Syria's government and its enemies came face to face on Wednesday for the first time as a peace conference began in Switzerland which world powers hope can at least start a process to end three years of civil war. There was immediate evidence of sharp differences, as U.S. Secretary...

     The horrific new report accusing Syria's embattled regime of   torturing and killing thousands of detainees   in government custody may not be a game-changer for the   peace talks   set to open in Switzerland on Wednesday,...

A powerful alliance of Syrian Islamist rebels rejected upcoming peace talks on Sunday, meaning that even if the talks reach an unlikely breakthrough in the three year old civil war, it will be harder to implement it on the ground. Syria's main political opposition group in exile, the...

  In recent weeks Russia has stepped up supplies of military gear to Syria, including armored vehicles, drones and guided bombs, boosting President Bashar al-Assad just as rebel infighting has weakened the insurgency against him, sources with knowledge of the deliveries say....