ISTANBUL (AA) – Bashar al-Assad decided to step down and leave Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday. Expressing concern over the situation in Syria, the ministry claimed Assad’s departure emerged as an outcome of negotiations held between his regime and forces taking part in the armed conflict, also cla...
ANKARA (AA) – President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday that Bashar al-Assad fled Syria because Russia was no longer interested in protecting him. Assad fled Syria to an unknown location after anti-regime groups took control of the capital Damascus early Sunday. It came almost a week after anti-regime groups seized control of Aleppo, a ma...
ANKARA/DAMASCUS, Syria (AA) – Ba’ath Party rule in Syria collapsed early Sunday when Damascus fell out of the hands of regime control and Bashar al-Assad fled the country. Anti-regime groups entered the capital on Saturday, capping off a series of rapid and dramatic developments since late last month. After 13 years of civil war, t...
WASHINGTON (AA) – President Joe Biden is “closely monitoring the extraordinary events in Syria,” the White House said late Saturday as anti-regime forces entered the national capital of Damascus. Biden and his senior officials are “staying in constant touch with regional partners,” National Security Council spokes...
BAMAKO, Mali (AA) – Transitional President Capt. Ibrahim Traore has dismissed Burkina Faso Prime’s Minister Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela and the government, according to a decree read out on state television. The decree said that “officials in the dissolved government will continue to perform their duties until a new gover...
ISTANBUL (AA) – The foreign ministers of Iraq, Iran, and Syria gathered in Baghdad to discuss the ongoing Syrian crisis. The meeting included Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh. According to Iraq’s official news agency INA, the talks took place a...
JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army has announced the commencement of military exercises in the southern Golan Heights and northern Jordan Valley. In a statement, the Israeli army said: “In the coming hours, a military drill will begin in two separate areas in the northern Jordan Valley and the southern Golan Heights as part of […]...
HAMA, Syria (AA) – The statue of Hafez al-Assad, the father of current Syrian president Bashar, has been brought down by the public in Hama. Hafez launched a large-scale military operation against the Muslim Brotherhood in February 1982, resulting in deaths of at least 30,000 civilians. At least 17,000 civilians detained by the regime re...
HOMS, Syria (AA) – Anti-regime groups in Syria on Friday began entering the suburbs of Homs city center that serves as a gateway to the capital Damascus, according to sources. The groups, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), have captured large swathes of territory since the surprise offensive launched last week. After gaining control of [&hell...
WASHINGTON (AA) – The US on Thursday urged a return to a UN-facilitated political process in Syria, saying that Bashar al-Assad’s refusal to engage led to recent developments. “We, with our partners, are urging allies to protect its civilians, including members of minority groups,” State Department deputy spokesman Veda...
