“The map of Iranian influence in Syria” (15 July, 2019). Al-Jumhuriya sketches the extent and multiple layers of Iran’s military and political influence in Syria, which is today—perhaps more than at any other time—the central focus of the regional and international conflict in the country. For the full report, see here (Arabic).

 

“New measures suffocate Syrians in Turkey” (16 July, 2019). Recent weeks have seen a new phase in Ankara’s ongoing crackdown on Syrians in Turkey. As well as declaring free healthcare no longer available for Syrians, President Erdoğan has announced a policy of “encouraging Syrians to return to their country.” Turkey’s interior minister subsequently met with a group of Syrian activists in Istanbul to inform them of further measures, including the deportation of Syrians lacking requisite documentation. For more details, see our full report (Arabic).  

 

“How does Iran evade sanctions?” (17 July, 2019). Despite current US sanctions on Iran being tougher than ever, Tehran has spent decades developing complex and extensive means of evading or minimizing the ultimate impact of these measures. For a detailed explanation of how it does so, see here (Arabic).

 

“How the UN’s ‘deconfliction’ mechanism fails in Syria” (18 July, 2019). In Syria, as in several other war zones, information about the location of vital civilian infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, is shared by the UN with the parties to the conflict, with the intention of enabling these parties to avoid targeting the sites in the course of the conflict. While this process has had some success in other countries, in Syria it has been not just ineffective but positively harmful to civilian welfare, since the targeting of the very same infrastructure is undertaken deliberately and systematically by the Assad regime and its partners. For more, see our full report (Arabic).

 

“A world with no room for Syrians” (19 July, 2019). Despite the unceasing catastrophe in Syria, the international community continues to wash its hands of its moral and humanitarian responsibilities towards Syrians, just as it also declines to take suitable political measures, preferring to abandon Syrians to the mercy of the genocidal regime still in power in Damascus, writes Qasem Albasri, commenting on the Turkish government’s recent policy declarations (see above). For the full article, click here (Arabic).