Berlin, Germany | AFP | Germany on Monday hailed three Syrians who helped police capture a compatriot suspected of planning a jihadist bomb attack, with social media coming alive with jibes against anti-migrant protesters. “Syrian turns in terror suspect. I’m celebrating this. What about you, Pegida and co?” said Julia …
Read More »Germany says new East-West tensions more dangerous than Cold War
Berlin, Germany | AFP | The mounting tensions between the United States and Russia have created a situation that is “more dangerous” than the Cold War, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an interview published Saturday. Relations between the two have nosedived since a ceasefire they agreed to in …
Read More »With US focused on vote, Russia takes advantage in Syria
Washington, United States | AFP | With Barack Obama’s presidency coming to a close and US policy for Syria at an impasse, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has stepped up efforts to secure its ally Bashar al-Assad in power. US officials fear the Kremlin is racing to consolidate its gains in Syria …
Read More »US drops Russia talks as Syria pushes Aleppo onslaught
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States on Monday abandoned its effort to convince Russia to impose a ceasefire on the Syrian regime as government forces pursued their relentless onslaught on eastern Aleppo. Accusing Moscow of abetting Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad’s assault on civilian districts of the city, …
Read More »Artillery fire rocks Aleppo as Syria army presses assault
Aleppo, Syria | AFP | Heavy artillery exchanges rocked Syria’s battleground second city Aleppo throughout the night as government forces pressed a two-pronged assault on rebel-held districts, an AFP correspondent reported on Saturday. The government’s offensive to recapture the whole of Aleppo has been bolstered by its Russian ally’s rejection …
Read More »US-Russia talks on verge of ending as Aleppo faces catastrophe
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States warned Thursday that it is on the brink of ending talks with Russia over the assault on Aleppo, where the United Nations says a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding unlike any witnessed so far in Syria’s brutal five-year war. Air strikes pounded …
Read More »Covering Syria through hunger and fear
Aleppo, Syria | AFP | For Karam al-Masri, AFP’s reporter, photographer and videojournalist in rebel-held Aleppo, the past five years have been a series of tragedies: detention by the regime, and then the Islamic State group, the death of his parents in an air strike, the siege of his hometown, …
Read More »Moscow slams US, UK for ‘unacceptable’ UN statements on Syria
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Moscow on Monday slammed the United States and Britain for accusing Russia of “barbarism” and war crimes in Syria as Russian and Syrian warplanes continued to bomb rebel-held areas of Aleppo. “We note the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United …
Read More »France’s Hollande on Syria tells UN: ‘Enough is enough’
United Nations, United States | AFP | French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday appealed for an end to the carnage in Syria, telling the United Nations: “Enough is enough”. “The Syrian tragedy will be seen by history as a disgrace for the international community if we do not end it …
Read More »Aid 31-vehicle convoy attacked as Syria ceasefire collapses
Aleppo, Syria | AFP | A convoy delivering aid to Syrians in Aleppo province was hit by a deadly air strike hours after the Syrian military declared an end to a week-long ceasefire, with an outraged UN warning it could amount to a war crime. The UN said at least …
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