Syria in the Nation's Capital

Post-Election U.S. Policy: Just before Americans went to the polls, U.S. Special Representative for Syria James Jeffrey opined on the future of U.S. policy in Syria. In an interview with Syria Direct, Jeffrey predicted that regardless of who is elected president that U.S. force levels in Syria would not change, enforcement of the Caesar Act (P.L. 116-92) would continue, and there would be no change regarding the U.S. stance on Iran’s presence in Syria. Jeffrey also commented that despite recent threats by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to send troops into northeastern Syria there was no sign of a Turkish military buildup. 

Pentagon Report on ISIS: The latest report of the Department of Defense Inspector General finds that according to the Combined Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve, ISIS continues to engage in a low-level insurgency in Syria and Iraq. The report lists ISIS carrying out 131 attacks in the last several months, including claiming 33 of them in regime-held areas. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) upped the number of operations carried out against ISIS, and thanks to U.S. assistance, slightly improved its ability to manage its detention facilities that hold an estimated 12,000 ISIS fighters. The SDF has improved its ability to conduct operations outside areas not occupied by coalition forces, however, the report notes they still require U.S. forces and coalition airpower to protect their oil infrastructure.  

Hezbollah Sanctions: A bipartisan group of lawmakers are calling on the Trump Administration to enforce legislation that targets Hezbollah officials who use civilians as human shields. Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) issued a letter signed by eight colleagues to President Trump calling for enforcement of the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (P.L. 115-348) that was signed into law in December 2018. The letter contends Hezbollah is currently engaging in this practice by placing several missile production facilities in civilian areas of Beirut. The letter contends that a repeat of the September explosion of a facility in the southern Lebanese town of Ayn Qana could be only a matter of time without any change.  

ISIS Fighters Legislation: The potential security threat of former ISIS fighters in Syria, Iraq, and other countries using Western passports to enter the United States has a bipartisan duo seeking a legislative remedy. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) introduced legislation (S 4874) that would enhance the Department of Homeland Security’s visa screening process overseas, including expanding its reach to more foreign embassies over the next decade. The bill aims to increase the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations agents that assist the Department of State officials that determine granting visas to foreign nationals. 

Syria at the UN and Abroad

Schools Shut in Arsal: Lebanese authorities have shut down a number of Syrian refugee schools in the town of Arsal. The Ministry of Education ordered them closed on the basis that they were unlicensed. L’Orient Today reported this decision has impacted thousands of Syrian children who now have no alternative due to the refusal of public schools to accept them and the lack of affordability of private school. There are 10,000 refugees of school-age in Arsal, public schools only had space to accommodate 3,500 of them last year.      

Israel and Iran in the Golan: Iran’s efforts to entrench its presence within the Syrian army has not gone unnoticed by Israel. Ynetnews reported that Iran is in the process of establishing a “Golan File” from members of the 7th Division of the 1st Corps. The purpose of this organization is to establish  terrorist cells along the plateau of the Golan Heights to set up a second front in a potential war with Israel. Recently, Israeli jets dropped leaflets on the Syrian side of the heights warning any members of the 1st Corps who assist Hezbollah’s military activities would be targeted by the Israeli Defense Force. 

Syrian Refugees in Sudan: The legal status of Syrians who have been granted Sudanese citizenship in the past several years has now been called into question.  The Interior Ministry of the interim government announced that all refugees granted citizenship between 2014 and 2019 report to the agency’s Passport and Immigration office, on the basis that how they claimed to have received Sudanese nationality was illegitimate under the rule of former president Omar al-Bashir.

Syria on the Ground

Regime Bread Shortages: The Assad regime recently announced that the price of a kilogram of subsidized bread increased from 50 pounds to 75 Syrian pounds "without a bag", and the price of the bundle 1100 grams in a "nylon bag" to 100 Syrian pounds. Regime officials deflected the blame for the price hikes on the basis of the difficulties that Syria is facing under an “economic boycott” and “blockade”, rather than the economic issues faced by the regime after a decade of waging war on civilians and the COVID-19 crisis.      

Refugee Conference: In a bid to bolster the Assad regime’s global legitimacy, Russia has proposed holding a global conference on the return of Syrian refugees in Damascus later this month. A high-level Russian delegation met with Bashar al-Assad to discuss the proposal, advocating that it take place on November 11th and 12th. The U.S. has come out very strongly against any country wishing to attend the event. In his remarks before the UN Security Council last week,  UN Deputy Ambassador Richard Mills said the conference would be counterproductive and utterly inappropriate, in part because it has not been coordinated through the UN or countries with large refugee populations.

COVID-19 in Idlib: Atmeh refugee camp in northwestern Syria has seen a growing outbreak in the number of individuals testing positive for COVID-19. The BBC filed a report from the camp documenting how cramped and filthy conditions have made social distancing and isolation impossible. The number of individuals carrying the virus is unknown but of the limited testing conducted there has been a positive rate of 40 percent. One physician told the BBC that COVID-19 is “out of control” and will only get worse during the winter months.     

Humanitarian Work and Civil Society in Syria

We are proud to be highlighting the work of humanitarian and civil society groups both outside and within Syria that are striving for a free Syria. 

Camera Drive: The Syrian Emergency Task Force, a United States-based NGO, is holding a Camera Drive For Syria, to collect working digital cameras for students in a new photography course at Tomorrow’s Dawn Women’s Center. The center, located in Idlib, teaches vocational skills and empowers women to become working professionals. Many of the women enrolled are already independent media activists and will learn about journalism and media next. The center is collecting working digital cameras and necessary parts, such as chargers or batteries. Information on where to send the donation is available here.

SJAC Missing Persons Report: The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre has launched a new program focused on the forced disappearance of tens of thousands of civilians, with a specific focus on the northeast of Syria. The program focuses on three main areas of work: investigating mass graves; documenting and analyzing cases of missing persons; and elevating the voices of families of the missing. If you have a loved one that is missing in northeast Syria you can access resources to get involved in the program. 

Analysis

“Commentary: Trump missed an opportunity in Syria to succeed where Obama failed”: MedGlobal President Zaher Sahloul writes for the Chicago Tribune on the failures of the Trump administration to right the past failures of previous administrations on their policy towards Syria. 

“Shifting Gears: HTS’s Evolving Use of SVBIEDs During the Idlib Offensive of 2019-2020”: A piece for the Middle East Institute by Hugo Kaaman delves into the evolving use of suicide vehicle-born improvised explosive devices by HTS in Idlib.

“Beirut Is a Shambles, and Only Refugees Are Helping”: A new report by Foreign Policy by Anchal Vohra discusses the efforts by Syrian refugees in Lebanon to rebuild Beirut following the devastating blast, efforts that have been met with little money and respect.