After several delays, members of the opposition National Coalition managed to elect an interim prime minister on Tuesday, March 19. The elected official Ghassan Hitto is a Kurdish Syrian who holds the American citizenship. Many opposition supporters made sarcastic comments about Hitto, like this man from Homs, who expressed his “joy” that the opposition has a new leader: The Norway-based […]

Raheel Ibrahim Anyone who visited the city of Latakia before the start of the crisis in Syria would remember how full it was on weekends, beginning in Spring: people sitting in cafes from the early morning hours or strolling along the corniche, while groups of tourists flocked to the archaeological sites, beaches and the mountains surrounding the city.

Rajaa, 23, has not been able to focus on her job at the pharmaceutical company where she works since the February 22 explosion in Mazraa, which killed more than 50 people. ”I took a two-day leave of absence after the explosion because I could not rid myself of this sense of panic,” she recalls. “I was just five minutes away from […]

This year, the international women’s day had a special significance in Syria; it was a Friday, the day opposition supporters take to the street to demonstrate against the regime in a tradition they have kept since March 2011. The protests on Friday, March 8 were held under the title The Friday of the Syrian Rebel Woman. On that day, opposition […]

Ward al-Assi The controversial television preacher, Sheikh Adnan Arour, 65, has been able to build up a large popular base in Syria using religious programs as a platform for launching vehement attacks against the Syrian regime. He also uses his pulpit for what many have characterized as sectarian incitement against Shia and Alawites.

“This is a big relief.” I repeated this sentence in numerous calls I made to extend my gratitude to those who facilitated my younger brother Jawad’s defection from the Syrian army. The ordeal took 21 days. After leaving his station on the Lebanese border, Jawad arrived at the Karkemich crossing in the Northern Syrian town of Jarablus on the Turkish […]

Crowds knock down Hafez al-Assad’s statue - YouTube The biggest news about Syria this week was perhaps the fall of the city of Raqqa in rebels’ hands on Monday, March 4. According to a video circulated on YouTube the governor of Raqqa Hassan al-Jalali and the head of the branch of the Baath Party in the province Suleiman al-Suleiman were […]

A video uploaded to YouTube (WARNING - scenes of graphic violence) shows opposition fighters shouting “Allahu Akbar” as a number of prisoners lying on the ground try to convince them of their innocence one last time. A few minutes later, a barrage of gunfire drowns out all other sound, and the camera scans back over the prisoners’ lifeless bodies. This […]

By Mariam Abdullah It was a rare moment of joy for one displaced family, as they celebrated their son’s wedding at one of the refugee shelters, amidst the sounds of shelling and gunfire. But not everyone was enjoying themselves; Um Mustafa, 26, the second wife of the groom’s father was not feeling well, and she complained to one of the […]

Four explosions took place in Damascus on Thursday, February 21, causing the death of some 90 people and leaving scores injured. The most violent of these was the bombing that targeted a Baath party headquarter in Al-Mazraa district, which killed more than fifty people. Opposition supporters presented a number of interpretations of the incident. Activist Ali Atassi suggested that the […]