Idlib’s All Too Short Ceasefire

In Idlib, in northern Syria, a ceasefire filled with disquiet has begun. After a difficult beginning, in which fighting continued across the front and marketplaces and hospitals continued to be bombed, aspects of civilian life have resumed.

As the Stakes Rise Ever Higher in Syria

Turkey’s surprise campaign in Syria against the Assad regime has produced a number of mixed signals.

Turkey’s Syrian Fighters in Libya

Libya’s civil war is defined by foreign intervention. The Libyan National Army, commanded by Khalifa Haftar, representing the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, is supported by Russian and Sudanese mercenaries, French weapons and the goodwill of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

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.

What Turkey’s ‘Operation Peace Spring’ Means for Syria – and the US

On Sunday, the White House announced that ‘Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into northern Syria’ and that American forces, though they would not support this advance, would move out of the way to allow it to take place.

The al-Hol Refugee Camp and Grave Humanitarian Challenges

At the end of September, in the section of the al-Hol refugee camp in north-eastern Syria that houses foreigners, Russian women – supporters of the Islamic State – severely beat two Turkistani women, apparently because their victims refused sharia indoctrination.

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.

Syrian Refugees Face Jeopardy in Lebanon

Since the Syrian civil war began, and as millions were internally displaced or fled the country, Lebanon has felt the effect.

Approximately 1.5 million Syrians reside in Lebanon, which has a population of 6 million. The situation is the responsibility of Lebanon’s government, one it does not relish, and a reminder to the Lebanese of the conflict in the country on their border and the uncertain times in which they live.

Turkey Remains Irresolute on Syria

The Syrian conflict appears on Turkey’s border but beyond Turkish containment and entirely out of Turkish control.

Refuge from the Law

For refugees fleeing Syria and other failed states to Europe, nothing happens easily. The journey is difficult and long, laden with uncertainty and fear. And even upon arrival in a safe country which would be a suitable place to claim asylum, new and unseen obstacles become visible.