A video published on Thursday showed fighters of the al Qaida-linked Nusra Front in Syria executing 11 men whom they accused of taking part in massacres by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. The film is believed to be from eastern Deir al-Zor province and dates from some time in 2012, according to the Syrian Observatory for [...]
US, UN Dispute Claim that Syrian Rebels Used Poison Gas
May 7, 2013 | Posted by
Carla del Ponte, a member of the U.N. panel investigating Syria, says that rebels there may have used poison gas in conflicts with the Syrian military. The claim threw a curve in U.S. calculations in approach to the region, although the White House immediately cast doubt on her statement. On Sunday, del Ponte told Swiss-Italian [...]
President Obama Considers Providing Weapons to Syrian Rebels Against Assad
May 1, 2013 | Posted by
While the specter of the Iraq War continues to hang over President Obama like a storm cloud, impinging on his willingness to get involved in the Syrian civil war, the White House is now considering providing weapons to Syrian rebels, according to a story in the Washington Post and other published reports. The tentative confirmation [...]
US Approves Additional $123M Aid to Syria
April 21, 2013 | Posted by
The United States has approved providing Syrian rebels with $123m in new nonlethal aid that may include body armour and other types of supplies that have not been part of the assistance package in the past. The additional money will double the nonlethal assistance to the Syrian opposition as well as increase humanitarian aid. “This [...]
Report: Syrian Rebels Trained by U.S. to Fight Against President Assad
March 27, 2013 | Posted by
As a Syrian opposition leader revealed Tuesday that he has asked the United States for military help in fighting President Bashar Assad, a report by the Associated Press said the U.S. has been secretly training Syrian fighters for months in Jordan to take on Assad’s army. At an Arab League summit meeting in Qatar, opposition [...]
Kerry: US to Back Rebels Seeking Assad’s Ouster in Syria
February 27, 2013 | Posted by
Newly confirmed Secretary of State John Kerry, in the midst of a European tour, is wading into the brutal, intractable conflict in Syria, stating that the U.S. is committed to working with the rebels to speed Syrian President Bashar Assad’s ouster. After meeting in Paris with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Kerry also had a surprisingly [...]
NY Times: Obama Considering Arming Syrian Rebels Against Assad
February 19, 2013 | Posted by
As the atrocities mount in Syria, President Obama is considering providing arms to the rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad, even though he has been reluctant to do so in the past, according to a report in The New York Times today. In a conflict that has thus far killed more than 70,000 Syrians, the [...]
In Syria, Assad Uses Scud Missiles Against the Rebels
December 12, 2012 | Posted by
The regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad crossed a line today by firing at least six Scud missile on the Syrian people, apparently in a desperate attempt to send a message to the Syrian rebels fighting against Assad. The missile, which became well-known to Americans during the first Gulf War conflict because they were used [...]
Syrian Confict Spills Over into Lebanon
August 24, 2012 | Posted by
Syria’s uprising continues to be staged within the country’s major cities and roadways, enveloping the country’s citizens in warfare. However, as rebels fight to overthrow the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, a historic conflict has spread the war beyond Syrian borders. Less than a hundred miles from the Syrian capital of Damascus, Lebanese Sunni Muslims [...]
Syria: 4th Member of President Assad’s Inner Circle Dies from Bombing
July 20, 2012 | Posted by
Syria Update – A fourth member of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s inner circle has died from wounds suffered during Wednesday’s suicide bombing, a day after President Assad on Thursday finally made an appearance on state TV, his first since the bombing occurred. Gen. Hisham Ikhtiyar, who was Syria’s national security chief, died early Friday morning, [...]
