Tag Archives: Syria

Both opposition leaders and the Assad regime denounced the killing of a prominent Sunni cleric yesterday in a suicide attack on a mosque in Damascus. The UN also condemned the attack. President Assad said his troops would “wipe out” extremists. The EU remained divided on whether to supply arms to the rebels.

A senior pro-government Sunni cleric was killed in a suicide attack inside a mosque in Damascus along with 42 other people. Rebels captured villages near the Golan Heights. The UN said it would investigate claims that chemical weapons were used in an attack in Aleppo earlier this week.

Controversy over the use of chemical weapons in an attack near Aleppo continued. An Israeli official said it is “apparently clear” that chemical weapons were used. The US and the UN’s health organization could not confirm the use. Both the Syrian government and rebel organizations asked the UN to investigate.

The government and rebels accused each other of firing chemical weapons; so far 26 people have been killed in the attack in northern Aleppo. Russia supported the government’s position that rebels had attacked with chemicals. The US said it could not verify chemical weapons were used. The rebels’ newly elected prime minister rejected dialogue with […]

The opposition Syrian National Coalition met in Istanbul to form an interim government. After a yearlong siege, rebels broke through a blockade of the city of Homs. Government jets attacked Syrian rebels inside Lebanon; the US State Department called it a “significant escalation.”

In Aleppo province, rebels have seized several weapons depots after days of heavy fighting. In the south near the Golan Heights, rebels seized a military intelligence compound and command center from pro-Assad militias. President Assad made an appeal to BRIC nations to intervene in the conflict.

Rebels extended their control over parts of Ghouta, an agricultural area to the south and east of Damascus. Damascus airport remains closed to civilian traffic, but Iranian planes land every two to three days allegedly bringing arms to the Assad regime. A brigadier general and 20 soldiers defected.