 14 – People in rebel-held eastern Aleppo have been packing their bags and burning personal possessions as they prepare to evacuate the area, a witness said, fearing looting by the Syrian army and its Iran-backed allied militias when they restore control. Eastern Aleppo residents were seen burning things they could not take with

By Orhan Coskun and Humeyra Pamuk ANKARA/ISTANBUL, Dec 13 – Turkey is negotiating with Russia to open a corridor to evacuate Syrian rebel fighters and civilians from the remaining opposition-held districts of Aleppo, but no agreement has yet been reached, a senior Turkish official said. Rebel defences in Aleppo collapsed on Monday, leading to a

By Ayman al-Warfalli BENGHAZI, Dec 10  – Just 10 people left a besieged neighbourhood in the east Libyan city of Benghazi on Saturday after forces surrounding the area said they would grant safe passage to trapped civilians, security and Red Crescent officials said. The eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) has been besieging the district of

BEIRUT, Dec 7  – Syrian rebels in besieged eastern Aleppo called for an immediate five-day ceasefire, negotiations about the future of the city and for medical and civilian evacuations, in a humanitarian plan published on Wednesday. A Turkey-based rebel official told Reuters the plan had been sent to international parties which had yet to respond.

SANAA, Nov 21 – A two-day ceasefire after nearly two years of war in Yemen expired at midday (0900 GMT) on Monday and would not be renewed, a spokesman for a Saudi-led military coalition told al-Arabiya TV, with each side blaming the other for violations. The 48-hour truce, announced unilaterally by the Saudi coalition on

SANAA, Nov 21 – Arab coalition warplanes struck military sites in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Monday, residents said, as two-day ceasefire that was marred by heavy fighting entered its final hours. The raids hit army bases on a mountain overlooking the city, and the force of the explosions shook buildings as it rippled through

By Gernot Heller TEHRAN, Oct 4 – German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel urged the Iranian government during his two-day visit to the Islamic Republic to do what it can to push for a ceasefire in Syria. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, supported by Iranian-backed militia and Russian air power, have stepped up an offensive against

MOSCOW, Sept 24  – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a revival of a ceasefire in Syria depends on all sides involved and not only on “Russia’s unilateral concessions”. “One can only speak about the ceasefire revival only on the collective basis,” he said in an interview for the TV news show ‘Vesti on Saturday’.

ISTANBUL, Sept 19  – Turkey-backed rebels may extend their zone of control in northern Syria by pushing south and were now focused on heading toward the Daesh-held town of al-Bab, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday. Speaking at a news conference before departing for New York where he is due to address the United

By Phil Stewart and Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON, Sept 15 – For Pentagon officers who cut their teeth during the Cold War, the prospect of U.S. battlefield cooperation with Russia in Syria is not only uncomfortable. It’s also unprecedented. Against that background, the reactions of U.S. military officials range from caution to outright skepticism over a Geneva-based