Covid and Contempt for Syrian Lives

Reading Syrian state media, you might be left with the impression that the country’s coronavirus outbreak was wholly steady and under control.

Idlib: A Syrian Tragedy Foretold

Wednesday brought news of collapse and destruction in Syria. Each day reliably brings more.

The Story of Idlib’s Ceasefires Is the Story of Syria’s War

Though the deadly violence levelled against Idlib governate and its surrounds in northern Syria has been consistent, it has been treated and understood inconsistently.

Resistance against Turkish Forces in Raqqa

Last week, three Turkish soldiers and up to five members of the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) were killed in bombings in Syria. They were patrolling in Raqqa province when they attempted to search two cars and their occupants.

Undiplomatic Wrangling and Aid to Idlib

Just as the UN aid mission to the rebel- and Islamist-held enclave around Idlib province in northern Syria was about to collapse, the movement of aid was reapproved – now in a reduced form.

Rumours of a Third World War Prove Greatly Exaggerated

The strike was violent, decisive, and wholly unexpected. After frantic reporting, initially doubted by many, the news was confirmed in the early morning on January 3 in Iraq. Two of America’s enemies were dead.

Syria’s War on Doctors

One of the most brutal and most shocking features of Syria’s civil war is the way doctors and health centres have been targeted.

Throughout the war, the regime of Bashar al-Assad and its allies have attacked hospitals in rebel areas as part of a strategy to destroy popular resistance by rendering civilian life impossible.

Idlib, on a Knife-Edge, Awaits Its Destiny

In the last Syrian rebel-held province of Idlib, Turkey is more influential than the Syrian government. But Turkey’s position has never been entirely secure. Run by Syrian rebels and Islamists, Idlib is the last part of Syrian territory not run by a foreign state or President Bashar Assad. Idlib’s people are not happy with their present rulers and protest against them, but they fear the government and its allies.

Syria’s Propaganda Tours

Countries in war can make surprising tourist destinations. This is one objective of the Syrian government. It wants to forge an incongruous association with the leisure of travel. Its borders admit carefully chosen foreigners in the pursuit of that aim.

Syrians Face Deportation to a Homeland Still Very Much at War

Syria’s war has not concluded but for many it is convenient to pretend that it has. To those in the regime of Bashar al-Assad, it is necessary to present the government’s campaign of pacification as having produced peace. For foreign countries that wish to cease their programmes assisting the Syrian people, any opportunity to have their wish fulfilled is seized.