Syria

“Those who have sacrificed their lives, whether in Kosovo, Syria or in another country, for good causes, for freedom and democracy, may Allah bless them and I would like to send my deepest condolences to their families,” Ramadani told the news portal Presheva Jone.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish fighter jets had shot down a Syrian warplane which had violated its airspace on Sunday.

Addressing his supporters at a rally on Sunday, Erdogan congratulated his air force on its actions on Sunday and vowed a harsh response to any violation of Turkey's airspace.

Militant Islamists living in the European Union have tried to cross Greece’s borders on their way to back the armed struggle against the Assad regime in Syria, Greek security officials have told Sunday’s Kathimerini.

The UN refugee agency issued a report saying there was a sharp rise in asylum claims in 44 industrialized countries in 2013. driven primarily by the crisis in Syria.

UNHCR's "Asylum Trends 2013" report says 612,700 people applied for asylum in North America, Europe, East Asia and the Pacific in 2013, which is the highest total for any year since 2001.

The amendment initiated by the ministry of justice follows reports that a growing number of Albanian citizens have joined radical Islamist groups fighting in the Syrian civil war.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Arjan Dyrmishi, a security expert with the Albanian Institute of Democracy and Mediation told Balkan Insight.