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Syria Direct

@syriadirect.bsky.social
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Independent media and training organization producing in-depth, investigative reporting on Syria by our team of Syrian and international journalists. 🔗 syriadirect.org

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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 4h
Syria’s diplomatic rehabilitation has moved at breakneck speed. Progress at home has not. After al-Sharaa’s return to the UN, Syria Direct examines the challenges ahead—from Israeli incursions and the Golan Heights to economic hardship and reconstruction. syriadirect.org/syria-is-ris...
syriadirect.org
Syria is rising, al-Sharaa tells UN—but challenges remain at home
“Last year I mentioned that Syria has returned. Today, I say that Syria is rising.” Ahmed al-Sharaa returned to the UN with Syria’s diplomatic standing transformed. Now comes the harder task: turning ...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“Last year I mentioned that Syria has returned. Today, I say that Syria is rising.” Ahmed al-Sharaa returned to the UN with Syria’s diplomatic standing transformed. Now comes the harder task: turning international acceptance into progress at home. syriadirect.org/syria-is-ris...
syriadirect.org
Syria is rising, al-Sharaa tells UN—but challenges remain at home
“Last year I mentioned that Syria has returned. Today, I say that Syria is rising.” Ahmed al-Sharaa returned to the UN with Syria’s diplomatic standing transformed. Now comes the harder task: turning ...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
After SD investigation revealed safety concerns at the Al-Tabiya gas plant, authorities struggle to contain fire after gas pipeline blow out. syriadirect.org/bad-gas-trou...
syriadirect.org
Bad gas: Trouble at Syria’s al-Tabiyah plant leaves a bad smell
Syria is racing to restore gas production at al-Tabiya before winter, but technical problems, infrastructure constraints and questions over management could complicate the plant’s return.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Our Conoco investigation into how Syrian Petroleum Company operates has resulted in further investigations by the Syrian authorities. Read here: syriadirect.org/bad-gas-trou...
syriadirect.org
Bad gas: Trouble at Syria’s al-Tabiyah plant leaves a bad smell
Syria is racing to restore gas production at al-Tabiya before winter, but technical problems, infrastructure constraints and questions over management could complicate the plant’s return.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Our Conoco investigation into how Syria Petroleum Company has resulted in further investigations into how the company operates. Read here: syriadirect.org/bad-gas-trou...
syriadirect.org
Bad gas: Trouble at Syria’s al-Tabiyah plant leaves a bad smell
Syria is racing to restore gas production at al-Tabiya before winter, but technical problems, infrastructure constraints and questions over management could complicate the plant’s return.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The British jihadi bride, Sharmeena Begum who recruited Shamima Begum into ISIS has been arrested in Syria after being linked to a terror attack in Germany. Here is @SyriaDirect story on the terror attack and its implications in Syria. syriadirect.org/ties-of-bloo...
syriadirect.org
Syria’s jihadist networks cast a long shadow from Aleppo to Berlin
Europe and Syria are now confronting different phases of the same legacy. Europe continues to grapple with inherited ideological networks and family ties. Syrian officials, meanwhile, warn that some d...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
“Remove all the modifications...because they do not meet safety standards.” As Syria races to restore domestic gas production before winter, experts warn that repairs may have to be undone.https://syriadirect.org/bad-gas-trouble-at-syrias-al-tabiyah-plant-leaves-a-bad-smell/
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Syria says the al-Tabiyah gas plant is back online—a key step towards restoring domestic gas production. But a Syria Direct investigation found engineering problems, allegations of corruption and internal power struggles behind the official fanfare. syriadirect.org/bad-gas-trou...
syriadirect.org
Bad gas: Trouble at Syria’s al-Tabiyah plant leaves a bad smell
Syria is racing to restore gas production at al-Tabiya before winter, but technical problems, infrastructure constraints and questions over management could complicate the plant’s return.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The Syrian government is prioritizing exports over fuel imports leading to exorbitant prices and queues at the pump. syriadirect.org/oil-flows-fu...
syriadirect.org
Oil flows, fuel runs dry: Syria’s paradox as a new energy corridor The Strait of Hormuz crisis has unexpectedly put Syria at the center of a new global energy route.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has transformed Syria into a key transit route for Iraqi oil bound for Europe. Since April, some 15 million barrels have been exported through the country.Yet Syria...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Pakistan could help train Syria’s new military, drawing on a relationship stretching back decades. But Islamabad is also watching Syria’s Islamist landscape carefully, wary of what developments in Damascus could mean for jihadist movements closer to home. Read more: syriadirect.org/the-road-to-...
syriadirect.org
The road to Mecca: Soldiers, spies and the new Syria-Pakistan relationship
Soldiers, pilots and spies built the Syria-Pakistan relationship long before today’s diplomatic rapprochement. Now those old connections could give Islamabad an unexpected role in rebuilding Syria’s s...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Fuel protests have reached Idlib—the historic heartland of the movement from which Syria’s current leadership emerged. In Maarat al-Numan, protesters blocked the M5 highway as anger over rising living costs grows across Syria. 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 Syria Direct
Fared Al Mahlool | فريد المحلول @faredalmahlool.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Our latest report on the fuel price increases in Maarrat al-Nu’man, Idlib countryside, Syria, produced with editor Tam Hussein and colleague Natacha Danon for Syria Direct. syriadirect.org/fuel-anger-e...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
“We haven’t watered the fields due to the increase in fuel prices.” Syria’s fuel hikes are hitting farmers hard, raising the cost of irrigation, cultivation and rebuilding as protests over the increases spread across the country. Read more @SyriaDirect. 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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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Soldiers, pilots and spies built the Syria-Pakistan relationship long before today’s diplomatic rapprochement. Now those old connections could give Islamabad an unexpected role in rebuilding Syria’s security institutions after Assad. Our latest: syriadirect.org/the-road-to-...
syriadirect.org
The road to Mecca: Soldiers, spies and the new Syria-Pakistan relationship
Soldiers, pilots and spies built the Syria-Pakistan relationship long before today’s diplomatic rapprochement. Now those old connections could give Islamabad an unexpected role in rebuilding Syria’s s...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
“Normally we have six pumps running, but we only have enough petrol to keep one going.” Iraqi oil tankers are streaming across Syria toward Europe. Along the same roads, Syrians roast in their cars waiting for fuel. Our latest: syriadirect.org/oil-flows-fu...
syriadirect.org
Oil flows, fuel runs dry: Syria’s paradox as a new energy corridor The Strait of Hormuz crisis has unexpectedly put Syria at the center of a new global energy route.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has transformed Syria into a key transit route for Iraqi oil bound for Europe. Since April, some 15 million barrels have been exported through the country.Yet Syria...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Hundreds of Iraqi oil tankers are thundering across Syria toward the Mediterranean. Yet Syrians are waiting hours at gas stations to fill their cars. As Syria emerges as a new energy corridor to Europe, why is the country experiencing a fuel crisis? syriadirect.org/oil-flows-fu...
syriadirect.org
Oil flows, fuel runs dry: Syria’s paradox as a new energy corridor The Strait of Hormuz crisis has unexpectedly put Syria at the center of a new global energy route.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has transformed Syria into a key transit route for Iraqi oil bound for Europe. Since April, some 15 million barrels have been exported through the country.Yet Syria...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Assad helped funnel jihadists into Iraq to fight the Americans. Years later, he invoked the War on Terror to justify fighting jihadists at home. Now a former jihadist who once fought US forces leads Syria. The extraordinary afterlife of 9/11 in Syria. syriadirect.org/9-11-through...
syriadirect.org
9/11 through Syrian Eyes
9/11 belongs to American history. But it is also part of Syria’s history. The Iraq war, jihadism, sectarianism, Islamic State and Assad’s fall all bear the imprint of the forces unleashed after Septem...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
9/11 belongs to American history. But it is also part of Syria’s history. Twenty-five years later, Syrians should reckon with that legacy. Malik al-Abdeh writes for Syria Direct syriadirect.org/9-11-through...
syriadirect.org
9/11 through Syrian Eyes
9/11 belongs to American history. But it is also part of Syria’s history. The Iraq war, jihadism, sectarianism, Islamic State and Assad’s fall all bear the imprint of the forces unleashed after Septem...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Assad is gone, but the boundaries of political expression remain uncertain at Damascus University. “Until now, we censor ourselves before speaking or writing because we are not yet accustomed to this new reality.” syriadirect.org?p=457108&pre...
syriadirect.org
Damascus University’s Political Science Faculty confronts its Baathist past
Damascus University’s Political Science Faculty was once closely tied to the Baath Party. Now, it is trying to reinvent itself.But how do you de-Baathify a university after decades of authoritarian ru...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
.Damascus University’s Political Science Faculty was once closely tied to the Baath Party. Now, it is trying to reinvent itself. But how do you de-Baathify a university after decades of authoritarian rule—and guarantee academic freedom? syriadirect.org?p=457108&pre...
syriadirect.org
Damascus University’s Political Science Faculty confronts its Baathist past
Damascus University’s Political Science Faculty was once closely tied to the Baath Party. Now, it is trying to reinvent itself.But how do you de-Baathify a university after decades of authoritarian ru...
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Assad is gone, but their odyssey continues. For Syria Direct, Abdalla Najjar reports on the Syrians still missing and stranded in Libya. syriadirect.org/the-libyan-o...
syriadirect.org
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Syria Direct is coming home. After years in exile in Amman and Berlin, we are returning to Syria and beginning a new chapter—not just as a news website, but as a broader media development organization. syriadirect.org/from-exile-t...
syriadirect.org
From Exile to Damascus: Our new chapter begins
Syria Direct is entering a new chapter. As Syria changes, so must its journalism. Why we're expanding beyond a news website and returning home to help build the future of independent Syrian media.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
🧵 Harried by government security campaigns, IS appears unable to regain territorial control in Syria, instead working to maintain visibility through limited operations while betting on the failure of the country’s transition. 🔗 bit.ly/4gRJeRD
A member of Syria’s security services looks over ammunition and explosives seized during an operation by the country’s Ministry of Interior and General Intelligence Service to arrest an Islamic State (IS) leader, 20/6/2026 (Syrian Ministry of Interior)
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
🧵 Driven by high property prices, Daraa residents are building homes beyond the planned boundaries of cities and towns, creating new neighborhoods without basic infrastructure and presenting already overstretched municipalities with a dilemma. 🔗 bit.ly/4wdHg2w
An aerial view of neighborhoods in Nawa, a city in the western countryside of Syria’s southern Daraa province, 10/6/2026. A long, straight road stretches into the distance, first passing through clusters of square houses and then through brown, green and yellow fields.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
🧵 The living and the dead are coming home to Afrin as displaced families return with the remains of their loved ones, fulfilling a long-held wish to lay them to rest in their native soil. 🔗 bit.ly/43PAlR7
A convoy of dozens of vehicles loaded with the belongings of families returning to the Afrin area of Syria’s northwestern Aleppo province after years of displacement in the country’s northeast, 10/6/2026.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
🧵 Israeli incursions and violations are making life increasingly untenable in southern Syrian border villages, as residents curtail their movements, suspend reconstruction and investment, and consider leaving if they have alternatives. 🔗 bit.ly/4eBKnKx
Israeli soldiers stand in front of an armored vehicle in Dawaya al-Saghira, a village in Syria’s southwestern Quneitra province, 25/12/2024
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
🧵 The Revolutionary Youth Movement and Syrian Democratic Forces continue to recruit minors in northeastern Syria, despite past commitments and an integration agreement with Damascus. 🔗 bit.ly/4vgzGEa
A former Revolutionary Youth (Ciwanên Şoreşger) center in Qamishli, a city in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province, 29/4/2026. YPG banners and the flag of Rojava can be seen on and near the building.
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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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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
🧵 Caught between a seemingly absent Syrian government and a growing Israeli presence, Mount Hermon’s Druze villages are waiting for a clarity neither Damascus nor Tel Aviv seems willing to provide. 🔗 bit.ly/4x8mDG7
Mount Hermon, on the Syrian-Lebanese border, overlooks an unmanned checkpoint at the entrance of the Reef Dimashq village of Beqaasem. Graffiti painted on the small building reads: “Don’t forget the blood of your people,” 7/5/2026 (Hicham El Bouhmidi/Collectif DR/Syria Direct)
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
📣 SYRIA DIRECT IS HIRING! (Deadline extended) Syria Direct’s recruitment process for the positions of Arabic Editor and Arabic Reporter has been extended to June 15, 2026. Learn more and apply: bit.ly/4wnW6Ev
Graphic of a blue box with a white line illustration of a megaphone and the word "hiring," with "Arabic Editor & Arabic Reporter" listed in a white box below
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
🧵 Soil salinization is a complex and expanding crisis in rural Raqqa, where fields are becoming unusable and farmers have limited means to respond. 🔗 bit.ly/4vbkckr
A farmer, seen in profile, works at a wheat field in Raqqa, northeastern Syria, 23/5/2024 (Delil Souleiman/AFP).
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
🧵 Following Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s reshuffle of governors and ministers, questions have emerged over whether the appointments reflect growing public discontent or signal a preference for trust and security control over participation and competence. 🔗 bit.ly/4nuOSdX
A group of men in suits sit around a long wooden table, looking towards a screen at the edge of the picture. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa (his back to the camera) sits at the head of the table as he presides over a meeting with a group of ministers and governors, 19/2/2026 (Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic)
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
📣 SYRIA DIRECT IS HIRING! We are currently recruiting for the following positions: - Social Media & Multimedia Coordinator - Finance & Admin Expert - Programs Manager - English Editor - Arabic Editor - Arabic Reporter Deadline to apply is May 24th. For more details: bit.ly/4wnW6Ev
An illustration of a megaphone and a speech bubble that reads "HIRING!" against a blue background
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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 · 30/04/2026
🧵 Despite progress in talks between Suwayda education officials and Damascus to secure recognition of upcoming baccalaureate exams, students are wary of a repeat of last year, when thousands were left with unrecognized certificates amid an ongoing rift with the government. 🔗 bit.ly/4w1oR9L
Students and their families demonstrate in downtown Suwayda city, demanding recognition of their secondary education certificates. One man’s sign reads (in Arabic): “Honorable people of this country: our children’s future is a responsibility that rests on your shoulders,” 23/4/2026 (Al Haqiqa News)
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
🧵 As Syrian Jews and their allies in the diaspora work to reestablish ties and revive Syria’s ancient Jewish heritage, politics bubble beneath the surface. One thorny question—whether and how Israel fits into the picture—has opened a divide. 🔗 bit.ly/3QyAXas
Henry Hamra, a Brooklyn-based cantor and son of Rabbi Yousef Hamra—the last rabbi to leave Damascus in the 1990s—visits the al-Faranj Synagogue in Old Damascus, 18/2/2025. Hamra looks up and into the distance, standing in front of a stone wall with ornate decorations and a Star of David.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
The first public trial of Assad regime officials began in Damascus on Sunday. Atef Najib, Daraa’s political security chief in 2011, appeared in court. Bashar and Maher al-Assad will be tried in absentia. Read our 2025 profile of Najib: syriadirect.org/who-is-atef-...
syriadirect.org
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
🧵 A proposal to rebuild destroyed neighborhoods in eastern Damascus through private investment and partial compensation for property owners has angered and alarmed residents who consider it “theft” and disguised expropriation. 🔗 bit.ly/4cUYBX9
Syrians from Jobar, a neighborhood on the eastern edge of Damascus, gather to break their Ramadan fast amid the ruins of buildings destroyed by Assad regime bombardment, 11/3/2026. In a picture taken from above, two parallel rows of long tables fill a street illuminated by strings of white lights and flanked by bombed-out buildings and piles of gray rubble.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
🧵 As stateless Syrian Kurds begin applying for citizenship under a recent presidential decree, hopes of restoring long-denied rights are tempered by bureaucratic hurdles and past disappointments. 🔗 bit.ly/4edlvtT
Assem Abdullah Hamou, 51, a stateless Syrian Kurd, holds documents he brought to support his application for citizenship as he waits outside the municipal stadium in the Hasakah city of Qamishli, 6/4/2026. Hamou has short gray hair and is wearing a dark coart and sweater as he looks down at sheets of paper in his hands.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
🧵 Under pressure and death threats, a number of journalists and activists have fled Suwayda in recent months as the space for free expression narrows in the Druze-majority southern province. 🔗 bit.ly/4sb9w3A
Syrians gather to protest the humanitarian situation in Suwayda city, as the Druze-majority southern province suffered shortages of basic supplies following deadly violence in July 2025, 28/7/2025. A crowd of men and women stand holding signs and raising the Druze flag.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
🧵 Germany kept a report used to justify post-Assad deportations to Syria confidential for nearly a year before quietly releasing it last week. It appears to contain inaccuracies. 🔗 bit.ly/4v1WfwA
The cupola of Germany’s Bundestag is seen behind a sign indicating the way to an emergency exit on the sidelines of a debate focusing on immigration, 31/1/2025 (Tobias Schwarz/AFP)
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
🧵 While not a direct target of the escalating conflict between Israel, the US, Iran and Hezbollah, southern Syria is feeling its fallout—from drone debris to increased patrols by occupying forces. 🔗 bit.ly/3PgzoNG
A brick traffic median in Quneitra’s al-Salam city shows impact damage from fragments of an Iranian drone intercepted by Israeli air defenses, 15/3/2026.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
🧵 On the second anniversary of the Syrian revolution since the fall of the Assad regime, have its earliest aims—freedom, justice, dignity and the rule of law—been achieved, or is the journey far from over? 🔗 bit.ly/4sYuNOJ
Syrians marking the 15th anniversary of the revolution march are greeted by members of the new government’s security forces at the site in Daraa city where Assad regime security forces fired upon protesters in 2011, 18/3/2026 (Daraa Media Center) 

In the distance, a crowd of demonstrators, some waving the green and black flag of the Syrian revolution, walk down a road that winds along the side of a hill, covered in lush green plants. In the foreground, a row of Syrian security forces have their backs to the camera, facing the approaching crowd. Some have flowers tucked into their uniforms or shields. The scene is an intentional inversion of the violence that took place at the same spot 15 years earlier.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
🧵 After months of deadlock, a prisoner swap between Damascus and Suwayda opened a “new” negotiating channel, but is there a way forward amid internal divisions and struggles over representation? 🔗 bit.ly/4sq9Ax9
Sheikh Laith al-Balous, wearing a white turban, stands with Syrian government figures during a prisoner exchange between the Damascus government and Suwayda’s National Guard, 26/2/2026
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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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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
🧵 An inaccessible public transportation system and degraded infrastructure pose daily challenges to disabled Syrians, isolating them and preventing their freedom of movement in an “unspoken form of social exclusion.” 🔗 bit.ly/4bjYl1X
A group of women and men wait for a bus or servees (microbus) on the side of a street in Damascus. All have their backs turned to the camera as they look down the street, where a bus and a van are driving past. A row of apartment buildings can be seen stretching into the distance on the other side of the street.
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
🧵 Israeli aircraft sprayed large areas of Syria’s southern Quneitra province with herbicides at least three times in late January, killing crops, devastating farmers and damaging trees. 🔗 bit.ly/4l9ZKN9
Plants and grasses growing around olive trees west of the Quneitra countryside village of Kudna are yellowed and dying after the area was sprayed with herbicides by Israeli aircraft, 4/2/2026
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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
🧵 Even as Syria suffers an acute water crisis, thousands of cubic meters of groundwater are flowing into the global market in the form of olive oil, an export that represents both national pride and a silent depletion of resources. 🔗 bit.ly/4sbh7zi
Olive trees on Abdullatif Boubki’s land in the Idlib countryside city of Salqin, northwestern Syria. It is a cloudy day, and rows of olive trees can be seen growing from reddish earth. Water has collected in a number of ruts in the ground.
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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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Syria Direct @syriadirect.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
🧵 As Damascus and the SDF inch towards integration, is northeastern Syria heading for unified state institutions, “complementary integration,” or a revival of divided influence? 🔗bit.ly/4qDb3OP
Syrian government security forces enter Qamishli city in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province, 3/2/2026. A military vehicle drives down a street, flying a Syrian flag. A group of people stand on either side as it passes, carrying cameras and filming.
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