Iranian general transformed Syria’s war in Assad’s favor (Associated Press)
Written by: Sarah El Deeb
“When Syrian President Bashar Assad made a rare visit to Tehran last year, the powerful Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani was there to greet him, along with Iran’s supreme leader and president. Iran’s foreign minister wasn’t, and he resigned in protest at being excluded from talks with a crucial ally.”
Among Syria’s Exiles in Jordan (The New York Review of Books)
Written by: Lydia Wilson
“The Haddad family have moved since I first visited them in Jordan last year in 2018: they’re still living in the same building in East Amman, but this time ten-year-old Saber led me past the door of the apartment I knew and up to the next floor. It was cosier, because it was smaller, and therefore cheaper—150 Jordanian dinars a month (about $210) rather than 250 dinars ($350) for the more spacious floor below.”
Briefing: What to watch in Syria this year (The New Humanitarian)
Written by: Ben Parker
“A campaign to recapture Syria’s rebel-held northwest may be the bloodiest and most headline-grabbing part of the country’s war right now, but it is just one of many crises within the overarching crisis.”
Exclusive: Informants in Iraq, Syria helped U.S. kill Iran's Soleimani - sources (Reuters)
Written by: Reuters staff
“Iranian General Qassem Soleimani arrived at the Damascus airport in a vehicle with dark-tinted glass. Four soldiers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards rode with him. They parked near a staircase leading to a Cham Wings Airbus A320, destined for Baghdad.”
Civilians see no future in Idlib as Syrian forces tighten grip (The New Humanitarian)
Written by: Elizabeth Tsurkov, Samer Daboul
“The trucks carrying people escaping the intensifying government offensive in Syria’s rebel-held northwest now contain more than just families and clothes: they are crammed full of everything from windows and doors to faucets and water tankers.”
Erdogan says up to 250,000 Syrians flee toward Turkey as crisis worsens (Reuters)
“President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday up to 250,000 migrants were fleeing toward Turkey from Syria’s northwest Idlib region after weeks of renewed bombardment by Russian and Syrian government forces.“
