syria

Syria: Israeli Strikes Hit Latakia and Tartous

Israeli airstrikes targeted military installations in Syria, belonging to the army of the former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, an NGO said on Wednesday. Among the "military sites" targeted were "the port of Latakia" and warehouses in Tartous. "Israeli fighter jets continue to destroy what remains of Syria's military arsenal, for the fourth ...

Michel Aoun: Lebanon’s Worst President?

In the tragic annals of Lebanese history, Michel Aoun’s presidency stands out not merely as a disappointment but as a catastrophe of Shakespearean proportions. The man who once promised to rid Lebanon of Syrian influence and champion sovereignty ended his career as the very embodiment of everything he claimed to oppose. To understand how ...

Is Democracy Possible in the Arab World?

The Assad family, more accurately known by the name "Al-Wahesh" (the savage), has surpassed all limits of hatred and brutality. After the dictator and his cronies fled, the world, horrified, discovered the full extent of the crimes against humanity that had been the norm in a country left in ruins. In Lebanon, we have long known, through our own ...

Syria's New Leaders Pledge Justice and Inclusivity After Assad's Fall

Syria's new prime minister said the Islamist-led alliance that ousted president Bashar al-Assad will guarantee the rights of all religious groups and called on the millions who fled the war to return home. Assad fled Syria after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies, which brought to a ...

Damascus Airport Set to Reopen in the Coming Days

Damascus airport, closed since rebel forces overran the Syrian capital at the weekend, is to reopen "in the next few days", its director Anis Fallouh told AFP on Wednesday. "God willing, the airport will reopen as quickly as possible because we are going to work flat out," Fallouh said. Pushed to give a timeframe for the ...

Rebels Set Fire to Hafez al-Assad's Tomb in Syria

The tomb of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's father Hafez was torched in his hometown of Qardaha, AFP footage taken Wednesday showed, with rebel fighters in fatigues and young men watching it burn. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor told AFP the rebels had set fire to the mausoleum, located in the Latakia heartland of ...

'Tyrants Are Great Only Because We Are on Our Knees'

"Tyrants are great only because we are on our knees." This quote about individual and collective voluntary subjugation is attributed to Étienne de La Boétie, author of Discourse on Voluntary Servitude. Published in 1576, the text presents remarkably modern insights into the foundations of tyranny and the reasons for people's submission, ...

Syrians in Lebanon: A Pivotal Moment of Hope and a Political Deadlock

Following the recent fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, a new chapter is unfolding in Lebanon, where the large-scale presence of Syrian refugees has disrupted the demographic balance since the onset of the 2011 Syrian conflict. Lebanon initially absorbed a significant influx of refugees, who now make up over a third of the country's ...

Blinken Embarks on Syria Crisis Tour After Assad’s Fall

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads Wednesday on an emergency tour after the overthrow of Syria's dictatorship, in a new, last-minute attempt to shape a Middle East legacy after a turbulent year. The top US diplomat of President Joe Biden, who has little more than one month in office, is set to press principles he has outlined for a ...

Gebran Tueni's Martyrdom Anniversary: Justice Almost Achieved 19 Years Later

December 12, 2005: A date forever etched in memory. That day, the forces of darkness assassinated a fearless journalist who wielded the power of words as a revolutionary tool. He defended Lebanon with unwavering resolve, fighting for freedom, sovereignty and independence. That man was Gebran Tueni, the eternal rebel for the cause of a “Great ...

The Atrocities Committed by the Assad Regime

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime embodies the worst a tyrannical regime can inflict on its people. The only hope for Syrians lies in achieving justice and holding those responsible accountable to ensure that such tragedies are not repeated in the future, and to organize a peaceful power transition to close this long, dark chapter in ...