UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced alarm “over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians” in Syria’s city of Aleppo. Mr Ban urged all the sides, particularly Syria’s government and its allies, to protect civilians. UN humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland earlier said Syria and Russia were “accountable” for any atrocities committed by pro-government … Read more
The Turkish army has dropped leaflets on the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab in Syria urging civilians to seek shelter, as rebels backed by Turkish tanks and warplanes close in on the city. The leaflets, dropped on the last urban stronghold of Islamic State in the northern Aleppo countryside, suggest an imminent assault after hundreds … Read more
The Islamic State (IS) group has retaken the Syrian city of Palmyra, hours after Russian air strikes appeared to have driven it back. The governor of Homs province, Talal Barazi, said government forces were now regrouping outside the ancient city, preparing to launch a fresh assault. IS held the city from May 2015 until it … 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
The women were serving as medics at a field hospital in western Aleppo. A mortar struck the hospital on Monday. A Russian paediatrician seriously wounded in that attack also received the medal. A fifth Order of Courage went to a Russian colonel wounded elsewhere. Russia is helping Syrian state forces. The Kremlin named the five … Read more
The move is to allow for the evacuation of civilians trapped in the battle zone. Mr Lavrov said some 8,000 people would be taken out. Government forces have retaken 75% of east Aleppo in recent weeks – areas rebels had controlled for four years. The US welcomed the “indication that something positive could happen but … Read more
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said a victory for his army in Aleppo would be a “huge step” towards ending the country’s five-year civil war. But he added that the defeat of rebel groups in the northern city would not end the conflict. The rebels called for a five-day truce to allow the evacuation of … Read more
Syrian rebels have left the last areas they held in Aleppo’s old city, while calling for a five-day truce to allow the evacuation of civilians. Activist monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the pull-back in Syria’s second city came after days of heavy fighting. State media confirmed the military had taken over … Read more
Russia and China on Monday vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Syrian city of Aleppo to allow desperately needed aid into the war-ravaged zone. The United States and Russia verbally dueled before the vote, which called for a seven-day truce. Venezuela also rejected the resolution. The vote came … Read more
Bana Alabed, a 7-year-old Syrian girl who captured the world’s attention with heartbreaking Twitter posts about the bombing of Aleppo, disappeared from social media on Sunday. The last message sent on the Twitter account Bana shares with her mother, Fatemah, was foreboding: “We are sure the army is capturing us now. We will see each … Read more
President Vladimir Putin says Russia wants to normalise ties with the United States and join efforts in the fight against international “terrorism”. Speaking in a live state-of-the-nation address, Putin said on Thursday that Russia was ready to take part in tackling global challenges – if its interests are respected. “We don’t want confrontation with anyone,” … Read more
The fall of rebel-held eastern Aleppo would not mean the end of the fight against President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian opposition’s senior negotiator has told the BBC. George Sabra added, however, that it would make any hope of a peace deal more difficult. Syrian forces backed by heavy air strikes have seized more than a … Read more
Syrian government forces have captured a key part of eastern Aleppo, splitting rebel-held territory in two. State TV said government troops were dismantling mines and explosives and continuing their advance. A monitoring group says the rebels have now lost more than a third of the previously rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Thousands of civilians have fled … Read more
Syrian government forces have been making rapid advances into eastern Aleppo, forcing thousands of civilians to flee. The Syrian army captured Jabal Badro on Sunday, a day after seizing Hanano district, and is making in-roads in other neighbourhoods. Its aim is to divide the rebel-held east of the city in two. Some reports said several … Read more
Syrian government forces have retaken a second rebel-held district in eastern Aleppo, military sources say. They say the army and its allies had “fully recaptured” Jabal Badro. Hours earlier, rebel sources confirmed that neighbouring Hanano district had fallen and was now under government control. Hundreds of civilians have been fleeing into the government-controlled areas of … Read more
Syrian government forces have retaken the largest rebel-controlled district in eastern Aleppo, state media report. The capture of Masaken Hanano, in north-east Aleppo, could give Syria’s army line-of-fire control over other opposition-held areas, activists say. The government resumed its offensive to retake eastern Aleppo on 15 November. Some 275,000 people are under siege. The assault … 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
France has accused Syria and its allies of using political uncertainty in the US to launch “total war” against opposition-held areas in the country and called for new sanctions on Bashar al-Assad’s government for the use of chemical weapons. Making the accusations after a weekly cabinet session on Wednesday, Jean-Marc Ayrault, France’s foreign minister, said … Read more
Trend of election violence in UK, USA and Ghana “You got to punch him in the face, I tell you”. This rhetoric became the ultimate election zinger for one of the candidates in the just ended controversial US election campaigns. This was used as a sound bite by CNN, so people who followed the US … Read more
The number of people living under siege in Syria has doubled this year to almost one million, the UN says. Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Stephen O’Brien said the figure had jumped from 486,700 to 974,080 in six months. People were being “isolated, starved, bombed and denied medical attention and humanitarian assistance in order to force them … Read more