Lebanon-Syria

Current situation

Syria

This month the French Court sentenced by a historic ruling in absentia three high-ranking Syrian officers to life in prison for the arrest, disappearance, and torture of two French Syrian citizens in 2013. Prominent among those convicted is a well-known general who heads the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate, one of the country's four major security branches. This sentence follows a former German conviction of a Syrian colonel in 2022. These verdicts are far from being enforced but represent milestones for the justice system against war crimes.
Nowadays hundreds of Syrians attempt to return or endure deportation. Several are the direct testimonies to what awaits them: compulsory conscription, enforced disappearances, torture in prison, property grabbing (if still existent), and assaults.
Regarding the regional scenario, Saudi Arabia has appointed the first ambassador to Syria since 2012. This is another piece of the puzzle showing the inevitable international normalization of the Syrian regime.
On the ground the situation remains unchanged and grave, making Syria a space of war between the actors involved in the conflict. After the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Israel struck the area of Qusayr (Homs) and Aleppo on the border with Lebanon, resulting in 40 deaths by one of its most lethal attacks against Syria.
Cells of the self-styled Islamic State continue to attack the desert area in the east of the country.
Moreover, in the north-west, around Idlib, which is not under the regime’s control, the riots keep going on against the armed groups who command the area and repress the dissent through targeted kidnappings and intimidation of the population.

CURRENT SITUATION

SYRIA
A source of Unicef has reported that, in the last two weeks, at least ten children have been killed in the north-east of Syria.
It is a terrifying signal that violence is strongly affecting again the Syrian territory.
For several days artillery attacks and air strikes have hit the civilian areas within the cease-fire territories, in the suburbs of Idlib and Alep. The attacks, which have been recently increased, have reached their spike just few days before the celebration of Eid al-Adha, the sacrifice feast day.  
Since many days violent clashes between the Syrian regular army and the anti-government groups are going on around the city of Daraa al-Balad, in the southern province of Daraa, which is considered a stronghold of the opposition to Bashar al-Assad.

CURRENT SITUATION

SYRIA
In March, 10th anniversary of the first demonstrations in Syria has occurred along with what lately had turned into a historic massacre of human beings.
Nevertheless, on March 15th thousands of people took to the streets in Idlib singing the same slogans of ten years ago.
The war is still going on. In the middle of March, West Alep and Idlib were bombed by Russia and Syrian Army, killing civilians inside a hospital and hitting the transports of humanitarian aids and a power plant.
Apparently, the number of Covid-19 cases is increasing and the Syrian President has been infected by the virus as well. He recovered at the end of the month.
At the end of March, two important events happened internationally. The first one has been the European Conference of Donors for Syria and Syrian Refugees which was held on March 29th-30th and collected 6 billion dollars, almost half of the amount planned to receive.

CURRENT SITUATION

SYRIA-LEBANON
In March, Lebanon has almost reached economic bankruptcy, in fact the country has not been able to pay $ 1.2 billion in bonds: it is practically certain that the economic hardship of the country, linked to the pandemic emergency, will significantly affect the ability to guarantee basic services to its citizens and more than a million of "hosted" refugees.
The first case of Covid-19 was reported in March, causing large-scale closure of schools, universities and public places, and was followed by recommendations of self-isolation for anyone who presents symptoms of the virus.
It is almost impossible to respect self-isolation measures, as well as adequate hygiene standards, for those who live in poor conditions in refugee camps or in crumbling, overcrowded buildings. Many Syrians are torn between the tough decision to continue working, challenging the order to "stay indoors" and risking arrest and contagion or expulsion.

CURRENT SITUATION

The war in Syria continues in its sixth year of violence, terror and repression to the detriment of the civilian population and its most vulnerable sectors. The month of April opened with the tragic news of the chemical weapon attack in the eastern province of Idlib, which is controlled by various groups of rebels with a strong radical Islamist component. The Syrian regime of Assad and the Russian allies are suspected to be responsible of the bombing as they are the only ones in the conflict to be able to perform large-scale air strikes. United Nations and the European Union recognized that there is strong evidence of a government responsibility in the massacre, which has taken away the life of eighty people, many of whom were children. Chemical weapons are not new in the Syrian conflict, as they have often been used to impose fear among civilians and to cover the advance of the ground troops. Other unconventional weapons used are phosphorus and chlorine. The US President, Donald Trump, declared himself “shocked” by the cruelty of the Syrian government and ordered the bombing of Sharaja air base, from where the aircrafts took off. Russian soldiers in the base were warned 90 minutes before the bombing. Russia and Iran condemned the attack.