Interviews

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Civilians ‘caught in the middle’ as HTS roots out suspected IS sleeper cells in Idlib

March 07

Last week, a suspected Islamic State (IS) suicide bomber detonated themself inside a crowded restaurant in downtown Idlib city, killing several members of hardline faction Hay’at ...

‘If we don’t show mercy to animals, we can’t be merciful with one another’: Aleppo’s cat rescuer on new memoir

March 07

All his life, Alaa Aljaleel dreamed of becoming a rescue worker. His father had served on Aleppo city’s fire brigade for 40 years, and he was determined to continue the tradition.

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

February 12

"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...

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

November 26

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 ...

‘Embrace of the nation’: How the Syrian government seeks to control, obstruct refugee returns

October 25

A Syrian man carries a suitcase as refugees prepare to leave Beirut in September. Photo by Anwar Amro/AFP. In his speech at the UN General Assembly last month, Syrian Foreign Min...

‘Religious freedoms, political restrictions’: Amid dispute over local education policy, Assyrian writer reflects on minority rights in Syria’s northeast

October 10

Syria’s majority-Kurdish Hasakah province is, for the most part, quiet—tucked into a northeastern corner of the country far from the front lines. But there are signs ...

Despite talk of returns, displaced Syrians in Rukban remain ‘caught in the middle’ of closed borders and geopolitics

October 03

Pocket after pocket of opposition-held territory has fallen to the Syrian government and its allies over the past year in a grim cycle: sieges and bombardments turn to negotiation...

‘The beginning, not the end’: What are the prospects of return for Syria’s internally displaced?

September 25

Syrians flee their homes in Idlib on September 6. Photo by Aaref Watad/AFP. As the Syrian government gradually reasserts control over the majority of the country, officials have ...

Refugees expert: ‘More displacement’ to come as returning Syrians face myriad obstacles back home

September 17

Syrian refugees in Beirut prepare to depart for Damascus in September. Anwar Amro/AFP. Years of warfare have left much of Syria in ruins, with five million Syrians displaced in...

‘No clear path forward’ as Syrian government, rebel factions and international powers brace for possible Idlib battle

September 11

HTS fighters conduct military training exercises in Idlib in August. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP. After pro-government bombardment dramatically escalated this week across northern Hama a...

Director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights: The law is on our side … but politics is against us

At Cannes, Waad al-Kateab eternalizes the story of Aleppo during the Syrian revolution, shows solidarity with Idlib

“The wall engraved with shrapnel” and the remains of books: Memories of displacement in Idlib

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