syrian

AMMAN, Aug 20 – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that while his country had foiled Western designs to topple him, his army had not won Syria’s war and the fight was continuing to crush a six-year old insurgency. In an televised address, Assad said that even though there were signs of victory after

BEIRUT, Aug 6 – Syrian government and allied forces have taken the last major town in Homs province from Daesh, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday, as the army advances toward militant strongholds in the east of the country. The town of al-Sukhna lies some 50 km (30 miles) northeast of the

By Rodi Said and Ellen Francis QAMISHLI, Syria/BEIRUT June 14 – Daesh militants enslaved Noura Khalaf for three years, dragging her from her small Iraqi village across their territory in Syria. They bought and sold her five times before she was finally freed with her children last week. Khalaf is one of many Yazidi women

This is the story of 90 year old Ahmed and 75 year old Khadijah who live in war-torn Syria. Ahmed married Khadijah when she was just 11 years old, and they have been together since. What they have to say about life inside refugee camps will move you to tears. Social Streams

VIENNA, May 11 – An Austrian court jailed a Syrian asylum seeker for life for murdering 20 wounded soldiers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army while fighting alongside an anti-Assad militia near the city of Homs, a court spokesman said. An interpreter had told the court the 27-year-old man recounted the episode to him in

Can Daraa be a model for the rest of Syria? By Nour Samaha   The recently asphalted main government highway from Damascus to Daraa City is lined with high sand berms to limit any incoming sniper fire. At several intersections, the road has been diverted by large mounds of dirt or cement blocks, blocking travelers from accessing

ANKARA, Oct 17 – Turkey-backed Syrian rebels seized control of nine areas, including the village of Dabiq, from Daesh on Sunday, largely achieving border security between the Turkish towns of Kilis and Karkamis, the country’s military said on Monday. Taking control of Dabiq had eliminated the threat to Turkey from rockets fired by the jihadists,

By Tom Miles GENEVA, Sept 1  – Syria’s opposition plans to unveil its plans for a political transition to help end the country’s five-year war at a meeting of ministers in London next week, a delegate said. In emailed comments to Reuters, Hind Kabawat, a member of Syria’s main opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee,

ANKARA, Aug 24 – Their faces so burned by a rocket blast they cannot fully close their eyes, 13-year-old Gheis Mekansi and his sister Limar, both Syrian refugees, wait in limbo in Turkey for surgery they need to return to life and school. A year and a half after they were caught in the attack

By Rodi Said HASAKA, Syria, Aug 22 – The Kurdish YPG militia launched a major assault on Monday to seize the last government-controlled parts of the northeastern Syrian city of Hasaka after calling on pro-government militias to surrender, Kurdish forces and residents said. They said Kurdish forces began the offensive after midnight to take the