Latest Syria government News
Middle East latest: Israeli hostage found dead in Gaza, military says
Israeli forces have recovered the body of a hostage held in Gaza, the military said Wednesday, adding that it was identifying additional remains that could belong to another captive. The recovery of Yosef AlZayadni, 53, from an underground tunnel comes as Israel and Hamas are considering a...
First international commercial flight since Assad's ouster lands at Syria's main airport
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The first international commercial flight since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad landed Tuesday at the Damascus airport. The Qatar Airways flight landed at Damascus International Airport, greeted by the passengers' relatives and friends inside...
Lebanon to deport detained son of late Muslim Brotherhood leader to UAE
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s cabinet voted Tuesday to deport to the United Arab Emirates an Egyptian activist and poet detained by Lebanese security forces after crossing the porous border from Syria last month. Abdulrahman al-Qaradawi, who is an outspoken critic of Egypt’s...
Long silenced by fear, Syrians now speak about rampant torture under Assad
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Handcuffed and squatting on the floor, Abdullah Zahra saw smoke rising from his cellmate’s flesh as his torturers gave him electric shocks. Then it was Zahra’s turn. They hanged the 20-year-old university student from his wrists until his toes barely...
US eases restrictions on Syria while keeping sanctions in place
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Monday eased some restrictions on Syria's transitional government to allow the entry of humanitarian aid after Islamist insurgents ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad last month. The U.S. Treasury issued a general license, lasting six months, that...
Residents of Syria's Quneitra are frustrated by lack of action to halt Israeli advance
QUNEITRA, Syria (AP) — A main road in the provincial capital of Quneitra in southern Syria was blocked with mounds of dirt, fallen palm trees and a metal pole that appeared to have once been a traffic light. On the other side of the barriers, an Israeli tank could be seen maneuvering in the...
Syria's foreign minister visits Qatar as new authorities seek regional and global diplomatic ties
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria's new foreign minister met with his Qatari counterpart and Qatar's prime minister in Doha on Sunday, as Syria’s new de facto authorities under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, establish diplomatic ties with regional and global governments. Foreign...
Protesters in Syria demand justice for disappeared activists and accountability from all factions
DOUMA, Syria (AP) — Protesters in Syria held a sit-in Wednesday demanding justice for four activists who were forcibly disappeared in 2013 and whose fate remains one of the most haunting mysteries of the country's 13-year civil war. On Dec. 9, 2013, gunmen stormed the Violation...
Tens of thousands of people in Istanbul protest Gaza war
ISTANBUL (AP) — Tens of thousands of people gathered on Istanbul’s Galata Bridge on New Year’s Day on Wednesday to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Demonstrators waved Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanted “Free Palestine” in the protest, organized by the...
AP PHOTOS: The month of December in pictures
When Syrian rebels roared into Damascus after a lightning advance on the capital, they exalted in their triumph over President Bashar Assad and rejoiced at the sudden end of a 14-year civil war that laid waste to much of the country. In images captured by Associated Press...
