A seasoned diplomat, a cardiologist and a lawyer will represent Syria’s two sides at UN-brokered peace talks that begin Thursday in Geneva aimed at ending six years of brutal warfare. The diplomat, Bashar al-Jaafari, is the Syrian government’s veteran envoy at the United Nations: he will square off against opposition figures Nasr al-Hariri, a cardiologist, … Read more
Syrian opposition figures will return to Geneva on Thursday for new UN-sponsored talks with President Bashar al-Assad’s regime on their country’s six-year conflict. Since the delegations last gathered in Switzerland in April 2016, rebels have lost their bastion in east Aleppo and seen a new partnership form between their main ally Turkey and government backer … Read more
Four Russian military personnel were killed and two injured when their vehicle was targeted with explosives in central Syria last week, a defence ministry statement quoted by Russian agencies said Monday. “Four Russian servicemen died when their car exploded on a radio-controlled IED on February 16, 2017, in Syria,” the statement said. “Two more were … Read more
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura on Sunday questioned US President Donald Trump’s engagement in solving the Syrian conflict, just days ahead of crucial peace talks in Geneva. “Where is the US in all this? I can’t tell you because I don’t know,” he said, adding that the new administration was still trying to work out … Read more
In the aftermath of a barrel bomb attack in Syria’s Idlib, nine-year-old Abdel Basset Al-Satuf tries to sit up, his legs blown off, and screams “Daddy, pick me up!” Abdel Basset was caught in a barrel bomb attack by regime forces on Thursday in the town of Al-Hbeit, in northwest Idlib province. The harrowing footage … Read more
President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday said Raqa is not a priority target for his forces, saying his goal is to retake “every inch” of Syrian territory. “Raqa is a symbol,” Assad said in an interview with French media, while asserting that jihadist attacks carried out in France were “not necessarily prepared” in the Islamic State … Read more
Syria’s government on Wednesday fiercely denied accusations by Human Rights Watch that it used chemical weapons in its battle for Aleppo, shrugging off the group’s report as “unprofessional and unscientific”. In a major report released Monday, Human Rights Watch said Syrian government forces had carried out at least eight chemical attacks in late 2016 as … Read more
French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen will visit Lebanon next week for talks with leaders of Paris’s former mandate territory, a Lebanese government source said Wednesday. “Madame Le Pen will be in Beirut on the 19th and 20th, and will meet (President Michel) Aoun and (Prime Minister Saad) Hariri on Monday,” the source told AFP, … Read more
Kazakhstan said Wednesday a new round of Astana talks on the Syria conflict led by Russia, Turkey and Iran scheduled to begin February 15 would be delayed by a day due to unexplained “technical reasons”. “The negotiations have been moved to February 16 for technical reasons,” a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told … Read more
Kazakhstan said Tuesday that a new round of Astana talks on the Syria conflict led by Russia, Turkey and Iran will take place behind closed doors, as the make-up of any rebel delegation remained unclear. The “closed format” negotiations are set to start Wednesday in the Kazakh capital some three weeks after representatives from Damascus … Read more
Delayed UN-sponsored peace talks aimed at ending Syria’s civil war will resume on February 23 in Geneva, a few days later than previously planned, the UN envoy’s office said Monday. The announcement came a day after Syria’s opposition announced its 21-member delegation for the new round of talks, which had been due to start next … Read more
Syria’s regime is ready to release detainees in exchange for hostages held by rebels, the official SANA news agency reported Monday, ahead of peace talks in the Kazakh capital. “The government is ready… as part of efforts towards the next meeting in Astana to exchange detainees for men, women and children — civilians and soldiers … Read more
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said U. S. President Donald Trump prioritizing the fight against jihadists by Islamic State was promising although it was too early to expect any practical steps, state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday. Trump has indicated he might cut U.S. support for Syrian rebels and might help Syria in the fight … Read more
The Syrian government’s lead negotiator has denounced what he called his rebel counterpart’s “provocative” comments at the start of peace talks in Astana. Bashar Jaafari said Mohammed Alloush had acted in a way “removed from diplomacy” at the indirect negotiations convened by Russia, Iran and Turkey. Mr Alloush accused the Syrian military and its allies … Read more
Syria’s warring sides met for talks in Kazakhstan’s capital on Monday, flanked by intermediary nations seeking to engineer steps towards a goal other negotiations have failed to reach: an end to the six-year-old conflict. Sponsored by Russia, Turkey and Iran, the meeting marks the first time the opposition and representatives of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad … Read more
Health workers in a besieged rebel-held suburb of Damascus said daily attacks by Syrian troops are stretching them to the limit, and many fear that the fall of Aleppo would embolden the government of President Bashar al-Assad to step up the military offensive. The Douma suburb is a flashpoint town and is the largest rebel-held … Read more
The relations between unpredictable allies, Russia and Turkey, appear to have deteriorated in the past few years. The relationship between Moscow and Ankara have deteriorated since the Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot a Russian Su-24 bomber out of the Syrian skies, citing an airspace violation that did not take place. This is one … Read more
A picture of Eiffel Tower in Paris after it went dark for the Earth Hour environmental campaign Paris will turn off the famed lights of the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday as a gesture of solidarity with the citizens of the Syrian city of Aleppo, hit by a humanitarian crisis as residents flee heavy fighting. Paris … Read more
A look inside the ruins after they were recaptured from so-called Islamic State in March Islamic State group fighters have re-entered Palmyra, nine months after losing the ancient Syrian desert city. Monitoring groups say militants and pro-government forces fought fiercely in the centre of Palmyra. An activist there told the BBC that the city was … Read more
It’s a familiar scene: Syria Civil Defence, also known as the “White Helmets,” rushing to rescue a man covered in rubble, but unlike thousands of other videos from Aleppo, this one is staged. The short video — a take on the Mannequin Challenge — was created by the Revolutionary Forces of Syria (RFS), an opposition … Read more