A Palestinian who fled Syria to Lebanon committed suicide overnight, apparently after receiving news that his mother’s health was rapidly deteriorating in a Damascus hospital, his wife said Wednesday.
Ahmadinejad meets Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi in Tehran and says the Syrian people will overcome the difficult conditions adding “Syria will cross the crisis it encounters into the land of safety.”
The Syrian government and opposition accused each other of a massacre in the University of Aleppo that killed at least 52 people on Tuesday.
The Syrian Coalition presents a draft vision for a transitional period based on a controlled gradual transition of power, ensuring that governmental institutions continue working in full function, troops withdrawal to their bases, collection of weapons from civilians, and mobilizing national efforts towards rebuilding Syria.
Because Syria is a country of paramount importance, the issue there is not just about toppling the regime, while retaining the same inherited and historical structure, including the ideology, of the regime itself. Indeed, we are dealing here with a smaller version of countries like Germany and Japan after the Second World War, in that they were countries whose internal circumstances led them to destabilise their regions and subsequently the world.
Alawite families living in Damascus are fearing retaliatory measures in the event of the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime
Bashar before anyone else realizes that his dictatorial regime encompasses all the reasons for its own downfall, from the bloodthirsty and brutal acts, the assassinations, torture, sectarianism and corruption, and the looting of the country’s wealth.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi expressed his country’s support to President Bashar al-Assad’s initiative to resolve the crisis in Syria.
President Bashar al-Assad gave a speech on Saturday that created a lot of reactions by local and international actors. Below is the text of the speech as translated by the Syrian official news agency (SANA).
The speech by Bashar Assad confirms his incompetence as a head of state who realizes the grave responsibilities he carries during this critical time in Syria’s history. Furthermore, it demonstrates that he is incapable of initiating a political solution that puts forward a resolution for the country’s struggle and an exit for his regime with minimum losses because he cannot see himself and his narrow based rule except as remaining in power despite being rejected by his people and his traditional allies.
President Assad spoke Sunday, amid rapturous chanting from loyalists that they are with him with “all their blood and soul.” His speech was met by a roar of protest and mocking from Syrian citizens and opposition groups, as well as the international community. This was his first public speech in six months.The opposition says he lives in isolation and does not know what is going around him.
While media reports talk about a new round of talks between the Russians and the Americans over Syria, a senior member of the opposition says that “Bashar’s departure is the essential demand of the Syrian revolution,” indicating an Egyptian role in marketing a Russian plan.
A Syrian regime media defector, who previously worked at the pro-Assad al-Dunya TV, informed Asharq Al-Awsat how the al-Assad regime fabricates news, misleads the public and distorts the reputation of the Syrian revolution on Syrian state television. The Syrian source, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, also leaked several clips taken from the archive of pro-Assad media that reveals just precisely how the Damascus regime is running its propaganda operations.
Australians who take part in the fighting in Syria face up to 20 years in jail, a spokesman for Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Friday after a Melbourne man was reportedly killed in the conflict, Australian media reported Saturday. The spokesman said the government was aware of reports that more than 100 Australians had engaged in the conflict since 2011 but he had “no evidence” of any citizens currently involved.
The President of the Syrian National Coalition, the major opposition umbrella, called on the international community to hold international responsibility, both politically and ethically, to come to the Syrian people rescue.
There are wise people in the regime whose hands have not been stained with blood, can be talked to, but Assad’s stepping aside is a must, President of the National Coalition of the Syrian Opposition Revolution Forces Ahmad Muaz al-Khatib said Thursday.
As much as the series of Russian statements towards the Syrian crisis can be described as being confused, it is obvious that they are following a clear and steady thin line. Firstly, there is no need to note the much overdue change which affected Moscow’s position towards the opposition, especially the National Coalition. It attacked its formation more than one month ago, just as it attacked the opposition abroad for a long time and in a manner going in line with the stand adopted by the regime in Damascus.
American journalist James Foley was abducted towards the end of last November while reporting to AFP on the conflict between Bashar al-Assad’s forces and the rebels in Syria.
President receives cables on the occasions of Christmas and New Year from President of Russia, President of Belarus, President of Lebanon and President of The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Iran is a difficult puzzle to resolve. After losing Syria, as well as losing half of its oil revenue as a result of Western sanctions, Tehran may be obliged to agree to a truce and the freezing of its nuclear program. Even if this were to happen, Gulf States are still facing numerous threats, particularly with the al-Maliki government in Iraq explicitly falling under Iran’s sway.
