Syria

Middle East

Damascus10

• Syria may have voted for the United States resolution in the U.N. last week, but that doesn't mean relations between Washington and Damascus are thawing. (motherjones.com)
• With Israel's recent attacks on an abandoned terrorist training camp outside Damascus, many are concerned that Syria will become an ongoing target for the Sharon administration in their attempts to stop Palestinian attacks on Israelis. (motherjones.com)
• The Israelis, for their part, expressed a willingness to return to Syria the occupied Golan Heights, reach an agreement on water rights and normalise relations with Damascus. (smh.com.au)
• Meanwhile, reports from Syria say deadly fighting continued on August 20 in several parts of the country -- including the northern city of Aleppo, the city of Daraa, where the uprising began in March 2011, and in several southern neighborhoods of the capital, Damascus. (globalsecurity.org)
• FILE - Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks during an interview with Venezuela's state-run Telesur network, in Damascus, Syria. (voanews.com)
• Syria has summoned the US and Iraqi envoys in Damascus to protest at the raid. (bbc.co.uk)
• 10 October 2023, Damascus, Syria - To mark World Mental Health Day, WHO and the Syrian Ministry of Health launched a 2-day workshop for media professionals to emphasize this year's theme, "Mental health is a universal human right. (who.int)
• 4 October 2023, Damascus, Syria - The World Health Organization (WHO) recently conducted a regional Green Light Committee (rGLC) mission to Syria, focusing on strengthening Syria's National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP). (who.int)
• 19 September 2023, Damascus, Syria - Last week, the Ministry of Health and WHO concluded a two-day workshop on the draft national mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) strategy for Syria. (who.int)
• 3 September 2023- Damascus, Syria - The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with the Syrian Ministry of Health (MoH) to establish the country's first Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC). (who.int)

20233

• Being ranked third last on the 2022 Global Peace Index and 5th highest in the 2023 Fragile States Index, Syria is one of the most violent countries in the world. (wikipedia.org)
• 25 October 2023 - Thirteen-year-old Ahmad was asleep at home in Azmarin, a small village in north-west Syria, when the house began to shake violently in the middle of the night. (who.int)
• Cairo, 6 September 2023 - Affected by conflict for more than 12 years, Syria is experiencing a protracted complex political and socioeconomic crisis. (who.int)

Ongoing conflict1

• As the ongoing conflict in Syria enters its third year, persistent uncertainty regarding the circumstances on the ground, potential outcomes, and long-term consequences continues to confound analysis and possible policy responses. (rand.org)

Syrian Arab Rep2

• Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. (wikipedia.org)
• In modern times, the term "Syria" alone is used to refer to the Syrian Arab Republic . (wikipedia.org)

Syria's7

• Ottoman Syria's early political history is outlined in detail in Abdul-Rahim Abu-Husayn , Provincial Leaderships in Syria, 1575-1650 (1985). (britannica.com)
• While much of the media was busy with the news of Syria's U.N. vote, the House's passage of sanctions against Syria, in the form of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Act, didn't make much of a ripple. (motherjones.com)
• The most prudent path is the one already announced by the president: to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria's civil war and use the United States' unparalleled diplomatic power to pursue a viable detente in Syria. (reason.com)
• Iranian Ambassador to Syria Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani said Iran would send more relief, such as food, ambulances, tents and blankets, "to Syria's crisis-hit areas. (cnn.com)
• While ISIS has received much attention in Syria of late, it has been the Nusra Front, Syria's al-Qaida affiliate, that has gained major territory from the Turkish border to central and southern Syria. (wnd.com)
• Dr Iman Shankiti, Acting WHO Representative in Syria, remarked, "This workshop is a milestone in prioritizing mental health in Syria's recovery. (who.int)
• Syria's pre-war population of 22 million people has been reduced to approximately 17 million, with an estimated 5 million having fled the country 2 , 3 , and more than 6.5 million displaced within Syria 4 . (cdc.gov)

Kurds5

• Most of the damage done to ISIL in Syria was inflicted by the Americans, Syrian Kurds (and their non-Kurd allies) and more recently the Turks. (strategypage.com)
• Recent American reminders that U.S. forces will leave Syria once ISIL is eliminated has the Syrian Kurds worried that the Americans have made a deal with the Turks. (strategypage.com)
• Kurds primarily reside in northern and northeastern Syria. (cdc.gov)
• Kurds have faced marginalization and persecution both in Syria and throughout the Middle East, where they are the fourth largest ethnic group, with sizable populations in Iraq, Iran, and Turkey 8 . (cdc.gov)
• Despite existing discussions on the connections between climate change, conflict, and migration in the Syrian context, insufficient attention has been given to the distinct effects of the conflict-environment nexus on various groups within Syria, particularly the Kurds in the north and east. (lu.se)

Islamic State8

• In a rare bipartisan show of support, the House approved President Barack Obama's controversial plan to arm and train rebels in Syria, part of the White House's strategy to confront the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. (politico.com)
• Kerry traveled to Moscow from Paris, where he took part in a French-led ministerial meeting on Syria and the Islamic State group. (voanews.com)
• A U.S.-led coalition and Russia have launched airstrikes against militant targets in Syria, but the United States has repeatedly criticized Russian efforts, saying most of its strikes have targeted the Syrian opposition rather than Islamic State extremists. (voanews.com)
• In a sign that U.S.-Russia relations remain strained over airstrikes in Syria, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday U.S. 'surgical' strikes against Islamic State should not boil down to 'plastic surgery,' which only masks the problem without solving it. (voanews.com)
• Following the territorial defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS) in northeast Syria, Kurdish-led authorities and the US-led coalition have yet to provide compensation for civilian casualties, offer support for identifying the fate of those kidnapped by ISIS, and adequately address the plight of more than 60,000 Syrian and foreign men, women, and children indefinitely held in dire conditions in closed camps and prisons as ISIS suspects and family members. (hrw.org)
• Russia says the Syrian government must be incorporated into a shared global fight against Islamic State, the Islamist group that has taken over large parts of Syria and Iraq. (yahoo.com)
• Officials in the United States, which is fighting an air war against the Islamist militant group Islamic State in Syria and also opposes Assad's government, have said in recent days that they suspect Russia is reinforcing to aid Assad. (yahoo.com)
• The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on June 26 that it was the largest single massacre of civilians by Islamic State since the killing of hundreds of members of the Sunni Muslim Sheitaat tribe in eastern Syria last year. (rferl.org)

Assad13

• Organisation of Islamic Cooperation suspended Syria in August 2012 citing "deep concern at the massacres and inhuman acts" perpetrated by forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad. (wikipedia.org)
• With the spread of ISIS extremists across northern Syria and Iraq and the devolution of Iraq and Libya into ever greater levels of chaos, participants underscored a growing fear in the region that whatever would replace Assad would be even worse. (foreignpolicy.com)
• In Syria, this instinct points him away from a military-centric answer to Assad. (reason.com)
• Or will he recognize that war on Assad offers no sure route to stability, that it cannot guarantee fewer civilian casualties, that it does not secure an end to the chaos and misery Syria has so long endured? (reason.com)
• Departures were speeded up, one regional intelligence source said, by the Arab League's suspension of Syria last month over its military crackdown on protests rocking the Assad government. (ynetnews.com)
• Hamas would keep a skeletal presence in Syria to "book a seat in a post-Assad era"," one diplomat said. (ynetnews.com)
• Angering Syria, Hamas has refused to hold rallies in Palestinian refugee camps in support of the Assad government, which has sunk deeper into international isolation. (ynetnews.com)
• The two tracks are inevitable in Syria,' Assad said. (rferl.org)
• In a wide-ranging interview, Assad also said there is a risk that Saudi Arabia or Turkey could launch a military intervention in Syria, but added that his armed forces 'will certainly confront it. (rferl.org)
• The internationally, and legally, recognized government of Syria, led by Bashar al-Assad, has provided no such authorization, nor have they been consulted, let alone asked for consent, in the US decision. (rt.com)
• Russia has set out the case for supporting Assad in the most forthright terms yet in the past few days, likening the Western approach to Syria to failures in Iraq and Libya. (yahoo.com)
• The civil war is not over but there is little to stop Assad from regaining control over most of Syria. (strategypage.com)
• Another problem for Assad is Iran which, as the price of bailing him out, insists on establishing military bases in Syria and organizing a Hezbollah-like organization in Syria. (strategypage.com)

Airstrikes3

• According to Airwars, a UK-based monitoring group, the Russian air force alone has carried out around 39,000 airstrikes in Syria since 2015. (hrw.org)
• The U.S. forces deadly airstrikes in Syria sparked complaints from some of U.S. President Joe Biden's Democratic allies that he overreached, while key Republicans applauded the move. (countercurrents.org)
• The U.S. launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups. (countercurrents.org)

ISIS6

• WASHINGTON - Syria established four additional nuclear facilities aside from the one bombed by Israel in 2007, the US Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) reported late Wednesday. (ynetnews.com)
• The facility's current use is unknown, but the ISIS suspects that after the latter was bombed Syria attempted to disguise its operations. (ynetnews.com)
• WND reported earlier this month that Hezbollah in Lebanon believes ISIS is planning major offensives, beginning in April, against the Lebanese army, which has been launching preemptive attacks along the Lebanese border with Syria. (wnd.com)
• Trump has said publicly that he's ready to withdraw troops from Syria, but his top military commanders have argued the battle against ISIS is not yet complete. (abcactionnews.com)
• Trump said during the session on Tuesday that he wants to defeat ISIS but that the costs of stabilizing Syria must be borne by regional players. (abcactionnews.com)
• Senior administration officials have been discussing for some time the way ahead in Syria and what conditions would need to be met to permit a US withdrawal, a US defense official directly familiar with the ISIS campaign told CNN last week, but added that while Trump could decide at any time to pull out, military commanders were not recommending that course of action at this time. (abcactionnews.com)

Turkey8

• The collective Closer Than You Think has created an extensive list of organizations working to support those affected by the tragic earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria. (coolhunting.com)
• Sirkhane Darkroom is a non-profit organization that seeks to provide free photography training to children who have been impacted by war, violence or poverty in Syria, Turkey and Iraq. (coolhunting.com)
• Accepting the current Syria or Egypt policies of Turkey as products of a foreign policy based on an "excessively liberal" mindset must be an excessively liberal undertaking. (hurriyetdailynews.com)
• In Syria, Turkey has lost its precious status of trusted mediator by shutting the door on Basher al-Assad's face and aligning with al-Nusra and other zealots on the pretext of supporting a civilian resistance against a brutal regime. (hurriyetdailynews.com)
• In a prosperous Syria in good relations with Turkey, there can neither be a problem of the Syrian wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) separatist gang, nor can there be a serious security threat to Turkey. (hurriyetdailynews.com)
• Turkey's 'Hurriyet' newspaper quoted Davutoglu as urging the UN to set up camps for displaced civilians 'within the borders of Syria' in order to reduce the flow of refugees into Turkey. (globalsecurity.org)
• The conflict continues to drive the largest refugee crisis in the world, with 6 million people displaced from their homes within Syria and more than 5 million refugees living in neighboring countries including Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, the majority in extreme poverty. (oxfam.org)
• In Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, we are helping more than 1.5 million people with life-saving clean water, sanitation, and vital food aid, as well as helping refugees make a living and protecting them from violence. (oxfam.org)

Iranian4

• Sources within broadcasting companies said Syria appeared to have sought Iranian assistance to disrupt the signal as part of an information war against the West. (telegraph.co.uk)
• Iran, an ally of Syria, said it sent medicine and medical equipment to Syria, Iranian media reported. (cnn.com)
• Israeli military and intelligence units carried out multiple acts of aggression over the weekend against Iran and Iranian forces in Syria. (countercurrents.org)
• The Assads are not happy with either of those developments because those Iranian moves could put Syria in the middle of a war between Iran and Israel. (strategypage.com)

Crisis6

• A decade on from the beginning of the Syria crisis, the focus for many Syrians is solely on survival. (oxfam.org)
• The crisis in Syria continues to cause tremendous human suffering to people both inside and outside the country. (oxfam.org)
• Since the crisis started in March 2011, hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost in Syria. (oxfam.org)
• Over the past years, we have scaled up our activities in Lebanon in response to the Syria crisis, improving water and sanitation including solid waste management, and providing emergency cash assistance for refugees and poor Lebanese, helping refugees with legal protection issues, and supporting small businesses. (oxfam.org)
• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said reports of growing Russian military activity in Syria were a cause for concern, while France said it made finding a political solution to the crisis more complicated. (yahoo.com)
• Syria has been grappling with a deadly crisis since March 2011. (presstv.ir)

20221

• Syria is the most corrupt country in the MENA region and was ranked the second lowest globally on the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index. (wikipedia.org)

Iran1

• If it's Russia, if it's Syria, if it's Iran, if it's all of them together, we'll figure it out and we'll know the answers quite soon," he pledged Monday. (reason.com)

Lebanon5

• and A.H. Hourani , Syria and Lebanon (1946, reprinted 1968). (britannica.com)
• It requires Syria to withdraw its 20,000 troops from Lebanon, end its support for terrorism and cease efforts to obtain weapons of mass destruction. (motherjones.com)
• How, in good faith, can we call for sanctions against Syria for its occupation of Lebanon while coddling Israel, whose incomparably more violent and brutal occupation remains the chief source of troubles in the Mideast - the principal reason we are not viewed as honest brokers? (motherjones.com)
• However, while Lebanon, Jordan, Libya, and Yemen are explicitly named in the Times article, the real target here is Syria - the only country that has actually been fighting (and winning) a war against IS. (rt.com)
• The officials said the Saudis have directed the Islamist forces, including the Al Nusra Front, to lead an imminent counterinsurgency focusing on the Syria-Lebanon border, with particular emphasis on the Qalamoun region. (wnd.com)

Militants3

• It has previously accused Syria of allowing foreign militants into Iraq. (bbc.co.uk)
• The ISIL Takfiri militants in Syria have kidnapped 56 Christians of the Assyrian minority in the northeastern province of Hasakah, sources say. (presstv.ir)
• The ISIL militants, with members from several Western countries, control parts of Syria and Iraq, and have been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all communities. (presstv.ir)

Refugees2

• If you haven't yet completed your holiday shopping, a silent auction called Shop For Syria is currently taking place on eBay that benefits Syrian refugees. (coolhunting.com)
• This provides the refugees with a heritage skill that can be easily transferred to the job market and potentially a way to reconstruct their houses if they return to Syria. (britishcouncil.org)

Trump5

• President Trump says there will be a "big price to pay" for the horrific chemical weapons attack reported in the rebel-held area of Eastern Ghouta, Syria. (reason.com)
• And as recently as March 29, Trump mulled ending U.S. military action in Syria now that the Islamic State's presence and power there is decimated. (reason.com)
• Will Trump adopt in Syria the hubris of regime change he has rightly decried in Libya and Iraq? (reason.com)
• President Donald Trump has told his national security team that he is willing to keep US troops in Syria in the short-term, but made it known he wants US troops to exit soon in a meeting on Tuesday, a senior administration official told CNN. (abcactionnews.com)
• Trump surprised military leaders last week when he said the US would "be coming out of Syria like very soon," just hours after the Pentagon highlighted the need for US troops to remain in the country for the immediate future. (abcactionnews.com)

19462

• It gained de jure independence as a democratic parliamentary republic on 24 October 1945 when the Republic of Syria became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former French mandate (although French troops did not leave the country until April 1946). (wikipedia.org)
• The Syrian-mandate states were gradually unified as the State of Syria and finally became the independent Syria in 1946. (wikipedia.org)

Humanitarian5

• Turkey's foreign policy and humanitarian interests, of course, require peace, order and tranquility in Syria. (hurriyetdailynews.com)
• The interview was published just hours after Western powers agreed in Munich overnight on February 11-12 a deal for a humanitarian truce in Syria. (rferl.org)
• The absence of inclusive and universal programs - including in education, delivery of humanitarian aid, and mental health and psychosocial support services - compounds the difficulties children with disabilities in Syria already experience. (hrw.org)
• Human Rights Watch focused primarily on people living in northwest and northeast Syria as humanitarian needs in these areas are particularly high and infrastructure is lacking. (hrw.org)
• Despite billions of dollars in aid , humanitarian operations in Syria have failed to sufficiently identify and address the rights and needs of children with various types of disabilities. (hrw.org)

Assad's2

• As of 2020, three political entities - the Syrian Interim Government, Syrian Salvation Government, and Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria - have emerged in Syrian territory to challenge Assad's rule. (wikipedia.org)
• Moreover, while claiming to promote democracy in Syria, the act is more likely to strengthen the hand of the sclerotic Baathist old guard, which can now invoke the threat of an American war to suppress dissent, and hobble President Bashar Assad's (admittedly inadequate) efforts to pursue reform. (motherjones.com)

Condemns2

• The State Department statement 'condemns in the strongest terms the transfer of any arms, and especially ballistic missile systems such as the SCUD, from Syria to Hezbollah. (foreignpolicy.com)
• Syria condemns this aggressive act and holds American forces responsible for this aggression and all of its repercussions," a government official said. (bbc.co.uk)

Reuters2

• But not all Trump's advisors are of the same mind, and the president's few comments about his Syria decision so far-he says the U.S. has "a lot of options militarily," per a Reuters report -suggest these more hawkish voices are winning the day. (reason.com)
• By Gabriela Baczynska, Tom Perry, Laila Bassam and Phil Stewart MOSCOW/BEIRUT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian forces have begun participating in military operations in Syria in support of government troops, three Lebanese sources familiar with the political and military situation there said on Wednesday. (yahoo.com)

Refugee1

• These are the words of Mohammad Nesrini, researcher and refugee from Syria and one of the participants in ‟Post Conflict Futures" initiated by Lund University. (lu.se)

Northeast1

• The latest wave of repatriations of foreigners from crowded camps in northeast Syria targeted a group of children that were "isolated and particularly vulnerable", the French ministry said, adding some were sick and/or malnourished. (rte.ie)

United Nations3

• Arab League members are considering the alliance's next steps toward Syria, including the possibility of a forming a joint peacekeeping force with the United Nations. (voanews.com)
• The United Nations' observer mission in Syria has officially ended without any sign of a breakthrough on bringing an end to the country's conflict. (globalsecurity.org)
• The United Nations, the Syrian government, and concerned governments should urgently ensure protection and assistance to meet the needs of children with disabilities in Syria . (hrw.org)

Troops1

• Israel (quietly) and Saudi Arabia (openly) are trying to persuade the Americans to keep their troops in Syria. (strategypage.com)

19612

• In 1958, Syria entered a brief union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic, which was terminated by the 1961 Syrian coup d'état. (wikipedia.org)
• The republic was renamed as the Arab Republic of Syria in late 1961 after the December 1 constitutional referendum of that year. (wikipedia.org)

Jihadists1

• Twelve orphaned children of French jihadists were flown home from Syria, along with two Dutch orphans who will be handed over to the Netherlands, the French foreign ministry said. (rte.ie)

Northeastern2

• Paris has said it was studying the files of all of its citizens held in northeastern Syria on a case-by-case basis. (rte.ie)
• The Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria is not officially recognised and the legal framework for any repatriations and transfers is unclear at best. (rte.ie)

Kurdish1

• The largest ethnic minority in Syria is Kurdish, which constitutes roughly 9% of the total population. (cdc.gov)

Syrians2

• This report is based on extensive travel across numerous provinces within government-controlled Syria over the last few years, and draws on conversations I have had with a wide array of Syrians (both inside and outside government-controlled Syria), as well government officials, opposition members, foreign NGO workers and diplomats. (tcf.org)
• Arabic, the official language of Syria, is spoken by approximately 90% of Syrians. (cdc.gov)

People11

• But the people are far from united, with some opponents in Syria suspicious of the foreign-based Syrian National Council, and an increasingly militarized wing split between the rebel Free Syrian Army and local militias. (voanews.com)
• There are a lot of people who say that we must avoid civil war in Syria. (globalsecurity.org)
• Eights students died in the attack and 50 other people suffered burns, according to the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which investigates alleged violations of human rights law in Syria. (cnn.com)
• The majority of people stranded in such camps are from neighbouring Iraq and from Syria itself. (rte.ie)
• The action, the council said, "confirms its position rejecting the Syrian regime's persistence in killing unarmed Syrian people and ignoring all efforts to resolve the current tragic situation in Syria. (cnn.com)
• Abdullatif Al-Zayani, the council's secretary-general, "also called on the international community to take urgent and firm actions to stop what is going on in Syria including killing, torturing and flagrant violations of the human rights of the Syrian people. (cnn.com)
• US military helicopters have carried out a raid inside Syria along the Iraqi border, killing eight people including four children, Syrian officials say. (bbc.co.uk)
• I haven't written a lot about the possibly pending American intervention in Syria, because Jesus fucking Christ do people seriously want a war in Syria ? (reason.com)
• People in Syria with a disability, including children, often struggle to flee attacks, especially due to a lack of access to assistive devices or to effective and inclusive advance warnings. (hrw.org)
• Although some UN agencies, donors, and aid groups have started to pay closer attention to the needs of people with disabilities in Syria, UN action to help children affected by armed conflict is still largely neglecting children with disabilities, Human Rights Watch found. (hrw.org)
• My first impression was that it is a great luxury to talk about the future of Syria, when people are dying. (lu.se)

Withdraw1

• CNN reported earlier that Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said in a breakfast with reporters that a decision was made Tuesday at the White House over whether to withdraw from Syria. (abcactionnews.com)

Foreign ministers1

• The Syrian flag and a sign in Arabic that reads, 'the Syrian Arabic Republic,' is seen in front of the empty chair of the Syrian representative during the Arab League Syria Group and foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, February 12, 2012. (voanews.com)

Opposition2

• Tunisia announced that it will host the first meeting of the Friends of Syria, a group of Arab and European nations plus the United States, formed to bypass Security Council opposition. (voanews.com)
• The numbers have exceeded 9,700 and are "fast approaching 10,000," said Rafif Jouejati, spokeswoman for the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist network. (cnn.com)

Relief1

• Written by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies The February 25 U.S. bombing of Syria immediately puts the policies of the newly-formed Biden administration into sharp relief. (countercurrents.org)

Lebanese1

• Two of the Lebanese sources said the Russians were establishing two bases in Syria, one near the coast and one further inland which would be an operations base. (yahoo.com)

Targets2

• With Israeli and the American hostility towards Syria rising, many are wondering whether the rogue state is next on America's terrorist targets. (motherjones.com)
• There are several air strikes a day (in Iraq and Syria) and these are often against major targets. (strategypage.com)

Ally1

• Moscow confirmed it had 'experts' on the ground in Syria, its long-time ally in the Middle East. (yahoo.com)

Conclude1

• With no substantial cooperation from Syria, the IAEA's Director General should clearly conclude that Syria may have egregiously violated its safeguards agreement and call for a special inspection of these four sites," the report says. (ynetnews.com)

Arab League1

• Syria is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Arab League. (wikipedia.org)

Cooperation1

• The six countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council will close their Syrian embassies, the council said Thursday, calling on the international community "to stop what is going on in Syria. (cnn.com)

Country4

• Syria is the only country that is governed by Ba'athists, who advocate Arab socialism and Arab nationalism. (wikipedia.org)
• For the modern country, see Syria . (wikipedia.org)
• Anna Fleischer, Program Coordinator for Syria, explains why the virus could hit the country extremely hard and above all endanger those imprisoned. (boell.de)
• Untypical for their beloved country, Syria. (lu.se)

Decade1

• 2021 marked a decade since the peaceful uprising in Syria turned into a brutal conflict. (hrw.org)

Egypt3

• The Syria developments and the Muslim Brotherhood "victory" in Egypt were believed to herald the advance of political Islam. (hurriyetdailynews.com)
• But in Syria, and even more so in Egypt, political Islam proved not to be a valid currency. (hurriyetdailynews.com)
• Diplomats said dozens of Hamas operatives and their families, who had lived in Syria since the 1990s, and others who moved there in recent years have returned to Gaza via Egypt in recent weeks. (ynetnews.com)

Years3

• Over the past years, everyone who has eyes must have seen who was more brutal, barbaric or savage in Syria. (hurriyetdailynews.com)
• It is understood Ms Smith, who is originally from Dundalk in Co Louth, travelled to Syria three years ago and now has a two-year-old child. (rte.ie)
• Over the course of three years, our interdisciplinary team at Lund University will employ a variety of methods, including satellite imagery analysis, archival fieldwork, and elite interviews, to generate scientific knowledge and policy recommendations for sustainable development and environmental democracy in Rojava, and potential relevance and application to Syria at large. (lu.se)

Russians2

• There are numbers of Russians taking part in Syria but they did not yet join the fight against terrorism strongly. (yahoo.com)
• That was nothing new, Syria had regularly violated the Russian peace deals and it was no secret that the Russians created these "ceasefires" and "safe zones" mainly as propaganda and never as something that would prohibit Syrian forces from advancing. (strategypage.com)

Unclear1

• The U.S. officials, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the intent of Russia's military moves in Syria was unclear. (yahoo.com)

Palestine1

• [3] Other synonyms are Greater Syria or Syria-Palestine . (wikipedia.org)

Attacks3

• Human Rights Watch has determined that some attacks by the Russia-Syria alliance are war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity. (hrw.org)
• The US - with the help of Israel - has been repeatedly waging attacks on the high seas against oil tankers bound for Syria. (countercurrents.org)
• The 71-page report, " 'It Was Really Hard to Protect Myself': Impact of the Armed Conflict in Syria on Children with Disabilities ," details the abuses faced by children with disabilities, including a heightened risk during attacks and a lack of access to the basic support services they need. (hrw.org)

Demands2

• Syria demands the return of the Golan, a strategic plateau overlooking northern Israel, as a prerequisite for any peace deal with Israel. (smh.com.au)
• During this time, Syria rejected demands by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect the Marj as-Sultan site. (ynetnews.com)

Committees1

• Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), other party leaders, and top Republicans and Democrats on the national security committees all came out in support for Obama's Syria plan. (politico.com)

Organization1

• Syria has sent the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons a full declaration outlining its weapons program, the organization said Saturday Sept. 21, 2013. (csmonitor.com)

Support1

• Lavrov said that after the talks take place in New York on Friday, the International Syria Support Group, or ISSG, hopes to submit a draft resolution to the U.N. with provisions for a transition in Syria. (voanews.com)

Military2

• Lavrov said Moscow and Washington agreed to intensify counterterrorism efforts, coordinate more closely on military activity and continue work on listing terrorist organizations in Syria. (voanews.com)
• U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to his Russian counterpart for the second time in four days to express concern over reports of Russian military activities in Syria, warning that it could fan more violence. (yahoo.com)

Government6

• Syria is a government at war with the values of the civilized world and a violent threat to free nations and free men everywhere," DeLay said. (motherjones.com)
• The Syria language was attached as an amendment to a bill that keeps the government funded through mid-December. (politico.com)
• For the foreseeable future, no government will be able to rule all of what was the modern state of Syria. (rand.org)
• France's Human Rights Defender Jacques Toubon last month called on the government to stop the "inhumane and degrading treatment" of French mothers and children living in Syria. (rte.ie)
• Improvisation is the main tactic of an opportunistic government that constantly evolves and adapts to changes on the ground, both inside Syria and abroad. (tcf.org)
• Decision making in Syria is notoriously opaque, and has grown more so since 2011, when the government shifted to war footing. (tcf.org)

19971

• Andrea B. Rugh , Within the Circle: Parents and Children in an Arab Village (1997), studies family life in contemporary Syria. (britannica.com)

Chemical1

• Saturday was the deadline for Syria to give a full account of its chemical weapons arsenal. (csmonitor.com)