Syria: An eruption of violence and a misinformation crisis

Just months after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, Syria has been rocked by an eruption of violence. Coastal towns have turned into killing fields, with forces aligned with the government accused of massacring hundreds of civilians from religious minorities.

The Syrian online space is also littered with misinformation – part of an information war that is inciting sectarian fear and deepening divisions, in a country still raw from years of civil war and decades under a brutal regime.

Syria and the stakes for regional powers The Listening Post

As Syria’s new leadership takes shape, competing media narratives in Iran and Turkiye illuminate the region’s shifting geopolitical dynamics.

Any chances that Assad could ever face prosecution?

The UN body set up to investigate international crimes during Syria's civil war is calling on the country's new leaders to secure evidence related to those atrocities. The agency's leader, former Canadian prosecutor Robert Petit, says he and his team are hoping to travel to Syria in the coming days to see the situation first-hand, and to gather evidence. sher

Guardian reporter tours massive Syrian drug lab outside Damascus

The dramatic collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria has thrown light on the country's industrial-scale export of a banned amphetamine-type stimulant called Captagon. Victorious Islamist-led fighters have seized military bases and distribution hubs for the drug, which has flooded the hidden market across the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia one of the top importers of the substance. William Christou reports for the Guardian from a Captagon factory outside

Images and narratives of Syria’s historic moment

With the end of the al-Assad regime and half a century of dictatorship, Syria’s media space is undergoing tumultuous changes. State TV and social media users are weaving new narratives, while the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham continues its rebrand.

Drone footage shows destroyed vessels at northern Syrian port of Latakia

The remains of 15 navy vessels lie half-sunk in the water at Latakia after Israeli airstrikes destroyed military infrastructure across the country following the Assad regime's collapse last week. The extent of the Israeli strikes have surprised many western capitals, with air raids destroying 70% of the the Syrian military's capabilities. The Israeli defence minister has said that troops will remain in the Golan Heights buffer zone over winter, while the UN has called on Israel to withdraw from the buffer zone

The transformation of HTS after cutting ties with al-Qaida

Reckoning, revenge and retribution in Syria. On Wednesday the man who is attempting to fill the country's power vacuum offered insight into what justice may look like in a post-Assad Syria. Today, the leader of Syria's rebel coalition said there would be no pardon for officials involved in the torture of people imprisoned under Assad. Ahmad al-Sharaa, previously known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has asked other countries to hand over any officials who may have been involved and have fled from Syria.

Israeli minister says IDF creating 'sterile defence zone' in Syria

Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, has announced that the country's army is establishing a 'sterile defence zone' in Syria. This follows reports from observers suggesting that the Israeli army has advanced into Syrian territory and conducted airstrikes on Syrian military assets

The IDF will control about a quarter of Syria. Which, if history is a guide. That land will never be returned to Syria.

Assad regime imprisoned hundreds of thousands in Syria

How much can Russia afford to invest in the defense of Bashar al Assad thus time

Moscow saved Syrian president Bashar al Assad from defeat in 2015. But observers are wondering if Russia will be able to help him again, considering its own full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A UK-based war monitor says Syrian opposition fighters are closing in on the city of Hama, and have it surrounded on three sides. The advance comes despite a counteroffensive launched by government forces to hold the city. The rebels have already taken Syria's second-largest city Aleppo in their lightning offensive. Hama may be an even bigger prize, located just 200 kilometers from the capital Damascus.

Syria insurgents enter Aleppo in a surprise offensive against Bashar Assad

Insurgents reached Aleppo, Syria's second city, on Friday, in a swift offensive against Bashar Assad's forces, who are supported by Russian and Iranian allies. The fighting is some of the deadliest in years, with 255 people, mostly combatants killed, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It started on Wednesday in areas controlled by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Turkish-backed rebels, calling themselves the Syrian National Army, joined the fighting.

Iran accused Israel of killing generals in Syria strike

Iran accuses Israel of the targeted assassination of two generals and has repeatedly threatened revenge. In the face of these threats, the U.S. has assured Israel of its support. US President Joe Biden told journalists that he had repeatedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US commitment to Israel's security was ironclad.

Rising death toll after US retaliatory strikes on Syria and Iraq

The reported death toll after US airstrikes on Syria and Iraq has risen to at least 45. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the strikes on dozens of targets killed at least 29 people in Syria. Authorities in Iraq claim at least 16 were killed there. Iraq and Syria warn of dire consequences for the region.

Has Bashar al Assad really won the war in Syria?

 Government blames armed groups for attack on military academy in Homs.

The Syrian government has declared three days of mourning after an attack on a military academy in the western city of Homs.

Damascus blames armed groups, backed by international parties, for the drone attack targeting a graduation ceremony.

Assad: The rehabilitation of a war criminal

 

Syrian President Assad’s return to the Arab League culminates years of spin and war crimes denial. Plus, the outlet investigating Ecuador’s narco trade.

After 12 years of being shunned for his crackdown on protests that pushed Syria towards civil war, President Bashar al-Assad returned to the Arab League’s annual summit. The process of al-Assad’s rehabilitation – spearheaded by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – has taken years of PR, spin, photo ops and the casting aside of history.

Syrian earthquake survivors feel 'forgotten'

 Nearly 60,000 people were killed when a series of earthquakes ripped through Turkey and Syria this year, and millions were left homeless.

Germany's youngest-ever chess star is a Syrian refugee

 Germany's chess federation has nominated its youngest-ever player for an upcoming tournament in Croatia. Eleven-year-old Hussain Besou is set to join the team after dazzling in domestic competition. But having arrived from war-torn Syria, there's more at stake for Hussain and his family than what happens on the board.

Inside Turkey’s post-earthquake homelessness crisis

 

Earthquake survivors are living on the streets in Turkey, one month on from the devastating earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people across southern Turkey and northern Syria.

After new tremors: What are relief agencies doing to help the affected?

 More earthquakes along the border of Northern Syria and Turkey have killed at least eight people. The quakes destroyed building which were damaged by earthquakes two weeks ago. More than 47,000 people are known to have died in the disaster. The United Nations says more aid is neede

How these buildings made Turkey-Syria’s earthquake so deadly

 

On the morning of February 6, a pair of powerful earthquakes, 7.8 and 7.6, hit Turkey and Syria. On top of that, the region was hit with strong aftershocks, which made the destruction even worse. The death toll is already in the tens of thousands with many victims still lying beneath the rubble.