By Jessica Donati and Daniel Fineren LONDON/DUBAI | Thu Dec 6, 2012 7:53am EST LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian oil tankers are sending incorrect satellite signals that confuse global tracking systems and appear to conceal voyages made by other ships to Syria, which, like Iran, is subject to international sanctions. The two countries are close al...

By Justyna Pawlak and Erika Solomon BRUSSELS/BEIRUT | Wed Dec 5, 2012 7:11am EST BRUSSELS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels said on Wednesday they had surrounded an air base near Damascus, a fresh sign of battle closing in on the Syrian capital a day after NATO drew a line in the sand by agreeing to send air defense missiles to Turkey. The Western milita...

By Dominic Evans BEIRUT | Tue Dec 4, 2012 9:01am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - NATO told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday that any use of chemical weapons in his fight against encroaching rebel forces would be met by an immediate international response. The warning from NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen came as Syrian forces bombar...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Erika Solomon CAIRO/BEIRUT | Mon Dec 3, 2012 6:19pm EST CAIRO/BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Syrian foreign ministry spokesman, who was the most public face of Bashar al-Assad's government as it battled a 20-month-old uprising, has fled the country, a diplomat in the region said on Monday. Jihad al-Makdissi, who is in his 40s, pr...

By Erika Solomon BEIRUT | Sun Dec 2, 2012 9:12am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian army forces pounded rebel-held suburbs around Damascus with fighter jets and rockets on Sunday, activists said, killing at least ten and wounding dozens in an offensive to stop rebels closing in on the capital. Rebels planned to push into the city center from their str...

By Oliver Holmes BEIRUT | Sat Dec 1, 2012 5:11pm EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian jets bombed rebel-held areas of Damascus on Saturday, residents said, as the opposition indicated it could accept an international peacekeeping force if President Bashar al-Assad is forced from power. Warplanes attacked the Damascus suburbs of Kafar Souseh and Darraya,...

BEIRUT | Sat Dec 1, 2012 6:36am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian jets bombed rebel-held areas of Damascus on Saturday, residents said, and a countrywide Internet blackout entered its third day. Syrian rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad clashed with troops in most populated areas of the country, according to opposition activists. At least 40,0...

By Dominic Evans BEIRUT | Fri Nov 30, 2012 7:10am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian air force jets bombarded rebel targets on Friday close to the Damascus airport road and a regional airline said the violence had halted international flights to the capital. Activists said security forces clashed with rebels trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad ...

BEIRUT | Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:17am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Syrian military air strike killed and wounded dozens of people when it hit an olive oil press near the northern city of Idlib on Tuesday, activists said. Activist Tareq Abdelhaq said at least 20 people were killed and 50 wounded in the attack, citing residents near the Abu Hilal olive oil press, 2...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN | Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:52am EST AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said on Sunday they had captured a helicopter base east of Damascus after an overnight assault, their latest gain in a costly battle to unseat President Bashar al-Assad that is drawing nearer to his seat of power. The Marj al-Sultan base, 15 km (10 miles) ...

By Erika Solomon BEIRUT | Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:35pm EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria on Friday condemned Turkey's request for NATO to deploy Patriot defense missiles near their common border, calling it "provocative", after a spate of clashes there that has raised fear of the Syrian civil war embroiling the wider region. The 20-month-old uprising again...

By Erika Solomon BEIRUT | Fri Nov 23, 2012 2:07pm EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria on Friday condemned Turkey's request for NATO to deploy Patriot defense missiles near their common border, calling it "provocative", after a spate of clashes there that has raised fear of the Syrian civil war embroiling the wider region. The 20-month-old uprising again...

BEIRUT | Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:20am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - More than 40,000 people have been killed in 20 months of conflict between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and those fighting for his overthrow, a violence monitoring group said on Friday. Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said about half the fatalities were...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Oliver Holmes AMMAN/BEIRUT | Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:29am EST AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian warplanes bombed a Damascus suburb on Wednesday in a push to dislodge rebels from a stronghold that threatens President Bashar al-Assad's hold on the capital, opposition activists said. Heavy fighting also raged in other outskirts o...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Oliver Holmes AMMAN/BEIRUT | Wed Nov 21, 2012 1:18pm EST AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian warplanes bombed a Damascus suburb on Wednesday in a push to dislodge rebels from a stronghold that threatens President Bashar al-Assad's hold on the capital, opposition activists said. Heavy fighting also raged in other outskirts o...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN | Wed Nov 21, 2012 7:26am EST AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian warplanes bombed a Damascus suburb on Wednesday, opposition activists said, as heavy fighting raged for the second day on the outskirts, challenging President Bashar al-Assad's hold on the capital. MiG fighter jets hit the suburb of Daraya, situated amid farmland ...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN | Tue Nov 20, 2012 12:56pm EST AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian government troops backed by tanks battled to oust rebel forces from an opposition stronghold in a Damascus suburb on Tuesday in the heaviest fighting in the capital for months. In the country's north, rebel fighters stormed an air defense base that President Bash...

BEIRUT | Tue Nov 20, 2012 7:52am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two mortar rounds struck Syria's Information Ministry building in the capital Damascus on Tuesday, state television said, causing some damage but no casualties. Syrian TV blamed "terrorists" for the attack, referring to insurgents who have been battling t...

LONDON | Tue Nov 20, 2012 7:50am EST LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has officially recognized the fledgling Syrian National Coalition opposition group, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Tuesday. "Her majesty's government has decided to recognize the national coalition of Syrian revolution and opposition forces as the sole legitimate representat...

ANKARA | Tue Nov 20, 2012 6:50am EST ANKARA (Reuters) - NATO member states have agreed to supply Turkey with an advanced Patriot missile system to defend against Syrian attacks and talks on its deployment are in the final stage, Turkey's foreign minister said on Tuesday. Turkey has been talking to NATO allies about how to shore up security on its 900-km ...

By John Irish PARIS | Mon Nov 19, 2012 3:35pm EST PARIS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande's decision to recognize Syria's new opposition bloc aims to secure long-term French interests in the region and boost his foreign policy image but, with few allies following suit, Paris may risk isolation. With his economic policies under harsh scrutin...

BRUSSELS | Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:14am EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Turkey is expected to request on Monday that NATO missiles be placed on its border with Syria to defend against mortar rounds fired from its neighbor, Germany's defense minister said. Only the United States, the Netherlands and Germany have the appropriate Patriot missile system available. Germa...

BEIRUT | Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:38pm EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels said they captured an airport used by Syria's military near the Iraqi border on Saturday, strengthening their hold on the recently seized border town of Albu Kamal. President Bashar al-Assad's forces have retaliated by bombing the airport with fighter jets, said Ziad al-Amir, a local oppositi...

BEIRUT | Sat Nov 17, 2012 8:17am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels captured an airport used by Syria's military near the Iraqi border on Saturday, activists said, a move which they said would allow them to maintain their hold on the recently seized border town of Albu Kamal. President Bashar al-Assad's forces have...

BERLIN | Sat Nov 17, 2012 8:14am EST BERLIN (Reuters) - Turkey will formally ask NATO on Monday to set up missiles on its border with Syria due to growing concern about spillover from a 20-month-old civil war in its neighbor, a German newspaper reported on Saturday. The Munich-based Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which did not cite its sources, also said that up ...

PARIS | Sat Nov 17, 2012 7:18am EST PARIS (Reuters) - Syria's opposition coalition is to appoint an envoy to France, French President Francois Hollande said after meeting the head of the Syrian National Coalition on Saturday. A French diplomatic source said the official would act as a representative of the coalition, becoming ambassador once a provisiona...