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Syrian Rebels Unite to Fight Off an ISIS Eastward Push
Analysts say Kurds, the Islamic Front and Jabhat al-Nusra are forming a coalition. Will the spoils of its Iraq offensive give ISIS the necessary momentum in Deir Ezzor?
Articles
Features, analysis and in-depth coverage from Syria Deeply’s network of on-the-ground and remote correspondents and individual voices from Syria.
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- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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For ISIS, Iraq’s Spoils Could Tip Balance in Eastern Syria
Financial and military gains made by the group in Iraq could help it take control of Deir Ezzor and push into northern provinces it had been forces to abandon.
- Health
- Human Rights
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Syria ER: Out of Cash, a Hospital Is Forced to Close
One of the country’s most sophisticated remaining hospitals closing its doors. Syrian doctors say it will have a devastating effect on locals in Aleppo.
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Murder of Arab Families in Hassakeh Points to Rising Tensions Between Islamists and Kurds
Arab families living on Yezidi land are targeted. What does it mean for the fight between ISIS and the YPG?
- Displacement
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One on One: Roy Gutman, Middle East Correspondent, McClatchy Newspapers
The Istanbul-based reporter talks about his latest trip into Syria, to IDP camps near the Turkish border. People there, he says, “are living in squalor.”.
- Civil Society
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Underfunded Aid Organizations Battle Donor Fatigue, Revise Delivery Plans
The U.N. says it’s received just 28 percent of the $6.5 billion they need for 2014. But international donors say they’re maxed out. With funds limited, how are global aid organizations restructuring their Syria programs?
- Arts & Culture
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
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Syria Untold: The Festival of Spring: Between Colors and Cultures
Qamishli festival aims to bring the arts back to Syria.
- Arts & Culture
- Civil Society
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Arts + Culture: Meet the Rebel Artist Painting on Mortar Shells
With canvas in short supply, Akram Abou al-Fouz paints on the shells scattered around his neighborhood in Douma. “We had shelling showers, so to speak,” he says.
- Civil Society
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Conversations: After Rounds on the Rebel Battlefield, a Return to Civilian Life
After fighting with Ahrar al-Sham, Liwa al-Tawhid and then the Free Syrian Army, one 24-year-old readjusts to “normalcy” in the mountains of Qalamoun.
- Human Rights
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Assessing the State of Syria’s Detainees
The Violation Documentation Center says more than 200,000 Syrians have been arrested since the start of the war. Experts say those in regime-operated detention centers are subject to torture — and 11,000 have died.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
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ICG: Fighting Syria’s War Is Hurting Hezbollah at Home
The Lebanese militant group has backed Assad since the start of the war. But at what price to its own cause?
- Arts & Culture
- Civil Society
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My Syrian Diary: Fantasizing About Food
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. Marah, as she’s chosen to be known, lives in a city under siege. She was 15 years old when the uprising began. This is the seventh in her series of articles.
- Human Rights
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Across Syria, Water Shortages Mean Big Business for Dealers
In a small city near Damascus, water trade on the black market is thriving. But as residents pay high prices for containers that are often contaminated, officials say shortages will continue until winter.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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At Polling Stations, Talking to Assad’s Voters
We ask Syrians across the country for their views on yesterday’s election, the country’s first multi-candidate poll in more than four decades.
- Civil Society
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One on One: Patrick Baz, MENA Photo Manager, Agence France-Presse
Patrick Baz oversees the news agency’s photo coverage of the Middle East, including Syria’s three-year-long war. Here, he discusses verifying images and working with local photographers.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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Election Shows Off Assad’s Confidence, Cements His Position in Power
Experts say the vote will affect not only the Syrian president but his allies, the opposition and the regime’s standing among global powers.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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The Biggest Losers
Meet the two (other) candidates running in the presidential election set to keep Bashar al-Assad in power.
- Civil Society
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Voices: Who I’m Voting for Tomorrow
This week’s presidential elections are the first national vote held in decades. We talk to pro-government and pro-rebel Syrians from across the country, asking who they’re voting for and why.
- Arts & Culture
- Civil Society
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Arts + Culture: In a Militarized Damascus, Fatigues Become Fashion
Tailors and store owners report a massive increase in sales of military-themed clothing as pro-government civilians don everything from camouflage dresses to generals’ uniforms in support of Assad.
- Civil Society
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Ranks of Syrian War Widows Grow As Rebels Are Killed Off
As the number of female-led households grows in Syria, the LA Times’s Raja Abdulrahim, in Anadan, speaks to widowed women.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Q+A: Tracking Rebels, Getting Training in Qatar
In Idlib province, a journalist follows a group of FSA fighters returning from what they say is U.S.-led military instruction.
- Civil Society
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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My Syrian Diary: A Look at My Little Family
Marah lives in a city under siege. She was 15 years old when the uprising began. This is the sixth in her series of memoirs of living in the midst of Syria’s war.
- Human Rights
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A Tidal Wave of Trauma
Lauren Wolfe explains why Syria’s mental health problem is getting bigger — and worse.
- Health
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Conversations: Doctors in Deir Ezzor See Polio and Infectious Diseases Return
The province, which has been the site of heavy fighting between extremist factions, faces polio’s wrath 14 years after it last appeared in Syria.
- Civil Society
- Human Rights
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Conversations: A Mother of Four in Qalamoun, Facing Power and Water Cuts
After almost a month without water and power, she says her family’s lifestyle is “primitive.”.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- Human Rights
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A Series of Attacks on Regime-Held Areas Signal an Attempt to ‘Undermine’ Election
Analysts attribute the surge in violence to Syria’s June 3 presidential election – specifically, a desire to disrupt it, as rebel forces and opposition groups criticize the poll as a farce.
- Arts & Culture
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Sky-High Cable Fees Leave Soccer-Crazed Syrians Scrambling Before World Cup
In a country where team allegiance can run deeper than ethnic, religious and political divisions, many civilians might not have the money to watch next month’s televised World Cup action.
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
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One on One: Patrick McDonnell, Beirut Bureau Chief, the Los Angeles Times
Insights on the state of Syria’s Christian community and damage seen on the overland journey between the capital and other regime-held areas of the country.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
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Week in Review: A Push to Bend Global Rules, as the World Fails Syria’s Conflict
To give you an overview of the latest news this week, we’ve organized the latest Syrian developments in a curated summary.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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Government Cracks Down As Young Men Duck Mandatory Army Service
Across the country, an increasing number of would-be soldiers are ducking Syria’s 21-month mandate. Instead, they’re hiding out – or taking up arms for the opposition.
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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In Deir Ezzor, Sharia Law Interrupts a Woman’s Wedding
Local Sharia authorities storm a pre-wedding party, detaining revelers who aren’t wearing Islamic dress. The fallout could be widespread in Syria’s ISIS-dominated east.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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As Rebels Fight Each Other, Government Heightens Offensive on Southern Front
Is the regime’s offensive in Deraa pegged to an increase in tensions between rebel factions here?
- Displacement
- Education
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Forced to Flee Syria, Young Adult Refugees Stall Out
Syrians in the early stages of their careers or finishing up university education have lost critical professional years. Personal dreams are also on hold.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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In Deir Ezzor, Rebels Battle for More Than Just Oil
As ISIS pushes further into the oil-rich province, we look at the factors that make it so valuable to the extremist groups battling to control it.
- Human Rights
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Surge in Fighting and Bombings Lead to Sharp Increase in Death Toll
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that 10,000 of Syria’s 162,000 estimated total deaths occurred over the last two months. Increased fighting before June 3’s presidential elections, the resurgence of disease and brutal treatment of detainees are largely to blame.
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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How Saudi Aid Made a Construction Worker a Top Syrian Rebel Commander
The Saudis appear to have chosen Jamal Maarouf as leader of the Syrian Revolutionaries’ Front by ensuring he remains flush with cash. But money can’t command loyalty forever.
- Human Rights
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Weeks of Power Cuts Hit Damascus Suburbs
On April 25, large swaths of the capital’s outlying areas, along with several southern provinces, descended into darkness. Who’s behind it? Local residents — and the government — blame extremist rebels.
- Displacement
- Human Rights
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Syria Is Now the World’s Biggest IDP Crisis
Experts say Syria’s internally-displaced refugee crisis is worsening due to a lack of cross-border aid access and the spread of violence.
- Human Rights
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Week in Review: Pitching Justice in the Midst of War
To give you an overview of the latest news this week, we’ve organized the latest Syrian developments in a curated summary.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Articles
- Forum
One on One: Kareem Shaheen, Reporter, the Daily Star
What’s it like to cover Syria for a Lebanese newspaper.