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.
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.
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.”
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.
For more than two years, Syria’s passport system has been in a crisis that is disrupting travel plans and opening the door for corruption and exploitation by passport brokers.
The Netherlands and Canada are taking Syria to the top UN court for the systemic use of torture, while a General Assembly vote is expected this month on the establishment of a mechanism to clarify the fate of Syria’s disappeared.
A wave of new settlements in Daraa is part of a series of recent actions in the southern province by Damascus—including pursuing drug smugglers and shifting the local balance of power—that coincide with increasing regional normalization efforts.
More than five years after the Islamic State was driven out of Raqqa city, many Christians who fled the city under its rule have not returned. Today, only a few dozen members of the community remain. Why?
From the landmark Koblenz trial in Germany to the latest indictment of three high-ranking Syrian regime officials in France, the battle to hold perpetrators accountable for wartime atrocities in Syria is being waged in foreign courts. What kinds of cases are being brought, and where?
