Syrian civil war tests borders drawn less than a century ago in Mideast
That half of his farm lies in Syria and half in Lebanon is a source of mystery and inconvenience for Mohammed al-Jamal, whose family owned the property long before Europeans turned up and drew the lines that created the borders of the modern Middle ...
All bets off as Syrian rebels fracture
The Bab al-Hawa crossing post sits under a low ridge on the Syrian-Turkish border, not far from the Turkish town of Reyhanli. There is a concrete canopy and a handful of buildings. It is important because of what lies not far away in the ...
In Syria, jihadists train 'children of al-Qaida'
At first glance, the training camp appears no different from the many others shown in propaganda videos posted by al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria. Hooded recruits in camouflage shoot at targets or march in formation under the black flag of the Islamic State of Iraq ...
Deadly blasts in Lebanon linked to Syrian war, sectarian divisions
The debris-strewn, bloodstained street outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut lay as mute testimony of another dark day in Lebanon on Tuesday, when nearly two dozen people were killed in a double suicide bombing, the latest in a string of sectarian attacks to blight ...
Syrian regime's battlefield gains complicate Geneva peace talks push
A string of Syrian government gains in the Damascus suburbs and mounting pressure on rebels in the north is likely to complicate Western efforts to persuade the opposition to attend planned peace talks, analysts say. Five towns south of Damascus have fallen into army hands ...
Albania refuses to accept Syria's chemical weapons
The agency in charge of destroying Syria's chemical weapons says it is on track to eliminate the entire stockpile next year, but for one hitch: It hasn't yet found a place to do the actual destruction. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons approved ...
Turkey explores options for friends beyond U.S.
Turkey began feeling alone when the U.S. did not deliver the firepower to oust the Assad regime in Syria. So, it is out to gather as many friends as it can line up in the Middle East.
Syrian refugee crisis pushes fragile Lebanon closer to breaking point
As you come through the military checkpoints on the way into Wadi Khaled, local mobile phones bleep with an unsolicited text: "The Ministry of Tourism welcomes you to Syria." This part of northern Lebanon, which juts like a knucklebone into Syria, is so close to ...
Well-funded extremists bleed Syria's moderate rebel groups of fighters
In a medical clinic packed with injured Syrian rebels, 23-year-old Mohammed Hadhoud lies waiting for an operation to remove a machine-gun bullet lodged in his spine. His family cannot afford the bill, and the moderate Islamist brigade he fights with has refused to fully ...
Why a Syrian no-fly zone is the right thing to do
Detractors of a Syrian no-fly zone miss the point. Its purpose would not be to resolve the conflict but to prevent escalation and provide leverage to talks.
