Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited China for the first time in nearly 20 years this week, deepening ties between the two countries in the hopes of increased financial support that may not be forthcoming.
Six months after four members of a Kurdish family were shot and killed by Turkish-backed fighters while celebrating the Nowruz holiday in Afrin, the accused killers are still on trial. Surviving family members face constant threats and physical attacks to pressure them to drop the case or leave Afrin.
Farmers who rely on the Afrin River to irrigate their crops suffer heavy losses after the river ran dry this summer due to factors related to the February 6 earthquake and a changing climate.
The Syrian political opposition’s highest body elected Hadi al-Bahra as its new president this month, in a process overshadowed by leaks, controversy and allegations he was hand-picked by an influential group of politicians linked to Ankara.
Drug use is on the rise in northwestern Syria, where addiction is fueling intimate partner and family violence against women with few resources to turn to.
In Deir e-Zor province, nearly two weeks of clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Arab clans calling for self rule have come to an end, but residents are uneasy about what the future holds “after the clans were defanged.”
On the stage and in the camps, volunteer actors, directors and playwrights in northwestern Syria work to develop a local theater scene and leave an impact on their community.
As anti-Damascus protests in Suwayda move into a second week, they are developing and becoming more organized, while Druze religious leadership appears divided on what kind of change is needed.
Recent economic moves by Damascus impacted the cost of most basic goods and services, sparking a wave of protests in the country’s south and anger all the way to the coast.
Digital archives are preserving crowdsourced testimonies of war and creating spaces where Syrians at home and in the diaspora can piece back together their history, shared culture and lived experiences.
