Syria

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Putin Vows to Ask Assad About Austin Tice

Russian president speaks on Ukraine war, Syria upheaval in his hourslong annual address

(Newser) - If Russia's reputation has been made weaker by its ongoing war in Ukraine and the recent regime change in Syria, Vladimir Putin isn't acknowledging it. At his annual news conference and call-in show in Moscow on Thursday, which the AP deemed a "tightly choreographed event" that lasted...

The Pills Spill in Syria
The Pills Spill in Syria
Dec 17, 2024 2:13 PM CST

The Pills Spill in Syria

Rebels uncover evidence of Assad regime's production, trafficking of Captagon

(Newser) - Syria's new rebel-led government has uncovered what experts say is proof of the former Assad regime's role in manufacturing and trafficking an addictive methamphetamine-like drug to fuel a crisis across the Middle East. For more than a decade, fenethylline, a synthetic stimulant known by the brand name Captagon,...

'Freed Prisoner' Found by CNN Reporter May Be Syria Torturer

Network says it's investigating the report from a local fact-checking group

(Newser) - In a dramatic viral video , CNN correspondent Clarissa Ward , looking for signs of captured US journalist Austin Tice in a Syrian prison, instead found a man huddled under a blanket who claimed he'd been imprisoned for months and had no idea President Bashar al-Assad's regime had collapsed. Now,...

The Assads Are Done. So Where Is the Money?
The Assads Are Done.
So Where Is the Money?
longform
Dec 16, 2024 12:14 PM CST

The Assads Are Done. So Where Is the Money?

Wall Street Journal reports on the hunt for billions stashed away by the family dynasty in Syria

(Newser) - The World Bank estimates that an astonishing 70% of Syrians lived in poverty in 2022 as residents coped with a long-running civil war. By contrast, the ruling Assad family had managed to swash away as much as $12 billion, much of it acquired illicitly, according to a State Department estimate...

Assad Breaks His Silence: Fleeing Syria Wasn't My Idea

He says Russians flew him out only because their base came under attack

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad has spoken out for the first time since he fled Syria —and he says his exit from the country he ruled with an iron fist for nearly 25 years wasn't his idea. In an online statement, Assad says he first went to a Russian base on...

Before He Fled, Assad Lied to Everyone About Plans
Before He Fled, Assad
Lied to Everyone About Plans
the rundown
Dec 15, 2024 8:58 AM CST

Before He Fled, Assad Lied to Everyone About Plans

Ousted Syrian leader kept reassuring his military that help was on the way

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad likely saved his own life by escaping to Russia as rebels closed in on Damascus, Syria, and both Reuters and Bloomberg have reports on his final hours there. One key to his escape, apparently, is that Assad lied through his teeth to close associates and his military commanders...

Blinken: US Has Been in Touch With HTS in Syria

Secretary of state also says US has a message for the Syrian people: 'We want them to succeed'

(Newser) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that American officials have been in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group that spearheaded the overthrow of President Bashar Assad's government but is designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States and others. Blinken is the first US official...

Where Is Austin Tice?
Where Is Austin Tice?
the rundown
Dec 14, 2024 8:00 AM CST

Where Is Austin Tice?

Hunt continues for American imprisoned in Syria more than a decade ago

(Newser) - Thousands of political prisoners have been freed in Syria since the fall of Bashar Assad, but there's still no sign of Austin Tice. The American journalist was taken prisoner in 2012 while reporting on Syria's civil war, and his family is holding out hope he remains alive. The...

From Syria's Liberated Prisons, an American Emerges

Travis Timmerman says he was detained for 7 months after crossing illegally into the country

(Newser) - An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday says he was detained after crossing into the country by foot on a Christian pilgrimage seven months ago. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country's notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus over the...

After 32 Years in Syrian Prisons, 'Freedom' at Last

Suheil Hamwi describes his arrest, torture, and return to Lebanon

(Newser) - Suheil Hamwi spent 32 years in a Syrian prison, and now, after an offensive by insurgents that toppled the government of Bashar Assad, he's finally returned to his home in Lebanon, per the AP . In 1992, Hamwi worked as a merchant, selling various goods in the town of Chekka...

Tomb of Assad's Father Is Torched
Tomb of Assad's
Father Is Torched
Dec 11, 2024 8:00 AM CST

Tomb of Assad's Father Is Torched

Hafez al-Assad's remains were kept in a mausoleum in the family's hometown

(Newser) - The tomb that holds the remains of Bashar al-Assad's father has apparently been torched in Syria. The BBC reports that images (see them here ) show fighters beside the burning gravesite of former president Hafez al-Assad, who died in 2000 and was interred in a mausoleum in his hometown...

Israel Strikes Hundreds of Sites Across Syria

Biden administration says it's willing to support new government that renounces terrorism

(Newser) - Israel said Tuesday it had bombed more than 350 military sites in Syria during the previous 48 hours, targeting "most of the strategic weapons stockpiles" in the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the wave of airstrikes in neighboring Syria was necessary to keep the weapons from being...

Syrian Rebels: We've Found Mutilated Bodies

They vow to punish senior officials in the fallen Assad regime

(Newser) - The rebel alliance that has taken over Syria says it plans to punish senior officials from the overthrown government of Bashar Assad after finding evidence of torture. The group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, says it found about 40 bodies bearing signs of torture in the mortuary of a military...

Syrian Government Services at 'Complete Halt'

UN official says it could be days before state workers decide it is safe to return to work

(Newser) - Syria's prime minister said Monday that most cabinet ministers were back at work after rebels overthrew President Bashar Assad, but some state workers failed to return to their jobs, and a United Nations official said the country's public sector had come "to a complete and abrupt halt....

Relatives Seek Loved Ones at Infamous Syrian Prison
Inside Syria's Most
Notorious Prison
the rundown
Dec 9, 2024 3:10 PM CST

Inside Syria's Most Notorious Prison

Reporters able to visit Saydnaya facility near Damascus

(Newser) - One of the first things militant groups did upon taking control in Syria was to open prisons and free tens of thousands of Bashar al-Assad's political enemies. That includes the most notorious military prison of all, the Saydnaya facility on the outskirts of Damascus. Coverage:
  • Amnesty International famously described
...

What We Know About Syria's 'Most Important' Figure
What We Know About
Syria's 'Most Important' Figure
the rundown
Dec 9, 2024 9:24 AM CST

What We Know About Syria's 'Most Important' Figure

Abu Mohammed al-Golani now goes by his given name, Ahmed al-Sharaa

(Newser) - It remains unclear who will be the next leader of Syria now that Bashar al-Assad is gone , but one man is clearly positioning himself for the role: Abu Mohammed al-Golani, leader of the main military faction behind the push to oust Assad. However, in a move that speaks volumes about...

'Disappeared' Syrians Re-Emerge, Some for First Time in Years

Rebels are freeing prisoners after downfall of Syrian president

(Newser) - Bashar Barhoum woke in his dungeon prison cell in Damascus at dawn Sunday, thinking it would be the last day of his life. The 63-year-old writer was supposed to have been executed after being imprisoned for seven months. But he soon realized the men at the door weren't from...

As Assad Flees Syria, Israel Seizes a Buffer Zone

Netanyahu says 1974 disengagement agreement regarding the Golan Heights has 'collapsed'

(Newser) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israeli forces have seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria, the AP reports. He spoke from an overlook near the border between Syria and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, after Syrian rebels dramatically...

Global Reaction to Collapse Is Hopeful

UN envoy calls for urgent talks in Geneva

(Newser) - Global response to the end of President Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria included expressions of optimism that the nation can emerge from what a UN envoy called "this dark chapter" to establish a government that respects peace and human rights. President Biden addressed the US on Sunday about...

Russia Grants Asylum to Assad
Russia Says It's
Taken In Assad
Dec 8, 2024 1:15 PM CST

Russia Says It's Taken In Assad

Biden tells nation US actions 'shifted the balance of power' in the Middle East

(Newser) - Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Moscow with his family, Russian state media reported Sunday, and was granted asylum "for humanitarian reasons." The report could not immediately be confirmed by outside outlets. Russia had supported Assad's government, and a Kremlin official said Syrian rebels provided...

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