A massive car bomb in Beirut has killed at least eight people and injured about 80 others injured after an explosion ripped through a neighborhood in the Lebanese capital. The bomb exploded Friday near the office of the Christian Phalange Party headquarters. The group openly disapproves of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The […]
Car Bomb Rips Through Lebanese Capital
Posted October 19th, 2012 at 9:40 am (UTC-5)
Media reports from Beirut indicate at least eight people are dead and 40 others injured after an explosion ripped through a neighborhood in the Lebanese capital Friday. Reports indicate the blast damaged residential buildings in east Beirut’s mainly Christian district of Achrafieh. Lebanon’s state media reported unspecified casualties. Lebanon has seen a recent increase in […]
International Peace Envoy Brahimi Arrives in Damascus
Posted October 19th, 2012 at 7:55 am (UTC-5)
International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi arrived in Damascus Friday for talks with Syrian officials on securing a temporary cease-fire in the 19-month-old conflict between Syrian forces and rebel groups. The U.N.-Arab League envoy is expected to meet Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Saturday morning. It is not immediately clear whether Brahimi will meet with […]
Turkish FM Calls for Syrian Cease-fire
Posted October 19th, 2012 at 5:10 am (UTC-5)
Turkey’s foreign minister has appealed to Syrian forces and rebel groups to observe a cease-fire during a Muslim holiday next week. Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters Friday that both sides should at least suspend hostilities for the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday that begins October 26. International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is due to visit Damascus, where […]
Yemen Militant Attack Kills 9 Soldiers
Posted October 19th, 2012 at 3:50 am (UTC-5)
Yemeni officials say suspected militants killed at least nine soldiers in a suicide attack on an army base in southern Yemen Friday. Officials report that the militants drove a bomb-laden vehicle up to the gate of the base near the town of Shakra and detonated it. Friday’s attack in Abyan province came a day after […]
Activist Group Highlights Forced Disappearances in Syria
Posted October 18th, 2012 at 7:15 am (UTC-5)
An global online activist group is calling attention to thousands of cases of forced disappearances in Syria, saying government security forces and paramilitary groups are using the tactic to terrorize families and communities. Avaaz released testimony Thursday from family members of those arrested, detained or abducted in Syria since the crisis began in March of […]
Drone Strikes Kill 7 in Southern Yemen
Posted October 18th, 2012 at 5:50 am (UTC-5)
Yemeni security officials say suspected U.S. drone strikes have killed at least seven al-Qaida-linked militants in southern Yemen. They say three missile strikes hit a farm early Thursday near the town of Jaar. The area was an al-Qaida stronghold until Yemen’s army launched an offensive earlier this year to take back areas of the south […]
Russia Concerned over Arms Sales, Sanctions
Posted October 17th, 2012 at 3:30 pm (UTC-5)
Russia has lashed out against international moves that restrict transactions with Syria and Iran. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday only sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council could serve as a basis for limiting its weapons supplies to any country. “Nobody can use any pretext to dictate to Russia or any other country on […]
Syria Envoy Brahimi Warns Conflict Could Spread
Posted October 17th, 2012 at 9:25 am (UTC-5)
International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi says Syria’s civil war could spread across Middle Eastern borders into an “all-consuming conflict” unless the violence is eventually contained. Brahimi, speaking Wednesday after talks in neighboring Lebanon, called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government to take the lead in implementing a proposed cease-fire during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, […]
Syria Peace Envoy Brahimi Visits Lebanon
Posted October 17th, 2012 at 5:00 am (UTC-5)
United Nations-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi has traveled to Syrian neighbor Lebanon to meet with officials on the latest leg of his regional tour seeking to find a solution to the 19-month crisis. Brahimi was due to meet Wednesday with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the country’s parliament speaker. […]
