As Syria's conflict drags on, refugees who fled to the UAE have recreated a slice of home in the Gulf state, from popular Syrian restaurants to Damascus's iconic Hamidiyeh market.

Amid the gentle bubbling of water pipes and the clack of backgammon pieces, visitors to the Hamidiyeh restaurant reminisce about Damascus in the luxurious Dubai Marina district.

Fresh fighting between the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and a coalition of rebels and an Al-Qaida affiliate in eastern Syria has left at least 45 fighters dead, a monitoring group said Monday.

ISIL, which grew from a former affiliate of Al-Qaida in Iraq, has faced a backlash in opposition Syria since early this year and is battling a coalition including Al-Qaida's Al-Nusra Front and Islamist and moderate rebels.

Iran and Turkey on Monday pledged to work together to stop extremism and bloodshed in the Middle East despite their deep differences over Syria's civil war.

"Iran and Turkey, the two important countries in the region, are determined to fight against extremism and terrorism," Iran's President Hassan Rouhani told a news conference in Ankara.

Former U.N. envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi has warned that the war-torn country was heading toward becoming "another Somalia" ruled by warlords, in an interview published in a German weekly this weekend.

He also said that the entire region may "blow up" if a political solution is not found.    

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has stressed that he will not pull out MP Henri Helou of the presidential race even if an agreement was reached between al-Mustaqbal movement leader MP Saad Hariri and Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun.

“I'm not one of those who wait for external factors. I won't pull out Henri Helou even if Hariri reaches an agreement with Aoun,” Jumblat said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The Damascus neighborhood is known as "Berry Place," but its bucolic name hides its difficult reality -- it is the front line between rebels and soldiers loyal to President Bashar Assad.

The area is an island in the eastern district of Jobar, where rebels hold the east and the army controls the west.

The Syrian government on Saturday condemned the European Union's criticism of its presidential election, branding it a "violation" of national sovereignty.

The EU has described Tuesday's poll, which saw President Bashar al-Assad secure nearly 90 percent of the vote, as "illegitimate".

Two Orthodox bishops kidnapped in Syria in April 2013 are currently in the northern city of Raqqa and held captive by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

According to a report published in al-Akhbar newspaper on Saturday, the two bishops are “in good health” and are currently detained in the region of Tal Abyad, which is located in north of Raqqa governorate, near the Turkish border.

The diplomat ridding the world of Syria's chemical weapons is Sigrid Kaag, a statuesque and impeccably dressed mother of four who speaks six languages and is fearless in a war zone.

For nine months she has led the international mission to destroy Damascus's declared chemical agents, braving mortar fire, jetting between the Middle East, Europe and New York, and liaising with Moscow, Washington and maritime fleets.

Hundreds of Syrians have been released from government prisons after an amnesty granted by President Bashar Assad to mark his re-election this week, a monitoring group said Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 320 prisoners were from northern Aleppo Central prison on Wednesday as Assad's victory in presidential elections was announced.