SYRIA

Farid Elias Nazha stands as a towering figure among the Syriacs, a visionary whose work illuminated the path of national and literary consciousness for the Syriac people. Born in 1894 in the Syrian city of Hemto (Hama), he began his education in the schools of the Syriac Church. However, a…

ZALIN (QAMISHLI), North and East Syria — Every inhaled breath in villages lining the Gir Zero oil fields carries a hidden price. “The air is totally unbreathable here,” says Ali Thelaj, a community nurse who has treated dozens of cancer patients. “We have about 50 cases of cancer per 500…

WASHINGTON — In early June 2025, Coptic Solidarity, a global initiative for religious freedom and minority rights, hosted a high-level panel to discuss Syria’s transition after the fall of Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024. Among the keynote speakers was Bassam Ishak, a prominent Syrian Christian leader and advocate for…

DARAMSUQ — In a significant move aimed at strengthening economic and trade relations between Daramsuq (Damascus) and Baghdad, the Syrian General Authority for Land and Maritime Border Crossings announced the reopening of the Al-Bukamal border crossing with Iraq for both passenger and cargo truck traffic, starting Saturday, 14 June.  In…

CAFRIN, Syria — In a detailed joint investigation by CNN and the Lelûn Association for Victims, grave allegations implicate current high-ranking officials of Syria’s new military leadership in war crimes committed during Turkey’s years-long occupation of Cafrin (Afrin), a Kurdish-majority region in northwestern Syria.   The report, published this week,…

DAYRO ZCURO, Syria — The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by the U.S.-led International Coalition, arrested a suspected Islamic State (ISIS) operative during a targeted operation in the Al-Shabakah neighborhood of Al-Shehil town, located in the eastern Dayro Zcuro (Deir ez-Zor) countryside. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human…

SUWAYDA, Syria — A wide-ranging civil and political conference held in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda concluded with a series of recommendations, the most notable being the formation of a negotiation team to engage with the central government in Daramsuq (Damascus). The team would represent all of Suwayda’s political,…

TABQA, North and East Syria — The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continue to carry out targeted operations across North and East Syria, dismantling Islamic State (ISIS) sleeper cells and thwarting planned attacks against their forces. In a recent operation west of Raqqa, SDF special units, in coordination with the US-led…

HMOTH, Syria — The International Federation of Alawite Organizations (IFAO) issued a statement condemning the violent acts committed against Alawite civilians in in Tel Kalakh, Hmoth (Homs) Countryside, Syria on the evening of 10 June. In its statement, the Federation strongly denounced the attacks on Alawite civilians, emphasizing that this crime…

BETH ZALIN, North and Syria / BAGHDEDE, Iraq — On the 110th anniversary of the 1915 Sayfo Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire and its Kurdish tribal allies against the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people, the Syriac Union Party (SUP) in Syria and the Beth Nahrain Patriotic Union (Huyodo d’Bethnahrin Athroyo, HBA)…