Latest Damascus News

US-backed Kurdish forces impose curfew in eastern Syria after new clashes with rival Arab militia
BEIRUT (AP) — U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces imposed a curfew after clashes erupted again on Monday in eastern Syria, where their fighters had battled for weeks with rival Arab militiamen, Syrian media and activists reported. The fighting in a region where hundreds of American...
Syria says an Israeli airstrike on a coastal province killed 2 soldiers and wounded 6
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian state media said the Israeli military carried out airstrikes in a coastal province on Wednesday, killing two soldiers, wounding six and causing material damage. There was no comment from Israel on the reported strikes. Syria's state news agency quoted...

Fighting between rival US-backed groups in Syria could undermine war against the Islamic State group
BEIRUT (AP) — The weeklong clashes between rival U.S.-backed militias in eastern Syria, where hundreds of American troops are deployed, point to dangerous seams in the coalition that has kept a lid on the defeated Islamic State group for years. That could be an opportunity for the radical group...

US military calls for end of fighting in east Syria and warns it could lead to IS resurgence
BEIRUT (AP) — The United States military called for an end to days of fighting between rival U.S.-backed groups in east Syria Thursday, warning it may help the resurgence of the Islamic State group. The fighting that broke out Monday — and left at least 40 people dead and dozens...
Syria's US-backed Kurdish troops and militia remove militia's commander in bid to end deadly clashes
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed forces and an allied militia announced Wednesday they have removed the militia's commander from his post after his arrest this week led to intense clashes in the country’s east that have killed at least 32 people, including at least three...

Syria protests spurred by economic misery stir memories of the 2011 anti-government uprising
BEIRUT (AP) — Anti-government protests in southern Syria have stretched into a second week, with demonstrators waving the colorful flag of the minority Druze community, burning banners of President Bashar Assad's government and at one point raiding several offices of his ruling party. ...

Residents in southern Syria raid ruling party offices, block road as protests over economy intensify
BEIRUT (AP) — Angry protesters raided the local offices of the ruling Baath party in a southern Syrian province Wednesday, as protests intensified against the country's government during a severe economic and financial crisis battering the war-torn country. Opposition activists...
Syria's state media says Israeli airstrikes near the capital of Damascus have wounded 1 soldier
DAMASCUS, SYRIA (AP) — Israeli’s military staged airstrikes near Syria's capital late Monday wounding one soldier and causing material damage, Syrian state media reported. State TV quoted an unnamed military official as saying that Israeli fired missiles from the direction of...

Protests rock government-held areas in southern Syria as economy crumbles
BEIRUT (AP) — Protests spread Monday in two government-held provinces in southern Syria amid widespread anger over the crash of the Syrian pound and the dwindling purchasing power of many people in the war-torn country, opposition activists said. The rare protests are still limited...

A decade after a sarin gas attack in a Damascus suburb, Syrian survivors lose hope for justice
AFRIN, Syria (AP) — One summer night a decade ago, the al-Shami family was woken up by a roaring sound or rockets but it wasn't followed by the usual explosions. Instead, the family members started having difficulty breathing. Ghiad al-Shami, 26, remembers how everyone tried to...
