damascus

Syria: Explosion Near Damascus Kills Several People

An explosion at a weapons depot near Syria's capital Damascus on Sunday killed 11 people, a war monitor said, weeks after rebels ousted longtime leader Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the cause of the blast in the industrial area of Adra, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Damascus, was "likely" to have been an ...

'Like a Dream': AFP Photographer Returns to Syria

AFP photographer Sameer al-Doumy returns home after fleeing Syria in 2017, just one year before a horrific chemical weapons attack in April 2018 on his hometown of Douma, a rebel stronghold near Damascus. The 26-year-old award-winning photographer, who has spent the last few years covering the migrant crisis for AFP's Lille bureau in northern ...

Two Dead in Gunfire Targeting Lebanese Car in Syria

Two Lebanese nationals, Mohammad Hassan Saab and Abdel Razzaq Karbali, were killed on the Homs-Damascus highway, while Abdallah Hassan Saab was injured in a shooting that targeted their vehicle. Witnesses reported that the victims' car, bearing a Lebanese license plate, was passing through the Wadi Al-Dahab area during an ongoing clash when ...

Nearly 300 Arrested in Syria Crackdown on Assad Loyalists

Syria's new authorities have arrested nearly 300 people, including informants, pro-regime fighters and former soldiers, in a crackdown on loyalists to ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor said Sunday. Since rebels led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group toppled Assad ...

Turkey's Energy Ministry Sends Delegation to Damascus

A delegation from Turkey's energy ministry headed to Syria on Saturday to help Syrians obtain access to essential services after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. "A team from our energy ministry is on the way to Damascus," Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told a meeting of the ruling AKP party in the central Anatolian province of Nevsehir. "We ...

Visiting Libyan Official Says Discussed Energy, Migration with New Syria Leader

A senior official from Libya's UN-recognized government met Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday and discussed issues including diplomatic relations, energy and migration. "We expressed our full support for the Syrian authorities in the success of the important transitional phase," Libyan Minister of State for Communication and ...

Rifaat al-Assad Flies Out of Beirut, Lebanese Security Source Confirms

A Lebanese security source confirmed on Saturday that Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, left Lebanon via Beirut airport about a week ago, following the ousting of his nephew. Rifaat al-Assad, 87, is facing charges by Swiss prosecutors for a series of crimes, including ordering "murders, acts of torture, inhumane ...

Silent Protest in Damascus Demands Justice for Assad Regime's Disappeared

A silent crowd gathered in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Friday to press the new authorities about the fate of relatives who went missing under Bashar al-Assad and to demand justice for their loved ones. The fate of tens of thousands of people who disappeared under Assad, who was ousted on December 8 by a coalition of Islamist-led rebels, is a ...

Damascus Governor: Syria's New Government Seeks Peaceful Relations With Israel

Three weeks after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the new Syrian government says it wants to establish cordial relations with Israel. This was stated by the governor of Damascus, Maher Marwan, during an interview with NPR in his office in the Syrian capital. Speaking on behalf of Syria's new leader, Ahmed el-Sharaa, Marwan stressed that ...

Souhaid from Damascus: What Unites Us Is Stronger Than Events

In a speech in front of the Maronite Archdiocese of Damascus, former MP Fares Souhaid declared, “We have come from Lebanon to tell everyone to look with hope at the transformations in our region.” Souhaid added, “We came to tell our brothers in Syria that what unites us is stronger than the events, to wish a free and dignified life for all ...

'No More Fear': Stand-Up Comedy Returns to Post-Assad Syria

In post-Assad Syria, stand-up comedians are re-emerging to challenge taboos, mocking the former president and his regime and even testing the waters with Damascus's new rulers. Melki Mardini, a performer in the Syrian capital's stand-up scene, is among those embracing newfound freedoms. "The regime has fallen," he declares from the stage, ...