Syrian opposition leader reiterates that the upcoming round of Geneva talks should focus on the issue of political transition in Syria
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad denied Amnesty reports on mass killing in a Syrian prison and said President Donald Trump’s ban on Syrians targeted terrorists, not the Syrian people. Below is the full interview he gave to French TF1 TV and EUROPE 1 Radio as appeared in SANA, the Syrian news agency
In light of the continued search for unified representation, Syrians must learn from Arab and international experiences that strong leadership does not always lead to dictatorship, Ahmed Aisha writes for opposition outlet All4Syria
Opposition is sticking to its position that Assad can have no role in the transition, saying “the heavy price paid by the Syrian people” would have been wasted if he remained in power
The recent inclusion of Amman into the Astana consultations bloc may herald the end of Jordanian support for the Free Syrian Army in southern Syria, writes Samer Dahi for loyalist Al-Watan
Turkey’s numerous transgressions, as well as the late arrival of its delegation to the meetings, proves its lack of seriousness and “clear will” to hinder dialogue, state media quotes Syrian government envoy as saying
Radical group has taken a number of steps to prepare for guerrilla war as Western-backed forces advance on ISIS’ de facto capital in Syria, reports opposition outlet Zaman al-Wasl
Ground and aerial bombardment of Al-Bab city kills scores including women and children, government news outlet SANA reports, following the latest phase of the Euphrates Shield operation against ISIS
Opposition’s official media claims nation-wide ceasefire at risk of total collapse due to Russia’s support for regime bombardment of the southern Syrian province, which has killed 47 people in past three days
What is needed from the current Astana consultations is to “open the Syrian bridges to each other” and speak boldly about the problems facing those inside the country, Naim Ibrahim writes in loyalist newspaper Al-Watan
Sada al-Sham reveals story behind scores of women held prisoner for years, and the attempts by civilians and activists to negotiate their release in the face of negligence from authorities
Loyalist newspaper reports on meeting between Syrian president and religious delegation whose work aims to focus on shifting current ideas of religious discourse
Government-run media outlet quotes foreign ministry official as saying the recent allegations made by the rights monitoring group are based on terrorist media sources, and as such are unreliable
Zaman al-Wasl speaks to the uncle of 16-year-old Bashar, who was seriously injured while removing the rubble of their house following government air strikes
Rebel commander tells opposition outlet Zaman al-Wasl that Ahrar’s Farouq Brigades left the city in an effort to end indiscriminate civilian deaths, adding that it expected other factions to follow suit
Turkish president announces plans to clear Raqqa of ISIS as well as 4,000-5,000 sq. km of land in Syria’s north to establish safe zones, while regime forces set sights on the Ghouta of the capital Damascus and the country’s south
Opposition website Enab Baladi reports on the eleventh-hour struggle between political and armed opposition groups to form a delegation for next week’s negotiations in Geneva with the Assad regime
Opposition media Zaman al-Wasl reports on comments by militia official explaining that Tunisian fighters play a crucial role in defending Syria against terrorism, despite leaked documents claiming that nationals comprise the second largest group within ISIS ranks
Washington-based organization’s “charges and propaganda fakes” were dismissed as false long ago, Syrian state media quotes the Kremlin as saying
During meeting with high-level Dutch delegation, Coalition president urges EU to take a more active role in the upcoming Geneva talks, opposition media office reports
