Syria

The Great Betrayal: The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East by Fawaz A Gerges – engaging read for seasoned observers

The scope is perhaps too broad, and the prose a little dry, for this book to appeal to the general reader

‘We are nice people, but poor’: After Assad’s fall, economic problems are Syrians’ biggest concern

War, corruption and sanctions have taken a heavy toll on Syria, whose deepening poverty is ‘a dangerous accelerant in an already volatile environment’

The ghosts of Khaldiyeh, a Homs neighbourhood devastated by Syria’s war

Khaldiyeh, in Syria’s third-largest city, is a former opposition stronghold once under siege during the country’s long war

Lisa Smith lawyers argue no legal system could convict her of Isis membership

Even if she moved to Islamic State-controlled area and was a sympathiser, it does not prove she was a member, court told

In Homs, efforts to rebuild but trauma haunts the streets

Syria’s new government is walking a tightrope, trying to state-build in a devastated country with a diverse and deeply divided society

Islamic State regains strength in Syria

Recent developments could make it easier for group to show renewed vigour, say experts

‘They destroyed this moment of joy’: On the frontlines of the Israeli incursion into Syria

Days after the fall of the Assad regime, Israeli forces entered southern Syria, where many locals now want protection from the UN

‘We try to make a new future now. You can speak, you can go out’

Public spaces, some of them scarred by Syria’s conflict, host civilian and community-organised events

In a bunker with a woman battlefield commander in Syria: ‘To be under the control of a patriarchal husband? I prefer to be here’

Battle-hardened officer lives like a soldier ready for action to safeguard ‘the people’

The secret history of Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa

Is the man once known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani intent on moderating or a brutal strongman?

Israel’s latest defence strategy sees move to secure border areas

Recent military action suggests IDF working to ensure enemies unable to deploy near borders

Syria’s interim president secures agreement with Druze and Kurds

Ahmed Al-Sharaa has pledged to make Syria ‘inclusive’ and respect all minorities

Hope for Syria as government and Kurds sign deal to merge forces

Kurdish community to get citizenship and language rights denied under Assad regime

Syria faces demands for accountability after civilian killings

Islamist-led government says it has completed military operation against insurgency by Bashar al-Assad loyalists

In restive Syria, who are the Alawites?

Minority group supports Bashar al-Assad and is now subject to reprisal attacks

Syria’s Sharaa pleas for communal peace as clashes continue

More than 1,000 people have been killed in two days of fighting in Alawite region, war monitor says

Almost 200 die in Syria as loyalists of deposed Assad regime clash with government forces

Violence deals blow to interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa’s rule of shattered country

Civilians put themselves in firing line between Turkey and northeast Syria

Tishreen Dam, on the Euphrates river, has become a flashpoint in the conflict between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army

‘We’ve become used to being betrayed’: US aid cuts affect camps for people accused of Isis affiliation

Trump spending freeze threatens security arrangements and could make it harder to stop resurgence of Islamic State

‘Guantánamo on steroids’: Inside a prison for suspected Islamic State members in Syria

During my visit, an administrator says ‘that’s correct’ when I ask if many detainees had died from tuberculosis, and ‘no answer’ when I request the exact figure

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