Syria, Syrian Rebels | featured news

The Philippine foreign secretary says he is recommending to President Benigno Aquino III to pull out all Filipino U.N. peacekeepers from the Golan Heights following the abduction of four by Syrian rebels.

Rebels took control of the city of Dael in southern Syria on Friday, according to activists and rebel fighters, a notable victory for the opposition in a conflict that has left at least 70,000 Syrians dead.

A Syrian opposition leader said Tuesday that he had asked the United States to defend rebel-held areas with Patriot missiles. NATO already has Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries in NATO-member Turkey to help defend the country from potential airstrikes by President Bashar Assad's regime.

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.

The US defence secretary says for the first time that he supports arming Syrian rebels, a proposal reportedly over-ruled by President Barack Obama.

The UK has not excluded providing military assistance to the Syrian opposition, should the conflict worsen, William Hague has said.