Syria Watch

Syria Deeply Weekly Update: The Battle for Raqqa Begins

WEEKLY UPDATE
November 11, 2016
Dear Readers,Welcome to the weekly Syria Deeply newsletter. We’ve rounded up the most important stories and developments concerning Syria and the Syrians in order to bring you valuable news and analysis. But first, here is a brief overview of what happened this week:The battle for Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the so-called Islamic State, began on Sunday. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab opposition groups backed by the United States, is leading the first phase of the operation against ISIS militants.The U.S.-led coalition is coordinating airstrikes on Raqqa with SDF fighters on the ground. At least 20 civilians were killed in coalition airstrikes on a town north of Raqqa, including nine women and two children. SDF forces took control of six villages north of Raqqa city in the first 24 hours and have seized a total of 17 villages since the offensive began.Last week, Turkey said it would also participate in the battle against ISIS in Raqqa. However, on Monday, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that it is “naive” to use Syrian Kurdish SDF fighters in the operation. After a meeting between NATO members in Ankara later that day, chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joe Dunford said that Turkey and the U.S. would work together “on the long-term plan for seizing, holding and governing Raqqa … We always knew the SDF wasn’t the solution for holding and governing Raqqa.”As U.S.-led coalition and U.S.-backed forces fight for control of Raqqa, the Syrian government and its allies have stepped up attacks in the Damascus countryside. In Eastern Ghouta, government airstrikes on a kindergarten in the opposition-controlled town of Harasta killed at least six children on Sunday. Later in the week, several airstrikes on the opposition-controlled city of Douma and the town of Saqba in Eastern Ghouta killed at least 12 people.

Weekly Highlights:

Analysis: How Civilians Will Lose in the Battle Against ISIS in Raqqa

As the U.S.-led offensive against ISIS pushes fighters out of Mosul into Syria, a similar offensive has begun against militants in Raqqa, but that’s not likely to stop them from mounting attacks, writes journalist Mohamad Bazzi.
Iraq’s elite counterterrorism forces gather ahead of an operation to retake the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, outside Erbil, Iraq. Simultaneous attacks are taking place on the Islamic State-held cities of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa, the de facto ISIS capital in Syria. AP/Khalid Mohammed, File

Wheelchair Race Gives Hope to Injured in Besieged Eastern Ghouta

Amid the rubble in the Damascus suburbs, a wheelchair race sheds light on the growing number of people with lifelong injuries caused by the conflict in Syria, and survivors’ attempts to reengage with a war-ravaged community.
Men compete in a wheelchair race in the streets of Eastern Ghouta. Syrian Revolution Network

Long Read: Why Khan Eshieh Palestinian Camp Could Be the Next Yarmouk

As fighting intensifies in the area around Syria’s Khan Eshieh – the so-called “camp of return” – and UNRWA draws parallels with the Yarmouk camp in Damascus, thousands of Palestinian refugees who call Khan Eshieh home face displacement for a second time.
Residents of the besieged Palestinian camp of Yarmouk in Damascus, Syria, queue to receive food supplies. UNRWA via AP, File

Additional Reading:

Top image: U.S.-backed fighters taking a rest during fighting with the Islamic State group near Ein Issa, north of Raqqa, Syria. Qasioun, a Syrian Opposition Media Outlet, via AP

Syria Deeply Weekly Update: ‘Excuse Me If We Smash You’

WEEKLY UPDATE
November 4, 2016
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. But first, here is a brief overview of what happened this week:The battle for Aleppo is expected to become even more intense this weekend, as Russia’s Friday deadline for rebels to leave the eastern side of the city passed. “We asked you to leave. You did not leave. So excuse me if we smash you,” Aleppo parliament member Fares Shehabi told the BBC.Russia announced on Wednesday that rebels would be able to bring their weapons with them and must evacuate through two unobstructed exit corridors by Friday evening. Six additional corridors were set up for civilians and the sick and wounded to evacuate, according to the Russian defense ministry.On Thursday, Syrian rebels rejected the demand to evacuate. Zakaria Malahifji of the Fastaqim rebel group told Reuters, “This is completely out of the question. We will not give up the city of Aleppo to the Russians and we won’t surrender.”Earlier this week, rebels launched phase two of their operation on the western, government-held part of the city in an attempt to break the three-month-long siege of eastern Aleppo. Rebel fire killed at least 12 people between Thursday and Friday morning. On Friday, at least three commanders from the Soqor al-Sham rebel group were killed in clashes.Government forces advanced in the Damascus countryside this week. On Wednesday, pro-regime forces took control of two hilltop villages in Eastern Ghouta, an area that has been under siege since early 2013. On Friday, Syrian army units advanced inside the town of Khan al-Sheeh. The advance comes after more than 50 days of fighting with Jaish al-Islam, the largest rebel faction in the area.Meanwhile, the U.S.-led coalition is preparing for their battle against the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in the group’s Syrian stronghold of Raqqa. Turkey and Syrian Kurdish YPG forces were expected to participate in the operation, but on Thursday, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said they would not accept Turkish involvement.

Weekly Highlights:

Long Read: The U.S. Has Intervened in Syria, But Not In The Way You Think

The United States intervened militarily in Syria under the premise of the “war on terror” and the fight against ISIS, but their presence is actually helping the Syrian government.
Smoke rises from the Syrian city of Kobani, following an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition, seen from a hilltop outside Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border. AP/Vadim Ghirda, File

When It Comes to Humanitarian Aid, Syrians Must Play the Numbers Game

Mohamad Katoub, a former doctor who escaped from Eastern Ghouta, was quick to point out that Syria’s daily toll of deaths and casualties were more than just numbers – until he saw the power those statistics had. Here, he explains why he changed his mind.
Syrian children on the first day of Eid al-Adha visiting the graves of family lost during the Syrian Civil War, in Douma, Eastern Ghouta, on September 12, 2016. Samer Bouidani/NurPhoto

Lessons from Russia’s Intervention in Syria

Atlantic Council experts Faysal Itani and Hossam Abouzahr have analyzed hundreds of Moscow’s Syria-related actions in order to piece together an analysis of the “Russia problem” facing the next White House administration.
Russian president Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with U.S. secretary of state John Kerry at this year’s G20 meeting. Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Additional Reading:

Top image: The scene outside the Russian embassy in London where 25 activists from two campaign groups The Syria Campaign and Syria Solidarity UK scattered over 800 limbs around the gates of the building in a protest at the bombing of civilians in east Aleppo. Dominic Lipinski /PA Wire

Syrian Network for Human Rights: 1106 Civilians Killed in October 2016
I. Introduction
The report includes only the death toll of civilians that were killed by the main six influential parties in Syria:
– Government forces (Army, Security, local militias, Shiite foreign militias)
– Russian forces
– Self-management forces (consisting primarily of the Democratic Union Party forces, a branch for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party)
– Extremist Islamic groups
– Armed opposition factions
– International coalition forces
– Unidentified groups