Syria

Archbishop Ignatius Aphrem, the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, told the Kurdish outlet Rudaw in an interview published Wednesday that the president of Syria, former al-Qaeda offshoot terror leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, personally promised that he would respect the rights of Christians.

The government of Syria under former al-Qaeda jihadist President Ahmed al-Sharaa celebrated itself on Sunday for holding its first-ever election: an invite-only affair with hand-picked candidates meant to fill the seats in the country’s new “Syrian People’s Assembly.”

Christians in the Syrian provinces of Hama and Homs called a general strike, blocked roads, set fire to a security checkpoint, and marched to demand justice after two of their number were murdered and a third was injured by masked gunmen wearing the uniforms of the General Security Service, the national police force of the central government controlled by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The jihadist “interim” government of Syria sent a delegation to Moscow on Thursday for talks to facilitate better communication with the defense ministries of both countries, reports claimed – a challenge following Russia’s decades-long support of former dictator Bashar Assad, who the current government deposed.

Residents of Wadi al-Nasara, Syria, a region whose name translates to the “Valley of the Christians,” have denounced insufficient support from the newly installed Islamist government amid a wave of punishing forest fires that some local officials have blamed on “suspected arson.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Ahmed al-Sharaa of Syria, arguably the two most anti-Russian leaders in the world, held their first in-person meeting in New York on Wednesday, vowing to support each other in rebuilding following years of Russian-backed attacks.

Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa gave one of the shortest addresses to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.

Retired Gen. David Petraeus interviewed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was once a prisoner of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the head of the jihadist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City on Monday.

France on Tuesday repatriated three women and 10 children from Syrian prisons for alleged jihadists, anti-terror prosecutors said.

Saudi Arabian state media reported on Thursday that the Saudi government will provide 1.65 million barrels of crude oil to the government in Damascus to assist with the postwar reconstruction of Syria.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) urged Congress to back President Donald Trump’s Middle East strategy and repeal the Caesar Act during an exclusive interview on Breitbart News Saturday one day after publishing an op-ed on Breitbart about recent developments in Syria and the broader Middle East.

President Trump’s efforts in Syria and Lebanon have the potential to turn the tide, utilizing a new approach of economic development, diplomacy, and peacemaking rather than endless wars. Congress should support these efforts by repealing the Caesar Act.

A Syrian migrant has been re-arrested by German police after they realised they accidentally released their suspect.

Hundreds of demonstrators in Sweida and other cities with large Druze populations across southern Syria marched to demand self-government on Saturday.

Syrian migrant resident at Bell Hotel, Epping, appeared before magistrates on Wednesday to face seven charges of assault and sexual assault.

The Syrian Interior Ministry said on Monday it would investigate a shocking video that showed four men in military fatigues executing an unarmed man in medical scrubs at the main hospital in Sweida, the Druze-dominated city at the heart of recent factional violence.

Three Syrian security personnel and a Druze fighter were reportedly killed on Sunday in renewed clashes across the southern province of Sweida, while the Kurdish-led, U.S.-aligned Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said it fought against government troops in the northern province of Aleppo.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani visited Moscow on Thursday, the first visit to Russia by a high-ranking official of the Syrian “interim government” since Russia-backed dictator Bashar Assad was overthrown in December.

A senior United Nations official informed the Security Council on Monday that, according to the organization’s estimates, over 2 million Syrians have been able to return to their homes in the aftermath of the collapse of the Bashar Assad regime in December.

A pilot was taken captive after his F-16 fighter jet crashed near Raqqa in northern Syria. He was forced into a cage that was set on fire.

The Senate voted 52-44 to confirm former special operations soldier Joe Kent to serve as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).

Senior officials in Syria are scheduling an election to populate the nation’s Parliament, expected to take place in mid-September, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) revealed on Sunday.

A massive delegation of Saudi businessmen led by Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid bin Abdulaziz al-Falih visited Damascus, Syria, on Wednesday for a forum allegedly resulting in over $6 billion in investment commitments to rebuild the war-torn nation.

World-renowned urban warfare expert John Spencer has delivered a searing indictment of international inaction over the systematic massacre of Syria’s Druze minority, arguing that while “human rights organizations say little” and “Western capitals issue muted statements or none at all,” Israel alone has responded with decisive action to protect a vulnerable community facing what Spencer describes as “ethnic and religious cleansing in broad daylight.”

The Syrian central government on Monday began evacuating hundreds of Bedouin families from the region around Sweida, the heavily Druze city where deadly violence broke out between the two groups last week.

Israel continues to try to stop the potential genocide of Druze Arabs in Syria by Islamic forces, while being falsely accused of genocide against Palestinian Arabs in Gaza.

A ceasefire brokered Wednesday by the Trump administration between Israel and Syria appeared to have held Thursday, as formerly jihadist militias now serving as the Syrian military withdrew from a Druze region.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a surprise attack Wednesday on the new Syrian regime, bombing the country’s military headquarters as part of an operation to protect Druze Arabs from being massacred.

Israel said Monday that it had carried out airstrikes on Syrian tanks advancing toward the border region — and toward Druze villages that former jihadist forces linked to the government are suspected of targeting.

At least 30 people were killed over the weekend in clashes between Druze militia and Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes in Syria.

A senior Israeli official acknowledged this week that Israel helped topple the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad indirectly by preventing the Iranian regime from reinforcing Assad’s failing military.