http://www.voanews.com Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries http://www.voanews.com/img/voa/rssLogo_VOA.gif http://www.voanews.com en-US 2012 - VOA 60 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:20:58 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA The United Nations is pressing the Lebanese government to allow a dozen refugee camps help resettle up to a million Syrians. Despite a massive influx of Syrian refugees, Lebanon has been reluctant to establish camps for them. Many refugees live with relatives and friends while the majority rent lodging. About half are registered with the United Nations. “They are meant to be transit camps that would help refugees who have no solutions inside Lebanon," said Dana Sleiman of the U.N., ... http://www.voanews.com/content/un-presses-lebanon-to-open-syrian-refugee-camps/1684189.html http://www.voanews.com/content/un-presses-lebanon-to-open-syrian-refugee-camps/1684189.html Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:31:57 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/un-presses-lebanon-to-open-syrian-refugee-camps/1684189.html#relatedInfoContainer A lack of funding is forcing United Nation agencies helping in Lebanon to cutback on assisting Syrian refugees. Medical subsidies are to be reduced and so too is food assistance. Meanwhile,  there are reports that Lebanese hospitals and shops contracted by the U.N. are profiteering. Half-a-million Syrians have registered so far in Lebanon as refugees and relief agencies are fast running out of funds. Lebanon does not have refugee camps, with most Syrian refugees living in rented ... http://www.voanews.com/content/un-cuts-aid-in-lebanon-profiteering-on-rise/1683573.html http://www.voanews.com/content/un-cuts-aid-in-lebanon-profiteering-on-rise/1683573.html Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:16:11 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/un-cuts-aid-in-lebanon-profiteering-on-rise/1683573.html#relatedInfoContainer Syrian refugees camped out in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley are expressing mixed reactions to Washington’s decision to send weapons to the rebels trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad. Some say the U.S. help is welcome, while others say it's too little and too late.   Many refugees remain angry with Washington and its European allies for not supplying weapons earlier during the 27 months the rebels have been battling to oust President Assad.   Some refugees and rebels have even ... http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-refugees-lebanon/1683437.html http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-refugees-lebanon/1683437.html Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:13:34 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-refugees-lebanon/1683437.html#relatedInfoContainer Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri says the nation’s militant Shia movement, Hezbollah, is risking the “fate of the nation” by taking on an expanded front-line role in neighboring Syria’s civil war.   The warning from Hariri comes a week after Hezbollah guerrillas from Lebanon, fighting beside Syrian government troops, led the attack on Qusair a strategic Syrian town on the main highway into Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. The government’s capture of Qusair is considered a major blow to ... http://www.voanews.com/content/lebanon-syria-hezbollah/1682124.html http://www.voanews.com/content/lebanon-syria-hezbollah/1682124.html Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:41:36 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/lebanon-syria-hezbollah/1682124.html#relatedInfoContainer Syrian government forces are moving into position to launch a major offensive on the rebel-held half of the country’s biggest city, Aleppo, according to opposition activists. They say assault is likely to feature the deployment once again of thousands of guerrillas from Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese Shia movement that is backing President Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime. Hezbollah fighters were the key factor in the Syrian government’s capture last week of Qusair, a strategic town near ... http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-aleppo-hezbollah/1679699.html http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-aleppo-hezbollah/1679699.html Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:12:00 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-aleppo-hezbollah/1679699.html#relatedInfoContainer The military command issued a strong warning Friday that Lebanese should be “wary of plots” that could turn the nation into a battlefield like next door in Syria.   “In recent days, some groups have seemed determined to stoke security tensions against the backdrop of the political divisions in Lebanon over military developments in Syria,” the command said in an unusually blunt statement.   Military commanders have been “trying for several months to work firmly, determinedly and ... http://www.voanews.com/content/lebanon-syria-hezbollah/1677684.html http://www.voanews.com/content/lebanon-syria-hezbollah/1677684.html Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:38:15 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) Growing lawlessness in southern Libya and an influx of Islamist militants from Mali are stoking worries that Libya’s security weaknesses are fast becoming a destabilizing factor in the region.   A former Libyan intelligence source has told VOA that al-Qaida-linked jihadists driven out of Mali by a French-led offensive earlier this year have set up at least three jihadist camps in southern Libya in recent months.   As a consequence, the source said, Libya has now become the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-niger-mali/1677341.html http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-niger-mali/1677341.html Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:25:23 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) Now that Syrian government troops and Hezbollah guerrillas have captured the strategic border town of Qusair from anti-government rebels, military experts and diplomats say there will almost certainly be a renewed government-led offensive on the northern city of Aleppo.   The rebels had held Qusair for more than a year in their overall struggle to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Its loss to government forces represented a major blow to rebels, whose most effective ... http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-qusair-significance/1675961.html http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-qusair-significance/1675961.html Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:04:56 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) A ferocious battle is underway in the Syrian city of Qusair near the border with Lebanon between government forces bolstered by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and anti-government rebels led by militiamen linked to al-Qaida, according to anti-government activists. Government warplanes carried out several bombing raids on Qusair throughout Wednesday and Hezbollah rushed in reinforcements in an attempt to dislodge the rebels from Qusair, a strategic city on the main highway into central Lebanon, ... http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-hezbollah/1671127.html http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-hezbollah/1671127.html Wed, 29 May 2013 21:29:51 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-hezbollah/1671127.html#relatedInfoContainer The civil war in Syria is taking a new, and possibly ominous turn, in the battle for Qusair, a small but strategic town near the frontier with Lebanon.   For the first time, the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels seeking to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have been fighting Syrian troops backed by a large contingent of battle-hardened guerrillas from Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese Shia movement.  Assad is a member of the Alawi Muslim sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam.   Some of ... http://www.voanews.com/content/hezbollah-syria/1666343.html http://www.voanews.com/content/hezbollah-syria/1666343.html Wed, 22 May 2013 14:49:09 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) Ultraconservative Muslim leaders in Tunisia are warning the more moderate Islamist government they will resist any new efforts to rein them in and will defy a measure requiring organizers to get government permission for gatherings and protests.   The warnings come as Tunisia's government, led by the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party, is working with neighboring Algeria to hunt down militants linked to al-Qaida in the Mount Chambi border region in the west of the country. Government ... http://www.voanews.com/content/tunisia-salafists-muslims/1662556.html http://www.voanews.com/content/tunisia-salafists-muslims/1662556.html Thu, 16 May 2013 15:18:37 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) The United States and Britain are withdrawing some of the staff from their embassies in Tripoli, Libya because of a standoff between the government and heavily armed militias blockading parts of the capital, embassy officials said Friday. The move to evacuate non-essential diplomatic personnel comes after a bombing at the French Embassy last month that injured two security gendarmes. In a joint statement issued Wednesday, the United States, Britain and France called on Libyans to “refrain ... http://www.voanews.com/content/us-and-britain-withdraw-some-diplomats-from-libya/1658460.html http://www.voanews.com/content/us-and-britain-withdraw-some-diplomats-from-libya/1658460.html Fri, 10 May 2013 10:27:48 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/us-and-britain-withdraw-some-diplomats-from-libya/1658460.html#relatedInfoContainer Britain is pressing its European partners to loosen the arms embargo that prevents Britain and France from sending weapons to Syrian opposition forces trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad.   The British move comes as the United States and Russia step up diplomatic efforts to bring the Syrian government and rebels to the negotiating table.   Both Britain and France have been lobbying behind-the-scenes for months for revisions of a European Union weapons embargo due to expire at ... http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-arms-embargo/1657805.html http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-arms-embargo/1657805.html Thu, 09 May 2013 11:57:07 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) Libya is grappling with the decision this week by its congress to remove former Gadhafi-era officials from office. A top Islamist politician says disbarring them will help rebuild Libya, but some Libyans aren’t so sure. The fallout is growing after Libya’s General National Congress bowed to revolutionary militiamen and approved a law disbarring from government a wide range of officials who worked for the former regime of Moammar Gadhafi. There is worry the so-called "political ... http://www.voanews.com/content/libyans-wonder-what-is-next-for-gadhafi-era-loyalists/1656852.html http://www.voanews.com/content/libyans-wonder-what-is-next-for-gadhafi-era-loyalists/1656852.html Wed, 08 May 2013 09:46:26 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/libyans-wonder-what-is-next-for-gadhafi-era-loyalists/1656852.html#relatedInfoContainer Libya was thrown into greater political turmoil Sunday when the country’s congress gave in to the demands of revolutionary militiamen and voted to remove former Gadhafi-era officials from office - even if they had contributed to the downfall of the late dictator.  Libya’s revolutionary militiamen are celebrating what they see as a “correction of the revolution.”  They chanted and danced when they heard the news that the country’s General National Congress had voted to throw out ... http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-mps-pass-law-barring-gadhafiera-officials/1654969.html http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-mps-pass-law-barring-gadhafiera-officials/1654969.html Sun, 05 May 2013 12:49:10 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-mps-pass-law-barring-gadhafiera-officials/1654969.html#relatedInfoContainer Militiamen besieging key Libyan ministries say they won’t release their chokehold on the government of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan until it fires anyone who worked for the regime of the late Moammar Gadhafi.   If the militias succeed in forcing the General National Congress (GNC) to pass a law barring Gaddafi-era officials from being lawmakers or working for the government, Libya could be plunged into an even deeper crisis with no clear guidelines on how to proceed.   The exclusion ... http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-crisis-healts-up/1653490.html http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-crisis-healts-up/1653490.html Thu, 02 May 2013 15:58:40 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) Libya’s top religious authority, the grand mufti, is stirring up controversy with a call for strict gender segregation in all workplaces, classrooms and government offices. The nation’s human rights groups are warning the mufti’s call, if heeded, will likely encourage Islamic vigilantes who have been pressing for gender segregation and who patrol the streets looking for women they say are immodestly clothed or unaccompanied by a male relative. In an open letter last week addressed to the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-gender-segregation/1651279.html http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-gender-segregation/1651279.html Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:49:10 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/libya-gender-segregation/1651279.html#relatedInfoContainer A struggle is heating up between Lebanese factions supporting opposite sides in Syria’s civil war, alarming authorities in Beirut trying to keep their country out of the bloody fighting next door. Lebanese backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and opponents supporting the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels trying to oust him have stepped up their operations to out-maneuver each other in recent weeks. Both sides in the Syrian civil war are anxious to keep support bases in Lebanon. The Assad ... http://www.voanews.com/content/lebanon-syria-stealth-war/1640955.html http://www.voanews.com/content/lebanon-syria-stealth-war/1640955.html Sat, 13 Apr 2013 18:09:25 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/lebanon-syria-stealth-war/1640955.html#relatedInfoContainer The Syrian Air Force is carrying out air strikes on its own cities and towns that violate international humanitarian law or amount to war crimes, according to a leading human rights organization. The organization Human Rights Watch, said its conclusion is based on about 60 Syrian Air Force attacks inside the country that were either too indiscriminate, killing or endangering nearby civilians, or were deliberately targeted at non-combatants. In a 75-page report, “Death from the Skies: ... http://www.voanews.com/content/human-rights-watch-syria-report/1638871.html http://www.voanews.com/content/human-rights-watch-syria-report/1638871.html Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:42:20 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/human-rights-watch-syria-report/1638871.html#relatedInfoContainer Aid workers in Lebanon say they lack resources to cope with the swelling tide of refugees from Syria. Resentment is rising among many of these refugees now living destitute in Lebanon, since they expect more help from the international community. There also is growing anger among Lebanese who feel the influx of Syrians is threatening their jobs and the national economy. Workers for the Lebanese aid group Ishraq al-Nour, funded by Islamic Relief in Britain and other charities, fear a possible ... http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian_refugees_in_lebanon_expect_more_international_aid/1634047.html http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian_refugees_in_lebanon_expect_more_international_aid/1634047.html Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:27:21 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer) http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian_refugees_in_lebanon_expect_more_international_aid/1634047.html#relatedInfoContainer