“De-escalation” discussions, the many fights against ISIS and renewed clashes between rebels and regime

Jun. 23rd, 2017 Welcome to our weekly summary of Syria Deeply’s top coverage of crisis in Syria. “De-escalation zone” discussions: Ahead of the next round of talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana set for early July, discussions have started about foreign troop deployment to secure four proposed “de-escalation zones.” At last month’s set of Astana talks, Russia, Iran and Turkey signed off on the memorandum to create four “de-escalation zones” in the country, including areas in the provinces of Idlib and Homs, the eastern Ghouta region in the Damascus suburbs and in the southern provinces. This week Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Turkish troops would “probably be most prominent in the Idlib region with the Russians; mostly Russia and Iran around Damascus, and a mechanism involving the Americans and Jordan in the south in the Daraa region is being worked on,” according to Turkey’s Haberturk television. Russia said it was discussing options to send Kazakh and Kyrgyz troops to Syria, Vladimir Shamanov, head of the Russian Duma defense committee, told RIA news. However, Kazakhstan denied that negotiations were taking place, adding that it would only send peacekeeping troops to Syria under a United Nations mandate, according to a statement from the Kazakh foreign ministry. Syrian deputy foreign minister Fayssal Mikdad said Damascus is “checking every letter” of the Astana agreement and “will not allow anything thing to pass from which Syria’s enemies could benefit,” according to Syria’s state-run media SANA. The many fights against ISIS: The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continued their advance on Raqqa along the southern bank of the Euphrates River. The SDF pushed toward the eastern edge of the suburb of Kasrat al-Farj, in the area between the new and old bridges into Raqqa on Wednesday. On Sunday, a U.S. fighter jet downed a Syrian army warplane for the first time since the conflict broke out in 2011. The Syrian regime SU-22 jet in the southern Raqqa countryside “dropped bombs near SDF fighters south of Tabqah,” according to a U.S.-led coalition statement. The coalition and U.S. Central Command also said pro-government forces attacked the SDF-held town of Ja’din, south of Tabqah on Sunday, driving fighters out of the town. On Monday, SDF spokesman Talal Selo said “if the regime continues attacking our positions in Raqqa province, we will be forced to retaliate … and defend our forces.” Syrian government allies also stepped up their operations against the so-called Islamic State. On Sunday, Iran fired medium-range missiles from its western provinces into Syria, targeting an ISIS command base in Deir Ezzor, killing several militants and destroying weapons and equipment. Russia fired six cruise missiles from warships and a submarine based in the Mediterranean on ISIS positions in Hama province, destroying an ISIS command post and ammunition depots, and killing a number of militants, Moscow’s TASS news agency reported on Friday. Renewed Fighting Between Rebels, Regime: Pro-government forces resumed their campaign against rebels in the southern city of Daraa on Tuesday, after a brief 48-hour cessation of hostilities. Ground clashes and intense aerial bombardments, including barrel bombs and airstrikes, were ongoing in Daraa on Friday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Also on Tuesday, Syrian troops and allied forces launched a new offensive against Western-backed Syrian rebels, pushing into the Bir Qassab area, located 45 miles (75km) southeast of Damascus, toward an eastern desert region near the Iraqi and Jordanian borders known as the Badia. The area recently came under Free Syrian Army control after rebels pushed ISIS militants out. Read our Daily Executive Summaries MOST POPULAR This Week’s Top Articles DIPLOMACY & FOREIGN AFFAIRS Analysis: Future of Post-ISIS Raqqa Remains Unclear With the caliphate crumbling under the swift advances of U.S.-backed forces, the Syrian Democratic Forces have put forth a plan for local governance after ISIS. Yet, without a financial backer, the city may have to rely on the state to restore services. CIVIL SOCIETY Analysis: The Battlefield in Syria’s Southernmost City, Daraa In recent weeks Daraa has witnessed the most intense clashes and aerial bombardments it has seen for years. Despite the plan for “de-escalation zones,” civilians in the city are likely to be caught in the newest battlefield for foreign power proxies and the warring Syrian sides. EDUCATION A Teenage Syrian Refugee on a Mission to Educate Her Generation Nineteen-year-old refugee education campaigner Muzoon Almellehan has become the youngest-ever UNICEF goodwill ambassador. We talked with her about how she became an activist, fighting misconceptions about refugees and her hopes for the future of Syria. EDITOR’S PICKS Community Insight WAR ECONOMY Why States Are Still Investing in Syria Amid Continued Instability Reema Hibrawi,  Assistant Director at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East The impact of geopolitical dynamics on the economy, potential losses incurred from the ongoing violence and containing the threat of radicalized fighters, are factors pushing countries to invest in Syria, despite the instability, according to the Atlantic Council’s Reema Hibrawi. DISPLACEMENT Crowdfunding a Stable Financial Future for Refugees and Hostst John Kluge,  Co-founder and Managing Partner of the Alight Fund On World Refugee Day, the Alight Fund’s John Kluge and Lev Plaves of the microfinance NGO Kiva explain the limitations facing Syrian refugees regaining their financial footing, and the launch of World Refugee Fund, an initiative crowdfunding loans for refugees. HUMAN RIGHTS We Must Start the Conversation About Return of Syrian Refugees Now Rim El Gantri,  Expert on Human Rights and Transitional Justice If millions of displaced Syrians are to go home one day, we need to understand refugees’ conditions for returning, attitudes to justice and the possibility of coexistence, say the authors of an International Center for Transitional Justice study of refugees in Lebanon. 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.

New ICTJ Study: Syrian Refugees in Lebanon See Security, Restoration of Dignity as Key Conditions for Return Read the Report What do Syrian refugees say they need in order to return home? And what conditions do they believe are necessary to one day fostering coexistence in a post-war Syria? A new ICTJ report, based on dozens of interviews with Syrian refugees in Lebanon, argues that discussions about the return of the displaced and coexistence must begin now, even in the face of ongoing violence. It stresses the restoration of refugees’ sense of dignity and security as necessary conditions for their return, and for one day building a stable post-war Syria. “When the return and rebuilding process does begin one day, it will be crucial that the experiences and views of victims, including refugees, be strongly taken into account,” said report co-author Rim El Gantri. Download the report and read our interview with report authors Rim El Gantri and Karim El Mufti. The Executive Summary of the report is also available in Arabic.  Interview with the Report Authors [ictj.org] Copyright © 2017 International Center for Transitional Justice, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to our mailing list. Our mailing address is: International Center for Transitional Justice 40 Fulton Street, 20th Floor New York, NY 10038 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Jun. 12th, 2017 Welcome to our weekly summary of Syria Deeply’s top coverage of the crisis in Syria. The Battle For Raqqa Begins: After much anticipation, the battle for Raqqa, the former de facto capital of the so-called Islamic State group, began on Tuesday morning. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) officially launched a highly anticipated offensive, advancing toward Raqqa from three sides, Reuters reported. On Saturday, the SDF began a pincer operation against opposite flanks of Raqqa, advancing into the northwestern al-Romania district after seizing the far eastern al-Mishlab district and half of the western al-Sabahia district. The anti-ISIS activist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently and so-called Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet Aamaq distributed photos purporting to show U.S.-led coalition forces using white phosphorus on densely populated civilian areas of Raqqa. A U.S. official confirmed to the New York Times that U.S. forces fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria have access to the substance but said “ it was not being used against personnel.” Syrian government airstrikes reportedly targeted ISIS positions and armored vehicles in the western Raqqa countryside, along a highway linking the ISIS stronghold to Aleppo on Thursday. Earlier in the week, pro-government forces reached the border of Raqqa province and secured their position on the western bank of the Euphrates. Fierce Fighting In Daraa: Fighting has intensified in the southern city of Daraa, with some of the most intense aerial bombardments over the weekend. On Monday, Reuters reported that pro-government reinforcements have been deployed to the city, including Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah and Shiite Iraqi militias. Major Issam al Rayes, a spokesman of the so-called Southern Front grouping of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), told Reuters that “the regime has brought large columns of troops from the elite 4th Armoured Division,” a key Syrian army unit. “Everything indicates the regime is preparing for a large-scale military campaign in Daraa in which they plan to encircle the city and reach the Jordanian border,” Rayes said. The activist-run Nabaa Media outlet in Daraa accused the government of using “napalm-like” weapons on the city, according to the Associated Press. Since fighting in Daraa escalated in February, some 20,000 residents have fled the opposition-controlled areas of the city, Nabaa contributor Mohammad Abazeid told AP. Iran-U.S. Tensions: Iran-backed Iraqi forces reached Iraq’s border with Syria over the weekend, encircling U.S.-backed forces roughly 31 miles (50km) northeast of the Tanf base, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Russia confirmed the claim, which, if true, would prevent U.S.-backed forces fighting ISIS from advancing along the Euphrates River in eastern Syria to the ISIS-held areas of Bou Kamal and Deir Ezzor, the Associated Press reported. On Thursday, an American F-15 fighter jet shot down a drone that U.S. officials claim was connected to Iran or Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah and was used to target U.S.-backed fighters near the Tanf base. U.S. Army Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the coalition fighting ISIS, said though the drone’s weapon did not detonate, the coalition considered it a direct threat and not a “warning shot.” READ OUR DAILY EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES  MOST POPULAR This Week’s Top Articles CIVIL SOCIETY The Life and Death of One of Syria’s Most Beloved Minesweepers Abu al Fadl devoted the final months of his life to clearing al-Bab of improvised explosives left behind by ISIS in everything from washing machines to cooking pots. The 60-year-old destroyed roughly 3,500 mines before one took his life. DIPLOMACY & FOREIGN AFFAIRS Analysis: Euphrates Fight May Beat ISIS Militarily, But Not Ideologically As U.S. and Iran escalate their battle against ISIS in eastern Syria and western Iraq, no one is thinking about the fate of local communities after the militant group’s potential military defeat, writes journalist Lorenzo Trombetta. RELIGIOUS & ETHNIC GROUPS Analysis: U.S.-Brokered Deal Aims to Ease Tension Between FSA and Kurds The move to arm the Kurds is a sign that the U.S. is beginning to deal with the complications of its anti-ISIS policy in Syria, writes Chatham House fellow Haid Haid. However, some Syrian analysts think it’s too little too late.  EDITOR’S PICKS Community Insight DIPLOMACY & FOREIGN AFFAIRS How Russia Can Secure the De-Escalation Zones in Syria Neil Hauer,  Senior Intelligence Analyst, SecDev Group in Ottawa Neil Hauer, senior intelligence analyst at the SecDev Group, examines Russia’s primary option to secure the “de-escalation zones” and ensure compliance with the cease-fire: the Chechen units of the Kremlin’s military police. DISPLACEMENT Safe Zones Must Offer Protection, Not Solely Prevent Search for Asylum Geoff Gilbert,  Professor of Law, School of Law and Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex In today’s conflicts, safe zones cannot realistically provide the security guaranteed to civilians under international law and should not be proposed as a substitute for asylum in another country, according to the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law. ARTS & CULTURE Journalists Challenge Syrian Media to Improve Gender Coverage in War Jihii Jolly,  Community Editor of Women & Girls at News Deeply The Syrian Female Journalists’ Network was founded to ensure better coverage of gender issues and better representation of women in newsrooms in the midst of the country’s protracted conflict. Milia Eidmouni tells News Deeply how they do it. 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.