September 21st, 2013
06:35 AM ET
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Syrian opposition rejects Rouhani's offer to broker peace deal

The Syrian opposition coalition rejected Iran's offer to broker a peace deal between rebels and the government, calling it a "ridiculous and desperate" attempt.

A week before he attends the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he can help bring peace to Syria, a long-time Iranian ally torn by civil war.

In the Washington Post op-ed on Thursday, he also called for an end to "the unhealthy rivalries and interferences that fuel violence and drive us apart." He signaled his desire for better engagement with the West.

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Syrian opposition group to attend summit
Syrian rebels, like those above, have been fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad -- whom they accuse of ordering attacks that have left tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians, dead.
February 25th, 2013
03:24 PM ET
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Syrian opposition group to attend summit

The Syrian National Coalition - the principal opposition group battling the government of President Bashar al-Assad - has changed its position and will attend an international meeting this week in Rome focused on the Syrian crisis, the coalition's leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib announced Monday on Facebook.

The group earlier said it would not attend the meeting.

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January 15th, 2013
07:04 AM ET
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Train cars carrying Egypt security recruits derail, killing 19

Train cars filled with Egyptian security force recruits hopped the tracks and crashed in Giza early Tuesday, killing at least 19 people and injuring some 107 others, a local official said.

The train carrying Central Security conscripts was heading from Assiut north to Cairo when it partially derailed around 12:45 a.m. Tuesday (5:45 p.m. ET Monday) in Giza, National Railways Authority Chairman Hussain Zakaria said, according to state-run EGYNews.

The partial derailment happened after two cars separated from the rest of the train, said Transportation Ministry spokesman Mohammed Shahat, according to the same news organization.

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November 8th, 2012
06:31 AM ET
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Syrian president vows to 'live and die' in Syria, threatens against foreign invasion

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made an ominous threat against foreign intervention, saying it would have a "domino impact" on the world.

"I think that the cost of foreign invasion of Syria, if it happened, would be greater than one that the whole world can afford," he told Russia Today television. "Because if there were problems in Syria, particularly as we are the last bastion of secularism, stability and coexistence in the region, it will have a domino impact that will affect the world from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

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Filed under: Syria • World
October 27th, 2012
03:33 AM ET
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Syria's temporary cease-fire unravels

[Updated at 5:13 a.m.] The Syrian government accused "terrorists" of targeting a church with a car bomb in Deir Ezzor, according to a report on the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency. The government called it a violation of a temporary four-day truce called over the observance of the Muslim religious holiday Eid al-Adha.

The government allegation appears to contrast an opposition activist claim that the military police building in the eastern Syrian city looked to be the target. There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.

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Filed under: Islam • Syria • World
Truce in Syria?
Civilians carry belongings Thursday in Aleppo along a street filled with debris after fighting between Syrian troops and rebels.
October 26th, 2012
10:17 AM ET
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Truce in Syria?

Editor's note: Hours after the beginning of a truce to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, reports of new violence began to emerge in Syria’s civil war. Read the full story.

Here are the latest developments.

[Updated at 1:20 p.m.] More than 70 people have been killed across Syria on Friday, the first day of the Eid truce, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. Opposition activists said a car bombing rocked a Damascus neighborhood, with death toll estimates ranging from 10 to more than 20.

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Filed under: Middle East • Syria • World