Nicholas Blanford has been a correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, writing on Lebanon and other areas of the Middle East, since 2002. He has covered Lebanon’s complex and turbulent politics, including the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, the 2006 Hezbollah-Israel war, and the uprising in Syria. He has also reported for the Monitor from Iraq, Syria, Qatar, and Kuwait. Nick has lived in Beirut since 1994. He is married with two children. He is author of "Killing Mr Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and its Impact on the Middle East" (IB Tauris, 2006) and "Warriors of God: Inside Hezbollah’s Thirty-Year Struggle Against Israel" (Random House, 2011). https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/contributor/nicholas-blanford-the-christian-science-monitor/rss en Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs ISIS Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000 Nicholas Blanford / The Christian Science Monitor https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/12/01/un-pushes-for-targeted-syrian-cease-fires-in-hopes-of-delivering-aid https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/12/01/un-pushes-for-targeted-syrian-cease-fires-in-hopes-of-delivering-aid The UN is suggesting Aleppo as a starting point to provide much-needed relief to areas hardest hit by the Syrian civil war. But it’s a hard sell with warring parties. Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs ISIS Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces Wed, 15 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000 Nicholas Blanford / The Christian Science Monitor https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/10/15/on-islamic-states-western-front-lebanon-girds-for-pre-winter-attacks https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/10/15/on-islamic-states-western-front-lebanon-girds-for-pre-winter-attacks Lebanon fears that Islamic State and other militant forces – pressed by Hezbollah and Syria into the mountains along Lebanon’s border – are trying to break into populated areas. Human Rights ISIS Mon, 25 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000 Nicholas Blanford / The Christian Science Monitor https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/08/25/the-christian-science-monitor-after-foley-murder-more-jihadi-threats-to-murder-hostages https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/08/25/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 Tue, 19 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000 Nicholas Blanford / The Christian Science Monitor https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/08/19/the-christian-science-monitor-hezbollah-lowers-fighting-age-as-it-takes-on-islamic-state https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/08/19/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. ISIS Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces Fri, 04 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000 Nicholas Blanford / The Christian Science Monitor https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/07/04/the-christian-science-monitor-suicide-bombers-bring-iraq-conflict-ever-closer-to-lebanon https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/07/04/the-christian-science-monitor-suicide-bombers-bring-iraq-conflict-ever-closer-to-lebanon The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) may be activating sleeper cells in Lebanon, which fears further spillover from wars in Iraq and Syria. Three bombers have struck over the last week. Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces Wed, 02 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000 Nicholas Blanford / The Christian Science Monitor https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/07/02/as-iraqi-conflict-flares-syrian-rebels-regroup-in-lebanon https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/07/02/as-iraqi-conflict-flares-syrian-rebels-regroup-in-lebanon Syrian regime gains in the strategic Qalamoun area face a counterattack by rebels holed up across the border in Lebanon. Post-Ottoman boundaries are dissolving in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. Government & Pro-Government Forces ISIS Wed, 18 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000 Nicholas Blanford / The Christian Science Monitor https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/06/18/christian-science-monitor-why-isis-gains-in-iraq-are-reshaping-syrian-regimes-war-strategy https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/06/18/christian-science-monitor-why-isis-gains-in-iraq-are-reshaping-syrian-regimes-war-strategy Syria’s regime has relied on Shiite fighters to claw back territory from rebels. A draw down of Iraqi Shiites to defend the homeland from ISIS militants puts more strain on Hezbollah. Government & Pro-Government Forces Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces Thu, 10 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000 Nicholas Blanford / The Christian Science Monitor https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/04/10/town-by-town-assad-regime-retakes-southwestern-syria https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2014/04/10/town-by-town-assad-regime-retakes-southwestern-syria The battle for the last major rebel-held town in Qalamoun looms after a five-month campaign. A regime victory would afford it uninterrupted control of southwestern Syria.