For today, links to seven reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and Common Dreams, and to commentary from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM
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Syrian Shi’ites and other minorities flee to Lebanon, fearing Islamist rule. From Reuters. BEIRUT, Lebanon / NUBL, Syria Tens of thousands of Syrians, mostly Shi’ite Muslims, have fled to Lebanon since Sunni Muslim Islamists toppled Bashar al-Assad, fearing persecution despite assurances from the new rulers in Damascus that they will be safe, a Lebanese official said. READ MORE . . .
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Thousands of Syrians celebrate in central Damascus during first Friday prayers since Assad’s fall, by Albert Aji and Matthew Lee | AP DAMASCUS — Thousands of Syrians gathered today at Umayyad Square, the largest in Damascus, to celebrate after the first Muslim Friday prayers following the downfall of former President Bashar Assad. READ MORE . . .
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With the collapse of the Assad regime, families across Syria search for loved ones. Reported by Leila Fadel | NPR People in Syria are looking for their relatives and friends in prisons, hospitals and morgues. The U.N. estimates over a 100,00 people have gone missing in Syria under the Assad regime. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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FROM DEC. 12 On the road from Beirut to Damascus, people find their footing in a new Syria. Reported by Leila Fadel | NPR The road to Damascus tells the story of a new Syria emerging from 54 years of authoritarian rule by one family, the Assads. Today’s Syria is no longer theirs.. Click HERE to listen and read.
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FROM DEC. 10 UN envoys condemns Israel’s military advance on Syria, by Jake Johnson | Common Dreams / Consortium News The United Nations’ special envoy to Syria said Tuesday the Israeli military’s rapid move to seize Syrian territory following the Assad government’s collapse is a grave violation of a decades-old agreementthat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims is now dead. READ MORE . . .
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FROM DEC. 12 UN chief warns of Israel’s Syria invasion and land seizures, by Brett Wilkins| Common Dreams United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday he is “deeply concerned” by Israel’s “recent and extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” including a ground invasion and airstrikescarried out by the Israel Defense Forces . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM DEC. 12 A former prisoner shares what life was like in the infamous Sednaya prison in Syria. Reported by Jordan-Marie Smith, Juana Summers and Justine Kenin | NPR Omar Alshogre spent time in Sednaya prison in Syria. He gives a real-life look at what life was like there, and what it was like to escape and live as a civilian. Click HERE to listen and read.
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As a new era dawns in Syria, could there be hope for Palestine? by Abed Abou Shhadeh | Middle East Eye On Sunday, as Syrian opposition forces entered Damascus and ended the Assad family’s decades-long rule, we were reminded of a fundamental truth: no tyrannical regime or colonial entity can endure forever — as long as . . . READ MORE . . .