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 government officials and opposition figures will gather in Geneva on Thursday for the fourth round of UN-brokered talks aimed at ending their country’s brutal six-year conflict. Here is a breakdown of the forces involved in the complex war, which has killed more than 310,000 people since it broke out in 2011: The Syrian army’s … Read more
The leading Syrian opposition body on Sunday lambasted escalating attacks by government forces as a “bloody message” aimed at sabotaging peace talks that are due to open in Geneva next week. The High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said recent attacks near Damascus, Homs city, and elsewhere were “obstructing the efforts aimed at a political transition in … Read more
At least nine people were killed on Saturday when government forces launched a barrage of rockets that hit a funeral on the edges of the Syrian capital, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “seven rockets and several shells hit areas on the edges of Qabun”, a northeastern district of Damascus held … Read more
Syrian regime and rebel representatives failed Thursday to make any breakthroughs at talks in Kazakhstan, as key powerbrokers Russia, Turkey and Iran sought to shore up a shaky ceasefire. The meeting was the second time key players Moscow, Tehran and Ankara have brought the warring sides to the Kazakh capital of Astana, and comes ahead … Read more
The head of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and former British foreign secretary David Miliband on Thursday said the humanitarian crisis in war-torn Syria was still “appalling” despite a fragile ceasefire. “The fact that the war has gone to reduced intensity has led to much reduced popular media attention on what remains an appalling crisis … 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
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
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Monday he stood firm against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s “crimes”, at an event marking the anniversary of his father’s assassination that he has blamed on Damascus. Hariri, whose father Rafiq Hariri was killed along with 22 other people in a February 15, 2005 bomb blast on the Beirut seafront, … 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
Turkey-backed Syrian rebels and President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have created a security corridor to avoid clashes in the battle to capture the flashpoint town of Al-Bab from Islamic State jihadists, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. If confirmed, it would mark a rare case of contact in the conflict between the Damascus regime and the rebels … Read more
The top UN official in Damascus has warned of a “looming humanitarian catastrophe” in four besieged towns in Syria, calling for immediate access to deliver aid to some 60,000 residents. In a statement late Monday, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Ali al-Za’atari, warned of dire conditions in the towns of Zabadani, Madaya, Fua and … Read more
Syrian government forces carried out at least eight chemical attacks during the final weeks of the battle for Aleppo, killing nine people, among them four children, Human Rights Watch said Monday. The rights group said it interviewed witnesses, collected photos and reviewed video footage indicating that chlorine bombs were dropped from government helicopters during the … Read more
The head of Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement on Sunday urged the government to coordinate with Damascus to help refugees to return now that “large areas” of Syria are “safe”. In a televised address, Hassan Nasrallah said Syrian refugees should not be coerced into going home, but added that a string of “victories” by President Bashar … Read more
Syria’s opposition on Sunday announced its 21-member delegation, including 10 rebel representatives, for a new round of UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva scheduled for February 20. The delegation will be headed by Nasr al-Hariri, a member of the National Coalition, replacing Assad al-Zoabi, who led the opposition at several previous rounds of talks in Geneva … Read more
As many as 13,000 people, most of them civilian opposition supporters, have been executed in secret at a prison in Syria, Amnesty International says. A new report by the human rights group alleges that mass hangings took place every week at Saydnaya prison between September 2011 and December 2015. Amnesty says the alleged executions were … Read more
US President Donald Trump has vowed to overturn a legal ruling which suspended his ban on travellers from seven mainly Muslim countries. He described federal judge James Robart as a “so-called” justice whose “ridiculous” opinion “essentially takes law-enforcement away from” the US. Judge Robart ruled on Friday that the prohibition was unconstitutional. A number of … Read more
Syrian government forces took back control of an area near Damascus that provides most of the capital’s water supplies after reaching a deal for rebel fighters to withdraw, pro-government media and a monitoring group said. The Syrian army and its allies launched an offensive last month to drive insurgents from the Wadi Barada valley, which … Read more
Residents of Damascus have been struggling with water shortages for weeks The Syrian military says it has regained Damascus’s main water source from rebels. Water shortages have affected more than five million residents in the Damascus area since late December. State television said the national flag was now flying over the pumping facility in the … 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