Syrian Foreign Minister Dies

Veteran Syrian foreign minister, Walid Muallem, a prominent member of the brutal Bashar al Assad regime and a staunch supporter of the Syrian dictator, died early Monday morning of suspected heart failure. A source close to the Damascus government told Al Jazeera that Walid Muallem’s deputy, Faisal Mekdad, likely would take his place as chief diplomat. Muallem, who also served as deputy prime minister, in the past led diplomatic missions to the United States and conducted negotiations with Israel over a peace agreement and the transfer of the disputed Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, to Syrian hands, discussions that failed to materialize. In recent years, Muallem was an adamant defender of the murderous tactics employed by the Assad government and its Russian and Iranian sponsors against Syrian protesters and rebels. The 2011 violent crackdown on demonstrators turned into an all-out civil war that still rages on today, taking the lives of over half a million soldiers and civilians and leaving nearly 13 million displaced.