The U.N. Security Council warned on Thursday against attempts to threaten the security and stability of Lebanon amid outbursts of violence and escalating tensions in the country fueled by the 17-month conflict in neighboring Syria. The warning was contained in a resolution unanimously passed by the council to renew a 11,500-strong U.N. peacekeeping force in […]
UN chief tells Iran to prove nuclear program peaceful
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon met Iran’s president and supreme leader in Tehran on Wednesday to urge them to take concrete steps to prove the country’s nuclear program is peaceful and to use their influence to help end Syria’s 17-month conflict. Ban’s spokesman Martin Nesirky said that in Ban’s separate meetings with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and […]
UN chief: “There will be no winner in Syria “
The possibility of a drawn out civil war in Syria looms, as fighting continues across the country. Assad’s army has ceded ground elsewhere in order to focus its resources on fighting in Aleppo. In the meantime, the U.N. may name a new envoy to replace Kofi Annan next week.
The Battle for Aleppo: Assad Regime’s Black Eye
As Aleppo burns, Syria’s regime is gradually losing its image as a well-oiled and organized military machine—and Assad may be more vulnerable than many once thought. The Syrian regime launched its first sustained ground offensive yesterday into Salahedin, the Aleppo neighborhood
Assad troops push into Aleppo to oust rebels
Syria launched a ground assault Wednesday on rebel-held areas of the besieged city of Aleppo, the center of battles between government forces and opposition fighters for more than two weeks. It was not immediately clear if the offensive was “the mother of all battles”
Ban Ki-moon set to announce Annan’s replacement
The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon has held talks with the Arab League in the hope of agreeing on a new Syrian peace envoy to replace Kofi Annan and keep open an alternative to the spiralling levels of violence.
3 prominent US senators calls for aid to Syrian rebels
THREE prominent US senators have called for direct US military aid to Syrian rebels, including use of US air power to protect rebel-controlled areas in the country. The senators — John McCain, Joseph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham – said in an op-ed piece in The Washington Post they were aware of the risks associated with […]
Assad’s forces pound rebel stronghold in Aleppo
Syrian army tanks shelled Aleppo and a helicopter gunship strafed rebel positions with heavy machinegun fire as they fought into early Monday for control of the country’s biggest city and key battleground of the 17-month uprising.
Heavy fighting stepped up in Aleppo, Syria
Heavy fighting has continued unabated in Syria’s largest city Aleppo, as expectations grow that the army will launch a full-scale assault imminently. A rebel commander on the ground told Reuters his fighters were preparing for a “strong offensive”. In Damascus
Fighting intensifies in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city
Anti-government rebels brazenly tried to seize a state-run broadcasting building on Saturday as the bloody battle for Syria’s largest city persisted. The rebel Free Syrian Army pushed into the radio and TV complex in Aleppo, where the government broadcasts, and seized some control. But the fighters eventually had to withdraw because of snipers and