Syria

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Arab press reacted to the announcement on Monday by the US government that it was ending its military cooperation with the Russian Federation in Syria. Masr al-Arabiya noted that the US underlined that that the step did not imply that all sorts of joint activity […]

Featured

Syria Quagmire: Has Russia Accomplished anything in a year of Bombing?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Alarabiya says that Russia has killed over 3,000 civilians in its bombing raids of the past year. BBC Monitoring translated an article by Mikhail Khodarenok at the Gazeta.ru site from 23 September that tries to explain why any decisive victory in Syria has eluded Russia during […]

Syria

Syro-Russian Hospital Bombings in Aleppo “War Crimes,” worse than Slaughterhouse- Ban Ki-moon

contributors

By TeleSur | – – Western media reports that the airstrikes were conducted by Syrian or Russian aircraft as part of an offensive launched by President Bashar al-Assad. At least six people were killed in airstrikes on two hospitals in rebel-controlled [East] Aleppo, Reuters reported Wednesday, and the World Health Organization confirmed that both Syrian […]

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Syria, Russia push to take East Aleppo pocket as airstrikes kill 66, wound 200

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Only a week after seeming to agree to a ceasefire, Russia and the Syrian regime in Damascus appear to have decided to throw caution to the winds and simply wipe out the pocket of rebel resistance in East Aleppo. If the regime has all of Aleppo, […]

Russia

Syria: Are Russo-Iranian and US-Saudi interests converging enough for a Ceasefire?

contributors

By Mohammed Nuruzzaman | (Informed Comment) The Syrian civil war is now in its sixth year, with occasional ceasefire deals made and violated by the warring parties being a cyclical process. The latest ceasefire agreement brokered by the U.S. and Russia, which came into effect on September 12, is standing on shaky grounds. The U.S.-led […]

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In Massive Intel Error, US Kills 80 Syrian Troops, Helps ISIL Advance

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In a massive intelligence failure, the US Air Force hit a Syrian military installation in Deir al-Zor that it thought was Daesh (ISIS, ISIL). But it turned out to be the Syrian Arab Army position at Deir al-Zor military airport. The strike killed 80 soldiers and […]

Featured

“Pigs! Crusaders!”: US-Backed Fundamentalist Militias drive US Commandos out of al-Ray, Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – As Raf Sanchez of The Telegraph writes, fundamentalist militiamen of the US-backed Free Syrian Army chased US commandos out of al-Ray in Syria near the Turkish border, cursing them as “pigs” and “crusaders” and asserting that the US is attempting a military occupation of Syria. Full […]

Displaced and Refugees

Busting the Myths about Syrian Refugees in the US

contributors

Jeffrey H. Cohen | (The Conversation) | – – On Sept. 12, a new cease-fire took effect in Syria. With a lull in fighting, some are hopeful for an end to the nation’s ongoing civil war. Yet, even if the war ends soon, rebuilding the country will take time. As many refugees anxiously wait and […]

Bashar al-Assad

Syria Truce holds, despite questions on Humanitarian Aid

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The London pan-Arab daily al-Quds al-`Arabi reports that the truce that began Monday night held during its first twenty-four hours, in the areas designated for a cease-fire by Russia and the United States. The boom of artillery fire faded away at nightfall on Monday. It coincided […]