Israeli strikes near Syrian capital kill Iranian adviser
March 31, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Israeli airstrikes hit the suburbs of Syria's capital city early Friday for the second day in a row, killing an Iranian adviser, the state media of Syria and Iran reported.
Loud explosions were heard over Damascus shortly after midnight Thursday, according to residents in the capital and the state news agency SANA.
Israeli strikes hit suburbs of Syrian capital for 2nd day
March 30, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Israel staged airstrikes on suburbs of the Syrian capital of Damascus early Friday for the second day in a row, the state news agency reported. It gave no word on any casualties.
Loud explosions were heard over the Syrian capital shortly after midnight Thursday, according to residents in the capital and the state news agency SANA.
6 US troops have traumatic brain injury after Syria attacks
March 30, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon said Thursday that an additional six troops were injured in attacks last week in northeastern Syria that U.S.
Storm kills 4 people, injures several in war-torn Syria
March 29, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A storm in central Syria on Wednesday collapsed building walls in two villages, killing four people, including two children, a pro-government radio station reported.
The heavy winds forced Syrian authorities to close all ports on the Mediterranean Sea while in the war-torn country’s rebel-held northwest, dozens of tents collapsed in settlements housing people displaced by Syria’s 12-year conflict.
Assad reshuffles Syria’s Cabinet amid harsh economic crisis
March 29, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad replaced several Cabinet ministers Wednesday amid a sharp increase in prices and worsening economic conditions during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, state media reported.
Sweden finds woman guilty of war crimes for gruesome photos
March 29, 2023 GMTCOPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Swedish court on Wednesday found a 35-year-old woman guilty of war crimes for posting photos of herself with severed heads that were on display in a Syrian city in 2014.
Amnesty: West’s ‘double standards’ fuel Mideast repression
March 28, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — A leading international rights group on Tuesday decried what it said were double standards by Western countries that have rallied behind a “robust response” to Russia's invasion of Ukraine but remain “lukewarm" on issues of human rights violations in the Middle East.
US, UK sanction 6 Syria-linked amphetamine traffickers
March 28, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. and U.K. on Tuesday slapped sanctions on four Syrians and two Lebanese involved in manufacturing and trafficking the amphetamine drug Captagon, the two governments said. The six include cousins of Syrian President Bashar Assad and notorious Lebanese drug lynchpins.
Iran-backed fighters on alert in east Syria after US strikes
March 25, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Iran-backed fighters were on alert in eastern Syria on Saturday, a day afte r U.S. forces launched retaliatory airstrikes on sites in the war-torn country, opposition activists said.
A look at the US military mission in Syria and its dangers
March 24, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — When an Iranian drone struck a U.S. base in northeastern Syria, killing a contractor and wounding several U.S.
Biden: US will ‘forcefully’ protect personnel in Syria
March 24, 2023 GMTOTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday that the U.S. would respond “forcefully” to protect its personnel after U.S. forces retaliated with airstrikes on sites in Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard following a suspected Iranian-linked attack Thursday that killed a U.S.
Reports: Islamic State kidnaps dozens in Syria, dead found
March 24, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Members of the Islamic State group have kidnapped dozens of people in a central province and the bodies of some have been found with their throats slit, an opposition war monitor and pro-government media reported Friday.
Saudi Arabia, Syria may restore ties as Mideast reshuffles
March 24, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Saudi Arabia is in talks with Syria to reopen its embassy in the war-torn nation for the first time in a decade, state television in the kingdom reported late Thursday, the latest diplomatic reshuffling in the region.
Syria says Israel attacked Aleppo airport, no casualties
March 22, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — An Israeli airstrike early Wednesday targeted the international airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, causing material damage and putting it out of service, Syria's state news agency reported.
Holy month of Ramadan begins for Muslims across the world
March 22, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began at sundown on Wednesday, as the faithful prepared for a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting intended to bring them closer to God and to remind them of the suffering of those less fortunate.
Killing of Kurds in northern Syria sparks protests, tensions
March 21, 2023 GMTJINDERIS, Syria (AP) — Thousands of Kurds took to the streets of the earthquake-ravaged Syrian town of Jinderis on Tuesday to protest the killing of four men as they lit a fire to celebrate the Kurdish new year the night before.
3 Kurds reportedly shot dead celebrating new year in Syria
March 20, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Turkey-backed opposition fighters in Syria fatally shot at least three ethnic Kurds who were celebrating a holiday late Monday by lighting fires, Syrian opposition activists and pro-government media said.
Donors pledge $7.5 billion for Turkey, Syria after quake
March 20, 2023 GMTBRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and international donors on Monday pledged seven billion euros ($7.5 billion) to help Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated parts of the neighboring countries last month.
Palestinian commander killed in Syria buried in refugee camp
March 20, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A commander of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad killed in Syria in what the group described as an assassination by Israeli agents was buried on Monday at a Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Qatar: 4,000 World Cup huts sent to quake-hit Turkey, Syria
March 20, 2023 GMTQatar has sent 4,000 cabins built to house fans at last year's World Cup to earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria, authorities said Monday.
The Associated Press watched as the latest batch of pre-fabricated cabins was loaded onto a cargo ship in the Persian Gulf.
Syria’s Assad in UAE to mark ongoing thaw in relations
March 19, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, his first visit to the wealthy Gulf country since the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria last month.
Palestinian militant group: commander assassinated in Syria
March 19, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS (AP) — A commander in the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad was killed in Syria on Sunday in what it described as an assassination by Israeli agents.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad group, said in a statement that Ali Ramzi al-Aswad, 31, was killed Sunday morning in the Damascus countryside in a “cowardly assassination with bullets bearing the fingerprints of the Zionist enemy,” referring to Israel.
Syrian Kurdish force says it lost 9 fighters in Iraq crash
March 17, 2023 GMTQAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — The main U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led force in northeastern Syria said Friday it lost nine fighters, including a commander, when two helicopters crashed this week in neighboring Iraq.
Austrian police warn of abstract threat to Syrian facilities
March 16, 2023 GMTVIENNA (AP) — Austrian police issued a terror threat warning Thursday for Vienna, saying there was an “abstract" danger for Syrian institutions in the city.
The alert came a day after police in Austria's capital warned of " a possible “Islamist-motivated attack” on churches and other houses of worship, citing undisclosed information received by the country’s intelligence service.
Putin, Assad discuss rebuilding Syria, regional issues
March 15, 2023 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Syrian leader Bashar Assad in the Kremlin on Wednesday for talks that focused on rebuilding Syria after a devastating civil war and efforts to stabilize the region.
Analysis: Syria rebuilding hopes dim as war enters year 13
March 15, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The recent deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria which caused billions of dollars in damage has boosted the prospects of Syria's once widely shunned president return to the Arab fold, but appears unlikely to jump-start large-scale reconstruction in the war-ravaged country.
Syrian president Assad arrives in Moscow, set to meet Putin
March 14, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Moscow on Tuesday, where he is scheduled to meet top ally Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia is a main backer of Assad and has a broad presence in Syria, where a 12-year uprising-turned-civil war has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population.
UN inquiry commission: Quake aid was slow to reach Syria
March 13, 2023 GMTGENEVA (AP) — The international community and the Syrian government did not act quickly enough last month to help people in need in the rebel-held northwest after a deadly earthquake hit Turkey and conflict-ravaged Syria, a U.N.-backed commission said Monday.
Syrian state media: Israel fires missiles at western city
March 12, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Israeli missiles targeted a western Syrian city on Sunday wounding three Syrian soldiers, Syrian state media reported.
The official news agency SANA, citing a military source, said the missiles were fired at Masyaf in Hama province at dawn.
Quake death toll nears 48,000 in Turkey, 6,000 in Syria
March 11, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — The head of Turkey's disaster and emergency management agency has raised the country's death toll from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake last month to 47,975.
Yunus Sezer said during a news conference on Saturday that the people who died included 6,278 foreigners, with Syrian nationals accounting for the largest share.
Syria’s Aleppo airport resumes flights days after airstrike
March 10, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Flights at Syria’s international airport in Aleppo resumed Friday, three days after it was put out of service by a suspected Israeli airstrike, the country’s head of civil aviation said.
Satellite photos: Likely Israel strike damages Syria airport
March 9, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A suspected Israeli airstrike targeting Aleppo International Airport in Syria again left multiple craters on its runway, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press showed Thursday.
House votes down bill directing removal of troops from Syria
March 9, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation directing President Joe Biden to remove some 900 U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days was soundly defeated in the House on Wednesday as opponents of the measure warned that it could allow a dismantled Islamic State group to reorganize and endanger the U.S.
UN envoy calls for renewed Syrian political talks post-quake
March 8, 2023 GMTA top United Nations official called Wednesday for renewed attempts to reach a political solution to the country's nearly 12-year-old civil conflict in the wake of last month's devastating earthquake.
Reports: Suspected drone strike in Syria kills at least 3
March 8, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — An explosion in eastern Syria on Wednesday killed at least three people, according to reports. A war monitoring group said the blast was likely caused by a drone strike that targeted Iran-backed militiamen.
EU hits Taliban, Russian officers over women’s rights abuses
March 7, 2023 GMTBRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Tuesday imposed sanctions on nine people, including two senior Taliban government members, Russian military officers and police, as well as an Iranian prison facility, accusing them all of links to rights violations and the sexual abuse of women.
Syrian state media: Israeli strike damages Aleppo airport
March 7, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — An Israeli airstrike hit the international airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo early on Tuesday, putting it out of service, Syria state media said. All flights were rerouted to two other airports in the war-torn country, according to the report.
US bans entry to Syria security agent over killings on video
March 6, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. State Department on Monday banned entry into the U.S. of a Syrian intelligence member who appeared in a video leaked last year showing him fatally shooting people during the country’s 12-year conflict.
A month after quake, survivors need shelter, sanitation
March 6, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — One month after a powerful quake devastated parts of Turkey and Syria, hundreds of thousands of people still need adequate shelter and sanitation, and an appeal for $1 billion to assist survivors is only 10% funded, hampering efforts to tackle the humanitarian crisis, a United Nations official said Monday.
US military commander in Syria briefed on anti-IS operations
March 4, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The top U.S. military commander on Saturday visited northeast Syria where American troops and their allies are launching a campaign against the Islamic State group, a U.S. military official said.
World Bank: Quake caused damage worth $5.1 billion in Syria
March 3, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The World Bank said Friday that Syria sustained an estimated $5.1 billion in damages in last month's massive earthquake that struck southeast Turkey and northern parts of the war-torn country.
UN scrambles to reunite families after Turkey-Syria quake
March 1, 2023 GMTALEPPO, Syria (AP) — Reuniting children with their missing family has become a top priority in the aftermath of last month's massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, the head of the U.N. children's agency said Wednesday.
Top Lebanese intel chief, mediator with Syria steps down
March 1, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese intelligence chief who has mediated the release of Westerners held in Syria and also acted as a mediator within Lebanon stepped down Wednesday after attempts to extend his term failed.
UN says at least 50,000 killed in Turkey and Syria quakes
February 28, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria have killed at least 50,000 people with many more injured, tens of thousands still missing and hundreds of thousands homeless, the U.N.
Activists call on Trinidad to repatriate citizens in Syria
February 28, 2023 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called on Trinidad & Tobago to repatriate more than 90 of its citizens who have been detained as Islamic State suspects and family members in war-torn Syria, noting that at least 56 of them are children.
Amid thaw, Egypt’s FM in quake-hit Turkey to show solidarity
February 27, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Egypt’s foreign minister arrived in Turkey on Monday to show solidarity with the quake-hit country, in the first high-level visit from Egypt since relations between Ankara and Cairo started to improve after years of friction.
Egypt’s top diplomat in Damascus, meets with Syria’s Assad
February 27, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Egypt's foreign minister Monday met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus and promised to deliver more aid to the quake-hit country.
Sameh Shoukry is Egypt's most senior official to visit Syria since 2011, a day after Cairo's parliament speaker, Hanafy el-Gebaly, and a delegation of top Arab lawmakers visited Assad in a push to end Syria’s political isolation.
Islamic State land mines in central Syria kill 10 workers
February 27, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Land mines left behind by the Islamic State group in central Syria went off in two different locations on Monday, killing 10 workers as they were collecting truffles in the countryside and wounding 12, state media reported.
Group: 22 Syrian migrants on hunger strike in Libyan prison
February 26, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — At least 22 Syrian migrants detained for more than five months in Libya began a hunger strike Monday to demand their release, a Libyan rights group said.
The group of migrants included three minors and have been held in a prison in the western town of Zawiya in appalling conditions, the group Belaady said.
Top Arab lawmakers in Syria for talks with President Assad
February 26, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Senior Arab lawmakers were in Syria on Sunday for talks with President Bashar Assad on bringing his country back into the fold of the Arab world. The visit follows a mini-summit in Baghdad that affirmed the Arab League's intentions of having Syria return to the organization despite the country's devastating civil war.
Schools reopen as Syrians live with quake’s devastation
February 25, 2023 GMTIDLIB, Syria (AP) — Schools resumed classes in Syria’s rebel-held northwest Saturday after closing for nearly three weeks following an earthquake that devastated the region, local officials said, even as many schoolchildren suffer from shock.
Drone strike in Syria kills 2 al-Qaida-linked operatives
February 24, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — A drone strike believed to have been carried out by the U.S.-led coalition in northwestern Syria on Friday killed two operatives with an al-Qaida-linked group, Syrian opposition activists said.
Turkey starts work to build homes in 2 earthquake-hit towns
February 24, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish authorities on Friday said preliminary work has started to build housing for people left homeless by the massive earthquake that hit parts of the country and neighboring Syria, killing tens of thousands.
Report: Istanbul bomb suspect killed in operation in Syria
February 24, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish forces have killed the alleged mastermind behind a deadly Istanbul street bombing in an operation in northern Syria, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported on Friday.
German court convicts man over deadly 2014 attack in Syria
February 23, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — A German court on Thursday convicted a Palestinian man from Syria of a war crime and murder for launching a grenade into a crowd of civilians waiting for food in Damascus in 2014. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Death toll from Turkey, Syria earthquake tops 47,000
February 23, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit parts of Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6 continues to rise as more bodies are retrieved from the rubble of demolished buildings. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck the already battered province of Hatay this week damaged or demolished more buildings, compounding the devastation.
IS attacks on Syria truffle hunters are deadliest in a year
February 23, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group has carried out its deadliest attacks in more than a year, killing dozens of civilians and security officers in the deserts of central Syria, even as people of northern Syria have been digging out of the wreckage from the region’s devastating earthquake.
Key developments in the aftermath of the Turkey, Syria quake
February 22, 2023 GMTSAMANDAG, Turkey (AP) — Demolition teams are clearing mounds of rubble from the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, as emergency responders scramble to shelter survivors — who were traumatized anew by Monday's magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Turkey's already badly battered province of Hatay.
Ex-IS bride loses appeal to have her UK citizenship restored
February 22, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — A British woman whose U.K. citizenship was revoked after she traveled to Syria as a teenager to join the Islamic State group has lost an appeal in her fight to have her citizenship restored.
New quake brings fresh losses to residents of Turkey, Syria
February 21, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — Survivors of the earthquake that jolted Turkey and Syria 15 days ago, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving hundreds of thousands of others homeless, dealt with more trauma and loss Tuesday after another deadly quake and aftershocks rocked the region.
New quake hits battered Turkey, Syria; 3 dead, hundreds hurt
February 21, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A new 6.4-magnitude earthquake on Monday killed three people and injured more than 200 others in parts of Turkey laid waste two weeks ago by a massive quake that killed tens of thousands, authorities said.
Syrian president visits Oman in 1st trip abroad since quake
February 20, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad visited the Gulf nation of Oman on Monday on his first official visit since the deadly Feb. 6 earthquake, his office said.
Oman is one of a few Arab countries that kept normal relations with Damascus after Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over its crackdown on Arab Spring protests.
Newborn saved from earthquake in Syria adopted by her aunt
February 20, 2023 GMTJINDERIS, Syria (AP) — A baby girl who was born under the rubble of her family’s earthquake-shattered home has left the hospital and gone to her new home, where she was with her paternal aunt’s family Monday.
Key developments in the aftermath of the Turkey, Syria quake
February 20, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — There are reports of more collapsed buildings Turkey in Syria after another 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey’s Hatay province which was devastated by a massive tremor two week ago.
Key developments in the aftermath of the Turkey, Syria quake
February 19, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — As the search and rescue effort for buried survivors of the Feb. 6 earthquake started to wind down in Turkey, demolition teams have moved in to clear the mounds of rubble left by the worst disaster in modern Turkish history.
Syrian state media: Israeli airstrikes kill 5 in Damascus
February 19, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Israeli airstrikes targeted residential areas in Syria's capital Damascus early Sunday, killing at least five people and wounding 15, Syrian state news reported.
The strikes come amid a wider shadow war between Israel and its archenemy Iran, a close ally of Syria's President Bashar Assad in the country's ongoing war.
Syrian state media: Israeli airstrikes kill 5 in Damascus
February 19, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS (AP) — Israeli airstrikes targeted a residential neighborhood in the Syrian capital of Damascus early Sunday, killing at least five people and wounding 15, Syrian state news reported.
Loud explosions were heard over a central area of the capital around 12:30 a.m.
Key developments in the aftermath of the Turkey, Syria quake
February 18, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — Search and rescue teams amazingly found more survivors in the ruins of the Feb. 6 earthquake that devastated swaths of Turkey and Syria even as the death toll from worst disaster in modern Turkish history increased.
Death toll from Islamic State attack in Syria at least 53
February 18, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The death toll from an attack by the Islamic State group against an army checkpoint and people collecting truffles in central Syria has risen to at least 53, most of them civilians, state media and an opposition war monitor reported Saturday.
US says IS commander killed, troops wounded in NE Syria raid
February 17, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. military said Friday a helicopter raid led by its forces in northeast Syria left a senior leader with the Islamic State group dead and four American service members wounded.
Separately, local media and a monitor group said an IS attack on Friday in central Syria killed dozens of civilians.
UN appeals for $1 billion to help Turkey quake survivors
February 16, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations launched a $1 billion appeal Thursday to help 5.2 million survivors of the most devastating earthquake in Turkey’s modern history, two days after starting a $397 million appeal to help nearly 5 million Syrians across the border in the rebel-held northwest.
Key developments in the aftermath of Turkey, Syria quakes
February 16, 2023 GMTANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — The number of people killed in the Feb. 6 earthquakes that devastated parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria continues to rise. As chances of finding more survivors dwindled, some foreign search teams that rushed in to help have started leaving.
UN official warns of rising earthquake death toll in Syria
February 16, 2023 GMTAMMAN (AP) — The United Nations regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syrian crisis said Thursday that the country's death toll from last week's deadly earthquake is likely to rise further as teams scramble to remove rubble in hard-hit areas.
Red Cross chief warns of health crisis in quake-hit Syria
February 16, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Syria could face dangerous outbreaks of disease in the wake of last week's devastating earthquake if hundreds of thousands of displaced people do not get permanent housing soon, the Red Cross' global chief said Thursday, as Syrians struggle to receive humanitarian aid amid the mounting crisis.
Key developments in the aftermath of Turkey, Syria quakes
February 15, 2023 GMTANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — The earthquakes that killed more than 39,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria produced more grieving and suffering along with extraordinary rescues and appeals for aid.
Jordanian FM visits Syria, promises more earthquake aid
February 15, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Jordan's foreign minister Tuesday met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, vowing to continue delivering earthquake aid and work to find a political solution to Syria's 12-year conflict, Syrian state media reported.
US military downs Iranian-made drone in Syria
February 15, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — U.S. forces shot down an Iranian-made drone flying over a base housing American troops in northeastern Syria, the U.S. military said Wednesday.
The incident comes more than a week after a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria, followed by a significant deescalation of violence across the war-torn contry.
UN appeals for $397 million to help Syrian quake survivors
February 14, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief launched a $397 million appeal Tuesday to help nearly 5 million survivors of last week’s devastating earthquake in rebel-held northwest Syria who have received very little assistance because of deep divisions exacerbated by the country’s 12-year war.
Syria’s Assad could reap rewards from aid crossing deal
February 14, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — A convoy of 11 trucks from a United Nations agency crossed into northern Syria from Turkey on Tuesday, just hours after the U.N. and Syrian government reached an agreement to temporarily authorize two new border crossings into the rebel enclave, devastated by the region's deadly earthquake.