Syrian protest

Source : AFP | 02 Oct 2012

Army shelling and air raids killed dozens of civilians including children in Syrian flashpoints on Monday, a watchdog said, while rebels and loyalists fought close-quarter battles in Aleppo’s main souk.

In New York, UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged Damascus to show “compassion” to its people, as Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said a political solution was still possible if the West and Gulf states halted support for the rebels.

Source : Agencies | 29 Sep 2012

The United States and France announced increased support for opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday, but there was no sign that the direct military aid the rebels want to create safe havens for civilians is on the way.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a meeting of foreign ministers in New York that the United States would provide an additional $45 million in non-lethal and humanitarian aid to the Syrian opposition.

Source : Agencies | 28 Sep 2012

The UN refugee agency warned Thursday there could be as many as 700,000 Syrian refugees in countries neighboring the war-torn nation by the end of the year, up from 300,000 now.

“There may be up to 700,000 Syrian refugees in neighboring countries by the end of the year,” Panos Moumtzsis, the UNHCR’s chief coordinator for Syrian refugees, told reporters in Geneva.

“We are running out of time,” he added.

Source : Agencies | 27 Sep 2012

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has urged Iranian president to use his influence to help bring pressure on the Assad regime to end the crisis in Syria, Turkish diplomatic sources have said.

Davutoglu met with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York on Wednesday at the request of the Iranian side, sources said.

The Turkish foreign minister told the Iranian leader that a recent meeting of Turkish, Iranian and Egyptian officials in Cairo was of great importance to build up pressure on the Assad regime.

Source : Agencies | 26 Sep 2012

The emir of Qatar yesterday called for an Arab military intervention in Syria to halt the conflict.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani told the UN General Assembly: “It is better for Arab countries themselves to intervene out of their humanitarian, political and military duties and do what is necessary to stop the bloodshed.”

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the Syria “calamity” is turning into a global crisis as US President Barack Obama led growing calls for an end to Bashar Assad’s rule.

Source : Agencies | 24 Sep 2012

Regime aircraft hammered insurgent bastions nationwide yesterday as rebels said they now control most of the country and have moved their command center from Turkey to “liberated areas” inside Syria.

With deadly violence raging across Syria, UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi prepared to brief the UN Security Council today about talks he had with both President Bashar Assad and the opposition.

Source : Agencies | 22 Sep 2012

NATO does not believe that military intervention in Syria would bring any improvement in the security situation there, a senior alliance official said yesterday.

Germany’s Manfred Lange, Chief of Staff of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), said the military was telling leaders that there was no good case for military action and the political process had to be pursued.

Source : Reuters | 21 Sep 2012

At least 54 people were killed when a jet fighter blew up a fuel station amid heavy fighting between government and rebel forces in northern Syria on Thursday, a British-based monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists across Syria reporting on government violence during the 18-month-old revolt, cited an activist in Al-Raqqa province as saying more than 110 people were dead or wounded.

Source : AFP | 19 Sep 2012

Syrian troops shelled several districts in Aleppo and clashed with rebels yesterday, as international peace envoy for Syria said he hoped for peace in Syria and an early return home for Syrian refugees.

The UN/Arab league envoy Lakhdar Brahimi yesterday met representatives of 1,300 Syrians at Altinozu camp in Hatay city, located on the border with their violence-racked homeland, in his first encounter since taking over the mission from his frustrated predecessor.

Source : Agencies | 18 Sep 2012

United Nations investigators said yesterday they had expanded a secret list of Syrians and military units suspected of committing war crimes during the 18-month-old conflict, calling for “appropriate action” against perpetrators of atrocities in the war-torn country.

The human rights investigators, led by Paulo Pinheiro, said they had gathered “a formidable and extraordinary body of evidence” and urged the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC).