By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 12 March 2025

Published at The Arab Weekly
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 28 April 2019

A young boy rides his bicycle in Deraa // AFP
In military terms, the fall of Daraa, in south-western Syria, to Iranian and regime forces last July eliminated the last insurgent-held pocket not dominated by jihadists. Politically, it had profound effects, demonstrating American disengagement and Israel’s misperceptions of the Syrian landscape, particularly Russia’s role in it.
Recent signs of renewed insurgency in Daraa, however, underline how far from over Syria’s war is and how badly the West has mishandled the crisis. Continue reading
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on May 4, 2014
This afternoon it is being reported that a deal has been struck over Homs City, allowing 2,250 people, mostly rebels, to evacuate. Continue reading
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on April 1, 2014
Last September, a Save the Children report noted that children in suburbs of Damascus besieged by the regime were subsisting on “leaves, nuts, [and] fruits”. Throughout October it would become clear that a deliberate terror-famine was being waged by the regime against these rebellious districts, to starve them into submission. Continue reading