This is Beirut

International Donors Pledge 5.8 Billion Euros in Aid for Syria

This is Beirut, 17/03 21:38 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Syria Humanitarian Aid Brussels Youssef Rajji

The EU led the way as donors on Monday pledged $5.8 billion euros in aid for Syria at a conference in Brussels -- but the call for funding to help the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad's ouster fell short of last year as US support dries up. Western and regional powers are desperate to steer Syria onto the road to stability after 14 ...

Intense Clashes Resume on Lebanon-Syria Border

This is Beirut, 17/03 18:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanese Army Lebanon Syria Border

Heavy clashes rekindled along the Lebanese-Syrian border on Monday afternoon, north of Hermel, following intense shelling from Syrian territory on the town of Hosh al-Sayyed Ali, which has been held by Hezbollah since 2013. Heavy artillery fire also resumed between Mishrifa and al-Qasr. The shelling on Hosh al-Sayyed Ali killed 7 and injured ...

Tensions Escalate at the Syrian Border: Lebanese Army on High Alert

This is Beirut, 17/03 13:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanese Army Hezbollah Syria Iran Border Fighting

The situation at the Lebanon-Syria border is rapidly deteriorating, following overnight clashes between Hezbollah partisans and the Syrian forces under the new authorities in Damascus. Early Monday morning, the Lebanese Army issued a statement announcing the implementation of exceptional security measures in the Al-Qasr region (north of Hermel), ...

Questionable Transition

Charles Chartouni, 17/03 09:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Syria

Lebanon is still dealing with the imponderables and equivocations of a very tentative peace process. The drama lies at the very heart of the transition process and the absence of a consensual approach to the problems besetting it. Initially, the ongoing actors have failed to acknowledge the nature of the transformative process and its strategic ...

Iraq Says Seized One Ton of Captagon from Syria via Turkey

This is Beirut, 16/03 19:14 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Iraq Syria Turkey Captagon

Iraqi security forces have seized more than a ton of captagon, an illegal stimulant, smuggled from Syria via Turkey, the interior ministry said on Sunday. Ministry spokesman General Moqdad Miri said the Narcotics Directorate "seized a truck from Syria, bound for Iraq, via Turkey, transporting 1.1 tons" of the synthetic drug in tablet ...

UXO Blast in Syria City Kills Four, Injures Nine

This is Beirut, 15/03 19:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Syria

A blast in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia killed at least four people on Saturday, state media reported, adding that it was triggered by a scrap dealer mishandling unexploded ordnance. "Four civilians were killed and nine injured in an explosion in a hardware store inside a four-storey building" in the city's Al-Rimal neighbourhood, state ...

Syrians Commemorate Uprising Anniversary for First time since Assad's Fall

This is Beirut, 15/03 18:12 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Nations Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa Bashar al-Assad

Syrians gathered on Saturday to commemorate the 14th anniversary of their uprising in public demonstrations in Damascus for the first time since president Bashar al-Assad was toppled. The demonstration in Damascus's Umayyad Square is the first in the capital after years of repression under Assad, during which the square was the sole preserve of ...

The “Old Man” and Violence

Fady Noun, 15/03 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Syria Alawites Lebanon War

One can only be horrified by the atrocities that have recently unfolded in the “Alawite country,” just a few hundred kilometers from our television screens. In the age of smartphones, the images have reached us, more graphic and harrowing than ever before. The interim Syrian president, Ahmad al-Shareh, has promised an investigation and the ...

Does the New Constitution Really Change the Syrian System?

This is Beirut, 14/03 22:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Syria Damascus Ahmad al-Sharaa Constitution

Syria's new temporary constitution concentrates power in interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's hands and fails to include enough protections for minorities, experts warn. The declaration, signed into law on Thursday, establishes a five-year transitional period and follows the toppling of Bashar al-Assad's repressive government by Islamist-led ...

UN Security Council Urges Syria to Protect All People Regardless of Religion or Ethnicity

This is Beirut, 14/03 20:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria United Nations Security council

The UN Security Council on Friday condemned recent massacres of civilians in Syria and urged its transitional authorities to respect all people regardless of religion or ethnicity. In a statement, the council said it condemned widespread violence in western Syria since March 6 that has included "mass killings of civilians," particularly among the ...

Syrian Foreign Minister Conducts First Visit to Iraq Since Assad's Fall

This is Beirut, 14/03 16:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Iraq Baghdad

Syria's interim foreign minister arrived in Iraq on Friday, conducting his first visit to the country since his Islamist alliance toppled Bashar al-Assad. Relations between neighbors Syria and Iraq have become more complicated since the fall of Assad, who was a close ally of the government in Baghdad. In Baghdad, Syria's top diplomat, Assaad ...

'Voluntary' Return of Syrian Displaced People! Really?

Marc Saikali, 14/03 12:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Syria Refugees

What on earth has gotten into Minister of Social Affairs Haneen Sayed? According to her, the return of Syrian refugees to their country must be voluntary! This astonishing statement has caused quite a stir. But given the country’s endless crises, it quickly faded into the background. However, such remarks can have serious consequences. Around ...