[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
Al Monitor: Syria Seizes Record 2.3 Tonnes of Captagon: Ministry (29 June 2022)
According to the interior ministry, Syria’s counter-narcotics units seized a soaring 2.3 tons of captagon.
The Guardian: More than 100 Murders in 18 Months in Syria’s al-Hawl Camp, UN Says (28 June 2022)
According to the UN, over 100 people have been murdered in al Hol camp in 18 months. With conditions becoming increasingly perilous, especially for children, the UN urges countries to repatriate their citizens.
Syria Direct: Syrians Fleeing Conscription Find ‘Unsafe’ Havens (27 June 2022)
Somalia, in addition to Iraq and Libya, is increasingly the destination of Syrians fleeing conscription and economic conditions in Syria, despite the reality that these destination countries like Syria are among the ten lowest-ranking countries on the 2021 Global Peace Index.
Syria Direct: Syrians in Regime-Controlled Areas Look to Migration for a Way Out (24 June 2022)
Many Syrians in regime-controlled areas seek to take advantage of loosened entry procedures for countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraqi Kurdistan, and Somalia in hopes of escaping the dire economic circumstances in Syria.
Al Monitor: Women in Idlib Face Online Harassment (20 June 2022)
Women in Idlib are increasingly subject to cyber harassment. In response to an uptick in cyber harassment, organizations, like Glimpse of Hope, are offering women training on strategies they can adopt to protect their privacy and avoid becoming targets of cyber harassment.
Al Monitor: Desperate Residents Flee Syrian Refugee Camp as Supplies Run Out (16 June 2022)
The Syrian regime’s siege on Rukban camp has blocked vital food and medical supplies for approximately 1,000 families, causing many to attempt to flee the camp despite the risk of arrest.
OCHA: United Nations Country Team in Syria Statement on Landmine Explosion in Dara’a (14 June 2022)
On 11 June 2022, a landmine in Deir Eladas village in the northern countryside of Dara’a Governorate was detonated by a civilian vehicle, killing 10 people and wounding 28 others. Between 2019 to April 2022, a total of 12,350 explosive ordnance incidents, caused either by landmines or by unexploded ordinances took place, constituting approximately five incidents per day. Five percent of these incidents took place in Dara’a and since the start of 2022 eighteen children have been killed or injured in Dara’a as a result of the incidents.
International and Regional Developments
Syria Direct: Twice Displaced: Palestinian Refugees From Syria Live and Remember in Lebanon’s Rashidieh Camp (30 June 2022)
A Syria Direct article traces the history of Lebanon's Rashidieh camp and the stories of Palestinian refugees from Syria living in it.
The Guardian: ‘Blood Money’: Europe’s Secretive Trade in Syrian Phosphates (30 June 2022)
With few phosphate reserves of its own, Europe has increasingly relied on cheap Syrian phosphate exports.
InfoMigrants: Austria: Smuggler Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison after Two Syrians Died in Van (28 June 2022)
A smuggler has been charged with bodily harm and sentenced to prison after two Syrians suffocated in a van last fall as he attempted to smuggle them to Austria. According to investigations, 30 refugees were locked in one cargo area in inadequate conditions for eight hours without any breaks.
The New Humanitarian: Is Russia About to Block a Key Aid Route into Northwest Syria (27 June 2022)
At the end of June 2022 as Syria’s humanitarian crisis deepens, the UN Security Council (UNSC) began debates over the renewal of a key mechanism for delivering aid to Syria. Although global media attention has shifted to other crises, the humanitarian situation in Syria continues to worsen, with food prices up and money worth less. An end to the cross-border aid providing food, vaccines, and other aid to 2.4 million people each month would be devastating.
Al Monitor: Syrian Refugees Recount Harassment, Abuse in Turkey (25 June 2022)
Syrian refugees in Turkey are subject to increasing government restrictions and hate speech.
Syria Direct: Syrians Tortured in Lebanese Detention Centers: A tale of impunity (26 June 2022)
Although Lebanon passed anti-torture legislating and ratified the UN Convention Against Torture, Syrian refugees continue to be subjected to torture by Lebanese authorities. Syrian refugees are one of the most vulnerable groups to torture when detained. Furthermore, due to the reality that 84 percent of Syrian refugees do not have legal residency, Syrians are also at a high risk for arbitrary detention at checkpoints, increasing their vulnerability to ill-treatment at the hands of authorities.
InfoMigrants: Syrian Refugee was Unlawfully Expelled from Turkey, Human Rights Court Rules (22 June 2022)
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Turkey’s move to expel a young Syrian refugee after forcing him to sign a document that said he was returning voluntarily was unlawful.
InfoMigrants: Lebanon Threatens to Expel Syrian Refugees (21 June 2022)
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on 20 June that Syrian refugees would be expelled from the country if the international community did not repatriate them. Conditions in Syria, however, remain unsafe for return and a similar Turkish plan to resettle one million Syrians to “safe zones” in northwestern Syria was met with disapproval by UNHCR representatives in Turkey.
Reuters: Number of Syrians Becoming German Citizens Tripled in 2021 (10 June 2022)
Compared to 2020, the number of Syrians who became naturalized German citizens was three times higher in 2021. Although it is generally held that a person must live in Germany for at least eight years to qualify for citizenship, most Syrians qualified earlier. Qualifying on average after 6.5 years, it is believed that many Syrian refugees were able to naturalize earlier due to their superior language skills and civic commitment.
Reports
UN HRC: Civilian Deaths in the Syrian Arab Republic (28 June 2022)
A new report published by the UN Human Rights Office indicates that 350,209 identified individuals were killed in the conflict in Syria between March 2011 to March 2021, 143, 350 of which were civilians. The figures in the report do not include indirect deaths during the conflict, for example due to loss of essential services and goods.
OCHA: Situation Report #39: Recent Developments in Northwest Syria and RAATA (20 June 2022)
Key developments in Northwest Syria and RAATA during May 2022 include: the death of five civilians, including a child, during shooting incidents, 9,852 new displacements due to the further deterioration of the economic situation, and a decline in COVID-19 cases.
OCHA: IDP Spontaneous Returns for April 2022 (15 June 2022)
In April 2022, approximately 8,300 spontaneous IDP return movements were recorded across Syria. This represents a 17 percent reduction than the return movements recorded in March 2022.
List of Maps and Graphics
WHO: Snapshot of Whole of Syria Health Sector from April 2022
WFP: Syria, Livelihood Interventions- Planned Activities with ICA, May 2022
WHO: Summary of Key Performance Indicators- Whole of Syria from April 2022
OCHA: Northwest Syria- Factsheet (as of 16 June 2022)
Arabic Links
سوريا على طول: استهداف النساء العاملات في الشأن العام: سوريات بين مواجهة الابتزاز والخوف من المجتمع (29يونيو 2022)
"بعد ستة أشهر من محاولات الابتزاز بـ”التهديد وتشويه السمعة أو دفع المال”، تمكنت حلا الزين (اسم مستعار)، 46 عاماً، من معرفة مصدر التهديد، بمساعدة إحدى المنظمات التي تعنى بالسلامة الرقمية، ومع أنها لم ترضخ لمطالبه إلا أنها اضطرت إلى ترك نشاطها النسوي الذي بدأته منذ عام 2013."
سوريا على طول: فيديوهات “الاعتراف” تحت التعذيب: صناعة دكتاتورية متكاملة (26يونيو 2022)
“قبل ربع قرن تماماً، أعلنت الأمم المتحدة 26 يونيو/ حزيران يوماً دولياً للأمم المتحدة لمساندة ضحايا التعذيب، “بهدف القضاء التام على التعذيب وتحقيقاً لفعالية أداء اتفاقية مناهضة التعذيب وغيره من ضروب المعاملة أو العقوبة القاسية أو اللاإنسانية أو المهينة”."
سوريا على طول: فيhttps://syriadirect.org/%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%b8%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d9%81%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d9%82%d8%a7%d8%a8-%d8%b3%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%b6%d8%a9-%d9%84%d9%84/?lang=ar ظل “الإفلات من العقاب”: سوريون عرضة للتعذيب فيالسجون اللبنانية (26يونيو (2022
"انقلبت حياة تيم رأساً على عقب بعد مداهمة عناصر من الأمن اللبناني، في عام 2019، منزله “بالخطأ، إذ لم يكن الشخص الذي يبحثون عنه “لكنهم أخذوني أنا وجاري”، كما قال اللاجئ السوري لـ”سوريا على طول."
سوريا على طول: الهجرة نافذة السوريين في مناطق سيطرة النظام للهروب من سوء المعيشة (23يونيو 2022)
"بعد كل محاولات التمسك بالبقاء في سوريا، قررت سلوى حسني، ذات التسعة وثلاثين عاماً، مغادرة البلاد بحثاً عن فرصة عمل تؤمن لها استقراراً مالياً لم يتحقق من عملها في أحد البنوك الحكومية بدمشق لمدة ثمانية أعوام."
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/society/%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D8%B2%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%88%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82-%D8%AD%D9%84%D8%A8 العربي الجديد: سورية: أزمة المياه مستمرة في السويداءوشرق حلب ) 28يونيو 2022)
"يستمر انقطاع مياه الشرب والاستخدام المنزلي في معظم محافظة السويداء، جنوبي سورية، منذ أكثر من ثلاثة أشهر، في ظل عجز حكومة النظام عن إيجاد حلّ للأزمة التي تسبب مشكلات للمواطنين على مختلف الأصعدة، وخصوصاً المعيشية والاقتصادية، إذ إن كلفة شراء المياه باتت مرتفعة وتزيد يوماً بعد يوم."
العربي الجديد: الجنسية التركية... سوريون يخشون انتزاعها منهم (30 يونيو 2022)
"في حين ما زال السوريون الذين يستفيدون من الحماية المؤقتة في تركيا يعانون من خطاب الكراهية الذي يستهدفهم والتمييز الممارس في حقّهم، فإنّ هؤلاء الحائزين على الجنسية الاستثنائية يخشون اليوم من سحبها منهم بالتزامن مع إزالة عدد من ملفات التجنيس."