Author: Sarah El Deeb
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Russia scrubs Mariupol’s Ukraine identity, builds on death
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KYIV, Ukraine • Throughout Mariupol, Russian workers are tearing down bombed-out buildings at a rate of at least one a day, hauling away shattered bodies with the debris. Russian military convoys are rumbling down the broad avenues of what is swiftly becoming a garrison city, and Russian soldiers, builders, administrators and doctors are replacing the…
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Gunbattles erupt during protest of Beirut blast probe; 6 die
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BEIRUT • Heavy gunfire broke out Thursday in Beirut during a protest organized by the Hezbollah group against the judge leading the probe into last year’s blast in the city’s port. At least six people were killed and dozens wounded in the most violent street fighting in the Lebanese capital in years. The exchanges of…
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Macron promises help, Beirut residents vent fury at leaders
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BEIRUT • Residents of Beirut vented their fury at Lebanon’s leaders Thursday during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, blaming them for the deadly explosion that ravaged the capital. Shouting, “Revolution!” they crowded around the visiting leader who promised to press the politicians for reform. A military judge leading the investigation into Tuesday’s blast…
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Assad’s forces make advances, further securing Aleppo region
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DAMASCUS, Syria • Syrian troops have made significant advances against the last rebel held enclaves in the country’s northwest, state media said on Sunday, consolidating the government’s hold over the key Aleppo province. The Syrian government advance also appeared to put the provincial capital of Aleppo out of the firing range of opposition groups for…
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UN says 140,000 displaced in 3 days amid Syrian offensive
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BEIRUT • Over 140,000 Syrians have been displaced in the last three days alone by violence in the country’s northwest, bringing the total of those uprooted in a Syrian government offensive against the last opposition stronghold to over 800,000, the United Nations said Thursday. The U.N. said at least 60% of the more than 800,000…
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Hezbollah-backed professor to form new government in Lebanon
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BEIRUT • A former education minister backed by the militant Hezbollah group and its allies was selected Thursday as Lebanon’s new prime minister to break a political impasse amid mass protests, although he almost immediately ran into opposition from demonstrators on the streets. Hassan Diab, a professor at the American University of Beirut, was named…
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U.S. backed Syrian force clears area retaken from IS
BEIRUT • U.S.-backed Syrian fighters cleared explosives in the last area retaken from the Islamic State group on Sunday and arrested a number of militants hiding in tunnels, a day after declaring military victory and the end of the extremists’ self-styled caliphate. The U.S.-led coalition said the clearing operations will continue until the area is…
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Days are numbered for IS in Syria
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BAGHOUZ, Syria • The collection of tents was largely silent on a sunny winter Monday afternoon. Few people were visible, but the few out and about were calm: Two men in long robes and pants walked slowly together through the grass, a woman leisurely came out of her tent to look around, a man on…
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‘Taking their last breath’: IS hides among Syrian civilians
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BAGHOUZ, Syria • From a self-proclaimed caliphate that once spread across much of Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State group has been knocked back to a speck of land on the countries’ shared border. In that tiny patch on the banks of the Euphrates River, hundreds of militants are hiding among civilians under the shadow…
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Trump move to pull U.S. troops from Syria opens way to turmoil
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BEIRUT • The United States’ Kurdish allies had been gearing up for a new fight for weeks, digging trenches and defense tunnels in northeastern Syria in preparation for an offensive Turkey’s president warned was imminent. On the ground, U.S. troops were bringing in reinforcements through the border with Iraq, beefing up patrols and observation points…