Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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A Free Syrian Army fighter aims his weapon as he takes position in Aleppo’s Karm al-Jabal district on December 4, 2013. (Reuters/Saad AboBrahim)

Syria: Ankara mediates between FSA and Islamic Front

by Thair Abbas | Dec 13, 2013 | Middle East

London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Ankara mediated a meeting on Thursday between rival factions of the Syrian opposition in an attempt to broker an agreement between the Islamic Front and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) following recent clashes between the two. Turkey’s...

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Free Syrian Army fighters walk in eastern Ghouta, Damascus on December 10, 2013. (REUTERS/Ammar Al-Erbeeni)

Syria: US, UK halt non-lethal assistance to rebels

by Thair Abbas | Dec 12, 2013 | Middle East

London/Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The US and UK have halted delivery of non-lethal aid to rebels in northern Syria amid confusion over the whereabouts of Free Syrian Army (FSA) Chief of Staff General Salim Idris. Media reports on Thursday claimed that Idris had fled...

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A handout picture made available by Iranian presidential official website shows Iranian president Hassan Rowhani (R) greeting Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu at the presidential office in Tehran, Iran, on 27 November 2013. (EPA)

Turkey, Iran reach common position on Syrian crisis

by Thair Abbas | Nov 28, 2013 | Middle East

Istanbul, Asharq Al-Awsat—Ankara and Tehran reached agreements on bilateral cooperation in several fields, including the Syrian crisis and Egypt, this week during Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s visit to the Iranian capital. In a joint press...

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Abbas Hammoud, one of the nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims who were kidnapped by a rebel faction in northern Syria in May 2012, is embraced by his relatives after his release, upon his arrival at Rafik Hariri international airport, in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013 (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Syria: Lebanese hostages and Turkish pilots freed

by Thair Abbas | Oct 20, 2013 | Middle East

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Nine Lebanese hostages have been released after 17 months of detention at the hands of Islamist rebels in Syria. The release comes at the same time as two Turkish airline pilots, who were kidnapped in Beirut in August, are freed in Beirut in...

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General Salim Idris in his office in Istanbul, Turkey (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Free Syrian Army chief on ISIS, Geneva and Syria’s civil war

by Thair Abbas | Oct 15, 2013 | Interviews

Istanbul, Asharq Al-Awsat—Despite his impressive title, General Salim Idris, Chief of Staff of the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), may well have an impossible job. As a collection of different fighting groups with their own needs, leaders and...