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In Raqqa, People Protest and Women Chafe Under ISIS Control
Ever since April 2013 the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has largely controlled the city of Raqqa.
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- ISIS
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
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ISIS, YPG Clash in Several Key Kurdish Towns
This week, fighting erupted in Syria’s majority-Kurdish northeast between the YPG, the official armed wing of the Kurdish Supreme Committee, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
- Displacement
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In Kilis, Refugees Coming to Terms with Leaving Home
KILIS – Abo Esmael, a 43-year-old originally from Mrrata in Idlib province, was once the owner of a land registry office in Tishreen, the Damascus neighborhood where he lived with his pregnant wife and five daughters.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- Human Rights
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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In Istanbul, Syrians Find Shelter Alongside Stray Dogs
ISTANBUL – In a deserted neighborhood on the outskirts of this city, 40 Syrian families have taken shelter in what once was a refuge for packs of stray dogs. .
- Civil Society
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Alone in Moadimiya, But Vowing to Stay
Amer, a 24-year-old in Moadimiya, has vowed not to leave his hometown. But he says life in this besieged pro-opposition enclave near Damascus is getting harder.
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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One on One: Arwa Damon, Senior International Correspondent, CNN
CNN’s Arwa Damon has been covering the Syrian conflict since its start. Based in Beirut, she has reported extensively from across the Arab world. But this, she says, is a different story.
- Civil Society
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Week in Review: Stalled Talks and Assad’s Reelection Push a Policy Rethink
This weekend saw a breakthrough in diplomacy and practical action around Syria’s crisis, in the form of a unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution on humanitarian aid.
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Will Selim Idris’s Removal Further Fragment the Opposition?
This week, the Syrian National Coalition announced that it had removed the head of its Supreme Military Council and commander of the Free Syrian Army, Gen. Selim Idris, after he reportedly [clashed with members of the opposition in exile.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
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Q&A: Marwan Muasher on Syria’s Impact on Jordan
On Feb. 16, a Jordanian army spokesman said that Jordan border patrols killed a gunman who opened fire at them as he attempted to cross in from Syria.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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Why the Government Has Resumed Its Use of Cluster Munitions
Human Rights Watch said that Bashar al-Assad’s forces have resumed their use of cluster bombs in Hama.
- Civil Society
- Human Rights
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Neighborhood by Neighborhood, Mapping a ‘Politically Heterogenous’ Aleppo
Caerus Associates, a strategic consulting firm that focuses on fragile and conflict states, has released a set of what it calls “time-series” data collected from the streets of Aleppo.
- Civil Society
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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After Homs Evacuations, Freed Families Hoping To Return To ‘Normal’
Last week, more than 700 civilians were evacuated from Homs, an outcome of concessions between opposition and government delegations made during peace talks in Geneva.
- Human Rights
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Will The Cease-fires in the Southern Suburbs of Damascus Hold?
Earlier this week, a cease-fire was struck between the government and opposition groups in the southern Damascus suburb of Babila.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
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How the Kurdish PYD Operates Its Own Autonomous Government
The PYD, a Syrian Kurdish militant group, has established its own autonomous government in the largely Kurdish province of Hassakeh. .
- Human Rights
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As Barrel Bombs Fall, Aleppo’s Families Flee
ALEPPO – It has been three months since the Syrian government launched its offensive on this city’s opposition neighborhoods using barrels packed with explosives.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- ISIS
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Eye on the Battle: In Deir Ezzor, Nusra Maintains Upper Hand over ISIS
Rebel infighting in Deir Ezzor province has reignited, with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) struggling to displace its extremist rival, Jabhat al-Nusra.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
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Week in Review: Geneva Talks Hit an Impasse, Amid Other Moving Parts
The second round of Syrian peace talks in Geneva closed with an air of failure this weekend.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Human Rights
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Analyzing Russia’s Support For Assad
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been Bashar al-Assad’s vital political ally since the start of the Syrian conflict three years ago.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
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Why Humanitarian Ceasefires Could Be a Viable Option
This week, more than 700 civilians were evacuated from besieged areas of Homs city, under the cover of a ceasefire that was the only tangible concession made during the first week of Geneva II peace talks.
- Human Rights
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What Concessions Do Aid Groups Want from Geneva?
This week, hundreds of civilians were evacuated from besieged areas of Homs, the result of concessions made during the first round of Geneva II peace talks.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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Eye on the Battle: Yabroud
Today, Syrian government forces stepped up their offensive on Yabroud, a village near the Lebanese border, as part of its ongoing campaign to secure the mountainous, strategically important Qalamoun region.
- Civil Society
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One on One: David Kenner, Middle East Editor, Foreign Policy
As the security situation in Syria deteriorates, the way editors choose to cover the story changes. For Foreign Policy’s David Kenner, it has meant more coverage from the borders, and an “ethical, legal and moral” refusal to send writers into the country.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
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Eye on the Battle: Air Attacks on Aleppo Escalate During Peace Talks
As peace talks resumed this week in Geneva, the government escalated aerial bombardment of Aleppo in a continued siege of rebel-held areas.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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Attack on Maan Scares Alawites, Bolsters Assad
On Monday, activists said 40 people had been killed in a weekend attack on the Alawite village of Maan, in central Hama province.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
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Should Assad’s Chemical Weapons Be Destroyed In-Country?
Plans to remove the Syrian government’s chemical weapons cache by transporting them from Damascus to ships off the coast of Latakia province have missed deadlines throughout December and January. .
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Human Rights
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What to Expect From This Round of Geneva Talks
A new round of peace talks kicked off today in Geneva, as aid efforts continued in Homs. More than 700 civilians were evacuated from Homs this weekend, despite an attack on the United Nations convoy carrying out the mission.
- Human Rights
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How Syrian Children Are Recruited Into Battle
Last week, the United Nations released a report detailing the myriad abuses of Syrian children by those on each side of the conflict.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
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Week in Review: While Geneva Talks Move Forward, US Policy Falters and Syria Falls Apart
Geneva II peace talks resume on Monday, after a one-week pause. They pick up on a sense of positive momentum, despite limited grains of concrete progress.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
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How Turkey Is Facing the Challenges of a Syrian Escalation
Last week, the Turkish army attacked a convoy of al-Qaida-linked vehicles in Syria, destroying three. The escalation triggered speculation that Turkey now considers the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) a bigger enemy in Syria than the Assad regime. .
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
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In Tartous, a Family Split By Politics
TARTOUS — Political and sectarian divisions created by Syria’s three-year conflict have affected most everyone in the country, even families far removed from the front lines.
- Civil Society
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One on One: Martin Chulov, Middle East Correspondent, The Guardian
Since 2005, Guardian correspondent Martin Chulov has covered crises across the Arab world, but none, he says, are as “emotionally exhausting” as the Syrian civil war.
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
- Articles
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Far From Yarmouk, Economic Hardship for A Palestinian Patriarch
JDEIDET ARTOUZ—Abu Nidal, 65, is not used to rising early in the morning to the sound of a ringing phone.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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How Does the Regime Stand in Aleppo and Homs?
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has released a report on the regime’s campaign in Aleppo and Homs cities in 2013 and the military situation on the ground in each situation going into 2014. .
- ISIS
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Why Did al-Qaida Disavow ISIS in Syria?
On Feb. 2, [al-Qaida disavowed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant][1]. In May 2013, al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri ordered ISIS to leave Syria and return to Iraq, and said that Jabhat al-Nusra, which is more popular with both civilians and other rebel fighting groups, was its [official branch in the country.[2].
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- ISIS
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How Do You Measure Geneva’s Success?
The second round of Syrian peace talks concluded in Switzerland on Friday Jan. 31, leaving experts underwhelmed by what they say were inadequate humanitarian aid concessions and open hostility between the government and opposition delegations.
- Civil Society
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Conversations: Snapshots of Civilian Life in Hama
As part of our effort to highlight civilian stories, below is a conversation between Syria Deeply and Noor, a 30-year-old woman who lives in a regime-held neighborhood of Hama, about the hardships of life in the city.
- Human Rights
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Why the Government Razed Whole Neighborhoods in Hama and Damascus
Yesterday, Human Rights Watch released a 38-page report on the Syrian government’s illegal demolition of neighborhoods in opposition-held areas.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Articles
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Week in Review: Talks Inch Ahead, Stirring Power Politics Towards an End Game
There was more rhetorical sparring than there was actual negotiating this week in Geneva.
- Civil Society
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In Homs, Civilians Want More Than Aid
HOMS – Nearly 600 days have passed since the Syrian government laid siege to neighborhoods in Homs. Now residents of those areas hope that concessions made this week in Geneva conference will help the approximately 250 families who need to be evacuated.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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Geneva II Elicits Hopes and Hopelessness in Aleppo
ALEPPO – While negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition inch forward in Geneva, little has changed for civilians on the ground.