Middle East

Violence in Syria killed more than 650 children last year, UNICEF says — a 20 percent increase from 2015. Here, Syrians return to their homes in Al Bab, after pro-Turkish militias took the town back from ISIS fighters.

World News

2016 Was Worst Year Yet For Children Caught In Syria's War, UNICEF Says

2:13pm March 13, 2017

by Bill Chappell

More than 650 children died in Syria last year, UNICEF says — and 255 of them were either in or near a school. Millions of other Syrian kids are relying on humanitarian aid.

World News

'Cries From Syria' Documentary Lays Bare The Conflict's Gruesome Realities

5:59pm March 12, 2017

by Lakshmi Singh

Director Evgeny Afineevsky and Syrian subject Kholoud Helmi talk about the new film, which chronicles the country's descent into civil war after initially hopeful demonstrations of the Arab Spring.

National

The Military Strategy Behind Bolstering U.S.-Backed Syrian Forces To Fight ISIS

5:59pm March 12, 2017

by Lakshmi Singh

Michele Flournoy, CEO of the Center for a New American Security, says the Trump administration is sending 400 more U.S. troops to help Syrian Democratic Forces recapture the ISIS-capital of Raqqa.

Youth Hold 'Meet A Muslim' Events To Encourage People To Learn About Each Other

7:33pm March 11, 2017

by Travis Bubenik

A Muslim youth organization held an event on Saturday that they called "Meet a Muslim." The idea is to encourage people to talk and learn about each other.

Queue Listen Now

Acutely malnourished child Sacdiyo Mohamed, 9 months old, is treated at Banadir hospital in Somalia on Saturday. Somalia's government has declared the drought there a national disaster.

World News

World Faces Largest Humanitarian Crisis Since 1945, U.N. Official Says

4:22pm March 11, 2017

by Miles Parks

Conflict and drought have ravaged four countries across North Africa and the Middle East, leaving more than 20 million people in desperate need of food.

This photo, released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows blood soaked streets and damaged buses after a bombing in Damascus on Saturday.

World News

Explosions in Damascus Target Shiites From Iraq, Kill At Least 40

11:41am March 11, 2017

by Miles Parks

The bombing, near a revered cemetery on the border of the old city of Damascus, appears to have targeted Shiite visitors from Iraq. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Syrian Children Facing 'Toxic Stress'

8:30am March 11, 2017

by Michele Kelemen

The aid group Save the Children has been looking into the mental health of young Syrians and its findings are alarming.

The Karm al-Jabal neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, in a picture taken during a sandstorm Friday. A U.S. court has issued a temporary order that one Syrian family's asylum petition be processed regardless of President Trump's new travel ban.

A Judge Orders One Syrian Family's Asylum Request Be Processed

11:37pm March 10, 2017

The temporary order sets aside President Trump's most recent travel ban, but just for this one case. But lawsuits in other courts are seeking to overturn the executive order entirely.

Trump's Military Strategy Reflects A More Aggressive Stance

5:42am March 10, 2017

As the U.S. prepares to send more troops to tackle ISIS and the Taliban, David Greene talks to NPR's Tom Bowman and Robert Ford, ex-ambassador to Syria and now a fellow at the Middle East Institute.

Queue Listen Now

Yemeni residents inspect a house that was damaged during a Jan. 29 U.S. raid on the tiny village of Yakla, in central Yemen.

Top U.S. Military Official Takes 'Full Responsibility' For Controversial Yemen Raid

7:26pm March 09, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

Gen. Joseph Votel was blunt: "We lost a lot in this operation. We lost a valued operator, we had people wounded, we caused civilian casualties, lost an expensive aircraft."