Tag Archives: Assad regime

Chemical weapons inspectors collected samples from Syria’s Douma on Saturday, two weeks after a suspected gas attack there followed by retaliatory strikes by Western powers on the Syrian government’s chemical facilities. The site visit, confirmed by the Organization of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, would allow the agency to proceed …

The Russian military has claimed that the Syrian air defences, whose most modern weapon is a three-decades-old Russian-supplied anti-aircraft system, shot down 71 of 103 missiles fired by the US and its allies, the UK and France, a claim denied by the Pentagon. As further details began to emerge about …

Western allies warned Syria on Saturday that they could launch further attacks if chemical weapons are used again, even as Syria’s powerful backer Russia denounced the missile strikes but gave no signs of possible retaliation. The flurry of statements after Friday’s coordinated strike of U.S. cruise missiles — along with …

The Russian military says that an alleged chemical attack in Syria was staged and directed by Britain. Volunteer first responders and activists claimed a chemical attack by the Syrian government killed over 40 people in the town of Douma, which drew international outrage and prompted Washington and its allies to …

Theresa May has summoned ministers to an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the UK’s response to the suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria. Ministers are expected to back her call to join military action threatened by the United States and its allies. Sources say the PM is prepared to take …

Saudi Arabia could take part in military action in Syria after a suspected chemical attack that killed at least 60 people in the eastern Ghouta region over the weekend, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman said on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump on Monday promised quick, forceful action in response to …

The missile strikes targeting a Syrian air base on Monday highlight the nightmare scenario Israel is facing: arch-enemy Iran entrenching to the east. Russia blamed Israel for the pre-dawn strike in Homs province. Two U.S. officials later confirmed to NBC News that Israel fired the missiles after informing Washington. Israel did …

Syrian doctors and rescue workers said Sunday that scores of people had died in an apparent chemical attack on a besieged enclave near Damascus, as government forces escalate their battle there. At least 42 people were killed in the attack in Douma, the final rebel stronghold northeast of Damascus, according …

In an aside during what was supposed to be a speech about infrastructure last week, President Trump announced, “We’re coming out of Syria, like, very soon. Let the other people take care of it now. Very soon — very soon we’re coming out.” This was at odds with what basically …

President Donald Trump’s unexpected announcement on Thursday that the US would “be coming out of Syria like very soon” is raising concerns among some national security officials who warn that withdrawing now would not only undermine American credibility in the region but prompt a significant escalation to an already devastating …

Russia troops said Monday they expect to reach an agreement with a major Syrian rebel group to arrange its exit from the last rebel-held town in eastern Ghouta in another key victory for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces as they push to gain control of the region on the edge …

Syrian rebel groups said Friday that a deal had been struck to evacuate thousands of people from the besieged and ­broken Syrian enclave of Eastern ­Ghouta amid growing reports that men who crossed to government territory are being forcibly conscripted. Friday’s agreement, which was expected to take force in the …

Thousands of civilians streamed out of their towns to escape battles in the north and south of Syria on Saturday, where two different offensives have prompted an exodus in recent days. A new wave of at least 10,000 people fled a rebel pocket to army lines in eastern Ghouta near …

The Latest on developments in Syria as it marks seven years of war this week (all times local): 11:20 a.m. The International Committee of the Red Cross says a joint convoy bringing aid to thousands of displaced Syrian families has entered the besieged rebel-held region of eastern Ghouta just outside …

Syria’s rebel-held city of Douma faces a “catastrophic” situation after becoming the main haven for thousands of people fleeing advances by government forces into eastern Ghouta, its local council said on Monday. Hundreds of people have been killed in the Syrian army’s fierce air and artillery bombardment of eastern Ghouta …

Offensive ground operations against ISIS in eastern Syria have slowed down as hundreds of Kurdish fighters have left the battlefield to potentially assist Kurdish forces in Afrin, in western Syria, who are fighting the Turkish military. Interested in ISIS? Meanwhile, the U.S. is monitoring the build-up of a pro-Assad regime force massing in …

An aid convoy of lorries carrying urgently needed humanitarian supplies has begun entering the rebel-held Syrian area of Eastern Ghouta. The 46 trucks will be the first to reach the besieged enclave since mid-February, despite a recent UN-backed ceasefire and short, daily truces ordered by Russia. At least 719 people …

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad vowed to continue an offensive in eastern Ghouta near Damascus on Sunday as his forces advanced into the last major rebel enclave near the capital. The offensive is one of the deadliest in the war and one local insurgent group called it a“scorched earth” campaign. The …

Russia has violated its duty to guarantee the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons and prevent the Assad government from using poison gas, the United States said on Wednesday. Syria signed up to the international ban on chemical weapons in 2013, as part of a deal brokered by Moscow to avert U.S. air strikes …

Rescuers in Syria’s eastern Ghouta said the bombing would not let up long enough for them to count the bodies during one of the bloodiest air assaults of the seven-year war, while the U.N. Security Council called for a 30-day humanitarian truce. The vote at the United Nations came as …

Russia suspects that western countries want to shift focus away from the necessity of starting the Geneva talks to launching plan “B” in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated. The minister went on by expressing concern over the proposed UN Security Council resolution on Syria, saying that it may aim to …

Turkey’s month-long offensive against the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northern Syria has opened up a new front in the seven-year Syria war, as its forces this week fired artillery at Syrian pro-regime militias trying to enter. TURKEY Afrin Raqqa Aleppo Deir Ezzour SYRIA Homs LEB. IRAQ Damascus 50 miles JORDAN 50 …

Residents of Syria’s eastern Ghouta district said they were waiting their “turn to die” on Wednesday, amid one of the most intense bombardments of the war by pro-government forces on the besieged, rebel-held enclave near Damascus.   At least 10 people died in one village and more than 200 were …

There are growing indications that US airstrikes killed and injured dozens of Russian military contractors in northern Syria earlier this month. But in stark contrast to the death of a Russian pilot shot down by rebels in Syria In January, when the airman was hailed as a hero by the …

Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionUS-allied SDF fighters control territory east of the River Euphrates Syria has accused the US of carrying out a “brutal massacre” with a bombing attack in Deir al-Zour province. The overnight air and artillery strikes killed an estimated 100 pro-government fighters near the Euphrates river, according to the …

Pro-government forces in Syria launched an assault on a base where U.S. troops were operating in support of local partner units, triggering a counterattack from U.S. aircraft, the U.S. military said on Wednesday. In a statement, the U.S.-led military coalition tasked with battling the Islamic State called the attack southeast of the city of Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria “unprovoked.” “The …

Syria said Wednesday it has responded to “a new Israeli aggression” after aircraft targeted a military outpost near Damascus, claiming its air defense system destroyed most of the missiles. State news agency SANA said air defenses confronted the Israeli planes, which it said were flying over Lebanese territory when they fired …

Defense Secretary James Mattis says the United States has no evidence to confirm reports that the Syrian government used the chemical nerve agent of sarin against its civilians. Mattis made the announcement on Friday, saying that Washington was “concerned” about the use of sarin in Syria but could not confirm …

Kurdish militias fighting against Turkey in the Syrian enclave of Afrin have called on the government of Bashar al-Assad to intervene and protect the area’s borders. The latest development, nearly a week into Turkey’s military offensive, could undermine Kurdish aspirations for self-governance and, if heeded, could set the stage for a direct …

A series of mysterious attacks against the main Russian military base in Syria, including one conducted by a swarm of armed miniature drones, has exposed Russia’s continued vulnerability in the country despite recent claims of victory by President Vladimir Putin. The attacks have also spurred a flurry of questions over …

Russian forces have foiled a drone attack on an airbase in Syria just days after reports that rebel shelling had damaged several planes, activists say. The attempt to bomb the Hmeimim base near the north-western city of Latakia on Saturday was thwarted when unmanned aircraft were shot down, the Syrian …

The leader of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said on Wednesday the Syrian war, now in its seventh year, will be finished in one or two years at most. In an interview with Lebanon’s pro-Iran al-Mayadeen channel, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also said Israeli strikes on Hezbollah positions in Syria did not, …

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday issued a decree appointing new ministers for defense, industry and information, state television reported. He appointed General Ali Abdullah Ayoub as defense minister, Mohammed Mazen Ali Yousef as industry minister and Imad Abullah Sarah as information minister, state television reported, citing the decree. Ayoub, …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will visit Paris on Jan. 5 to meet his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, with the conflict in Syria high on the agenda, a source in the French president’s office said on Saturday. Among the regional crises the two leaders plan to discuss, there would be a …

U.S military or coalition forces will not go after the remaining Islamic State militants fleeing to western Syria, a British military official said Wednesday. Following the success U.S.-led military campaign against the Islamic militants in Syria and Iraq – who lost 98 percent of the territory they once held – the fighters …

Russia has announced plans to dramatically expand its naval facility in Tartus and air base at Hmeimim, Syria. The deal will see Russia keep 11 warships off Syria’s Mediterranean coast, including nuclear vessels. Russia’s upper house of parliament voted on Tuesday to extend the military’s lease of its naval base in …

A charity and a leading British surgeon have made a desperate appeal for the evacuation of seven children with “curable cancer”, aged between eight and 12, trapped in a besieged Syrian town. The children, and 175 others in need of treatment no longer available in the area, live in Ghouta, …

Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed Friday to hold Syria peace talks in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi next month, a move that the U.N. Special envoy for Syria said should be assessed based on its contribution to the mandated political process under the United Nations in Geneva. Russian news …

When Vladimir Kabunin signed up as a private military contractor, he saw a chance to make a wage much higher than any he could earn in his provincial Russian hometown. Happy to be able to support his wife and son, the ex-police officer left Orenburg, nearly 1,500 km (940 miles) …

By Abdallah Ahmad* — Over the past years, the Syrian crisis has undergone dramatic changes and at all levels. The US and its proxies in the region have been betting on overthrowing the Syrian regime and reorienting Syria’s geopolitical stance towards a pro-Western direction. The war was not only against …

The eighth round of peace talks in Geneva between the Syrian government and the opposition ended on December 14 in utter failure to the dismay of the international community which had hoped that the end of the Syrian conflict could be in sight at last.  Obviously the two sides are …

With the map of Syria’s conflict decisively redrawn in President Bashar al-Assad’s favor, his Russian allies want to convert military gains into a settlement that stabilizes the shattered nation and secures their interests in the region. A year after the opposition’s defeat in Aleppo, government forces backed by Russia and …

Standing under clear skies at an air base in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his troops the good news: They had all but secured victory in the Middle East country’s six-year civil war. “The task of combating armed gangs here in Syria … has been largely resolved — brilliantly …

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday made a surprise visit to Russia’s Khmeimim air base in Syria, announcing an imminent drawdown of Russian forces in the wake of his declaration of victory in its intervention in the Syria war. In his first visit to the air base since Russian warplanes …