Alaa Nassar

Alaa was forced to flee Damascus with her family because of the pressure from the Syrian regime in 2013. She was a student of Arabic Language & Literature at the University of Damascus. She came to Syria Direct because she hopes to find a new direction in her life and to show the world what is happening in her country.

Latest amnesty decree ‘empty talk’ for Syrian army defectors living in displacement

Oct. 18, 2018

Syria's commander-in-chief and defence minister in Aleppo in 2016. Photo by Louai Beshara/SANA/AFP. AMMAN: Abu Abdallah had more than 20 years of military experience behind him w...

Suwayda protesters demand answers after kidnapping negotiations collapse, second IS captive executed

Oct. 4, 2018

Protesters blocked streets in Suwayda city on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Suwayda 24. AMMAN: Protests in Syria’s southern government-held Suwayda province continued for a ...

‘If the calm holds’: After agreement over the fate of Syria’s northwest, displaced civilians cautiously return home to proposed buffer zone

Sep. 26, 2018

Airstrikes hit Latamna in early September. Photo courtesy of Syrian Civil Defense-Hama. AMMAN: When Bashir al-Ahmad entered his hometown of Latamna in Syria’s northwe...

‘I don’t know where I can go’: Thousands displaced by bombardment in northwestern Syria

Sep. 9, 2018

After a government airstrike in al-Hubeit on Sunday. Photo courtesy of Syrian Civil Defense Idlib. AMMAN: Scores of Russian and Syrian airstrikes and artillery barrages pummeled ...

‘Unprecedented’ drug use in Raqqa as city recovers from IS rule, say residents

Aug. 14, 2018

A sign warns against drug use in Raqqa on August 4. Photo courtesy of the Raqqa Municipality. AMMAN: Walking through the tattered streets of his city, Raqqa resident Muhamma...

‘They took the idea of a ceasefire and distorted it’: Opposition negotiator reflects on de-escalation after Daraa battle

Jul. 23, 2018

Government buses gather in held Daraa in a photo from July 15. Photo courtesy of Nabaa Media. Yahya al-Aridi had his first foray into negotiations in the early 90s, when he...

Rebel siege of two Shiite-majority Idlib towns ends with total evacuation of residents, militiamen

Jul. 19, 2018

Evacuees from al-Fuaa and Kufraya arrive in government-held south Aleppo on Thursday. Photo courtesy of SANA. AMMAN: All remaining residents of two Shiite-majority towns in ...

‘We’ve been forced to take up arms’: Idlib civil society workers turn to factions in wake of US funding freeze

Jul. 18, 2018

A main street in Kafr Nabl in May. Photo courtesy of Gate to Idlib. AMMAN: Joining a hardline Islamist faction was never part of Khaled Abdul Kareem’s plan. Just a ...

‘Deal underway’ for evacuation of two Shiite-majority Idlib towns: rebel source

Jul. 17, 2018

Al-Fuaa and Kufraya residents calling for an end to the siege in May 2018. Photo courtesy of Kufraya and al-Fuaa Media Office. AMMAN: Syrian rebels and Iranian negotiators broker...

Grain shortages and financial ruin plague Hasakah farmers as crops fail after devastating drought

Jul. 10, 2018

AMMAN: For 40 days after sowing their crops last autumn, farmers in Syria’s rural, northeastern Hasakah province gazed towards the heavens for a sign from above. But the wi...