July 6, 2013
5:45 pm

Egyptian Salafis shout slogans against Syrian President Bashar Assad as one waves a Syrian revolutionary flag during a rally after the Friday prayers at Amr Ibn Al As mosque, in Cairo, Egypt, on Friday, June 14, 2013 (photo credit: AP/Amr Nabil)

Ex-prisoner chosen to lead Syrian opposition group

Former political inmate with close links to Saudi Arabia chosen to lead main Western-backed organization aiming to oust Assad

By Bassem Mroue

July 6, 2013
1:42 pm

Syrian troops advance in rebel-held parts of Homs

Push is first significant gain by pro-Assad troops in eight-day campaign to wrest control of city

July 6, 2013
5:46 am

Blasts heard at arms depot in western Syria

UK-based rights group reports that several regime troops killed and injured in explosions in Latakia province

By Times of Israel staff

July 6, 2013
12:45 am

Illustrative photo of buildings damaged by Syrian government airstrikes and shelling, in the Jouret al-Chiyah neighborhood of Homs, Syria, in July 2013. (photo credit: AP/Lens Young Homsi)

UN fails to agree on appeal for access to Homs

Russia shoots down proposal by Security Council as pro-Assad troops launch major offensive to oust rebel fighters

July 6, 2013
12:24 am

2 Germans believed missing in Syria are heading home

Aid organization had said three of its employees were kidnapped from Idlib in mid-May

July 5, 2013
11:44 pm

Hezbollah fighters hold party flags during a parade in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon (photo credit: AP/Hussein Malla/File)

Britain wants EU ministers to break Hezbollah deadlock

from the web UK drive to blacklist the Lebanese movement’s armed wing was discussed twice last month, Reuters reports

July 5, 2013
6:02 pm

Syrian army assaults rebel-held areas of Homs

UN agency for human rights says it is gravely concerned that attack will lead to humanitarian crisis

By Barbara Surk

July 5, 2013
11:54 am

Syria’s rape crisis

Rampant sexual violence is integral in the Syrian conflict and the world must end a ‘culture of impunity’ for perpetrators

By Brad Davies

July 5, 2013
11:37 am

Damaged buildings in the Jouret al-Chiyah neighborhood of Homs, May 2013. (photo credit: AP/Yong Homsi Lens)

Syrian opposition pleads for help in embattled Homs

Syrian National Coalition calls for urgent aid to towns where the regime has launched offensives to retake rebel-held areas

July 5, 2013
10:52 am

A photo of Filipino UN peacekeepers kidnapped from their Golan outpost by the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade in May 2013 (photo credit: Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade/Facebook)

Philippines won’t pull out Golan peacekeepers, Manila says

President decides troops will stay in place until August at least, assuming they get better protection

By Joshua Davidovich

July 4, 2013
1:43 am

Supporters of Egypt's Islamist president Mohammed Morsi chant slogans during a rally, in Nasser City, Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. The green card with Arabic reads, "stay where you are." (photo credit: AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Assad hails fall of ‘political Islam’ in Egypt

The ‘lies’ of the Muslim Brotherhood have been exposed, says Syria’s embattled president

By Zeina Karam

July 3, 2013
7:24 pm

Homes destroyed by Syrian government airstrikes and shelling in Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, July 2, 2013 (photo credit: AP/Aleppo Media Center AMC)

Syrian troops demand rebels surrender in fight over key highway

Regime planes drop leaflets over Idlib, telling fighters to ‘abandon your weapons and return to your family’

By Diaa Hadid

July 3, 2013
11:33 am

In this Sunday, June 30, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, homes are seen destroyed by Syrian government airstrikes and shelling in Aleppo, Syria (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC)

Syrian troops battle to retake rebel-held areas

Regime forces press on against opposition in Homs, Damascus and Aleppo regions

July 3, 2013
10:15 am

US President Barack Obama (photo credit: AP/Charles Dharapak)

Obama leery of intervention in Mideast turmoil

As it grapples with a recovering economy and a war-weary public, the administration tries to steer clear of conflict

By Lara Jakes

July 2, 2013
11:44 pm

US Secretary of State John Kerry waves farewell as he boards his plane in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, on Tuesday, July 2. (photo credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

Kerry heads back to US, but eager to return to Israel

Even after 19 hours of breakthrough-free discussion with Netanyahu and Abbas, secretary ready to try again, possibly in next two weeks

By Deb Riechmann

Topic: Syria