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Elections are generally meant to be competitive affairs, with candidates and political parties vying for the public's attention over the weeks and months prior to voting. Whilst not all...
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As the Syrian uprising approaches yet another anniversary, enough blood has been spilled to fill the country's barren rivers. More than ten years on, almost a million people have...
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February 6, 2021 |
Zaki Kaf Al-Ghazal As we approach the tenth anniversary of the Syrian uprising, the conflict rages on with no apparent end in sight. The role of the United Nations, the international organisation...
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November 16, 2020 |
Zaki Kaf Al-Ghazal As Joe Biden is declared President-elect of the US, it is clear he has many matters to tackle. From containing coronavirus and managing the economic fall-out, to working to...
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August 21, 2020 |
Zaki Kaf Al-Ghazal In the aftermath of the chemical attack in the Damascus province of Ghouta seven years ago, David Cameron, the former British Prime Minister remarked: "Our inaction in Syria shows...
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Events in Syria tend to revolve around the crimes committed by President Bashar Al-Assad and his regime. He has been in the news more than usual recently due to...
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The Syrian economy is in freefall. At the beginning of the uprising in March 2011, $1 was equivalent to approximately 50 Syrian Pounds. Today, it is equivalent to around...
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It is well understood that the Assad regime controls all aspects of Syrian life and society as dictatorships tend to do. The tentacles of the regime reach into the...
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As Syria enters the 10th year of the conflict in the country, the situation looks bleak. Idlib is on the verge of falling to the regime, stopped only by...
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As the world looks on, the horrors of Idlib are clear for all to see. The last bastion of resistance to the Assad regime, Idlib teeters on the brink....
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January 2, 2020 |
Zaki Kaf Al-Ghazal As we enter a new year and a new decade, the Syrian conflict rages on, well into its ninth year. The estimated death toll is touching one million, with...
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December 6, 2019 |
Zaki Kaf Al-Ghazal General elections are intriguing times in British politics. Parties make headlines with spending commitments, their leaders are constantly on the airwaves hammering home their message and the public are...
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September 30, 2019 |
Zaki Kaf Al-Ghazal Constitutions are an interesting legal phenomenon. The Oxford Dictionary defines a constitution as "a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organisation...
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August 19, 2019 |
Zaki Kaf Al-Ghazal In the aftermath of the August 2013 chemical weapons attack in Ghouta, Syria, the then British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "Our inaction in Syria shows we have not...
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Although many reports touch on the political and humanitarian situation in Syria, little has been said about the medical situation in the war-torn country, and the plight of its...
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The bombardment of Idlib by Syrian regime forces over the past few weeks has been relentless; the long anticipated offensive on the city in northern Syria has arrived with...
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This week is the eighth anniversary of the conflict in Syria. The death toll is well over half a million and over half the population has been internally or...
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September 4, 2018 |
Zaki Kaf Al-Ghazal Former US President Jimmy Carter penned an opinion piece in the New York Times recently in which he detailed how it would be wise for the government of Bashar...
![Syrians demonstrate in the city of Idlib against the presidential elections that began today in the areas controlled by the Assad Regime in Idlib, Syria on 26 May 2021. [Izzeddin Idilbi - Anadolu Agency]](https://i2.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Demonstrations-against-Assad-Regime-Presidential-elections-in-Idlib_6.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Elections are generally meant to be competitive affairs, with candidates and political parties vying for the public's attention over the weeks and months prior to voting. Whilst not all...![A view of the damaged houses and workplaces after an artillery attack by the Assad regime in Idlib, Syria on 11 February 2021 [Ahmet Hatib/Anadolu Agency]](https://i2.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Regime-attack-injures-7-civilian-in-Idlib_7.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
As the Syrian uprising approaches yet another anniversary, enough blood has been spilled to fill the country's barren rivers. More than ten years on, almost a million people have...![Syrian children huddle around a fire during winter season in Idlib, Syria on 30 January 2021 [Muhammed Said/Anadolu Agency]](https://i1.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/20210130_2_46631176_62073019.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
As we approach the tenth anniversary of the Syrian uprising, the conflict rages on with no apparent end in sight. The role of the United Nations, the international organisation...![US President-elect Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware, on 9 November 2020 [ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images]](https://i2.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Biden-.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
As Joe Biden is declared President-elect of the US, it is clear he has many matters to tackle. From containing coronavirus and managing the economic fall-out, to working to...![Syrians gather near a vehicle of the United Nations (UN) arms experts as they inspect a site suspected of being hit by a deadly chemical weapons attack last week on 28 August 2013 in the Eastern Ghouta area on the northeastern outskirts of Damascus. [MOHAMED ABDULLAH/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-178656766-e1598002523182.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
In the aftermath of the chemical attack in the Damascus province of Ghouta seven years ago, David Cameron, the former British Prime Minister remarked: "Our inaction in Syria shows...![Queen Elizabeth II receives Asma Al-Assad and her husband, the President of Syria Bashar Al-Assad, 17 December 2002, at Buckingham Palace, in London. [KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/AFP/Getty Images]](https://i1.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GettyImages-107934255-e1550739949349.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Events in Syria tend to revolve around the crimes committed by President Bashar Al-Assad and his regime. He has been in the news more than usual recently due to...![A merchant counts Syrian pound notes, bearing a portrait of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, at the Bzourieh market in the centre of the Syrian capital Damascus on 11 September 2019. [LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i2.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/GettyImages-1168713094.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The Syrian economy is in freefall. At the beginning of the uprising in March 2011, $1 was equivalent to approximately 50 Syrian Pounds. Today, it is equivalent to around...
It is well understood that the Assad regime controls all aspects of Syrian life and society as dictatorships tend to do. The tentacles of the regime reach into the...![Image of Syrian President, Bashar Al-Assad, in Moscow, Russia on 10 October 2015 [En.kremlin]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2015_10_21-syrian-president5hHLXgnPIIeGxAx3VzWiOz9RJuFmu1TN.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
As Syria enters the 10th year of the conflict in the country, the situation looks bleak. Idlib is on the verge of falling to the regime, stopped only by...![Heavly damaged buildings are seen after Russian warplanes hit residential areas including a hospital and a bakery, in Ariha district, south of Idlib, Syria on 30 January 2020. [İzzeddin İdilbi - Anadolu Agency]](https://i1.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/20200130_2_40591724_51672505.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
As the world looks on, the horrors of Idlib are clear for all to see. The last bastion of resistance to the Assad regime, Idlib teeters on the brink....![Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) in Sochi, Russia on 21 November 2017 [Kremlin Press Office/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2017_11-21-President-of-Russia-Putin-meets-with-Syrian-President-Bashar-al-Assad20171121_2_26992374_28018656.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
As we enter a new year and a new decade, the Syrian conflict rages on, well into its ninth year. The estimated death toll is touching one million, with...![Crowds march through central London to demand a People's Vote on the Governments new Brexit deal on 19 October 2019 in London, UK [Tayfun Salcı/Anadolu Agency]](https://i2.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/20191019_2_38838811_48635996.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
General elections are intriguing times in British politics. Parties make headlines with spending commitments, their leaders are constantly on the airwaves hammering home their message and the public are...![Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin (not seen) in Sochi, Russia on 21 November 2017 [Kremlin Press Office/Anadolu Agency]](https://i1.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2017_11-21-President-of-Russia-Putin-meets-with-Syrian-President-Bashar-al-Assad20171121_2_26992374_28018657.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Constitutions are an interesting legal phenomenon. The Oxford Dictionary defines a constitution as "a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organisation...![Affected babies receive medical treatment after Assad regime forces conduct allegedly poisonous gas attack on Sakba and Hammuriye districts of Eastern Ghouta, in Damascus, Syria on 7 March, 2018 [Dia Al Din Samout/Anadolu Agency]](https://i1.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2018_03_07-Victims-of-allegedly-gas-attack-receive-treatment-in-Eastern-Ghouta20180308_2_29110087_31436934-.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
In the aftermath of the August 2013 chemical weapons attack in Ghouta, Syria, the then British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "Our inaction in Syria shows we have not...![Destroyed buildings are seen after the Assad Regime carried out air strikes over a children's hospital inIdlib, Syria on 10 June 2018 [Ibrahim Hatip/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018_6-10-Syria-warplanes-destroy-children’s-hospital-in-Idlib20180610_2_30828146_34535704.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Although many reports touch on the political and humanitarian situation in Syria, little has been said about the medical situation in the war-torn country, and the plight of its...![A civil defence member carries an injured girl following air strikes which hit Idlib, Syria 2 June 2016 [REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2019-05-16T080453Z_1_LYNXNPEF4F0EV_RTROPTP_4_MIDEAST-CRISIS-SYRIA-e1557995228634.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The bombardment of Idlib by Syrian regime forces over the past few weeks has been relentless; the long anticipated offensive on the city in northern Syria has arrived with...![Wounded kids are being taken to hospital with an ambulance after the Assad Regime attacked Idlib, Syria on 16 February 2019 [Enes Diyab/Anadolu Agency]](https://i2.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/20190216_2_34977630_41739189.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
This week is the eighth anniversary of the conflict in Syria. The death toll is well over half a million and over half the population has been internally or...![A member of Free Syrian Army (FSA), backed by Turkish Army, patrols in Azez region of Aleppo, Syria within the "Operation Olive Branch" against PYD/PKK in Afrin, on 26 January, 2018 [Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency]](https://i1.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018_1-25-Operation-Olive-Branch-to-Afrin20180126_2_28345221_30172682.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Former US President Jimmy Carter penned an opinion piece in the New York Times recently in which he detailed how it would be wise for the government of Bashar...