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When the Grave Becomes a Luxury
HOMS - I still remember April 18, 2011, when it seemed all of Homs turned out for the funeral of 12 people.
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- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Amid New Setbacks, United Rebel Command in Doubt
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) suffered two blows over the past week: the loss of the key northern town of Safira to regime forces, and the subsequent resignation of a respected commander, Colonel Abdel Jabbar Okaidi. .
- Human Rights
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In the Bekaa, Coping with a Deluge of Refugees
On the outskirts of Ghazeh, in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, tucked between apple orchards and cabbage farms, over 2,000 Syrian refugees have made three plots of farmland their home.
- Arts & Culture
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Arts + Culture: The Syrian Woman Mobilizing the Middle East Art Community
When Syri-Arts started in Beirut three months ago, its chairwoman, Nora Jumblatt, didn’t think she’d get such a big response.
- Human Rights
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510 Days of Siege, and the Darkness Endures
HOMS - Five hundred and ten days have passed since the siege began in Homs, taking a toll on civilians and fighters alike.Homs, dubbed “the capital of the revolution” by activists for its early role in the revolt, has since been two-thirds destroyed by air raids and shelling.
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‘I Sold my Sister to Save the Family’
ZAATARI CAMP, JORDAN - Amani turned 22 today. Two months ago she fled from the civil war in Syria and left her house in the capital of Damascus.
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Geneva in Doubt without Military Clout
Plans for high-level Syrian peace talks have stumbled this week, with the U.S.-backed Syrian National Council undecided on whether to attend and how to engage the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
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In Show of Supremacy, Syria al-Qaida Branch Torches Church
BEIRUT—Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) set fire to an Armenian church in Tal Abyad on Syria’s northern border with Turkey before dawn on Tuesday, activists and a human rights watchdog said.
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Q+A: In Northern Iraq, the ‘Other Side’ of a Refugee Crisis
In early October, the United Nations High Committee on Refugees (UNHCR) opened a new camp in northern Iraq, Darashakran, to deal with spillover from packed Domiz refugee camp. The influx comes after the border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Syria was opened to a flood of refugees in August. .
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In Aleppo, A Woman’s Killing Sparks a Call for Proper Burials
Fatima, a 27-year-old autistic woman shot dead by an army sniper in Aleppo, might have been just one more anonymous victim killed in the no man’s zone that separates the rebel and regime-held sides of this city.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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Is Syria Poised for an Infectious Disease Crisis?
Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that 22 people are suspected of having polio, most of them under age two and living in eastern Deir al-Zor province.
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Syria ER: Performing Amputations with Little Electricity
Syrian-American Samer Attar is an orthopedic surgeon on staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. In August, he spent two weeks working at a field hospital in Aleppo on a trip facilitated by the Syrian American Medical Society. ”.
- Civil Society
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Conversations: Photographing the Front Lines of Wadi Daif
Omar, 21, dropped out of university to join the Syrian revolution in March 2011 and has taken photos on the battlefield ever since.
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Why Suicide Bombs Became ISIS’s New Military Tactic
On Monday, a suicide bomber from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) drove a car laden with 1.5 tons of explosives into a Syrian military checkpoint at the busy eastern entrance to the government-controlled city of Hama.
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In Rebel-Held Areas, High School Graduates Are Being Left Behind
Students from Syria’s rebel-held areas are in limbo in their quest for higher education. The majority, fearing arrest and perilous commutes to campuses in neighboring cities, refuse to enter state-sponsored universities.
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How One Syrian Radio Station Took on Al Qaeda
In a supposedly “liberated” area of Syria, a group of opposition journalists is still being forced to operate in secret.
- Human Rights
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Q+A: Moadamiyya, the Damascus Village Sealed Off from the World
Opposition activists in Moadamiyaa, a small town in rural Damascus, are asking the world to save them from what they call “the hell of Assad’s killing machine.”.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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Week in Review: Date for Peace Talks, Eyes on the Opposition
The long-awaited peace talks on Syria, known as Geneva II, now have a date: November 23, according to the head of the Arab League.
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Q+A: Is Turkey Shifting Its Stance on Syria?
This week, the Turkish army shelled points held by extremist rebel groups across the Syrian border. It was a shift for the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Syria Deeply Asks: Has al-Qaida Taken Over the Revolution?
Al-Qaida-linked groups including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Jabhat al-Nusra have consolidated their power in Syria in recent weeks, particularly in the country’s north.
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Syria ER: Mental Health Care for One Syrian Town
Medecins sans Frontieres’ Declan Barry, a U.K.-based pediatric physician, spent July and August in a small town in the north Syrian mountains, treating the members of one community affected by the war.
- Human Rights
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Dear World (Sincerely, Syria)
American photographers Robert Fogarty and Ben Reece traveled to Jordan in September with the global humanitarian organization CARE, giving Syrian refugees felt-tip markers with which to write messages to world leaders on their arms and hands.
- Civil Society
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In Raqqa, A Lawyer Collecting Evidence Against Assad — and ISIS
In the northern city of Raqqa, the condemned - some civilians, some soldiers, shabiha or alleged Assad collaborators - are brought blindfolded and handcuffed to the city square to be shot in the head in public.
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One on One: Elizabeth Palmer, Correspondent, CBS News
CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer has been reporting from Syria since 2006. She was nominated for an Emmy this year for a piece from Moadimiyeh, in which she came under shell attack by Syrian forces.
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Conversations: A Medical Student in Hama
As part of our effort to highlight civilian stories, below is a conversation between Syria Deeply and a Hama-based medical student in his 20s who used the pseudonym Adam for security reasons.
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In Homs, Families Divided By Barricades
In Homs, an anonymous rebel fighter sits at his position for hours, waiting for any movement from his enemy. His finger is on the trigger of his rifle and he times his breathing to make sure he hits his target. .
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Q + A: Samar el-Kadi, Red Cross Spokeswoman, on Kidnapping in Syria
On Sunday, six staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and one volunteer were kidnapped as their convoy traveled through northwest Syria.
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Daughters of the Syrian Revolution
Al Marj Settlement, Lebanon - Four million children are caught up in the war in Syria. Thirteen-year-old Rabia is one of them.
- Human Rights
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Week in Review: Chemical Progress, Sectarian Revenge and Oil-Fueled Jihad
Yes, the U.N.-backed chemical weapons inspectors in Syria had only just started work on the ground when they won the Nobel Peace Prize this week.
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
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Syrians React to Rebels’ Slaughter of Latakia Alawites
Today, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on atrocities committed against civilians by rebel forces in coastal Latakia province.
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Arts + Culture: Painting Ghouta’s Massacre, in 140 Characters
Aleppo native Kinda Hibrawi is a painter and a cofounder of the Zeitouna Foundation, which provides arts education to Syrian children at the Atmeh refugee camp in Atmeh, Syria.
- Arts & Culture
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Via Soap Operas, Syrians Follow a Different Narrative
Syria’s soap operas, known as musalsalat, have a large following in the country. “These are basically series that last for a month through the end of Ramadan, or just until after Eid.
- Civil Society
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Conversations: A Weekend Game of Tennis in Damascus
As part of our effort to highlight civilian stories, below is a conversation between Syria Deeply and a Syrian woman in her 30s who works in the Damascus office of an international organization.
- Civil Society
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Meet Hazem: A 13-Year-Old Teacher in Azaz
At 13, Hazem, who lives in Azaz, is one of Syria’s youngest teachers.
- Human Rights
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For Detained Syrian Journalist, A New, Bleaker Story
None of Bilal Ahmad Bilal’s colleagues at the Damascus-based Arabic-language TV station Palestine Today were surprised that he was late for work on Sept. 13, 2011. .
- Human Rights
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Q+A: Ninette Kelley, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon
Lebanon currently hosts 780,000 registered Syrian refugees, roughly one-sixth of its population of 4.4 million. .
- Civil Society
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Scrounging for Firewood, Aleppo Prepares for Winter
With the first September rainstorms, Syrians have begun to prepare for winter.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
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Searching for a Political Settlement to the Conflict
Last week, the Atlantic Council convened a panel to “discuss prospects for a political settlement to Syria’s civil war.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Human Rights
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Week in Review: While the Chemical Cleanup Makes Progress, a War Gets Steadily Worse
This week chemical weapons inspectors began to destroy Syria’s stockpile, advancing one of the West’s key objectives in the country.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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In Homs, Snipers Take Aim from the ‘Tower of Death’
Residents in the 14 besieged neighborhoods of this city are always careful not to turn on their flashlights when they walk at night. They run fast through the streets, avoiding sniper fire by following known safe routes through tunnels and trenches.