Syria Live
Live updates on events in Syria
Syrian refugee children play in Sidon, southern Lebanon March 6, 2013. A 19-year-old mother of two registered on Wednesday as the millionth refugee to flee Syria, part of an accelerating exodus that is piling pressure on neighboring host countries. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
by anthony.derosaon Mar 6, 2013 at 5:20 PM
A Syrian refugee child poses for a picture in Sidon, southern Lebanon March 6, 2013. A 19-year-old mother of two registered on Wednesday as the millionth refugee to flee Syria, part of an accelerating exodus that is piling pressure on neighboring host countries. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
by anthony.derosaon Mar 6, 2013 at 5:21 PM
Syrian refugee children stand inside their a tent at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, March 6, 2013. UNHCR said the number of Syrians quitting their country has increased dramatically since the beginning of the year with more than 400,000 - nearly half the total - leaving since January 1. Most have fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt and some to North Africa and Europe, arriving traumatised, without possessions and having lost relatives, it said. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
by anthony.derosaon Mar 6, 2013 at 5:22 PM
Sawssan Abdelwahab, who fled Idlib in Syria, walks with her children outside the refugees camp near the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern city of Yayladagi February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
by anthony.derosaon Mar 6, 2013 at 5:24 PM
A Syrian refugee woman waits her turn to get water in Sidon, southern Lebanon March 6, 2013. A 19-year-old mother of two registered on Wednesday as the millionth refugee to flee Syria, part of an accelerating exodus that is piling pressure on neighboring host countries. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
by anthony.derosaon Mar 6, 2013 at 5:21 PM
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The violent clashes that have broken out in the streets of Damascus over the past three days will likely make it more difficult to deliver assistance to those in need in the Syrian capital, reports Malteser International, the Order of Malta’s worldwide humanitarian relief agency.
“So far, there hasn’t been any fighting in the areas where we hope to distribute our aid packages to the needy population”, says Thomas Molitor, emergency relief coordinator for Syria at Malteser International. The aid organisation fears that the escalation of violence in Damascus will continue. www.trust.org -
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Syrian army defectors say Assad regime crumbling - Suleiman Al-Khalidi
Syrian army defectors and rebel commanders based in Turkey said on Thursday a bomb that killed three top military officials in Damascus would hasten the end of President Bashar al Assad's rule, predicting more defections and divisive internal feuding.
Brigadier Fayez Amr, a senior member of defectors' group, the Joint Leadership of the Higher Council, said the attack was a turning point in the 16-month-old uprising.
Intense clashes were reported late on Wednesday in centre of the capital and the army was shelling its own capital from the surrounding mountains as night fell.
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Russia not discussing taking in Assad: Putin aide - Nastassia Astrasheuskaya
Russia has not discussed the possibility of taking in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a senior aide to President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
Foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov's remarks appeared aimed to display indifference about the fate of Assad, whom Moscow has protected from Western pressure, but he gave no sign Russia would shift its stance and support a sanctions threat.
Putin had not discussed where Assad might go if he left Syria either in talks with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan or in a telephone conversation with U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday, Ushakov said.
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OIL RISES ABOVE $106 ON MIDDLE EAST TENSION - Alex Lawler
Oil rose above $106 a barrel on Thursday to hit a seven-week high as violence in Syria and an attack on Israeli tourists increased tension in the Middle East, bringing supply concerns back into focus.
The killing of top Syrian security chiefs on Wednesday, and the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, which Israel accused Iran of carrying out, worsened the crisis in the Middle East, the source of more than a quarter of the world's oil.
Brent crude gained for a seventh straight day, rising $1.33 to $106.49 a barrel by 1017 GMT and hitting $106.63 earlier, the highest since May 30. U.S. oil gained 98 cents to $90.85.
"Within just a week, prices have climbed by more than 8 percent, primarily on the back of geopolitical risks," said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank. "The increase in the price of crude oil is likely to continue in the short term."
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Heavy black smoke rising over Damascus neighborhoods of Midan and Kafar Sousah
Source: YouTube/medane111 -
Heavy clashes in the Hajar Al Aswad neighborhood of Damascus
Source: YouTube/0nV6dPor2ViGBFiifraWeg -
Protesters tried to storm the Syrian embassy in Cairo, 14 were arrested after Egypt police fired tear gas. The Washington Post has images and more details via Associated Press
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From the White House:
President Obama called Russian President Putin today to discuss the developing situation in Syria. The two Presidents noted the growing violence in Syria and agreed on the need to support a political transition as soon as possible that achieves our shared goal of ending the violence and avoiding a further deterioration of the situation.
They noted the differences our governments have had on Syria, but agreed to have their teams continue to work toward a solution. President Obama also took the opportunity to express condolences on the tragic loss of life resulting from flooding in southern Russia earlier this month and reiterated the U.S. readiness to provide assistance if needed. -
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Video alleged to be on the ground from camera phone in Syria, via Bambuser user مستقلو الحسكة
Video is geotagged with this location in Al Hasakah in the eastern region of Syria. -
Syria bomb will speed end of conflict: opposition head
A suicide bombing that killed three of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's top military officials on Wednesday will speed the end of the uprising against him, the head of the opposition Syrian National Council said on Wednesday.
"This is the final phase. They will fall very soon," Abdelbasset Seida told Reuters in an interview in the Qatari capital Doha. "Today is a turning point in Syria's history. It will put more pressure on the regime and bring an end very soon, a matter of weeks or months."
The bomb killed Assad's powerful brother-in-law, the defense minister and a top general, bringing the battle to the heart of Assad's powerbase and sparking fighting across Damascus. Read on... -
Al Arabiya reporting 102 people killed by Syrian forces across the country, sourced to local coordination committees (not verified by Reuters)
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Celebrations in the streets of Saraqib (سراقب) in Idlib after a bombing in Damascus killed senior members of the country’s security apparatus.
Source: YouTube/sarakeb2011 -
Amateur video of smoke rising over north Damascus.
Source: YouTube/jobarrev -
Former Syrian Defence Minister General Hassan Ali Turkmani, Defence Minister Daoud Rajha and Assef Shawkat, the brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are seen in this combination photo. A suicide bomber killed three of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's top military officials on July 18, 2012, security sources said, the worst blow to Assad's high command in the country's 16-month-old rebellion. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/Sana/Handout/Files
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UNSC Pres @NestorOsorioL - Vote delayed until am tomorrow. As long as dialogue continues there is a chance for agreement [on #Syria res]by denisfitz via twitter 7/18/2012 5:43:31 PM -
Syrian army artillery hit Damascus from mountain
Syrian army artillery shelled the Damascus district of Mezze and Mouadamiya suburb on Wednesday, in an escalation of attacks against areas where rebels operate, after a deadly blast that killed three top military officials, activists said.
Artillery batteries stationed on Qasioun mountains overlooking Damascus started firing intermittently at the two districts at about 7:30 p.m.(1230 EDT), the activists said. Read on... -
Update: White House says violence is not the answer in Syria but attack on Assad's inner circle shows "window is closing." White House says international community needs to act in a unified way.
White House says it has no information on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's whereabouts; White House goes on to say the U.S. is closely monitoring Syria's military facilities and believes its chemical stockpile remains under government control. -
The International Committee of the Red Cross has called the fighting in Syria an "armed conflict," a category that makes combatants subject to the Geneva Convention's laws of war.
Breaking these laws could result in prosecution for war crimes and increase international pressure on the Syrian regime, says international legal expert Michael Scharf. -
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U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the situation in Syria appears to be ''spinning out of control'' as he and his British counterpart warn that the Syrian regime will be held responsible for securing its chemical weapons. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
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White House sees momentum in opposition to Syria's Assad
The White House said Wednesday that President Bashar al-Assad was losing control of Syria, after a deadly attack on his inner circle, and that the United States was working urgently with international partners to push for a political transition there.
"There is real momentum against Assad, with increasing defections, and a strengthened and more united opposition that is operating across the country," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said after a suicide bombing in Damascus that killed Syria's defense minister and Assad's brother-in-law.
"With the Assad regime losing control, it's time for the Syrian people and the international community to focus on what comes next," he said. Read on... -
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Russia said on Wednesday that a "decisive battle" was under way in Syria. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also warned that passing U.N. Security Council sanctions against Syria would amount to direct support for rebels and could draw the country into civil war.
"The battle for the capital, the decisive fight (is under way in Syria)," Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.
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Syrian rebels say attacks herald "beginning of the end"
The suicide bomb attacks which killed Syria's defense minister and President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law herald a new phase in the crisis and will fuel more uprisings, a spokesman for the rebel Syrian National Council said on Wednesday.
"In the long run we think that this operation is the beginning of the end," George Sabra said during a visit to Milan, adding that he expected more defections from the Syrian army to rebel forces.
However he declined to speak in detail about who had carried out the attacks.
"It is not important to talk about which individuals did the operation but the most important thing is that this was done by revolutionary activists and the Free Syrian Army."
The Free Syrian Army earlier claimed the attack, as did Liwa al-Islam, an Islamist rebel group whose name means "The Brigade of Islam", which said it had it had carried it out after weeks of planning.
Sabra said the U.N. Security Council had to move more swiftly than its international mediator Kofi Annan had done so far.
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The BBC has a good primer on Assad's inner circle.
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FLASH: White House says it's clear that Bashar al-Assad is losing control of Syria, adds international community must work urgently toward political transition.
White House says sooner political transition happens in Syria, greater is the chance of averting sectarian civil war
White House says it sees "real momentum" against Assad and stronger, more united opposition across Syria -
Assad's brother, the muscle behind the throne
Maher al-Assad asked his own grade-school daughter what she had planned to do in class that day. The girl answered her father with trademark fierceness of Syria's ruling family.
"Break heads, is what she answered him," his sister-in-law Majd Jadan told Reuters from exile in the United States. "He even taught his little kids brutality."
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The situation in Syria is "spinning out of control," U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Wednesday, adding that President Bashar al-Assad's government would be held responsible if it failed to safeguard its chemical weapons sites. Read on...
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U.S. Treasury sanctions Syrian government officials
The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday ratcheted up efforts to restrict the Syrian government by adding 29 officials to the list of those facing sanctions.
The United States also designated five companies linked to the Syrian government agency responsible for non-conventional weapons programs, and one company controlled by Rami Makhluf, who the Treasury statement called a "corrupt crony" of President Bashar al-Assad. The companies and government officials are subject to U.S. and international sanctions.
Violence in Syria has caused more than 10,000 deaths as Bashar al-Assad has waged a bloody, 15-month crackdown against opposition forces.
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General Fahad Jassim al-Freij is seen in this handout taken on July 2 2012 and released by Syria's national news agency SANA on July 18, 2012.
Syria appointed Freij as defence minister, state television said, to replace Daoud Rajha who was killed in a bomb attack on July 18, 2012. REUTERS/Sana/Handout/Files -
Bomb kills Syrian ministers at heart of Assad rule
Syria's defense minister and President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law were killed in a Damascus suicide bomb attack carried out by a bodyguard on Wednesday, the most serious blow to Assad's high command in the country's 16-month-old rebellion.
The bomber, said by a security source to be a bodyguard assigned to Assad's inner circle, struck a meeting attended by ministers and senior security officials as battles raged within sight of the presidential palace.
State television said Defence Minister Daoud Rajha and Assad's brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, the deputy defence minister, had been killed in a "terrorist bombing" and pledged to wipe out "criminal gangs".
A Syrian security source confirmed Shawkat, 62, - a pillar of Assad's rule - was killed and said intelligence chief Hisham Bekhtyar was wounded. State television said Interior Minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar had also been wounded in the blast.
Read on...
Syrian opposition scrambles to save credibility ahead of peace talks
ISTANBUL - The Syrian opposition in exile met on Thursday to decide whether to attend a peace conference that the United States and Russia see as a crucial path to ending two years of civil war.
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