Can US attacks end the Syrian chemical attacks?

We ask Glenn Greenwald and Eli Lake about Trump's next move in Syria and debate Israel's deadly tactics in Gaza.

Special Debate: What will US attacks against Assad achieve?

The Syrian government is being accused of another suspected chemical weapons attack on its own people and world leaders are debating how to respond.

The April 7 attack in the rebel-held town of Douma killed at least 70 residents and injured hundreds more. In response, US President Donald Trump called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "a Gas Killing Animal".

Syria: The Last Assignment

Cameraman Yasser al-Jumaili's unseen footage takes us into the lives of Syrian rebels – but he pays the ultimate price.

This film tells us a story we were not supposed to hear. In it, we see images we were not supposed to see.

On November 20, 2013, Iraqi freelance cameraman Yasser Faisal al-Jumaili crossed the Turkish border into Syria with his trusted Syrian fixer Jomah Alqasem.

The Syrian war had been raging for two-and-a-half years and now saw the various rebel groups splitting one from another, mostly around ideological differences.

Syria: Witnesses for the Prosecution

Meet the evidence hunters risking it all to collect and document evidence of war crimes committed during Syria's war.

For the past five years, ordinary Syrians have been collecting evidence of war crimes committed against civilians during the country's ongoing civil war. 

We will punish these criminals. We believe that the victims have the right to see their torturers judged. Abdelkader, director of the Syrian Institute for Justice

They film, take photographs and collect physical evidence in the hope that one day the perpetrators will be punished.

They have recovered military orders, collected bomb fragments, taken toxic samples, filmed mutilated bodies and archived thousands of testimonies to make sure the trace of evidence does not disappear.

America's Guns: Secret Pipeline to Syria

How has the international arms trade exacerbated conflict in the Middle East? People and Power investigates.

It's well known that the United States exports billions of dollars' worth of arms and ammunition to its allies. What isn't as widely understood is that many of the guns it supplies to "partner forces" fighting wars in the Middle East - particularly to rebels in Syria - are Soviet-style munitions such as RPGs and Kalashnikovs which are obtained from manufacturers in Bulgaria, Serbia and other Eastern European countries.

There are many reasons for this, of which the most obvious are that fighters in the region have long been familiar with these types of weapons and would rather use them than anything else, and they are relatively easy to obtain. Another reason is that providing guns which can't easily be traced back to the US puts a politically convenient degree of separation between the US and those to whom the arms go - even when the supplies have been sanctioned at the highest level.

The Boy who Started the Syrian War

We tell the story of Mouawiya Syasneh, the boy whose anti-Assad graffiti lit the spark that engulfed Syria.

Mouawiya Syasneh was just 14 when he sprayed anti-government slogans on his school wall in Deraa, Syria. It was February 2011, and he could never have imagined that such a minor act would spark a full-blown civil war.

More than half a million people have been killed in Syria since the start of the war. Mouawiya's home city has been ravaged by street fighting, shelling and barrel bombing. The war has left scars that may never heal.

Now a young man, fighting on the frontline for the Free Syrian Army, Mouawiya admits that had he known what the consequences of his actions would be, he would never have taunted the country's president, Bashar al-Assad.

Inside Syria's War: Arms and Resistance in Jobar

The inside story of how the people of Jobar have defended their homes against the might of the Assad regime.

Lying just a couple of kilometres east of the centre of Old Damascus and some of the city's best-known ancient monuments - and just a couple more from the pompous modernistic monolith that is the Syrian presidential palace - the suburb of Jobar was once a peaceful and modestly prosperous place. It's probably most famous as the site of the 8th-century Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, a place of Jewish pilgrimage for centuries.

Otherwise, it was the kind of pleasant-enough area to which ordinary people gravitate when wanting to bring up their children, go about their business and get on with their lives: unassuming streets of shops, apartment blocks, offices, cafes, neighbourhood schools and mosques.

The Disappeared of Syria

A look at the invisible weapon of Bashar al-Assad's regime: the kidnapping and torture of tens of thousands of Syrians.

When Syrians first protested in the Spring of 2011, their only weapons were banners and songs and a deep desire for freedom. Syria has been ruled by a strong, strict and often merciless regime, handed down from father to son since 1970.

"We, the old guard, couldn't believe it. Protests like that? In the state of Hafez al-Assad? In Syria? For the old guard, it was impossible. Forty-five years of rule had brainwashed us. When the revolution began, our orders were to shoot," says Munir al-Hariri, a former member of the Syrian intelligence service.

Liberation or obliteration? Telling the Raqqa story

How media on different sides of the Syrian war portrayed the capture of Raqqa from ISIL. Plus, Syria's Lebanon refugees.

Competing narratives on Raqqa

More than three years ago, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL, which is also known as ISIS) captured the city of Raqqa and declared it the capital of its caliphate.

Images that emerged from the city, of atrocities used as propaganda, have been some of the most gruesome and distressing media output to emerge from a war that continues to cause untold suffering.

When the Syrian Democratic Forces finally rolled into al-Naim Square, Western journalists travelling with them told a story of triumph and liberation.

Lion Cubs of ISIL: Children of the Caliphate (video)

Teenagers and young boys as well as their relatives and guardians give testimonies of life and death under ISIL.

They are called "ashbal" - the lion cubs of the "caliphate".

"We were the 'cleaners' group," says Kasswara*, a 16-year-old boy from Raqqa. "Cleaning means slitting the throats of those who belong to the other side and are hiding."

Kasswara joined ISIL when he was 14 years old. He now lives in Greece after fleeing the group. 

"A guy from my area was decapitated by [ISIL] because of me. People had their hands chopped off because of me," he says. 

Could battle for Raqqa bring the end of ISIL in Syria?

Syrian Democratic Forces have launched a major operation against ISIL's last stronghold in Syria.

When ISIL took control of Raqqa in 2014, the Syrian province became the first to fall under the armed group's full control.

ISIL fighters went on a rampage killing thousands of civilians and used Raqqa city to plan attacks overseas.

Now, three years later, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have launched, according to them, the final assault to take back Raqqa from ISIL. It is not clear how many ISIL fighters are still inside the city.

But an SDF spokesman says some ISIL fighters appear to be withdrawing from the province's capital, using civilians as human shields. Others have been allowed to leave after a deal was brokered by tribal leaders on Saturday.

What are Turkey's plans for Syria?

Ankara is supporting what it calls 'a serious military operation' against former al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Idlib.

Turkey is launching a major military campaign in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, just across its border.

It is backing the Free Syrian Army, which moved into the area on Saturday in a fight against the group that controls much of the area - Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of factions spearheaded by a former al-Qaeda affiliate.

Turkey wants to ensure security in the region where some of the most violent conflicts of the Syrian civil war have taken place.

During the talks in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, in May, Russia, Turkey, and Iran signed a deal to establish de-escalation zones in Syria, which included Idlib.

Ankara says it is not sending its forces in just yet, but providing logistical and intelligence support.

Is Hezbollah stronger after its involvement in Syria?

ISIL fighters moved from northeast Lebanon to Syria as part of deal with Hezbollah and Syrian government forces.

Authorities in Lebanon say they may have found the remains of a group of soldiers kidnapped by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group in 2014.

This follows a ceasefire deal agreed on Sunday between the Lebanese army on one side and the Syrian government and Hezbollah forces on the other.

And as part of that deal, ISIL fighters revealed the whereabouts of the soldiers' remains.

The ceasefire allows ISIL fighters safe passage to Deir Az Zor in Syria - one of the few remaining pockets they still control.

This apparent coordination of the ceasefire indicates a closer relationship between Hezbollah, the Lebanese military and Syrian government forces.

Hezbollah has long been fighting on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and many say this latest agreement has given it more political power.

Refugees: Between worlds in Israel, Turkey and Greece

Short docs about an Eritrean boarding school in Israel, refugee children in Turkey and a hotel-turned-squat in Greece.

The Boys of Nitzana

Amar escaped repression in Eritrea as a teenager in order to find a better life.

A gruelling journey led him to a small school for undocumented migrants in Israel, known as Nitzana.

While the school welcomed Amar warmly, Israeli policy does not. 

The Boy who Started the Syrian War

We tell the story of Mouawiya Syasneh, the boy whose anti-Assad graffiti lit the spark that engulfed Syria

Mouawiya Syasneh was just 14 when he sprayed anti-government slogans on his school wall in Deraa, Syria. It was February 2011, and he could never have imagined that such a minor act would spark a full-blown civil war.

More than half a million people have been killed in Syria since the start of the war. Mouawiya's home city has been ravaged by street fighting, shelling and barrel bombing. The war has left scars that may never heal.

Now a young man, fighting on the frontline for the Free Syrian Army, Mouawiya admits that had he known what the consequences of his actions would be, he would never have taunted the country's president, Bashar al-Assad.

Inside Syria's War: Arms and Resistance in Jobar

The inside story of how the people of Jobar have defended their homes against the might of the Assad regime.

Lying just a couple of kilometres east of the centre of Old Damascus and some of the city's best-known ancient monuments - and just a couple more from the pompous modernistic monolith that is the Syrian presidential palace - the suburb of Jobar was once a peaceful and modestly prosperous place. It's probably most famous as the site of the 8th-century Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, a place of Jewish pilgrimage for centuries.

Otherwise, it was the kind of pleasant-enough area to which ordinary people gravitate when wanting to bring up their children, go about their business and get on with their lives: unassuming streets of shops, apartment blocks, offices, cafes, neighbourhood schools and mosques.

The Father, the Son and the Jihad (video)

The Ayachis, a French-Syrian Muslim family, trade their peaceful lives in Europe for revolution in Syria.



This is the unique story of the Ayachis, a French-Syrian Muslim family who trade their peaceful lives in Europe for revolution in Syria. They are no ordinary "jihadists". Their path and ideas couldn't be further from the cliches with which they are associated.

This family, headed by a Syrian father, was hailed as a model of Muslim integration in France in the 1980s, notably in a televised documentary. The father, exiled to France in the 1970s, is a descendant of an old and prestigious family of the Syrian Sunni aristocracy.

The Disappeared of Syria (video)

A look at the invisible weapon of Bashar al-Assad's regime: the kidnapping and torture of tens of thousands of Syrians.

When Syrians first protested in the Spring of 2011, their only weapons were banners and songs and a deep desire for freedom. Syria has been ruled by a strong, strict and often merciless regime, handed down from father to son since 1970.

"We, the old guard, couldn't believe it. Protests like that? In the state of Hafez al-Assad? In Syria? For the old guard, it was impossible. Forty-five years of rule had brainwashed us. When the revolution began, our orders were to shoot," says Munir al-Hariri, a former member of the Syrian intelligence service.

The regime silenced the revolution and the country has sunk into civil war and chaos. Without boundaries, the government started to use different tactics and all of its military might to suppress any possible uprising to maintain power. One such tactic involves th

Can Russia abandon Syrian President Bashar al-Assad?

Future of the Syrian president on the agenda of US secretary of state's visit to Moscow.

US President Donald Trump's inauguration was expected to usher in a new era of close ties with Russia.

The past week, however, shows that is not happening. Harsh words have been traded over the Syrian conflict.

It started with a suspected chemical attack in Idlib last week, blamed on the Russian-backed Syrian government, followed by a US strike on a Syrian air base.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to Moscow has done little to ease tensions.

Tillerson met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to discuss the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The US wants Assad gone, but Russia wants to know what America's real intentions are, and what the West is planning for a Syria without Assad.

Syria's White Helmets

Life under the bombs with a team of White Helmet rescue workers in Syria's most dangerous city, Aleppo.

A snapshot of the lives and motivations of a small group of people working to combat the horror in one of the most violent places on earth. With the constant stream of atrocities coming out of Syria, this film about the White Helmets is a rare story of humanitarians working tirelessly to protect the people on the ground. It explores why they risk their lives to save strangers, and how they carry on while so many others have either become disillusioned and fled, or become seduced by the radical ideologies and fight.

What is the endgame for the US offensive against ISIL? (video)

Pentagon broadens its campaign against ISIL in Syria with the deployment of US marines.

US marines are being sent to Syria to reinforce the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group.

Together with heavy artillery, the marines are prepared to back up forces they have trained to fight in Raqqa, ISIL's self-declared capital.

How do the US troops complicate an already crowded battlefield alongside Russian, Turkish and Kurdish forces?