Nov. 24th, 2017 Welcome to our weekly summary of Syria Deeply’s top coverage of crisis in Syria. This week saw an unprecedented amount of diplomatic discussions aimed at setting the stage for a settlement to the nearly seven-year conflict in Syria. The uptick came ahead of the eighth round of talks in Geneva and the first Russia, Iran and Turkey-sponsored all-Syria congress aimed at bringing together representatives from the Syrian opposition, government and civil society. We’ve rounded up what you need to know about Wednesday’s simultaneous but separate meetings between Moscow, Tehran and Ankara in Sochi and the Syrian opposition in Riyadh, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s discussions with several heads of state, including U.S. President Donald Trump, and the upcoming talks on Syria. Assad Visits Russia: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met his Russian counterpart in the Black Sea resort in Sochi on Monday. Assad reportedly met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for three hours to discuss a possible settlement to the conflict in Syria. “Regarding our joint operation to fight terrorists in Syria, this military operation is indeed coming to an end,” Putin said Assad also spoke to Russian military generals during his surprise visit to Sochi. “I have conveyed to [Mr Putin], and on his behalf to the Russian people, our gratitude for Russia’s efforts to save our country,” Assad told the Russian generals. “In the name of the Syrian people, I greet you and thank you all, every Russian officer, fighter and pilot that took part in this war.” The visit – believed to be the second time the Syrian president has left the country since the war began in 2011 – came just two days before the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey met in Sochi to discuss settling the conflict in Syria. Moscow had reportedly previously assured Iranian and Turkish leaders that it would “work with the Syrian leadership” to ensure any forthcoming agreement “would be viable.” Syria On The Line: Putin and Trump then discussed a political settlement for Syria in a phone call on Tuesday. Putin reportedly informed Trump of the “need to keep Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity intact,” according to Moscow’s statement. The two leaders reportedly stressed the importance of U.N.-led peace talks in resolving the Syrian conflict, according to a statement released by the White House. Putin also on Tuesday also discussed Syria with a number of other leaders, including Saudi king Salman, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Reuters reported. Trilateral Talks In Sochi: The presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey then met in the Russian resort town of Sochi on Wednesday to discuss a solution to the conflict in Syria.. Talks wrapped up on Wednesday evening with an agreement between the three countries’ leaders to hold an all-Syria congress aimed at “gathering delegates from various political parties, internal and external opposition, ethnic and confessional groups at the negotiating table,” Putin said. “The militants in Syria have sustained a decisive blow and now there is a realistic chance to end the multi-year civil war,” Putin said, according to the Guardian. An official source at Syria’s Foreign and Expatriates Ministry told state-run news agency SANA that Damascus welcomed the final statement from Sochi, “in light of the Syrian Arab Republic’s commitment to support any political step that respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria and contributes to sparing the blood of the Syrian people.” The congress is expected to take place in early December and assemble 1,400 delegates from the regime, opposition, and civil society groups, Syria expert Sami Moubayed wrote in Gulf News. The opposition has yet to issue a statement about the Sochi agreement. Opposition Meets In Riyadh: Parallel to the Sochi meeting, Syrian opposition representatives gathered for their own set of talks in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. The opposition High Negotiation Committee (HNC) is hoping to form a stronger, more unified front ahead of the upcoming Syria peace talks in Geneva. Wednesday’s meeting came two days after Riad Hijab, top HNC negotiation, announced his resignation, citing attempts to force the opposition to come to terms with Assad’s survival. “With his resignation, Hijab preempted the Riyadh conference on Wednesday, which was planning to form a (new) HNC, elect a new head coordinator, and form a delegation to Geneva talks,” a senior opposition official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. Another Round In Geneva: The eighth round of Geneva talks is set to kick off November 28. U.N. special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura previously stated that this round of Syria talks in Switzerland will focus on drafting a new constitution that would eventually allow for U.N.-verified elections. Read our Daily Executive Summaries MOST POPULAR This Week’s Top Articles CIVIL SOCIETY The Fight – and Plight – of Syria’s Female Journalists The rise of independent Syrian news outlets created more opportunities for women in the media, but many of Syria’s female journalists still face higher security risks than their male colleagues and rampant sexism in the workplace. OPPOSITION GROUPS & REBEL FORCES Unlearning ISIS: The Battle to Reclaim Hearts and Minds As Islamic State continues to lose territory in its major strongholds in Syria, activists and civil society organizations are leading deradicalization efforts, hoping ultimately to erase the militants’ ideological legacy. EDITOR’S PICKS Community Insight HUMAN RIGHTS Children Will Continue to Die of Starvation in Besieged East Ghouta Maram Haddad,  Program Assistant, Physicians for Human Rights Physicians for Human Rights program assistant Maram Haddad speaks to doctors and medical professionals in the Eastern Ghouta district outside Damascus about the devastating impact of the intentional use of siege and the lack of medical and food supplies in aid convoys. OPPOSITION GROUPS & REBEL FORCES The Security Vacuum in Post-ISIS Deir Ezzor Nicholas A. Heras,  Middle East Security Fellow, Center for a New American Security As ISIS pulls out of eastern Syria, U.S.-backed forces will have to contend with stabilizing this territory. But without local allies, the security of SDF-held territory will be challenged, write journalist Omar Abu Layla and security expert Nicholas A.. Heras. WAR ECONOMY Expert Views: After ISIS, Who Controls Syria’s Natural Resources? Alessandria Masi,  Managing Editor of Syria Deeply Syria Deeply’s expert community weighed in on how the capture of resource-rich territory from ISIS in east Syria could affect competition to control the country’s gas and oil and how it could impact the parties fighting ISIS. 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.

Nov. 13th, 2017 Welcome to our weekly summary of Syria Deeply’s top coverage of the crisis in Syria. Victory and Loss in Deir Ezzor: After various claims of victory and days of intense clashes between pro-government forces and so-called Islamic State fighters in Deir Ezzor, ISIS apparently recaptured Boukamal, its last stronghold in Syria, on Saturday. On Thursday, the Syrian government had declared victory over the militant group in Boukamal, but ISIS launched a counterattack just hours later. Fierce fighting ensued as ISIS “began surprise attacks with suicide bombers and rocket attacks after the Iranian militias were duped that Daesh had left the city,” Qahtan Ghanam al-Ali, a tribal leader, told Reuters, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.. By the weekend, reports said Iraqi militias and the Lebanese Hezbollah had retreated from Boukamal and were “1 to 2 km [0.6–1.2 miles] from the city limits,” Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), told Agence France-Presse. Between Friday and Sunday at least 50 people, including 20 children, were killed in shelling and artillery bombardment in the countryside near Boukamal along the Euphrates river, the SOHR reported. Two camps for the internally displaced were among the targeted areas, according to AFP. Diplomatic Response: Russia and the U.S. issued a joint presidential statement on Saturday affirming that there is “no military solution to the conflict in Syria” and reiterating their commitment to fighting ISIS. U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin also “agreed to maintain open military channels of communication between military professionals to help ensure the safety of both U.S. and Russian forces and de-confliction of partnered forces,” the statement said. The statement, which was released after Trump and Putin met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam, said both presidents agreed that, ultimately, the solution to the conflict in Syria must be reached through the Geneva process. Israel signaled that it would continue to strike Syria in an effort to push back advancing Iranian-backed militias from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. This comes alongside a separate agreement between Trump and Putin to expand a cease-fire in southwestern Syria, near the Israeli and Jordanian borders. Dire Situation in Eastern Ghouta: The World Health Organization (WHO) called on Sunday for immediate humanitarian access to the besieged Eastern Ghouta area in the Damascus suburbs. As many as 400,000 people are trapped in the rebel-held area without access to health and basic living necessities. More than 240 people need “urgent advanced medical care,” at least 29 of whom need medical evacuation, according to a statement from the United Nations health agency. “The situation is heartbreaking,” said Elizabeth Hoff, WHO representative in Syria. “We have now reached a critical point, where the lives of hundreds of people, including many children, are at stake. If they do not immediately get the medical care they urgently need, they will most likely die.” On Thursday, U.N. humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland told reporters in Geneva that 29 civilians, including 18 children, were at risk of imminent death. Seven others had already died, he said. “I feel as if we are now returning to some of the bleakest days of this conflict again,” Egeland said. “Nowhere is it as bad as in Eastern Ghouta.” Read our Daily Executive Summaries MOST POPULAR This Week’s Top Articles DISPLACEMENT Back Home in Homs: Challenges Facing Returnees to Syria For many Syrians displaced from Homs over six years of war, going home means facing a gap in public services, the absence of social and economic support systems and security risks. Many who have returned have found debris where their houses once stood. CIVIL SOCIETY Women at Forefront of Humanitarian Demining Efforts in Syria The explosive remnants of war pose a long-term threat to reconstruction and peacebuilding efforts in Syria. Women, however, are playing a notably growing role as humanitarian groups shift their focus to land-mine clearing and risk education.. OPPOSITION GROUPS & REBEL FORCES Conversations: Fleeing ISIS Conscription in Deir Ezzor When ISIS ordered the forced conscription of all men of fighting age in Deir Ezzor, Ali knew he had no other choice but to enlist a smuggler and escape the eastern province. EDITOR’S PICKS Community Insight DIPLOMACY & FOREIGN AFFAIRS What an ISIS Retreat in Boukamal Could Mean for the War in Syria Hashem Osseiran,  Deputy Managing Editor of Syria Deeply The Syrian government is trying to capture the last ISISstronghold in Syria. If it’s successful, it would be positioned for both a military and economic boost as it moves to secure a section of its frontier with Iraq, according to Fabrice Balanche of the Hoover Institution. HUMAN RIGHTS Chemical Weapons Investigations in Syria Must Continue Rogelio Pfirter,  Argentine Diplomat The U.N. Security Council’s failure to renew the inquiry into chemical weapons in Syria unjustly questions investigators’ important work, according to Rogelio Pfirter, former director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. 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.

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Directed by: Evgeny Afineevsky