Focus on Syria

Syria was once the name for the entire region between the pennisulas of Anatolia (Turkey) and Sinai, including the fertile crescent. Ancient civilizations covered the territory; the Egyptians wanted it as a port, while the Persians considered the region a bridge to their plans of a universal empire.

Between the 12th and 7th centuries BC, the Phoenician civilization developed on the central coastal stretch of the territory; a society of sailors and traders withour expansionist aims. Phoenician cities were always independent, although some exercised temporary hegemony over others, and they developed the world's first commercial economy.

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian Civil War (Arabic: الحرب الأهلية السورية‎) is an ongoing international armed conflict taking place in Syria. The unrest began in the early spring of 2011 within the context of Arab Spring protests, with nationwide protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government, whose forces responded with violent crackdowns. The conflict gradually morphed from prominent protests to an armed rebellion after months of military sieges.

Latest News

• More than 300 people killed in hundreds of Russian airstrikes over 20 days
• 12 barrel bombs on Darayya and deaths from the regime forces in clashes at the outskirts of the capital Damascus
• US senator says Washington’s $500 million Syrian training program aided terrorists – report
• Q&A: Syria's White Helmets

Foreign Intervention

• Putin’s “Endgame” in Syria
• How Putin will Win in Syria
• Rashid Khalidi on Syria: The Beginning of This Mess was the 2003 U.S. Invasion of Iraq
• The Need to Oppose All Foreign Intervention in Syria

Background

• WikiLeaks Reveals How the US Aggressively Pursued Regime Change in Syria, Igniting a Bloodbath