A water dispute outside Damascus is testing Syria’s new authorities as worsening shortages, competing local demands and grievances inherited from Assad-era governance collide in two neighboring towns.
Harried by government security campaigns, IS appears unable to regain territorial control in Syria, instead working to maintain visibility through limited operations while betting on the failure of the country’s transition.
Israeli incursions and violations are making life increasingly untenable in southern Syrian border villages, as residents curtail their movements, suspend reconstruction and investment, and consider leaving if they have alternatives.
Caught between a seemingly absent Syrian government and a growing Israeli presence, Mount Hermon’s Druze villages are waiting for a clarity neither Damascus nor Tel Aviv seems willing to provide.
While not a direct target of the escalating conflict between Israel, the US, Iran and Hezbollah, southern Syria is feeling its fallout—from drone debris to increased patrols by occupying forces.
An inaccessible public transportation system and degraded infrastructure pose daily challenges to disabled Syrians, isolating them and preventing their freedom of movement in an “unspoken form of social exclusion.”
As Syrians mark the first anniversary of the fall of Assad on December 8, 2024, women who survived regime detention warn their ordeal did not end when they were released. For many, society remains a second prison.
As the Syrian government prepares to issue new banknotes and cut zeros from the country’s depreciated currency, many Syrians care most about easier everyday transactions.
Following an initial burst of activity when the regime fell and displaced people returned, markets in Reef Dimashq are faltering and facing new challenges.
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.
