Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Syria Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on May 15, 2018, and transitioned some of our coverage to Peacebuilding Deeply, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on the Syrian conflict. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors contributors.
We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].
Tamer Osman is a contributor for Syria Deeply
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While opposition forces have been hit hard by the Russian-backed government offensive in northern Syria, Kurdish militias have exploited the turmoil to expand their areas of control, capturing territory from already weakened rebel groups being targeted simultaneously by ISIS and pro-government militias.
The Russian-supported onslaught on the city of Aleppo and surrounding countryside has forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes and head north to the Turkish border. But as the border remains closed and the weather gets colder, Syria’s displaced are stranded with nowhere to go.
Pro-government forces, backed by Russian air power, are very close to encircling opposition-held Aleppo. Syria’s Deeply’s correspondent in the city gives a firsthand account of how this “decisive” battle has unfolded over the past few days – and speaks with rebel military sources and activists.
Local organizations have been working day and night over the past two months to prepare Syrians for the coming winter. Nearly a dozen people died across Syria last January due to a fatal combination of inadequate shelter and freezing weather. This year, they hope to be ready for anything.
When barrel bombs fall on opposition-held neighborhoods across Syria, the White Helmets rush in. The selfless work of the Civil Defense volunteer force is well known, but the individuals who risk it all on a daily basis are not. Syria Deeply met with a young volunteer in Aleppo to hear his story.
Fourteen-year-old Muhammad Qteish spends weeks in his room in Syria’s war-torn city of Aleppo, gluing together small pieces of colored paper. Known around town as “the little architect,” Muhammad has spent months creating the new Aleppo, the Aleppo he hopes to help build once all the fighting is over.
As students return to classes this month in the rebel-held areas of Aleppo, they won’t be heading back to the classrooms they left last year. Instead, they’ll be receiving lessons in basements and other “secure areas” across the devastated city.
Aleppo’s opposition-controlled areas suffered heavy casualties last week, following renewed attacks by the Syrian government’s air force.
Two Syrian refugees who attempted to swim part of the way to Europe told Syria Deeply why they made such a dangerous journey.
Syria Deeply spoke to residents of Aleppo, the besieged rebel-controlled community that recently abandoned Syrian currency in favor of the Turkish lira. While some were supportive of the measure, others worried that it may open Syria up to “economic occupation.”.
Syria Deeply spoke to Aleppo residents as they struggle to cope with the ongoing heatwave engulfing parts of Syria and the region.
Local NGOs struggle from a lack of resources as aid dependency grows in Aleppo.
Syria Deeply spoke to locals in Aleppo as they endure a summer drought.
“A mother who had lost her son during the bombing of the center broke my heart when said she wished he had not woken up early that morning and he had not gone to school.”.
“In the free part of Aleppo, there are no hospitals in the typical meaning of the word. They’re merely simple medical centers working 24 hours a day,” a doctor tells Syria Deeply.
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