[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
US-backed SDF seizes key town in ongoing battle for Islamic State’s final foothold in Syria (23 October, 2018) Sousah, a key strategic town located in the Deir ez-Zor province of Hajin, has fallen from the hands of Islamic State (IS) as fighters from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces push IS further eastward, leaving IS with only a handful of villages along the Euphrates river.
Afrin residents fear continued kidnappings (23 October, 2018) With Turkish-backed FSA-affiliated brigades fully responsible for security in Afrin, civilians blame them for not doing enough to put a stop to repeated kidnappings by gangs for ransom.
The Journey of Syrian Jewelry in Times of War and Peace (23 October, 2018) During the war, women have also voluntarily given up jewelry in order to cover the costs of their sons and husbands’ trips to start a new life after losing a house, work, and sources of income. New brides have also agreed to acquire the cheapest types of gold, such as Brazilian and Russian, and many have even been forced to accept bracelets “stitched” with dyed yellow metal and decorated with engravings so as not to feel lacking.
Syria’s wheat production hits lowest level in 29 years (23 October, 2018) The spokesman of the UN food agency (the World Food Programme) says extreme weather has caused agricultural production in Syria to drop to its lowest level in three decades. Wheat production fell to 1.2 million tonnes, which is about two-thirds of the levels of last year.
Iran sets sights on Syrian reconstruction projects (24 October, 2018) The Public Establishment for Electrical Generation and the Iranian MAPNA electric company agreed Oct. 2 on a timeline for implementing the 540 MW power generation project in Latakia at a cost of 411 million euros (472.2 million dollars). This would increase power production in Syria to about 4,540 MW, which is half the capacity produced before the war.
The Arabic version of this article can be found here:
إيران تعزّز حضورها في سوريا عبر قطاع الكهرباء
Azaz gun control aims to keep civilians safe (25 October, 2018) With gun violence spiraling, fourteen small villages in the Azaz countryside, who form the Salama local council, issued a decision to confiscate all firearms from residents and prevent the flow of firearms into the area.
‘This is not liberation’: life in the rubble of Raqqa, Syria (26 October, 2018) Amid the destructive aftermath of the US coalition-backed liberation of Raqqa from the Islamic State (IS), poverty has taken hold and residents express frustration over miserable living conditions in the city. Furthermore, insecurity is growing, with more violence threatening to break out.
Dozens dead in eastern Syria after clashes with Islamic State (27 October, 2018) The Islamic State (IS) has killed at least forty US-backed Syrian fighters in clashes, capturing several and regaining territory previously lost near the border with Iraq.
Syria reopens its national museum after it was closed 6 years amid civil war (28 October, 2018) More than six years after its closing, the Syrian National Museum in the heart of the capital of Damascus was reopened, signaling the increasing return to normalcy as the Syrian regime and its allies triumph militarily.
Daraa residents ‘paralyzed’ by economy in recession, collapse of opposition-era civil society and NGO networks (29 October, 2018) With the Syrian regime re-assuming control of Daraa in southern Syria, more than 150 organizations, among them relief and aid agencies, shut down, leaving the residents in critical need of support. A major recession has hit the city with the spontaneous dismantling of an economy which was heavily reliant on these organizations.
SDF vows ‘definitive end’ to anti-IS offensive in Deir e-Zor after major setback (29 October, 2018) Commanders of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have vowed to retake ground which was lost to fighters of the Islamic State (IS) in its last major foothold on Syrian territory, after IS fighters launched a counter-offensive and seized a key town near the border with Iraq.
Thousands of Syrians stuck in the desert risk starvation (30 October, 2018) Around 45,000 people stuck in the desert Rukban camp near the Jordanian border are at risk of starvation as aid deliveries repeatedly fail to arrive, including a UN envoy. At least four have died in the last month due to malnutrition and lack of medical care.
For ransom or for rule: Local aid workers describe risks amid wave of kidnappings in Syria’s rebel-held northwest (1 November, 2018) A recent uptick in kidnappings in rebel-held Idlib province has placed aid workers and the NGOs they work for at extreme risk as they work to provide 3.5 million civilians with goods and services. The anarchic situation and the myriad of factions in Idlib province makes it difficult for any one organization to exert enough influence to curb this rise in kidnappings.
Millions of Syrians at risk if Idlib truce fails, White Helmets warn (3 November, 2018) Raed al-Saleh, head of the White Helmets volunteer group, urges the West to do more to protect civilians, citing Russia’s broken promises in the past, urging accountability and justice before reconstruction begins. He says he has little confidence in the truce negotiated between Turkey and Russia in September.
Syria’s Rukban camp receives first UN convoy in months (5 November, 2018) The United Nations said it is delivering crucial aid to the fifty thousand Syrians in the Rukban camp near the Jordanian border, the first shipment since January, in an operation which will take three to four days. The conditions in the camp are considered to be a humanitarian catastrophe.
Fight against last vestige of ISIS in Syria stalls (6 November, 2018) A US-backed offensive has come to a halt against the last vestige of the Islamic State in eastern Syria. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the militia combating the Islamic State with US assistance, have stalled operations after Turkey shelled Kurdish positions farther north.
Al-Bab’s historical covered marketplace back in business (8 November, 2018) For the first time in two years business is resuming in the old market in al-Bab, in Aleppo’s northeast countryside, after suffering large scale destruction during battles between factions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Islamic State (IS). Though the Turkish-backed FSA factions have controlled al-Bab since February, 2017, stores and shops in the marketplace remained closed due to the extent of the damage.
The Plight of the Druze Hostages Held by ISIS & the War on the Islamic State – by Talal el-Atrache (9 November, 2018) Throughout the Syrian war, the Southern Province of Sweida, in coordination with the Syrian army, had succeeded in protecting itself against the jihadist attacks on the province’s Western border with Deraa, and on the Eastern flank, adjacent to the Syrian Desert.
Medical workers in Syria’s Idlib being kidnapped at an alarming rate (9 November, 2018) Armed gangs and militias are kidnapping medical and aid workers at an alarming rate, with doctors and pharmacists appearing to be the most vulnerable. There has been a noticeable uptick in kidnappings since the buffer-zone agreement between Turkey and Russia was put in place in order to stave off a looming Syrian regime offensive into Syria’s northwest, where Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the al-Qa‘ida offshoot, is the dominant faction and is largely to blame for the disappearances.
Syria extends time for post-war property claims under disputed law (12 November, 2018) President Bashar al-Assad issued Law 42, extending the time period in which refugees could claim property after the area had been slated for reconstruction from thirty days to a year, effectively amending the controversial Law 10. Syrians whose property had already been registered under the government are exempt from having to claim their property.
Syrian Kurds resume push to rid ISIS from last pockets of Syria (13 November, 2018) After taking a pause, Syrian Kurdish forces have resumed their offensive against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as they push ISIS out of their last remaining pockets in Syria. This resumption comes after pressure from allies to the Kurds to shift focus away from Turkey.
Formalizing Regime Control over Syrian Religious Affairs (14 November, 2018) New legislation to regulate the Ministry of Awqaf in Syria aims to prevent any uncontrolled religious mobilization in a post-war Syria.
The Arabic version of this article can be found here:
تقنين سيطرة النظام على الشؤون الدينية السورية
Flooded tents, unresponsive authorities at Turkish-run displacement camp bracing for first winter (14 November, 2018) The inclement weather in Syria’s northwest has highlighted the vulnerabilities of those living in Deir Ballut camp, which is directly administered by the Turkish government and whose position in a valley makes it especially susceptible to flooding.
Crossing between opposing forces opens near Idlib, Syria (15 November, 2018) The Morek crossing is open once again to traffic between areas controlled by the Syrian regime and those held by the armed opposition. Commercial traffic began using the crossing on 2 November for the first time in three months, and civilians were allowed to enter beginning 8 November.
The Arabic version of this article can be found here:
ما الهدف من عودة معبر مورك بين المعارضة والنظام في شمال حماة إلى العمل؟
‘A new Syria’: Law 10 reconstruction projects to commence in Damascus, backed by arsenal of demolition, expropriation legislation (19 November, 2018) Barzeh is just one of several formerly opposition-held areas of the Syrian capital now undergoing demolition, renewal and reconstruction. Syrian army engineers have recently conducted demolitions in neighboring al-Qaboun, Harasta, and Jobar—all neighborhoods around eastern Damascus—while urban planners are reportedly now extending reconstruction plans throughout the city’s eastern and southern suburbs. Last week, officials announced that three Damascus suburbs will be developed next year under a controversial law for reconstruction—Law 10.
Civilians, monitors accuse US-led coalition of ‘disregard’ for civilian life as anti-IS Hajin campaign drags into third month (21 November, 2018) US-led coalition airstrikes in eastern Deir ez-Zor province are placing thousands of civilians in the direct line of fire, according to conflict monitors and displaced residents, three months in to a grueling US-backed offensive against the Islamic State’s final foothold in Syria.
US sets up observation posts along Turkey-Syria border: Mattis (22 November, 2018) The United States is setting up observation posts along the Turkish border in northern Syria, Defense Chief James Mattis said on 21 November.
Regional and International Perspectives
Iran sets sights on Syrian reconstruction projects (24 October, 2018) As the civil wars seems to be coming to a close, allies of the Syrian regime, Russia and Iran, have been seeking to secure contracts to rebuild devastated sectors of Syrian infrastructure and economy. Iran, for its part, seeks to plug into Syria’s electrical sector needs.
US attacked Russia’s Syria base with drones, defense ministry says (25 October, 2018) Russia’s deputy defense minister accused the United States of coordinating a drone attack on the Khmeimim Syrian airbase. The minister says the drones switched to manual guidance upon encountering countermeasures.
Syria Turning Points: The International and the Local (25 October, 2018) When examining the idea of critical turning points, it is imperative that we consider events not just at the macro-level. What cannot be overemphasized is the fact that each of these turning points, while changing the broader trajectory of the conflict, also had very real, life-altering consequences for local communities. Through merging the idea of the local into the discussion of the macro, we gain a better understanding of the reality of some of the critical junctures within the Syrian conflict.
Syria Turning Points: An Ongoing Roundtable (25 October, 2018) Salon Syria, a platform dedicated to cultivating a space for wide-ranging views on Syria, its past, and future, is proud to publish the first of its English language roundtables. These roundtables consciously solicit contributions of Syrians and Syria experts from different perspectives and backgrounds.
Participants:
Samer Abboud on Critical Turning Points in the Syrian Conflict
Josephine Lippincott : Syria Turning Points: The International and the Local
Aron Lund: Syria Turning Points: External Leverage and Its Limits
Nikolaos van Dam on Critical Turning Points in the Syrian Conflict
Joel Veldkamp: Syria Turning Points: The United States and Syria’s Armed Uprising
Ola Rifai: Six turning points on the Syrian uprising
UN’s envoy to Syria wants regime to stop being obstructive (27 October, 2018) The outgoing special UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has expressed frustration with the Syrian regime’s blocking of the establishment of a committee to draft a new constitution. Though Syria agreed with Russia at the beginning of the year to cooperate with the committee, the regime has reneged on its plan as it eyes a total military victory.
Russia’s Putin says constitutional committee for Syria should start work, Moscow to take part (27 October, 2018) After the four-way Syria summit with leaders of Turkey, Russia, France, and Germany, Russian President Putin spoke at a joint conference and said that Russia would take an active part in the committee to draft a new constitution for Syria.
Turkey, Russia, France, and Germany stress importance of lasting Syria ceasefire (27 October, 2018) Turkish, German, Russian, and French leaders stressed the crucial importance of instituting a lasting ceasefire and the need to continue the fight against militants, while simultaneously calling for a constitutional committee to be convened by the end of the year. The leaders also highlighted the need to create favorable conditions for the voluntary return of refugees to the country.
Mission impossible for next UN Syria envoy? (29 October, 2018) After more than seven years of war and a peace process that never managed to end the violence, whoever takes over for Staffan de Mistura as the UN’s special envoy for Syria has a tough job ahead–perhaps an impossible one.
Moscow, Syrian High Negotiations Committee go down to-do list on Syria (1 November, 2018) After the Syrian High Negotiations Committee visited Russia, the opposition is now faced with the choice of either going along with Moscow or waiting for the United States to uphold its position regarding Syria. Russia said it remains committed to sovereignty, territorial integrity, and dialogue between the regime and the opposition.
Syrian businessmen succeed in Turkey (5 November, 2018) According to data Al-Monitor obtained from the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges in Turkey, Turks have entered into partnerships with Syrians in 7,972 companies from March 2010 to August 2018. The data show that Syrian businessmen began shifting their investments to Turkey after March 2010, one year before the onset of the civil war.
France targets three top Syrian security chiefs with international arrest warrants (5 November, 2018) France has issued international arrest warrants for Ali Mamlouk (a top adviser of President Assad and security chief), Jamil Hassan (head of the air force’s intelligence agency), and Abdel Salam Mahmoud (head of the investigative branch of the air force’s intelligence at the Mezzeh airport). According to the International Federation for Human Rights advocacy group (IFHR), the warrants were issued last month but only now made public.
US-Turkish ties may be cut for good in Syria (5 November, 2018) The Manbij Roadmap, an agreement between the US and Turkey meant to attenuate tensions, has become a point of contention between the two countries. These tensions center around the presence of Kurdish forces who are assisted by the United States and are a cause for Turkish anxiety.
US hopes Russia will continue to let Israel hit Iran in Syria: envoy (7 November, 2018) Despite Russia’s delivery of S-300 missile systems to the Syrian regime, the United States hopes that Russia will continue to be “permissive” of Israeli strikes against Iranian targets in Syria. Israel has continuously attacked Iranian targets out of fear of Iran’s entrenched presence in Syria.
Turkey: US must break from Syrian Kurds after PKK reward offer (8 November, 2018) After the United States offered a reward of millions of dollars for assistance in capturing top commanders of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), tensions between Turkey and the United States eased slightly but remain tense. Turkey’s Erdogan demands that the United States breaks its ties with the Kurdish forces of the YPG in Syria, claiming that the YPG is indistinguishable from the PKK.
‘Entire families wiped out’: US airstrikes killed many civilians in Syria (9 November, 2018) A year after the US-led military campaign to oust the Islamic State (IS) from its Syrian capital of Raqqa, teams are still recovering bodily remains of civilian casualties from the rubble, drastically altering the official numbers of deaths provided by the US-led coalition. The majority of the civilians were most likely killed by US airstrikes
Sectarianism as Plan B: Saudi-Iranian identity politics in the Syria conflict (12 November, 2018) Both Saudi Arabia and Iran, therefore, were not as sectarian as often characterised in their sponsorship of fighting groups in the Syrian civil war. Though both would eventually turn to sectarian militia, each did this only after their first option, more inclusive national-focused fighters, failed.
Policy and Reports
Syria’s war economy exacerbates divide between rich and poor (6 November, 2018) More than eighty percent of people in Syria today live below the poverty line. The country has an unemployment rate of at least fifty-five percent, and jobs are increasingly hard to find.
Shadows of the Syrian Disappeared: Testimonies of Female Relatives Left with Loss and Ambiguity (15 November, 2018) Dawlaty and Women Now published a new report titled “Shadows of the Disappeared: Testimonies of Female Syrian Relatives Left with Loss and Ambiguity” that tackles the multifaceted and profound impact of the disappearance of a loved one on Syrian women.
The Arabic version of this article can be found here:
خيالات المختفين السوريّين: شهادات قريباتهم عن الخسارة والغموض
Documentaries, Special Reports, and other Media
Maps
Nov. 16, 2018 | Post-Idleb Agreement Conflict Trends The Russian-Turkish agreement on Idleb has succeeded in greatly reducing violence in northwestern Syria. Since the agreement came into effect on 18 September, there have been no reported airstrikes in the region, and reports of conflict events of all types have been greatly reduced. However, low levels of violence have persisted along frontlines, accompanied by infighting between opposition groups and occasional minor incidents throughout much of Syria.
A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad review – the making of a murderous tyrant (23 October, 2018) The final episode of this fascinating series asked how an awkward, people-pleasing doctor turned into a dictator who went to war against his people.
A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad- S01E01 – October 9, 2018
A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad - S01E02 - October 16, 2018
A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad - S01E03 - 23 October, 2018
‘Embrace of the nation’: How the Syrian government seeks to control, obstruct refugee returns (25 October, 2018) In this interview with Syria Direct’s Alice Al Maleh, Batrawi lays out the four different tools that the Syrian government uses to manage the return—tools, she says, that range from laws that allow property dispossession and plans for urban development “pricing out” residents and disincentivizing return, right down to how Syrian officials omit refugees from a national post-war narrative.
Humanitarian aid convoy to Syria’s Rukban camp: Mission Accomplished (9 November, 2018) The United Nations and partners concluded a six-day humanitarian aid operation, providing lifesaving aid to around fifty thousand mostly women and children living in southeast Syria’s Rukban camp–the first supplies they had received since January.
Talal Derki’s Syria Documentary Of Fathers and Sons Has Marked Him for Death (9 November, 2018) There’s a sequence early on in Talal Derki’s documentary Of Fathers and Sons that makes your blood run cold. A cheerful preteen boy finds a bird and shows it to his father. The father recommends that he kill the bird so their family can eat it. After it has been killed, the boy returns to his father and gleefully reports on the slaughter.
فيديو: المهرجانات تنعش الحركة الثقافية في المناطق الكردية تتميز الفعاليات الثقافية في المناطق الواقعة تحت سيطرة الأكراد في شمال وشرق سورية بالعديد من المهرجانات الفنية والمسرحية والأدبية وعلى مدار العام، والتي أنعشت ثقافة المنطقة التي أقصيت بصورة شبه كاملة قبل أزمة البلاد.مهرجان الكتاب ضم سبعة عشر ألف عنوان في حقول “الفكر والأدب والفلسفة، والتاريخ، والسياسة، والترجمة”، إضافة إلى كتب الأطفال، وبمشاركة مختلف مناطق الشمال السوري، واستضاف نتاجات كتاب من “إقليم كردستان العراق، وشنكال، وتركيا، ولبنان، ومصر.”
'Under The Wire' Tells The Story Of War Correspondent Marie Colvin's Last Moments (15 November, 2018) NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with war photographer Paul Conroy about the new documentary Under The Wire that tells the story of the last moments of war correspondent Marie Colvin's life.
How Syria’s flag carrier plans to remain airborne (16 November, 2018) The country’s ability to expand its civilian fleet with Western aircraft stumbled when President Bashar al-Assad took the reins as dictator from his father in 2000.
Arabic Links
القبيسياتوالثروة
(12 October, 2018)
لم تكن منيرة القبيسي بعيدة عن نساء الطبقات التي خسرت جراء سياسات الإصلاح الزراعي والتأميم، كانت منهن ولا تختلف عنهن إلا بصفاتها الشخصية المتميزة التي أهلتها لتلعب دورا رائدا ومحوريا في إنشاء التجمعات النسائية الدينية لتوحيد النساء المتطلعات للتأقلم مع الأوضاع الجديدة والحفاظ على قوة مؤثرة في المجتمع، وربما لاقتناص الفرص من أجل التأثير في الاقتصاد، ولاحقا في السياسة
أغلى من الذهب.. يا موز
(15 October, 2018)
ربما يتذكر بعض السوريين جيدا، حين كان الموز حلما، فمن كان يأكل الموز أو يقتنيه في ثمانيات القرن الماضي، كان يوضع مباشرة في طبقة معينة أعلى ممن لا يتناوله. ولكن، ماذا عن الأمر الآن؟ هل لا يزال الموز حلما؟ وما حكاية السوريين مع الموز؟
في «القشلة» فقط... ضريبة مسبقة على الضحك
(16 October, 2018)
دائمون ومؤقتون وعابرون هم رواد القشلة، يتوزعون على مقاعد من خشب وحجر، آخرون يجلسون في شكل متجاور على طول سور الحديقة المُبلّط حيث الكتف على الكتف، أما الظهر، فالجالسون ووجوههم باتجاه الشارع يسندون ظهورهم إلى الجالسين ووجوههم باتجاه الحديقة، شباب وشابات وبأجيال متفاوتة، لا أحد يرى وجه الآخر إلا في استدارة نادرة تحدث فجأة لإفساح مكان «لقنينة البيرة»، أو عندما يرمي أحدهم نكتة ويلتقطها آخر في غفلة من صمت قصة انتهت أو حديث توقف فجأة
نوابالشعبيطالبونبالمعاملةبالمثلمعالجانبالأردني.. ويقرونقانوناً جديداً للتموين … لجنةوزاريةلمتابعةماحدثفيدمشقجراءالأمطار … الغربي: كلطنيهربإلىالمخابزالخاصةيربحنحو 200 ألفليرةوباركودمخصصعلىكيسالطحينلمعرفةأيناستخدم
(22 October, 2018)
انتظر نواب مجلس الشعب إلى برنامج المجلس الأخير وهو «ما يستجد من أمور» ليشدد بعضهم على ضرورة المعاملة بالمثل مع الجانب الأردني فيما يتعلق بالإجراءات التي اتخذتها حكومة عمان اتجاه السوريين الداخلين إلى أراضيها لجهة الحصول على الموافقات الأمنية من سفارتها في دمشق قبل دخولهم بينما الأردنيون يدخلون الأراضي السورية بإجراءات مسهلة جداً
الفاتيكان: المجتمع الدولي لا يريد عودة النازحين السوريين
(24 October, 2018)
لم يكن الرئيس نبيه برّي مرة في حال من التشاؤم كهذه الايام، عندما يُسأل عن المأزق الحكومي. في الغالب يُرسل - وإن في ظل تعثّر كامل - اشارات ايجابية واحياناً وهمية، ويوحي بأن الابواب ليست موصدة تماماً، حتى عندما تكون كذلك
سوريا والأردن: صفحة جديدة
(24 October, 2018)
شكّلت زيارة الوفد النيابي الأردني لسوريا بداية فصلٍ جديد من العلاقة بين البلدين، بعد سنوات من تحول عمان إلى منصة للهجوم على دمشق. سياسة أردنية جديدة، بذل النواب جهداً في التعبير عنها ولاقت تجاوباً سريعاً من الرئيس بشار الأسد والسلطات السورية
"عالشامعالشام".. الطريقالبرّيبينالأردنوسوريايعودللعملمنجديدبعدإغلاقالحدودلسنوات
(25 October, 2018)
أعيد فتح معبر جابر- نصيب الحدودي، الذي يربط الأردن مع الجنوب الغربي لسوريا، للمرة الأولى منذ ثلاث سنوات، وعادت سيارات الأجرة التي كانت تستخدم لنقل الركاب من جهة إلى أخرى لتصطفّ من جديد أمام شركات السفر في منطقة العبدلي على استعداد للتوجه شمالاً إلى سوريا.
The English version of this article can be found here:
"الرأستركيوالجسمسوري".. السوريونأماممستقبلغامضبعدتوسعالنفوذالتركيفيالشمال
(26 October, 2018)
لايزال السوريون يحاولون التأقلم مع وجود هذه اللافتات المنتشرة وأسلوب الحياة الجديدة في الشمال.
ويعود وجود أنقرة في شمال حلب إلى عام 2016 عندما بدأ الجيش التركي عملية "درع الفرات" لطرد مقاتلي تنظيم الدولة من المناطق المحاذية لتركيا، بدعم من فصائل المعارضة التي تعمل اسمياً تحت مظلة الجيش السوري الحر. وفي وقت لاحق سيطرت القوات المدعومة من قبل تركيا على عفرين التي كانت تحت سيطرة القوات ذات الغالبية الكردية
The English version of this article can be found here:
إعادة افتتاح المتحف الوطني في دمشق
( 27 October, 2018)
افتتح الاستاذ محمد الأحمد وزير الثقافة صباح اليوم الأحد ٢٨/١٠/٢٠١٨ المتحف الوطني بدمشق بعد اغلاق دام لمدة سبع سنوات والذي يضم ما يقارب مئات القطع الأثرية
مجلس الوزراء يوجه بأن تكون أولوية التعيين في الجهات العامة لمن أدى الخدمة العسكرية الالزامية والاحتياطية
(30 October, 2018)
ضمن خطة تطوير الآلية التنفيذية لمسابقات التعيين لدى الجهات العامة وجه مجلس الوزراء اللجنة المختصة لإدراج أولوية التعيين لمن أدى الخدمة الإلزامية والاحتياطية في الجيش العربي السوري على أن يتم إثبات ذلك من خلال وثيقة ( بيان وضع ) حول تأدية الخدمة الإلزامية والاحتياطية واستبعاد كل من تخلف عن تأدية الخدمة الإلزامية والاحتياطية من التقدم للمسابقات العامة
الثقافة الشفوية الشعبية والطائفية، تحليل مادي (14)
(30 October, 2018)
لقد أصبحت هوية المرء تُترجم أكثر فأكثر إلى موقع سياسي. وللأسف لم يقتصر ذلك على الجماعات الأصولية والإسلامية المحافظة داخل صفوف المعارضة، فقد أصبح ذلك التفكير المعتمد لدى قطاعات ليبرالية متزايدة أيضاً
الميليشيات المسبِّبة للمتاعب في سورية
(5 November, 2018)
عبر دمج المجموعات المسلّحة الموالية للنظام في هيكليات الدولة، أنشأ نظام الأسد منظومة عسكرية هجينة.
The English version of this article can be found here:
مائدة مستديرة: واقع التعليم في سوريا
(6 November, 2018)
كي نلقي الضوء على التعليم وما حدث له نتيجة للحرب المدمرة التي دارت رحاها في سوريا، قمنا في صالون سوريا بإعداد طاولة مستديرة حول واقع التعليم في جميع المناطق السورية، كي نقدم صورة عن واقع التعليم والحلول التي لجأ إليها السوريون والسياسات التي تتحكم بالعملية التعليمية وكل ما يتعلق بهذا الموضوع
السوق القديم في مدينة الباب يعود إلى العمل بعد عمليّات الترميم
(8 November, 2018)
عاد السوق القديم في مدينة الباب الواقعة في منطقة درع الفرات في ريف حلب الشماليّ الشرقيّ إلى العمل مجدّداً في 31 تشرين الأوّل/أكتوبر 2018، بعدما كان مغلقاً في شكل شبه كامل لأكثر من عامين وذلك بسبب الدمار الذي طال أجزاء واسعة منه على خلفيّة المعارك التي شهدتها المدينة بين الجيش السوريّ الحرّ والجيش التركيّ من جهة وتنظيم الدولة الإسلاميّة من جهة ثانية
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Al-Bab’s historical covered marketplace back in business
السوريون وحلم الجنسية التركية
(9 November, 2018)
وأثرت معيقات السفر هذه على العلاقات الاجتماعية بين السوريين المُهجّرين، إذ تقام كثير من الزيجات دون وجود الأهل، بسبب عدم مقدرة الأبناء على إقامة مناسباتهم في سوريا لأسباب أبرزها أمنية ومادية، وعدم قدرة الأهل على السفر بسبب التأشيرات الصعبة، كذلك لا يتمكن معظم الأهالي من رؤية أحفادهم من المواليد الجدد، سوى عبر برامج الاتصال المجانية مثل السكايب والواتساب التي تنقل الصوت والصورة وتسهم بتقريب المسافات
أنا، «الشاذ»
(15 November, 2018)
“عشتُ طفولتي وأنا أشعر بوحدة كاملة لم أملك ترف فهمها حتى. وعندما أصبحت شاباً وفهمت سبب وحدتي، أيقنت أن هناك شيئاً كريهاً في داخلي، تماماً كذلك الصرصور البشع العملاق الذي باته غريغور في رواية فرانز كافكا الشهيرة. وكنت مقتنعاً تماماً أن بشاعتي الداخلية إن استحوذت عليَّ وظهرت للناس، ستكون كافيةً لألقى مصير الصرصور غريغور نفسه، فتشعر أمي بالقرف مني، ويرغب والدي في قتلي، وتستحي بي أختي أمام الناس، ويتحول الأصحاب والأحباب إلى وحوش مفترسة تسعى قاصدة لتحطيمي، أو ربما رميي «من شاهق».”
السجال السوري حول القانون ٣١
(16 November, 2018)
يكمّل القانون ٣١ الجديد دور النظام في تعزيز سلطاته على بقية مناحي الحياة، ولا سيما على المناطق الواقعة تحت سيطرته، بما يتضمنه من تهديد لمبادئ الحريات الدينية وغير الدينية. فهو يهدف لتنظيم شؤون وزارة الأوقاف السورية، وتحديد صلاحياتها، بما يتوافق مع أوضاع السلطة السورية المتغيرة منذ ٢٠١١، وقد أثار هذا القانون وقبله المرسوم ١٦ نقاشاً سوريّاً حاداً شمل كافة قطاعات المجتمع السوري، من الموالاة والمعارضة.
الوظائف الحكومية: الرمد أفضل من العمى
(19 November, 2018)
اليوم ومع وجود أكثر من مليون موظف، لا تزال الوظيفة الحكومية بالنسبة للعديد من السوريين مجرّد بطالةً مقنعة، فما الجدوى من أن تهدر قدراتك ووقتك في عملٍ لا فائدة منه ولايُطور أو يستثمر خياراتك، ولا يمكن الاعتماد عليه لبناء حياة كريمة، ولكن مع الظروف الجديدة والوقائع التي فرضتها الحرب تغيرت المقاييس والقواعد، فصحيح أنّ الرواتب لا تُسمن، إلا أنها هذه المرة تغني عن الجوع.
"وداعًا حلب" وثائقي من بي بي سي يفوز بجائزة إيمي العالمية للوثائقيات
(20 November, 2018)
فاز وثائقي "وداعا حلب" الذي أنجزته قناة بي بي سي عربي بجائزة إيمي العالمية المخصصة لفئة الوثائقيات برسم عام 2018.
دروز السويداء يرفضون محاولات دمشق إعادتهم الى "بيت الطاعة"
(21 November, 2018)
بعد نحو ثماني سنوات من اندلاع الحرب في سوريا، يتمسّك سليم برفضه أداء الخدمة العسكرية الإلزامية، على غرار غالبية الشباب الدروز من أبناء محافظة السويداء، غير آبهين بدعوة حازمة وجهتها لهم دمشق مؤخراً للالتحاق بالجيش.
مرسوم الأوقاف رقم ١٦: سجالات حامية بين المؤيدين والمعارضين
(22 November, 2018)
شهدت مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي سجالات مطولة حول مرسوم القانون ١٦ المتعلق بإطلاق يد وزارة الأوقاف في الحياة العامة، وانقسم السوريون بين مؤيد ومعارض له، وبين مطالب بدولة مدنية وأخرى دينية الطابع. ليتم التصويت في النهاية على ٢٦ تعديلاً أساسياً وفرعياً من مواد المرسوم، وبأغلبية الثلثين في مجلس الشعب السوري.