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.

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...

In first ‘organized’ refugee returns from Jordan, dozens of Syrians head back to Damascus suburb

Jan. 16, 2019

The border wall demarcating the end of Jordanian territory (right) and the beginning of the Free Zone that lies along the Syrian-Jordanian border (left). Photo by Waleed a-Noufal....

In one town in Idlib’s buffer zone, residents fleeing ongoing bombardments lose hope for Russian-Turkish deal

Dec. 4, 2018

Makeshift camps line rural streets outside of Jarjanaz on December 4. Photo courtesy of Muhammad Ayoub. AMMAN: Huddled on a cold floor with his wife and three children each night...

The other side of the border: In southern Syria, promise of Naseeb border rings hollow for civilians mired by rising prices

Nov. 28, 2018

A man sells fish in Daraa city in October. Photo by Mohamad Abazeed/AFP. AMMAN: Ahmad* spends his days sitting in a home without windows, which were bombed out during the Syrian ...

‘The one who gave life to the demonstrations’: Raed Fares, remembered

Nov. 26, 2018

An undated photo of Raed Fares. Photo courtesy of Kafr Nabl Media Center. Syrian civil society leader and activist Raed Fares was no stranger to threats against his life. Since ...

Raqqa’s Arab tribes navigate ‘uneasy calm’ under SDF rule

Nov. 13, 2018

A sheikh from the a-Sakhba tribe reads out a statement a few days after al-Huwaidi’s assassination. Photo courtesy of the Raqqa Civil Council. AMMAN: Basheer Faisal al...

For ransom or for rule: Local aid workers describe risks amid wave of kidnappings in Syria’s rebel-held northwest

Nov. 1, 2018

Customers buy food on a busy street in the centre of the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib on September 24, 2018. Photo by Omar Haj Kadour/AFP. AMMAN: Saddam al-Muhammad was walk...

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...