Over 280 medical centers were destroyed and 150 staff members killed in 2016, according to Syrian interim government report
Education directorate says teaching Russian will help bolster the educational system due to the language’s prominence on the internet, loyalist newspaper Al-Watan writes
Syria’s foreign minister voices approval of Russian plan to establish de-escalation zones but rejects role of U.N.-led international forces in monitoring cease-fire, state media reports
Young Syrians hide in fear of forced recruitment as the regime scrambles to replace its fallen soldiers on the fighting fronts, opposition outlet writes
Rebel leader Abou Ammar says the international community’s disregard for Tehran and Moscow’s role in Syria will result in an expansion of the conflict beyond Syria’s borders, Alsouria Net writes
Russian-sponsored deal will involve the forced relocation of around 8,000 people to Idleb and Aleppo provinces, opposition outlet writes
Saudi-owned Al-Hayat reports rebel delegation approves plan but chooses to walk out of negotiations in protest at Assad regime’s continued bombardment of opposition areas
Russian-authored memorandum will enforce weapons-free zones in four areas of the country in order to restore infrastructure and services while allowing for the return of displaced people
Serving as a battleground for countless foreign and ideological belligerents, the greatest danger facing Syria is the fragmentation and polarization of its society, Walid al-Bunni writes
Russian delegation also holds bilateral meetings in the Kazakh capital with Iranians and the United States, Syrian state media reports
Armed opposition gives preliminary approval of Russian plan involving the establishment of “tension reduction” zones in Idleb province, north of Homs city, Eastern Ghouta and the country’s south
Russian president stresses importance of U.N. role during meeting with Merkel in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, government media reports
Moscow hails phone call between leaders as constructive and ‘business-like,’ with the Russian president also urging caution on U.S. policy toward North Korea, Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reports
British-based group singles out regime and Russian forces for their human rights violations in report documenting the deaths of more than a thousand non-combatants in 30 days, Madar al-Youm reports
Army of Islam accused of firing on civilians protesting against the ongoing clashes between powerful rebel groups, opposition media reports
Russia’s head of arms control claims new ‘chemical theater’ could take place in the Damascus countryside, Saudi-owned Al-Hayat reports, weeks after Putin pointed to the possibility of ‘fake’ gas attacks to justify further U.S. strikes on the Syrian regime
A dozen people killed and hospital damaged by airstrikes on opposition-held Kafr Takharim, in yet another case of medical facilities being targeted by Syrian or Russian warplanes, Alsouria reports
The Assad regime is scrambling to receive assurances from allies and make sense of U.S. policy after the Trump administration’s surprise strike on a Syrian air base. But Damascus is failing to see that rules of the game have already changed, Yahya Al-Aridi writes for opposition outlet All4Syria
Civilians reported dead and wounded after central market is struck in Khan Sheikhoun, the site of this month’s chemical attack which preceded the first U.S. military strikes on Syria, opposition media Alsouria Net writes
Russian foreign minister tells European counterpart that Moscow will continue to move ahead with plans for a peaceful political solution through U.N.-approved channels, despite efforts by some players to evade negotiations in favor for regime change in Syria
