Topic - Damascus

Damascus. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious center of the Levant. The city has an estimated population of 1,711,000 (2009 est.). - Source: Wikipedia

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Lebanese citizens watch Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah speak on television as black smoke rises following Israeli attacks on a Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, on July 16, 2006. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

Some Lebanese who fear war is coming have an unusual backup plan: Moving to Syria

By Abby Sewell - Associated Press

Syrians cross into their country from the Turkish crossing point of Cilvegozu, in Reyhanli, southeastern Turkey, on Feb. 18, 2023. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar Assad have recently signaled that they are interested in restoring diplomatic ties that have been ruptured for more than a decade. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)

A rapprochement between Syria and Turkey is on the table. Here’s what it might mean for the region

By Abby Sewell and Suzan Fraser - Associated Press

Iranian protesters attend an anti-Israeli gathering to condemn killing members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Syria, at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, April 1, 2024. An Israeli airstrike that demolished Iran's consulate in Syria killed two Iranian generals and five officers, Syrian and Iranian officials said Monday. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

U.S. braces for retaliation after attack on Iran consulate — even as it says it wasn’t involved

By Ellen Knickmeyer and Lolita C. Baldor - Associated Press

Emergency services work at a building hit by an air strike in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. Syrian and Iranian state media outlets say an Israeli strike on t Damascus killed four Iranian advisers. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Israeli airstrike on Syrian capital kills at least 4 Iranian advisers, officials say

Associated Press

A U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighter stands on his armored vehicle, at al-Sabha town in the eastern countryside of Deir el-Zour, Syria, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. Weeklong clashes between rival U.S.-backed militias in eastern Syria, where hundreds of American troops are deployed, point to dangerous seams in a coalition that has kept on a lid on the defeated Islamic State group for years. That could be an opportunity for the radical group to re-emerge. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Fighting between rival US-backed groups in Syria could undermine war against the Islamic State group

By Bassem Mroue - Associated Press

In this photo released on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023, by Suwayda24, people stage a protest as they wave the Druze flags in the southern city of Sweida, Syria. Anti-government protests have rocked south Syria for the past week. Demonstrators initially took to the streets over surging inflation but are now calling for the ouster of President Bashar Assad, echoing the beginnings of a 2011 uprising that sparked Syria's brutal civil war. (Suwayda24 via AP)

Syria protests spurred by economic misery stir memories of the 2011 anti-government uprising

By Kareem Chehayeb - Associated Press

Syria Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, right, meets with his Jordan counterpart Ayman Safadi in Damascus, Syria, Monday, July 3, 2023. Jordan's top diplomat Monday called for international investment into crisis-hit Syria's crippled infrastructure in order to speed up refugee returns. Safadi made these remarks following a visit to Damascus, where he met with Syrian President Bashar Assad and his counterpart Faisal Mekdad. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Jordan’s foreign minister calls for investment into war-torn Syria to speed up refugee returns

By Omar Sanadiki and Kareem Chehayeb - Associated Press

Jordanian soldiers patrol near the eastern Jordan-Syria border, in al-Washash, Mafraq governorate, Jordan, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, during media tour organised by the Jordanian army. Colonel Mustafa Al-Hiyari, head of the Military Information Directorate said Jordan is directly confronted with an undeclared war with drug smugglers and arms dealers. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) ** FILE **

Airstrikes kill well-known Syrian drug kingpin

By Bassem Mroue and Kareem Chehayeb - Associated Press

In this photo released by the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Ebrahim Raisi, left, listens to his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad during a welcoming ceremony in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

Iranian president meets Palestinian officials in Syria

By Albert Aji and Bassem Mroue - Associated Press

In this photo released by the official Facebook page of the Syrian Presidency, Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, shakes hands with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Iranian President Raisi Wednesday met Syrian President Assad in Damascus in a bid to boost cooperation between the two allies, state media reported. (Syrian Presidency via Facebook via AP)

Syria and Iran sign long-term oil and trade agreements

By Albert Aji and Kareem Chehayeb - Associated Press

Saudi Minster of Foreign Affairs Faisal bin Farhan is escorted by the Syrian Minister of Presidential Affairs Mansour Azzam upon his arrival at Damascus airport Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Saudi foreign minister visits Syria as relations thaw

Associated Press

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, visiting Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, and Mikhail Bogdanov, right, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Special Representative of the President of Russia for the Middle East, review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony upon Assad's arrival at Vnukovo airport in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 14, 2023. Assad landed in Russia Tuesday where he is scheduled to meet top ally President Vladimir Putin. (SANA via AP)

Putin hosts Assad, expected to focus on rebuilding Syria

By Vladimir Isachenkov and Bassem Mroue - Associated Press

This satellite file photo released by Planet Labs PBC shows the damage after an Israeli strike targeted the Aleppo International Airport, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Israeli airstrike damages Aleppo airport, Syrian state media reports

Associated Press

Syrian citizen search through the wreckage of a collapsed building, in Azmarin town, in Idlib province north Syria, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling buildings and sending panicked residents pouring outside in a cold winter night. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed) **FILE**

Islamic terrorism creates a toxic powder keg in Syria, poses quandary for U.S. in wake of earthquake

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

Syria's permanent representative to OPCW, Ambassador Milad Atieh speaks during a press conference in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Atieh on Thursday dismissed the global chemical weapons watchdog's statement that investigators found "reasonable grounds to believe" the air force dropped two cylinders of chlorine gas on the city of Douma in 2018. A picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad hangs on the wall. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Syria slams chemical watchdog report on 2018 attack

By Samar Kassaballi and Kareem Chehayeb - Associated Press