As readers of this blog will know, I like to give space to local writers and voices inside Syria to write articles on whatever matters may be of interest to them. In this case, a female writer from the Idlib province town of Ma'arat al-Nu'man has written an article for this blog on the growth in the phenomenon of children in work in the Idlib region as a result of family poverty and the circumstances of the war.

Below is the article.

By Nada al-Mahmoud

Children in work in Idlib: an unknown future and a responsibility before time

Continue to the full blog post  |  More blog posts

The Syrian pound continues to depreciate sharply in value, with one U.S. dollar now being equivalent to more than 1100 Syrian pounds by many exchange rates. This depreciation has had a sharp impact on people's livelihood inside Syria and more people are beginning to speak up. The Syrian state media agency SANA even provided coverage of a recent peaceful demonstration in the southern province of Suwayda' protesting against the high cost of living.

Continue to the full blog post  |  More blog posts

It is one thing to list the name of a Syrian rebel faction, describe its flag, note some of its superficial political rhetoric and give an estimate of the number of fighters, but quite another to describe the composition and internal structure of that faction. Exploring the latter issues would do much more to tell us about who exactly are the rebel factions and how they function. Regrettably, much ostensible research on the rebel factions has frankly been abysmal. For example, as American researcher Alexander McKeever commented, a lot of "pro-opp[osition] analysis of these groups rarely went beyond collecting their logos and checking to see how much green was included." On the other side, the obsession has been to label rebel groups as "jihadist" (a term applied far too carelessly without consideration as to its actual meaning).

Continue to the full blog post  |  More blog posts

Previously on this blog I provided a translation and commentary on an account of the Ten Commandments in Old Frisian, which is the closest linguistic relative of Old English. Old Frisian texts are primarily legal in nature, and the Old Frisian account of the Ten Commandments fits within that classification as it is essentially an aetiology of law.

Continue to the full blog post  |  More blog posts

Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zinki was a Syrian rebel group based in west Aleppo countryside that was first formed towards the end of 2011. It was finally dissolved last year after being routed by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (of which Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zinki had once been a part). With the defeat of the group, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham seized the group's strongholds, resources and weapons. More broadly, the defeat of the group allowed Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham to cement even further its domination over the insurgent-held northwest of Syria based around Idlib and its environs.

Continue to the full blog post  |  More blog posts