This is Beirut 08/12 11:35 - Reading : 8 minute(s)
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor said that President Bashar al-Assad has left the country, after losing swathes of territory to a lightning offensive led by an Islamist-led rebel coalition that said it entered Damascus on Sunday. Residents in the Syrian capital told AFP heavy gunfire rang out, after a source close to ...
Marc Saikali 08/12 11:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Hezbollah Middle East Syria Bachar el-Assad Iran
It only took a few days for the "rebels" to overthrow one of the world's most tyrannical regimes—almost without a fight. At this point, it’s still difficult to understand how such a heterogeneous group, mostly armed with light weapons—at least according to the images we've seen—managed to bring down the Assad regime, which has been in ...
Alissar Boulos 08/12 10:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Damascus Donald Trump Hezbollah Tehran Turkey USA
Syria has been under the rule of the Assad dynasty for more than half a century. Hafez al-Assad, the founder, seized power in 1970, followed by his son Bashar, who took control in 2000 after his father's death. Belonging to the Alawite minority, the Assads established an autocratic regime over a predominantly Sunni population, portraying ...
This is Beirut 08/12 08:55 - Reading : less than a minute
Syria Bachar el-Assad Baath Party Rebels
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime was toppled on Sunday, less than two weeks after an alliance of opposition groups launched a lightning offensive, ending decades of the Baath Party authoritarian rule. Damascus fell into the hands of the rebels overnight, as Assad fled the country heading to an unknown destination. Syrians across the ...
This is Beirut 08/12 08:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Syria Iran war HTS Bashar al-Assad
AFP looks back at almost a quarter-century of rule by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since he was propelled to power following the death of his father Hafez in 2000. 2000: takes over from father On July 17, 2000, Assad becomes Syria's new head of state, after the death of his father, aged 69, who ruled Syria with an iron grip for 30 years. He ...
This is Beirut 08/12 08:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Damascus Syria Bashar al-Assad Iran war Russia
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad oversaw a merciless crackdown on a pro-democracy revolt that morphed into one of the bloodiest wars of the century. On Sunday, as rebels entered the capital, a Syrian war monitor said he had left the country, in what could spell the end not just of his 24-year rule but the downfall of his clan's five-decade ...
This is Beirut 08/12 04:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Volodymyr Zelensky Ukraine Russia Paris
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday insisted at a meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump that any settlement with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine had to be "just", as fears grow in Kyiv on the position of the incoming administration. President Emmanuel Macron hosted three-way talks with Zelensky and Trump at the Elysee ...
This is Beirut 07/12 23:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Syria HTS Bashar al-Assad SOHR
Islamist-led rebels announced Sunday they had captured the strategic city of Homs, on the way towards Damascus where Syria's embattled government said it was setting up an impenetrable security cordon. The defence ministry earlier denied rebels had entered Homs, describing the situation there as "safe and stable". But the leader of ...
This is Beirut 07/12 22:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Syria Bashar Assad HTS Syrian Arab Army
Syria's embattled government said Saturday it was setting up a military cordon around Damascus, state media reported, as rebels on a lightning advance said they were bearing down on the city. "There is a very strong security and military cordon on the far edges of Damascus and its countryside, and no one... can penetrate this defensive line that ...
This is Beirut 07/12 18:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Russia Sergei Lavrov Syria HTS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday that Syria must not be allowed to fall into the hands of a "terrorist group" as Islamist-led rebels advance on President Bashar al-Assad's seat of power. Lavrov spoke after talks in the Gulf state of Qatar on Saturday with fellow Assad ally Iran and opposition supporter Turkey aimed at ...
This is Beirut 07/12 18:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
United States Syria Donald Trump
US President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States should "not get involved" in the situation in Syria, where fast-moving rebel forces say they have begun to encircle the capital Damascus. "Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO ...
This is Beirut 07/12 17:55 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Damascus Syria HTS Bashar al-Assad
Rebels on a lightning advance through Syria said they were nearing Damascus on Saturday, although Bashar al-Assad's government denied that the army had withdrawn from areas around the capital. "Our forces have begun the final phase of encircling the capital," said rebel commander Hassan Abdel Ghani, with the Islamist-led alliance ...