Civil War In Syria -- News Updates March 17, 2014

Syrian Government Forces Seize Town In A Deep Blow To Opposition -- New York Times

BEIRUT, Lebanon — When Syrian government forces on Sunday swept into Yabrud, a town long held by rebels near the Lebanese border, it was a symbolic turning point for insurgents and government supporters alike in a conflict now heading into its fourth year.

Yabrud was a rallying point for the government and its allies in the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, who were instrumental in the fight, just as they were when they helped take another crucial border town, Qusayr, last spring. Thirteen Syrian nuns had been held hostage by insurgents in Yabrud until last week, and the government had long said that the town harbored a factory that was making the car bombs that have killed scores in southern Beirut in recent months.

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More News On Syria's Civil War

Syrian military retakes Yabroud, a rebel stronghold -- L.A. Times
Syrian Regime, Aided by Hezbollah, Captures Strategic Border Town -- WSJ
Syrian government forces capture key rebel town near Lebanon border -- Christian Science Monitor
Syria: Government Forces Seize Key Rebel Town -- AP
Syrian troops savour victory in fallen rebel bastion -- AFP
Syrian Troops Seize Major Rebel Town Near Lebanon -- Voice of America
Key town of Yabroud falls to Syrian government forces as rebels flee to Lebanon -- McClatchy News
Syria army in hot pursuit of rebels on Lebanon border -- AFP
Syria infiltrators, fighters in Jordan custody -- AFP
Syria crisis: Kurds fight to keep out encroaching jihadists -- BBC
Syria Plans Presidential Elections in Summer -- WSJ
Syria's foreign minister has successful heart surgery, reports says -- CNN
Aid officials call for swift cross-border access in Syria -- Reuters
Entire Generation Missing Out On School In Wartime Syria -- AP
On third anniversary of Syrian rebellion, Assad is steadily winning the war -- Washington Post
Syria's crisis enters 4th year with no drastic solution in sight -- Xinhuanet
Syria Crisis: 'I Feel Like Nobody Cares' -- Meg Sattler, Huffington Post
Three Years of Hell: How Syria Spiraled Into Unthinkable War -- Bill Neely, NBC
What now for Syria? -- Marwan Kabalan, Al Jazeera
Syria: No end in sight -- Borzou Daragahi, Financial Times