Former regime fighters tell the BBC they want to regain civilian status and had nothing to do with atrocities.

Syria's ousted dictator Bashar Assad and his family were members of the secretive religious minority, and used the community's fears and desires to stay in power.

That hope was boosted Friday with the news that Roger D. Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, had arrived in the capital city of Damascus along with two other top U.S.

Putin apologises over Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash – but does not admit fault - Azerbaijan says the plane had multiple ...