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Raed Fares stands with Kafranbel residents holding banner

In Memoriam: Raed Fares and the banners of Kafranbel

December 12, 2018February 27, 2019 Idlib, Kafranbel, Raed Fares, Syria, Syria banners, Syrian civil war

Raed Fares was killed on November 23rd, but his work as a citizen journalist and activist lives on in the people he taught and empowered. Contributing writer Oula Alrifai, a Damascus-native and activist herself, remembers Raed.

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Timothy R. Koster

Analysis Op-Ed

What’s in a deal anyway: Idlib DMZ violations harm peace process

November 21, 2018January 11, 2019 Idlib, Russia, Russia in Syria, Syria, Syrian ceasefire, Syrian civil war, Syrian conflict, Turkey, UN, United Nations

The Idlib de-militarized zone (DMZ) deal is a powerful tool for advancing peace, but only if Turkey and Russia commit the resources to properly enforce it. The implementation of the Idlib DMZ holds powerful consequences for the ongoing Syrian constitutional committee and the broader peace process.

Analysis

Calling the chemical weapons bluff in Syria

April 2, 2018April 2, 2018 chemical weapons, Ghouta, Syria, Syrian civil war

Although fighters have been offered the chance to leave eastern Ghouta, as in Aleppo, there is no longer a clear safe haven to which they could flee. Combined with the regime’s systematic denial of humanitarian aid, the conditions there have become increasingly unlivable as the death toll continues to climb.

Analysis Op-Ed

Captagon: Violence in Syria and the War on Drugs

January 25, 2018February 21, 2018 Captagon, Syrian civil war, War on Drugs

The stimulant Captagon has been portrayed as a super drug underlying the violence in Syria and Iraq. But the emphasis on the drug’s side-effects, in conjunction with a fear of narcotics bred by the war on drugs, has detracted from a proper analysis of the foundational causes of that violence.