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by Rim Haddad with Rouba El Husseini in Beirut Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — Syrian forces pushed forward in Aleppo Sunday as thousands fled rebel-held areas, but they lost ground to the south where the Islamic State group recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra. After a sudden regime withdrawal, IS jihadists made a lightning-fast advance across Palmyra, sparking new concerns for its remaining ancient treasures. Since mid-November, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad […]
by Karam al-Masri with Sara Hussein in Beirut Agence France-Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — Syria’s army has halted its attacks in Aleppo to allow trapped civilians to be evacuated, Russia’s foreign minister said, after advancing regime forces cornered rebels in the city. Immediately after the announcement, AFP correspondents in Aleppo said air strikes ceased and artillery fire was far less intense, but later reported that the army was continuing to shell two rebels districts, Kalasseh […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — At least 50,000 Islamic State jihadists have been killed by the US-led coalition since it began operations in Iraq and Syria in late 2014, a senior US military official said Thursday. A relentless operation using planes and drones from a dozen or so members of the anti-IS coalition since August 2014 has conducted some 16,000 air strikes against the jihadists in Iraq and Syria — two-thirds of them in Iraq. […]
ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) – by Karam al-Masri with Sara Hussein in Beirut Syria’s army battled to take more ground from rebels in Aleppo Thursday after President Bashar al-Assad said victory for his troops in the city would be a turning point in the war. Three weeks into a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo, government troops have captured about 85 percent of territory rebels controlled in the city’s east and were continuing to push […]
DAMASCUS, Syria (Reuters) — Syria’s Minister of Reconciliation Ali Haidar said Wednesday in Damascus that the victory of the Syrian army in the northern city of Aleppo is a “strategic and qualitative” one. Speaking to reporters after meeting with China’s special envoy to Syria, Xie Xiaoyan, Haidar said that the Syrian army’s recent sweeping victories in the city will have a huge impact politically and militarily. “The victory in Aleppo is a strategic and qualitative […]
by Karam al-Masri with Sara Hussein in Beirut Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) – ebels in Aleppo called for a five-day truce and the evacuation of civilians Wednesday after losing more territory including the Old City to a Syrian army offensive. Heavy fighting in the city stoked mounting international concern, with six Western powers urging a ceasefire and UN chief Ban Ki-moon describing the plight of civilians as “heartbreaking”. US Secretary of State […]
ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — A seven-year-old Syrian girl whose Twitter account from Aleppo gained international attention has fled her home amid heavy fighting, but she and her family are safe for now, her father told AFP Tuesday. With her mother’s help, Bana al-Abed had been posting heart-rending tweets in English on life in the besieged eastern districts of Syria’s Aleppo. But as Syrian government forces edged closer to their home in recent days, the Abed […]
ESSEN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday it was a “disgrace” that the international community had been unable to alleviate the suffering in Syria’s besieged city of Aleppo. “Aleppo is a disgrace,” she said in a speech to her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, slamming Russian and Iranian support for the bombardment by Bashar al-Assad’s regime. “It is a disgrace that we have been unable to establish humanitarian corridors, but we […]
ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) – by Karam al-Masri with Maya Gebeily in Beirut Syrian regime forces were on the verge Tuesday of seizing a major rebel district of Aleppo as Moscow and Washington traded barbs over stalled efforts to end fighting in the battle-worn city. After retaking control of about two-thirds of east Aleppo in recent days, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad were advancing Tuesday in the large residential district of Shaar. The Syrian Observatory […]
UNITED NATION, United States (AFP) — Russia and China on Monday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a seven-day ceasefire in the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo. Venezuela also voted against the text, while Angola abstained. The 11 other council members voted in favor. The vote marked the sixth time Russia has blocked a council resolution on Syria since the conflict began in March 2011, and the fifth for China. A close ally […]
JIBRIN, Syria (AFP) – by Maher Al-Mounes Fawwaz al-Ashaari stayed on in rebel-held east Aleppo through the loss of his eldest son and his home. But as fighting got closer, he joined a mass exodus to government territory. Some 20,000 civilians have made the same journey since Saturday as a government offensive on rebel-held areas has intensified. Another 30,000 have sought refuge in a Kurdish-controlled enclave between the city’s two sectors. “I can’t lose any […]
ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) – by Karam al-Masri with Sara Hussein in Beirut The Syrian government offensive to recapture rebel-held parts of Aleppo sparked international alarm on Tuesday, with the UN saying nearly 16,000 people had fled the assault and more could follow. France called for an immediate UN Security Council session on the fighting, which has seen the army capture a third of opposition-controlled east Aleppo in recent days. The fighting has prompted an exodus […]
