Syrian uprising | GlobalPost

Syria rebel defends gruesome video as revenge

Agence France-PresseMay 14, 2013 12:31

A Syrian rebel who was filmed apparently cutting out and eating the organs of a soldier has defended his actions as revenge for regime atrocities, Time magazine reported on Tuesday. The US news weekly said it had talked by Skype with the fighter, identified as Khalid al-Hamad, who appeared in a video that sparked outrage and condemnation, including from the Syrian opposition. Hamad claimed he was driven to the gruesome acts by footage on the dead soldier's cellphone, showing him "humiliating" a naked woman and her two daughters.

Arabs, Turkey see no role for Assad in future Syria

Agence France-PresseMay 14, 2013 09:04

Five Arab countries and Turkey have reiterated that President Bashar al-Assad should have no role in the future of Syria, as Russia and the United States proposed a peace conference. The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as that of Turkey -- all supporters of the Syrian opposition -- expressed their stand at a meeting late Monday in Abu Dhabi, Emirati news agency WAM said.

Syria says ready for joint inquiry on Turkey attacks

Agence France-PresseMay 14, 2013 09:02

Syria is willing to carry out a joint investigation with Turkey into deadly attacks in the border town of Reyhanli that Ankara has accused Damascus of masterminding, a Syrian minister said on Tuesday. "If the government of (Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdogan calls for a joint, transparent investigation by the two countries, we have no objection, in order to find the truth," Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said. "The truth must be announced to the Syrian and Turkish people," official media quoted him as saying.

Death toll in Turkey car bombings rises to 51

Agence France-PresseMay 14, 2013 08:15

The death toll in twin car bombings in a Turkish town near the Syrian border has increased to 51, the prime minister said on Tuesday. "There are 48 wounded people in hospitals, seven of them are Syrian citizens, and 17 are in critical condition," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his ruling party lawmakers in parliament. He was speaking before his departure to Washington for talks with President Barack Obama, where he is expected to press for stronger US action against the Syrian regime.

Arabs, Turkey see no role for Assad in future Syria

Agence France-PresseMay 14, 2013 05:00

'Strong evidence' Syria used chem weapons

Agence France-PresseMay 13, 2013 16:29

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday there was "strong evidence" the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons against rebel forces. "This fight is about the terrible choices that the Assad regime has made with its willingness to kill anywhere... to use gas, which we believe there is strong evidence of use of," Kerry said during a Google+ hangout.

Timeline of Syria-Turkey relations

Agence France-PresseMay 12, 2013 21:24

Relations between erstwhile allies Turkey and Syria, which share a long border, have soured since the revolt broke out against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in March 2011. Turkey is now home to an estimated 400,000 refugees and harbours many of the Syrian opposition's top civilian and military leaders. At least 40 people were killed Saturday in twin car bomb blasts in the border town of Reyhanli, the worst such attack since the start of the conflict. Ankara said it suspected Damascus. Key developments:

More than 80,000 dead since start of Syrian conflict, opposition says

Agencia EFEMay 12, 2013 20:15

Cairo, May 12 (EFE).- More than 80,000 people have died since the start of the conflict in Syria in March 2011, according to figures released Sunday by the London-based Syrian Human Rights Observatory. The organization said in a statement that it compiled the death toll starting with the first fatality in the southern province of Deraa on March 18, 2011, up through May 11, 2013. The Observatory said that among the dead are 47,389 civilians who have been identified, of whom 4,788 were minors and 3,048 were women.

More than 80,000 killed in Syria conflict

Agence France-PresseMay 12, 2013 10:45

More than 80,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict since it erupted more than two years ago, a monitoring group said on Sunday. Nearly half of those who have died were civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Britain-based watchdog said it has documented the killing of around 82,257 people, including 34,473 civilians -- among them 4,788 children and 3,049 women. It has also recorded the deaths of 16,687 rebels, including defected military personnel.

Syria opposition accuses regime over Turkey bombings

Agence France-PresseMay 12, 2013 06:00

Key opposition group the Syrian National Council on Sunday echoed Ankara's accusation that supporters of President Bashar al-Assad's regime were behind twin car bomb attacks in Turkey that killed dozens a day earlier. "The Syrian National Council condemns in the strongest terms the cowardly crimes carried out by collaborators of the Syrian regime in the Turkish town of Reyhanli," said the group, an influential faction within the leading opposition National Council.