Damascus

Death toll from Damascus bombing climbs to 74: Observatory

The death toll from a double bomb attack targeting Shi’ites visiting a pilgrimage site in Damascus has climbed to 74, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Sunday. Most of the dead in Saturday’s attack were Iraqi Shi’ites who were going to visit a cemetery near the Old City of Damascus.   Read the […]

At least 40 killed in Damascus bombing targeting Shi’ites

A double bomb attack targeting Shi’ite pilgrims in Damascus killed at least 40 Iraqis and wounded 120 more who were going to pray at a nearby shrine, the Iraqi foreign ministry said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday’s attack, which the Hezbollah-run al-Manar TV station said had been carried out by two […]

Cease-fire frays in Syria’s south as rebels launch new offensive

BEIRUT — A cease-fire brokered by Turkey and Russia two months ago is fraying along Syria’s southern border as rebel forces launch their largest offensive in the area in more than a year. Monitors, activists and an aid group said fighting between opposition and pro-government forces raged for a fourth day Wednesday in the southern […]

Russia announces military drawdown in Syria

MOSCOW—Russia’s top general said Friday his country would draw down its military presence in Syria, starting with a withdrawal of its warships from the eastern Mediterranean. Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of Russia’s general staff, said Russia would withdraw the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov from the waters off the coast of Syria. The ships deployed […]

Syrian water wars: Damascus still without water as battle for springs enters endgame

Did al-Qaeda orchestrate a mass chemical attack on Damascus’ water supply? Did the Syrian government bomb its own water station? The final battle to oust control of a key water facility from insurgents is now underway and the fog of war is thick as civilians attempt to ration this most basic element of survival. Over four million people […]

Syrian warplanes strike near Damascus during fragile truce

Syrian government warplanes resumed their bombardment of a rebel-held valley near Damascus on Sunday after nearly 24 hours with no air raids, a rebel official and monitors said, during the third day of a fragile ceasefire. The truce deal, brokered by Russia and Turkey which back opposing sides in the conflict and welcomed unanimously by […]

The Syrian regime claims to have taken Aleppo—and it may be too late for the U.S. to act

The Syrian regime continues to secure more real estate, including Aleppo, as they propagate the perception of their victory. Despite his recent promises to establish “safe zones” for civilians caught in the fighting, President-elect Trump may have limited options at hand for Syria. Syria is a quagmire; everyone knows it. But that instability and chaos has […]

Life in Damascus during the Syrian civil war

The brutal Syrian civil war has produced a series of stark images that bombard the western world on a daily basis.  Pictures of injured children haunt us and galvanize many to ask what can be done to stop the madness.  Video emerges on social media of dirty urban combat amongst skeleton-like remains of destroyed buildings. My […]

A painful reminder that U.S. fighting a war in Syria

On the afternoon of August 31, 2013, French Rafale fighter jets bristled on their runways, readied for war. As far as French President Francois Hollande was concerned, D-Day had arrived; at 3 a.m. his planes would begin air strikes against missile batteries and command centers of the Syrian Army’s 4th Armored Division — the Syrian […]

Assad’s (non)Demise: An interview with Kamal Alam

“Why is the Syrian Army, against all predictions, winning the war in Syria?” In June 2014, a little known British military analyst posed this question in a controversial, yet prescient article published on openDemocracy.net entitled, Pax Syriana: neither vanquished, nor all-conquering. The analyst, Kamal Alam, explained why the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) had not and would not easily fragment, leading […]

Assad on missing journalist Austin Tice: “We don’t have him.”

Austin Tice, a former Marine Corps officer turned freelance journalist has now been missing in Syria since August of 2012.  Abducted from the neighborhood of Darayya in Damascus, a hotspot in the Syrian uprising, little has been heard about Tice aside from a YouTube video released in September, 2012.  The video shows a restrained Tice surrounded by […]