Syria Direct

Dec 7, 2024 | syriadirect.org | Syria Direct |Mateo Nelson

As the situation in and around Damascus rapidly changed throughout the day on Saturday, three civilians in and around the capital told Syria Direct what they were seeing, hearing and feeling. The walls are closing in on Damascus. In a development unthinkable only one week ago, more than 50 years of the Assad family’s rule of Syria appears to be swiftly unraveling.

Dec 6, 2024 | syriadirect.org | Syria Direct |Mateo Nelson

The view from the ground in the East Ghouta suburbs of Damascus is one of a worried regime withdrawing its forces from the interior of cities and reinforcing checkpoints on their outskirts “for fear of being targeted,” residents say. PARIS — As morning broke over the Damascus countryside on Friday, residents woke to the news that opposition forces had advanced into several cities and towns in northern Homs, edging closer to the Syrian capital.

Nov 22, 2024 | syriadirect.org | Syria Direct |Mateo Nelson

Killings fueled by swelling anti-refugee sentiment claim Syrian lives in Turkey, despite limited efforts to stem the tide. ISTANBUL — Hussein Omar Azouz did not want anybody to get hurt. Following the advice of the manager of the fruit and vegetable shipping company where he worked cutting iron in Turkey’s southern Mersin province, on October 7 the 42-year-old warned other workers to stay away for their safety.

Oct 2, 2024 | syriadirect.org | Syria Direct |Mateo Nelson

As Israel assassinates Hezbollah leaders, Abu Ali Tabtabai—thought to be field commander of the group’s elite Radwan Force in Syria—is likely in the crosshairs. Who is he? PARIS — On September 29, one day after Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was confirmed killed in a massive Israeli strike in Beirut, the Secretary-General of the Arab Islamic Council in Lebanon, Muhammad Ali al-Husseini, appeared on the Saudi state-owned Al-Arabiya channel with a warning.

Jun 2, 2023 | syriadirect.org | Syria Direct

IDLIB — Malek Muhammad* waited for the chance to return home for three years after the Syrian regime recaptured Darayya, his hometown in the southwestern suburbs of Damascus, in 2016. But after years of waiting, he gave up hope in 2019, and decided to leave Syria for Turkey instead. The house he left behind lies in Darayya’s al-Khalij neighborhood, which became a first line of defense for the neighboring Mezzeh Military Airport against opposition military forces in 2012.