syria

Ahmed al-Sharaa Washington Visit Marks Historic U.S.–Syria Reset

Ahmed Al-Sharaa Washington Visit Marks Historic U.S.–Syria Reset

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Washington on Saturday for his first official visit to the United States, just two days after Washington formally removed him from its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists, a move signaling a historic thaw in relations between the former foes.

The trip marks the highest-level contact between Damascus and Washington in nearly two decades. Al-Sharaa, a former Islamist militant whose forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last year, is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

Analysts say the visit reflects Washington’s cautious embrace of Syria’s new leadership …

UN Lifts Sanctions On Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa

UN Lifts Sanctions On Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa

The United Nations Security Council voted on Thursday to lift long-standing sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab, paving the way for a major diplomatic thaw between Damascus and Washington.

The U.S.-drafted resolution passed with 14 votes in favor and one abstention from China, marking a decisive shift after more than a decade of punitive measures tied to Syria’s civil war.

The resolution comes days before President Ahmed al-Sharaa is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, the first such meeting between the two countries’ leaders since Syria’s political transition …

Defying Damascus, Sweida’s Druze Fight A Struggle To Survive

Defying Damascus, Sweida’s Druze Fight A Struggle To Survive

In the heart of southern Syria, the Druze community of Sweida has found itself at the center of a deadly confrontation with the Damascus government, driven by demands for self-determination and survival.

“The people of Sweida feel betrayed and abandoned by the majority of Syrians at the worst time in our history,” one resident told reporters anonymously, citing fear for his family’s safety. He called on Syrians to reject sectarianism and to resist the government’s grip, insisting that the Druze will never accept extremist figures or groups like Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The violence that swept through Sweida in mid-July …

UN Says Syria ‘Deeply Fragile’ As Humanitarian Needs Rise

UN Says Syria ‘Deeply Fragile’ As Humanitarian Needs Rise

The United Nations warned Thursday that Syria remains “deeply fragile” despite a recent period of relative calm, urging the Security Council to step up efforts toward peace, accountability, and humanitarian support.

“As we meet, Syrians in Damascus and elsewhere, inside and outside Syria, are marking the somber anniversary of the Ghouta chemical weapons attack of 2013,” UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the Council. “It is a painful reminder of the suffering endured by Syrian civilians, and of the grave abuses and violations of international law that must never be repeated.”

Pedersen emphasized renewed diplomacy and respect for …

13 Reported Dead In Two Days Of Syria Rebel Clashes

13 Reported Dead In Two Days Of Syria Rebel Clashes

Fresh reports reaching the desk of Africa Daily News, New York has revealed that up to thirteen people who are mostly fighters have been found to have been murdered in the two days of ongoing clashes between some of the rival factions competing for power in northwest Syria, a war monitor said Wednesday.

The terrible fighting between the two pro-Turkish Syrian rebel groups began in the town of Al-Bab in northern Aleppo province before spreading to other areas and drawing in other factions, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Read Also: Russia Lashes Out At Continued Israeli Strikes

Russia Lashes Out At Continued Israeli Strikes On Syria

Russia Lashes Out At Continued Israeli Strikes On Syria

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has announced that Moscow condemns in strong terms as unacceptable the ongoing Israeli attacks on Syria that could result in a significant military escalation.

‘We consider similar irresponsible moves by Israel to be absolutely inadmissible. We resolutely condemn them,’ Zakharova emphasised.

The Russian diplomat also claimed that the Israeli strikes are a flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty and fundamental principles of international law.

‘We believe that such a vicious practice in no way contributes to reducing security risks for Israel itself. On the contrary, destabilising acts of force may provoke retaliatory moves and lead

Landmine Explosion Kills Eleven In Syria

Landmine Explosion Kills Eleven In Syria

No fewer than eleven people were killed and dozens left wounded when their pick-up truck ran over a landmine near Syria’s southern city of Daraa, a war monitor disclosed on Sunday.

‘Eleven people, including five children under 16 and three women, were killed and around 34 people were injured’ in the explosion, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding that some were in critical condition.

Most of the victims were labourers harvesting wheat, Syria’s official SANA news agency disclosed.

The latest toll brings to 124 the total number of people killed by explosive remnants since the beginning of 2022, …

Deadly Clashes In Syria’s Daraa Claims 16 Lives

Deadly Clashes In Syria’s Daraa Claims 16 Lives

No fewer than 13 combatants and three civilians were killed on Thursday in Syria’s southern province of Daraa during the fiercest clashes there since the area came under regime control, a war monitor has revealed.

The Russian-backed Syrian army and allied forces recaptured Daraa from rebels in 2018, a symbolic blow to the anti-government uprising born there in 2011.

State institutions have returned, but the army still hasn’t deployed across the whole province, and tit-for-tat bombings and assassinations between former opposition figures and regime forces have since become routine.

Read Also: At Least 12 Soldiers Killed In Militant Ambush In

Isolated Over Iran, US Vetoes UN Resolution On Foreign Terrorists

Syrian Talks Resume Despite COVID-19 Cases – UN

UN-backed talks on a new constitution for Syria resumed in Geneva on Thursday after Swiss health authorities gave the green light despite four delegates testing positive for Covid-19.

The discussions, aimed at rewriting the war-torn country’s constitution, were put on hold almost as soon as they started on Monday when the test results came through.

UN envoy Geir Pedersen, who is moderating the tentative talks between representatives of President Bashar al-Assad’s government, the opposition and civil society, has voiced hope they could pave the way towards a broader political process.

His office said in a statement that “following additional testing …

war Syria's Brutal War Enters 10th Year

Syria’s Brutal War Enters 10th Year

Syria’s brutal conflict enters its 10th year Sunday with President Bashar al-Assad’s regime consolidating its hold over a war-wracked country with a decimated economy where foreign powers flex their muscle.

When Syrians took to the streets on March 15, 2011, they could scarcely have imagined their anti-government protests would turn into a complex war entangling rebels, jihadists and outside forces.

At least 384,000 people have since died, including more than 116,000 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Saturday.

The conflict has displaced more than 11 million people internally and abroad.

“Nine years of revolution illustrate the …

Russia

Killings: US, UK, France, Others Attack Russia, Syria

Russia and Syria are under fire from western countries in the UN Security Council over the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in Syria on Thursday.

The soldiers died in an attack by Russia-backed Syrian government forces in the northwestern province of Idlib.

At an emergency meeting of the council in New York on Friday, the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Belgium and Estonia condemned the attack.

Dominican Republic, Indonesia, South Africa, Vietnam, Tunisia and Niger demanded immediate ceasefire.

U.S. ambassador, Kelly Craft, described the attack as senseless and barbaric, adding that Turkey had America’s support to “respond in self-defence’’.

Russia

Turkey, Russia Trade Accusations As Syria Tensions Rise

Turkey’s president accused Russia of committing “massacres” in its support of the Syrian government on Wednesday, escalating a war of words as more Turkish reinforcements arrived on the ground.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to strike Syrian regime forces “everywhere” if its soldiers come under renewed attack, but Russia hit back and accused the Turks of failing to “neutralise terrorists” in the northwestern province of Idlib.

Turkey has shored up its positions in recent days in Idlib — the last rebel bastion in Syria — with hundreds of vehicles carrying artillery and soldiers.

And a new convoy of Turkish armoured vehicles