Carnegie Middle East Center
The question of the extent and duration of Turkish support for jihadist factions opposing the Syrian regime has been a sensitive issue for some time.
Swedish authorities have opened an investigation into the activities of Haitham Rahma, a Swedish citizen born in Homs.
Few other political leaders, even among the notoriously cynical Lebanese zu’ama, shift their opinions with as little apology and ceremony as Walid Jumblatt, head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and steward of Lebanon’s Druze community.
While he is routinely billed as an “opposition leader” in Syrian, Iranian, and Russian media, Qadri Jamil has always hovered on the outskirts of regime politics.
The presence of Jordanians, and Palestinians from Jordan, as foreign fighters in the Syrian jihadi factions is another factor linking Jordan to the war in Syria.
Deraa, the cradle of the Syrian uprising, has become the main point of entry for direct U.S. support to the Syrian insurgency.
The battle for al-Yarubiya, a border crossing point along the Syrian-Iraqi border, is an extension of the broader regional battle for control of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon by jihadists.
In a statement, a group of nineteen Syrian rebel factions jointly condemned the planned Geneva II conference as an “episode in the chain of conspiracies” against their revolution.
In the wake of stern warnings of greater unilateralism from Saudi officials and commentators, many observers have been left wondering about the future course of Saudi strategy in Syria.
The city of Douma has long been a stronghold of the insurgency, and several armed factions are active in the area, many of them with an Islamist bent.
A preliminary date has been set for the Geneva II negotiations and the Syrian opposition is expected to sit down with representatives from Bashar al-Assad’s regime to discuss the prospect of a unity government. But note the word ”preliminary.”
Syria in Crisis provides analysis of the civil war and its impact on the region. Edited by Aron Lund, a researcher who has published extensively on the Syrian opposition, it brings together Carnegie and outside experts.
Sign up to receive Syria in Crisis updates in your inbox! Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.
Stay connected to Syria in Crisis wtih a new smartphone app for Android and iOS devices