Syria

By Lama Fakih, Director, Middle East and North Africa Division | – Human Rights Watch – Lebanon’s caretaker Minister of the Displaced Issam Charafeddine announced a government plan this week to begin returning 15,000 Syrian refugees to Syria a month, saying: “The war was over and the country has become safe.” The alarming news, which […]

Bashar al-Assad

With Putin bogged down in Ukraine, will the Syrian Civil War Reignite?

Middle East Monitor

By Muhammad Hussein | – ( Middle East Monitor) – Pivotal moments in history rarely present themselves, but when they do, that is exactly what they turn out to be. The power dynamics of an entire region can be altered, the interests of governments can be shifted, and the geopolitical arena can be at least […]

Bashar al-Assad

Russia Lambastes “Vicious” Israel for Striking Damascus Airport, Causing Setback to Counter-Terrorism

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – According to Tass, Maria Zakharova, the spokewsoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said of Israel’s bombardment on Friday before dawn of runways at Damascus International Airport, closing it, “We demand that the Israeli side stop this vicious and dangerous practice.” Zakharova made clear the reason for the unusually fierce condemnation […]

Bashar al-Assad

On Memorial Day, let’s get the 900 US Troops out of Syria and away from any War with Russia or Iran

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Memorial Day or Decoration Day (referring to the decoration of the graves of soldiers killed in combat) began after the Civil War and has been commemorated since 1868. It is no wonder that the mourning began then. Historian J. David Hacker has estimated that 750,000 troops died in the war, […]

Bashar al-Assad

Was the Visit to Iran of Syria’s al-Assad impelled by Fear of Russian Failure in Ukraine?

Gilbert Achcar

By Gilbert Achkar | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – The President of the Syrian regime, Bashar Al-Assad, paid a surprise visit to Tehran last Sunday and, adding to its surprising nature, is the fact that he had rarely dared to leave his country since the popular uprising against his regime began in 2011. […]

Russia

Syria’s dire economy and years of fighting send young ‘mercenaries’ to fight in Ukraine

Global Voices

By Raseef22 | – ( Globalvoices.org ) – Following years of a devastating war that continues to fragment the country, Syria is now exporting professional mercenaries to other hotspots of conflict, including Libya and the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and they are soon expected to arrive in Ukraine. They packed their fighting experience and headed to foreign […]

Bashar al-Assad

Yes, Bucha is a War Crime: Putin Told us who He was in East Aleppo

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Russian withdrawal from the small town of Bucha near the capital of Kyiv left behind a raft of murdered civilians in the streets and bombed buildings the way an ebbing tide leaves behind flotsam and driftwood after a violent tsunami. The Russian government is attempting to escape blame for […]

Human Rights

Syrian Government, the World’s Great Torturer, outlaws Torture: If it is a Joke, it isn’t Funny

Human Rights Watch

By Sara Kayyali | Syria Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division | ( Human Rights Watch ) – This is not an April Fools’ joke. Syria, where torture is routine and pervasive, has passed a law criminalizing the practice. In an announcement that might have appeared as satire, the Syrian State News Agency (SANA) […]

Bashar al-Assad

What does Russia’s history of urban warfare in Aleppo and Grozny mean for Ukraine?

Global Voices

By Roman Shemakov | – ( Globalvoices.org ) – As the Russian invasion of Ukraine drags on, the conflict has increasingly focused on urban hubs. The cities of Mariupol near the Black Sea and Kharkiv near the Belarusian and Russian border have been fully surrounded by Russian forces, facing hourly bombing campaigns for weeks. The […]