Syria army ‘storms’ rebel town Qusair

Syrian government forces have surrounded the rebel stronghold of Qusair and are storming it from several directions, says Syrian state TV.

Fighting has gone on around the town, near the Lebanese border, for weeks.

Opposition groups say militants from the Lebanese Hezbollah movement are fighting alongside government forces. (more…)

Iran sanctions hurt Hezbollah and Assad, report

Sanctions imposed against Iran are hurting the Islamic Republic’s ability to support its regional allies Hezbollah and the Syrian government, U.S. Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen told Al Arabiya this week. (more…)

Aoun defends Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria civil war

Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun defended during a dinner on Saturday evening Hezbollah’s siding with the Syrian regime in its crackdown against the pro democracy uprising, citing the protection of the Lebanese people in Syria as the main cause of the intervention.

“Hezbollah’s intervention in fighting only started when towns inhabited by Lebanese people fell in the hands of the [rebels] and they (more…)

Darwish, 2 colleagues face terrorism charges in Syria

Mazen Darwish who is a member of the International Federation of Journalists and the president of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, has been detained in the prison of the Syrian regime since February 16th (more…)

In a rare interview Syria’s Assad says he will not step down

BEIRUT, Lebanon — In a rare interview published Saturday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed doubt about the likely success of planned peace talks between his government and opposition forces and said he has no intention of stepping down.

In the interview, given to Argentina’s Clarin newspaper, (more…)

Syria’s rebels take over oilfields once belonging to Assad

Al-Qaeda’s Syrian wing is helping to finance its activities by selling the product of oilfields that once helped to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Up to 380,000 barrels of crude oil were previously produced by wells around the city of Raqqa (more…)

LF: The hybrid law is the best opportunity for consensus

Lebanese Forces MP Elie Keyrouz declared on Saturday from the parliament that the hybrid draft law that was agreed on between the LF, Future Movement and PSP and backed by the Independent MPs is “the best opportunity to reach political consensus”, (more…)

Lebanon arrests a network smuggling Syrian antiquities

Lebanese General Security arrested several people and recovered Byzantine and Roman-era artifacts stolen from churches and cemeteries in Syria and smuggled into Lebanon, LBCI reported on Saturday.

Sources told LBCI that (more…)

Erdogan, Obama say Assad must quit

United States President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted yesterday that Bashar al-Assad must step down amid a flurry of moves to organise peace talks to end Syria’s bloody civil war. (more…)

Syria Begins to Break Apart Under Pressure From War

The black flag of jihad flies over much of northern Syria. In the center of the country, pro-government militias and Hezbollah fighters battle those who threaten their communities. In the northeast, the Kurds have effectively carved out an autonomous zone. (more…)