President Donald Trump signed an executive order lifting most US sanctions on Syria this week, cementing a sea change in his country’s approach to Damascus. What explains the shift, and what could future relations look like?
Syria’s southern Daraa province has seen serious violations and abuses by new general security personnel—including killings, the abuse of corpses and personal revenge operations by “controversial” personnel.
Kurdish and Arab residents of northeastern Syria described joy at the fall of the Assad regime, while views of the new authorities in Damascus and the future of SDF-held areas range from optimism to trepidation.
Economic empowerment initiatives are crucial for women returning to Raqqa from the al-Hol detention camp to integrate into their communities. However, funding for small businesses is scarce and underprioritized.
For US policy on Syria, this year’s election is largely a choice between a continued status quo under Vice President Kamala Harris and a return to the unpredictable foreign policy of former President Donald Trump.
In northern Syria’s Kobani, a border city facing Turkish shelling and continuous threats of a ground assault, many residents are trying to sell their property to pay for a way out. With the city’s future uncertain, there are few buyers.
After each blow to the Islamic State in southern Syria inflicted by former opposition factions, the group simply reshuffles its ranks and reactivates its cells. How does IS regenerate itself, what is its future in the south and what is the regime’s relationship with it?
Women returning to Raqqa from the al-Hol detention camp face major challenges as they seek to turn the page on their past. While they describe themselves as victims, some of their neighbors still view them as part of the Islamic State.
Frustrated by a lack of services, residents of Hasakah’s informal displacement camps point to what they call a “double standard” from international organizations providing services at camps holding accused Islamic State members and relatives.
Clashes continued in Daraa city for a fourth day on Thursday between groups accused of belonging to the Islamic State and armed former opposition groups, alongside the military security-affiliated 8th Brigade led by Ahmed al-Awda.
