[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]
Inside Syria
Curriculum v. Ideology: the War in the Classroom In classrooms across the opposition-controlled province of Idlib, the school curriculum has become the battlefield for various factions trying to win the hearts and minds of Syrian youth.
In War-Torn Syria, Women Emerge as Changemakers More and more Syrian women are at the forefront of new efforts to solve local conflicts and counter the death and destruction that has engulfed the country.
Rebel infighting near Syria capital kills hundreds: activists Fighting raging between rival Islamist rebel factions to control a key opposition stronghold near Damascus since late last month has killed more than 300 fighters, activists said Sunday.
Syrian Kurds Say Bashar Assad Is Thwarting Humanitarian Aid To Their Region It’s one more sign that the Kurds, key to defeating ISIS, are unlikely to embrace Assad as a partner.
Palmyra could rise again from the rubble after ISIS explosions “Archaeologists believe that they can rebuild parts of the ancient city of Palmyra, blown up by Islamic State, after a 3D survey of its wreckage showed that many stones survived intact.”
Russians building army base at Syria’s Palmyra site “The Russian military is constructing a new army base in the central Syrian town of Palmyra, within the protected zone that holds the archaeological site listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site and without asking for permission from relevant authorities”
The Leopards of Homs: A Pro-Assad Militia Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi reports on Fuhud Homs which provides an interesting insight into the evolution of the pro-Assad militia networks in the Homs area.
Child Labour on the Rise in Opposition Areas “Child labour is on the increase in Syria’s opposition-held areas. In Idlib governorate, the on-going war has forced many children to become family bread-winners.”
ISIS Imposes New Traffic Fines in Deir-ez-Zor Hard-line group lists a number of new infractions for citizens, including driving without a license, driving the wrong way and displaying writing on vehicles.
In Idlib’s ancient Dead Cities, a few try to stem the tide of destruction A regime rocket tore through the outer wall of an Idlib antiquities museum in the southern countryside last week.
Ahrar al-Sham spiritual adviser confirms account of Rifai Taha`s last days A spiritual adviser to Syrian rebel group Ahrar al-Sham has confirmed MEE’s exclusive report published earlier this week that an Egyptian Islamist killed by a US drone strike last month in Syria was on a mission bidding to temper al-Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front’s activities in the country.
U.S. official: ISIS declares state of emergency in self-declared capital US officials are closely watching the situation. Reports that ISIS fears its capital could be attacked.
First Secure Play Center Opens Underground in Aleppo Initiative aims to provide children with safe play spaces after schoolyards were closed following regime shelling on the rebel-held districts.
Hezbollah Says Insurgents Killed Its Top Commander In Syria The group says Mustafa Badreddine was killed at "one of our positions near the Damascus International Airport" as a result of "artillery bombardment carried out by Takfiri groups stationed in the region," in a statement carried by its official media outlet, al-Manar.
Syria Hospital Attacks: ISIS Forces Kill 20 In Deir Ezzor, Embattled Enclave Of The Syrian Regime Syrian government forces recaptured a hospital in Deir Ezzor after fighters with the Islamic State group (aka ISIS) attacked it early Saturday`s (14 May) morning, Reuters reported.
Thousands of children trapped in Palestinian refugee camp bombed by Syrian government Around 3,000 children are among civilians facing a mounting humanitarian crisis in the rebel-controlled Khan Eshieh area. Footage appears to show Khan Eshieh being hit by waves of barrel bombing in recent days.
Al-Qaeda kills 19 civilians from Assad’s Alawite sect Al-Qaeda fighters and their allies shot dead 19 civilians from President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority in their own homes after seizing their village in central Syria, a monitor said Friday 13 May.
Amid war and conscription, Damascus now a city without men As the war in Syria pushes on into its sixth year, the streets of Damascus are eerily absent of young men in civilian clothes. While many are off fighting on the front lines, thousands have hidden themselves away at home out of fear of being forcefully conscripted.
Syria Allows Students to Leave Rebel-Held Areas to Take Exams The Syrian government allowed hundreds of students to leave two besieged areas near Damascus to take their year-end exams over the weekend, even as other suburbs of the capital came under fierce attack.
FSA Advances North of Aleppo Amid Coalition, Turkish BombardmentOpposition fighters seize villages of Sheikh Reih, Fereiziyeh, and Tel Hussein from ISIS militants on Monday morning.
Regional and International Perspectives
Russia Wages Hidden War in Syria to Pit Factions Against Each Other Rebel military sources claim Moscow is communicating directly with armed groups in Homs in an attempt to lure factions into entering dubious truces and sow suspicion among the opposition.
How Russia allowed homegrown radicals to go and fight in Syria For years Islamic militants in Russia were hunted by police. But then the authorities changed tack and allowed some to travel to the Middle East, sources say.
Rebel infighting near Syria capital kills hundreds: activists Fighting raging between rival Islamist rebel factions to control a key opposition stronghold near Damascus since late last month has killed more than 300 fighters, activists said Sunday.
How We Measure the Human Toll in Syria Amid the Fog of War A reader asks: “A recent Reuters story published in The New York Times stated that ‘more than 250,000 people’ have died since the Syrian civil war began and there has been an exodus of ‘5 million refugees.’ But other news outlets have reported vastly different numbers. Given the ‘fog of war,’ what is the source for these figures and how were they arrived at?”
Anne Barnard — The Times’s Beirut bureau chief, covering Syria, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East — responds.
Israel sees increased risks in Syria as Iranian influence grows Former Israeli diplomats explain how Israel is becoming increasingly anxious about the growing influence of Iran in war-torn Syria.
Belgium to launch air strikes against Isis as it joins Syria coalition Belgium will rejoin the international coalition against Isis and begin launching air strikes in Syria for the first time, its government has announced.
Turkey`s `Little Syria` where sweets and ice-cream businesses give refugees a new start Ahmad a Syrian shop-owner in Turkey says: "Syrian people are good at cooking, at desserts and all kinds of food, and smart when it comes to business too."
Islamic State, growing stronger in Libya, sets its sights on fragile neighbor Tunisia Sudarsan Raghavan discusses ISIS attacks in Tunisia last year showing that Tunisian gunmen, behind these attacks, believed to have been trained in Libya.
Where the Black Flag of ISIS Flies A look at the nine countries where the terror group has formal affiliates.
Sykes-Picot is not to blame for Middle East`s problems “Sykes-Picot is a symptom of the Middle East`s fundamental problem, not its cause.”
Policy and Reports
Syria`s besieged Daraya to get first aid since 2012 - but not food Daraya expected to receive baby milk, vaccines and school materials in first aid delivery since 2012, but food not among materials in convoy.
`White Helmets` Conducted 50,000 Rescue Missions Since Start of War: Spokesman Over 50,000 rescue missions have been carried out by the Civil Defense volunteer group, also known as the “White Helmets,” since the beginning of the Syrian revolution in 2011, a senior official in the service told Zaman al-Wasl.
Syria: Comprehensive humanitarian access needed after aid delivery to besieged Daraya thwarted and followed by deadly shelling The Syrian government’s refusal on 12 May to allow a sorely needed humanitarian aid convoy into the town of Daraya is a cruel reality check of the suffering of thousands of civilians besieged there since 2012, Amnesty International said.
Jordanian arms fair hosts Assad`s main Russian weapons supplier State-owned arms supplier exhibits at SOFEX in Amman, which promises `pioneering and ground-breaking` weaponry and equipment
Amid Ongoing Conflict in Syria, Activists Work to Keep Alive Revolutionary Spirit of 2011 Uprising In an interview with Democracy Now!, Yasser Munif describes the ongoing work of media activists, journalists, medical crews and rescue workers. "They don’t perceive the kind of work they are doing as humanitarian or relief work. They perceive it as the backbone of the revolution," Munif notes.
AYS report: UNESCO World Heritage site of Qal’at Se’man damaged in a Russian airstrike Around or just after midnight on Friday, 13 May 2016, The Day After NGO reported that a Russian airstrike hit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Qal’at Se’man, known as the Church of Saint Symeon Stylites.
Syria: Armed opposition groups committing war crimes in Aleppo city Armed groups surrounding the Sheikh Maqsoud district of Aleppo city have repeatedly carried out indiscriminate attacks that have struck civilian homes, streets, markets and mosques, killing and injuring civilians and displaying a shameful disregard for human life, said Amnesty International.
Assad’s Other War: Winning on the Ground, Defeated by the Pound? Aron Lund comments on the ways in which the Syrian pound (SYP) has depreciated rapidly and the socio-political consequences of that.
U.S. Has Taken In Less Than a Fifth of Pledged Syrian Refugees The Obama administration’s effort to step up asylum for Syrian refugees is going so slowly, it may not meet the president’s deadline for accepting at least 10,000 by the end of the fiscal year.
Is racism behind Australia`s shameful treatment of refugees? While the Australian military has carried out operations in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, many claim good ole fashioned racism is the main driver of Australia’s pathetic response to the world’s displacement crisis.
Economy and Agriculture
A Fistful of Dollars: The Dwindling Value of Syrian State Salaries In five years of war, the people of Syria have suffered tremendously. Aron Lund discusses the value of Syria’s currency and it has been declining since the beginning of the war.
Underbelly of the War: Trade in Human Organs In Syria and its neighboring countries, an underground network of organ traders has sprung up, preying on the thousands affected by the five-year-long war and offering them desperately needed cash for nonessential organs.
Documentaries, Special Reports, and Other Media
THE SECRET HISTORY OF ISIS “The inside story of the the radicals who became the leaders of ISIS, the many missed warning signs and the U.S. failures to stop the terror group`s brutal rise.”
Syrian woman explains why refugees need smartphones For Syrian refugees, smartphones have a variety of important uses, including on the perilous journey from Turkey to Greece.
Mazen Darwish: The West Isn’t `Santa Claus,` It Looks Out For Its Own Interests Head of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, Mazen Darwish says: "It’s impossible to keep addressing the West with emotions, and interpreting reality in a wishful way, and thinking that the West will give support and aid to the right side"
Syria civil war: New beginnings in Kobane Thousands of people who fled from Kobane into neighboring Turkey have since returned home. These photos show aspects of their return home.
In aerial photos: conflicted monuments in Palmyra Photos from the ancient city of Palmyra of the ISIS-attacked monuments indicate that the available architectural elements of the monuments are in a good condition and sufficient to lead very possible authentic restoration.
After losing his leg, a Syrian war survivor turns to tech to 3D print prosthetic limbs Asem Hasna, 22, heard dead silence for five minutes after a shell blew his left leg off in a small town southwest of Damascus in April 2013.
The daily reality for Aleppo`s children: "the bombing stopped, we can now go to school" #SyriaWar This video shows aspects of the lives of children in Aleppo and the challenges for their return to school.
Angelina Jolie describes her visit to refugee camp on Syrian border – video Hollywood actress and UN Refugee Agency envoy Angelina Jolie speaks on Monday about seeing the refugee crisis first hand. Jolie, who has visited a number of refugee camps as part of her role as envoy, said she thinks there is another side to the refugee crisis that people don’t always see in news reports.
Arabic Links:
بين الثورتين الفرنسيّة والسوريّة: مقاربة اقتصادية Ahmed Borazan provides an economic comparison between French revolution and Syrian revolution.
100 يورو مساعدات تحول معارض بارز إلى “ممول للإرهاب” According to Syrian Observatory For Human Rights, Syrian prominent activist Mohammed Abu Ali Saleh is accused, by the Syrian government, of financing of terrorism in Syria because of his 100 euro donation to a Homsi family.
غياب الشخصية النسائية المؤثرة وضعف العمل المؤسساتي على رأس قائمة معوقات العمل السياسي النسوي In this article, Khawla Ghazi discusses the obstacles of Syrian women`s political action and participation.
حوار مع جلبير الأشقر: نحو يسار تحرري وتقدمي في الشرق الأوسط In this interview, Gilbert Achcar shares his perspective on the notion of the left movement and its relationship to freedom.
في خطأ تأجيل الحسم مع النصرة Ammar Daiuob discusses the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 and the need for dealing with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the al-Nusra Front.
صناعة الوعي في مسلسل التغريبة الفلسطينية: أبو صالح نموذجًا On the occasion of Nakba Day, an analysis of, Al-Taghreba al-Falastenya, a Syrian television drama series which tells the story of Palestinian resistance and displacement through focusing on Abu-Saleh’s family.
سمير عيطة لـ روزنة: إذا توقفت الحرب سيسقط بشار الأسد In an interview with Rozana Radio, Samir Aita shares his perspective on the future of peace negotiations.
الائتلاف السوري يدعو لتشكيل فريق عمل دولي بشأن ملف المعتقلين في سجون النظام The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces asks the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) to form a special working group on the file of the detainees and disappeared.
الدولة الإسلامية، "ثورة شبابية"؟ Nagwa Barakat argues that ISIS represents the dark side of globalization by sharing the same audience and goal, but proposing an alternative to what ISIS perceives as Western domination.
اللاجئون السوريون في الأردن.. وقف الدعم الطبي يفاقم معاناتهم This report covers the consequences of the Jordanian government retreat from covering Syrian refugees’ health insurance.