New faces and new stories filled Umayyad Square in Damascus on Saturday as the Syrian capital publicly marked the anniversary of the revolution for the first time in 14 years.
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.
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.
Property loss is among the most prominent repercussions of Syria’s 13-year conflict. Women are particularly affected, and face additional challenges to regaining their rights.
Syrians returning from Lebanon to opposition-held northwestern Syria find themselves in danger once more, as the area faces a military escalation by Russia and the Assad regime, alongside Syrian National Army (SNA) infighting.
Young Syrians returning from Lebanon to AANES-held northeastern Syria, like those heading for regime areas, face the threat of conscription for “self-defense duty.”
The Baath Party is working to restore its activities and role in Syria’s southern Daraa province, while its headquarters remain closed in many cities and towns six years after the return of regime institutions.
One year into Suwayda’s anti-regime uprising, protesters remain committed to their political demands, none of which have been achieved so far. But as the number of people coming out to demonstrate declines, activists wonder about its future.
The assassination of Murhij al-Jarmani, the commander of a local faction in Suwayda and a strong supporter of the ongoing protests, could be a turning point for the Druze-majority province’s nearly year-long uprising. The Assad regime is accused of orchestrating the killing.
As hate speech and violence against Syrians in Lebanon intensifies, risky smuggling operations to opposition-held parts of northwestern Syria are on the rise.
