Syrian writer Khaled Khalifa, a veteran opponent of the ruling Baath party, wins the Naguib Mahfouz literature prize from the American University in Cairo, organizers say.

Islamist rebels kill at least 15 civilians from the minority Alawite and Druze sects in the central Syrian city of Adra Wednesday and Thursday, the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.

Syria's Western-backed rebels are in disarray after Washington and London have suspended non-lethal aid following the loss of a key border crossing and arms depots to a powerful Islamist alliance.

The top military commander of the Western-backed Syrian opposition is in Turkey for talks with rebels, a spokesman says, denying reports that he has fled Syria.