Feb. 9th, 2018 Welcome to Syria Deeply’s weekly summary of our coverage of the crisis in Syria. Coalition targets pro-Assad forces: The U.S.-led coalition said it thwarted an “unprovoked attack” by pro-government fighters on a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) base in Deir Ezzor province after midnight Wednesday. An unidentified U.S. official told CNN that some 500 pro-government forces were involved in the offensive on the SDF base, located 5 miles (8km) east of a “deconfliction” line in the Khusham region, east of the Euphrates River. Pro-government forces “were likely seeking to seize oil fields in Khusham that had been a major source of revenue for Daesh from 2014 to 2017,” the unidentified U.S. official told CNN, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. The U.S. said at least 100 pro-government fighters were killed in the attack. Syrian state media said only “dozens” were killed and wounded by the strikes. An unidentified commander fighting in the military alliance supporting President Bashar al-Assad told Reuters that seven members of the pro-government forces were killed and 27 injured. The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at more than 20. No U.S. troops and only one SDF fighter were injured in the confrontation. It was not immediately clear whether the force comprised mostly Syrian troops or Iranian-backed militias. Syrian state media said that “popular” fighting units were behind the attack, suggesting that it was not orchestrated by Syrian troops. An unidentified Hezbollah official told the Associated Press that pro-Assad forces known as the Popular Committees, as well as the Syrian National Defense Forces, came under attack by coalition forces. Syria’s foreign ministry sent a letter to the United Nations on Thursday, calling the attack a “war crime” and demanding that the international community “condemn this massacre and hold the coalition responsible for it,” according to Reuters. Meanwhile, Washington tried to ease tensions on Thursday, with Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White saying in a news briefing that the U.S. was not “looking for a conflict with the regime.” U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the attacks were defensive and limited in nature, also dismissing claims that the U.S. was stumbling into a broader conflict in Syria, Reuters said. Hundreds killed in East Ghouta: Syrian government attacks killed more than 228 people in the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus since Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday, according to Agence France-Presse. At least 80 people were killed in airstrikes on Tuesday alone, making it “the highest civilian toll in Syria in nearly nine months, and one of the bloodiest days for Eastern Ghouta in several years,” SOHR director Rami Abdulrahman told AFP. The besieged suburbs, which are designated as a so-called de-escalation zone by Russia, Turkey and Iran are home to some 400,000 people who are trapped with almost no access to food and medicine. “There is a misperception that the de-escalation areas have resulted in peace and stability. If anything, these have been serious escalation areas,” U.N.’s assistant secretary-general and humanitarian coordinator in Syria, Panos Moumtzis said, according to the the Guardian. READ OUR DAILY EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES  MOST POPULAR This Week’s Top Articles CIVIL SOCIETY The Story of Kfr Nobol Hospital: ‘41 Minutes of Hell’ After the first airstrike hit near the hospital, those inside knew they would soon be targeted, writes Nadi Al Dairi, the Syria country director for Hand in Hand. The next 41 minutes were ones of fear. DIPLOMACY & FOREIGN AFFAIRS How De-Escalation Zones in Syria Became a War Management Strategy Nine months into the de-escalation agreement, the deal has helped the Syrian government seize additional territory and widen its control rather than reduce violence in the designated areas, experts said. DIPLOMACY & FOREIGN AFFAIRS Analysis: Russia’s Failure at Sochi Means More War for Syria Having failed to achieve tangible progress at the Syrian Congress of National Dialogue in Sochi, Moscow will instead be forced to rely on military means to achieve its goals in Syria, according to journalist and analyst Neil Hauer.  EDITOR’S PICKS Community Insight HEALTH ‘No Light at the End of the Tunnel’ in Eastern Ghouta: Sparrow Alessandria Masi,  Managing Editor of Syria Deeply Amid unprecedented pressures on healthcare facilities in Eastern Ghouta, and the repeated failure to deliver life-saving aid, time is running out to improve the humanitarian situation and mitigate misery in the Damascus suburb, says medical researcher Dr. Annie Sparrow. CIVIL SOCIETY The Humanitarian Crisis in Syria’s Northern De-escalation Zone Hashem Osseiran,  Deputy Managing Editor of Syria Deeply The government’s ongoing offensive on Idlib province has already displaced thousands of civilians, many of whom previously fled violence in other areas, writes Cole Bockenfeld of the International Rescue Committee. DIPLOMACY & FOREIGN AFFAIRS Understanding America’s Endgame in Syria Samer Abboud,  Associate Professor of international Studies, Arcadeia University Washington’s recently outlined policy for Syria is unlikely to be able to change the battlefield, protect its allies, or alter the policies of regional states, says Syria researcher and professor Samer Abboud. FIRST LOOK Upcoming coverage We are always looking for new writers, experts and journalists who are covering the crisis in Syria and are interested in writing about a variety of topics. Please send us your ideas, story pitches and any other thoughts about our coverage via email, Twitter or Facebook.

Jan. 30th, 2018 Welcome to Syria Deeply’s weekly summary of our coverage of the crisis in Syria. Sochi talks: The Moscow-sponsored “Congress of the Syrian National Dialogue” began in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Monday. These are the first Syria negotiations to be held in Russia, though Moscow has previously led the trilateral talks in Astana. U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura is attending the talks, where he is expected to lead a new constitutional commission that will be set up at the two-day Sochi talks, according to Reuters. Last week, a Turkish official told Hürriyet Daily News that around 1,600 participants were expected to take part in negotiations, but a number of delegations have since said they would boycott the Sochi talks. The Syrian Negotiation Commission – the opposition’s main negotiating bloc – said on Friday that it would not be attending the Sochi congress, AFP reported. Many other Syrian opposition groups have said they will boycott the congress. However, members of the Moscow platform, “a dissident faction of the opposition,” said it will attend, according to Al Jazeera. Kurdish authorities have also said that they will boycott Sochi talks because of a continued Turkish assault on Afrin, according to Middle East Eye. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, “The fact that some representatives of the processes currently taking place in Syria are not participating is unlikely to stop this congress from going ahead, and is unlikely to seriously undermine the importance of the congress,” he said on a conference call with reporters on Monday. No cease-fire in Eastern Ghouta: After Syrian opposition reports of a cease-fire agreement in the Eastern Ghouta on Friday, fighting continued between pro-government and rebel forces over the weekend in the Damascus suburbs. On Friday, a rebel official said that during recent U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Vienna, Russia said it would put pressure on the Syrian government to enforce a cease-fire in the area, Reuters reported. Damascus never acknowledged the cease-fire. At least 23 aerial raids and 40 missiles targeted the city of Harasta and its outskirts and dozens of artillery and aerial raids targeted the city of Arbin on Monday, killing 34 civilians, including at least one child and one woman, in Eastern Ghouta, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. SOHR said on Sunday that government bombardment in the area killed eight people between then and Saturday. Operation Olive Branch: Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan made repeated threats to expand Turkey’s ongoing operation against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG)-controlled city of Afrin to other Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Syria. On Friday, Erdogan said operations could extend eastward all the way to the Iraqi border, where the United States – Turkey’s NATO ally – has troops deployed. On Saturday, Turkey’s foreign minister called on the U.S. to withdraw its forces from Manbij ahead of a potential Turkish attack, but the commander of the U.S. Central Command, General Joseph Votel, told CNN on Sunday that withdrawing from Manbij was “not something we are looking into.” Erdogan later said that “step by step, we will clean our entire border,” in a speech following one of the first significant gains Turkish troops and allied rebels made since Operation Olive Branch began nine days ago. On Sunday, they seized Mount Barsaya, which is located near the Kurdish town of Afrin and overlooks the town of Kilis on the Turkish side of the border and Azaz on the Syrian side. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Turkish airstrikes between Sunday and Monday killed 13 people, including five children and three women, and injured another five, all from the same family in the village of Kobla in northeastern Afrin city. On Friday, Turkish airstrikes damaged roughly 60 percent of the ancient Ain Dara neo-hittite temple, built by the Arameans in the first millennium B.C., in Afrin, according to the BBC. “The Turkish regime’s destruction of the Ain Dara Temple was a barbaric act, and a completion of the plan led by this regime to destroy the Syrian cultural heritage,” Mahmoud Hammoud, Syria’s director general for antiquities and museums, said, according to state-run news agency SANA. Read our Daily Executive Summaries MOST POPULAR This Week’s Top Articles DIPLOMACY & FOREIGN AFFAIRS Analysis: Why Turkey Wants a ‘Secure Zone’ in Afrin Turkey’s operation on the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in Syria aims to halt YPG expansion near Turkey’s border, facilitate refugee returns and empower Ankara-backed FSA forces, writes analyst Ömer Özkizilcik. CIVIL SOCIETY Syrian Conflict Isn’t Over, Don’t Forget the Syrians: Davos Voices Syria experts at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos weigh in on what must be done to improve the humanitarian situation and alleviate the impact of war in Syria. EDITOR’S PICKS Community Insight ARTICLES Deeply Talks: The Future of Syria Is Female Alessandria Masi,  Managing Editor of Syria Deeply To conclude our partnership with TIMEP, Syria Deeply’s latest Deeply Talks discussed the changing role of Syrian women in the humanitarian, media and public sectors and the future challenges women face in having a voice in traditionally male-dominated fields. DISPLACEMENT Idlib Women in Jeopardy. What Comes Next? Hind Kabawat,  Director of Interfaith Peacebuilding, CRDC, George Mason University Attorney and Tanenbaum peacemaker Hind Kabawat writes about the deteriorating humanitarian situation for women in and around Idlib, where she cofounded the Jarjanaz and Darraya Women’s Peace Centre with the E.U. last year. FIRST LOOK Upcoming coverage We are always looking for new writers, experts and journalists who are covering the crisis in Syria and are interested in writing about a variety of topics. Please send us your ideas, story pitches and any other thoughts about our coverage via email, Twitter or Facebook. You received this email because you’re signed up to receive updates from us. Click here to unsubscribe. Copyright © 2017 News Deeply, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dear Syria Deeply community, Because of your interest in our other News Deeply coverage, we want to share with you the launch of our newest platform, Women’s Advancement Deeply, which will cover the pursuit of economic equality for women, from securing gender-equal access to financial services to fighting for property rights and closing the pay gap. You can sign up for our newsletter here and also follow us on Twitter. Since May 2016, we have covered issues affecting women and girls in the developing world and, as of today, the existing Women & Girls page will be archived and remain available for reference and exploration. We’ll be working to launch other dedicated platforms in this space, and are currently exploring themes of maternal, sexual and reproductive health, as well as gender-based violence. If these topics are of interest to you, please email us – we would love your input as we scope new initiatives. Women’s Advancement Deeply will take on the big questions about why the economic gender gap persists. We’ll provide a hub where those working to advance women’s rights can come together to understand the latest research in the field, share solutions that are working on the ground and learn how using a gender lens can help governments and investors make better decisions about how to spend their money. We’ll combine specialist on-the-ground reporting with insights from our community of experts to help our readers understand what is, and what isn’t, working to make women’s economic advancement a reality. To learn more about the launch and our coverage in 2018, please join us on Thursday, January 25, at 11:00 a.m. ET, for a 30-minute conversation with managing editor Megan Clement and senior editor Jumana Farouky on some of the crucial issues we’ll dig into in 2018, including the social, political and cultural barriers women and girls face in securing full economic equality. Our CEO and executive editor Lara Setrakian will join the call from the World Economic Forum in Davos, providing a look back at the biggest discussions of the week with a focus on gender. Register here. If you are an expert on women’s economic advancement and would like to contribute to our coverage and help shape the platform, please complete this form. We look forward to working with you. Warm regards, Lara Setrakian News Deeply CEO Megan Clement Women’s Advancement Deeply Managing Editor Jihii Jolly Women’s Advancement Deeply Community Editor Visit Women’s Advancement Deeply Copyright © 2018 News Deeply, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website www.newsdeeply.com/syria Our mailing address is: News Deeply 246 5th Avenue Suite 327 New York, NY 10001 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Jan. 16th, 2018         Welcome to Syria Deeply’s weekly summary of our top coverage of the crisis in Syria. Syria’s future is female: Syria Deeply and the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) partnered to create Syria’s Women: Policies and Perspectives, a project that aimed to challenge stereotypes and generalizations about the impact of war on Syrian women and their role in the country’s future. We provided new perspectives on the role of Syrian women in education, peacebuilding, media, preserving cultural heritage, politics and the economy. We also covered underreported issues related to violence against women and barriers to women’s advancement to foster a nuanced and comprehensive understanding among the public and policymakers working to change these realities. Join us on Thursday January 18 at 10:30 a.m. EST, as Syria Deeply hosts a live conversation with Marvin Gate, founder of Humans of Syria, Anna Lekas Miller, journalist and contributor to our series, Yisser Bittar from the Karam Foundation, and Hassan Hassan, senior fellow at TIMEP, about the changing role of women in the humanitarian, media and public sector and the future challenges women face in having a voice in traditionally male-dominated fields. To RSVP and to receive dial-in instructions click here. If you’d like to ask our editor or guests a question, please email our community editor Kim Bode (kim@newsdeeply.com) or tweet us at @SyriaDeeply or @TimepDC with the hashtags #SyrianWomen and #DeeplyTalks. Escalation in de-escalation zones: Aerial bombardment and ground clashes continued this week in the northwestern province of Idlib and the Eastern Ghouta region of the Damascus suburbs – two areas designated de-escalation zones. Pro-government forces advanced toward the strategic Abu Zuhour military airport in southern Idlib over the weekend. On Monday the Syrian pro-government al-Watan newspaper said the Syrian army and its allies were “encircling” the airbase. Fighting and increased Syrian and Russian airstrikes in Idlib in recent weeks have already forced at least 100,000 civilians to flee, according to the United Nations. Airstrikes, missiles and shelling targeted the Eastern Ghouta at least 250 times on Monday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The monitoring group said that at least 195 civilians have been killed in aerial bombardments in the area since December 29. Last week, the U.N. put the death toll in Eastern Ghouta at 85 civilians since the start of the year, and on Sunday UNICEF said at least 30 children have died in that time. Tensions rise on Turkey-Syria border: Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday that an operation against the Kurdish-controlled northwestern Syrian cities of Afrin and Manbij might start at any moment, according to Turkish state-run news outlet Anadolu Agency (AA). “Our preparations are finalized, an operation may start at any moment,” Erdogan said, adding that “then, the turn will come for other regions.” AA also reported that Turkey has recently deployed reinforcements to support Turkish forces already stationed along Syria’s border. Erdogan has threatened a military operation in Afrin before, but this latest announcement comes amid reports that the United States-led coalition plans to train Kurdish and Arab fighters in the area to become a Border Security Force (BSF). The force will operate under the leadership of the Kurdish-dominant Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). “Currently, there are approximately 230 individuals training in the BSF’s inaugural class, with the goal of a final force size of approximately 30,000,” CJTF-OIR Public Affairs Officer Colonel Thomas F. Veale told the Defense Post. Turkey, Russia and Syria denounced Washington’s plan, and the latter called it “a blatant encroachment upon the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Syria.”   Read our Daily Executive Summaries     MOST POPULAR This Week’s Top Articles   HUMAN RIGHTS Life Under Siege: How People Struggle to Survive in Eastern Ghouta With limited access to food, medicine and fuel, the hundreds of thousands of people trapped in the eastern suburbs of Damascus have developed a wide range of strategies to get through the government’s tightening siege.   RELIGIOUS & ETHNIC GROUPS The Fate of Minorities in Post-ISIS Syria and Iraq The ability of Syria and Iraq’s minorities to rebuild their communities in the post-ISIS landscape will depend very much on the political situation in these countries, according to analyst Yousif Kalian.     EDITOR’S PICKS Community Insight   HUMAN RIGHTS Critical Patients in Eastern Ghouta Used as ‘Bargaining Chips’: SAMS DR. Ahmad Tarakji,  President, Syrian American Medical Society   The Syrian government recently allowed only 29 of 600 critically ill patients in Eastern Ghouta to be evacuated in a prisoner exchange. It’s the latest example of the regime using a humanitarian situation as a bargaining chip, writes SAMSpresident Dr. Ahmad Tarakji.     FIRST LOOK Upcoming coverage We are always looking for new writers, experts and journalists who are covering the crisis in Syria and are interested in writing about a variety of topics. Please send us your ideas, story pitches and any other thoughts about our coverage via email, Twitter or Facebook.     You received this email because you’re signed up to receive updates from us. Click here to unsubscribe. Copyright © 2017 News Deeply, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

Jan. 9th, 2018         Syria Deeply wishes you a happy new year and welcomes you to our weekly summary of top coverage of the crisis in Syria. The Year Ahead: As part of our Deeply Talks series, Syria Deeply will host a live 30-minute conversation with Faysal Itani, resident senior fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East of the Atlantic Council. We’ll take a closer look at some of the crucial issues we’ll dig into in 2018, including reconciliation and de-escalation, development and reconstruction, and continued military conflicts across the country. To RSVP and to receive dial-in instructions, click here. To submit questions for our editors or guests, email our community editor Kim Bode  or tweet us @SyriaDeeply with the hashtag #DEEPLYTALKS. In preparation for this look ahead on Syria coverage, we’ve compiled our best coverage of the biggest issues in Syria this year – from safe zones and increasing foreign involvement to new avenues for pursuing justice, and the impact of Syria’s war economy. Find the complete list here. Eastern Ghouta: Aerial bombardments and clashes between forces on the ground are ongoing in the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, where the U.N. recently estimated that 393,000 people are living under siege. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Monday that at least 190 airstrikes, missiles and shells targeted Eastern Ghouta on Sunday, bringing the death toll from the escalated campaign in the area to 103 people, including 24 children and 23 women since December 29. On Saturday, at least 17 civilians were killed in Syrian government and Russian airstrikes on the towns of Madira, Erbin and Hammuriyeh. On Wednesday, more than 20 people, including 18 civilians, were killed in heavy government shelling and airstrikes on the besieged town of Mesraba. The previous day, at least 30 airstrikes hit different parts of the besieged suburbs, killing at least five civilians. Pro-government forces on Sunday launched an attack on a military vehicles administration base in the suburb of Harasta, where around 200 Syrian troops are believed to have been besieged by rebels belonging mainly to Ahrar al-Sham. The offensive came a week after rebels widened their control over the facility, trapping pro-government fighters inside. Idlib: Pro-government forces are also pushing deeper into Idlib, the last province in Syria under complete opposition control and a designated a de-escalation zone. After driving insurgent rebels, including the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, from around 10 towns and villages in Idlib’s southeastern countryside on Thursday, Syrian troops and allied forces captured another 14 villages on Monday, the Associated Press reported. The new push comes a day after the Syrian army said it had captured the strategic town of Sinjar in eastern Idlib, which could be used to launch future operations in the Idlib countryside, according to SOHR. The advance also brought pro-government forces closer to the Abu Zuhour air base, which rebels captured in 2015. Russian and Syrian government warplanes have been supporting the ground offensive, which has led to dozens of civilian casualties. Airstrikes and shelling killed at least 21 people since Sunday, according to SOHR. On Thursday, airstrikes in Idlib killed at least 19 civilians. Last Tuesday, airstrikes on the town of Khan Subul in central Idlib killed at least seven people, including five children and two women. On Thursday, airstrikes in Idlib killed at least 19 civilians. Aerial bombardment of the Idlib countryside was ongoing on Tuesday, SOHR reported.   Read our Daily Executive Summaries     MOST POPULAR This Week’s Top Articles   WAR ECONOMY In Homs, Assad Accused of Using Military for Urban Planning Scheme Urban activists and residents in Syria’s third-largest city say Assad’s forces have intentionally destroyed traditional buildings in the city center, but not for military reasons – the driving force is a controversial urban planning scheme called ‘Homs Dream.’   HUMAN RIGHTS Must-Read Coverage on Syria From 2017 We’ve compiled our best coverage of the biggest issues in Syria this year – from safe zones and increasing foreign involvement to new avenues for pursuing justice, and the impact of Syria’s war economy.   HEALTH The Syrian Doctor Building an Underground Hospital for Women and Girls With Syria’s healthcare system crippled by conflict, women and children are dying from treatable illnesses. One doctor and his team are providing them safe, dedicated medical care by building hospitals below ground, out of the reach of airstrikes.     EDITOR’S PICKS Community Insight   COMMUNITY Analysis: What Lies Ahead for Syria in 2018 Fabrice Balanche,  Syria Expert and a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution   The coming year in Syria will likely be marked by reconciliation deals, partial economic recovery and, ultimately, Assad continuing to hold power in the country, according to Syria expert Fabrice Balance.   DISPLACEMENT A Timeline of the Tightening Siege in Eastern Ghouta Aron Lund,  Freelance Journalist and Analyst Specializing in Syria   Despite the de-escalation deal, a ban on humanitarian aid in Eastern Ghouta, where 94 percent of besieged civilians in Syria reside, has created a man-made disaster, writes Syria expert Aron Lund.     FIRST LOOK Upcoming coverage We are always looking for new writers, experts and journalists who are covering the crisis in Syria and are interested in writing about a variety of topics. Please send us your ideas, story pitches and any other thoughts about our coverage via email, Twitter or Facebook.     You received this email because you’re signed up to receive updates from us. Click here to unsubscribe. Copyright © 2017 News Deeply, Inc. All rights reserved.