HTS and Syria

February 18, 2025
On Sunday, December 8, 2024, 53 years of autocratic Assad family rule in the state of Syria ended. At the vanguard of this offensive, following a civil war that has been ongoing since 2011, is the Sahafi-Jihadist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham otherwise referred to as HTS. Several notable international leaders and diplomatic leaders have voiced […]

A Regime Under Fire, The Fall of Asaad and Syria’s Fate without Russia

February 10, 2025
On the morning of Sunday, December 8th, 2024, Syria was liberated from the rule of President Bashar al-Assad as opposition forces advanced through the capital, only to discover that the former president had fled Damascus (BROOKINGS). The collapse of the 53-year-old Assad regime was marked as a historic moment, brought about by 14 years of […]

Devastating Earthquake Reminds Us of the Importance of Emergency Management

February 22, 2023
The toll from the devastating earthquake which struck Turkey and Syria has already topped 50,000, and that figure will almost certainly climb in the coming days, weeks, and months. Some have described the scene as Armageddon. Tens of thousands remain missing, and hundreds of thousands of Turks and Syrians are without shelter, clothing, and food […]

Double Earthquakes Devastate Türkiye and Syria

February 6, 2023
Yesterday, southern Türkiye (Turkey) and northern Syria experienced one of the most significant earthquakes ever recorded in their respective histories. According to the US Geological Survey, the first tremor occurred at 04:17 a.m. local time near Gaziantep at a depth of 17.9 kilometers and measured 7.8 on the Richter scale (BBC). Around 1:24 p.m., twelve […]

Sexual Violence in Syria Targets LGBT People

July 31, 2020
A new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) details sexual violence against gay and bisexual men, transgender women, and non-binary people in Syria (HRW). The Syrian state and non-state actors have targeted people based on their perceived or known sexual orientation or gender identity, people they saw as “soft” (HRW). HRW conducted 40 interviews in […]