Bashar Al Assad

Siege: Desperation in Syria’s Daraa as Assad reverts to his old ways

Ten years after the Syrian war was sparked in Daraa, locals in the town once again face a brutal siege - but this time with no backing from armed rebels.

Comrades and pen pals: How Syria and North Korea back each other

North Korean leader’s most frequent pen pal has been Syria’s Bashar al Assad in the first half of 2021. Here's why

Amid embassy reopenings in Syria, EU says normalisation is not the case

No normalisation without a political settlement is the EU's stance against the Syrian regime, but why are some of its member states still reopening their embassies?

Assad is here to stay, and international response needs to reflect that

The regime’s sham elections last week aimed to humiliate Syrians opposed to its rule and convince the international community to forget about the war. How should Western countries react?

Syrian regime leader Assad takes fourth term in disputed election

Regime leader Bashar al Assad was re-elected with 95.1 percent of the votes in an election described as illegitimate and a sham by his opposition and other major stakeholders in the region.

Why did Assad need a sham election in Syria?

Experts say Bashar al Assad held an election to force Syrians into submission and give his few international supporters a reason to keep backing him. Can he succeed, though?

Anti-election rallies in Syria as Assad seeks mandate

Wednesday's vote is the second presidential election since Syria's war began 10 years ago and has been dismissed as a sham by the opposition and several countries.

Cost of 10 years of devastating war in Syria

We look at the human and financial cost of the war according to the data from UN bodies, international NGOs and Syrian civil society groups.

Millions of Syrians excluded as election takes place under Assad regime

With opponents exiled abroad barred from running and no voting in large swathes of territory outside regime leader Bashar al Assad’s control, there is no doubt he will take the election.

Turkish, Syrian energy firms unite to light up Syria's Idlib

Turkish and Syrian firms are providing the northern Syrian city of Idlib with 24-hour uninterrupted electricity for the first time in six years.

Did UN aid to Syria end up in the hands of the YPG/PKK terror group?

Ten years into a war that has devastated Syria, aid is increasingly weaponised - not necessarily because of a lack of it, but because of where it ends up.

Syria loses voting rights at chemical weapons watchdog, poison gas findings

Member states of the global chemical watchdog voted to suspend rights and privileges of Syria’s Bashar al Assad regime, including the right to vote at the organisation.