Syria Direct

‘To venture into the unknown’: After several years in the diaspora, a defector returns to Syria and then disappears

For months, Abu Mamdouh felt like he was being torn in half.

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‘Is it safe to go home?’ Amid promises of amnesty in Syria, defectors abroad weigh their options

One chilly night in recent months, a group of former Syrian army defectors gathered in an apartment in one of Syria’s neighboring countries.

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Billions pledged in Syria aid at ‘Brussels III’ conference, but few signs of political solution in sight

International donors pledged $6.75 billion in humanitarian assistance for Syria and neighboring countries at the “Brussels III” conference on Thursday, following days of talks that revealed a growing gulf between hopes for humanitarian response and a political solution meant to bring the conflict, now in its ninth year, to an end.

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Rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni warns against ‘making deals with war criminals’ as international community convenes at Brussels conference

“How can we build solutions with the perpetrators of crimes against humanity and war crimes?”

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‘I came here so I could talk,’ says Syrian NGO founder at Brussels III, despite limbo in Swiss asylum center

A longtime humanitarian worker and the founder of his own Lebanon-based NGO, Ashraf Alhafny has spent the past seven months in a Swiss reception center for asylum seekers.

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Featured Stories

‘Is it safe to go home?’ Amid promises of amnesty in Syria, defectors abroad weigh their options

Mar. 18, 2019

Syrian refugees arriving in their country from the eastern Lebanese border town of Arsal get an identity check at the Syrian-Lebanese border last year. Photo by Louai Beshara/AFP....

‘To venture into the unknown’: After several years in the diaspora, a defector returns to Syria and then disappears

Mar. 18, 2019

Syrian refugees prepare to leave Lebanon to return to their homes in Syria, in September last year. Photo by Anwar Amro/AFP. For months, Abu Mamdouh felt like he was being t...

Billions pledged in Syria aid at ‘Brussels III’ conference, but few signs of political solution in sight

Mar. 14, 2019

Officials pose for a photograph during the Brussels III Conference on "supporting the future of Syria and the region" at the European Council on March 14. Photo by Emmanuel Dunand...

UN-registered Syrian refugees in Jordan return home for visits, unexpectedly lose refugee status: ‘If we had known, we wouldn’t have visited’

Mar. 11, 2019

A downtown Amman market in 2018. Photo by Khalil Mazraawi/AFP. AMMAN: Just outside Damascus’ Old City in what was once the sprawling working-class suburb of Jobar, Abdel Ra...