Syrian civil war

The Syrian government’s biggest international backers and opponents plunged into negotiations Friday over a long-sought compromise to help end a 4 and-a-half year civil war and potentially ease President Bashar Assad out of power

An independent United Nations panel has identified individuals suspected of carrying out war crimes in Syria and suggested a referral to the International Criminal Court.

The United Nations reported Wednesday that the death toll in Syria is nearing 70,000, nearly two years after the conflict began.

As the civil war in Syria drags on, President Bashar al-Assad is fearful of being assassinated and has almost completely disappeared from public view.

The Iranian Army chief issued a warning on Saturday that if the United States keeps supporting Turkey during the Syrian conflict, it risks a “world war.”

The German Cabinet on Thursday approved sending Patriot missile batteries to Turkey’s southern border to prevent violence from spilling across from Syria into the NATO member state.

U.S. involvement in Syria has been limited. Rebels could win a quick victory with the right weapons, but the West is wary of terrorist groups obtaining those weapons.

A high-level official with Syria’s Foreign Ministry has defected, according to reports on Monday, which have suggested that he left the country.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad scorned foreign intervention in the nation’s civil war. Consequences would be “more than the whole world can afford” said Assad.

Disparate Syrian opposition forces began a five-day meeting in Qatar Sunday. The United States calls for a power shift within the opposition, away from expatriate leaders.

The joint United Nations-Arab League envoy called on the Syrian regime and rebels to carry out a ceasefire during the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday.

Syria’s military has stepped up its use of the widely banned cluster bombs during battles against rebel forces, Human Rights Watch reported Sunday.

Syrian rebel forces on Friday captured nearly 260 government soldiers in the restive northern part of the country after clashes in several towns in the area, said a pro-opposition group.

Rebel fighters said they detonated bombs in central Damascus at an army headquarters on Sunday, suggesting they are again trying to target the regime’s central leadership.

Opposition groups accused the Syrian government of carrying out a massacre near the capital of Damascus, where said several hundred people were found dead.

Several senior Syrian officials, including President Bashar Assad’s brother-in-law, were killed in a bomb attack targeting the National Security headquarters in the capital of Damascus Wednesday.