SyriaSource

Dec 24, 2019

The relentless assault on Idlib

By Reema Hibrawi

The relentless airstrikes campaign on Idlib by the Syrian regime and Russia air forces predicted by many analysts, including this author, remains a defining battlefield to the regime in the Syrian conflict, nine years later. Seen as a last opposition stronghold populated by extremists and a millions of civilians and internally displaced people (IDP), Idlib province and its surroundings are a deadly place.

Conflict Corruption

SyriaSource

Dec 24, 2019

Looking back at 2019: Our top five blogs

By Reema Hibrawi

It was an especially bleak year for Syria as displacement across the country continued especially in Idlib province. Below are our top five blogs in 2019 that touched on these important issues that captured the attention of our readers.

Corruption Political Reform
The complete destruction in Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 18, 2019

Hof’s analysis of Susan Rice’s Syria comments

By Frederic C. Hof

Former national security advisor, Susan Rice, recently wrote an op-ed lamenting the lack of options in solving the Syrian crisis, much like Samantha Powers, however, their arguments do not hold up against scrutiny.

Politics & Diplomacy Security & Defense

SyriaSource

Dec 10, 2019

Life after war: The impact of conflict on Syrian artists

By Natasha Hall

After a scrawled graffiti message in Daraa, Syrian artists began to express themselves more than they ever could since the Assad family took power. Revolutionary art exploded on to the global scene during the Arab Spring. Particularly in Syria, artists, writers, and filmmakers found a new voice, free of fear. Defiance, grief, and frustration were […]

Conflict Resilience & Society

SyriaSource

Dec 6, 2019

Reconstruction and security sector reform in Syria must go hand in hand

By Nora-Elise Beck and Lars Döbert

The structure and characteristics of the pre-conflict Syrian security sector contributed heavily to the outbreak of the Syrian civil war; for decades, it stood for corruption, discrimination, violent repression, and large-scale human rights abuses. When the Arab Spring began to unfold in Egypt and Tunisia in early 2011, a group of Syrian school boys got […]

Germany Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

SyriaSource

Nov 18, 2019

After the Syria withdrawal, it’s time the US rethinks the use of proxy forces

By Mona Alami

Proxy warfare is a 21st century military playbook utilized by great powers, like Russia, and the United States with some using it better than others.

Security & Defense Syria

SyriaSource

Nov 8, 2019

The death of Baghdadi: How ISIS used al-Qaeda’s mistakes to grow a caliphate

By Amanda E. Rogers

Optimistic predictions about the end of the Islamic State (ISIS) surged in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s October 27 press conference announcing the death of the ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but prove misguided in the long term. The threat posed by ISIS remains high, particularly outside the para-state’s previously held territories in […]

Extremism Iraq

SyriaSource

Nov 7, 2019

Journalists in northeast Syria fear the return of state security services

By Dan Wilkofsky

US President Donald Trump’s decision in early October to withdraw American troops from the Syria-Turkey border put the US’s local partner in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS, Daesh), the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in an unenviable position. Faced with an offensive by Turkey, NATO’s second largest military, the SDF struck a deal with […]

Conflict Media

SyriaSource

Oct 23, 2019

What the Turkish-Russian deal in Syria means for Vladimir Putin

By Frederic C. Hof

The Kremlin stands to reap significant rewards from its agreement with Turkey on Syria.

Politics & Diplomacy Syria

SyriaSource

Oct 18, 2019

Turkey’s “pause” in Syria: Will the US tourniquet stop the bleeding?

By Frederic C. Hof

Time will tell whether the United States can take advantage of a pause in Turkish military operations to broker a diplomatic solution to the Northeast Syria crisis.

Politics & Diplomacy Syria