The rise of extremist groups swelled by fighters from the west has inflicted extra suffering on Syria's people and made a national uprising impossible The results of new research reported by the Guardian this week on young westerners who have travelled to Syria to fight in the...

Separatists flew the Russian flag on armored vehicles taken from the Ukrainian army on Wednesday, humiliating a Kiev government operation to recapture eastern towns controlled by pro-Moscow partisans. Six armored personnel carriers were driven into the rebel-held town of...

“Allah bless Erdogan, Allah bless the governor, Allah bless Turkey.” Praise for Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is in short supply  amid a wave of anti-government protests  that have rocked the country...

Syrian troops and pro-regime militiamen fought their way into rebel-held neighbourhoods of the central city of Homs on Tuesday after besieging them for nearly two years. Meanwhile, rebels elsewhere in the country have received for the first time at least 20 US-made TOW anti-tank...