Syria

Western sanctions push war-weary Syrians deeper into poverty

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Mohammed Haji Abed drives his yellow taxi through the busy streets of the Syrian capital for about 12 hours a day, toiling in the sweltering summer heat but earning barely enough for his family of five to get by.

It was easier for him to make ends meet at the height of his country’s civil war, when rebels regularly lobbed mortars into Damascus from their strongholds on the outskirts of the city.

Syrian state media reports Israeli attack on country's south

DAMASCUS, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Syria's state media reported on Wednesday an Israeli attack on the country's southern province of Daraa, saying it did not cause any casualties.

State TV said that the strike was directed at the al-Harrah hill, which is home to Syrian army posts and a mountain south of the capital Damascus overlooking wide parts of southern Syria.

Over the years, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against Iranian targets in Syria, which are entrenched in the south and the Golan Heights near the border with Israel.

Russia seeks to remove Iran’s influence over Syria army

22 July 2019; MEMO: Russia is working to reform the Syrian army and end Iran’s influence over it by appointing and promoting pro-regime officers and excluding Iranian allies, the American Middle East Policy Institute has revealed.

In a study published this week, the organisation said that the war has destroyed most of the capabilities of the Syrian army through splits, military attacks, assassinations and desertions, leading to a significant decline in armoured mechanical capabilities.

Find and return German children of IS adherents, rules Berlin court

12 July 2019; DW: Three German children along with their German "IS" mother must be brought back from a Syrian refugee camp, a Berlin court has told the Foreign Ministry. The judiciary cited state obligation to protect citizens abroad.

Germany's Foreign Ministry said late Thursday it was "examining" the Berlin Administrative Court's ruling that three children and their mother, originally from Germany's northern state of Lower Saxony, be located and returned to Germany from a Syrian refugee camp.

Israeli missile strike kills at least four Syrians, 21 wounded - SANA

TASS, July 1: At least four people have been killed and 21 others wounded in an Israeli missile strike in a rural area near Syria’s capital Damascus, the SANA news agency reported on Monday.

It noted that a child was among the victims.

Syria’s air defenses repelled a missile attack targeting the cities of Damascus and Homs overnight to Monday. According to SANA, the missiles were fired by Israeli warplanes from Lebanon’s airspace.

Russian military provides humanitarian aid to refugees from Syria’s Idlib

LATAKIA /Syria/, June 17. /TASS/: The temporary accommodation centers in the Syrian province of Latakia have received refugees from the Idlib de-escalation zone where military activities are ongoing, Spokesman for the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria Sergei Smolinsky told reporters, adding that the Russian military had provided humanitarian aid to the refugees.

"They need help for they are not only facing welfare issues but psychological problems as well," he said.

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