Middle East

Show us Egypt's reforms, Kerry tells Morsi

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:18:06 +0000

Agence France-Presse

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday again pressed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to make concrete progress on economic reforms and rights, warning continued US and global aid was at stake.

The Egyptians vowed that they had taken some steps, but Kerry "said we need to be able to show Congress that you've taken the necessary reforms," a senior State Department official said on the sidelines of an African Union summit.

Syrian opposition in knots over Muslim Brotherhood

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 25 May 2013 19:43:07 +0000

Agence France-Presse

A Saudi-led bid to dilute the Muslim Brotherhood's influence over Syria's main opposition has thrown the group into disarray, dissidents said Saturday, with some even warning that the power tussle is "killing" the group.

Syria's main opposition National Coalition has been meeting for three days in Istanbul. Among key items on its agenda was a debate on whether it should hold peace talks with the regime under a US-Russia mooted initiative dubbed Geneva 2.

Syria rebels fight on as peace talks pressure mounts

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 25 May 2013 19:41:12 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Syrian rebels kept up resistance Saturday to a Hezbollah-backed assault on a strategic central town as pressure grew on the opposition to attend a peace conference after the regime agreed to do so.

The main opposition National Coalition has met in Istanbul for three days trying to overcome deep divisions over Russian and US proposals to convene a conference to which representatives of President Bashar al-Assad would be invited without any formal precondition for him to step down.

Hezbollah chief promises 'victory' in Syria conflict

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 25 May 2013 19:34:19 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday vowed "victory" in Syria, where militants of his powerful Lebanese Shiite movement are fighting alongside regular troops against rebels trying to topple the regime.

"I say to all the honourable people, to the mujahedeen, to the heroes: I have always promised you a victory and now I pledge to you a new one" in Syria, he said at a ceremony marking the 13th anniversary of Israel's military withdrawal from Lebanon.

Hezbollah, Syrian government forces advance in border town

Thomson Reuters — Sat, 25 May 2013 14:00:24 +0000

Thomson Reuters

By Erika Solomon

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah launched a fierce campaign to seize more rebel territory in the border town of Qusair on Saturday, sources on both sides of the conflict said.

Rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad said additional tanks and artillery had been deployed around opposition-held territory in Qusair, a Syrian town close to the Lebanese border.

Hezbollah chief promises 'victory' in Syria conflict

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 25 May 2013 18:15:52 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Iran says never sent 'military forces' to Syria

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 25 May 2013 17:19:48 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Iran's defence minister insisted on Saturday that the country has never sent "military forces" to Syria, reiterating its denial of allegations by Western powers backing Syrian rebels.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sent military forces to Syria and will never do so," Ahmad Vahidi said in a statement reported by Iranian media.

France rules out Iran taking part in Syrian peace talks

Thomson Reuters — Sat, 25 May 2013 16:00:47 +0000

Thomson Reuters

By John Irish

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - France's foreign minister on Saturday ruled out Iran taking part in a proposed Syria peace conference, saying Tehran was involved in the conflict and had no desire for peace.

Laurent Fabius will host Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at a dinner on Monday to discuss how to nudge Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition into the talks in Geneva.

Turkish PM urge citizens to welcome Syrians despite attack

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 25 May 2013 15:30:04 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday visited his country's volatile border with war-torn Syria, urging citizens to keep welcoming refugees after deadly bombings early this month fuelled local resentment.

"We should help our brothers in need. They are here because they believe in us and they have confidence in us," he told residents of Reyhanli, a small south-eastern border town where 51 people were killed and about 100 injured in twin car bombings on May 11.

Syrian opposition resumes tough talks on unity key to peace push

Thomson Reuters — Sat, 25 May 2013 12:30:07 +0000

Thomson Reuters

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria's opposition resumed talks on Saturday aimed at closing their fractious ranks, crucial to launching an international peace conference, and government forces pressed an onslaught on a rebel-held town to try to gain the upper hand in civil war.

Failure of the opposition to unite could weaken the hand of conference co-sponsors Russia and the United States in ending Syria's conflict, which has killed 80,000 people, threatens to spill across borders and whip up wider sectarian conflict.

Syria opposition say regional power games stall meeting

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 25 May 2013 12:15:34 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Regional bids for influence over Syria's divided opposition have stalled progress at a key meeting of the war-torn country's main opposition group, blocking discussions on whether to hold peace talks with the regime, opposition members told AFP Saturday.

The Syrian National Coalition is supposed to decide during its three-day meeting in Istanbul whether to accept a proposal from the United States and Russia to participate in a peace conference aimed at ending the raging civil war, which in two years has killed more than 90,000 people.

Syria opposition unity take face specter of collapse

Thomson Reuters — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:30:25 +0000

Thomson Reuters

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syrian opposition talks aimed at presenting a coherent front at an international peace conference to end the civil war faced the prospect of collapse after President Bashar al-Assad's foes failed to cut an internal deal, opposition sources said on Friday.

Arab League must 'apologise' before peace role

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 25 May 2013 00:45:48 +0000

Agence France-Presse

The Arab League must "apologise" and cancel its resolutions on Syria before it can consider playing any role in ending the conflict in the country, Syria's information minister said on Friday.

"The attempt by some Arab regimes to talk about finding a role for themselves in (resolving the conflict in) Syria is absurd and impossible," state news agency SANA quoted Omran al-Zohbi as saying.

"The Arab League should cancel all its resolutions on Syria and apologise to the Syrian people and their government, only then could we consider it," he said.

Syria regime to attend peace talks

Agence France-Presse — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:18:07 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Syria's most powerful ally Russia on Friday said the Damascus regime had agreed to attend an international peace conference on the crisis that world powers hope will take place in Geneva in June.

But President Bashar al-Assad's fractured foes expressed immediate scepticism over Moscow's announcement and questioned why the Damascus government itself remained silent.

Kerry: Israel, Palestinians must take hard decisions

Agence France-Presse — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:03:12 +0000

Agence France-Presse

US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Friday to take "hard decisions" to revive the Middle East peace process.

"We're getting toward a time now when hard decisions need to be made," he told a news conference in Tel Aviv at the end of his fourth visit to the region since he took office in February.

Kerry has been pressing Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks that broke down in September 2010.