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Welcome to the archives of Syria Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on May 15, 2018, and transitioned some of our coverage to Peacebuilding Deeply, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on the Syrian conflict. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors contributors.
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Exploring the various ethnic and religious groups that make up the social fabric of Syrian society and, in some cases, are armed players in the war.
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The Syrian war is not a clean-cut sectarian conflict as some would suggest. However, a study of sectarian trends and dynamics can illuminate some overlooked aspects of the war, says Fabrice Balanche of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.
Though all parties to the Syrian conflict have tried to take advantage of tribal identities, shifting loyalties and social changes often mean tribal kin are in conflict with each other, writes Syrian journalist Akil Hussain.
The ability of Syria and Iraq’s minorities to rebuild their communities in the post-ISIS landscape will depend very much on the political situation in these countries, according to analyst Yousif Kalian.
The conflict in Syria has shifted traditional roles within communities and more women are starting to play roles in politics at all levels. But their overall influence remains minimal, leaving Syria’s destiny in the hands of men.
Kurdish political officials in Syria are taking an increasingly anti-Iranian and pro-Saudi Arabia stance amid the rising tensions between Washington, Tehran and their proxies, and the rift between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, writes journalist Wladimir van Wilgenburg.
After an anti-YPG Kurdish commander claimed that he was arrested by Turkish forces and his troops disarmed, concerns are rising over Turkish policy in Syria in the border region.
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.
Haid Haid Syrian Researcher
Haid Haid of the Atlantic Council warns against the repercussions of the Syrian Democratic Forces’ governance plan for Raqqa once the city has been liberated from the so-called Islamic State.
Turkey opposed the U.S. decision to arm Syrian Kurds fighting ISIS due to the groups’ alleged ties to the Turkish-Kurdish PKK. But the relationships between these factions and foreign powers are much more complex than they seem, experts say.
The U.S. decision to directly arm Kurdish units of the Syrian Democratic Forces fighting ISIS could harm U.S. relations with Ankara and cause further instability within Syria and Turkey, but it was a “necessary” step against ISIS, Kurdish politicians and fighters said.
Experts say the U.S. decision to arm Kurdish forces in Syria will strengthen U.S.-backed forces fighting ISIS and result in possible tacit agreements between the U.S. and unlikely partners.
The Kurds in Syria have called for a U.S. no-fly zone in the wake of a Turkish air strike on Kurdish fighters. The Kurds say Turkish attacks could threaten the ongoing U.S.-backed operation to take Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIS in Syria.
The predominantly Kurdish district of Afrin in northwestern Syria has been under near-continuous siege for four years but remained relatively calm, attracting hundreds of thousands of displaced people. Now, it is under threat from Turkish military operations in Syria.
Haid Haid Syrian Researcher
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the U.S., are engaged in an operation to push ISIS out of its de facto capital, but the campaign comes at a cost, writes Syrian researcher Haid Haid.
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.
In the city of Manbij, Human Rights Watch has documented the deaths of 69 civilians, including 19 children, killed by victim-activated, homemade explosives, which are banned under international law.
Wesam Sabaaneh Director, Jafra Foundation
In host countries, Palestinian Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict are deprived of any legal protection. The international community must prioritize legal rights for the most vulnerable communities, writes the director of the Jafra Foundation, Wesam Sabaaneh.
As local governance structures grow stronger in Syria, a decentralized government appeals to many in the country. However, both government and opposition forces fear that decentralization may eventually lead to partitioning the country, which they want to keep unified.
Druze factions in Syria have largely stayed out of the complicated conflict, but recently protest movements have started to grow against the Syrian government in the Druze-majority city of Sweida in the country’s southern province.
Journalist Richard Hall explains why Kurdish, Syrian opposition and Turkish forces – three major U.S. allies in the fight against ISIS in Syria – are now battling each other in the war-torn country’s northern provinces.
After a months-long offensive by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, ISIS militants have been pushed out of their northern stronghold on the Turkish border, allowing thousands of residents to return to their homes.
It may have been 16 years since the death of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, but his legacy still lives on in the war-torn country’s sectarian politics.
Mardean Isaac Writer
Unless concrete measures are taken to support the steadily shrinking Assyrian community in Hassakeh province, one of the region’s most ancient communities may soon be gone, writes Syrian commentator Mardean Isaac.
Sarine Karajerjian Admin and Finance Manager, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs
Known as “Little Armenia,” Bourj Hammoud has been a refuge for displaced people since Armenians fled Ottoman massacres nearly a century ago. Sarine Karajerjian of the Issam Fares Institute explains why residents are now making room for refugees fleeing war in Syria.
Mariam Barghouti Writes Political Op-eds
The mainstream Palestinian stance on the Syrian war is hypocritical, writes journalist Mariam Barghouti. By choosing political pragmatism over the right to self-determination – a right central to the Palestinian cause – Palestinians are asking Syrians to do what they have refused for more than 60 years.
As battles rage between ISIS and al-Nusra Front in Yarmouk refugee camp, civilians are being caught in the line of fire. With supplies in the camp running low, activists now fear a humanitarian crisis and have launched a social media campaign calling for a temporary cease-fire.
Jabal Turkman in northern Latakia has been a battlefield since the beginning of the Syrian conflict. But this past week, the last remaining villagers fled, leaving more than 20 villages abandoned. Turkmen villagers now worry the Assad government will attempt to repopulate the mountain with loyalists.
The series #5YearsWeFled is a collection of interviews with a Syrian lawyer Ayman Jalwan. It highlights the difficult choice that Syrians face – between dying in a war zone that the country has become after five years or conflict, or fleeing the land they love with no hopes of imminent return.
Eva Savelsberg President, the European Center for Kurdish Studies
The PYD and its YPG and YPJ militias regularly, and often forcibly, recruit child soldiers and deploy them to the battlefield, writes Eva Savelsberg. The U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group, which has closely partnered with the PYD, should not allow a war against extremism supersede child rights.
Francis J. Ricciardone & Aaron Stein
If the battle against ISIS is ever to succeed, the U.S. and Turkey must bridge their steadily widening divide regarding the role of Syrian Kurds in the fight against the extremists, write Francis Ricciardone and Aaron Stein.
As Kurdish militias in northern Syria steadily take on greater importance, largely due to U.S. and Russian support, Turkey has quickly changed its priorities within the crisis. Syria Deeply spoke with Gokhan Bacik about the YPG’s expansion amid the chaos in Aleppo and the growing tensions in Turkey.
Thomas Schmidinger Political Scientist, University of Vienna
Whoever controls the Azaz corridor will very likely control the war in northern Syria, writes Thomas Schmidinger. As things come to a head in northern Aleppo, the race is on between the SDF, Turkey and pro-government forces as to who will take control of the strategic strip of land.
The YPG has taken advantage of military support from the U.S. and a wave of Russian bombardment to make advances on the ground in recent weeks, drawing concern and artillery shelling from Turkey. But with a Syria agenda focused on defeating ISIS, the U.S. isn’t likely to renounce its support for the Kurds.
Marah, a teenage girl from one of Syria’s besieged cities, has been sharing her stories of life in the war. With her mother and siblings, she left Syria, stopping off in Turkey before making the precarious crossing to Greece by boat. Now in Switzerland, she describes her life in a new country.
Salma Mousa
Trapped between extremist rebels and government forces, Syria’s embattled religious minorities tried various survival tactics, including attempts at remaining neutral. But in doing so, they provoked the wrath of both sides and have paid a terrible price, writes Salma Mousa.
Gokhan Bacik Associate Professor of International Relations, Ipek University
Just like every other foreign power involved in the crisis in Syria, Turkey has its own agenda, writes Turkish academic Gokhan Bacik. But Turkey’s goals have evolved. The aim of toppling Bashar al-Assad has been replaced by a need to stop the Kurds from gaining international recognition.
Mustafa Abdi & Bassam al-Ahmad Holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Arabic Literature, Damascus University
Kurdish ambitions in Syria are consistent with the establishment of a democratic, civil and pluralistic state that guarantees full rights for all ethnic and religious minorities, according to the authors. Blocking them from participating in Geneva will only “escalate the tragic situation on the ground”.
Although the United States has been closely courting Syrian Kurds over the past year, increasingly relying on them as a ground force in the battle against ISIS, the fact that the U.S. has tacitly allowed Turkey to bar any Kurdish presence at the table in Geneva may jeopardize the alliance.
Gokhan Bacik Associate Professor of International Relations, Ipek University
While Turkey and Russia have long been heading in opposite directions when it comes to Syria, never before have tensions been quite this high. Turkish academic Gokhan Bacik writes that Syrian Kurds are quickly becoming a key element in the growing proxy war between the two powers.
Shared overarching political goals between the main Syrian Kurdish militia, the YPG, and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey have Ankara uneasy and point to what looks to be increasingly inevitable friction between the U.S. and Turkey in Syria.
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