German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere has reaffirmed his opposition to military intervention in Syria, saying diplomacy favors over military action. “The failure of diplomacy must not automatically bring about the onset of the military,” the minister told told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, AFP reported on Sunday. He said Kofi Annan’s... 

Members of an armed gang in Syria A report says Turkey has supplied the foreign-sponsored armed groups in Syria with surface-to-air missiles. According to a July 31 report by the NBC News, nearly two dozen missiles have been delivered to the rebels in Syria by Turkey. The report, however, did not provide details on the exact type of the missiles, also known as MANPADs (man-portable air-defense systems). Over... 

Rebels from the Syrian opposition clash with the Syrian army forces in the restive northern city of Aleppo on July 25, 2012. Syrian troops have stormed armed groups’ command center in the northern city of Aleppo, killing at least 150 terrorists fighting against the government. According to reports coming from Syria, the army attacked a rebel-held school in Aleppo’s Salahuddin district, which was... 

Syria’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Jihad Makdissi speaks during a news conference in Damascus July 23, 2012. Syria says it will only use its chemical and biological arsenal against “external aggression,” and never against own population. The US has warned the Arab country against using the arsenal under any circumstances. ­Torn by a 16-month civil conflict, Syria will not use the weapons... 

According to a report, foreign governments decide which gangs inside Syria should receive arms to fight the Syrian government. Above, members of an armed Syrian gang are shown. In a new media offensive against Damascus, Washington has claimed that the Syrian government possesses and intends to use chemical weapons. “We believe Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile remains under Syrian government control,”... 

A Syrian Scud missile launcher Israel says it will launch a military operation against Syria if Damascus transfers missiles or chemical weapons to the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah. “I have instructed the military to increase its intelligence preparations and prepare what is needed so that … (if necessary) … we will be able to consider carrying out an operation,” the... 

Syrian Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha Syria’s deputy defense minister Assef Shawkat and security Chief General Hisham Ikhtiyar have been killed in a bomb attack on a security building in the capital Damascus. Syrian Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha was also killed in the bombing at the headquarters of the National Security Bureau on Wednesday. Cabinet ministers and senior security officials were meeting... 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the West has been trying to blackmail Moscow into accepting a military intervention in Syria. On Monday, Lavrov said the Western threats to discontinue the UN unarmed observer mission to Syria if Russia does not agree to allow the West to use force in the country amounts to blackmail. “We will not be able... 

A Russian Buk-M2 air defense system Russia says it has no plans to impose an arms embargo on Syria and intends to fulfill a contract for delivering air defense systems to the country. A senior Russian arms export official said on Wednesday that since the contract to deliver Syria the air defense systems were signed before the outbreak of unrest in the country, Moscow is obliged to fulfill its commitments. ”Russia... 

Switzerland suspends arms shipments to the UAE over a report that Swiss hand grenades have ended up in the hands of militants groups in Syria. Switzerland has decided to suspend arms shipments to the United Arab Emirates following a report that Swiss-made hand grenades are being used by armed gangs in Syria. The measure was taken on Wednesday after the Sonntagszeitung newspaper published a photograph... 

Members of the terrorist Free Syrian Army An estimated 10,000 armed men equipped with highly-sophisticated weapons, including anti-tank missiles, have reportedly entered Syria to help fuel the unrest in the country, Press TV has learned. Informed sources in the Qusayr village in Homs say the terrorists crossed into Syria from the Lebanese border and that they have taken positions in the suburbs of... 

Shocking images have surfaced, revealing the alleged desecration of Christian churches in Syria by Western-backed rebels. The pictures, taken by local Christians outraged at the violence, were published by PrisonPlanet.com. In one of the photos a man who is said to be a member of the Free Syrian Army poses in a stolen priest’s robe while brandishing a looted cross in one hand and a machine gun in... 

UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan (C) speaks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) next to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (L) at the opening of a meeting on June 30, 2012, at the United Nations office in Geneva. The Syrian crisis is to be resolved by a transition government consisting of the current authorities and opposition leaders. The proposal was announced by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi... 

Diplomats try again for peace but on the ground in Syria it is now war. As his helicopter gunships rained death from the skies and his artillery pounded villages with rebel sympathies, President Bashar al-Assad stated the obvious: Syria is at war. “When one is in a state of war, all our policies and capabilities must be used to secure victory,” he told his cabinet, in the safety of his... 

Turkey has reportedly deployed tanks and armored vehicles to the Syrian border. Turkish officials have confirmed deploying anti-aircraft batteries in the area close to the border with Syria. This is the reply to Syria downing a Turkish reconnaissance aircraft in country’s territorial waters and the shooting at another plane. ­Turkish state TV reports 30 military trucks, including air-defense systems...