The western Syrian town of Qusair has become a fiercely contested battleground between the forces of President Bashar al-Assad and rebel fighters. On 19 May, following weeks of skirmishes and bombardment by artillery and aircraft, government troops backed by Hezbollah militants launched a...

There has been a large explosion in the centre of the Afghan capital, Kabul, followed by heavy gunfire. Afghan Channel One TV quoted police as saying a group of assailants had entered the Directorate of the Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF). A guesthouse used by staff of the...

Activists of the embattled city of  Homs have reported systematic sectarian practices by Military Intelligence and Shabiha- pro-Assad Militia- against residents who still under siege for almost one year.  ''Assad regime did not stop sectarian displacement of the population of...

  Assad is clearly looking to exploit sectarian fault lines in his favor. Months of bloodshed have heightened sectarian tensions and ripped apart communities in ways that are reminiscent of Iraq, where violence in 2006-2007 effectively turned into real attempts at sectarian...