WASHINGTON (AA) – The US strongly supports a peaceful transition of power to an “accountable” government in Syria through an inclusive Syrian-led process, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday. “During this transitional period, the Syrian people have every right to demand the preservation of state institutions, ...
ANKARA (AA) – The US is working along with its Middle Eastern allies to ensure that chemical weapons previously held by the Assad regime do not fall into the hands of terrorist groups, according to media reports on Monday. “We are taking very prudent measures about this,” the Axios media outlet quoted a US official […]
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...
