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
Residents in the loyalist coastal regions are expressing concerns over the increase in military activity in the area, amid greater efforts by Moscow to secure strong footing at the negotiating table, opposition outlet Zaman al-Wasl writes
Syrian rebel commander tells opposition media that FSA fighters which participated in Turkey’s Euphrates Shield operation will join U.S. and Kurdish forces for upcoming battle to liberate Raqqa
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
As key players look to fill the vacuum after the expected fall of ISIS’ capital of Raqqa, Al-Hayat columnist Ibrahim Hamidi breaks down the serpentine motivations behind the recent surge in international action on Syrian soil
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
International community must assume its responsibilities and work to stop future massacres by coalition air forces, loyalist outlet quotes ministry as saying, after reports emerge of over 30 deaths in the fatal strikes
SOHR reports at least 33 civilians killed in U.S. strike on a school sheltering displaced people in an ISIS-held town, while officials from 68 countries meet in Washington to hear Trump’s plan to defeat the militant group
Syria’s forceful response to the recent Israeli aggression is a Russian message that U.S. hegemony is ending in the region
Syrian government censured the US-South Korean military alliance against North Korea, while praising North Korea’s steadfast resistance
U.S.-led coalition airstrikes hit a school sheltering displaced families in Al-Kesrat village in Raqqa, killing at least 19 civilians and wounding 15 more, SOHR reports
Regime airstrikes on residential neighborhoods and a school in the town of Kafranbel in Idleb kill seven civilians, including four children and a woman
Kurdish displays of multi-directional alliances with Russia, Iran and the U.S. come as no surprise, as all sides, united in curtailing Turkey’s influence in the region, contemplate the preservation of an Alawite state
Kurdish militias ally with Assad forces to try and thwart Turkish-backed FSA groups’ advance toward Manbij, because of the importance the city holds in the battle against ISIS
As the results of Geneva talks divide the opposition delegation into parties of optimists and pessimists, the regime is swiftly extending its control, leaving little doubt that the revolution is nearing its end
This charade called Moscow and Cairo’s platforms is only an accessory to the Syrian regime
ISIS militants are still present in parts of the town and the rebels are in control of less than half of it
Saudi-based opposition newspaper reports on accidental killing of three Turkish soldiers in Russian operation near Syria’s northern border, as Putin attributes blunder to ineffectual military partnership between the two countries
What does Donald Trump have to do with Iran and Russia’s insistence that rebel fighters be evacuated to Idleb exclusively, even though areas of the Damascus countryside under opposition control are much closer? Walid Bunni explains
Deputy opposition leader calls on Obama to act in his final days in office after scores of displaced civilians massacred by regime shelling on east Aleppo
