Fleeting recovery: Reef Dimashq struggles as markets stagnate
Following an initial burst of activity when the regime fell and displaced people returned, markets in Reef Dimashq are faltering and facing new challenges.
15
04, 2025
26
03, 2025
Reef Dimashq marks revolution anniversary in Darayya (Photos)
Reef Dimashq marked the 14th anniversary of the revolution with a central celebration in Darayya this week. Many who attended returned to their communities in recent months after being forcibly displaced by the Assad regime.
24
03, 2025
Devastated by war, farmers return life to Syria’s ‘oasis’
Years of war, mismanagement and drought wreaked havoc on the fertile Ghouta countryside surrounding Damascus. Farmers face a host of challenges as they return to care for their land.
26
02, 2025
Israel in Syria: ‘Permanent’ fortifications and attempts to win over residents
Israeli forces continue to solidify their presence within Syrian territory, cutting off farmers and herders from their livelihoods and carrying out airstrikes and raids on former regime military sites.
31
01, 2025
In Syria’s ‘barrel bomb capital’ Darayya, housing crisis stalls return
Around 25,000 people have returned to Darayya, just south of Damascus, since the regime fell. Destruction and a worsening housing crisis prevents the return of others to the battered city, home to 350,000 people before 2011.
17
01, 2025
With Assad’s fall, Douma comes back to life
With the Assad regime gone, Douma is coming back to life. Markets are bustling in the East Ghouta city, as construction workers repair damaged buildings and displaced residents return to visit or settle down.
7
12, 2024
‘Fear and joy’: Voices from Damascus
As the situation in and around Damascus rapidly changed throughout the day on Saturday, three civilians in and around the capital told Syria Direct what they were seeing, hearing and feeling.
6
12, 2024
Hope and suspense in East Ghouta as the regime loses ground
The view from the ground in the East Ghouta suburbs of Damascus is one of a worried regime withdrawing its forces from the interior of cities and reinforcing checkpoints on their outskirts “for fear of being targeted,” residents say.
2
09, 2024
‘Exacerbating the crisis, not managing it’: Basic services scarce in Moadamiyat al-Sham
Eight years after regime institutions returned to Moadamiyat al-Sham, the city just outside Damascus remains marginalized, with poor electricity, water, bread and public transportation services.
9
08, 2024
Dumayr: Basic services covered by ‘modest’ community initiatives
In Dumayr, a town northeast of Damascus that returned to regime control under a settlement agreement six years ago, residents are asked to donate to fund basic public service projects in place of the state.