Car bombs return Footage of the explosion in Homs - Youtube Last week saw two devastating bombings take place in Syria. A bombing targeted President’s Square in the town of Jaramana outside Damascus and another a crowded street in Al-Hamra district in central Homs. The latter was the first of its kind in Homs since the start of the turmoil […]

Syrians in solidarity with Gaza The situation in Gaza witnessed a big escalation on Wednesday November 14 when Israeli forces launched Operation Pillar of Defence, which started with the assassination of Hamas’ military chief Ahmed al-Jaabari. A cease-fire between Israel and Palestinians factions was reached on November 21 after six Israelis and 173 Palestinians were killed.

Loyalist TV star killed Social media users were preoccupied on Monday morning by news of the killing of actor Mohammad Rafei, who starred in the popular Syrian soap opera Bab El-Hara.

A failed truce After holding numerous talks with United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, both the Syrian regime and opposition announced their commitment to a truce during Al-Adha holiday, from the morning of Friday October 26 until Monday October 29, while retaining their “right to retaliate.” However, fighting continued in Maarat Al-Noman, Aleppo and Deir El-Zor. The death toll did not […]

Bab Touma Bombing An explosion struck the Christian-majority quarter of Bab Touma in old Damascus city center on Sunday October 20, 2012, killing at least 10 people. On the same day an explosion targeted another Christian neighborhood in Aleppo, the Syriac Quarter, resulting only in material damage. (Click here to see photos of the Bab Touma bombing.)

Historical sites under threat Clashes between Syrian regime and opposition forces in Aleppo have not been limited to residential areas, as fighting extended to historical sites causing significant damage. After the burning of parts of the old souk in Aleppo on September 29, the Grand Umayyad Mosque was burnt on the night of Monday October 15. Kinan Qoja, a Syrian […]

Aleppo Souks turn to ashes The most widely circulated news about the fighting in Aleppo last week concerned the fire that destroyed parts of the city’s old souk, one of the longest vaulted marketplaces in the world. Social media websites witnessed many heated discussions about who was responsible for the fire. Shadi Abu Karam, a Syrian journalist living in Beirut, […]

By Ward al-Assi In late August, I was on my way back from a friend’s house in al-Rabwah when I passed by the Tishrin Park, the largest in Damascus. Despite the noise of heavy machine gun fire and the thunder of war planes, there was a film shoot going on in the park. Out of curiosity, I stopped to take […]

Youssef Kanaan   Abu Meri’s young son died a year and a half ago, but he still speaks animatedly about him to anyone who visits him. His son was among the first people shot dead by Syrian security forces in the city of Deir el-Zor in eastern Syria, soon after protests against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

Syrian journalist Rasha Rami reports on a demonstration she witnessed on September 1, 2012 in the city of Antioch in Turkey’s Hatay province, on the border with Syria. Demonstrators called for an end to Turkish cooperation with Syria’s opposition and the repatriation of refugees. The Turkish authorities banned subsequent protests, while officials in Hatay instructed Syrian nationals to remain in […]