Tag Archives: Syria

Fighting in southwest Damascus caused the closure of the main highway to Deraa. Russian Prime Minister Medvedev said Assad’s chances of staying in power were getting “smaller and smaller.”

As fighting continued over the strategically important city of Homs, the government brought in pro-regime militia to target civilians. Government troops attacked rebels in Damascus. Rebels freed 100 inmates in battle at a major prison outside of Idlib. Two car bombs exploded in the Golan Heights.

Government forces stepped up an offensive against a rebel-held area in Homs, bringing in ground reinforcements to secure a strategic road junction. Jordan’s King Abdullah II said he did not expect the Assad regime to fall any time soon. A record number of refugees fled to Jordan this month.

Government jets bombed rebel positions in Daraya, a strategic suburb close to a key air base southwest of Damascus. France said it saw no signs that the Assad regime was about to fall.

Russia’s foreign minister said there could be no peaceful resolution of the conflict in Syria as long as rebels refused to negotiate with the Assad regime. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said the scale of violence used by Syria’s government meant a negotiated settlement was unthinkable.

Russia evacuated a small number of its citizens from Syria. It was not planning a mass evacuation. Government aircraft and tanks shelled rebel strongholds in Damascus. Rebels fought Kurds in the north.

The head of the Arab League said UN envoy Brahimi’s mission to Syria has not yielded even a “flicker of hope.” Rebels fought government forces within half a mile from the center of Damascus. Russia said it would send planes to Lebanon to evacuate Russians from Syria.

The opposition National Coalition discussed the idea of a government-in-exile in Turkey. Syria’s foreign minister said any discussion of President Assad’s future was “unacceptable.” Government and rebel forces fought in eastern and southern Damascus.

A defecting air force pilot bombed government army positions. A French journalist was killed by sniper fire.

Fierce fighting raged across the country. Kurd and radical Islamist groups fought in northern Syria. Two car bombs exploded in southern Syria, and a rocket hit a building in Aleppo. More than 1,000 people have been killed this week.

More than 100 people were shot, stabbed or burned to death by government forces in a village outside the city of Homs. Jordan said it would not allow a surge of Syrian refugees into the country in the event of the collapse of the Assad government.

Three car bombs exploded near government facilities in Idlib, killing 24 people. Government forces stepped up attacks in Idlib, Hama, and Homs. Russia suspended its consular operations in Aleppo. Government forces may have used chemical weapons in Homs, but a US spokesman dismissed the report.

At least two large explosions hit the campus of Aleppo University, killing at least 80 students. The government said “terrorists” had launched rockets at the campus, but rebels blamed a government aircraft attack. Fighting inside Aleppo reached a stalemate.

The government continued to mounted attacks in the Damascus suburb of Daraya, trying to push out rebel forces and increase the buffer zone around the nearby presidential palace. An air and artillery strikes killed 36 people including 14 children.

Rebel and government forces fought over the strategically important neighborhood of Dariya in Damascus. Heavy fighting continued across northern Syria. Qatar called for an Arab force to intervene in Syria if UN envoy Brahimi’s mission failed.