Latest in Tag: Syria Highlight
Latest in Tag: Syria
Iraq pushes for influence in Syria
With the crisis on their doorstep, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy, Hussein Al-Shahristani and Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari spoke to the press on Sunday
Turkey and Syria face off after shooting
Diplomatic relations between Turkey and Syria have deteriorated since the Syrian uprising began nearly 17 months ago. Several Syrian civilians and military opposition groups have since taken refuge in neighbouring Turkey
Observer mission not abandoning Syria
The Syrian uprising has left more than 10,000 people dead, according to UN estimates
UN Chief: Syria now a civil war
The UN suspends its mission to Syria, as the Security Council calls for an emergency meeting.
Pan-Muslim body may participate in UN Syria observer mission
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation might send observers to join the UN mission in Syria.
UN aims to triple Syria observer team next week
By Frank Jordans / AP GENEVA: The United Nations hopes to have 30 cease-fire monitors in Syria next week and plans are already being made for the deployment of up to 300, a spokesman for international envoy Kofi Annan said Friday, as France called on the international community to prepare for the possible failure of …
Syrian troops clash with rebels in eastern city
By Bassem Mroue / AP BEIRUT: Syrian troops clashed with army defectors in an eastern city Thursday, leaving at least one person dead, while government forces bombarded rebel-held neighborhoods of the central city of Homs, activists said. The renewed violence comes as the international community struggles to salvage a week-old cease-fire that is seen as …
Syria bids to reassure UN over shaky truce
By AFP DAMASCUS: Syria sought on Wednesday to reassure the United Nations over its willingness to implement a ceasefire despite violence and casualties still reported in various parts of the country. Foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdisi told AFP a protocol outlining a UN mission to oversee the fragile six-day ceasefire was nearly completed and that …
Despite truce, Syrian troops resume attack on Homs
By Karin Laub / AP BEIRUT: Nearly a week after a cease-fire took effect, Syrian troops pounded a rebel stronghold Wednesday as the country’s foreign minister met with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing during the latest round of talks aimed at preventing the truce from unraveling. Despite the persistent violence in Homs and other cities, …
On the brink: Can non-violence bring Syria back?
By Michael Nagler and Stephanie Van Hook PETALUMA, California: When the Arab Spring was initiated by Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in Tunisia, it ignited longings for freedom throughout the region; more than that, it took hold of the creative imaginations of non-violent activists and millions of dissatisfied individuals around the world. Has this hope ground to …
INTERVIEW: Turkish tourism feels ripples of Arab Spring
By Lin Noueihed / Reuters DJERBA: Thirteen months of unrest in Syria have hurt tourism in neighboring Turkey, which expects visitor numbers to remain stable in 2012 at more than 30 million, Turkish Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay said on Monday. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a Mediterranean tourism conference in Tunisia, Gunay said …
Turkey PM accuses Damascus of holding two journalists
By AFP ANKARA: Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday called on the Damascus regime to account for the fate of two Turkish journalists missing in neighboring Syria since March. “The two Turkish journalists are still in the hands of Syrians, in a prisoner position,” Erdogan told lawmakers from his ruling Justice and Development Party …
Activists: Syrian troops widen shelling attacks
By Karin Laub / AP BEIRUT: The Syrian regime widened shelling attacks on opposition strongholds Tuesday, activists said, targeting a second town in a new sign that a UN-brokered cease-fire is quickly unraveling despite the presence of foreign observers. The truce is part of an international plan to launch talks between President Bashar Assad’s regime …
Shelling in Syria as UN monitors begin mission
By Zeina Karam / AP BEIRUT: An advance team of UN observers was negotiating the ground rules with Syrian authorities Monday for monitoring the country’s 5-day-old cease-fire, which appeared to be rapidly unraveling as regime forces pounded the opposition stronghold of Homs with artillery shells and mortars, activists said. Even though the overall level of violence …
Syrian truce marred as Assad forces kill four
By Dominic Evans / Reuters BEIRUT: Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad killed at least four people as the opposition tried to stage protests after Friday prayers, marring a ceasefire brokered by UN-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan. Syrians took to the streets across the country in small demonstrations after prayers, trusting that the truce, …
Syria truce takes shaky hold, Annan presses Syria
By Mariam Karouny and Dominic Evans /Reuters BEIRUT: Syrian troops held their fire on Thursday after a U.N.-backed ceasefire deadline passed, giving respite to rebellious towns that have suffered heavy bombardments, but international envoy Kofi Annan pressed Damascus to pull its forces back entirely. “Syria is apparently experiencing a rare moment of calm on the ground,” …
Syrian military on offensive before truce deadline
By Oliver Holmes and Douglas Hamilton / Reuters BEIRUT: Syria has assured the United Nations it will respect a ceasefire with rebels due to take effect in less than 24 hours, peace envoy Kofi Annan said on Wednesday, but President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces kept up attacks in several cities. Western powers have scorned Assad’s pledges, but …
Syria violence endangers Annan’s ceasefire deadline
By Oliver Holmes / Reuters BEIRUT: Syrian troops bombarded two restive cities on Tuesday, pursuing an assault on President Bashar Al-Assad’s foes instead of halting the use of big guns and leaving towns as promised under an international peace plan that now looks in peril. The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy shelling in …
Pope, in Easter message, backs Syria peace plan
By Philip Pullella / Reuters VATICAN CITY: A fatigued-looking Pope Benedict threw his weight behind a United Nations plan to end bloodshed in Syria in his Easter Sunday message, calling for “an immediate commitment” to peace efforts there. The 84-year-old pope gave a shorter-than-usual blessing from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica after an outdoor …
Clashes as Syrian government claims troop pullout
By Zeina Karam / AP BEIRUT: Loud explosions reverberated across the central Syrian city of Homs and clashes were reported in several areas across the country Wednesday, just hours after the government said it has started to withdraw troops from some cities in compliance with an international cease-fire plan. Activists said a 50-year-old man and his …
Annan says Syria agrees to April 10 peace deadline
By Louis Charbonneau /Reuters UNITED NATIONS: Kofi Annan asked the UN Security Council to back an April 10 deadline for partial implementation of his peace plan for Syria, telling its members that Syria had agreed to the date, diplomats said on Monday. The UN-Arab League peace envoy told the council behind closed doors that troops would …
Syria forces hit rebel bastions despite peace moves
By AFP DAMASCUS: President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime pressed its deadly campaign to crush dissent on Monday, reportedly pounding northern rebel strongholds as it brushed off a “Friends of Syria” meeting as a failure. An explosion ripped through central Damascus on Monday morning, injuring several people and damaging shops near a police station, Syrian television and …
Islamists find foothold in Syria revolt
By Erika Solomon /Reuters BEIRUT: Sheikh Abu Abdullah Zahed, a Lebanese Muslim cleric with influence amongst radical youth, is part of a growing effort to push the uprising in Syria towards militant Islam. Hardline Sunni Muslims in Lebanon are maneuvering for influence over Syrians across the border who have spent the last year fighting to topple …
Spillover from the Syrian uprising: three scenarios
By Akeel Abbas How the uprising in Syria will effect Iraq depends largely on how events unfold in Syria — and on whom you ask in Iraq. So far, one sure effect of the Syrian uprising on Iraq has been its “clarifying” quality on the nature of politics in the new Iraq. Prior to the uprising, …
Arab ministers focus talks on Syria crisis
By Prashant Rao / AFP Baghdad: Arab foreign ministers were meeting in Baghdad Wednesday ahead of a crucial summit to thrash out the Syrian crisis after Damascus reportedly accepted Kofi Annan’s plan to end the year-long bloodshed. The gathering in the Iraqi capital comes as monitors reported that Syrian forces stormed the central Syria town of …
Turkey, Syria, Iraq and the Kurdish issue
By Soli Ozel Syria, as always, is more than just Syria. The outcome of the deepening civil war or the violent fragmentation of the country will have a bearing on developments in the region, particularly for neighboring states. The strategies chosen by the regime to fight off the challenge against it have intensified sectarian divisions. A …
Saving the Syrians
By Gareth Evans CANBERRA: Despite the United Nations Security Council’s belated endorsement of UN Special Envoy Kofi Annan’s peacemaking mission in Syria, confidence that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad will cooperate in any serious or sustained way remains low, and calls for external military intervention continue. As Syria’s crisis goes from bad to worse, those urging armed …
Syria protesters urge military intervention
By AFP DAMASCUS: Anti-regime protesters called on Friday for foreign military intervention in Syria, as UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan prepared to brief a divided UN Security Council on his peace efforts. Ahead of UN participation in a Syrian-led humanitarian mission to protest cities at the weekend, Annan was to give a videoconference briefing to …
Syrians have a long memory
By Murhaf Jouejati Assuming that the Assad regime is about to collapse — many indications support this assumption — Russian-Syrian relations are set to go south in the post-Assad era. This conclusion is based on what one Syrian opposition leader who prefers to remain anonymous described as “outrageous” Russian behavior throughout the Syrian uprising that began …
The Syrian crisis and its implications for Turkish-Russian relations
By Ziya Meral Last week, during his weekly speech to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) group in the Turkish parliament, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated his strong statements on Syria. While his call for humanitarian corridors to bring aid to Syrian people captured international attention, his talk also included an indirect yet equally strong …