Free Syrian Army
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the government of Bashar al-Assad. (Pages 6, 14–17.) Initially a formal organization at its founding, its structure gradually dissipated by late 2012, and the FSA identity has since been used by various opposition groups. In late 2011, the FSA was considered the main Syrian military defectors group. It had success against far better equipped government forces. From July 2012 onward, the group was weakened by decreasing discipline, growing Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War, infighting, and a lack of funding, while Syrian opposition#Other groups affiliated with Syrian opposition, Islamist groups became dominant within the armed opposition. The Free Syrian Army aims to be "the military wing of the Syrian people's opposition to the regi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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ENCA
eNCA, also known as eNews Channel Africa, is a 24-hour television news broadcaster owned by e.tv that focuses on South African, African stories and events. The broadcaster became South Africa's first and most watched 24-hour news service after it launched in June 2008. Availability eNCA is available on DStv channel 403. In August, 2012, the channel began testing on the Eutelsat 28A satellite, which is free-to-air across Europe. The channel officially launched in the region when it was added to Sky in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 20 August 2012, and subsequently closed down on 31 October, 2014. History In 2007, the newly formed e. Sat TV applied for a pay-TV license during the Pay-TV Regulation period. Later that year, they were awarded the license along with the already-operating ''Multichoice Africa'', Telkom SA's media branch ''Telkom Media'', Christian channel ''Christian channel Walk on Water, as well as Digital Media. However, e. Sat TV was the first to give up a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bashar Al-Assad
Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the Secretary-General of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which espouses the ideologies of neo-Ba'athism and Assadism. His father and predecessor was General Hafez al-Assad, whose presidency between 1971 to 2000 marked the transfiguration of Syria from a republican state into a dynastic military dictatorship tightly controlled by Alawite-dominated armed forces and ''Mukhabarat'' (secret services) loyal to the Assad family. Born and raised in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad graduated from the medical school of Damascus University in 1988 and began to work as a doctor in the Syrian Army. Four years later, he attended postgraduate studies at the Western Eye Hospital in London, specialising in ophthalmology. In 1994, afte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Syrian Revolution Flag
Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indigenous elements and the foreign cultures that have come to inhabit the region of Syria over the course of thousands of years. The mother tongue of most Syrians is Levantine Arabic, which came to replace the former mother tongue, Aramaic, following the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century. The conquest led to the establishment of the Caliphate under successive Arab dynasties, who, during the period of the later Abbasid Caliphate, promoted the use of the Arabic language. A minority of Syrians have retained Aramaic which is still spoken in its Eastern and Western dialects. In 2018, the Syrian Arab Republic had an estimated population of 19.5 million, which includes, aside from the aforementioned majority, ethnic minorities such as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century, and had many notable editors-in-chief. The magazine was acquired by The Washington Post Company in 1961, and remained under its ownership until 2010. Revenue declines prompted The Washington Post Company to sell it, in August 2010, to the audio pioneer Sidney Harman for a purchase price of one dollar and an assumption of the magazine's liabilities. Later that year, ''Newsweek'' merged with the news and opinion website ''The Daily Beast'', forming The Newsweek Daily Beast Company. ''Newsweek'' was jointly owned by the estate of Harman and the diversified American media and Internet company IAC (company), IAC. ''Newsweek'' continued to experience financial difficulties, whic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Middle East Eye
Middle East Eye (MEE) is a London-based news website covering events in the Middle East and North Africa. MEE describes itself as an "independently funded online news organization that was founded in April 2014." MEE seeks to be the primary portal of Middle East news, and describes its target audience as "all those communities of readers living in and around the region that care deeply for its fate". Organisation MEE is edited by David Hearst, a former foreign leader writer for the British daily, ''The Guardian''. MEE is owned by Middle East Eye Ltd, a UK company incorporated in 2013 under the sole name of Jamal Awn Jamal Bessasso. It employs about 20 full-time staff in its London office. MEE has been accused of being backed by Qatar. The governments of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain accuse MEE of pro-Muslim Brotherhood bias and receiving Qatari funding. As a consequence, they demanded MEE to be shut down following the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar. MEE has denied the accusat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Liwa Fatemiyoun
Liwa Fatemiyoun ( ar, لِوَاء الْفَاطِمِيُّون, Liwā’ al-Fāṭimīyūn, Persian/Dari: or ), literally "Fatimid Banner", also known as Fatemiyoun Division or Fatemiyoun Brigade, is an Afghan Shia militia formed in 2014 to fight in Syria on the side of the Syrian government.The group's officially designated purpose, is the defense of the shrine of Zaynab bint Ali, and to fight "''takfiri terrorists''" in Syria, which would come to include the Islamic State (IS). It is funded, trained, and equipped by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and fights under the command of Iranian officers. Both the Fatemiyoun Brigade and the Iranian government downplay their relationship with one another, despite clear coordination and the brigade's operation under the auspices of the IRGC. Liwa Fatemiyoun is also closely associated with Hezbollah Afghanistan. By late 2017, the unit was presumed to have numbered between 10,000–20,000 fighters. According to Zohair Moj ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ba'ath Brigades
The Ba'ath Brigades ( ar, كتائب البعث, Katā'ib al-Baʿth), also known as the Ba'ath Battalions, were a volunteer militia made up of Syrian Ba'ath Party members, almost entirely of Sunni Muslims from Syria and many Arab countries, loyal to the Syrian Government of Bashar Assad. History They was set up in Aleppo under the command of Hilal Hilal, the current Assistant Regional Secretary, after rebels took most of the eastern half of the city in summer 2012. Initially, the Ba'ath Brigades were used to guard government buildings and other key installations in Aleppo, but their role expanded as their strength grew from 5,000 members in November 2012 to 7,000 in December 2013. Units later formed in Latakia and Tartus. At the end of 2013, the Brigades began deploying in Damascus, tasked with manning checkpoints and conducting "light logistical operations". They spearheaded the assault on the Old City of Aleppo in early 2014. The Ba'ath Battalions participated in lifting the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Orient News
Orient News (in Arabic تلفزيون أورينت) is a Syrian media group owned by Syrian businessman, journalist and opposition figure Ghassan Aboud, based in Dubai, providing news service to the Middle East with a focus on Syria. History Orient Media Network started with Orient News TV. After a study, it was evident that there were no specialized satellite channels specified for the Syrian viewer. Private non-Syrian channels typically used dialects of Arabic not used in Syrian society, which varies socially and culturally. The owner of the group, Ghassan Aboud launched media projects for television, film and radio production, which were eventually broadcast in several countries: Orient Vision for educational broadcasts, the Orient Net website and Orient radio. Plans for launching of a channel were disclosed by Abboud end of 2007, and test broadcasts started by May 2008 with logo of the station and music from Fairuz. Official broadcasts and programming started on 2 February 2 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Al-Hayat
Al-Hayat ( ar, الحياة meaning "Life") was a London-based, pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan, that had a circulation estimated over 200,000. It was the newspaper of record for the Arab diaspora and the preferred venue for liberal intellectuals who wish to express themselves to a large public. Founded in 1946, the paper closed in March 2020 after years of financial problems. Though rather pro-West and pro-Saudi with respect to articles concerning the Arabian peninsula, it was quite open to various opinions concerning other regional questions. ''Al-Hayat'' prints in London, New York, Frankfurt, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Beirut and Cairo. The newspaper had offices in London, Paris, Washington, New York, Moscow, Riyadh, Jeddah, Beirut, Cairo, Baghdad, Dubai, Amman, and Damascus, among others. The newspaper was "regarded as by far and away the best and most intensely read Arab newspaper", according to a 1997 article in ''The New York Times''.Ibra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Liwa Abu Al-Fadhal Al-Abbas
The Brigade of Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas (Arabic:لواء أبو الفضل العباس, ''Liwa Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas''), also known as the al-Abbas Brigade (Arabic:كتائب العباس, ''Kata'ib al-Abbas''), is a pro-government Twelver Shia Muslim militant group operating throughout Syria. It is named after the nickname of Al-Abbas ibn Ali, son of Imam Ali. The group was formed in late 2012 to defend the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque and other Shia holy sites in Syria. It rose in prominence in reaction to the desecration of various shrines, heritage sites, and places of worship by Syrian rebels during the Syrian civil war, and subsequently collaborated with the Syrian Army. Its fighters include Shia Damascenes, Damascus-based Shia Iraqi refugees, and foreign Shia volunteers, mostly from Iraq. It fights primarily around Damascus, but has fought in Aleppo as well. In May and June 2013, Reuters reported a split had developed within the brigade over finances and leadership which led to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |