Activists say the Syrian government has dispatched reinforcements to a predominantly Christian village north of Damascus where rebels have clashed with regime troops this week. The director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the government forces sent to Maaloula include
Read More »NATO to defend Turkey, will not have offensive role
NATO is not going to broaden its role in the Syrian conflict other than providing a platform for debate amongst its members and working to protect Turkey, a NATO spokesman said at a press conference on Friday.
Read More »US Senate drafts resolution to allow military intervention in Syria
The United States Senate has drafted a bipartisan use-of-force resolution that imposes a 90-day deadline for military intervention in Syria and bars the use of US troops on the ground there. Congress this week is debating President Barack Obama’s push for a military response to what he says was Syrian …
Read More »US envoy criticises Russia for holding the Security Council hostage on Syria at G20 Summit
US envoy to the United Nations, Samantha Power showed her frustration at Moscow, accusing the country of holding the Security Council hostage by repeatedly blocking resolutions. World leaders at the G20 Summit were divided over Syria at the end of the first day of their meeting in Russia. The US …
Read More »Russia’s Black Sea Fleet to join the country’s Mediterranean task force
A new group of ships from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet will join the country’s Mediterranean task force within days. The task force currently includes vessels from the Pacific, Northern, Baltic and Black Sea fleets: the destroyer Admiral Panteleyev, the large amphibious landing ships Admiral Nevelsky and Alexander Shabalin, the frigate …
Read More »Russia warns of catastrophe effects if reactor near Damascus is hit by strike
Russia said that a military strike on Syria could have catastrophic effects if a missile hit a small reactor near Damascus that contains radioactive uranium. The Foreign Ministry called Wednesday on the U.N. nuclear agency to urgently assess the risk as the United States considers military action to punish Syria’s government for an alleged gas attack.
Read More »Iranian ambassador to Lebanon says US Congress should reject the use of force in Syria
The U.S. Congress should reject the use of force in Syria in order to protect regional peace, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon said Thursday. Congress must follow U.S. President Barack Obama’s “rational” policy, Ghazanfar Roknabadi said
Read More »Syrian rebels withdraw from Christian town
Syrian rebels who seized an entry to a Christian town north of Damascus this week have now withdrawn to protect religious and archaeological sites there, an opposition statement said. “Free Syrian Army (FSA) units on Wednesday destroyed posts at Maalula and
Read More »UN chief calls for political solution on Syria at G20 Summit
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged G20 nation leaders at their summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg to find a political solution to the “unprecedented” humanitarian crisis in Syria. At a Friday morning meeting on the sidelines of the summit, the UN chief called on world leaders …
Read More »Turkey says strikes on Syria should aim the removal of Assad’s regime
Any military operation against Syria should be thorough and aim to end the country’s vicious civil war, according to Ankara, which believes that this requires the removal of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. An intervention against Syria that is forceful and extensive enough to end the war will achieve greater legitimacy …
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