In this week's Critical State, a weekly foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, Kelsey D. Atherton takes a deep dive into insurgency and counterinsurgency in urban warfare.
Government air strikes have hit hospitals and displaced persons camps in northwest Syria and killed about 300 civilians as President Bashar al-Assad's forces press an assault against the last rebel stronghold, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Waad al-Kateab decided to film her own life in Aleppo continously for five years, in which she fell in love, married a doctor, gave birth, and survived the months-long siege, airstrikes and snipers, while living in an upper floor of the last hospital in the city.
Common sense would suggest the world is indeed now a much safer place with ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's passing. Unfortunately, however, there is no guarantee this will prove to be true in practice.
Turkish officials claim that the government has not forcibly deported Syrians in a widespread campaign to crack down on illegal migration in recent weeks.
For refugees, it's hard to access mental health and guidance, and even for those who do manage to get enrolled in school, the education system itself struggles to cope with the trauma that young Syrians carry into the classroom.
Adbulkafi Alhamdo fled Aleppo and is now living in Idlib with his two young daughters. Even though the cost was higher than he thought it would be, he doesn't regret standing up for freedom, he says.
In April 2018, the US, UK and France fired 103 missiles at three Syrian chemical weapons production and storage facilities to halt Syria’s continuing use of deadly weapons. For a while, it did the trick. The legal rationale? Humanitarian intervention.
Many Syrian refugee women are now working informally in their new host countries or learning new skills to contribute to their families.
When Samir Constantini got the idea to import Aleppo soap to France, it took years to sell his first batch. Now, he's operating a factory and warehouse outside of Paris, helping keep the soap-making tradition alive.
One vendor has returned to open his shop in central Aleppo. He says he wants to see life return to his city.