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Image: SANA/dpa/picture alliance
Image: SANA/dpa/picture alliance
Bashar Assad
Born on September 11, 1965, Bashar Assad took control of Syria after his father died in 2000.
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All Content on this topic
Russia wary over Syria claims
Russia has said US claims that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons are "unconvincing." The US has used the allegations to justify arming Syrian rebels. Germany has said it will not follow suit.
US says it will arm Syrian rebels
The US says it has conclusive evidence that Syria has used chemical weapons, and will arm rebels. Analysts say that it may be too late. President Obama earlier called the use of chemical weapons a "red line" that would trigger US intervention.
Obama certain of chemical arms
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has used chemical weapons against opposition fighters, according to the White House. The Obama administration has said it is now considering intervention options.
Deadly double blasts in Damascus
A double bombing apparently aimed at a police station in the Syrian capital, Damascus, has caused multiple fatalities. The attack came as the battle for the country's second city, Aleppo, intensified.
Battle for Aleppo gears up
Syrian troops and opposition forces have stepped up fighting close to Syria's second city, Aleppo. The confrontation follows a significant strategic victory by government forces in the border town of Qusair.
'War of nerves' over Syria
Assad's military successes are strengthening Russia's position ahead of the Geneva conference.
Targeted attacks on medical services
Even clinics, doctors and patients are coming increasingly under fire in Syria.
US condemns Qusair assault
The White House has accused the Syrian regime of causing "tremendous suffering" in its successful bid to reclaim the strategic town of Qusair. Separately US, Russian and UN efforts to organize peace talks have failed.
Syrian troops take Qusayr
Government troops in Syria have regained full control of Qusayr, on the border with Lebanon. The town was taken with the help of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. International representatives gathered in Geneva have failed to agree on a date for a planned conference aimed at bringing the two sides in the conflict to the negotiating table.
Arms deals and peace talks
Russia and the West are locked into a cycle of escalation over the conflict in Syria.
Calls for evacuation of Qusair
UN agencies and the International Red Cross have called for the evacuation of civilians trapped in the embattled town of al-Qusair. Syrian rebels and government troops have each called in reinforcements.
Syrian war delays Lebanon vote
Citing the continuing civil war in neighboring Syria, Lebanese lawmakers have agreed to put off elections scheduled for June by 17 months. Spillover violence into Lebanon had raised serious doubts about the poll.
Assad confident, opposition divided
Syrian opposition groups appear increasingly divided ahead of international peace talks, while Assad is confident his regime forces will prevail.
Assad warns Israel over strikes
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has warned of retaliation in the face of any further Israeli airstrikes. In a television interview the president said he was confident of victory in the nation's 26-month civil war.
Russia condemns Syrian opposition tactics
Russia is the Syrian government's biggest ally and has accused the opposition of trying to obstruct a peace conference being planned jointly by Moscow and Washington. The main Syrian opposition group is demanding President Assad's departure - and an end to the fighting. Assad says his army has received Russian anti-aircraft missile while the UN has again condemned weapons sales to either side.
Russian missiles in Syria
Russian S-300 air defense missile systems have arrived in Syria, according to the Syrian president. Israel has long feared the delivery of the long-range missiles, calling them a "threat" to its own security.
Hezbollah on the rise in Syria
French intelligence has reported a surge in Hezbollah militia fighting alongside Syria's President Assad's army. Meanwhile, the Syrian army said it has seized a key base in the north, once a transit route for rebels.
EU lifts Syria arms embargo
European Union foreign ministers have agreed not to renew an embargo on arming Syrian rebels. However the compromise exposed deep divisions among the bloc’s member states on how to deal with the conflict in Syria.
EU grapples over arming Syria
The EU has begun debating an arms ban, which forbids weapons sales to Syria. Some say lifting the ban and arming rebels would equal the balance of firepower in the civil war. Others say it would only harm Syria further.
Rivals in the Gulf
Saudi Arabia is Iran's greatest rival in the battle for regional hegemony.
Syria regime agrees to talks
Syria's foreign minister has said his government has agreed to attend multilateral peace talks in Geneva "in principle." Walid Muallem said the talks present a "good opportunity" for a political solution to the conflict.
Beirut rocket attacks
Two rocket attacks in south of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, have injured four people. The blasts come a day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed "victory" for Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.
Al-Assad advances in Qusair
Syrian government forces backed by Hezbollah fighters have tightened their stranglehold on the town of Qusair. Rebels have stepped up efforts to defend their former stronghold, which has strategic value for both sides.
Staunch ally
Fighting alongside regime troops in Syria, the Shiite Hezbollah has a strategic agenda.
Damascus 'prepared for talks'
Russia has said that the Syrian government has agreed in principle to an international conference aimed at brokering peace. However, Moscow voiced doubts about whether the talks would go ahead anytime soon.
Two Syria meetings, two ideas
Members of the Arab League and the Syrian National Coalition have drafted new proposals aimed at ending the Syrian civil war. Their plans come in anticipation of a US-Russia backed peace conference slated for June.
Ankara's Syria policy
Assad remaining in power threatens to undermine Erdogan's position in Turkey.
Assad regime says it controls key town
In Syria the rebel stronghold Qusyar has come under fire from government forces, who are backed by fighters from Hezbollah. Syria's opposition groups are now urging rebel reinforcements to help hold the besieged town.
Syrian tensions rise
Turkey has shut its last border crossing near forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria's opposition has urged rebels to reinforce the town of Qusair near Lebanon as Assad's forces press a four-day assault.
Defiant Assad
Syria's president vows not to back down as civil war rages on.
Syrian forces besiege rebel town
The Syrian military has begun closing in on an opposition-held town, which lies on key roads to the coast and northern Lebanon. Meanwhile, the Arab League has called an emergency meeting to move peace talks forward.
On the ground in Syria
Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk describes his experiences in Syria in a DW interview.
Assad gives rare interview
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said he won't step down before elections. On Saturday, rebels kidnapped the father of Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.
Responsibility to protect
Michael Ignatieff says the international community has a duty to intervene in Syria.
Russia ships arms to Syria
The United States has expressed disapproval at Moscow for sending a missile shipment to the Syrian government. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is considering a plea to allow aid into the country.
Ban unable to change Putin's mind
UN Secretary General Ban has asked Syrian leader Assad to allow observers into his country to check for the use of chemical weapons. While Russia supports Ban, it has made clear it intends to send modern weapons to Syria.
New Syria video emerges
An NGO has released a video showing possible executions by an al Qaeda group fighting the Syrian regime in Deir al-Zour (pictured). The UN voted Tuesday to condemn the conduct of President Bashar al-Assad's military.
Lessons for Syria
The Iraq and Afghanistan wars carry lessons for the US and the international community in Syria.
Erdogan under pressure
While meeting US President Obama in Washington, pressure for Erdogan back at home is rising.
UN condemns Assad forces
The UN General Assembly has voted to condemn an "escalation" in the Syrian war and the conduct of President Bashar al-Assad's military. However there was less support for this resolution than a previous one.
Alliance with waning influence
Cameron and Obama still count on talks rather than military action to solve the war in Syria.
Cameron raises hopes on Syria
British Prime Minister David Cameron has begun a trip to Washington, fresh from a visit to Moscow, by describing Russia as "keen" on a peace conference for war-torn Syria.
Dozens dead in Turkey blasts
Two car bombs have exploded in a small Turkish town near the Syrian border leaving dozens of people dead. The blasts raises concern that Syria's bloody civil war was crossing into Turkey.
US and Russia seek Syria talks
Moscow and Washington have been trying to patch up their differences over Syria. US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov have agreed on the need to breathe new life into a peace accord.
Syria sarin report unconfirmed
The UN has downplayed reports that chemical weapons may have been deployed in Syria, asserting they have no firm proof. The clarification came after a UN investigator said rebel forces may have used the nerve gas sarin.
Poised to quit
The prospects for a peaceful solution in Syria are dwindling.
Syria's German jihadis?
A number of Germans fighting in Syria threaten to bring terror tactics back to Germany itself.
Hezbollah threatens Syria rebels
The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group has warned that allies of the Syrian regime would not allow it to fall at the hands of rebel forces. He indicated that his Iranian-backed forces were ready to intervene.
Pressure mounts
More US politicians are calling for military action in Syria, but the US president remains hesitant.
Syria's chemical weapons
Is Syria's president using chemical weapons against his own people? Mounting evidence is emerging.
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