Ceasefire in Syria Comes and Goes

It’s normal to work under these conditions, to be threatened with arrest on one side and kidnap on the other, to have to conduct major surgery underground and constantly see buildings around us reduced to rubble. In the last year alone our hospital was targeted five times. That’s become normal.

Heartbreaking diary entries by one of the only doctors remaining in Aleppo.

↩︎ New Statesman, posted Oct. 6, 2016

“Failed Ceasefire Bonds Syrian Rebels and US Government”

The State Department is taking steps to base its negotiations off the capabilities and realpolitik of key rebel militias in Syria, rather than tethering its priorities to civilian political bodies.

↩︎ posted Oct. 5, 2016

Killing Joke

The Syrian ambassador to the United Kingdom laughed at a reporter Wednesday who asked him about the recent bombings of civilians and aid workers in Aleppo.

↩︎ posted Sept. 29, 2016

Incendiary munitions, indiscriminate in their reach, are being dropped on to civilian areas so that, yet again, Aleppo is burning. And to cap it all, water supplies, so vital to millions, are now being targeted, depriving water to those most in need. In short, it is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes.

UK ambassador despairs of destruction in Aleppo, which Russian planes have begun to target again in their support of Syria’s central government.

↩︎ The Guardian, posted Sept. 27, 2016

UN Halts Aid Operations in Syria After New Bombings

A convoy carrying food and medical supplies to Aleppo and a warehouse operated by the Syrian Red Crescent were bombed, leading the United Nations to halt aid operations and drawing condemnation from all quarters. American officials claim Russian warplanes were behind the attack, while Russians suggested terrorists had followed the convoy in a truck and shelled it with mortars.

↩︎ posted Sept. 20, 2016

Ceasefire in Doubt

The ceasefire’s future is in doubt after a mistaken United States airstrike wiped out a Syrian Army company. The agreement, which lasted until Sunday at midnight, was to be followed by Russia-U.S. efforts at coordinated strikes against ISIS elements. That seems less likely after a week characterized by mistrust that left an aid convoy with enough food to feed hundreds of thousands for a month stuck at the Turkish border.

↩︎ posted Sept. 19, 2016

The problem is that Assad cannot win, and at the same time he is not losing.

The ceasefire has brought a moment of calm to Aleppo, but it doesn’t address the outstanding question of the Syrian Civil War: What is going to happen with Assad?

↩︎ New York Times, posted Sept. 19, 2016

With No Good Answer

“How can people distance themselves from a group that fights both Assad and ISIS?” is a frequent question in Aleppo today.

↩︎ posted Sept. 19, 2016

Ceasefire Declared, Ceasefire Holding, Ceasefire We’ll See

On Monday, a defiant Assad promised just before the ceasefire to retake the entire country. Despite a few skirmishes, the ceasefire seemed to hold into the evening.

The reason for the ceasfire? Rebels have seven days to separate themselves from the Syrian Conquest Army, which Washington and Russia have agreed to target while the jihadist army promises, ceasefire or no, to continue to try to overthrow Assad.

↩︎ posted Sept. 13, 2016

Among the Consequences of War

With most young men in Syria at war or seeking work abroad, polygamy is popping up, with some divorcees having little choice but to become a second wife.

Polygamy is legal in Syria, but refugee brides in Turkey face unlikelihood of legal recognition for their new partnerships.

↩︎ posted Sept. 12, 2016

Eid al-Adha

The ceasefire coincides with Eid al-Adha, a holiday during which Muslims celebrate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, traditionally with the sacrifice of a halal animal. The feasting means payday in Somaliland, which exports massive numbers of sheep and goats to nearby Muslim nations.

In America, Eid al-Adha was marked by hate when an arsonist set on fire the mosque where Omar Mateen prayed.

↩︎ posted Sept. 12, 2016

Architect Marwa al-Sabouni examines how failures of infrastructures accelerated the Syrian Civil War, compounding its losses from tragic to horrific. “People outside think our most difficult challenges are weapon-related. But the truth is that the hospitals, which have no proper equipment, are killing more people now than bullets,” she told the Guardian.

↩︎ posted Sept. 13, 2016

Assad Celebrates Holiday in Town He Destroyed

Syrian President Assad appeared the day of the ceasefire in Daraya, a suburb suffocating under the heel of a four-month government siege that left some citizens surviving on grass.

It’s worth noting that 90% of the inhabitants of Daraya have left or died.

↩︎ posted Sept. 12, 2016