Syria Direct

Some Syrians returning from Jordan to Daraa use caravans smuggled out of Zaatari camp as temporary shelters while they work to rebuild their destroyed homes.

Bedouin tribal fighters clashed with Druze forces in Syria’s southern Suwayda province on Friday, one day after reported revenge attacks in the wake of a government withdrawal touched off a new wave of sectarian violence.

Taha al-Ghazi, a prominent Syrian refugee human rights activist in Turkey, was deported to northern Syria this month, sparking fears of a broader crackdown on Syrians and their advocates. 

Umm Muhammad prepares an iftar meal for her children in Kafr Nubl, the southern Idlib town she and her husband returned to after the Assad regime fell. Many families—including her children—have not returned due to extensive destruction and poor services. 

New faces and new stories filled Umayyad Square in Damascus on Saturday as the Syrian capital publicly marked the anniversary of the revolution for the first time in 14 years. 

Dozens of residents demonstrated in Syria’s southern Suwayda city on […]

As the situation in and around Damascus rapidly changed throughout the day on Saturday, three civilians in and around the capital told Syria Direct what they were seeing, hearing and feeling.

The view from the ground in the East Ghouta suburbs of Damascus is one of a worried regime withdrawing its forces from the interior of cities and reinforcing checkpoints on their outskirts “for fear of being targeted,” residents say.

Killings fueled by swelling anti-refugee sentiment claim Syrian lives in Turkey, despite limited efforts to stem the tide. 

As Israel assassinates Hezbollah leaders, Abu Ali Tabtabai—thought to be field commander of the group’s elite Radwan Force in Syria—is likely in the crosshairs. Who is he?