Smugglers and Security Agents: Fragmentation and Decentralisation in Southern Syria’s Captagon Networks
Since mid-2020, the illicit drug industry has emerged as a touchstone aspect of the protracted crisis in Syria (see: The Syrian Economy at War: Captagon, Hashish, and the Syrian Narco-State). Once little known outside the Middle East, traffic in captagon pills is now widely regarded as a key funding mechanism of the regime of Bashar […]
Cutting the Gordian Knot: Case Studies in Syria’s Camps and the Protracted Displacement Crisis
More than eleven years into the conflict in Syria, millions of Syrians are displaced inside their country, with little obvious prospect of return to their home areas. These Syrians are largely concentrated on the country’s peripheries, in areas outside Syrian government control. Many fear reprisal from vindictive authorities or neighbours, while others, after destructive battles […]
UN Procurement Statistics for 2021 Show Systemic Inertia
Syria Update Digest Last week, the UN Global Marketplace (UNGM) published its annual procurement report for 2021, covering UN contracts globally, including in Syria. As in the past, the data itself offers few surprises, if any. Inevitably, among the contracted suppliers are entities linked to prominent sanctioned actors, reviving the perennial discussion on the UN […]
الصين في سوريا: المساعدات والتجارة حالياً، النفوذ والصناعة لاحقاً؟
مقدمة في الثاني عشر من كانون الثاني/يناير 2022، وقع رئيس هيئة التخطيط والتعاون الدولي في سوريا مذكرة تفاهم مع السفير الصيني بهدف ضم سوريا رسمياً لمبادرة الحزام والطريق؛ الأداة الصينية الممولة بقيمة تريليون دولار أمريكي بهدف التنمية الاستراتيجية في آوراسيا وإفريقيا[1]SANA (2022), “Syria, China sign MoU in framework of Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative,” and […]
President al-Assad Visits Aleppo City for the First Time Since 2011
Syria Update Digest On 8 July, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited Aleppo City for the first time since 2011, touring Aleppo Thermal Power Station, inaugurating the Tal Hasel water pumping plant in rural Aleppo, and performing Eid al-Adha prayers at Sahabiy Abdallah bin Abbas mosque. The visit is freighted with symbolic importance and potential implications […]
Gender Research in the Syrian Aid Response: Shortcomings and Solutions
Executive Summary Despite the sustained emphasis on gender-sensitivity among donor agencies and implementers, attempts to introduce gender perspectives into aid activities in Syria have yielded mixed results. While some of the challenges impeding gender-responsive aid action in Syria are widely understood, additional factors — seldom-recognised — are embedded within the approaches of donors and implementers […]
China in Syria: Aid and Trade Now, Influence and Industry Later?
Introduction On 12 January 2022, the head of Syria’s Planning and International Cooperation Commission, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese ambassador to formally bring Syria into the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s 1 trillion USD instrument for strategic development in Eurasia and Africa.[1]SANA (2022), “Syria, China sign MoU in framework of Silk […]
رابطة الصراع السوري-الليبي
ملخص تنفيذي يقيّم هذا التقرير رابطة الصراع السوري-الليبي المتجسدة في “شبكات إمداد” متوازية أنشأتها كل من روسيا وتركيا لتجنيد مقاتلين سوريين ونشرهم ليكونوا مقاتلين مرتزقةً في ليبيا. وجد هذا التقرير من خلال الأبحاث الميدانية في كلا السياقين أن خطوط الإمداد هذه قد توسعت، وأدّت إلى تآكل سلطة الدولة الرسمية وتقوية الشبكات المستخدمة في الهجرة المتوسطية […]
Not a Drop to Drink: Overlapping Crises Affect Agriculture and Drinking Water Distribution Across Syria
Syria Update Digest Several events in recent weeks have highlighted a growing water crisis across the whole of Syria, with access to both drinking water and water for irrigation severely curtailed. Syria is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, resulting from its heavy dependence on rainfed agriculture, long-term water mismanagement, and the decade-long […]
