December 2020

What began as protests demanding reform and the lifting of the heavy hand of the security agencies in Syria in 2011 has mushroomed over the past decade into a long and bitter conflict with the involvement of intertwining domestic,…

Officials in Moscow have so far tried to frame the conference on refugee returns that was held in Damascus on 11-12 November as a sincere attempt on behalf of the Syrian regime who cares about the fate of their citizens. Yet it is precisely…

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in an interview that aired on Monday, said that 2,000 Afghans are still fighting in Syria and that Iran would be willing to arm more in the fight against Daesh if…

COMMENT: In this latest edition of the International Review of the Red Cross, the impact of protracted conflict on communities – and the humanitarians who help – is put under the spotlight. David Tuck, ICRC Head of Mission in…

Wars and conflict raged on in 2020, with headlines of the frontlines obscured by the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Across Africa and the Middle East, violence left thousands dead and displaced countless others. From central Asia…

Syrian security forces man a checkpoint in Homs in 2011. A Syrian doctor is facing charged of torturing detainees at a prison in the city during the uprising. (AFP/File) The suspect,…

An Egyptian protestor uses his iPad to video Egyptians protesters gathering in Tahrir square in November, 2011. Photo: DESRUS BENEDICTE/SIPA/SIPA USA/PA Images Ten years on from its origin in Tunisia, Jonathan Fenton-Harvey assesses the…

Inside a dusty and dark workshop on the banks of the Jaghjagh river in northeast Syria, Misak Antranik Petros uses an ancient pottery wheel to throw different shapes from clay.Image Credit: AFP 2 of 14 The 85-year-old Syrian potter…

On December 2nd, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council that over three million displaced Syrians will be “particularly vulnerable” in what is increasingly looking like it will be a tough winter. Ramesh…

Germany repatriated on Saturday three women and 12 children from camps in northeastern Syria for humanitarian reasons. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Sunday he was "very relieved'' about the return of the…