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

Jun 20, 2025

On World Refugee Day, complexities persist for Syrian returnees

By
Sinan Hatahet

While Syria’s political shift brings new hope, it also highlights the complex realities that still define the Syrian landscape.

Middle East
Migration


MENASource

Jun 10, 2025

Why DDR programs are the missing link to Syrian stability

By
Muhsen al-Mustafa

With the end of Western sanctions, Syria faces a rare opportunity to address the imbalances of the post-conflict period.

Middle East
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding


MENASource

Jun 4, 2025

Why Iraq should build bridges with its ‘new’ neighbor, Syria

By
Shermine Serbest

Iraq’s position on the Syria transition is split between two camps: the official government, and that of the powerful non-state actors.

Iraq
Middle East


MENASource

May 28, 2025

Sectarianism, social media, and Syria’s information blackhole

By
Gregory Waters and Kayla Koontz

Since Assad’s December ousting, Syrians have struggled to sift the truth from fake claims about security incidents across the country.

Civil Society
Middle East


MENASource

May 22, 2025

Lebanon’s 1982 war reverberates in Israel’s Syria campaign

By
Sinan Hatahet

Israel’s ongoing intervention in Syria appears different from its 1982 invasion of Lebanon—but beneath the surface, parallels are striking.

Israel
Lebanon


MENASource

May 19, 2025

Could Trump be ‘mediator-in-chief’ for Turkey and Israel in Syria?

By
Rachel Bradenburg

If Trump wants to achieve the Middle East’s “deal of a century,” its important that Netanyahu and Erdogan resolve their differences in Syria.

Israel
Middle East


New Atlanticist

May 13, 2025

Experts react: Trump just announced the removal of all US sanctions on Syria. What’s next? 

By
Atlantic Council experts

Our experts provide their insights on how the removal of US sanctions on Syria would affect the country and the wider region.

Civil Society
Economic Sanctions


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

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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