Civil War | featured news

Syria and Iran on Saturday condemned a move by the United States to give non-lethal aid to rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, accusing Washington of double standards.

The United States said on Thursday that it would provide an additional $60 million in non-lethal assistance to help the Syrian opposition provide basic services in areas they control.

In a policy shift, the United States is planning to channel aid directly to selected groups of the Syrian opposition, senior White House officials told NBC News.

Just when they expected a flood of heavy weapons to help them make a major push against the forces of President Bashar Assad, rebel commanders in Syria say, arms shipments from outside the country have instead slowed, prolonging a conflict now nearing the end of its second year.

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels have captured Syria's biggest hydro-electric dam and battled army tank units near the center of Damascus, activists said as the opposition renewed an offer on Monday to negotiate the departure of President Bashar al-Assad.

Lebanon should consider setting up transit centers to absorb the waves of refugees fleeing neighboring Syria and may have to establish formal refugee camps if the influx continues, a United Nations refugee official said.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is issuing a parting warning about Iranian involvement in Syria's civil war and the rising threat of a larger regional conflict growing from it.

Shouting condemnation and promises of retaliation, Syria, Iran and Hezbollah condemned Israel's decision to send warplanes into Syria, calling its airstrike a day before "inhuman" and "barbaric."

At least 65 people were found shot dead with their hands bound in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday in a "new massacre" in the near two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said.

France said on Thursday there were no signs that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is about to be overthrown, something Paris has been saying for months was just over the horizon.