[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]
Inside Syria
In Syria, many families face a terrible dilemma Hassan Hassan on the consequences of the U.S.-led campaign in Syria and how the negative economic effects of coalition airstrikes strengthen ISIL.
Will Syria’s Druze join uprising after assassination of influential sheikh? Although many Druze fear living under the control of the Islamic state, they also fear speaking out against the government could be a harsher consequence.
Militants execute 56 Syrian regime soldiers at captured airbase Islamist insurgents kill 56 members of Syrian government forces in a mass execution in northwest Syria.
Refugee crisis: Hundreds of Syrian refugees `threatened with deportation back to Syria` Countless Syrian refugees fear they could be sent back by Turkish authorities after their long journey.
In Damascus, a New Student Craze: Bicycles Mokhtar Alibrahim writes that, in Damascus, an increasing number of students are using bicycles to commute to their university.
An Arabic version of this article can be found here: في دمشق: الدراجات الهوائية وسيلة الطلاب الجديدة للوصول إلى جامعاتهم
Russia calls on US to co-operate with its military in Syria This article reports about Kremlin strategy in Syria and the recent Russian call on the US to co-operate with its military in Syria against ISIS.
Daesh leaders face trial after Coalition Air Raid On 6 September, an ISIS meeting took place in the Islamic court building of Daesh which was formerly the Finance Directorate building of Raqqa. The meeting included some of the most prominent leaders of Daesh in Syria with leaders who came from Iraq.
Syria`s Kurdish parties: Don`t go to Europe Kurdish leaders fear mass exodus from Syria will cause major demographic changes in areas they control.
Exclusive: Syrian army starts using new weapons from Russia - military source The Syrian military has recently started using new types of air and ground weapons supplied by Russia, a Syrian military source told Reuters on Thursday, underlining growing Russian support to Damascus that is alarming the United States.
Russia May Have Big Plans for Syria — Regardless of Whether Assad Stays or Goes Torie Rose DeGhett reports that "satellite images appear to show new construction at an airbase near the strategic Mediterranean port city of Latakia, a sign of what US officials say is Russian construction of a new forward airbase that`s part of a new effort to bolster Assad`s forces."
Regional and International Perspectives
Are the U.S. and Russia now on the same page about Syria? While Putin moves decisively on Syria, the U.S. is holding his coat, says Aaron Miller.
Our High-Priced Mercenaries in Syria The cost of all U.S. military operations against the Islamic State has reached over four billion dollars.
U.S. Begins Military Talks With Russia on Syria “Given divisions between Moscow and Washington, it’s hard to see how you turn convergence on tactical military issues into a collective and viable political strategy to stabilize Syria and end the war.”
Obama must start leading and stop dithering in Syria “America’s current Syria policy, exemplified by the single-digit numbers of US-trained fighters on the ground, is a tragedy.”
From Syria to Lebanon: Palestinians stuck between ‘catastrophes’ Palestinians refugees from Syria now find themselves becoming “double refugees” as they flee the violence in Syria to Lebanon.
100 US-trained fighters enter Aleppo to fight ISIS Waves of newly trained rebels will operate in northern Aleppo to join the fight against ISIL.
Syrian rebels agree on joint approach to UN peace talks Aron Lund on the new Syrian rebel joint statement on the Syrian peace process.
West `ignored Russian offer in 2012 to have Syria`s Assad step aside` Senior negotiator describes rejection of alleged Russian proposal – since which time tens of thousands have been killed and millions displaced.
UK appoints minister for Syrian refugees as Cameron visits Lebanon British prime minister visits a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon "to see for myself and to hear for myself stories of refugees and what they need."
`Facebook refugees` chart escape from Syria on cell phones This article reports how Syrian refugees use information and communication technologies as resources in their migration trips to Europe.
Diplomacy, partition, intervention – which future is least bleak for Syria As Syria’s agony deepens, and once more the talk is of using western military force to stem the tide of misery, The Guardian Middle East editor considers scenarios for the stricken country.
Angelina Jolie is wrong - Islamic State`s use of rape is horrible but familiar Joan Smith writes that ISIS leaders would like us to think it is the most frightening terror organisation that’s ever existed, but they are by no means the first group of men to use mass rape as a deliberate policy.
Future generations will despise our ‘realism’ on Syria Nick Cohen writes that even as hundreds of thousands of Syrians flee their homeland, western powers refuse to address the root cause for their flight.
US and Western allies must change their Syria policy Gregory Shupak writes that while citizens of Western countries pushing their governments to accept more Syrian refugees, they must also compel Western countries to rethink their Syria policies.
Policy and Reports
Europe: Drastic change in response needed to tackle refugee crisis European leaders’ response to the burgeoning refugee crisis has been incoherent and lacking in leadership, ambition and compassion, said Amnesty International as it launched its Agenda for Europe just prior to the European Commission announcing new proposals to address the crisis.
The full Agenda can be downloaded here: A Union of Protection: Amnesty International’s Agenda for Refugee Protection in Europe
Saudi Arabia Has 100,000 Empty Tents with AC for 3 Million People – They’ve Taken Zero Refugees While European countries are being lectured about their failure to take in enough refugees, Saudi Arabia – which has taken in precisely zero migrants – has 100,000 air conditioned tents that can house over 3 million people sitting empty.
The long arm of British law In the long war against ISIL, the media campaign is as important as the military one.
Why Isis fights This New Guardian report says apocalypse is a big motivation for ISIS fighters.
The Shifting Face of Ahrar al-Sham The Soufan Group provides updated information about Ahrar al-Sham represents one of the most effective rebel forces currently operating in Syria.
Documentaries, Special Reports, and Other Media
Syria: On the front line in Damascus Jeremy Bowen reports from the front line in Damascus where shelling is having terrible consequences on both sides.
Hungarian nationalist TV camera operator filmed kicking refugee children A 20-second video of N1TV’s Petra László tripping over Syrian refugee man carrying child in his arms – and kicking young refugee girl and boy – goes viral and horrifies audience.
The US response to the Syrian refugee crisis, in one very depressing chart This chart shows that Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan host most Syrian refugees and that the U.S and Europe host far less number.
Migrant crisis: The Syrians exploited by people-smugglers in Turkey With no let-up in the number of refugees desperate to leave their countries, criminal gangs are making tens of thousands of dollars every time a crowded boat tries to make it to Europe. The BBC`s Fergal Keane reports from the Turkish coast, where secret filming reveals the extent of the illegal people-smuggling trade.
Arabic:
“داعش” يقف عاجزاً أمام عاصفة غبارية تضرب الرقة Raqqa is Being Slaughtered website criticizes the ways in which ISIS respond it to the recent sandstorm that affected Syria.
جنان سبية داعش تعود إلى كردستان A young Yazidi woman, Jinan Badl, who was an ISIS Sabbieh, refugsed an asylum from Franc and decided to go back to Kurdistan.
ما الذي يحدث في السويداء؟ Tamam Alnaboani gives an update on the current events in Al-Suwayda.
قطاع الكهرباء: خسائر تتصاعد.. وإنتاج ينخفض.. وتقنين لا يرحم Aliqtisadi reports that the Syrian electricity sector losses exceed 400 Billion Lira.
تعزيزات لتحصين دمشق بعد خسائر النظام في الغوطة Iskandar Al-Deek reports that the Syrian regime brought in reinforcements from the countryside Zabadani and Daraa to the north-east of Damascus, to repel an attack by Jaysh al-Islam fighters.
روزنة تطلق حملة "آخر غريق سوري" Rozana launched a new media campaign "baby Alan .. Last drowning Syrian" in an attempt to draw attention to the issue of Syrian refugees and to focus on addressing the reasons that prompt them to resort.
في عذابات اللجوء السوري… الفائض الحضاري ينتج فائضا أخلاقياً Dr. Mohammad Al Habash, a Syrian Islamic scholar, writer and politician, argues that the new support from the people of Scandinavia, Germany and Austria to the Syrian refugees is because of humanitarian awakening and ethical superiority of the societies there.
واقع مرير تشهده المدارس في مدينة حلب مع حلول العام الدراسي الجديد 15-9-2015 The video reports about the situation of schools in Aleppo with the beginning of the new school year.
نساء الكسوة.. يكافحن الأمية Rima Ahmad reports about a group of internally displaced women in Al-Kiswah in Rural Damascus who created an institute for literacy that supports women`s education in Arabic and English, an aims to empower women economically.
راتب شعبو يكتب*: مشكلة اللاجئين ليست مشكلة إنسانية Rateb Sha`bo arguse that the Syrian refugee crisis is not a refugee crisis as many European countries suggest, instead it is a forced migration case.
المعلم: سنطلب من روسيا القتال الى جانبنا إذا دعت الحاجة Walid Muallem, Syrian Foreign Minister, says that the Syrian regime will ask the help of Russia in fighting if they needed.