Syria conflict
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Monitor says Syrian forces use barrel bombs despite U.S. warning, Syria denies
ReutersThe Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian government warplanes dropped barrel bombs on rebel-held areas of Hama province on Tuesday, a day after the United States said their use could lead to further U.S. strikes in Syria. -
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Turkey minister: Syrian government still has chemical weapons capacity
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Ankara's findings showed the Syrian government still possessed chemical weapons capacity and urged for measures to prevent its potential usage.Speaking to state-run broadcaster TRT Haber in Italy, Cavusoglu also said a transition government was urgently needed in Syria and that risks of chemical weapons would continue as long as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remained in power.
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Trump administration open to additional strikes on Syria - White House
Reuters UKU.S. President Donald Trump is open to authorizing additional strikes on Syria if its government uses chemical weapons again or deploys barrel bombs in the country, the White House said on Monday. -
For survivors of past Syrian gassing, new attack brings back horror and despair
Reuters UKIt's the dead children that still haunt Abu Ghassan, who was blinded for more than a month and paralysed for weeks by a nerve gas attack four years ago in a Damascus suburb. He recovered; 37 members of his family were among the hundreds of dead. -
May, Trump agree Russia should break ties with Assad - UK PM's office
Reuters UKBritish Prime Minister Theresa May spoke on Monday to U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed that "a window of opportunity" exists to persuade Russia to break ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, May's office said. -
G7 seeks broad support to isolate Syria's Assad
Reuters UKThe Group of Seven major global powers will be joined by Middle East allies on Tuesday in a push to isolate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, hours before the U.S. secretary of state flies to Moscow, Assad's top backer. -
Russia's Foreign Ministry says US strike on Syria an aggressive act
Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday that the missile strike on Syria carried out by the United States was a aggressive act against a sovereign state and violated international law.The statement was released after a phone call between Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.
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UK in talks about ways to up pressure on backers of Syrian government -PM May's spokesman
Britain is in discussions with international partners on how it can put more pressure on the Syrian government and its supporters, including Russia, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said on Monday.The comments come as foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major industrialised nations met on Monday for an annual gathering which is expected to be dominated by questions over U.S. and Russian involvement in Syria after a poison gas attack which killed more than 70 people last week.
Asked about the possibility of additional sanctions on Russia, the spokesman said: "We are in discussions with our key partners on how we can bring further pressure to bear on the regime and those who are backing it, which includes the Russians."
He also said that May spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday evening to discuss the situation in Syria, and the pair agreed on the need to build support for a political solution to end the conflict.
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Kremlin says Tillerson not due to meet Putin on Moscow visit
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was not due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visited Moscow later this week.
He will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov however, Peskov said.
Commenting on U.S. missile strikes against Syria last week, Peskov said the action had shown Washington's total unwillingness to cooperate on Syria.
He said renewed calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down would not help to resolve the crisis.
"There is no other alternative," to peace talks in Geneva and Astana, Peskov said.
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Oil prices rise on strong demand, uncertainty over Syria conflict
Reuters UKOil prices rose on Monday, supported by strong demand and uncertainty over the conflict in Syria, although another run-up in U.S. drilling activity kept a lid on gains. -
Migrants in Turkey pray for return to Syria, work farms to survive
ReutersAhmad Mustafa fled northern Syria to Turkey four months ago, badly injuring his hand along the way. -
Assad could see U.S. strike as just a 'slap on the wrist'
ReutersA U.S. cruise missile attack on a Syrian air base may persuade President Bashar al-Assad to be more cautious with some of his tactics, but will not deter him and his allies from pressing a full-throttle military campaign to crush rebels. -
G7 foreign ministers seek U.S. clarity over Syria
Reuters UKForeign ministers from the Group of Seven major industrialised nations meet on Monday for an annual gathering, with Europe and Japan seeking clarity from the United States on an array of issues, especially Syria. -
Trump ordered Syrian air strike before dinner with Xi
In a secure room at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, President Donald Trump's top military advisers presented him with three options for punishing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for a poison gas attack that killed dozens of civilians. -
Many Trump voters welcome U.S. air strikes as show of strength
For many supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump, his decision to bomb a Syrian airfield in retaliation for a poison gas attack was a decisive show of strength and resolve - just what they voted for in November. -
For some Syrians in U.S., strikes turned Trump from villain to hero
Syrian-Americans on Friday hailed the U.S. missile attack on a Syrian air base as a blow for human rights, but said they were wary of both President Donald Trump's motives and what comes next. -
Russia warns of serious consequences from U.S. strike in Syria
Russia warned on Friday that U.S. cruise missile strikes on a Syrian air base could have "extremely serious" consequences, as President Donald Trump's first major foray into a foreign conflict opened up a rift between Moscow and Washington. -
JUST IN:- U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson says Xi told Trump that he understood the U.S. response to Syria chemical attacks because of the deaths of children
- Tillerson says he's disappointed, not surprised in Russia response to strikes because it demonstrates Russia's continued support for Assad regime
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says he will be announcing additional sanctions on Syria in near future
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"Now America has come and wants to defend us. Is Trump a friend? I don't know. But hopefully something good will come from him, and there will be a (peace) agreement, and this corrupt regime which slaughtered people can be gone."
- Qadi Hajj Qadur, a Syrian man interviewed by Reuters. Read more.
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In divided Syria, U.S. strike both welcomed and condemned
Polarized by years of civil war, Syrians were split on Friday over a U.S. strike on a government airbase, with those in rebel-held areas cautiously welcoming it but Damascus residents decrying it as Western aggression. -
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SLIDESHOW: SATELLITE IMAGES OF SHAYRAT AIRFIELD AFTER MISSILE STRIKES
Battle damage assessment image of Shayrat Airfield, Syria, is seen in this DigitalGlobe satellite image, released by the Pentagon following U.S. Tomahawk Land Attack Missile strikes from Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, the USS Ross and USS Porter on April 7, 2017. DigitalGlobe/Courtesy U.S. Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS
Battle damage assessment image of Shayrat Airfield, Syria, is seen in this DigitalGlobe satellite image, released by the Pentagon following U.S. Tomahawk Land Attack Missile strikes from Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, the USS Ross and USS Porter on April 7, 2017. DigitalGlobe/Courtesy U.S. Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS
Battle damage assessment image of Shayrat Airfield, Syria, is seen in this DigitalGlobe satellite image, released by the Pentagon following U.S. Tomahawk Land Attack Missile strikes from Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, the USS Ross and USS Porter on April 7, 2017. DigitalGlobe/Courtesy U.S. Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS1 of 3
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Iran-backed forces seize tanker, maritime sources say; Iran denies it
DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) -Iranian-backed forces are believed to have seized an oil tanker in the Gulf off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, three maritime security sources said, after Britain's maritime trade agency reported a "potential hijack" in the area on Tuesday.