Syria

‘Mass exodus’ of Syrians could hit Cyprus’ construction industry

A number of Syrian nationals have already left Cyprus to return to a post-Assad state, raising local concerns over the impact a flood of returns may have on the country’s…

Read More Here

How the loss of its Mediterranean naval base in Syria would weaken Russia as a global power

By Basil Germond, Professor of International Security, Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, Lancaster University The fall of the Assad regime constitutes a major blow to Russia’s foreign policy and…

Read More Here

Syria’s Population Crisis: Millions Displaced Since 2011

On Sunday morning, millions of Syrians, both within the country and abroad, woke up to a changed nation after opposition forces swept into Damascus, bringing an end to President Bashar…

Read More Here

Syria’s new transitional PM calls for stability and calm

The prime minister of Syria's new transitional government has said it is time for people to "enjoy stability and calm" after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Mohammed al-Bashir, the…

Read More Here

Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani: former al Qaeda chief who led overthrow of Syria’s Assad?

As the commander of al Qaeda's franchise in the Syrian civil war, Abu Mohammed al-Golani was a shadowy figure who kept out of the public eye, even when his group…

Read More Here

Israel pounds Syrian army bases, denies deeper incursion

Israel pounded Syrian army bases on Tuesday in strikes it says aim to keep weapons from falling into hostile hands, but denied its forces had advanced into Syria beyond a…

Read More Here

European countries put Syrian asylum bids on hold after Assad’s fall

European countries put asylum applications from Syrians on hold until further notice on Monday after rebels seized the Syrian capital and President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia following 13 years…

Read More Here

Work begins on new Syrian government and order after Assad ouster

The lightning overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad left Syrians, countries in the region and world powers nervous on Tuesday about what comes next as the rebel alliance took its first…

Read More Here

Austria stops processing Syrians’ asylum applications after Assad falls

Austria's caretaker government said on Monday it had ordered a halt to the processing of asylum applications by Syrians after rebels seized Damascus and President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia…

Read More Here

Assad’s downfall — the winners and losers

After a lightning rebel advance overran Damascus and forced Syrian strongman Bashar Assad to flee, the world is trying to understand the latest dramatic rupture in the Middle East and…

Read More Here

Syria’s Assad is in Moscow after deal on military bases

Syria's former President Bashar al-Assad is in Moscow with his family after Russia granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds, a Kremlin source told Russian news agencies, and a deal has…

Read More Here

Israeli military enters Golan Heights, Airstrikes hit chemical weapons depot in Damascus

Israel’s military entered a demilitarized buffer zone in the Syrian-controlled Golan Heights on Sunday aiming to head off any threat from the insurgency that has toppled Syrian dictator Bashar Assad,…

Read More Here

Foreign armies in Syria and how they came to be there

The resurgence of fighting in Syria has brought into focus the role of foreign powers in the country. Turkey, Iran, Russia and the United States have all deployed troops in…

Read More Here

Syrian insurgents capture central city of Hama

Syrian insurgents swept into the central city of Hama on Thursday and government forces withdrew, dealing another major blow to Syrian President Bashar Assad days after insurgents captured much of…

Read More Here

Iraqi fighters head to Syria to battle rebels but Lebanon’s Hezbollah stays out

Hundreds of Iran-backed Iraqi fighters crossed into Syria to help the government fight rebels who seized Aleppo last week, but Lebanon's Hezbollah has no plans for now to join them,…

Read More Here

Kremlin says it wants Syria to swiftly restore order after rebel attack

The Kremlin said on Friday it wanted the Syrian government to restore constitutional order in the Aleppo region as soon as possible after an insurgent offensive there that captured territory…

Read More Here

Syrian and Russian jets bomb rebel-held northwest Syria

The Russian and Syrian air forces bombed rebel-held northwest Syria near the border with Turkey on Thursday to push back a rebel offensive that captured territory for the first time…

Read More Here

Israeli special forces ‘raid missile site in Syria’

Details are emerging of an apparent raid by Israeli special forces on a "Hezbollah missile production facility" in Syria. Israel's government has said nothing about the operation which, according to…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Several killed in Israeli strikes on Syria

Multiple Israeli strikes on Syria's Hama countryside late on Sunday killed at several civilians, Syrian state media reported, with sources saying the attacks targeted a major military research center. Since…

Read More Here

Earthquake of magnitude 4.8 strikes Jordan-Syria border

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck the Jordan-Syria border on Friday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said. The quake was at a depth of 10 km (6 miles), it…

Read More Here

Earthquake of magnitude 4.8 strikes Jordan-Syria region

A 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck Jordan and Syria late on Monday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), with residents across both countries and in Lebanon feeling its…

Read More Here

Italy appoints ambassador to Syria to ‘turn spotlight’ on country

Italy has decided to appoint an ambassador to Syria "to turn a spotlight" on the country, its foreign minister said, making it the first G7 nation to relaunch its diplomatic…

Read More Here

Several killed in Israeli attack in Syria

A number of people were killed in an Israeli air attack targeting sites in the vicinity of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday, Syrian state media said citing a…

Read More Here

Syrians in Lebanon fear unprecedented restrictions, deportations

The soldiers came before daybreak, singling out the Syrian men without residence permits from the tattered camp in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. As toddlers wailed around them, Mona, a Syrian refugee…

Read More Here

Saudi Arabia appoints first ambassador to Syria since 2012

Saudi Arabia announced the appointment of its first ambassador to Syria since severing ties with Damascus in 12 years, marking an ongoing thawing in relations since the war-torn country was…

Read More Here

Syria’s First Lady Asma al-Assad diagnosed with leukemia

Syria's first lady, Asma al-Assad, has been diagnosed with leukemia, the Syrian presidency said on Tuesday, almost five years after she announced she had fully recovered from breast cancer. The…

Read More Here

Israeli strikes on Syria kill dozens, security sources say

CAIRO, March 29 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo early on Friday killed 38 people, including five members of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, two security…

Read More Here

Jordan army detects suspicious aerial movement near Syria border

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN, March 18 (Reuters) - The Jordanian army said on Monday its air defence radar system had detected suspicious aerial movements from an unknown source along the…

Read More Here

Israeli airstrike kills two people in Damascus

DAMASCUS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - An Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in the Kafr Sousa district in Syria's capital Damascus on Wednesday, killing two people, Syrian state media and…

Read More Here

Syrian army says it shot down Israeli missiles launched at Damascus countryside

Feb 10 (Reuters) - Syrian air defences shot down Israeli missiles launched at the Damascus countryside in the early hours of Saturday, the Syrian army said, in the second such…

Read More Here

Suspected Jordan strikes on southern Syria kill 10

BEIRUT, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Suspected Jordanian air strikes on southern Syria killed 10 people including children early on Thursday, according to local Syrian media and monitors tracking the conflict.…

Read More Here

Israeli air strike in Syria kills senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards member

An Israeli air strike outside the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday killed a senior adviser in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, three security sources and Iranian state media said.The sources told Reuters…

Read More Here

Syria says Israel strike puts Damascus airport out of service

AMMAN (Reuters) - Israeli air strikes put Damascus airport out of service on Sunday, forcing incoming flights to be diverted elsewhere, the Syrian army and a pro-government newspaper said. Israel…

Read More Here

Israel strikes Syria after drone hits southern Eilat city

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's military said an organisation in Syria launched a drone that hit a school in the southern Israeli city of Eilat on Thursday and that it struck…

Read More Here

US carries out new strikes against facility used by Iran in Syria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, for the second time in recent weeks, carried out strikes against a weapon storage facility in eastern Syria that the Pentagon said was used…

Read More Here

Unidentified aircraft targeted truck convoy in Syria

BAGHDAD, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Unidentified aircraft targeted a truck convoy stationed on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq on Sunday night, an Iraqi border official said on…

Read More Here

UPDATED: US strikes Iranian targets in Syria -Pentagon

Oct 27 (Reuters) - Two U.S. fighter jets struck weapons and ammunition facilities in Syria on Friday in retaliation for attacks on U.S. forces by Iranian-backed militia as concerns grew…

Read More Here

Israeli invasion of Gaza likely to resemble past difficult battles in Iraq and Syria

Israel appears to be preparing for the next phase of its military operation: a ground campaign to “crush and destroy” Hamas, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put it.…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Syria says Israeli attack kills eight soldiers

BEIRUT, Oct 25 (Reuters) - An Israeli attack on military positions in southwest Syria on Wednesday killed eight soldiers and wounded seven more, the Syrian state news agency (SANA) reported.…

Read More Here

US troops attacked in Iraq, Syria and on alert for more strikes

By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. troops have been repeatedly attacked in Iraq and Syria in recent days, U.S. officials said, as Washington is on heightened alert for activity…

Read More Here

Iran accused of trying to deploy arms in or through Syria

JERUSALEM, Oct 15 (Reuters) - A senior Israeli official accused Iran on Sunday of trying to open a second war front by deploying weapons in or through Syria as Israel…

Read More Here

Iran, Syria presidents call for unity on Palestinian support

DUBAI, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The presidents of Iran and Syria have urged Islamic countries to reach agreement on a position in support of Palestinians, a news agency linked to…

Read More Here

Syria mourns scores killed in drone attack on military academy

Oct 6 (Reuters) - Syria on Friday held funerals for scores of people killed in a drone attack on a graduation ceremony at a military academy in the Homs region…

Read More Here

Syria’s Assad in China, seeks exit from diplomatic isolation

By Joe Cash BEIJING, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in China's eastern city of Hangzhou, kicking off his first visit to the Asian nation since…

Read More Here

Syrians tear down poster of Assad in Sweida as protests swell

Demonstrators in the southern Syrian city of Sweida tore down a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad on Friday as anti-government protests that began three weeks ago swelled with crowds coming…

Read More Here

Syria’s Assad’s ruling party shut by protests in rebellious Druze city

Protesters demanding an end to authoritarian rule shut the ruling Baath party headquarters in the southwestern Syrian Druze city of Sweida as protests which entered their second week showed no…

Read More Here

Syria says Israeli air ‘aggression’ puts Aleppo airport out of service

An Israeli air 'aggression' put Aleppo international airport out of service, the Syrian defence ministry said on Monday. "The Israeli enemy carried out an air attack ... targeting Aleppo International…

Read More Here

Four Syrian soldiers killed in Israeli attack on Damascus

Aug 7 (Reuters) - An Israeli missile attack targeting the vicinity of Syria's capital Damascus killed four soldiers, wounded four more and caused "some material damage", Syrian state media reported…

Read More Here

Syrians still endure poverty despite relative calm and renewed Arab ties

War recedes but poverty persists No boost yet from improved Arab ties Companies fear Western sanctions DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Nesma Daher survived years of war in a Damascus suburb that…

Read More Here

Syria says air defences intercept Israeli missile strike

AMMAN (Reuters) -Syria said on Sunday its air defences intercepted what it called an Israeli missile strike across central parts of the country and downed most of the missiles, according…

Read More Here

Syria says Israeli missiles target sites near Damascus

AMMAN, May 29 (Reuters) - Syrian army air defences on Sunday confronted an Israeli missile strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, and there were no casualties, state…

Read More Here

Then and now: How Arab states changed course on Syria

May 19 (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad's attendance at an Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday is the result of big policy shifts by Arab states that once backed…

Read More Here

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to headline Arab summit

By Aziz El Yaakoubi Summit will mark Assad's return to fold West unhappy with development Sudan conflict among other issues to be raised Saudi asserts leadership, as Qatar steps back…

Read More Here

Arab League readmits Syria as relations with Assad normalise

Syria had been suspended from League since 2011 Some states sought conditions for Syria's return U.S. official says Syria does not merit readmission Qatar says no change in position on…

Read More Here

Seven Syrians face terror-related charges in Malta

VALLETTA, (Reuters) - Seven Syrian men were accused in a heavily guarded Maltese court on Sunday of having encouraged and trained others to commit terrorism in Europe. The seven, aged…

Read More Here

EU curbs Syria’s Assad cousins, others over suspected drug trade

(Reuters) - The European Union this week placed sanctions on people and groups linked to what it described as the Syrian government's "large-scale drug trafficking operations," and the EU also…

Read More Here

Saudi Arabia, Syria welcome thaw in ties, agree to fight drug trafficking

RIYADH, (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Syria's foreign ministers welcomed a thaw in bilateral ties, including steps to resume consular services and flights, and agreed to cooperate to fight drug…

Read More Here