Medical and rescue facilities in opposition held areas have frequently been the target of air strikes by pro-government forces, and what appears to be the open stages of the Battle for Idlib is no different. On September 6th 2018 the Syrian Civil Defence Twitter account posted images of what was described as a White Helmets…
As a potential offensive into the remaining Syrian rebel strongholds in Idlib from the Assad government becomes more likely, Russian propaganda outlets like RT (formerly known as Russia Today), their various embassies, and their network of friendly media outlets have started pushing stories of potential chemical attacks in Idlib and Hama. Various stories spread by…
The Syrian regime continues to indicate that an offensive on rebel-held Idlib in coming, publishing videos of ammunition and soldiers being moved to borders of the region and dropping leaflets calling for reconciliation. Opposition forces have also begun preparations: digging trenches, merging organizations and groups into their umbrella, and asking civilians to begin moving from…
Although the Syrian government and its allies has clearly gained the upper hand in the Syrian Civil War, the conflict is still a very long way from being over. Large areas of Syria remain outside the control of the Syrian government, including those held by the SDF and their allies, by rebel forces and the…
Strike One On 28 Sep 2017 the Russian Ministry of Defence released footage of an airstrike in Idlib province (MoD video 1). Titled “Elimination of concentration of insurgents in Idlib province” and lasting 11 seconds, it showed an airstrike on the entrance of what appeared to be a tunnel. It did not state on what…
On 19 September 2017, just four days after the Astana International meeting establishing Syria’s De-Escalation Zones in many parts of the country, and only days after the United Nations’ Commission of Inquiry presented findings of a fact-finding mission confirming the illegal use of chemical weapons and the systemic targeting of medical facilities by the Syrian…
(Revised edition, May 2017) One subject that keeps coming up in ongoing debates about Sarin chemical attack in Syria from 2013 to date is the nature, role, and presence of possible additives to Sarin. A molecule of Sarin is pretty much the same molecule however and wherever it was made. However, even in the best laboratory…
Part I: The Bomb, its contents, and their likely fate The recent chemical attack in Khan Shaykhun in Syria is alleged by witnesses to have been delivered by an air-dropped bomb. The purpose of this article is to systematically break down a Sarin bomb into its components and analyse what happens to them. This first part…
