After one of the most brutal wars of this century, a new Syria is rising from the disastrous legacy of the toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad. His photos have been torn from the walls, as people exercise freedoms denied during his family’s decades-long reign. Now, a different flag flies across Syria, the emblem of the rebels…
Britain on Thursday lifted sanctions that had been imposed on several Syrian government agencies during the rule of the now-deposed president, Bashar al-Assad, in the latest sign of Western engagement with the country’s new leaders. In a notice updating its list of those sanctioned, the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office named a dozen organizations…
The trainer paced the grounds of a mountain enclave in southwestern Syria, shouting at dozens of new recruits as they drilled sprints between barricades made from old car tires. “You have to practice as if it’s real,” screamed the instructor, Fadi Azam. “Want me to start shooting at you instead to make it real?” he…
Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, announced late Saturday the formation of a caretaker government that will lead the country through a crucial transition as it emerges from more than 50 years of dictatorship under the Assad family’s iron-fisted rule. Mr. al-Shara, who led the coalition of rebel forces that overthrew the Assad regime, appointed a…
A delegation of Syrian Druse made a rare visit to Israel over the weekend for a pilgrimage to a shrine as Israel seeks to extend its influence inside Syria after the fall of the dictator Bashar al-Assad. Both Israel and Syria have sizable minorities who belong to the Druse sect — an Arabic-speaking religious minority…
Syria’s new government has adopted a temporary constitution that concentrates much power in the hands of the interim president and retains Islamic law as the foundation of the legal system. The interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, signed the constitutional declaration on Thursday following the dissolution in January of the previous constitution under the authoritarian president, Bashar…
Gunmen attacked a position held by Syrian security forces in Damascus overnight, a war monitor said on Monday, raising fears that the deadly violence sweeping Syria’s coastal region could spread to other parts of the country. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has monitored the Syrian conflict since 2011, said that unidentified gunmen…
Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, appealed on Sunday for calm and for unity as he moved to reassure the nation after days of clashes that a monitoring group said had killed hundreds of people. “We must preserve national unity and civil peace,” he said from a mosque in Damascus, according to video that circulated online….
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, has reported attacks on Alawite civilians, frequently by unknown gunmen. The country’s new rulers have pledged to bring all armed groups under the state’s control, but the security situation remains unstable, with some Syrians seeking vengeance. Who are the Assad loyalists taking up arms? There…
In the Syrian capital, Damascus, the country’s new leader has hosted a national unity conference and welcomed foreign dignitaries as crowds gather at cafes, speaking out freely for the first time in decades. But 400 miles away in northeastern Syria, a region beyond the control of the Damascus government, battles that have been going on…