Latest news with #BasharAssad
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Syria and Saudi Arabia agree to boost economic cooperation after Western sanctions eased
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria and Saudi Arabia said Saturday they aim to boost economic cooperation to for their mutual benefit and create jobs for Syrians after Western sanctions imposed on the war-torn country were eased earlier this month. The announcement was made during a visit to Damascus by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who met Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and other Syrian officials. The easing of Western sanctions is likely to open the way for foreign investors into the country, where a civil war has been ongoing since March 2011. In early December, 54 years of Assad family rule came to an end, when gunmen opposed to then-president Bashar Assad captured his seat of power in Damascus. The Saudi foreign minister said that the easing of sanctions by the U.S., the European Union and Britain earlier this month will help in 'reactivating the Syrian economy that had been at a standstill for decades.' Prince Faisal, who is heading an economic and business delegation, said Saudi businessmen will visit Syria in the near future to discuss opportunities in sectors including oil, infrastructure, information technology, telecommunications and agriculture. He added that Saudi Arabia and Qatar will give financial assistance to employees of Syria's public sector without giving details. 'We assert that the kingdom will be a leading state among countries that will stand by Syria in its march for reconstruction and economic revival,' Prince Faisal said. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said his country and Saudi Arabia have entered a new era of cooperation. The meeting came two days after Syria signed an agreement with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and U.S. companies for development of a 5,000-megawatt energy project to revitalize much of its war-battered electricity grid. Al-Sharaa met President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia earlier this month.
Arab News
a day ago
- General
- Arab News
Israel strikes western Syria, despite talks
DAMASCUS: Israel on Friday struck western Syria, the Israeli military and Syrian state media said, in the first such attack on the country in nearly a month. It came after Damascus announced earlier this month indirect talks with Israel to calm tensions, and the US called for a 'non-aggression agreement' between the two countries, which are technically at war. 'A strike from Israeli occupation aircraft targeted sites close to the village of Zama in the Jableh countryside south of Latakia,' state television said. The Israeli military shortly thereafter said it 'struck weapon storage facilities containing coastal missiles that posed a threat to international and Israeli maritime freedom of navigation, in the Latakia area of Syria.' 'In addition, components of surface-to-air missiles were struck in the area of Latakia,' it said, adding that it would 'continue to operate to maintain freedom of action in the region, in order to carry out its missions and will act to remove any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.' The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights meanwhile reported that jets likely to be Israeli struck military sides on the outskirts of Tartus and Latakia. Syria and Israel have technically been at war since 1948. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and has carried out hundreds of strikes and several incursions since the overthrow of Bashar Assad in December. Israel says its strikes aim to stop advanced weapons reaching Syria's new authorities, whom it considers jihadists.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Islamic State group claims first attack on Syrian government forces since Assad's fall
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for two attacks in southern Syria, including one on government forces that an opposition war monitor described as the first on the Syrian army to be carried out by the extremists since the fall of Bashar Assad. IS said in a statement on Thursday that in one attack, a bomb targeting a 'vehicle of the apostate regime" detonated, leaving seven soldiers dead or wounded. It said the attack occurred 'last Thursday,' or May 22, in the al-Safa area in the desert of the southern province of Sweida. In a separate statement, the group said another bomb attack occurred this week in a nearby area, targeting members of the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army. It claimed that it killed one fighter and wounded three. There was no comment from the government on the claims. A spokesperson for the Free Syrian Army didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack on government forces killed one civilian and wounded three soldiers, describing it as the first such attack to be claimed by IS against Syrian forces since the 54-year rule by the Assad family ended in December. IS, which once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq, is opposed to the new authority in Damascus led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once the head of al-Qaida's branch in Syria and fought battles against IS. Over the past several months, IS has claimed responsibility for attacks against the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast. IS was defeated in Syria in March 2019 when SDF fighters captured the last sliver of land that the extremists controlled. Since then, its sleeper cells have carried out deadly attacks, mainly in eastern and northeast Syria. In January, state media reported that intelligence officials in Syria's post-Assad government thwarted a plan by IS to set off a bomb at a Shiite Muslim shrine south of Damascus. Al-Sharaa met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, when the American leader said that Washington would work on lifting crippling economic sanctions imposed on Damascus since the days of Assad. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement after the meeting that Trump urged al-Sharaa to diplomatically recognize Israel, 'tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria' and help the U.S. stop any resurgence of the Islamic State group.
a day ago
- Politics
Islamic State group claims first attack on Syrian government forces since Assad's fall
BEIRUT -- The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for two attacks in southern Syria, including one on government forces that an opposition war monitor described as the first on the Syrian army to be adopted by the extremists since the fall of Bashar Assad. In two separate statements issued late Thursday, IS said that in the first attack, a bomb was detonated targeting a 'vehicle of the apostate regime,' leaving seven soldiers dead or wounded. It said the attack occurred 'last Thursday,' or May 22, in the al-Safa area in the desert of the southern province of Sweida. IS said that the second attack occurred this week in a nearby area during which a bomb targeted members of the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army, claiming that it killed one fighter and wounded three. There was no comment from the government on the claim of the attack and a spokesperson for the Free Syrian Army didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the attack on government forces killed one civilian and wounded three soldiers, describing it as the first such attack to be claimed by IS against Syrian forces since the fall of the 54-year Assad family's rule in December. IS, which once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq, is opposed to the new authority in Damascus led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once the head of al-Qaida's branch in Syria and fought battles against IS. Over the past several months, IS has claimed responsibility for attacks against the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast. IS was defeated in Syria in March 2019 when SDF fighters captured the last sliver of land that the extremists controlled. Since then, its sleeper cells have carried out deadly attacks, mainly in eastern and northeast Syria. In January, state media reported that intelligence officials in Syria's post-Assad government thwarted a plan by IS to set off a bomb at a Shiite Muslim shrine south of Damascus. Al-Sharaa met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia earlier this month during which the American leader said that Washington would work on lifting crippling economic sanctions imposed on Damascus since the days of Assad. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement after the meeting that Trump urged al-Sharaa to diplomatically recognize Israel, 'tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria' and help the U.S. stop any resurgence of the Islamic State group.
Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
ISIS Claims 1st Attack on Syrian Government Forces Since Assad's Fall
ISIS has claimed responsibility for two attacks in southern Syria, including one on government forces that an opposition war monitor described as the first on the Syrian army to be adopted by the extremists since the fall of Bashar Assad. In two separate statements issued late Thursday, ISIS said that in the first attack, a bomb was detonated targeting a 'vehicle of the apostate regime,' leaving seven soldiers dead or wounded. It said the attack occurred 'last Thursday,' or May 22, in the al-Safa area in the desert of the southern province of Sweida. ISIS said that the second attack occurred this week in a nearby area during which a bomb targeted members of the US-backed Free Syrian Army, claiming that it killed one fighter and wounded three. There was no comment from the government on the claim of the attack and a spokesperson for the Free Syrian Army didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the attack on government forces killed one civilian and wounded three soldiers, describing it as the first such attack to be claimed by ISIS against Syrian forces since the fall of the 54-year Assad family's rule in December. In January, state media reported that intelligence officials in Syria's post-Assad government thwarted a plan by ISIS to set off a bomb at a Shiite shrine south of Damascus.
