Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Syria’s ruling Alawite minority has been evacuating villages amid a Sunni rebel offensive along the Mediterranean coast. Opposition sources said thousands of Alawites fled their communities along the Mediterranean Sea in August. The sources said the Alawites have flooded cities protected by the regime of President Bashar Assad, particularly the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, ousted from power by the military, has intensified its participation in the Sunni revolt in Syria. Islamist sources said the Brotherhood has been recruiting what could result in thousands of new fighters to battle the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The sources said the Brotherhood was […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Sunni rebels, reinforced with anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, have swept through the enclave of Syria’s ruling Alawite minority. Sunni rebels have moved through the coastal Syrian province of Latakia. The opposition said Islamist militias captured at least 11 Alawite villages near the coastal city of Latakia, home of Assad’s family. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Iranian Kurdish fighters said they would be deployed in Syria to help establish an autonomous region near the Turkish border. The Party of Free Life in Kurdistan said it would send fighters to join their counterparts in northern Syria. In a statement, Free Life, known as the Iranian branch of […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Brian M Downing The Obama administration is reluctantly upping its involvement in the Syrian civil war. Though the White House offers few details, reports indicate that American personnel will arm and train teams of rebel fighters on Jordanian territory, then send them across the border to fight the Assad government. This […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Syrian rebels have begun attacking Hizbullah bases in Lebanon. Sunni rebels, including those aligned with Al Qaida, have crossed the border from Syria to attack Hizbullah bases in Lebanon. On June 2, hundreds of Syrian rebels, supported by rocket attacks, clashed with Hizbullah troops in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. The fighting […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Brian M Downing The Assad government, having lost control of large swathes of the country and deemed near collapse only a few months ago, has put together a surprising counteroffensive. The operation seeks to reestablish the ground route between the capital Damascus and the Mediterranean coast, where the regime’s Alawi and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Fariborz Saremi Sectarian tensions in Iraq are reaching a crisis point. A series of bombings in Sunni-dominated areas of Baghdad and its surroundings which resulted in over 700 hundred deaths in April, followed by 200 more deaths since Friday May 17, are indicative of the worsening security situation. Moreover, extreme forces […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — A senior Hizbullah commander has been killed in heavy fighting in Syria. Arab diplomatic sources said the Hizbullah commander was leading units in the battle for the strategic Syrian town of Qusair on May 19. The sources identified the commander as Fadi Al Jazar, one of at least 30 Hizbullah […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — The Syrian Army has been rolling through Sunni rebel strongholds in the south. On May 8, the Syrian Army advanced deep into the south near the border with Jordan. Army units captured a southern town held by the rebels and located on the main highway to Jordan. “This allows regime […]