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.

Explore MENASOURCE

The latest on Syria


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


MENASource

Feb 13, 2025

Dispatch from Syria: ‘Syrians cannot focus on their future if they are still drowning in their past’

By
Arwa Damon

The pain felt by those searching for clues in the dark void of the former regime’s detention system is palpable, Arwa Damon reports from Syria.

Conflict
Crisis Management

Content

SyriaSource

Apr 6, 2016

Alawite Identity in Syria

By H.A. Hellyer

Earlier this month, the BBC reported that representatives of the Alawite community in Syria released a document of ‘identity’—in summation, a declaration of Alawism and its place and relevance in Syria. The role that sect plays and has played within the domain of Syrian and regional politics is tremendous, and is perhaps one of the […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 5, 2016

#5YearsWeFled: Crossing the Border

By SyriaSource

This series is from interviews with the lawyer Ayman Jalwan. It highlights the difficult choice that Syrians face—dying in the war zone that Syria had become, or flee the land he loved. Last year, he and his wife said goodbye to their families and joined the wave of citizens leaving the country. First they had […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 4, 2016

Assad: Total Defiance

By Frederic C. Hof

Without minimizing for a moment those things dividing Washington and Moscow over Syria, there is at least agreement in principle on three fundamental points: all-Syrian peace negotiations in Geneva should focus on United Nations-mandated political transition leading to democracy and pluralism; that a “cessation of hostilities” in western Syria should boost these negotiations by suppressing […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 1, 2016

Enabling Syria’s Women Journalists

By Zuhour Mahmoud

The Syrian Female Journalists’ Network is a non-profit initiative that trains Syrian female journalists and promotes their role in the region’s media. Syria Deeply spoke to co-founder Milia Eidmouni about the network’s work and its plans for women working in Syria’s media

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 1, 2016

Top News: April 1, 2016

By SyriaSource

– Death toll from east Damascus airstrikes rises to more than 30– Rebels drop leaflets over Syrian capital from drones– Canada to take in 10,000 more Syrian refugees– Syrian held for smuggling migrants to Cyprus– Turkey forcibly returned hundreds of Syrian refugees to war zone

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 1, 2016

Killing the Islamic State in Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

One would think that massacres in Paris and Brussels would sufficiently motivate the West to inject real urgency into the battle against the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) in Syria by deploying professional ground forces to close with and kill the enemy. Air strikes and Kurdish militiamen inflict damage, no doubt about it. But decisive […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Mar 31, 2016

Top News: March 31, 2016

By SyriaSource

– Assad ‘willing to form new government’ with opposition– Russia and US ‘planning military coordination against ISIS in Syria’– ISIS commander killed in drone strike near Raqqa– Losing momentum in delivering aid to Syria, Egeland says– Turkish army ‘ready’ to shell YPG positions if it crosses Azaz-Jarablus line– Turkish army rules out ‘anti-Erdogan coup’

Syria

SyriaSource

Mar 30, 2016

Top News: March 30, 2016

By SyriaSource

– Russia shipping more to Syria despite withdrawal– Austria will not process all asylum requests– Syrian opposition may end truce, documents lack Assad leaving– Assad thanks UN chief for comments on taking Palmyra– US orders diplomatic, military families out of southern Turkey

Syria

SyriaSource

Mar 29, 2016

The Need for Local Support to Defeat ISIS

By Muhammad Adnan

International coalition air strikes Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) ground assaults have weakened the Islamic State (ISIS), forcing it to fall back in northern Syria. ISIS is adapting as best it can to combination of air and ground assaults and changing its strategy by playing on the inability of Kurdish forces to advance into the Arab […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Mar 29, 2016

Top News: March 29, 2016

By SyriaSource

– Syria regime forces advance on ISIS town near Palmyra– Syria troops remove 150 landmines from Palmyra so far– China appoints first special envoy for Syria crisis– Oxfam urges rich nations to take in more Syria refugees– Russian military delegation arrives in Turkey

Syria
Load More