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Natacha Danon

@natachadanon.bsky.social
290 followers 421 following 32 posts

Damascus-based journalist telling Syrian stories with eyes on Palestine | Bylines in Syria Direct, New Lines Magazine, Middle East Eye & The New Arab

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Reposted by Natacha Danon
Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“Nearly two years after the fall of the regime, Syrians’ patience is running thin as prices continue to climb.” From Sep. 17, @natachadanon.bsky.social & @syriadirect.bsky.social on how rising fuel prices stir up discontent in the Sharaa government’s heartland: syriadirect.org/fuel-anger-e...
syriadirect.org
Fuel anger erupts in the government’s Idlib heartland
Fuel price hikes have sparked widespread protests across Syria, with anger reaching Idlib’s Maarat al-Numan, where residents say rising costs threaten livelihoods, reconstruction and the country’s agr...
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Reposted by Natacha Danon
Syria in Transition @syriatransition.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Caught between discredited Ba’thist socialism and predatory neoliberalism, Syria needs a new economic vision that people can rally around. The answer is a version of the New Deal, argues @natachadanon.bsky.social www.syriaintransition.com/en/home/opin...
syriaintransition.com
Syria in Transition – Syria needs a New Deal
Caught between discredited Ba’thist socialism and predatory neoliberalism, Syria needs a new economic vision that people can rally around.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
My latest reporting from Damascus for @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social ⤵️
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Reposted by Natacha Danon
Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 17/08/2026
@syriadirect.bsky.social's @natachadanon.bsky.social on water resource dispute behind unrest in rural Damascus town of Mnein last month: syriadirect.org/syrias-wells... Features comment from "regional administration," a new administrative layer headed in this instance by local returnee from Idlib:
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Syria in Transition @syriatransition.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
As protests proliferate across Syria, an empowered parliament could provide an important off ramp for mounting grievances, argues @natachadanon.bsky.social www.syriaintransition.com/en/home/opin...
syriaintransition.com
Syria in Transition – Parliament is the pressure valve the government needs
As protests proliferate across Syria, an empowered parliament could provide an important off ramp for mounting grievances.
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Reposted by Natacha Danon
Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 04/08/2026
At @syriatransition.bsky.social, @natachadanon.bsky.social argues Syria should resist U.S. pressure to intervene in Lebanon: www.syriaintransition.com/en/home/opin...
syriaintransition.com
Syria in Transition – Syria should not intervene in Lebanon. Here’s why
Intervening against Hezbollah would drag Syria into a bloody war while doing little to contain Israel.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
🧵 As Syria charts a new course and transitional justice efforts proceed, advocates see a unique opportunity to reform the country’s nationality law and address statelessness. 🔗 bit.ly/4xmgTbZ
A group of women sit around round tables as they attend a conference in Damascus organized by Syria’s National Commission for Transitional Justice, alongside UN Women and the MENA Statelessness Network (Hawiati), to discuss reform of the country’s nationality law, 30/3/2026 (Natacha Danon/Syria Direct)
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
In my latest for @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social, I look at the evolution of a state agricultural company called Iktifaa, from Idlib, where it used to manage absentee Druze and Christian lands, to the coast and central Syria, where it is now administering lands belonging to displaced Alawites.
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Reposted by Natacha Danon
Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
🧵 As the trial of former Assad regime security official Atef Najib moves forward, some lawyers and human rights experts warn that it may be premature in the absence of a legal framework for transitional justice. 🔗 bit.ly/4eGIIFi
The Syrian flag (green, white and black horizontal stripes with three red stars in the center) waves above Damascus’ Palace of Justice (a white stone building), where the trial of former regime security official Atef Najib is being held,  10/5/2026 (Natacha Danon/Syria Direct)
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
🧵 As Alawites mark one year since the massacres in Syria’s coastal regions, residents of Baniyas say fear persists, wounds remain unhealed and political demands unmet. 🔗bit.ly/4sF1wbC
Mourners gather at the Sheikh Hilal Cemetery in the Tartous city of Baniyas, to mark the anniversary of March 2025 mass killings in Alawite communities in Syria’s coastal regions, 7/3/2026. A group of women, children and men stand amid stone graves covered with greenery and flowers. A row of trees are in the distance, and dark clouds are in the sky.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
1/ The ongoing US-Israeli assault on Iran is not just an act of aggression against the entire region. It signals the collapse of an international order that was already in tatters after Gaza.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
🧵 As the Syrian government shuts down Deir e-Zor’s informal refineries, a local industry risks collapse even as nearby communities are likely to reap health and environmental benefits. 🔗 bit.ly/4aVv3GW
Smoke rises from makeshift refineries on the outskirts of al-Omar oil field in Syria’s eastern Deir e-Zor province, 28/1/2026. The landscape is flat and dry. Behind a row of telephone poles, columns of dark smoke rise on the horizon into a pale blue sky.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
My latest from Raqqa with testimonies from former fighters, tribal leaders, and civil society figures.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Since Monday, Kobani has been besieged by government forces. Electricity has been fully cut off amid snow conditions, leading to the death of four children today. The Kurdish city acutely remembers the 2014 siege by ISIS and recurrent attacks by Jabhat al-Nusra and Turkish forces.
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Reposted by Natacha Danon
Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
🧵 Encircled by government forces and without basic services, residents of Kurdish-majority Kobani fear a return to the city’s darkest days as the end of a fragile ceasefire approaches. 🔗 bit.ly/4t4eXmz
Residents line up to buy bread in Kobani, a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-held city in the northeast of Syria’s Aleppo province, 23/1/2026. People wait standing in a muddy, slushy street besides a single-story concrete building. Two men walk past the line carrying bundles of bread wrapped in plastic.
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New Lines Magazine @newlinesmag.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
NEW: A former military barracks on Syria’s coast has become a sanctuary of coexistence. In Tartus, the Solidarity Fields co-op helps displaced families rebuild lives and bridge wartime divisions, reports @natachadanon.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th...
newlinesmag.com
The Cooperative in Tartus Bridging Syria’s Divides
Squatting in the ruins of former military barracks, families and activists are finding work, housing and a community of those scarred by war and sectarianism
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
🧵 In the weeks after Assad fell on December 8, 2024, Khalid al-Ahmad* traveled from Raqqa to Damascus for the first time in his life. There, he was caught on video participating in celebrations. When he returned home he was arrested, held for three months without charge. 🔗 bit.ly/3XywyVb
A man walks past a mural depicting supporters and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria’s northeastern Qamishli city, 16/12/2024. In the mural, figures wearing military uniforms wave the yellow flags of the SDF and the YPG.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
🧵 The first trial of hundreds of suspects accused of involvement in killings on Syria’s Alawite-majority coast began on Tuesday, marking the start of a closely watched and unprecedented accountability process. 🔗 bit.ly/47MsF4P
People watch as the trial of 14 suspects accused of participating in violence and massacres on Syria’s Alawite-majority coast earlier this year begins at the Palace of Justice in Aleppo city, 18/11/2025. Judge Zakariya Bakkar, a man with gray hair, speaks into a microphone. A Syrian flag appears at the left of the picture, while the foreground shows cameras and the spectators' backs.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
My piece for @thenewarab.bsky.social on what the PKK withdrawal from Turkey could mean for its presence in Syria and Iraq. www.newarab.com/analysis/wha...
newarab.com
What the PKK’s exit from Turkey means for the Middle East
As the PKK withdraws fighters from Turkey, could the group double down on its presence in Iraq and Syria?
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Reposted by Natacha Danon
Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Diminished by drought, the olive harvest is underway in Syria’s Kurdish-majority Afrin. Residents report fewer violations than in years past, but remain wary of the new authorities. ✍️ @natachadanon.bsky.social syriadirect.org/with-olive-h...
syriadirect.org
With olive harvest underway, obstacles remain for Afrin residents
Diminished by drought, the olive harvest is underway in Syria’s Kurdish-majority Afrin. Residents report fewer violations than in years past, but remain wary of the new authorities.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Despite Russia's direct role in the Syrian conflict, Damascus and Moscow are seeking renewed ties based on mutual strategic interests in an international context where both have limited if any recognition from the West. My latest for @syriadirect.bsky.social.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
In Syria’s Hama province, thousands of displaced Alawites are unable to return to houses and lands now occupied by their former Sunni neighbors, whose own homes were destroyed. With property disputes unresolved and pistachio orchards neglected, social cohesion and the local economy risk collapse.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
“You get the sense that they’re just checking boxes,” Rana Ali, a feminist and human rights activist, told me. She was disqualified from running as a parliamentary candidate from her home district of Nabek on unknown grounds.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
My latest for @thenewarab.bsky.social on the future of Palestinian factions in exile. As one former leader in Islamic Jihad told me, “resistance must come from within Palestine.”
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
My latest reporting from the Damascus suburbs of al-Somoriyeh on the controversial eviction of an Alawite slum, which will mark the first real test on property rights for the nascent Syrian administration. ⬇️
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
My latest for @thenewarab.bsky.social on what the impacts of the latest sectarian violence in Sweida could mean for northeast Syria.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
🧵 Activists in Suwayda who were once open to the Damascus government weigh in on how their views have changed following a wave of sectarian violence—and whether any path forward remains. 🔗 bit.ly/4fb5NhB
An aerial view of Druze-majority Suwayda city in southern Syria, 18/7/2025
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
🧵 As Europe navigates Syria’s post-Assad reality, will it walk in the US’ footsteps or chart a course of its own? 🔗 bit.ly/3GVV25W
French President Emmanuel Macron (right) and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa attend a joint press conference in Paris during al-Sharaa’s first visit to Europe since overthrowing Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, 7/5/2025
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
🧵 In the ruins of what was once widely regarded as the capital of the Palestinian diaspora, returnees to Syria’s Yarmouk camp are doing what they can to rebuild their lives. 🔗 bit.ly/409e13q
Hassan Tamim, 52, looks out the window of his apartment at the skeletons of neighboring buildings in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, 30/4/2025. Tamim smokes a cigarette and wears a paint-flecked shirt.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
🧵 President Donald Trump signed an executive order lifting most US sanctions on Syria this week, cementing a sea change in his country’s approach to Damascus. What explains the shift, and what could future US policy look like? 🔗 bit.ly/4kngqP0
A billboard in Damascus thanks Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US President Donald Trump shortly after the latter announced his country would lift sanctions on Syria during a state visit to Riyadh, 14/5/2025
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
🧵 With dwindling aid and delays in registering informally with the UNHCR, tens of thousands of newly arrived Syrian refugees in Lebanon are largely on their own. 🔗 bit.ly/4kXhv0V
Syrians fleeing violence in Syria’s coastal provinces cross the Nahr al-Kabir river into northern Lebanon’s Akkar region, 11/3/2025. Men, women and children carry bags of their belongings while wading through a shallow river.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
My latest reporting from Homs, which has become a hotspot for extrajudicial killings of former members of the regime and sectarian violence against civilians, with the participation of the state security services, according to eyewitnesses.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
The story of farmers in southwest Syria, swathes of which Israeli forces have seized since the fall of the al-Assad regime, echoes that of Palestinian farmers across the border, as they fight for their lands and their livelihoods. My latest for @newlinesmag.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
“The [Aleppo] agreement represents confidence-building between the Autonomous Administration and the government in Damascus,” said Ahmad Araj, the head of a party that is part of the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces. “It will cover all Autonomous Administration areas if it succeeds.”
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
📸 Syrian-Palestinians gathered in Yarmouk to commemorate the revolution and regime siege of the camp on Friday, then joined a demonstration in Umayyad Square to denounce Israel’s incursion and attacks in southern Syria. ✍️ @natachadanon.bsky.social bit.ly/3Y43hSM
Residents gather to commemorate the revolution and siege of Yarmouk camp, 28/3/2025. Men, women and children stand in front of rows of plastic chairs on an asphalt surface. One person holds a Palestinian flag, while martyr posters hang on a damaged building in the background. Posters hung in Yarmouk camp to remember those lost since the revolution began in 2011. They show (from left to right) Wasim Seyam, Ayman Joudah and Hassan Hassan, 28/3/2025.A poster hung in Yarmouk during an event commemorating the Syrian revolution and the devastating siege of the camp reads: “We dared to dream and we will not regret dignity,” 28/3/2025 The image includes two raised fists, one holding a Syrian revolution flag and the other holding a Palestinian flag. Protestors gather at Umayyad Square to denounce Israeli occupation and attacks in southern Syria. One sign (far right) reads: “From the Golan to Jerusalem, the occupation is temporary,” 28/3/2025. The Damascene sword monument can be seen in the background, behind a man holding up a Palestinian flag.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
🧵 As Tel Aviv projects itself as the protector of Syria’s Druze, hate speech against the community has propagated, despite the stance of many Druze activists against Israel. 🔗 bit.ly/4ipdCRz
Syrians protest Israeli interference in Syria at a demonstration in Druze-majority Suwayda city. One demonstrator holds a sign reading “Netanyahu, you supporter of the [Assad] barrel bomb regime, leave the minorities alone." The Arabic separates Netanyahu's name into "Netan" and "Yahu," a play on words that could be translated as "Nasty [Netan]yahu."
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Syrians in the Druze-majority province of Suwayda chant in support of Syrian unity following the conclusion of an agreement between Damascus and the US-backed SDF to integrate forces.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
Syrians in the Druze-majority province of Suwayda gather in Dignity Square to denounce the killing of civilians on the Syrian coast over the weekend as former regime elements clashed with government security forces.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
“The National Dialogue should not end today,” Sawsan Abu Zeineddin, executive director of the civil society network Madaniya, said. There should be “should be a dialogue process that extends over a sufficient period of time…to allow broader participation." My latest for @syriadirect.bsky.social.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Syrians are forced to weigh between two difficult futures in Syria and Lebanon. Tens of thousands of Syrians who fled during Israel’s offensive are returning to Lebanon, alongside new arrivals, despite a growing crackdown on refugees. My latest: bit.ly/4hT6VqD
bit.ly
Syrians continue to flock to Lebanon after the regime’s fall
BEIRUT — Early Sunday mornings, the narrow, winding streets of Beirut’s Burj al-Barajneh camp are calm and quiet, save for an occasional moped. Some of the earliest risers—shopkeepers and day laborers...
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Among those most impacted by the #USAID funding freeze are organizations working on media, transitional justice and human rights, as they don't qualify for the humanitarian waiver issues by Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
If HTS can prove itself to be a partner in the fight against ISIS, as recent intelligence sharing from the US to thwart an ISIS attack has indicated, there may be American pressure on the SDF - whose raison d'être in Washington's eyes is as a bulwark against ISIS - to negotiate with Damascus.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
As Syrians flood the streets in celebration of the ceasefire in Gaza, a powerful message is being sent to Israel that it will never be able to divide and conquer the people of the region despite having co-opted their regimes.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
While the EU has yet to act, a partial US sanctions waiver offered some reprieve for Syria this month. However, it did not loosen restrictions on the country’s banking sector and private investment, which are critical for economic recovery and large-scale reconstruction. My latest: bit.ly/3WglETO
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 01/01/2025
“We didn’t stand in the squares so that we could get rid of one dictator and replace him with another. We might return to the squares to demand the fall of any regime or dictatorship,” one activist told me. “The breath of the hirak is still present,” another activist told me.
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Natacha Danon @natachadanon.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
"People are joyous, their eyes are dancing that they finished from this tyrannical regime. God willing, the future will be better and more beautiful. This alone is enough for us to work,” one Syrian relief worker told me. My latest for @syriadirect.bsky.social.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
🧵As HTS promises a new approach, Christians in Aleppo city are weighing assurances of protection against difficult memories. When opposition forces took control over the weekend, some fled, fearing the worst from Islamist factions. 🔗 bit.ly/4gca57K
An aerial view of Aleppo city on December 3 shows the neighboring al-Tawheed Mosque and Greek Catholic Cathedral of Aleppo.
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