Tag Archives: Syria

Washington, United States | AFP |  ISIL is no more. At least, that’s the case in the hallways of the Pentagon, where military officials have done an about-face and started calling the Islamic State group ISIS, not ISIL. The latter acronym, standing for Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, …

Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | As Syria’s war approaches its seventh year, two new rounds of talks on resolving the conflict are scheduled to take place in Astana and Geneva. Here are some questions and answers about the upcoming talks: What talks are scheduled? The first meeting is in the …

THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda The likely dangers of the Western African states’ attempts to impose a solution on The Gambia The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has resolved to send a military force (ECOMOG) into The Gambia apparently to achieve three interrelated objectives: first to …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | After turning the tide on the ground in Syria with his country’s military might, Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to cement his authority by forging an unlikely peace deal. The Kremlin strongman on Thursday announced a new truce and talks between Damascus and rebel …

Beirut, Lebanon | AFP |  Syria’s conflict has killed more than 310,000 people, uprooted over half the population and left much of the country in ruins since it erupted almost six years ago. Here are some key statistics: – Huge death toll – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said …

Putin warms to Trump, flexes muscles on Syria Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday appeared to cosy up to US President-elect Donald Trump while asserting his authority as the key powerbroker in Syria. At his annual end-of-year press conference, the confident Kremlin strongman praised Trump …

Moscow, Russia | AFP |  Russian President Vladimir Putin called Syria’s Bashar al-Assad Friday to congratulate him on completing the “liberation” of Aleppo, the Kremlin said. “Russian President Vladimir Putin phoned the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and congratulated him with the end of the operation of liberation of Aleppo from …

Aleppo, Syria | AFP |    Evacuations Sunday of fighters and civilians from the devastated Syrian city of Aleppo were postponed until further notice after gunmen attacked buses for a similar operation from two rebel-besieged villages. The development came as Syria ally Russia warned it would veto a French-drafted resolution …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | The fall of Aleppo has unleashed a mixture of outrage and impotence in the West, in which fury at the relentless carnage has mingled with guilt over the failure to stop it. Even the European public — who marched in the millions over the siege …

Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani phoned his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday to congratulate him on the impending defeat of rebel forces in the battleground city of Aleppo, his website said. “The victory in Aleppo… constitutes a great victory for the Syrian people against terrorists …