Syria

Read recent Syrian news stories and current events on Newser.com

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Hezbollah Gets Hands on Deadlier Missiles

Iran exploits Syria conflict to funnel weapons to militant group

(Newser) - Iran appears to be using the civil war in Syria to smuggle advanced guided missile systems to Hezbollah in Lebanon, US officials tell the Wall Street Journal . The guided missiles would be a massive upgrade over Hezbollah's current cache of "dumb" rockets, greatly improving its ability to deter...

Lebanon Fires on Syrian Planes Entering Airspace

Beirut gets tough, tries to halt violence from spilling over border

(Newser) - Lebanese forces fired on Syrian aircraft that violated the country's airspace today, the first time they have done so since Syria's uprising broke out three years ago, said security officials. The move suggests Beirut is trying to enforce greater respect for its borders in the hopes of slowing...

Syria Set to Blow Chemical Weapons Deadline: UN

Movement of materials has yet to begin

(Newser) - Syria's deadline for expelling key chemical weapons is tomorrow, but insiders say the country hasn't even started transporting the arms—and watchdogs expect a missed deadline, the New York Times reports. "At this stage, transportation of the most critical chemical material before 31 December is unlikely,"...

Volunteer Surgeon Held by Syria Is Dead

UK's Abbas Khan was due to be released this week

(Newser) - A young British doctor who traveled to Syria as a volunteer to treat civilians is dead under suspicious circumstances after more than a year in custody, reports the Daily Mail . The official story is that surgeon Abbas Khan, 32, hanged himself in his cell with his pajama bottoms, reports the...

Cairo Gets First Snow in 100+ Years

Storm brings winter to much of Middle East

(Newser) - Cairo saw a rare and wonderful sight today: Snow. Much of the Middle East has been blanketed by the white stuff in recent days thanks to a region-wide cold snap and winter storm. According to local news reports, Cairo hasn't gotten snow in more than a century, the LA ...

UN: Not One Chemical Attack in Syria—There Were 5

But report doesn't say which side used them

(Newser) - Chemical weapons were probably used in four locations in Syria this year, in addition to the confirmed attack near Damascus in August that forced the government to abandon its secret chemical stockpile, according to a report from UN inspectors. The experts examined seven alleged chemical weapons attacks and said they...

US, Britain Yank Aid to Syrian Rebels

Meanwhile, Islamists kidnap human rights lawyer, two journalists

(Newser) - The US and Britain have cut off aid to Syria's opposition, after Islamist rebel groups seized bases loaded with Western-provided goods from their former Free Syrian Army colleagues. The move won't affect humanitarian aid, a US embassy spokesman tells the BBC , but rather the "non-lethal" military assistance...

Seymour Hersh: Obama Lied About Syria

President didn't mention that jihadists may have gassed Syrians

(Newser) - President Obama lied about the chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of Syrians in August—or at least spoke way out of school, writes Seymour Hersh in the London Review of Books . "In some instances, he omitted important intelligence, and in others he presented assumptions as facts," writes...

Pope Francis' Guest Today: Vladimir Putin

Pontiff will try to sway Russian president on Syria

(Newser) - Can Pope Francis melt the heart of Vladimir Putin? We're about to find out, as the popular new pontiff makes his first real foray into global politics today, hosting the Russian president at the Vatican. In a closed-door meeting, Francis intends to press Putin on what Russia can do...

Syria: Snipers, Death Squads Target Kids
'War on Childhood' Has
Killed 11K Kids in Syria
NEW REPORT
Nov 25, 2013 3:03 AM CST

'War on Childhood' Has Killed 11K Kids in Syria

Snipers, death squads target children as jihadists make gains

(Newser) - The horrific toll civil war is taking on the children of Syria is laid bare in the first major report to focus on the issue. At least 11,420 children, more than a tenth of the conflict's casualties, have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011, including...

US' New Plan: Burn Syria's Weapons at Sea

Or rather, it might have someone else do it

(Newser) - Countries all over the world want Syria's chemical weapons destroyed—just not on their soil. Albania turned down a request to destroy the weapons there last week, after thousands of people took to the streets in protest, and Norway begged off an earlier request. So the US is pitching...

Twin Bombs Hit Iran Embassy in Beirut, Kill 23

Al-Qaeda-linked group claims responsibility for Beirut blast

(Newser) - An al-Qaeda-linked group has claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombings that struck outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, killing 23 people, including an Iranian diplomat. The obscure Abdullah Azzam Brigades said in online posts that it carried out the mid-morning bombings today in a southern Beirut Hezbollah stronghold. The group...

'Very, Very Important' Syrian Rebel Leader Killed

Abdulkader al-Saleh led Qatar-backed force

(Newser) - The New York Times describes Abdulkader al-Saleh as a Syrian rebel leader "who brought together one of the most effective and organized factions" against Bashar al-Assad. No wonder, then, that his death is being described as a major setback for the rebels. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights today...

Syrian Rebels Accidentally Behead a Syrian Rebel

Al-Qaeda linked group apologizes

(Newser) - Everybody makes mistakes at work. Here at Newser, that means making a typo. For fighters in al-Qaeda-affiliated rebel groups, it means beheading the wrong guy. Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria posted a video online recently in which they showed off a severed, bearded head, saying it...

NC Man Charged With Trying to Join al-Qaeda in Syria

Pakistani native had online relationship with undercover FBI worker

(Newser) - A North Carolina man was on his way to Lebanon to join an al-Qaeda-linked group when he was arrested, federal prosecutors say; his father says there's "no truth" in the allegations. Pakistan-born Basit Javed Sheikh, 29, is a legal permanent US resident, the News & Observer reports. He...

Syrian Rebels Recruit New Fighters at Refugee Camp

Jordan and the UN claim they're unaware

(Newser) - Syrain rebels in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan freely acknowledge recruiting fighters in the camp, trying to bolster rebel ranks in the face of stepped up offensives by President Bashar al-Assad's forces just across the border in southern Syria. Recruiting is banned in Zaatari, and the rebel activities...

Syria's Polio Threatens Europe, Warn Doctors

Refugees could inadvertently spread the disease

(Newser) - Polio might just be looking at a comeback tour, thanks to the Syrian civil war. There's a significant risk that the now-rare disease could spread from Syria to Europe, as refugees seek asylum there, a group of German scientists warned in The Lancet today. The danger is that many...

Hurdle in Destroying Syria's Chemical Weapons: Money

OPCW needs more of it

(Newser) - Here's something you may not know about the effort to rid Syria of its chemical weapons: The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons isn't just tasked with making that happen —it also has to raise the money needed to do the job. And the roughly $13....

Israel Strikes Syria Base: US Official

Warplanes hit Russian missiles: reports

(Newser) - Israeli planes struck a Syrian military base housing missiles, a White House official tells CNN ; Israel was reportedly concerned the missiles—which the AP says were of Russian origin—could be passed to Hezbollah. Israel's government hasn't confirmed the attack, though regional reports pointed to a blast at...

Deadline Met: Syria's 'Critical' Equipment Destroyed

All production, mixing facilities destroyed or inoperable: OPCW

(Newser) - All the chemical weapons production and mixing facilities declared by Syria have been either destroyed or made inoperable, in advance of tomorrow's UN deadline, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said today. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization's teams still have not been able to visit two...

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