Syria

What the Hell Is Going on in Syria?

Pause the CPAC lunacy for a sec to address this.<p>ATLANTA—So the shebeen food truck has rolled in down here to see if the Democratic National Committee can get a two-car funeral from the church to the boneyard without killing a busload of nuns along the way. (Current Odds: 6-5 against.) But, those …

Islamic State (ISIS)

The ISIS Stronghold of Al Bab Falls to Turkish Backed Troops

Al Bab has long been at the heart of ISIS operations in Syria—and also against Europe and America. On Thursday, it fell to militias supported by Ankara.<p>ISTANBUL—Backed by Turkish air, armor and artillery support, Free Syrian Army forces announced on Thursday the capture Al Bab, a major stronghold …

Free Syrian Army

Trump’s plan for Syria safe zones could put civilians at even more risk

Sean Spicer said Tuesday that “safe havens” in Syria are “at the top of the president’s foreign policy agenda.” Indeed, President Trump has advocated the establishment of “safe zones” within Syria since his campaign. There are many obvious problems with such a policy. It would probably require …

Islamic State (ISIS)

Syrian Rebels Capture Al-Bab From ISIS

After weeks of fighting against ISIS militants, Turkish-backed rebels claim to have taken control of the center of the city.

World News

Syria peace talks begin amid lack of trust and continued fighting in Aleppo, Deraa and Hama provinces

UN mediator Staffan de Mistura said the biggest challenge in brokering peace between the two sides is lack of trust.<p>The peace talks between …

Islamic State (ISIS)

The 21-year-old Syrian who risked his life for Oscar-nominated documentary

(CNN)Twenty-one-year-old Khaled Khatib works as a cinematographer and press officer for the Syrian White Helmets.<p>The group, also known as the Syrian Civil Defense, works tirelessly to rescue civilians affected by the country's devastating civil war.<p>In 2015, Khatib met filmmaker Orlando von …

Islamic State (ISIS)

Russia open to US plan for 'safe zones' in Syria

Russia is open to the concept of “safe zones” in Syria, but only if they are approved by Bashar al-Assad.<p>Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, …

Islamic State (ISIS)

‘Al-Qaeda is eating us’: Syrian rebels are losing out to extremists

GAZIANTEP, Turkey — The biggest surviving rebel stronghold in northern Syria is falling under the control of al-Qaeda-linked extremists amid a surge of rebel infighting that threatens to vanquish what is left of the moderate rebellion.<p>The ascent of the extremists in the northwestern province of …

World News

Syria: Suicide bomber kills 29 near Al-Bab hours after Turkish-backed rebels seized town from Islamic State

A suicide bomber killed 29 people, most of them rebels, on Friday near the Syrian town of Al-Bab, which they had taken from the Islamic State group …

Islamic State (ISIS)

Syrian women demand U.N. talks address fate of detainees

| GENEVA<p>Syrian women demanded on Thursday that the fate of their detained or missing relatives be addressed in United Nations- sponsored peace talks, hoping they lead to prisoner releases.<p>Staffan de Mistura, U.N. Special Envoy for Syria, met them after seeing delegations from the Syrian government …

Free Syrian Army

Pentagon plan to defeat ISIS looks beyond Iraq, Syria

A Pentagon-led plan to defeat Islamic State, due in draft form by Monday, will look beyond Iraq and Syria to include the threat from jihadists around …

Islamic State (ISIS)

These Oscar-Nominated Documentaries Tell Intimate Stories Of Syria's Civil War

The oft-overlooked Oscar category of best documentary short has a dramatic theme this year: Three of the five films nominated are about Syrians, and each offers an intimate, eye-witness account of the devastation in that country.<p>One of the shorts, <i>The White Helmets,</i> follows a group of civilian …

Refugees

‘Cries From Syria’ Trailer: Evegny Afineevsky’s Heart-Wrenching Syrian Civil War Documentary

The film premieres on HBO next month.<p>Currently in the thick of the United States immigration crisis, Evgeny Afineevsky’s (“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s …

Syrian Civil War

Syrian peace talks: women issue plea to find missing loved ones

Syrian women gather at UN headquarters simply wanting to know if their sons, brothers and husbands are alive or dead<p>With the first day of the Syrian peace talks in Geneva bogged down in a row over the composition of the opposition delegation, five Syrian women stood outside the UN headquarters to …

Islamic State (ISIS)

Syrian refugee desperately searching for designer to make her Oscars dress

Hala Kamil, a Syrian refugee and mother of four, will be heading to the Oscars this weekend to represent a documentary about her own life -- but …

Free Syrian Army

Syria peace talks kick off in Geneva amid fragile ceasefire

The UN's chief negotiator has warned warring parties that the conflict does not have a "military solution." Talks in Geneva are to focus on the political dimensions of the conflict as a nationwide ceasefire holds.<p>The UN envoy for Syria on Thursday welcomed government and rebel delegations in …

World News

Uganda holds dozens of fleeing M23 rebels after Congo clashes

| KAMPALA<p>Uganda is holding dozens of fighters from the M23 rebel group who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo after clashing with troops there this week, the Ugandan military said on Thursday.<p>Richard Karemire, Uganda's military spokesman, told Reuters that 44 M23 fighters were being held at a …

Africa

Assad part of Syrian solution: Bishop

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says it remains clear that President Bashar al- Assad will be part of any political resolution to the civil war in …

Islamic State (ISIS)

Vice goes inside Syria to show what media censorship really looks like

Inspired by President Trump, Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer, the press frequently invokes the specter of ominous reality control as exercised by …

Climate Change

Car bombing near Syria town captured from IS kills 35 people

BEIRUT (AP) — Turkey's news agency says a car bomb north of a town just captured by Turkish forces and Syrian opposition fighters from Islamic State militants has killed at least 35 people.<p>Anadolu news agency says the explosion on Friday killed civilians and Syrian opposition fighters in Sousian …

World News

Arkansas town deemed a speed trap; "abused its police power," prosecutor says

The city of Damascus "abused its police power" and violated the state's speed-trap law, a prosecutor found Wednesday.

Damascus

U.S. imposes sanctions on alleged Syria militant leaders | Reuters

WASHINGTON The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday placed two alleged leaders of the militant group Nusra Front in Syria on its sanctions blacklist. …

Islamic State (ISIS)

Syrian priest: After liberation of Aleppo, living conditions still dire

Aleppo, Syria, Feb 24, 2017 / 12:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Nearly three months after the Syrian Army liberated the city of Aleppo from ISIS control, …

Aleppo

David Nott Is Risking His Life to Bring Medical Care to Syria’s Warzones - Motherboard

Millions of people have been fleeing Syria since the bloody onset of the civil war in 2011—crossing borders on foot, boat and any vehicle available to save their families. For David Nott, however, that's just more reason to go to the devastated country as often as possible.<p>Nott is a London-based …

Islamic State (ISIS)

Leader of Central African Republic rebel group UPC, Ali Darass, 'forced to leave' Bambari

Ex-Seleka militia leader forced out of his headquarters by UN force and rival FPRC faction.<p>Ali Darass, an ex-Seleka militia leader, has been forced …

Africa

Syrian peace talks: hopes of a breakthrough low as UN-backed negotiations resume in Geneva

Peace talks aimed at finding a political solution to the war in Syria have resumed in Geneva.<p>The UN’s special envoy Staffan de Mistura is holding meetings with both the Syrian government and representatives of opposition factions.<p>The two sides are not expected to meet face-to-face initially and …

World News

Le Pen has found out that Lebanese Christians aren’t that fond of her

Marine Le Pen has been doing a little Trumping in Beirut. Yes, all the way from Paris she came to ride her French presidential election campaign …

Marine Le Pen

Freezing the Status Quo Will Help Bring Peace to Syria

After nearly six years of war, observers would be forgiven for greeting the latest Syria negotiations in Geneva with scepticism. Since the ill-fated …

World News

U.N. Security Council to vote on Syria sanctions over chemical weapons - diplomat | Reuters

By Rodrigo Campos<br>| UNITED NATIONS<p>UNITED NATIONS The United Nations Security Council will likely vote on a resolution to blacklist 11 Syrian military …

Chemical Weapons

Geneva peace talks: looking for a way out of Syrian war

Opposing sides in the Syrian war have come face to face in UN peace talks for the first time in three years, as a way out of the deadly conflict remains elusive.<p>Describing the negotiations as an uphill task, the UN’s special envoy called for a joint effort.<p>“Let us now keep the interest of Syria and …

World News