Well informed sources claim authorities are keeping humanitarian groups under surveillance after the government stopped operations of 370 NGOs for alleged ties to terrorism, including some major international organizations, opposition Sada al-Sham writes
Political representatives in south Damascus voice their rejection of an agreement between rebels and Iran which will see the exchange of fighters and their families from areas surrounding the capital and Idleb, opposition outlet All4Syria reports
In a special op-ed for The Syrian Observer, the coordinator-general of the High Negotiations Committee explains that untying the Syrian knot will require isolating external influence on the Syrian scene, a transition with the establishment of a new political system, and the firm application of international law in order to hold war criminals to account
President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to Croatian newspaper Vecernji List published Thursday, in which he reflects on six years of conflict, the negotiation process and the fight against terrorism. The following is the full text as published by government news agency SANA
Media activist Mohammed al-Saheli claims Russians stationed at the Hmeimim airbase in Lattakia denied Iran century-long rights to obtain land in the Qandil Valley in exchange for power supply to the coastal areas, opposition outlet writes
Moscow tries to bail out Assad regime in statement claiming Syrian warplanes struck a facility for making toxic bombs, resulting in a fallout which killed scores of civilians in Idleb province on Tuesday, Al-Araby al-Jadeed reports
Opposition figure tweets call to rally representatives from Syria’s political and military spectra to discuss possible alternatives to the political process after a regime chemical attack casts doubt over progress at recent negotiations, All4Syria reports
Rather than making concessions or political gestures, by committing large-scale massacres the Assad regime is further raising the stakes and the political cost for the West of refusing to restore ties, Jihad Yazigi explains
Zaman al-Wasl profiles the life of the former deputy defense minister and brother-in-law of Bashar al-Assad, whose proximity to and life’s work for the regime did little to earn him wide respect among the ruling family
Amid heightened discontent among loyalists due to rising soldier deaths and poor social services, the wife of President Bashar al-Assad breaks with regime’s usual machismo image to appear in a video promoting the values of motherhood in Aleppo’s crippled districts
Coalition media office quotes HNC head as saying the Assad regime shifted focus of the talks to countering terrorism as a way to avoid discussing a political transition, adding that Moscow’s efforts to ensure a peace deal will not succeed while it supports the government on the ground
As the battle for Raqqa city draws closer, a rebel spokesperson laments Kurdish domination of upcoming operations, also predicting that American forces will remain in Raqqa for years at the airbase they seized from ISIS last week, Alsouria Net writes
Circumventing a formal economy that does little to lift them out of poverty, citizens have adapted to new, innovative and sometimes dangerous methods to supplement a lost livelihood in times of financial hardship, Souriatna explains
With a recent surge in mutual kidnappings in Daraa and Suweida reaching a tipping point, culminating in the recent torture and murder of a young man, community leaders are being urged to intervene to end the strife before it threatens to unravel the southern region
Opposition figure and Syrian personality says he has tasked delegations at Geneva with providing their take on four key issues, including governance, the constitution, elections and security, also adding that meetings with Kurdish and women’s groups were successful
Coalition media office quotes HNC head as saying opposition will not accept any participation from Assad or his inner circle at any point during a transitional period in Syria
Opposition figure Abdul Azim confirms to Zaman al-Wasl that delegates at the ongoing negotiations in the Swiss city have proposed a power-sharing model as part of a possible political transition
As ISIS prepares for urban warfare, Kurdish YPG boasts of superior fighting forces ahead of the looming battle for ISIS’ stronghold in Syria, as residents and U.S. defense officials voice skepticism over the likelihood the battle will be swift and decisive
Turkish deputy prime minister announces between 20,000 and 22,000 families have been identified to obtain citizenship, opposition website Alsouria Net reports, adding that about 35,000 refugees have so far returned to their homes in northern Syria after Turkish-backed forces cleared the area of ISIS militants
High Negotiations Committee representative Hariri says talks with U.N. envoy in the Swiss city were ‘fruitful’ and elaborated on the particulars of a transitional body and its structure, the opposition’s media office reports
