سوريا دايركت

من التفاوض إلى التصعيد: حلب تختبر حدود العلاقة بين دمشق و”قسد”

جاء التصعيد الأخير في مدينة حلب في ظل أزمة سياسية متفاقمة بين دمشق و"قسد"، لاسيما بعد تعثر الجولة الأخيرة من المفاوضات بين ...
سوريا دايركت

تسوية مالية تعيد محمد حمشو الواجهة الاقتصادية للأسد إلى المشهد

فجرت التسوية الاقتصادية التي أبرمها رجل الأعمال محمد حمشو مع الحكومة السورية الجديدة جدلاً واسعاً في الشارع السوري، نظراً ...
سوريا دايركت

بذور في مواجهة القنابل: مشاهد من المقاومة الزراعية في سوريا

بعد أن كانت مبعثرة ومحفوظة في الخارج، بدأت البذور المحلية السورية تستعيد جذورها من جديد، في إطار إحياء عضوي يهدف إلى استعادة ...
Syria Direct

Seeds against bombs: Scenes from Syria’s agricultural resistance and revival

QAMISHLI/ALEPPO/BEIRUT — Already this past April, the signs of catastrophic drought and crop failures to come were looming in the flat, yellow-tinged landscape of northeastern Syria. The drive along ...
Syria Direct

‘Locusts’: Organized looting, destruction of displaced Syrians’ homes by ‘demolition forces’ and regime-affiliated groups

PARIS — In the days after the Syrian regime took control of the southern Idlib countryside village of Kafruma in January 2020, the victors began a new task: looting. Entering the vacant homes of those ...
Syria Direct

In post-regime Daraa, insecurity overshadows the state

PARIS — Nearly 11 months since the fall of the regime, a steady drumbeat of violence continues in Syria’s southern Daraa province, where simmering insecurity and plentiful weapons destabilize ...
Syria Direct

With olive harvest underway, obstacles remain for Afrin residents

JENDERES — Kneeling beneath the generous branches of a decades-old olive tree, Agid Ahmad, 66, and his wife Fatima Khalil, 58, (pseudonyms) gather its small black fruits from the coarse, red earth.
Syria Direct

Deleting zeros: Will Syria’s new currency lighten the load, or add confusion?

PARIS — Every day, Muhammad Hassan devotes the last three hours of work at his small grocery store in the Reef Dimashq city of Douma to sorting banknotes. He arranges Syrian pounds (SYP) by value and ...
Syria Direct

Dueling with drought: How can Daraa farmers adapt to a changing climate?

PARIS — Like many Daraa farmers, Abu Khaldoun is trying something different. He plans to replace half the area he usually plants with summer vegetables with crops that consume less water and are ...
Syria Direct

Mixed reactions as Syria holds indirect vote for first post-Assad parliament

DAMASCUS — Syria held its first post-Assad elections on Sunday: an indirect vote to select members of the People’s Assembly, the country’s legislative body, for a 30-month extendable term.
Syria Direct

How Syria’s Ismaili community keeps a fragile peace

SALAMIYEH — Sham, 17, holds a glass of mate in her right hand, reaching out for a big bowl of popcorn as she chats with neighbors and family members seated around her on plastic chairs. The gathering ...
Syria Direct

How Bulgaria is quietly disposing of its Syrian refugees

SOFIA — “I am really sorry for the delay in replying,” Rashid* wrote in a 4am WhatsApp message in July. “I was in detention in Sofia until yesterday. I just got deported.” Rashid, who had been an ...