Syria
Latest stories
Charbel: Qatar Tasked Security Official to Follow up on Case of Abducted Pilgrims

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim completed on Thursday a visit to Qatar where they held talks on the case of nine abducted Lebanese pilgrims held in Syria.

Charbel announced at the end of the talks that Qatar appointed a security official to follow up on the issue with Ibrahim's supervision.

W140 Full Story
Qabbani: God Willing We Will Celebrate Syrian People's Victory in Heart of Syria

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani slammed on Thursday the Syrian regime as an “oppressor,” wondering how it could “kill its own people.”

He said: “God willing, we will celebrate the Syrian people's victory in the heart of their country.

W140 Full Story
Air Raid near Damascus Kills 7 Children

An air raid south of Damascus on Thursday killed at least 11 civilians, among them seven children, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Seven girls, three women and a man were killed in the air strike," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman, updating an earlier toll of 10.

W140 Full Story
Iran Navy Plans Fresh Mediterranean Mission

Iran plans to dispatch a small naval fleet to the Mediterranean in line with its intention of boosting its presence in international waters, its navy chief was cited by the media Thursday as saying.

The deployment will mark Iran's third mission since the 1979 Islamic revolution to the Mediterranean. Iranian warships docked at Syrian ports in 2011 and 2012.

W140 Full Story
Syrian Diplomat Says Embassy in Lebanon Committed to Norms

Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali stressed on Thursday that his embassy is committed to the Lebanese diplomatic norms, urging the end of alleged arms smuggling to Damascus for having negative impact on the bilateral ties between the two countries.

“Those who are calling for my expulsion have hidden motives that has nothing to do with constitution, the brother-ties between the two countries nor with the behavior of our mission,” Ali told reporters at Bustros Palace after holding talks with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour.

W140 Full Story
More than 100 Killed in New 'Massacre' in Syria

More than 100 civilians have been killed in a new "massacre" in Syria, a watchdog said Thursday, as Russia slammed the United States for blaming deadly blasts at a university campus on the Damascus regime.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths came when the army on Tuesday swept through farmlands north of Homs city, where it said around 1,000 people had sought refuge from fighting in the central Syria metropolis.

W140 Full Story
Russia Slams U.S. for Blaming Syria Regime for Blasts

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday hit out at the United States for "blasphemous" accusations blaming this week's blasts in the city of Aleppo on the Syrian regime.

"Yesterday I saw a semi-neutral report on CNN that it was not ruled out that this terrorist act had been staged by the government forces themselves," Lavrov said in the Tajik capital Dushanbe.

W140 Full Story
Report: Tit-for-Tat Abductions between Hizbullah, FSA

Hizbullah and the Free Syrian Army engaged in tit-for-tat kidnappings triggered by the conflict in the neighboring country Syria as media reports said that armed clashes occurred between the two sides.

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Thursday, Hizbullah kidnapped two people suspected of belonging to the FSA.

W140 Full Story
Madi Confirms Receiving MP Saqr's Recordings

General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi confirmed on Thursday that he was handed over the audio recordings that al-Mustaqbal MP Oqab Saqr revealed during a press conference to deny he was carrying out arms deals with the Free Syrian Army.

“We will analyze the content of these recordings and study if they include a penal offense,” Madi said in comments published in al-Joumhouria news paper.

W140 Full Story
Abou Faour: It is up to Syrian Refugees to Decide Moving out of Lebanon

Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour has denied that the Lebanese government would urge Arab countries to take in some of the Syrian refugees that have escaped to Lebanon.

In remarks to al-Joumhouria newspaper published Thursday, Abou Faour said: “We will not ask the deportation of Syrian refugees during the donor conference in Kuwait.”

W140 Full Story