Southern Syria without Russia? Oudeh Returns Amid Dar’a Shakeup
Weekly Syria Update Digest The Government of Syria has relieved Hussam Louka of his role at the head of the Security Committee, an ad-hoc group that is largely responsible for top-level affairs in southern Syria. Louka steps aside after a big summer in southern Syria. The Government of Syria has upped its presence, disarmed […]
HTS Cracks Down on Rival Groups as Northwest Pressure Builds
Weekly Syria Update Digest On 25 October, violent clashes erupted in western Idleb and the northern Lattakia countryside between Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Jund al-Sham and Jund Allah, two smaller jihadi factions composed primarily of foreign fighters. While HTS’s aggressive behaviour against other factions may be driven by Turkish pressure, it can also be […]
Deadly Bus Blast Evinces Security Risks in Damascus and Beyond
Weekly Syria Update Digest The Syrian Government has published its initial budget projection for 2022, which is over 50 percent higher than last year’s. The budget is a public relations exercise, and it excludes major files such as military spending, making it little more than ink on paper. A new NGO advocating for polygamy […]
Erdogan Issues Ultimatum as Turkey-Syria Border Tensions Mount
In-Depth Analysis On 13 and 14 October, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Defense Minister Hulusi Akar stated that Turkey will “do what is necessary for its security” after what they described as an increase in cross-border attacks by the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). […]
Normalisation Gains Steam as Syria Returns to Interpol System
In-Depth Analysis On 1 October, Syria was reportedly readmitted to the communication network of Interpol, the international police organisation, after applying “corrective measures” to Syria in 2012. The readmission will reportedly allow Damascus to access data hosted by the agency and communicate with other member states. Critics have described the decision as “a dangerous […]
Damascus Puts Destroyed Factories on the Auction Block
In-Depth Analysis On 28 September, the Government of Syria Ministry of Industry issued a call for proposals offering up 38 destroyed or damaged factories for investment by “companies and individuals from the private sector and friendly countries.” Most of the affected factories were previously owned by the state, such as the General Corporation for […]
Electro-Politics: Lebanon Gas Deal a Political Boon for Syria
In-Depth Analysis On 8 September, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon agreed on a plan to supply energy-deprived Lebanon with Egyptian natural gas through the Arab Gas Pipeline, which passes through Jordan and Syria. The plan has come about following a series of high-level regional and international meetings concerning energy in Lebanon, including a four-way […]
The Syria-Libya Conflict Nexus
Executive Summary This report assesses the Syria-Libya conflict nexus embodied by parallel “pipelines” created by Russia and Turkey to recruit and mobilise Syrian combatants and deploy them as mercenary fighters in Libya. Through field-based research conducted in both contexts, this report finds that as these pipelines have expanded, they have eroded formal state authority […]
Cross-line convoy sparks cross-border conjecture
In-Depth Analysis On 30 August, a World Food Program (WFP) aid convoy crossed from the Government-controlled Aleppo countryside into Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-controlled northern Idleb via the village of Maaret Elnaasan. A total of 15 trucks were sent to warehouses in the city of Sarmada and were reportedly loaded with food baskets for 9,600 […]
