Syria News Wire

25 people have attended the ‘opposition’ conference in Paris, rendering it a total failure. The number was far below even the most conservative estimates. Most of the 25 were Kurdish separatists. The “National Forum for Democratic Dialogue” quickly spiraled into agenda driven secular politics. Not a single non-Syrian dignitary attended the conference, something they would [...]

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The UN is reporting that the 2007 local council (municipal) elections in Syria will be free. If this is true, it marks the first truly free elections under the Baath Party. Currently, the candidates are all chosen from the National Progressive Front (i.e. Baath Party members, and allies of the Party). But in these elections, [...]

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Three women have been arrested in Syria in connection with the attacks in Jibril, near Hama earlier in the month. Five members of Jund Ash-Sham, who were responsible for the attacks in Qatar which killed one British person ealier in the year. A battle with the group also resulted in 4 Syrian policeman dieing in [...]

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Lebanon’s Defence Minister Michel Murr is seeking refuge in Switzerland because the security situation in Lebanon is so bad. The astonishing revelation will raise question marks over his role – he is the man in charge of the country’s security, yet even he doesn’t feel safe in Lebanon. He said that he has not been [...]

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Israel’s Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz says the Syrian Golan Heights will remain ‘forever’ under Israeli control. He has urged Israelis to move into the illegally occupied Syrian land. It is another slap in the face for a possible peace between Israel and Syria. For the past 18 months Bashar has been calling for peace talks [...]

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Yesterday’s attack on far right Lebanese journalist May Chidiac has been condemned by Syria’s Journalist Union. They’ve called the bombing a “a crime that targets journalists’ pens and freedoms”. They wished her a quick recovery. It is a policy of the Syria News Wire not to advocate – but in the case of the protection [...]

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Two new radio stations have been licensed in Syria. Both of them are completely in private hands. Syria Al-Ghad (The Syria of Tomorrow) and Style FM – thought to be a pop music station a la Lebanon’s Radio 1 – are soon to broadcast. Both of the new licences have come out of the Party [...]

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A journalist from Lebanese Forces’ TV channel LBC has been targetted in a bomb attack near Beirut. The attack happened in Jouneih when a bomb exploded under her car. May Chidiac was critically injured and taken to hospital where one of her arms and one of her legs were amputated. Her Land Rover was blown [...]

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Last week I posted American journalist Ken Krayeske’s first ‘Dispatch from Damascus’. It was his first day in Damascus. Now he’s moved on to Deir Ez-Zor, on the Euphrates River. It’s the largest city in the north east, with a large Kurdish population and a transient Western population of oil workers. Here’s his journey into [...]

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The Syrian-Iraqi co-operation to close the border is finally bearing fruits. Hundreds of Iraqi civilians are now stranded on the Syrian side, trying to return home. Iraq says they will not do anything about it. Those stranded include children who came to Syria to have operations. Thirteen year old Adnan said: “I have been to [...]

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