As Syria embarks on fragile transition, sanctions stand in the way
The Assad regime is gone, but sanctions on Syria remain. As the country embarks on a long and costly road to recovery, should they be lifted?
15
01, 2025
26
12, 2024
A city apart: Raqqa residents fear ‘separatism’ and the ‘IS card’
SDF-held Raqqa city is tense, its nights under curfew punctuated by gunfire and arrests. Residents feel cut off from the rest of Syria, fearing the possibility of partition and a return of IS.
13
12, 2024
Protests and SDF defections: Discontent simmers in eastern Deir e-Zor
Several commanders defected from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir e-Zor in recent days, amid demonstrations and simmering anger in the SDF-held countryside.
4
11, 2024
What does the US presidential election mean for Syria?
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.
12
08, 2024
Deir e-Zor civilians under fire as regime-backed groups attack the SDF
Bombardment by Syrian regime forces and affiliated militias has killed and injured dozens of people in SDF-controlled villages and towns in Deir e-Zor since Iran-backed Arab tribal forces launched an attack on the eastern countryside six days ago.
8
08, 2024
As Arab forces attack the SDF in Deir e-Zor, Iran pulls the strings
Iran-backed Arab tribal forces attacked the US-backed SDF in Deir e-Zor this week, briefly overrunning security positions and sparking heightened security measures in neighboring Hasakah province amid fears of further escalation.
23
07, 2024
Op-Ed: How the US is losing Syria’s tribes to Iran
US support for the SDF in 2023 clashes in Deir e-Zor has provided Iran with a critical opportunity to expand its influence in Syria, researcher Ömer Özkizilcik writes.
11
06, 2024
The war over AANES municipal elections in northeastern Syria
After facing major local, regional and international pushback—including a Turkish threat to invade northeastern Syria—the AANES postponed municipal elections scheduled for this week until August, citing “internal” reasons and "the demands of the political parties and alliances participating."
15
02, 2024
Renewed talk of US withdrawal rattles Syrians in the northeast
Residents of SDF-controlled northeastern Syria say the US military presence there brings a sense of relative stability, one that any withdrawal—as Washington was recently reported to be considering—would shatter.
29
03, 2023
Op-Ed: Releasing detained civilians should be a US Syria policy priority
“We want the detainees” is the most chanted and long-standing slogan in recent Syrian history, and should be a central focus of US policy towards Syria, writes Mansour Omari.
