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☆ UAE Sends First Ambassador to Syria Since Conflict
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

Incoming Emirati envoy Hassan al-Shehi presented his credentials to Syria's foreign affair minister Faysal al-Meqdad at the foreign ministry on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and, to a lesser extent, the UAE then backed rebels against Assad - but Abu Dhabi has rebuilt ties with Damascus in recent years. Assad visited the UAE in 2022 - his first trip to an Arab state since the civil war erupted - and again in 2023 after a devastating earthquake killed thousands in Syria. The tragedy cleared the way for a thaw in Arab ties with Assad and months later the Arab League reversed its more than decade-long suspension of Syria's membership. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in the Syria conflict, which spiralled out of an uprising against Assad, drew in numerous foreign powers and splintered the country.

Persons: Hassan al, Shehi, Faysal, Bashar al, Assad, Abu Dhabi, Firas Makdesi, Maya Gebeily, Ed Osmond Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Incoming, Arab League, Regional Locations: DAMASCUS, Damascus, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Iran, Al, Riyadh

☆ Israeli Strike on Damascus Kills Four Iranian Revolutionary Guards -Source
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Laila Bassam and Kinda MakiehBEIRUT/DAMASCUS (Reuters) -An Israeli missile strike on Syria's capital Damascus on Saturday killed four members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, including the head of the force's information unit in Syria, a security source in the regional pro-Syria alliance told Reuters. Syrian state media said a building in the Mazzeh neighbourhood of Damascus was targeted in a likely Israeli attack, without giving further details. Iran's state-run Press TV said two Iranian Guards military advisers were killed in the Israeli strike on Damascus. Essam Al-Amin, head of the Al-Mowasat Hospital in Damascus, told Reuters that his hospital had received one corpse and three wounded people, including a woman, following Saturday's attack. In December, an Israeli strike killed two Guards members in Damascus, and another on Dec. 25 killed a senior adviser to the Guards who was overseeing military coordination between Syria and Iran.

Persons: Laila Bassam, Bashar al, Essam Al, Amin, Makdesi, Nayera Abdallah, Maya Gebeily, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Saturday, Iran's, Guards, Reuters, Hamas, Iranian Guards, Mowasat, Jihad Locations: BEIRUT, DAMASCUS, Israeli, Damascus, Syria, Israel, Iran, Gaza, Syrian, Mazzeh, Iran's, Beirut, Dubai

☆ Syrian Air Defences Repel Israeli Attack on Vicinity of Damascus -State Media
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Dec. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

(Reuters) - Syrian air defences repelled an Israeli rocket attack against targets in the vicinity of Damascus early on Saturday, Syrian state media reported, adding defences shot down most of the missiles. "The Israeli enemy carried out an air aggression from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting some points in the vicinity of the city of Damascus," the Syrian state news agency said, citing a military source. There were only material damages, it added. (Reporting by Kinda Makieh and Moaz Abd-Alaziz; Editing by Leslie Adler and Chris Reese)

Persons: Kinda Makieh, Moaz Abd, Leslie Adler, Chris Reese Organizations: Reuters Locations: Damascus, Syrian

☆ Syrian air defences repel Israeli attack on vicinity of Damascus -state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Syrian air defences repelled an Israeli rocket attack against targets in the vicinity of Damascus early on Saturday, Syrian state media reported, adding defences shot down most of the missiles. "The Israeli enemy carried out an air aggression from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting some points in the vicinity of the city of Damascus," the Syrian state news agency said, citing a military source. There were only material damages, it added. Reporting by Kinda Makieh and Moaz Abd-Alaziz; Editing by Leslie Adler and Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kinda Makieh, Moaz Abd, Leslie Adler, Chris Reese Organizations: Thomson Locations: Damascus, Syrian

☆ Syria says Israel strike puts Damascus airport out of service
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMMAN, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Israeli air strikes put Damascus airport out of service on Sunday, forcing incoming flights to be diverted elsewhere, the Syrian army and a pro-government newspaper said. Israel has for years carried out strikes against what it has described as Iranian-linked targets in Syria, including against Aleppo and Damascus airports. The Syrian army said in a statement its air defences intercepted Israeli missiles flying from the Golan Heights. It said the Israeli strikes, which also targeted outposts in the Damascus countryside, led only to material losses but did not elaborate on the extent of damage to the country's biggest civilian airport.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Flights scheduled to arrive in Damascus were being diverted to Latakia and Aleppo, Al Watan newspaper said.

Persons: Kinda, Adam Makary, Suleiman al Khalidi, Giles Elgood, Jan Harvey, Nick Macfie Organizations: Thomson Locations: AMMAN, Damascus, Israel, Syria, Aleppo, Latakia, Al

☆ Israeli air strikes kill two workers at Syria's Damascus airport- official
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

CAIRO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At least two workers were killed on Sunday "as a result of Israeli bombardment targeting Syria's Damascus airport at dawn," Syria's general directorate of meteorology said in a statement. The two workers who were killed were from the meteorology service and based at the airport, the agency said. Reporting by Kinda Makieh, Writing by Adam Makary; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kinda Makieh, Adam Makary, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Thomson Locations: CAIRO, Damascus

☆ At least 60 killed in drone attack on Syrian military academy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, Oct 5 (Reuters) - At least 60 people were killed on Thursday in an attack on a military academy in Syria, a war monitor and a security source said, with weaponised drones bombing the site minutes after Syria's defence minister left a graduation ceremony there. Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs, Syria's defence ministry said in a statement, adding "terrorist" groups had used drones to carry it out. The statement did not specify an organisation and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Syria's defence minister attended the graduation ceremony but left minutes before the attack, according to a Syrian security source and a security source in the regional alliance backing the Damascus government against opposition groups. We don't know where it came from, and corpses littered the ground," said a Syrian man who had helped set up decorations at the academy for the occasion.

Persons: Syria's, Bashar al, Assad, Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Kinda, Jon Boyle, Mark Heinrich, David Gregorio, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Reuters, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Syria, Homs, Damascus, Syrian, fatigues, Russia, Iran, Tehran, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey

☆ At least 100 killed in drone attack on Syrian military academy, monitor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

People stand and walk outside a building after drone attack on Syrian military academy in Homs, Syria October 5, 2023 is seen in this screen grab from a video. Video obtained by Reuters/via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsBEIRUT, Oct 5 (Reuters) - At least 100 people were killed on Thursday in an attack on a military academy in Syria, a war monitor and an official said, with weaponised drones bombing the site minutes after Syria's defence minister left a graduation ceremony there. Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs, Syria's defence ministry said, adding "terrorist" groups had used drones. Syria's defence and foreign ministries vowed to respond "with full force". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 100 people were killed and 125 injured.

Persons: Syria's, Hassan Al, Ghobash, Bashar al, Assad, Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Kinda, Jon Boyle, Mark Heinrich, David Gregorio, Alexandra Hudson, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, Health, Thomson Locations: Homs, Syria, Rights BEIRUT, Idlib, Damascus, Syrian, fatigues, Russia, Iran, Tehran, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey

[1/5] Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma are welcomed upon their arrival at Hangzhou airport, China in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on September 21, 2023. Assad will meet Xi on Friday, a day before the Syrian president attends the opening of the games, said a source from the Syrian delegation, which is scheduled to hold other meetings in Beijing on Sunday and Monday. It was the first visit by a Syrian head of state since diplomatic ties were established in 1956. China, like Syria's main allies, Russia and Iran, maintained those ties even as other countries isolated Assad over his brutal crackdown on anti-government demonstrations that erupted in 2011. While Syria is a relatively small oil producer, its revenue is pivotal to the Assad regime.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Asma, Xi Jinping, Xi, Hu Jintao, CNPC, Sinochem, Joe Cash, Ryan Woo, Makieh, Aizhu Chen, Clarence Fernandez, Lincoln Organizations: Reuters, Reuters Acquire, Rights, Asian, Syrian, Sunday, Initiative, Arab League, United Nations Security Council, League, Sinopec Corp, Investments, Tanganyika Oil, Emerald Energy, Gulfsands Petroleum, State, Thomson Locations: Hangzhou, China, Syrian, Rights BEIJING, China's, Air China, Beijing, Russia, Iran, Syria, Australia, Canada, Europe, Switzerland, United States, Damascus, Iraq, Turkey, Asia, Jordan, Tanganyika, London, Colombia, Singapore

It left us with nothing," Zuhaira told Reuters. The speed of the wind was a factor in the excessive spread of the fires," Qatna told Reuters during a tour of the area. [1/5]A firefighter attempts to extinguish a wildfire, in the northern countryside of Latakia, Syria July 29, 2023. Syria has been severely impacted climate change in recent years, including rising temperatures and erratic rainfall which have led to forest fires and poor harvests. "Syrians were already especially vulnerable because of the impacts of more than 12 years of conflict, which makes it even harder for them to deal with the impacts of climate change," Zakkout told Reuters.

Persons: Izzadin Zuhaira, I've, Zuhaira, Mohammad Hassaan Qatna, Qatna, Suhair Zakkout, Zakkout, Firas Makdesi, Maya Gebeily, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Reuters, Firefighters, REUTERS, International Committee, Thomson Locations: Syria, Latakia, Homs, Hama, Damascus, Beirut

☆ Syria struggles to contain wildfires as temperatures rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A wildfire burns near buildings in the countryside, causing some residents to evacuate, in al-Marana village, Homs, Syria July 18, 2023 in this handout image. SHAM FM/Handout via REUTERSDAMASCUS, July 18 (Reuters) - Firefighters were battling on Tuesday to extinguish multiple wildfires raging across the central Syrian countryside, local civil defence officials said, as temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the country. Another was raging across agricultural zones in the adjacent province of Homs, the head of civil defence there told SANA, saying civil defence teams were struggling to contain it due to "the mountainous and rugged terrain". Local outlet Sham FM reported that families from the village of al-Marana had fled their homes as the wildfire approached. They have shrunk Syria's wheat crop in recent years down some 75% from around 4 million tonnes annually pre-war.

Persons: Amjad Hammad, SANA, Marana, Mounira, Kinda Makieh, Maya Gebeily, Alex Richardson Organizations: Firefighters, Sham, Thomson Locations: al, Homs, Syria, DAMASCUS, Hama, Palmyra, Damascus, Maldives

☆ Syria's Assad arrives to Saudi Arabia for Arab league summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DAMASCUS, May 18 (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived to the Saudi city of Jeddah on Thursday to attend the Arab League summit the following day, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV and Syrian State TV reported. Saudi Arabia invited Assad to attend the summit after Arab states agreed to reinstate Syria's full membership of the league, following 12 years of suspension over his crackdown on protests against him. Reporting by Kinda Makieh and Maya Gebeily; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Syrians split over government readmission into Arab League
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Readmitting Syria into the Arab League was a "shock" for Syrians and would "kill the political process", said Bader Jamous, the head of the opposition's negotiating team in stalled United Nations peace talks. The opposition was for years backed by countries now supporting normalisation, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Writing on Twitter, Jamous said Assad's opponents had "not been consulted" about the Arab League decisions. Some Syrian political activists with ties to the government - including former deputy prime minister Qadri Jamil - cautiously encouraged the move in an online statement. And a Facebook page publishing news from the campuses of various Syrian universities posted a stock photograph of Syria's seat at the Arab League with the caption: "After 12 years, the Arab League comes back to life."

"We are now aiming to regain the tourism income from (Gulf Cooperation Council countries) to Syria. Some Arab states, including GCC members the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, are increasingly rebuilding ties with Damascus, reversing years of isolation over Assad's crackdown on protests in 2011 and the ensuing civil war. Machfej said Syria had 1.5 million visitors last year, a third of which were tourists. Tourism ministry data shows 385,000 visitors came to Syria in the first quarter this year, 40,000 of which were non-Arab foreigners. Gulf states along with Egypt, Iraq and Jordan have been discussing Syria's possible return to the Arab League, but no agreement has been reached.

☆ Syria foreign minister makes first Egypt visit for more than a decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, April 1 (Reuters) - Syria's foreign minister met his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo on Saturday, the first such visit in more than a decade and the latest sign of Arab states mending ties with President Bashar al Assad. Faisal Mekdad was embraced by Sameh Shoukry as he arrived at the Egyptian foreign ministry, the first official trip since before the uprising and conflict that began in Syria in 2011. President Assad was shunned by many Western and Arab states due to the war in Syria, which splintered the country and left hundreds of thousands of people dead. The Cairo-based Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 and many Arab states pulled their envoys out of Damascus. But key regional powers including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have recently signalled increasing openness towards Damascus.

☆ Syria port authority shuts all ports due to bad weather
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Waves crash during high winds in the Syrian port city of Banias, Syria, March 29, 2023. SANA/Handout via REUTERSDAMASCUS, March 29 (Reuters) - Syria's port authority has shut down all the country's sea ports including Tartous due to poor weather and high winds, state media reported on Wednesday. The port of Tartous had initially been exempt from the closure but the country's ports authority later said it was shutting down as conditions worsened. "There are winds and high waves in bursts and we cannot risk opening the ports at this time," Brigadier General Samer Kobrosli, the director general of the authority, told Reuters. The war-ravaged country operates seven sea ports through which it brings in basic needs including food and petroleum products.

☆ Syria's president appoints new oil minister in reshuffle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DAMASCUS, March 29 (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has appointed a new oil minister and changed four other ministers in a cabinet reshuffle, state media said on Wednesday. Hassan Kaddour, who was the general director of the Syrian Petroleum Company for the last two years, replaces Bassam Touma as oil minister, the report said. Assad named Mohsen Abdelkarim Ali as internal trade minister, Abdelqader Jokhdar as industry minister, Louay al-Munajjed as social affairs minister and Ahmed Bostachi as a state minister. Assad switched out his defence minister in April 2022. The conflict raging in Syria since 2011 has cost the country much of its domestic oil production, especially with the northeastern oil producing fields outside government control.

Summary Egyptian FM says 'goal of visit primarily humanitarian'And to 'pass on our solidarity' from people of EgyptArab League suspended Syria in 2011DAMASCUS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Egypt's foreign minister met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday in the first visits to Syria and Turkey by a top Egyptian diplomat in a decade. "The goal of the visit is primarily humanitarian, and to pass on our solidarity – from the leadership, the government and the people of Egypt to the people of Syria," Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters in Damascus. "When the foreign minister of Egypt comes to Damascus, he comes to his home, his people, and his country," Mekdad said. Shoukry also visited Turkey, pointing to another shift in Egypt's foreign ties. "Foreign minister offers condolences for the victims of earthquake, affirms solidarity of Egyptian leadership, government and people with Turkey, and asserting continuity of aid for supporting Turkey and its brotherly people," Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesperson for Egypt's Foreign Ministry, said.

☆ Egypt's foreign minister to visit Syria, Turkey on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Egypt's Sameh Shoukry will travel to Damascus on Monday in the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011, according to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry. Shoukry will visit Turkey and Syria - both hit hard by a deadly earthquake on Feb. 6 - to "convey a message of solidarity from Egypt with the two countries" according to the foreign ministry statement. Turkey's foreign ministry confirmed the visit, saying Shoukry will hold talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and visit the southern province of Adana and the port of Mersin, where an Egyptian aid ship is set to arrive. Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi spoke with Assad by phone for the first time on Feb. 7 and on Sunday, a delegation of top parliamentarians from around the region - including Egypt's parliament speaker - met Assad in Damascus. Relations began thawing in 2021, part of a push by Turkey to ease tensions with several regional powers.

☆ First Saudi aid plane lands in Syria’s govt-held areas - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A Saudi aid plane is seen, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, at Aleppo airport, Syria February 14, 2023. REUTERS/Firas MakdesiBEIRUT, Feb 14 (Reuters) - A Saudi aid plane landed at a Syrian airport held by the government of President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday in the first such shipment from the kingdom that has backed the armed opposition to Assad during the country's 11-year civil war. It said the operation was carried out on the orders of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The person, who was not identified, said that Tuesday's plane was the first of several set to arrive over the next days. Reporting by Timour Azhari, Kinda Makieh and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Tom Hogue and Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] A man stands near a damaged vehicle, following an earthquake, in rebel-held Azaz, Syria February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Mahmoud HassanoSummary Quake strikes central Turkey, northwest SyriaHundreds of buildings across the region brought downRescuers begin hunt for untold numbers trapped in rubbleDIYARBAKIR/ANKARA, Turkey, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A major earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday, killing about 200 people as buildings collapsed across the snowy region, and triggering a search for survivors trapped in rubble. "I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived," said Erdem, a resident of the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the quake's epicentre, who declined to give his surname. The United States was "profoundly concerned" about the quake in Turkey and Syria and was monitoring events closely, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Twitter. More than 17,000 people were killed in 1999 when a 7.6-magnitude quake struck Izmit, a city southeast of Istanbul.

☆ Hamas leaders meet Assad in Damascus to 'turn the page'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DAMASCUS, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Syria's President Bashar al-Assad met a delegation from Hamas on Wednesday, with the Sunni Palestinian Islamist faction saying the meeting could help "turn the page" after shunning Damascus for a decade. Hamas leaders publicly endorsed the 2011 Sunni street uprising against Assad's rule and vacated their Damascus headquarters in 2012, a move that angered their common ally, Iran. Normalising ties with Assad could help restore Hamas's inclusion in a so-called "axis of resistance" against Israel, which includes Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, natural allies of Assad, whose Alwaite group is a Shi'ite offshoot. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA small delegation visited Assad in Damascus on Wednesday "to turn all the pages of the past," according to the head of delegation and Hamas politburo member Khalil Al-Hayya. Palestinian political analyst Mustafa Sawwaf said Hamas's reconciliatory move towards Syria aims to create new ground for the Islamist faction.

☆ Deadly bus attack kills 18 Syrian soldiers in Damascus countryside - Sham FM
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DAMASCUS, Oct 13 (Reuters) - At least 18 soldiers were killed and 20 wounded on Thursday when an explosive device detonated on a military bus in the Damascus countryside, local outlet Sham FM said. It represents one of the deadliest attacks in months against Syrian government troops not on an active front line. Bus attacks in particular have been on the rise, including in the Damascus countryside. Syrian government troops have managed to recapture much of the territory they had lost to opposition fighters. Security incidents have been on the rise around Damascus and other parts of Syria controlled by the government.

Samer Qubrusli, the Syrian director-general of ports, told Reuters that authorities had found 34 bodies and rescued 14 people in Syrian waters by Thursday evening. The Syrian transport ministry cited survivors as saying the boat left from Lebanon's northern Minyeh region on Tuesday with between 120 and 150 people onboard. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterLebanese transport minister Ali Hamiye said he had been informed by Syrian Transport Minister Zuhair Khuzaim that 33 bodies had been recovered and 16 people rescued. The Syrian transport ministry statement said the director of the small island port of Arwad off the coast of Tartus informed them at 4:30 p.m. that a drowned person had been sighted near an anchored ship. About 80 Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian migrants were on board, of whom some 40 were rescued, seven were confirmed dead and around 30 officially remain missing.

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