Special to WorldTribune.com ANKARA — President Bashar Assad is said to have ordered the abduction or assassination of the Sunni rebel leadership in Lebanon and Turkey. Opposition sources said the Syrian regime has sent agents to Lebanon and Turkey to assassinate or abduct Sunni rebel leaders. They said several plots were foiled in Turkey while […]
Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — Syria’s rebel movement has claimed a dramatiac expansion in forces and weapons over the last two months. The Free Syrian Army said it has nearly doubled its forces in 2012 to 70,000, most of them comprised of deserters from the military of President Bashar Assad. FSA, which reported a membership […]
Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — The Syrian rebel movement, after more than six months of fighting, remains without a chain of command. A leading Middle East analyst who visited rebel strongholds said the Free Syrian Army remains collection of separate cells around Syria. Jonathan Spyer, an Israeli-based analyst who spent several days with FSA, said […]
Special to WorldTribune.com ANKARA — The Free Syrian Army has expressed caution over plans by the Muslim Brotherhood to establish a military wing to overthrow President Bashar Assad. Several rebel FSA leaders said they would not cooperate with the new military office established by the Brotherhood-aligned Syrian National Council. SNC said the military office would […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — The Syrian opposition has reported the rebel capture of a major Sunni city. Opposition sources said the rebel Free Syrian Army has captured most of the central Syrian city of Homs. They said FSA was withstanding heavy missile and artillery shelling by the Syrian Army and security forces. “The rebels […]
Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — Syria’s rebel army, based in Turkey, has reported shortages in weapons and funds. The Free Syrian Army has urged Arab and other opponents of the regime of President Bashar Assad to rush aid to the rebel force. “If the FSA had greater capabilities the situation on the ground would be […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — The regime of President Bashar Assad has again been struck by a mass-casualty suicide strike. The Assad regime has acknowledged that a police bus was bombed by a suicide attacker in Damascus on Jan. 6. Officials reported 26 dead and 63 injured in the attack in downtown Damascus. “The type […]
Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — The United States has drafted a plan with its Arab allies to establish a no-fly zone over Syria. Western diplomatic sources said the administration of President Barack Obama has reached agreement with Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies to impose measures meant to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar […]
Special to WorldTribune.com ANKARA — Syria’s new rebel army and the Islamic opposition are said to have agreed to cooperate in the revolt against President Bashar Assad. The Syrian National Council and the Free Syrian Army have agreed to coordinate operations amid a NATO and Arab League international effort to increase pressure on the Assad […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — President Bashar Assad has offered amnesty to the thousands of Sunni soldiers who joined the rebels. Assad issued a general amnesty for all who failed to report to military duty. The beleaguered president, fighting a revolt since March, gave defectors until January 2012 to return to their units. “President Bashar […]