The Free Syrian Army may claim democratic ideals, but it is almost exclusively a Sunni Muslim grouping fighting the Shia and Alawite forces of the dictator Bashar Al-Assad.
EPA/Maysun
The horror of the Syrian conflict appears to know no bounds. Every day brings news of a new atrocity and it is clear that both the rebels and the Assad government are guilty of human rights abuses on an…
Australian Syrians protest in Hyde Park, Sydney, in February calling for the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down immediately.
AAP Image/Lauren Farrow
In Syria, the optimism which accompanied the Arab Spring uprising has faded into the reality of a bloody sectarian civil war. Recent media reports have highlighted the involvement of foreign fighters in…
Syrian rebels are using violence, but it may not be in their best interest.
EPA/Cem Ozdel
What should we hope for when we look at the ongoing crisis in Syria? I don’t really know anymore.
The most interesting book that I have read this year is Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic…
A building Aleppo attacked by Free Syrian Army fighters.
EPA/Sana
It is a paradox of our digital age that, despite an enormous supply of information, a powerful yet misleading consensus can still shape the course of international relations. Such was the case with the…
Foreign Minister Bob Carr expelled two Syrian diplomats on 29 May, 2012.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr announced that Australia will lead the way in expelling Syrian diplomats in response to the Al Houla massacre.
These theatrics are just another act in the shadow play…
Kofi Annan’s plan for troubled Syria has limited prospects.
EPA/Mohamed Omar
The conflict in Syria has often assumed the ominous characteristic of being insoluble or endless.
The government and its various opponents have shown little interest in compromise. The Assad regime’s…
Last Monday, Syria’s Interior Ministry announced the results of a referendum on a new constitution.
Of the 57.4% of eligible voters who went to the polls on 26 February 2012, 89.4% agreed to pass the…
Many Syrians prefer the stability of the Assad regime to the chaos they saw after dictators were deposed in Libya and Iraq.
EPA/Youssef Badawi
The stench of hypocrisy is a hard one to wash out for the West in the Middle East.
We shook Gadaffi’s hand and pretended we liked his outfits when he coughed up for Lockerbie and we snuggled with Mubarak…
