By GHAITH ALSAYED and ABBY SEWELL Associated Press
Mohammad Marwan has been struggling to rebuild his life after being released from Syria's Saydnaya prison a year ago. Arrested in 2018 for fleeing military service, he endured beatings, electric shocks, and severe hunger. Since his release, he has received treatment for tuberculosis and attended therapy sessions to overcome the effects of his ordeal. His story reflects Syria's broader struggle to heal after the fall of the Assad regime. The country faces ongoing challenges, including sectarian violence, economic instability and tensions with Kurdish-led forces. On Monday, thousands of Syrians took to the streets to celebrate the anniversary of the regime's fall.
On Nov. 30, 1999, an estimated 40,000 demonstrators clashed with police as they protested against the World Trade Organization as the WTO convened in Seattle.
A U.S. envoy is reaffirming Washington's support for Syria's new government and telling The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that there is "no Plan B" for uniting the country. Tom Barrack also criticized Israel's recent intervention in Syria, calling it poorly timed and complicating efforts to stabilize the region. Israel last week struck Syrian government targets during clashes in Sweida between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes that left hundreds dead. A ceasefire was announced Saturday. The violence deepened the distrust of Syria's minority religious and ethnic groups toward the new government, which is led by Sunni Muslim former insurgents
By KAREEM CHEHAYEB and GHAITH ALSAYED Associated Press
Syrian government forces have started withdrawing from the southern province of Sweida following days of vicious clashes with militias from the Druze minority. Druze leaders and Syrian government officials announced a renewed ceasefire late on Wednesday that was mediated by the United States, Turkey and Arab countries. Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in an address early on Thursday that some Druze factions and clerics were appointed to maintain internal security in Sweida. However, Israeli strikes targeting government troops in defense of the Druze did not immediately stop. The dayslong fighting has threatened to unravel Syria's postwar political transition and brought in further military intervention by Israel.
By GHAITH ALSAYED and ABBY SEWELL Associated Press
Syria's defense minister has announced a ceasefire just hours after government forces entered a key city in the volatile Sweida province. Tuesday's announcement follows deadly sectarian clashes between Druze factions and Sunni Bedouin tribes that killed over 30 people. That's according to Syria's Interior Ministry. However, fighting and allegations of civilian abuses by security forces continue. Meanwhile, Israel launched airstrikes on Syrian military convoys, claiming to protect the Druze minority near its border. Syria condemned the strikes, accusing Israel of aggression. The United Nations has urged all parties to stop the violence and engage in dialogue as ser escalation. Sectarian tensions remain high.
Israel has struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clash with Druze militias. Dozens of people have been killed in the fighting between local militias and clans in Syria's Sweida province. Government security forces that were sent to restore order on Monday also clashed with local armed groups. The Interior Ministry has said more than 30 people died and nearly 100 others have been injured in that fighting. U.N. Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Najat Rochdi has expressed "deep concern" over the violence in the country struggling for stability after a 13-year civil war.
By STELLA MARTANY and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press
Fighters with a Kurdish separatist militant group that has waged a decadeslong insurgency in Turkey have begun laying down their weapons. About 30 fighters took part in a symbolic ceremony Friday in northern Iraq. The move was the first concrete step toward a promised disarmament as part of a peace process. The Kurdistan Workers' Party announced in May it would disband and renounce armed conflict to end four decades of hostilities. The move came after PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan urged his group in February to convene a congress and formally disband and disarm. Öcalan has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999.
By JOSEPH KRAUSS and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press
As President Donald Trump floats "regime change" in Tehran, previous U.S. attempts to remake the Middle East by force in recent decades can offer stark warnings about the possibility of a deepening involvement in the Iran-Israeli conflict. Trump posted over the weekend: "If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???" The White House insists Trump, who spent years railing against "forever wars," isn't doing an about-face and that Iranian citizens could revolt against its government. But that's a delicate, perilous path that other U.S. administrations have been down before. And it's a long way from Trump's dismissal of "stupid, endless wars."
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
Updated
The Trump administration has notified the World Food Program and other partners it has terminated some of the last remaining lifesaving humanitarian programs across the Middle East. A U.S. Agency for International Development official told The Associated Press on Monday about 60 letters canceling contracts were sent over the past week, including to the World Food Program. A United Nations official says the World Food Program received termination letters for Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. The USAID official says U.S. funding for key programs in Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe also is affected, including for programs providing food, water, medical care and shelter for people displaced by war. The State Department hasn't commented.
By DAVID KLEPPER and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press
Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's pick to be director of national intelligence, has moved a step closer to Senate confirmation. The Senate Intelligence Committee voted behind closed doors Tuesday to advance Gabbard's nomination to the full Senate for a vote. Gabbard is a former Democratic congresswoman and one of Trump's more divisive nominees, given past comments sympathetic to Russia, her meeting with Syria's now-deposed leader and her past support for government leaker Edward Snowden. Given thin Republican margins in the Senate, she will need almost all GOP senators to vote yes in order to win confirmation.
