Middle Orient

The campaign has found an unlikely ally in Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, who was previously a vocal proponent of sanctions against the Assad regime due to its extensive human rights violations, Shaam news writes. A group of Syrian Jews, some of whom recently …

Syria continues to endure near-daily aerial assaults from both Israel and Turkey, escalating the suffering of civilians and raising urgent questions about how the country’s new transitional government, led by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, plans to confront persistent violations of its sovereignty. In the early hours of Monday, a Turkish airstrike …

In the early days of March, in what should have been a tranquil seaside enclave on Syria’s western coast, a tragedy of unspeakable horror unfolded. Over six harrowing days beginning Thursday, March 6, heavily populated Alawite-majority neighbourhoods in the coastal region were subjected to a systematic assault, bearing the unmistakable …

Analysis: Turkey and Israel are the two main players to fill power vacuums in post-Assad Syria, and friction between Ankara and Tel Aviv is intensifying. For many years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used powerful rhetoric to condemn Israel. As the then-prime minister of Turkey, Erdogan captured much international …

In-depth: As the path to a new Syria evolves, the Druze find themselves navigating different pressures amid local and regional power struggles. More than a week after a member of the interim government’s security forces was killed during clashes with Druze armed factions in Jaramana, tensions remain high. The incident …

In-depth: Shot while holding her cousin, Khadija Atwi, 17, was left to die in Houla as Israeli forces blocked aid. Her family mourns and demands justice. The last thing young girl Khadija Atwi said before the Israeli bullet hit her was that she wanted to visit her father’s grave. At …

Analysis: As Egypt’s Gaza reconstruction gains Arab-global backing while facing US-Israel opposition, Hamas’s role and weapons remain the biggest sticking point Egypt’s ambitious plan to rebuild Gaza, unveiled at an emergency summit in Cairo last Tuesday, is steadily gaining international traction.  It is even beginning to sway the Trump administration, …

Lebanon named a new head of the armed forces Thursday to succeed Joseph Aoun, who was appointed president earlier this year. “Brigadier General Rodolphe Haykal was named commander in chief of the armed forces,” Minister of Information Paul Morcos said after a cabinet meeting, also confirming a number of other …

Syria’s interim president on Thursday signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule while promising to protect the rights of all Syrians for five years during a transitional phase. The nation’s interim rulers have struggled to exert their authority across much of Syria since the Islamist former …

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have agreed to merge with Damascus’s new government. Alright, here’s what’s on tap for the day: The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces make a deal with Syria’s new government, Russian President Vladimir Putin says he’s open to a cease-fire in Ukraine (but there’s a catch), and …