Scattered by War, Syrian Family Struggles to Start Over. Reporting from Jordan for the New York Times, Norimitsu Onishi profiles the Sarhans, a family that, like thousands of others, fled Dara’a for a new, often hostile world.
“They are venturing uneasily into their new neighborhoods, anxiously sending their children to new schools, reluctantly opening a new business. Updates from family members in Syria are gleaned from brief, shaky cell phone calls.
“Our family story is just one of many,” said Noman Sarhan, the family’s eldest son. “You can find Syrian families who have had an easier time than we’ve had, and others whose stories are more horrific. But almost all Syrian families have these in common: a relative who’s been killed or wounded, who is detained or wanted. Every family has suffered.”
Turkey Fires Back at Syrian Positions. The Turkish army said it had fired on “al-Qaida-linked fighters over the border in northern Syria,” a response to a stray mortar shell that had struck Turkey.
Reuters reports: “The military fired four artillery shells at positions of fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) on Tuesday, the general staff statement said. Turkey has repeatedly carried out such retaliatory action when shells fired from Syria hit Turkey in the past,” though “this appeared to be the first time the Turkish military had targeted the al-Qaida-linked fighters in such a way.”
Al-Qaida’s Rise in Syria Leaves Turkey with Dilemma. Nick Tattersall at Reuters reports from Turkey on the terrorist organization’s steady rise to power in northern Syria, which he says “has left Turkey facing a new security threat on its already vulnerable border.”
Adds Tattersall: “Turkey has long championed more robust backing for Syria’s fractious armed opposition, arguing it would bring a quicker end to Assad’s rule and give moderate forces the authority they needed to keep more radical Islamist elements in check.
“But with Islamist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant taking territory in parts of the north near the border in recent weeks, it is a strategy that increasingly looks to have been a miscalculation … Ankara has found itself facing accusations that indiscriminate support for the rebels has allowed weapons and foreign fighters to cross into northern Syria and facilitated the rise of radical groups.”
Sky News Arabia Crew Missing in Syria. A news crew reporting from Aleppo has gone missing while covering the conflict for Sky News Arabia. They are the latest high-profile foreign journalists to disappear in what the Committee to Protect Journalists calls the most dangerous country in the world for reporters.
The National reports: “Reporter Ishak Moctar, a Mauritanian national, cameraman Samir Kassab, a Lebanese citizen and a Syrian driver whose name has not been disclosed, went missing while on assignment near Aleppo, northern Syria, on Tuesday morning. Sky News Arabia has asked for information that would lead to their safe return.”
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:
Al Jazeera: Syria Peace Talks ‘Scheduled for November’
AFP: Chemical Watchdog Says Half Syria Inspection Work Done
AFP: Turkey Shells Jihadist Positions in Syria
New York Times: Disposal of Chemical Weapons in Syria Progresses
Al Monitor: Aleppo’s Children Left Behind as War Shutters Schools
New York Times: Effort to Evacuate Civilians is Thwarted by Shelling
Reuters: Chemical Weapons Watchdog Says Confident on Syria Deadlines
New York Times/Interactive: The Historic Scale of Syria’s Refugee Crisis
CBS News: Doctors: Syria Targeting Pregnant Women and Children in ‘Death Game’
Los Angeles Times: Egypt Criticized for Deporting Syrians