Bashar al-Assad

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Kremlin: Nope, Assad Isn't Headed for Divorce

Russia denies Turkish media reports that ex-Syrian dictator and Asma Assad are splitting

(Newser) - Russia on Monday addressed divorce rumors concerning Bashar al-Assad and his wife, Asma al-Assad, denying them outright. "No, they do not correspond to reality," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on a conference call about the media reports out of Turkey alleging the Assads' split, per Reuters . Peskov also...

Bashar Assad's Wife Files for Divorce: Reports

Asma Assad is also reportedly pursuing a move back to the UK

(Newser) - Bashar Assad's wife has filed to divorce the deposed Syrian president, according to Turkish and Arab reports cited by the Jerusalem Post . Asma Assad is currently in Moscow, where her husband has been granted asylum, NDTV reports. But according to the reports cited by the Post, she is looking...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Assad Is Out. Now What?


Assad Is Out.
Now What?
the rundown
Dec 8, 2024 7:50 AM CST

Assad Is Out. Now What?

Mideast balance of power shifting, with Iran seen as suffering a major blow

(Newser) - The fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria is expected to bring about a fundamental shift in the balance of power in the Mideast. But exactly how that will play out is still in flux. Coverage:
  • Possible vacuum: The Wall Street Journal reports that the speed with which the government
...

Stunning Fall: Assad Family's 54-Year Reign Ends in Syria

Rebels take the capital of Damascus, and the president has fled the country

(Newser) - The Assad family's 54-year authoritarian rule has come to an end in Syria. Rebels took control of the capital of Damascus without a fight, and President Bashar al-Assad is nowhere to be seen, reports the BBC . Russia's foreign ministry confirmed Sunday that Assad had resigned and left his...

Syrian Troops Withdraw From the South
Opposition Troops Reach
Damascus Suburbs
updated
Dec 7, 2024 5:30 PM CST

Opposition Troops Reach Damascus Suburbs

Syrian army abandons the key city of Homs

(Newser) - The rebel offensive in Syria has picked up speed, with forces moving into the suburbs of the capital, Damascus. Government forces have abandoned the central city of Homs, per the AP , and the location of President Bashar Assad was unknown. The army withdrew from much of southern Syria earlier Saturday,...

'If Homs Falls, I Don't See How the Regime Can Survive'

Anti-government forces in Syria close in on third major city

(Newser) - Rebel forces in Syria continue to win so much territory that it's posing a genuine threat to the regime of Bashar al-Assad. First, the nation's largest city, Aleppo , fell last week. Then came another major city, Hama. Now rebels led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) are...

Understanding Syrian Unrest Starts With 3 Letters: HTS

Rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led the right to seize Aleppo from the government

(Newser) - Syria's long-running civil war has been off the radar for a while, but the stunning, out-of-the-blue capture of Aleppo —the nation's largest city—by rebels has changed that in a hurry. Those catching up with events will have to get familiar with a new acronym, HTS, short...

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