Syria Watch

Syria Deeply: ‘Turkey Losing Autonomy to Syria Crisis,’ Says Expert

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the weekly Syria Deeply newsletter. We’ve rounded up the most important stories and developments about Syria and the Syrians in order to bring you valuable news and analysis.

Turkey Losing Autonomy to Syria Crisis,’ Says Expert

Although Ankara and Moscow have provided conflicting accounts on what led Turkey to shoot down a Russian jet along the Turkish border Tuesday morning, Turkey-Syria expert Gokhan Bacik says one thing is clear: the Syrian crisis is transforming Turkey’s foreign policy.

Hassakeh Schools Switch to Kurdish Language Education

Northeastern Syria’s autonomous Kurdish leadership has informed schools in the area they must teach core subjects in Kurdish. But while many of the area’s residents are proud to embrace their ethnic heritage, some worry about whether the change is sustainable in such a chaotic political environment.

As They Say, With Friends Like These …

For Syrian-Americans, writes Evan Barrett, racism did not begin with the attacks in Paris; nor did a sense of disappointment and betrayal start with the passing last week of a House bill that would effectively halt the resettlement program for Syrian refugees for the time being.

More Recent Stories to Look Out for at Syria Deeply:

Notes From a Brief Return to Damascus
My Life in Syria: Diary Entry 49
‘Death is Always the Hardest Part’ – Q&A with Zein al-Rifai

Find our new reporting and analysis every weekday at www.syriadeeply.org.
You can reach our team with any comments or suggestions at info@newsdeeply.org.

 

Syria Deeply: ‘Women Key to Syrian Future’ – Q&A with Raed Fares

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the weekly Syria Deeply newsletter. We’ve rounded up the most important stories and developments about Syria and the Syrians in order to bring you valuable news and analysis.

‘Women Key to Syrian Future’ – Q&A with Raed Fares

“Women have the most critical role in rebuilding Syria and raising the next generation of Syrians,” said Raed Fares, a community leader in Idlib whose plethora of projects aims to strengthen Syrian civil society through a combination of awareness, education and inclusivity.

Inside ISIS Inc: The Journey of a Barrel of Oil

ISIS controls most of Syria’s oil fields, and crude is the militant group’s biggest single source of revenue. Here, we follow the progress of a barrel of oil from extraction to end user to see how the ISIS production system works, who is making money from it and why it is proving so challenging to disrupt.

Islamic State Authorities Ban Syrian Banknotes

ISIS has banned the use of newly pressed 500 and 1,000 Syrian pound notes, and while some residents fear this could be the beginning of a currency switch throughout the jihadist-controlled territory, others told Syria Deeply it’s a ploy by the upper echelon of ISIS to make a quick buck.

More Recent Stories to Look Out for at Syria Deeply:

• Will Paris Attacks Prompt U.S. Boots on Ground?
• Paris Terror Attacks Have Benefited Assad?
• ISIS and the Paris Attacks, ‘An Act of War’

Find our new reporting and analysis every weekday at www.syriadeeply.org.
You can reach our team with any comments or suggestions at info@newsdeeply.org.

Top photo: People lay flowers and candles in front of the restaurant Le Carillon, one of the establishments targeted in Friday’s gun and bomb attacks, in Paris, Monday, November 16, 2015. French police raided more than 150 locations overnight as authorities released the names of two more potential suicide bombers involved in the Paris attacks – one born in Syria, the other a Frenchman wanted as part of a terrorism investigation. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Syria Justice and Accountability Centre: Paris, Beirut, and the Inconsistent Definition of Civilian

In the wake of the tragedies in Paris and Beirut, public debate has been mounting on the proper response to the brutality of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), refugee policy and quotas, and the treatment of Muslims in Western countries. On social media, many criticized Facebook, the media, and other users for giving more attention to the senseless deaths in Paris while largely ignoring similar events in Beirut. Syrians also took to social media to express their sympathy and outrage, but like those in Europe and North America, their reactions to the attacks in Paris and Beirut differed, in an even more alarming way.

Although many Syrians denounced both attacks equally, many others, including some activists, cheered the deaths in Beirut’s Shia suburb, Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold. They argued that Hezbollah, an Assad government ally, has been responsible for the death and suffering of innocent Syrians. Accordingly, the death and suffering of innocent people living in a Hezbollah-dominant neighborhood was just retribution. Two days later, the same individuals expressed their condolences for the deaths in Paris, decrying terrorism and the targeting of civilians. The definition of “civilian” seems to have changed over night.

The hypocrisy of these statements is not new. Only weeks earlier, Jeish al-Islam, one of the groups that issued amoving statement condemning the Paris attacks on civilians, was documented parading prisoners and civilians, including women, through the streets in cages in order to deter airstrikes by the Syrian government. The use of civilians as human shields endangers their lives and is a clear violation of international law. In a similar vein, prior to the Beirut bombing, Hezbollah supporters celebrated and distributed baklawa in the streets when Homs fell to the Syrian government in 2014, resulting in many civilian deaths.

As these and other examples demonstrate, there is a growing view that, when civilians support the enemy, they lose their civilian status and can be justly targeted and killed. This view is blatantly false. International humanitarian law strictly prohibits attacks on civilians, defined as persons who are not members of the armed forces or other organized armed groups. This protection is only forfeited in cases where a civilian takes a direct part in hostilities. Taking a direct part in hostilities is commonly understood to include “acts of violence which pose an immediate threat of actual harm to the adverse party.” Simply living in an opposition stronghold or showing support for an adverse party’s position or military effort does not rise to this level.

In the absence of real justice mechanisms that hold perpetrators to account for their crimes against civilians, empathy for the suffering of others has eroded and revenge attacks have become more common. Certain rebel groups, including factions of the Free Syrian Army and Jabhat Al Nusra, are perpetrating horrific acts of their own, including secret detention and torture practices, very much modeled off of Syrian government procedures. Furthering the cycle of impunity, increased sectarianism has led to a greater willingness among Syrians to overlook such abuses when perpetrated by members of their own sect — favoring justice in any form, even at the cost of human dignity. Such a shift does not bode well for future transitional justice initiatives. Both Syria and the international community should prioritize accountability for attacks on civilians in order to combat impunity and ensure justice for all victims.

For more information and to provide feedback, please email SJAC at info@syriaaccountability.org.