SyriaSource

SyriaSource followed the dynamics in Syria through in-depth analysis of the impact of the conflict on Syria, its neighbors and the international community. Amplifying a diverse range of Syrian and regional voices—to reach both English—and Arabic-speaking audiences, SyriaSource transforms their words from strong but distant ideas to resounding perspectives not often heard among Washington and international policymakers. For the latest work on Syria, please visit MENASource.

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The latest on Syria


MENASource

May 8, 2025

From rubble to rebirth: A model for Syria’s reconstruction

By
Mahmood Alhosain

Almost six months since Assad regime collapse, four key pillars will determine whether this new Damascus can seize the opportunity.

Civil Society
Democratic Transitions


MENASource

Apr 29, 2025

Why the US must not let Syria slip away

By
Luke Wagner

Reconsidering the uneasy US-Syria relationship amid reports that Trump and al-Sharaa will meet during the US president’s Saudi Arabia visit.

Economic Sanctions
Middle East


MENASource

Apr 1, 2025

Israel is making a miscalculation in southern Syria. Here is why.

By
Ömer Özkizilcik

Israel’s approach in southern Syria risks deepening sectarian divisions, eroding the Druze community’s standin, and fueling broader instability.

Conflict
Defense Policy


MENASource

Mar 31, 2025

Western sanctions against Damascus must evolve—Just as Syria has

By
Sinan Hatahet

The US can play a pivotal role in shaping the next chapter of Syria’s recovery by shifting its approach from maximum pressure to calibrated influence.

Middle East
Politics & Diplomacy


MENASource

Mar 25, 2025

Dispatch from Bekaa: Inside the sectarian skirmishes on the Syria-Lebanon border

By
Nicholas Blanford

Local Shia tribesmen have battled an assortment of Sunni jihadist militias and the new Syrian security forces dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

English
Lebanon


MENASource

Mar 19, 2025

Inside Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s diplomatic offensive with Syria’s Christians and Ismailis

By
Gregory Waters

HTS’s diplomatic offensive demonstrates the leadership’s political approach, which evolved over years of engaging with the Christian and Druze communities in Idlib.

Democratic Transitions
Freedom and Prosperity


MENASource

Mar 19, 2025

Why the United States must bridge the Iraq-Syria divide

By
Sarkawt Shamsulddin

With leverage over both capitals, the United States emerges as the linchpin in delicate diplomatic moment between Baghdad and Damascus.

English
Iraq


MENASource

Mar 18, 2025

Landmark SDF-Damascus deal presents opportunity, and uncertainty, for Turkey

By
Ömer Özkizilcik

Despite positive signals, critical ambiguities remain in agreement between Syrian President Ahmed Shara and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi.

English
Middle East


MENASource

Mar 10, 2025

Syria’s women face a new chapter. Here’s how to amplify their voices.

By
Diana Rayes , Hind Kabawat

It is critical for women to be involved in transitional justice and constitutional reform processes in Syria.

Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
Syria


MENASource

Feb 26, 2025

Why post-Assad Syria complicates the Iran-Turkey rivalry

By
Giorgio Cafiero

Depending on what unfolds after Assad’s fall, there could be reason to expect a degree of Iran-Turkey alignment in Syria.

Crisis Management
Democratic Transitions

Content

SyriaSource

Dec 13, 2016

Report Summary: Air Strikes in Deir Ezzor

By Brittany Keroack

This article summarizes a report by the Justice for Life Observatory (JFL) in Deir Ezzor. The report, titled Deir EzZor: The Dust of Warplanes, catalogs bombings by all actors—Russia, the regime, and the US-led anti-ISIS coalition—in the besieged city of Deir Ezzor. However, it is not meant to serve as an exhaustive list of air […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 12, 2016

Why the Opposition Can’t Fight in the Coastal Mountains

By Saleem al-Omar

Frequently, activists of different stripes call for revenge against the regime for Aleppo or the Damascus countryside by opening the Syrian coastal front where, during the last four years (prior to the Russian intervention), the opposition controlled wide swaths of the mountains. That is, until the Russians forced the opposition groups to withdraw and only […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 8, 2016

Aleppo: The Washing of Hands

By Frederic C. Hof

In Brussels recently, the American secretary of state placed much of the onus for the abomination that is Aleppo on the Syrian opposition. “But the opposition would not buy into a ceasefire; they didn’t want to have a ceasefire. And there was a refusal to embrace the ceasefire, despite many of us saying that’s the […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 5, 2016

Analysis: The Consequences of Egypt’s Potential Military Engagement in Syria

By Abdulrahman al-Masri

OTTAWA, CANADA – The Syrian regime-friendly newspaper As-Safir published an article on November 24 claiming that an Egyptian military unit had been deployed to Syria to provide logistical support to President Bashar al-Assad’s army. The report claimed that the Egyptian unit had been stationed at Hama Airbase in central Syria since November 12 and included 18 pilots, four […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 2, 2016

France Makes Diplomatic Moves as Eastern Aleppo Nears Collapse

By Daniel R. DePetris

During the second presidential debate on October 9, then-GOP nominee Donald Trump made a bold assessment on the war in Syria—one that officials within the US intelligence and diplomatic communities were reticent to make. The Assad regime, Trump argued, has all but defeated the Syrian opposition in East Aleppo after four years of brutal combat. […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 2, 2016

The Broken Record Club

By Frederic C. Hof

If inaction indicates thought and feeling, the hell that is eastern Aleppo signifies nothing at all in the mind or heart of he who occupies—for 50 more days—the Oval Office. As civilian neighborhoods targeted mercilessly and criminally by the air forces of the Assad regime and Russia become the “one giant graveyard” described by the […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 2, 2016

In Eulogy for my Brother: “Our Lives Have Become Like This”

By Haid Haid

Editor’s note: This article is a personal piece from one of our regular contributors, Haid Haid. Though outside of SyriaSource’s normal analytical articles, it is important that those of us invested in the Syrian conflict—as observers, researchers, participants, or in any other capacity—remember that the war is brutal and every day there is a significant […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Nov 29, 2016

Aleppo’s Fate is No Surprise

By Faysal Itani

As ever, Aleppo city is a microcosm of the civil war and balance of power in Syria. Now, the rebel position there appears to be collapsing, posing an enormous risk to the insurgency’s overall military position. Many observers had expected the Aleppo battle to be extremely costly and perhaps unwinnable for the regime. While dramatic, […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Nov 28, 2016

The Loss of Syria’s Children, and with Them, the Loss of Syria’s Future

By Saleem al-Omar

In the Gulf countries, we hear about people who do not possess citizenship, like the Bedoon of the Emirates. Because the country’s government does not recognize them as citizens, they do not grant them personal identity, travel documents, or citizenship. While this subject has been studied in the Gulf, there is a comparable situation in […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Nov 28, 2016

Syrians’ Opinions about President-Elect Trump

By Hosam al-Jablawi

The recent American presidential election attracted a big following among Syrians of all different political orientations. Most Syrians considered the outcome of the election critical to the future of their country; as such, Syrians chose to root for a candidate based on his or her statements on the Syrian crisis. Overall, loyalists of the Syrian […]

Syria
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