Chemical warfare and rhetoric, Israel strikes Syria and battle against ISIS in Deir Ezzor

Jun. 30th, 2017 Welcome to our weekly summary of Syria Deeply’s top coverage of crisis in Syria. Your feedback on our coverage and products is important to us. We’d be very grateful if you could take this quick survey so we can learn how to best meet your information needs. Chemical Warfare and Rhetoric: Chemical weapons were once again in headlines about Syria this week, however, thankfully, not because there was another chemical attack on the ground. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer issued a brief two-paragraph statement on Monday claiming the U.S. had “identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children.” The “activities” observed were “similar to preparations the regime made” before the chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun on April 4, according to Spicer, who added that Assad and the Syrian military would “pay a heavy price” if a chemical weapon attack occurred. The U.S. launched a missile strike on Syria’s Shayrat airfield in April, in retaliation for the Khan Sheikhoun attack. When asked why the U.S. administration believed Spicer’s statement would deter further chemical attacks, when U.S. military action didn’t, Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said: “I don’t know that it didn’t based on what we know at this point.” No further information was given until the following day, when Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said the U.S. had observed “activity” at Shayrat airfield that involved a “specific aircraft in a specific hangar, both of which we know to be associated with chemical weapons use.” The Syrian foreign ministry said the U.S. allegations were ‘‘misleading’’ and ‘‘completely baseless.’’ However, by Wednesday, U.S. defense secretary Jim Mattis said, “It appears that [the regime] took the warning seriously. They didn’t do it.” On Thursday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), confirmed that sarin gas was used in the April 4 attack, but did not identify the perpetrator. Israel Strikes Syria: Israel attacked Syrian government positions in southern Syria four times in less than a week in response to mortar fire landing in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israeli strikes on Saturday and Sunday hit Syrian military positions, ammunition trucks and artillery positions in Quneitra. The Syrian government claimed Israeli strikes hit a residential building and killed civilians. On Wednesday, Israel said it hit a Syrian army position in the village of Samadanieh al-Sharqiyah, allegedly used to launch a mortar that landed in the Golan. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was visiting a town located about 12.5 miles (20km) from where the mortar fell on Wednesday, said: “Whoever attacks us, we attack them. This is our policy and we will continue to implement it.” This policy was evident on Friday, when Israel again targeted Syrian army positions in response to additional errant mortar fire in the Golan. Battling ISIS in Deir Ezzor: Several airstrikes hit the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, where both the U.S.-led coalition, Russia and Syria are known to carry out attacks against the so-called Islamic State. Ground clashes between between ISIS and pro-government fighters also escalated at the southern entrance of Deir Ezzor city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The coalition targeted an ISIS prison in al-Mayadeen on Monday, killing at least 57 people. On Wednesday, at least 30 civilians were killed in airstrikes on an ISIS-held village of al-Dablan, roughly 13 miles (20km) southeast of al-Mayadeen. Shelling in the area on Thursday killed at least eight civilians, including one child, according to SOHR. Read our Daily Executive Summaries MOST POPULAR This Week’s Top Articles DISPLACEMENT The Maddening Maze of Getting A Syrian Passport Abroad A Syrian passport once cost $9 and took only a few hours to issue. As the Syrian conflict enters its seventh year, Syrians in Turkey are paying up to $2,000 and waiting for months to get one of the world’s weakest passports. ARTS & CULTURE Scavenging for Books Beneath the Rubble in Daraa Teachers and volunteers in a rural Daraa town are braving bullets and airstrikes to rescue books from beneath the wreckage and stock a new public library. Their aim is to assist local students in the difficult task of finding resources in war-torn Syria. EDITOR’S PICKS Community Insight CIVIL SOCIETY The International Community Can Help Syrians Rebuild Syria Henry Hogger,  Works with a Consultancy Organisation, Middle East Consultants (MEC) International Former British ambassador to Syria Henry Hogger sees hope for progress in Syria. But what is missing in plans to rebuild the country, he argues, is the involvement of Syrians themselves. DIPLOMACY & FOREIGN AFFAIRS The Disappointments of De-escalation and Decentralization Anthony Elghossain,  Lawyer and Writer, Beirut The Syrian state will try to ensure de-escalation and decentralization do not undermine its control over a “Strategic Syria.” For these Western strategies to become solutions for Syrians, officials must make programs viable, says lawyer and writer Anthony Elghossain. CIVIL SOCIETY DIPLOMACY & FOREIGN AFFAIRS Airwars: Rise in Civilian Deaths from Coalition Strikes Unprecedented Alex Hopkins,  Web Producer, Airwars Entire families are more frequently being killed in coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, according to Airwars researcher Alex Hopkins. However, he writes in IRIN News, it has become increasingly difficult to determine which party is to blame. 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.

“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.