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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 570

BASSEM MROUE

Syrian Alawite families who fled the clashes in Syria hold their luggages as they cross a river marking the border between Syria and northern Lebanon near the village of Heker al-Daher in Akkar province, Lebanon, March 11, 2025. (Hussein Malla/AP)
April 15, 2025, 12:15 pm
Fearful Syria’s Alawites still face attacks a month after wave of deadly violence
Members of former ruling minority say Sunni vengeance against ousted regime has continued, as tens of thousands flee to neighboring Lebanon
By BASSEM MROUE and Kareem Chehayeb
Karim Souaid, the newly appointed Lebanon's Central Bank governor, speaks during a taking office ceremony at the Lebanese Central Bank building, in Beirut, Lebanon, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
April 4, 2025, 2:41 pm
Lebanon’s new central bank chief vows to combat terror financing
Karim Souaid says bank must counter money laundering, restructure banking system as he begins task of repairing economy battered by decades of corruption and war
By BASSEM MROUE
Syrian interim President Ahmed Sharaa speaks in Damascus, Syria, March 29, 2025. (Syrian Presidency/AFP)
March 30, 2025, 5:19 am
Syria swears in new transitional government four months after ousting Assad
Members of minority groups including a Christian woman, a Kurd, and and an Alawite given cabinet positions as Damascus aims to convince West to lift crippling sanctions
By GHAITH ALSAYED and BASSEM MROUE
Ishaq Nissan, a Syriac Orthodox Christian, rings the church bell in the northeastern Syrian village of Tel Tal, currently controlled by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, January 27, 2025. (AP/Bernat Armangue)
February 21, 2025, 8:30 am
Syria’s Christians mark 10 years since deadly ISIS attack amid worry for their future
More than 200 Christians were taken hostage during Feb. 2015 assault, leading to mass exodus; those who stayed behind now watch warily as former Islamist rebel leader takes charge
By BASSEM MROUE
A publication showing ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad, seen on a desk at the Baath party headquarters, as former army soldiers, background, wait to register their names with Syrian rebels as part of an "identification and reconciliation" process in Damascus, Syria, December 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File)
December 30, 2024, 8:53 am
Syria’s long-ruling Baath party on way out after collapse of Assad regime
New leaders turn Baath headquarters in Damascus into a location for former security officials; soldiers to hand over their weapons; many party members have gone into hiding or fled
By BASSEM MROUE
Bakhour Chamntoub, 74, right, the head of the Jewish community in Syria and one of the people who refused to leave Syria despite opportunities abroad and the nearly 14-year-old war, speaks with a Syrian man during his visit to the destroyed Jobar Synagogue, also known as Eliyahu Hanavi, in Jobar neighborhood, in Damascus, Syria, December 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
December 29, 2024, 4:19 pm
Assad’s fall enables access to ruined 2,700-year-old Damascus synagogue; only 9 Jews remain
Leader of tiny Syrian community visits destroyed Eliyahu Hanavi synagogue in capital’s Jobar neighborhood, recounts years of site being off-limits during civil war
By BASSEM MROUE
Then-president Bashar al-Assad, center, waves to his supporters at a polling station during presidential elections in the town of Douma, near the Syrian capital of Damascus, May 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
December 13, 2024, 8:39 pm
Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle: Who are they and where are they now?
Some Syrian regime officials believed to have entered Lebanon with fake identification; ousted president and brother most likely in Russia
By BASSEM MROUE
Abu Ali Al-Tunisi. (US Treasury Department)
September 14, 2024, 2:02 pm
Iraqi and US forces kill top ISIS commander in joint operation
US Treasury had offered $5 million for info on Abu Ali Al-Tunisi; several other prominent members of terror group killed; troops seized weapons, computers, phones,10 explosive belts
By Qassim Abdul-Zahra and BASSEM MROUE
Hezbollah fighters attend the funeral of their commander Wissam al-Tawil, in the village of Khirbet Selm, south Lebanon, January 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
March 29, 2024, 4:21 pm
Lebanese nun’s call for students to pray for Hezbollah sparks furor, shows schisms
Terror group has alliances with figures from other religious groups, but base of its support lies in Shiite Muslim community; Christian leader: Hezollah destroying Lebanon
By BASSEM MROUE and MARIAM FAM
Illustrative: Smoke billows from an airstrike in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, on August 26, 2023. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
January 18, 2024, 4:35 pm
At least 9 said killed in south Syria in strike likely launched by Jordan on drug ops
Smugglers have been using Jordan as corridor to smuggle addictive amphetamines out of Syria and into oil-rich Arab Gulf states
By BASSEM MROUE
Syrian student officers stand next of the coffins of their comrades who were killed in a drone attack that hit a military graduation ceremony, during a mass funeral procession in Homs, Syria, October 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Abdelrahman Shaheen)
October 6, 2023, 7:24 pm
Funerals held in Syria for dozens of victims killed in deadliest attack in years
Attack that left at least 89 dead during military graduation ceremony likely to lead to renewed violence between government and insurgents
By Albert Aji and BASSEM MROUE
Syrian President Bashar Assad, center, waves to his supporters at a polling station during the Presidential elections in the town of Douma, in the eastern Ghouta region, near the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, May 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
September 20, 2023, 6:56 am
Syria’s Assad to visit China as Beijing boosts reach in Mideast
Trip will be Syrian leader’s first to Beijing since outbreak of his country’s civil war 12 years ago; China could play major role in future reconstruction
By Albert Aji and BASSEM MROUE
A US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighter stands next an armored vehicle, at al-Sabha town in the eastern countryside of Deir el-Zour, Syria, September 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)
September 6, 2023, 6:23 pm
Skirmishes between rival US-backed forces in Syria mar fight against Islamic State
Fighting between Kurdish-dominated SDF and Arab allies breaks out after arrest of latter’s leader, opening door to possible reemergence of deadly terror group
By BASSEM MROUE
Fighters from the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), headed by ex-members of Syria's former Al-Qaeda franchise, stand to attention during a military training graduation ceremony in the country's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on August 16, 2023. (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP)
September 2, 2023, 6:44 am
Insurgents in northwest Syria kill at least 9 soldiers as fighting surges
Al-Qaeda-linked attackers strike government military position, as Turkey-backed forces battle Kurds in another region and protests continue over deteriorating economy
By BASSEM MROUE and HOGIR AL ABDO
Supporters of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community attend a sit-in to protest the ongoing criminalization of homosexuality and arbitrary arrests in front of Hobeich police station, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, May 15, 2016. (AP/Hussein Malla)
September 1, 2023, 11:45 am
Lebanese politicians ramp up fight against LGBTQ community
Once seen as relatively tolerant for a Middle Eastern country, Lebanon’s political leaders have become unified in efforts to scapegoat the LGBTQ community
By BASSEM MROUE and Kareem Chehayeb
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