Mateo Nelson

2 months ago | syriadirect.org | Walid Al Nofal |Mateo Nelson

Syrian security forces arrested Brigadier General Atef Najib in Latakia on Friday. Najib, Bashar al-Assad’s cousin, was involved in the March 2011 torture of children by the Political Security Branch in Daraa, the incident that sparked the revolution. PARIS — Syrian security forces arrested Brigadier General Atef Najib, a cousin of ousted president Bashar al-Assad and former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa province, in Latakia on Friday.

2 months ago | syriadirect.org | Walid Al Nofal |Mateo Nelson

Since the Assad regime fell, repeated local and international calls for the new government in Damascus to provide guarantees for Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities have sparked controversy and fueled hate speech. PARIS — Calls for Syria’s new authorities to guarantee equality and safety for Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities have been loud, locally and internationally, since the start of Operation Deterring Aggression last November and the fall of the Assad regime 11 days later.

Jan 15, 2025 | syriadirect.org | Natacha Danon |Mateo Nelson

The Assad regime is gone, but sanctions on Syria remain. As the country embarks on a long and costly road to recovery, should they be lifted? MARSEILLE — Riding a wave of euphoria, thousands of displaced Syrians rushed home after the Assad regime fell nearly six weeks ago. Many found only ruins, their houses razed or heavily damaged and their communities lacking basic services. The resources needed for Syrians to return home and rebuild are enormous after nearly 14 years of revolution and war.

Jan 14, 2025 | syriadirect.org | Walid Al Nofal |Mateo Nelson

The Syrian Civil Defense, once only able to operate in opposition-held territory, deployed its 3,300 volunteers across most of the country as the Assad regime fell. What comes next for the rescue organization? With the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the Syrian Civil Defense deployed to cities where the rescue organization had never operated since its establishment in October 2014: Tartous, Latakia, western Aleppo neighborhoods and beyond.

Jan 10, 2025 | syriadirect.org | Salam Ali |Mateo Nelson

Twenty people were killed and injured when an AANES-sponsored protest convoy approached an area of active fighting around Syria’s Tishreen Dam on Wednesday and was targeted by Turkish aircraft. What happened, and why? ERBIL — On January 8, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) announced the killing of five civilians and injury of 15 others when a protest convoy heading for the Tishreen Dam on the Euphrates River was hit by a Turkish drone strike.