Kurdish women in Syria, who played a key role during the civil war, are now advocating for gender equality in post-Assad Syria. They are demanding a role in drafting the new Syrian constitution to ensure that it enshrines women’s rights. VOA’s Zana Omar filed this report from Qamishli, Syria, narrated by Amy Katz. Camera: Zana … Read more
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Top diplomats from the Middle East and Europe are heading to the Saudi capital for talks on Syria as world powers push for stability following the fall of Bashar al-Assad. The talks on Sunday will take place in two sessions: the first will bring together Arab officials while the second will … Read more
United Nations – The top UN envoy for Syria said on Wednesday the Syrian people and the international community need to “get the next step right” as the country rebuilds after nearly 14 years of civil war and the fall of the Assad family regime. “The way forward on political transition remains unclear,” Geir Pedersen … Read more
It is known as the “poor man’s cocaine”. The illegal drug Captagon was a major money-maker for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Now, the rebels who overthrew them are destroying state-run factories producing the stimulant. Reporter Joan Cabases Vega went inside one of the region’s largest and there’s more in this report by … Read more
Syrian security forces searched the city of Homs on Thursday for former soldiers and pro-Assad militants who have refused to hand over their weapons, state media said. SANA news agency quoted a military official as saying that rebels who ousted longtime President Bashar al-Assad had set up centers in Homs to arm soldiers and militants … Read more
France said on Tuesday it had carried out airstrikes against Islamic State terrorist targets in Syria. French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said in a post on Twitter that the strikes occurred on Sunday, but did not specify where in Syria they occurred. The French action follows a series of US strikes on Islamic State targets … Read more
Syria’s new authorities on Thursday arrested a military justice official from the government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad. The arrest of Mohammed Kanjo Hassan was confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights a day after deadly clashes broke out in Assad’s stronghold, the coastal province of Tartus, where gunmen sought to protect him. Twenty … Read more
The former Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk, on the outskirts of Damascus, offers a glimpse of how brutal the Syrian civil war has been for the civilian population. Home to more than 150,000 people, Yarmouk was completely destroyed during the early years of the war. Now, many people are returning to try to rebuild their … Read more
Syria’s new rulers have appointed a foreign minister as they seek to build international ties, two weeks after Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power, the official Syrian News Agency, or SANA, said on Saturday. SANA said the ruling General Command had named Assad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister. A source in the new administration told … Read more
