Russia pushes dead-end returns conference
Syria Update 2 November 2020 Download PDF Version Russia pushes dead-end returns conference In Depth Analysis On 29 October, a Russian delegation headed by special envoy Alexander Lavrentiev visited Damascus to further Moscow’s plans for a two-day international conference on refugee returns, to be held in Damascus on 11-12 November. The visit follows reports that […]
No hasty retreat: Turkey moves stranded northwest outposts
Syria Update 26 October 2020 Download PDF Version No hasty retreat: Turkey moves stranded northwest outposts In Depth Analysis On 19 October, Turkey reportedly relocated the largest of its besieged military observation points from Murak in north rural Hama toward Qoqfin, in opposition-controlled southern rural Idleb. The remaining observation points located in territory recaptured by […]
Fire on the coast: Damascus vows support — but not much
Syria Update 19 October 2020 Download PDF Version Fire on the coast: Damascus vows support — but not much In Depth Analysis Devastating wildfires have ravaged the Syrian coast, consuming an estimated 9,000 hectares of olive and fruit orchards, mountain scrubland, forests, and a patchwork of communities predominantly inhabited by religious minorities. At least four […]
Self-Administration vows to empty Al-Hol camp
Syria Update 12 October 2020 Download PDF Version Self-Administration vows to empty Al-Hol camp In Depth Analysis On 5 October, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political arm of the Self-Administration, declared its intention to clear and release all the Syrian families now sheltering at Al-Hol camp. The move will affect tens of thousands of […]
Draft budget: The Syrian state continues to shrink
Syria Update 5 October 2020 Download PDF Version Draft budget: The Syrian state continues to shrink In Depth Analysis On 28 September, the High Council of Economic and Social Planning approved the draft 2021 general budget submitted by Prime Minister Hussain Arnous. At around 8.5 trillion SYP, it represents a 113 percent nominal increase from […]
The Syrian economy at war: Armed group mobilization as livelihood and protection strategy
The Syrian economy at war Armed group mobilization as livelihood and protection strategy 30 September 2020 This is the first in a series of brief papers intended as primers on understudied aspects of Syria’s profound economic deterioration. In nearly a decade of unrest, Syria has been reduced from a liberalizing middle income nation to a […]
PYD-KNC peace talks: Whither peace in Syria’s northeast?
Syria Update 28 September 2020 Download PDF Version PYD-KNC peace talks: Whither peace in Syria’s northeast? In Depth Analysis Following nearly a year of glacial progress, drawn out unity talks between two rival Syrian Kurdish political parties have reportedly reached an advanced stage in recent weeks, potentially paving the way for the implementation of a […]
Fuel shortage, bread crisis signal state failure in Syria
Syria Update 21 September 2020 Download PDF Version Fuel shortage, bread crisis signal state failure in Syria In Depth Analysis Government-held Syria is in the midst of a crippling fuel crisis — evidently triggered by an acute oil shortage — the likes of which it has not seen since spring 2019 (see: Syria Update 25 April […]
Lavrov touts Russia’s primacy in Damascus visit
Syria Update 14 September 2020 Download PDF Version Lavrov touts Russia’s primacy in Damascus visit In Depth Analysis On 6-7 September, a high-level Russian delegation traveled to Damascus to meet with Syria’s top civilian leadership, including President Bashar Al-Assad. To the disappointment of opposition figures, many foreign observers, and the Government of Syria’s detractors, Russian […]
