Tom Rollins

Tom Rollins is a journalist and researcher from the north of England, who graduated with an English BA from the University of Cambridge. He previously worked as an independent journalist in Egypt between 2013 and 2015 and Lebanon between 2016 and 2017, and has written for Al Jazeera English, IRIN, Mada Masr and The National. Follow Tom on Twitter: @TomWRollins.

As IS defeat in Deir e-Zor nears, concern turns to tribal tensions, sleeper cells

Feb. 14, 2019

Men thought to be IS fighters leave Baghouz Fawqani with their families on Wednesday. Photo by Fadel Senna/AFP. AMMAN: The murky outline of one corpse, maybe more, lies in the mi...

‘War continued through other means’: How reconstruction risks perpetuating violence in a post-war Syria

Feb. 12, 2019

"Down with gangster rule." Graffiti in downtown Beirut, February 2. Photo by Tom Rollins for Syria Direct. When the reconstruction of downtown Beirut first began in the 1990s, on...

In downtown Beirut, signs of the coming cost of Syria’s reconstruction plans

Feb. 12, 2019

Residential tower blocks under construction in downtown Beirut, February 2. Photo by Tom Rollins for Syria Direct. BEIRUT: In the streets around downtown Beirut one weekend after...

Key Syrian reconstruction figures sanctioned by EU as business delegation heads to UAE

Jan. 21, 2019

An overhead view of the Marota City construction project, from an October 2018 promotional video. AMMAN: The European Union on Monday announced sanctions against 11 prominent Syr...

Storm Norma: Inclement weather sweeping Lebanon reveals myriad vulnerabilities of refugees in Arsal, Beqaa Valley

Jan. 9, 2019

Snow falls on tent canvuses near northeastern Lebanon's Arsal on January 8. Photo courtesy of Ahmad al-Quseir. AMMAN: Up one of the steep hillsides that line Lebanon’s Beqa...

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 ...

Displaced Yarmouk residents doubtful of return home despite fresh government assurances: ‘Where will people return to?’

Nov. 8, 2018

A man walks down a Yarmouk street in May. Photo courtesy of Lens Young Dimashqi. AMMAN: Former residents of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp are skeptical of an imminent retu...

Prosecutors issue arrest warrants for Ali Mamlouk, other high-ranking Syrian officials over ‘crimes against humanity’

Nov. 6, 2018

A Damascus street in July. Photo by Louai Beshara/AFP. AMMAN: French prosecutors issued international arrest warrants for three prominent Syrian officials charged with coll...

SDF vows ‘definitive end’ to anti-IS offensive in Deir e-Zor after major setback

Oct. 29, 2018

SDF fighters clash with IS near Hajin earlier this year. Photo courtesy of SDF Press. AMMAN: Syrian Democratic Forces commanders have vowed to retake ground lost to Islamic ...

Dozens of bodies remain buried beneath rubble of Yarmouk camp, as long road to reconstruction looms ahead

Aug. 15, 2018

A Syrian Army soldier waves the government flag in Yarmouk camp on May 22. Louai Beshara/AFP. AMMAN: For four days in April, Muawiya Muhammad’s elderly father hid hims...