Greater Middle East
NYC: Syrians march against Bashar Assad
New York area Syrians came out for a "Rally to Stop Assad's War on Syria" near Times Square. Placards read: "GLOBAL SILENCE IS THE CAUSE OF ATROCITIES IN SYRIA."
Tag: Hezbollah
Greater Middle East
‘Black Friday’ in Lebanon: air-strikes, terror blasts —and confusion
A Salafist group opposed to the Assad regime attacks Israel, which “retaliates” by bombing the pro-Assad PFLP-GC, while presumed Shi’ite militants blow up Salafist mosques in Tripoli.
Iraq
Iraq: sectarian war escalating fast
Sectarian violence has killed at least 200 in Iraq since the start of Ramadan, and Hezbollah has launched an Iraqi wing to fight al-Qaeda’s networks in the country.
Greater Middle East
Syria: sectarian, ethnic fighting spreads
A rocket strike near an important Shi’ite shrine in Damascus sparked protests throughout the Shia world, while Kurdish militias fight jihadist forces in northern Syria.
Palestine
Islamic Jihad severs ties with Hamas
The Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza announced that it is suspending ties with Hamas, accusing Gaza authorities of being responsible for the death of one of the group’s members.
Greater Middle East
Lebanon’s hashish valley drawn into Syrian war
Lebanon’s hashish heartland of the Bekaa Valley is increasingly embroiled in the civil war raging across the border in Syria, with a wave of sectarian clashes and abductions.
Greater Middle East
‘Sunni cleansing’ in Syria?
Turkey sees in the battle for Qusayr a strategy to create an Alawite mini-state within Syria, purged of Sunni Muslims, to which the ruling elite can withdraw for a last stand.
Greater Middle East
Turkey to build wall on Syrian border
Turkey will build a 2.5-kilometer wall along the Cilvegözü post on the border with Syria, near where a twin bomb attack killed 51 and wounded more than 100 earlier this month.
Greater Middle East
Israeli air-strikes near Damascus
Israeli missiles struck a research center near Damascus, as massacres of Sunni families by pro-government militias are reported from Syria’s coastal Alawite stronghold.
Greater Middle East
Has Syria crossed chemical ‘red line’?
Israel's claim that Syria has used chemical weapons comes as rebel militias have assumed positions near the line of control in the Golan Heights.
Greater Middle East
US pledges $100 million in aid to Syrian rebels
As the Friends of Syria summit opened in Istanbul, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced $100 million in new “non-lethal” aid to the Syrian opposition.
Greater Middle East
Israeli air-strikes on Syria-Lebanon border
Israeli warplanes carried out an air-strike on Syrian territory, allegedly targeting an arms convoy bound for Hezbollah. Damascus claims a research facility was the real target.