- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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In Ghouta, Bringing Special Needs Patients to Light
Meet the group bringing medical care and therapy to civilians with blindness, cerebral palsy, autism and other conditions.
In-depth
Articles
- Human Rights
- ISIS
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The Christian Science Monitor: After Foley Murder, More Jihadi Threats to Murder Hostages
Lebanese hostages held by Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria and the so-called Islamic State were threatened with death in a video yesterday unless Lebanon’s Hezbollah withdraws its support for Bashar al-Assad.
- ISIS
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ISIS Fights for Control of Regime’s Last Stronghold in Raqqa
Taqba Air Base is a strategic point for both sides. How long can Assad forces hold it?
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- Articles
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One Year After Ghouta, Could ISIS Emerge as a New Chemical Threat?
The Sunni militant group has taken radioactive isotopes from Mosul University, and controls a small amount of Saddam Hussein’s leftover chemical material in al-Muthanna.
- Health
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Syria ER: The Human Scale of Syria’s Medical Crisis
Four top photographers join MSF in documenting refugees in Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.
- Civil Society
- ISIS
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Fighting the Spillover of Syria’s War, Lebanon’s Army Asks for Aid Against ISIS
As the Syrian conflict spills over the Lebanese border, the LAF is maintaining a defensive strategy, leaving the aggressive pursuit of ISIS and various rebel groups to Hezbollah.
- ISIS
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The Christian Science Monitor: Hezbollah Lowers Fighting Age as it Takes on Islamic State
The traditional enemy of Hezbollah has been Israel. But the Shiite group is now also defending the Syrian regime and Lebanon’s borders from the Sunni Islamic State, stretching its resources.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- Human Rights
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‘Horrific Accounts’ of Abuse in Syria’s Prisons Prompt Calls for Inspectors, International Pressure
As four new sources corroborate the defector known as Caesar’s allegations of mass deaths in a regime detention center, Human Rights Watch says the only solution is to put pressure on the regime to allow in inspectors.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- ISIS
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Who Has the Advantage as Assad Moves to Take on ISIS?
As a battle for supremacy looms, ISIS has the momentum, but analysts say that if forced to choose, Western and Arab leaders will back Assad.
- Displacement
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The Christian Science Monitor: As Ethnic Refugees Flood Iraqi Kurdistan, A Strain on Hospitality
Members of Iraq’s Yazidi minority and other groups have flooded into Iraqi Kurdistan for safety. But their needs are vast, and the region is coming under strain.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- ISIS
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As Regime Forces Tighten Noose Around Aleppo, ISIS Draws Rebels Away from the Front
Both the government and opposition need the city, which serves as a key hub for supply lines and would give Assad a major geographic hold in the middle of the rebel-held north.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- Health
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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- Syria ER
Syria ER: Infectious Diseases Are Poised to Spread Across Syria and Iraq
How a fluctuating refugee situation and ISIS’s ongoing offensive could foster the spread of illnesses like polio and measles.
- Civil Society
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My Syrian Diary Part 13: Life in the Capital
As part of a collaboration between Syria Deeply and Rookie, we’re publishing the memoirs of a teenage girl living in the midst of Syria’s war.
- Displacement
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
- Articles
- Forum
In Role Reversal, Syria Hosts Refugees Fleeing ISIS in Iraq
Thousands of Yazidis have now made their way from Sinjar to Hassakeh, either staying there or using the Kurdish-controlled Syrian province as a passage to the Iraqi city of Dohuk.
- Human Rights
- ISIS
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As ISIS Violence Worsens, Deir Ezzor’s Tribes Prepare for Fight
After the Sunni militants reportedly execute more than 20 members of the Sheitaat, tribes in the province are gearing up to take on ISIS. Are they strong enough to stop the advance?
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
- Articles
- Forum
The Christian Science Monitor: Australians Aghast at Boy’s Grisly Photo from Syria. Are Jihadis Coming Home?
The photograph shows a young boy holding a decapitated head and was published by Australian media. The incident has drawn attention to the ranks of Westerners joining jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- ISIS
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U.S. Strikes on Iraq Could Galvanize ISIS in Syria, Analysts Say
As the U.S. targets strategic ISIS points in Kurdistan, the Sunni militant group could be taking advantage of the situation to plan an expansion in Syria’s eastern provinces – and to move its larger weapons to the safety of Raqqa.
- Human Rights
- ISIS
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In Deir Ezzor, ISIS Divides and Conquers Rebel Groups
Armed with weapons from Iraq, the militant group has played into discord among jihadist groups on the ground in eastern Syria, making rapid gains.
- Displacement
- War Economy
- Articles
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Syrian Women Face Backbreaking Labor, Exhaustion as They Enter the Job Market
Women are taking on jobs traditionally held by men – but at a physical and emotional cost.
- ISIS
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
- Articles
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As ISIS Advances, Kurdish Female Fighters Take a Stand
As women in Hassakeh take up arms against extremists, female fighters and commanders now make up as much as 30 percent of the YPG’s forces.
- Displacement
- Human Rights
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
- Articles
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Conversations: With Women Heading Refugee Households, Empowerment Comes Through Embroidery
Meet the Lebanese organization that is providing Syrian women with training in embroidery and crochet workshops, allowing them to sell the products and earn livable wages.
- Civil Society
- Displacement
- Articles
- Forum
With Arsal Under Attack, Syrians Are Forced to Flee – Again
When Mohammad al-Sheikh left Aleppo 18 months ago for the Lebanese border town of Arsal, he thought it was the last time he and his family would have to flee the Syrian conflict.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Women and Children Held Hostage for Over a Year in Latakia
Latakia province, still largely under the control of Assad forces, has generally been safe for Alawite civilians – members of the Assad family’s ethnic minority.
- ISIS
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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As ISIS Pushes Closer Towards the Border, Turkey Grapples with the Threat
As jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria push closer to Turkey – with some reports putting them as close as Atmeh – analysts say supply and trade routes could be at risk.
- Human Rights
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
- Articles
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In Arsal, a Common Enemy Faces Hezbollah and Lebanon’s Army
Cooperation between the LAF and Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group, remains strong despite different tactical approaches.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Displacement
- Articles
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In Cairo, a Syrian Boy is Raped – and His Family Fights Back
Omar’s family says his situation has taken a far worse turn than what’s become the standard refugee story – they say that their son was raped by a group of young Egyptian boys.
- Human Rights
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
- Articles
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As Syria’s War Cuts into Lebanon, Analysts Weigh What’s Next
The battle in the northern Lebanese town of Arsal is the latest round of spillover from Syria’s conflict into Lebanon.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- ISIS
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Foreign Policy: The Islamic State Is the Newest Petrostate
The Islamic State, the world’s richest terror group, is reaping millions of dollars a day from selling stolen oil to shady businessmen across the Middle East.
- ISIS
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As ISIS Advances in Eastern Syria, Local Tribes Stand in Its Way
Fighting has spread across the Sheitat-heavy villages of Abu Hamam, Kashkiyeh and Ghranij in the highest-profile clash between ISIS and a tribal group since the Sunni militants accelerated their eastward push in June.
- ISIS
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
- Articles
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As ISIS Advances, Assessing the State of the Syrian Army
We look at how the Syrian Army can respond to the challenge from ISIS.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- ISIS
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ISIS Dominates Eastern Syria, Now Eyes Key Regime Bases
The major objectives: to overtake any remaining opposition groups and to start chipping away at areas under the Assad regime, as it began to do earlier this month in an attack on the government-held Shaar gas field.
- Civil Society
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
- Articles
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Syrian Civil Society Strives to Rebuild Communities
New America Foundation’s Leila Hilal describes how local councils have tried to manage and rebuild Syrian communities.
- ISIS
- War Economy
- Articles
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ISIS Makes Up To $3 Million a Day Selling Oil, Analysts Say
As the Islamic State (ISIS) battles Assad for the Shaar gas field, we weigh in on why oil fields have become so important to the jihadi group, and how turning them into battlefields could disrupt energy production – and ISIS’s cash flow.
- Articles
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Foreign Policy: A Foothold on the Euphrates, a Boot Heel on the Tigris
Before ISIS stomped Mosul and turned Iraq upside down, it slowly crushed its enemies to death in Raqqa.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
- Articles
- Forum
The Christian Science Monitor: IS Tightens its Sectarian Rule as Iraq Taps New President
Fouad Massoum was elected as Iraq’s president while the jihadi group the Islamic State destroyed Christian shrines and imposed Islamic dress on women in the country’s north.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- ISIS
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
- Articles
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Across Multiple Fronts, Syria Records One of Its Deadliest Weeks Ever
As the global spotlight shifted to Gaza, the past month has been particularly deadly in Syria. Why?
- Civil Society
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
- Articles
- Forum
My Syrian Diary Part 12: An Offer to Marry Young
As part of a collaboration between Syria Deeply and Rookie, we’re publishing the memoirs of a teenage girl living in the midst of Syria’s war.
- Arts & Culture
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
- Articles
- Forum
In Idlib, a Thriving Marijuana Industry Comes Under Assault
Four years into Syria’s conflict, an unlikely crop – cannabis – has become a key source of financing for a number of groups in the opposition-held north.
- Health
- Human Rights
- Articles
- Forum
Syria Polio Vaccination Coverage Drops as UNICEF Warns of Impending Outbreak
Polio vaccination coverage in Syria has dropped from 99 percent before the crisis to just 52 percent, as a large part of the country remains under siege or in the line of fire.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- Health
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
- Articles
- Forum
Depression, Schizophrenia and PTSD: Grappling with Syria’s Growing Mental Health Crisis
Exposed to daily violence, kidnappings, deaths of loved ones and displacement, experts say hundreds of thousands of Syrians could be afflicted.