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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States is prepared to work with Russia on the establishment of “no-fly zones” in Syria, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday. In a wide-ranging statement issued two days ahead of President Donald Trump’s first face-to-face with Vladimir Putin, Tillerson said Russia had a “special responsibility” to help stabilize the war-ravaged country. “The (US) is prepared to explore the possibility of establishing with Russia joint mechanisms […]
(Reuters) — Videos uploaded to social media websites on Monday (July 3) appeared to show air strikes targeting neighborhoods close to the Syrian capital, Damascus. The videos showed smoke rising from explosions in what was said to be the the outer suburbs of Erbin and Jobar, located to the north-east of Damacus. In one of the videos a warplane is briefly seen flying overhead before a large explosion in the distance. The Syrian Observatory for […]
Agence France Presse A senior officer aboard a United States Navy supercarrier deployed in the eastern Mediterranean said Monday his forces were wary of “tensions” with allies of Syria’s regime but were ready to defend US-backed forces. The USS George H.W. Bush has been a leading part of the US bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria, primarily against the Islamic State group but on occasion targeting Syrian government forces and their allies fighting US-backed groups. […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Syria’s former defense minister Mustafa Tlass, a close friend of President Bashar al-Assad’s father and predecessor Hafez, died in Paris on Tuesday, his son Firas said. He was 85. Tlass, whose other son Manaf was among the most high-profile regime officials to defect during the early days of Syria’s uprising, died in a hospital on the outskirts of the French capital. “Tlass died this morning at the Avicenne hospital and will be buried in Paris in […]
SYRIA (Reuters) — The world’s chemical weapons watchdog said the banned nerve agent sarin was used in an attack in northern Syria in April that killed dozens of people, a report from a fact-finding team seen by Reuters on Thursday (June 29) showed. The report was circulated to members of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, but was not made public. The attack on April 4 in the town […]
JERUSALEM, Israel (AFP) — Israel hit a Syrian regime position on Wednesday night after stray mortar fire from the war-torn country struck the occupied Golan Heights, in the third such exchange within a week. A military spokesperson said a mortar round had hit open ground in the Israeli-controlled zone of the plateau and “forces responded and targeted the Syrian army position that fired the mortar.” She did not say if the Israeli retaliatory fire had […]
(Reuters) — Both the United States and Russia have made clear that they have been trying to avoid getting drawn deeper into the Syrian conflict, a Syrian analyst said Tuesday. Despite the efforts to reach a political settlement for the Syrian crisis, the situation on the ground has grown increasingly complex over the past few months. In mid-March, Syrian government forces and the opposition engaged in the most intense fighting in almost a year in […]
SYRIA (Reuters) – The White House said on Monday (June 26) it appears the Syrian government is preparing for another chemical weapons attack. It warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad he and his military would “pay a heavy price” if it conducts such an attack. The White House statement said preparations by Syria were similar to those undertaken before an April 4 chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians and prompted President Donald Trump to order […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may be preparing a chemical weapons attack that would result in the “mass murder” of civilians, the White House said Monday, warning the regime would pay a “heavy price” if it goes ahead. The White House said the preparations were similar to those undertaken by the Assad regime ahead of an apparent chemical attack on a rebel-held town. Washington launched a strike against a Syrian airbase […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday urged United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to prevent “provocations” against Syrian government forces, the foreign ministry said. In a phone call initiated by Tillerson, Lavrov “called on Washington to take steps to prevent provocations against Syrian government forces carrying out operations against terrorists,” it said in a statement. The communique was issued after Israel said it had fired on Syrian regime positions […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — US-led coalition air strikes on two Syrian provinces targeting jihadists have killed 472 civilians over the past month, a monitor said Friday, more than double a previous 30-day toll. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the period between May 23 and June 23 saw the highest civilian death toll in coalition raids for a single month since they began on September 23, 2014. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said 222 […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — A United States warplane shot down an Iranian-made drone operated by pro-regime forces in Syria early Tuesday, officials said, prompting growing international concern over rising tensions between the two sides. Russia, a key ally of the Syrian regime, accused the US-led coalition of “complicity with terrorism” after the drone was downed in southern Syria. It comes days after a US warplane shot down a Syrian government fighter jet in the north […]
