Intolerable conditions in Lebanon are pushing increasing numbers of Syrians to take to the sea. With all eyes on escalating violence in southern Lebanon, the number of Syrians leaving from the north over the past two months reached more than four times the number for the same period in 2022.
Nearly 13 years after the revolution, Syrians continue to flee the country—this time for economic reasons. In regime-held Hama city, financial hardship is driving a renewed wave of migration, as residents sell homes and property to fund a way out.
For Syrians and Syrian-Palestinians, crackdowns on expressions of solidarity with Palestine have exposed a “double standard” in European democracies and reopened old wounds. As the political climate hardens, they fear their full participation in European society is increasingly at risk.
Syrian children are among the hardest hit as Lebanon’s public education system falters under the weight of economic crisis and dwindling funding.
Residents of Syria’s opposition-held northwest demonstrate in support of Palestinians facing displacement and bombardment in Gaza—an experience many of them share.
In al-Hajar al-Aswad, south of Damascus, buildings are steadily being demolished—regardless of whether they are structurally sound—with the rubble sold for profit under the eyes of regime forces. Some fear demolitions could be a precursor to expropriations under redevelopment plans.
Bombings across northern Syria this month—by the Syrian regime and Russia against the HTS-controlled northwest, and by Turkey in the SDF-controlled northeast—have something in common: killing civilians and damaging infrastructure.
A landmark torture case brought against Syria by Canada and the Netherlands began at the UN’s highest court on Tuesday—with Damascus absent. While it is not a criminal case, torture survivors and family members of Syria’s disappeared say it marks another milestone in their long, slow fight for accountability.
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.
Many houses have been destroyed, looted or confiscated by Turkish-backed armed groups in areas they seized during Operation Peace Spring. Similar acts have been carried out with impunity by a range of armed groups across Syria in recent years. Meanwhile, many displaced people have lost the documents proving that they own land or a house in their native towns and villages. What can Khedr, Amina and Zahra do to protect their property rights back home? This is the fourth episode of “The Hope to Return,” a podcast series by Syria Direct.
