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United Nations

In this image made from amateur video released by Shaam News Network and accessed Wednesday, May 16, 2012, purports to show a towed U.N. observer car in Idlib, Khan Sheikhoun, Syria. A team of international observers were evacuated Wednesday from a tense town in northern Syria a day after their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb, a U.N. spokesman said. The team's vehicles were struck by the blast Tuesday during a mission in the northern town of Khan Sheikhoun. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)

UN team in Syria evacuated from tense town

Last updated Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - 10:23am

BEIRUT -- A team of international observers was evacuated Wednesday from a tense town in northern Syria a day after their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb, a U.N. spokesman said.

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In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, flames and smoke raise from burned cars after two bombs exploded, at Qazaz neighborhood in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday May 10, 2012. Two large explosions ripped through the Syrian capital Thursday, heavily damaging a military intelligence building and leaving blood and human remains in the streets. (AP Photo/SANA)

Syrian peace plan in 'crisis'

Bassem Mroue, Malcom Foster The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, May 11, 2012 - 10:12am

DAMASCUS, Syria -- A Syrian opposition leader said Friday the regime is trying to destroy a U.N.-brokered peace plan for the country. The accusations came as security forces fanned out following twin suicide car bombings that killed 55 people in Damascus.

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FILE - In this April 24, 2009 file photo, a Sri Lankan soldier stands guard near the war zone of Putumattalan in Puthukudiyiruppu, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) northeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka. On Thursday, April 26, 2012, The Associated Press obtained a copy of an email, saying unexploded cluster munitions have been found in northern Sri Lanka, appearing to confirm, for the first time, that they were used in that country's long civil war. (AP Photo/ Eranga Jayawardena, File)

UN finds cluster bombs in Sri Lanka

Ravi Nessman The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, April 26, 2012 - 11:29am

NEW DELHI -- A report from a U.N. mine removal expert says unexploded cluster munitions have been found in northern Sri Lanka, appearing to confirm, for the first time, that they were used in that country's long civil war.

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In this image made from amateur video released by the Shaam News Network and accessed Wednesday, April 18, 2012, smoke billows an impact following purported shelling in Khaldiyeh district, Homs, Syria. Nearly a week after a cease-fire took effect, Syrian troops pounded a rebel stronghold Wednesday as the country's foreign minister met with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing during the latest round of talks aimed at preventing the truce from unraveling. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)

Syria claims it's abiding by truce

Karin Laub The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, April 18, 2012 - 10:08am

BEIRUT -- Syrian forces fired a barrage of mortar shells at an opposition stronghold Wednesday even as the foreign minister promised the regime would respect a week-old cease-fire and withdraw troops from urban centers in line with an international peace plan.

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Fragile UN-brokered cease-fire takes hold in Syria

Bassem Mroue, Karin Laub The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, April 12, 2012 - 1:49pm

BEIRUT -- A fragile cease-fire brokered by the U.N. took hold in Syria on Thursday with regime forces apparently halting widespread attacks on the opposition. But scattered violence was reported and the government defied demands to pull troops back to barracks, drawing criticism from international envoy Kofi Annan.

Annan told the U.N. Security Council that he was "encouraged" that the truce appeared to be holding but warned the Syrian regime has failed to implement key demands such as withdrawing troops and heavy weapons from cities and towns.

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U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, right, speaks with Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay after his visit to a Syrian refugee camp in Yayladagi, Turkey, April 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Bulent Kilic, Pool)

Kofi Annan seeks Iran’s help in Syria crisis

Bassem Mroue, Ali Akbar Dareini The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - 8:46am

TEHRAN, Iran — Special envoy Kofi Annan said Wednesday in Tehran that Iran could help solve the crisis in Syria, where activists reported fresh violence near the capital Damascus a day before an international cease-fire is supposed to take effect.

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In this citizen journalism image provided by the Local Coordination Committees in Syria, on Saturday, March 31, 2012, showing a Syrian boy flashes the V-victory sign during a demonstration in Idlib, Syria. (AP Photo/Local Coordination Committees in Syria)

Nations pledge millions for Syrian opposition

Bradley Klapper, Christopher Torchia The Associated Press

Last updated Sunday, April 1, 2012 - 5:13pm

ISTANBUL — A coalition of more than 70 partners, including the United States, pledged Sunday to send millions of dollars and communications equipment to Syria’s opposition groups, signaling deeper involvement in the conflict amid a growing belief that diplomacy and sanctions alone cannot end the Damascus regime’s repression.

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Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan meets with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, unseen, at the Great Hall of People in Beijing on Tuesday, March 27, 2012. Syria accepted a peace plan by Annan, which includes a cease-fire by Syrian forces and a daily two-hour halt to fighting to evacuate the injured, Annan's spokesman said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Lintao Zhang, Pool)

Syria accepts UN peace plan but bloodshed persists

Bassem Mroue, Elizabeth A. Kennedy The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, March 27, 2012 - 9:39am

QAA, Lebanon -- Syria has accepted a peace plan by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan that includes a cease-fire by the Syrian government, but the bloodshed persisted Tuesday as intense clashes between government troops and rebels spilled across the border into Lebanon, officials said.

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Free Syrian Army fighters pray in Idlib, north Syria, Thursday, March 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Syria opposition chief rejects talks

Zeina Karam The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, March 9, 2012 - 10:28am

BEIRUT -- The leader of Syria's main opposition group rejected calls Friday by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan for dialogue with President Bashar Assad's government, saying they were pointless and unrealistic as the regime massacres its own people.

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Fayssal al-Hamwi , Syrian Ambassador in Geneva delivers his statement to the urgent debate on Syria during the 19th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Feb. 29, 2012. The U.N.'s human rights chief Navanethem Pillay says the situation in Syria has deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks and demands an immediate humanitarian cease-fire. (AP Photo/Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi)

Situation in Syria deteriorating

Frank Jordans The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - 10:44am

GENEVA -- There needs to be an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Syria, the U.N. human rights chief declared Tuesday, saying the situation has deteriorated rapidly as the Assad regime steps up its onslaught against the opposition.

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In this frame made from TV, Herman Nackaerts, of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is seen at the airport in Vienna, Sunday, Feb. 19 2012. A senior U.N. nuclear official said Sunday he hoped for progress in upcoming talks with Iran about suspected secret work on atomic arms, but his careful choice of words suggested little expectation that the meeting will be successful. The comments by Herman Nackaerts as his International Atomic Energy Agency team prepared to leave for Tehran for the second time in less than a month appeared to reflect IAEA reluctance to raise hopes that Iran will engage on an issue that it claims has no substance. (AP Photo / APTN)

UN nuclear inspectors to press Iran on weapons

Nasser Karimi The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, February 20, 2012 - 10:22am

TEHRAN, Iran -- U.N. nuclear inspectors starting a two-day visit to Tehran on Monday sought to meet Iranian nuclear scientists and visit a key military facility as they try to gauge allegations that Iran is pushing toward making an atomic weapon.

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Syrian rebels are seen in Idlib, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012. Syrian forces fired mortars and rockets that killed scores of people Thursday in the rebellious city of Homs, activists said, the latest strike in a weeklong assault as President Bashar Assad's regime tries to crush increasingly militarized pockets of dissent. (AP Photo)

Humanitarian crisis deepens in Syrian city

Elizabeth A. Kennedy The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, February 10, 2012 - 2:10pm

BEIRUT -- Between blasts of rockets and mortar fire, Syrians used loudspeakers to call for blood donations and medical supplies Thursday in the stricken city of Homs, where a weeklong government offensive has created a deepening humanitarian crisis.

Government forces are trying to crush pockets of violent resistance in Homs, the epicenter of an 11-month-old uprising that has brought the country ever closer to civil war. The intense shelling in restive neighborhoods such as Baba Amr has made it difficult to get medicine and care to the wounded, and some areas have been without electricity for days, activists say.

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Syrians stand near the body of a man local residents say was an activist who was tortured to death by the Syrian government and dumped by the side of the road in Idlib, northern Syria, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012. The commander of rebel Syrian soldiers said Sunday there is no choice but to use military force to drive President Bashar Assad's regime from power as fears mounted that government troops will escalate their deadly crackdown on dissent after Russia and China vetoed a U.N. resolution aimed at resolving the crisis. (AP Photo)

US seeks alliance to back Syria opposition; rebels say only force can oust Assad after UN veto

Contributed The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, February 6, 2012 - 11:51am

BEIRUT — The United States proposed an international coalition to support Syria’s opposition Sunday after Russia and China blocked a U.N. attempt to end nearly 11 months of bloodshed, raising fears that violence will escalate. Rebel soldiers said force was now the only way to oust President Bashar Assad, while the regime vowed to press its military crackdown.

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(JASON DECROW/The Associated Press)
Portuguese representative Jose Filipe Moraes Cabral, left, and South African representative Baso Sangqu, right, glance at Russian representative Vitaly Churkin, center, as they vote in support of a draft resolution backing an Arab League call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down, which was later vetoed by Russia and China, during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at United Nations headquarters on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. The unusual weekend session comes as Syrian forces pummel the city of Homs with mortars and artillery in what activists are calling one of the bloodiest episodes of the uprising.

Russia, China veto UN resolution on Syria

Anita Snow The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, February 4, 2012 - 4:49pm

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council failed again Saturday to take decisive action to stop the escalating violence in Syria as Russia and China blocked a resolution backing an Arab League plan that calls for President Bashar Assad to step down. The double-veto outraged the U.S. and European council members who feared it would embolden the Assad regime.

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(The Associated Press) In this citizen journalism image provided by the Local Coordination Committees in Syria and released Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, an anti-Syrian regime protester, holds a poster with caricature depicting the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, left, and Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 2nd left, pumping up their ally Syrian President Bashar Assad, centre, as she walks during a demonstration in Idlib Province, north Syria. Russia’s deputy defense minister says Moscow will not stop arms sales to Syria. Russian state news agencies quoted Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov on Thursday as saying Russia is not violating any international obligations. Arabic on the poster reads, “free people of occupied Kfarnebel.”

Syrian activists: 200 dead in government assault

Zeina Karam The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, February 4, 2012 - 4:46pm

BEIRUT — In a barrage of mortar shells, Syrian forces killed 200 people and wounded hundreds in Homs in an offensive that appears to be the bloodiest episode in the nearly 11-month-old uprising, activists said Saturday.

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