Syria Direct

‘To the regime, or to the north?’ Rukban residents grapple with hopes of leaving desert camp behind

Qassem has a lot on his mind lately.

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After inconclusive talks in Sochi, pro-government artillery escalates bombardment on key Idlib towns

Pro-government forces escalated artillery and rocket barrages on rebel-held towns in Syria’s northwest on Sunday, days after trilateral international talks between Iran, Russia and Turkey over the region’s future ended with little sign of concrete agreement.

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Bombardments continue across Idlib province as regional leaders meet in Sochi to decide fate of rebel-held northwest

Pro-government shelling ramped up dramatically across Syria’s rebel-held northwest on Wednesday, ahead of a high-level summit in the Russian city of Sochi where the leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran are expected to discuss the future of Idlib province.

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As IS defeat in Deir e-Zor nears, concern turns to tribal tensions, sleeper cells

The murky outline of one corpse, maybe more, lies in the middle of a dirt crossroads. Armed men gather around. Rounds of celebratory gunfire rattle off in the background.

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‘War continued through other means’: How reconstruction risks perpetuating violence in a post-war Syria

When the reconstruction of downtown Beirut first began in the 1990s, one of the first acts by urban planners was to build a trench around the site.

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Featured Stories

In downtown Beirut, signs of the coming cost of Syria’s reconstruction plans

Feb. 12, 2019

Residential tower blocks under construction in downtown Beirut, February 2. Photo by Tom Rollins for Syria Direct. BEIRUT: In the streets around downtown Beirut one weekend after...

In Daraa, where ‘walls have ears,’ post-reconciliation communities marred by fear, mistrust

Feb. 4, 2019

A woman reads the Quran near a relative's tomb in the opposition-held southern Syrian city of Daraa on the first day of Eid al-Adha on August 21, 2018. Mohamad Abazeed/AFP. AMMAN...

‘Waiting for a place in the gas line’: Residents of government-held Syria voice discontent over fuel, electricity shortages

Jan. 30, 2019

Gas cylinders are distributed in the Sarouja neighborhood of Damascus last week. Photo courtesy of SANA. AMMAN: In one video, a man marries a gas cylinder dressed in a white wedd...

With al-Fuaa and Kufraya’s residents long gone, displaced families from across Syria take their place

Jan. 22, 2019

Buses prepare to enter al-Fuaa and Kufraya on July 18, as a rebel fighter watches on. Photo by Omar Haj Kadour/AFP. AMMAN: Time and again, the buses came and went. Sometimes the...