9 h. ago Syrian defence ministry says military operation over and forces ‘paving way for life to return to normal’ – Middle East crisis live

Syria’s defence ministry spokesperson warns of further retribution against forces loyal to AssadSyria’s defence ministry has announced it has completed military operations to fight remnants of former ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s forces.China on Monday called for all warring parties in Syria to “immediately stop” violence. AFP reports foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said “China follows closely the situation in Syria and is concerned about the large number of casualties caused by these armed clashes.” Continue reading...

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14 h. ago Syria’s new Islamist leader vows action after his soldiers massacre civilians

Ahmed al-Sharaa’s forces kill hundreds of civilians from minority Alawite community following ambush by insurgents loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad

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28 h. ago Syria's worst violence in months reopens wounds of the civil war

An ambush on a Syrian security patrol by gunmen loyal to ousted leader Bashar Assad escalated into clashes that a war monitor estimates have killed more than 1,000 people over four days

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29 h. ago US condemns Syria violence after hundreds killed in sectarian clashes

President Ahmed al-Sharaa calls for calm after attempted pro-Assad uprising triggers revenge killings by pro-government forces

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43 h. ago More than 1,000 people killed in two days of clashes in Syria, war monitor says

About 745 civilians among those killed in fighting in Latakia province between security forces and fighters loyal to former president AssadMore than 1,000 people, including 745 civilians, were killed in the two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and fighters loyal to the former Assad regime and ensuing revenge killings, a war monitor has said, one of the highest death tolls in Syria since 2011.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor, said 745 civilians were killed mostly execution-style, while 125 Syrian security forces and 148 Assad loyalists were killed. Death tolls from the two days of fighting have varied wildly, with some estimates putting the final death toll even higher. Continue reading...

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53 h. ago 2 days of clashes and revenge killings in Syria leave more than 600 people dead

A Syrian war monitor says the death toll from two days of clashes between security forces and loyalists to ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to more than 600

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68 h. ago Syria faces worst violence since fall of President Assad as nearly 200 are killed in clashes between new government forces and loyalists

Dozens of men were killed on Thursday and Friday as government fighters stormed three villages near Syria's coast.

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69 h. ago Scores killed as Assad loyalists clash with Syrian security forces

Damascus claims it has brought uprising under control but is now struggling to contain revenge attacks on Alawites

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2 d. ago Syrian security forces execute 125 civilians in battle against Assad loyalists

Fighting in Latakia is marked escalation by Bashar al-Assad loyalists against Syria’s new Islamist-led governmentAbout 125 civilians have been executed by government security forces in north-west Syria during a rolling two-day battle with loyalists to the ousted Assad regime, a Syrian war monitor reported on Friday.The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), a human rights monitor considered independent and credible, documented “large-scale field executions of men and young adults, without any clear distinction between civilians and combatants”, in north-west Syria. Continue reading...

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3 d. ago Death toll rises as Syrian security forces struggle to quell Assad loyalist attacks

Battle in Latakia is marked escalation by Bashar al-Assad loyalists against Syria’s new Islamist-led governmentSyrian security forces have battled Assad regime loyalists on Syria’s coast for a second day, as the country’s new government struggled to contain the biggest rebellion to its rule since it took power in December.Fighters loyal to the ousted Assad government ambushed Syrian security forces in a coordinated attack on Thursday afternoon in the countryside of Latakia province, a former stronghold of the deposed leader where many of Syria’s minority Alawite Islamic sect live. Continue reading...

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3 d. ago Clashes in Syria's coastal region between government forces and Assad loyalists kill more than 70

A war monitor says that clashes between Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to former President Bashar Assad in the country’s coastal region have left more than 70 people dead and the area outside government control

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3 d. ago Thirteen Syrian security officers killed in clashes with Assad loyalists

Armed men loyal to ousted dictator attack checkpoints in Latakia province in deadliest strikes so far against new governmentThirteen Syrian security officers have been killed in clashes with remnants of the Assad regime in the deadliest attack against the country’s new authorities since the dictator was toppled.Armed men attacked checkpoints and security officers in the coastal town of Jableh and the countryside of Latakia province, as part of a “premeditated” attack on Thursday, according to the provincial head of Syria’s general security directorate, Mustafa Knefati. Continue reading...

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3 d. ago Assad loyalists kill at least 13 police officers in ambush on Syrian forces in coastal town

Gunmen have ambushed a Syrian police patrol in a coastal town leaving at least 13 security members dead and many wounded, a war monitor said

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5 d. ago Israel’s Shin Bet says Netanyahu policies helped pave way for 7 October

Report by security agency says ‘policy of quiet’ towards Hamas allowed it to build up resources for 2023 attackMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, has said Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies were among the underlying causes of the 7 October 2023 attack in which Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 Israelis.In its report on the 7 October attack, Shin Bet acknowledged its own responsibility, admitting it was aware of warning signs that Hamas was planning an operation, but the agency, also known as the General Security Service (GSS), did not grasp the scale, timing and location of the planned attack. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Governors reveal what it was REALLY like inside room when Trump clashed with Maine's Democratic leader

At a White House meeting, Maine Governor Janet Mills clashed with President Trump over his executive order on transgender athletes, defiantly telling him, 'See you in court.'

Politics

2 w. ago Which English arboreal project occupies 200 square miles? The Saturday quiz

From back, basting and zigzag to ‘the stuff that dreams are made of’, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz1 What TV cliffhanger was resolved on 21 November 1980?2 Which body in the solar system has lakes of liquid methane?3 What Yorkshire side were the first national women’s football league champions?4 In a 1941 film, what was “the stuff that dreams are made of”?5 Who writes the Empyrean fantasy book series?6 What does the US defense department classify as UAP?7 What arboreal project occupies 200 square miles of central England?8 Which monarch was killed in 1057 at the Battle of Lumphanan?What links: 9 Emotion icon; glamorous camping; smoke and fog; fan magazine; romantic comedy?10 Cantuar; Dunelm; Ebor; Petriburg; Roffen; Sarum?11 Tom Cruise (6.5 mins, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation); Kate Winslet (7.25 mins, Avatar: The Way of Water)?12 Seth Pecksniff; Howard Roark; Anthony Royal; Rudolf Santonix?13 Back; basting; blind; cross; running; slip; zigzag?14 8 (1950-60); 9 (19...

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2 w. ago The Guardian view on Gaza’s future: the ceasefire and hostage deal must not fizzle out | Editorial

As Donald Trump persists with a monstrous proposal to remove Palestinians, the immediate need is to prevent fresh conflictThe pain and damage wreaked in the last 16 months will reverberate through families, communities and the Middle East for decades to come. On Thursday, the bodies of two young children and their mother, and that of an 83-year-old peace activist, were returned to Israel by Hamas. They were kidnapped in the 7 October 2023 raid in which the militants killed around 1,200 Israelis and others. Around 48,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its war in response.It was always feared that the ceasefire deal, which has brought desperately needed respite for Palestinians in Gaza and the return of Israeli and foreign hostages, would be fleeting. The six-week opening stage is due to expire on 1 March. The talks on the more complicated second stage have yet to begin, more than a fortnight after the...

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2 w. ago Sudan paramilitary group kills more than 200 people in three

The Emergency Lawyers network said the RSF killed civilians south of Khartoum, with hundreds more either wounded or missingSudanese paramilitaries have killed more than 200 people in a three-day assault south of Khartoum, according to a lawyers’ network, while the army-backed government put the death toll at more than double that figure.The Emergency Lawyers network, which has documented human rights abuses during 22 months of fighting between the rival security forces, said hundreds more were wounded or missing and feared drowned after the paramilitaries opened fire on villagers as they attempted to flee across the White Nile. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Project helps Spain’s flood survivors restore family photos – in pictures

In the days after flash floods killed more than 200 people in Valencia last year, volunteers and students sifted through the wreckage for photos belonging to families who had survived the disaster to see what could be saved Continue reading...

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