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US-Backed Forces on Doorstep of IS-Held Syria Town

US-backed fighters have advanced to the edge of a key jihadist-held town in northern Syria, a monitor said Saturday.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an Arab-Kurdish alliance supported by US-led coalition air strikes and special forces advisers, surrounded Tabqa in early April.

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Syrian Army Moves to 'Tame Rebellious' Damascus Districts

Backed by Russian air power and allied militiamen on the ground, Syrian troops have recaptured entire cities from rebels and Islamic State group extremists in the past year, including the key cities of Aleppo, Homs and Palmyra.

Yet for the past three years, President Bashar Assad's forces have been unable to free opposition-held neighborhoods of the capital Damascus, where rebel fighters have built a labyrinth of secret underground tunnels, beyond the reach of airstrikes and connected to opposition-held suburbs farther out.

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Syria's Divisions Crystallize with Latest Evacuations

Thousands of Syrians were bused out of their towns on Friday in the first stage of a widely criticized population transfer that reflects the relentless segregation of Syrian society along political and sectarian lines.

The coordinated evacuations delivered war-weary fighters and residents from two years of siege and hunger, but moved the country closer to a division of its national population by loyalty and sect.

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Egypt Copts Ready for Easter Mass Despite Attacks

Egyptian Copts will celebrate Easter mass on Saturday, marking one of Christianity's most joyous occasions just days after the deadliest attacks in living memory against the country's religious minority.

The faithful will spend a large part of Easter eve going through arduous security checks outside places of worship, after twin Palm Sunday bombings killed 45 people in two cities north of Cairo. 

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Woman Stabbed to Death in Jerusalem

A woman was stabbed to death in Jerusalem on Friday and her attacker arrested, a police spokeswoman said.

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Assad's Comments on Chemical Attack are '100% Lies', Says French FM

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's comments that last week's chemical weapons attack was a fabrication to justify a US military strike are "100 percent lies", French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Friday.

"It's 100 percent lies and propaganda," Ayrault said during a visit to Beijing, responding to an exclusive AFP interview with Assad on Wednesday. 

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Libyan Rivals Clash in Neglected South

Libya's southern desert, long neglected by central authorities, risks becoming an arena for score-settling between rival governments vying for clout across the war-torn country, analysts say.

Clashes erupted last week as forces loyal to Libya's eastern authorities battled to seize a key southern airbase from militias that back a United Nations-endorsed unity government.

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Buses Evacuate Hundreds from Four Besieged Syria Towns

Hundreds of civilians and fighters who have been under crippling siege for more than two years left four Syrian towns in fleets of buses Friday under a delayed evacuation deal.

There has been a string of such agreements through Syria's six-year civil war. They have been touted by the government as the best way to end the fighting but have been controversial with the rebels who say they are starved out.

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World Watchdog Says Syria Chemical Attack Allegation 'Credible'

The world's chemical weapons watchdog said Thursday that allegations a chemical attack took place in the Syrian rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun, killing at least 87 people, were "credible."

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At Least 97 Migrants Missing as Boat Sinks Off Libya

At least 97 migrants were missing after their boat sank on Thursday off the Libyan coast, a navy spokesman said.

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