Syria Direct
@syriadirect.bsky.social
Independent media and training organization producing in-depth, investigative reporting on Syria by our team of Syrian and international journalists.
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Shrinking olive harvests are “primarily the result of thermal climatic changes,” Chikhali said. “It has become a recurring phenomenon for years in most olive-producing parts of Syria.”
November 27, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Shrinking olive harvests are “primarily the result of thermal climatic changes,” Chikhali said. “It has become a recurring phenomenon for years in most olive-producing parts of Syria.”
Fungal diseases like olive wilt and pests like the olive psyllid also spread in Daraa’s groves this year, a local agricultural official said, leaving trees even more vulnerable to the impacts of high temperatures and low rainfall.
November 27, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Fungal diseases like olive wilt and pests like the olive psyllid also spread in Daraa’s groves this year, a local agricultural official said, leaving trees even more vulnerable to the impacts of high temperatures and low rainfall.
Hot spring winds, which historically blew through Syria in late April and early May, now increasingly coincide with olive flowering in March and April, drying blossoms and stopping fruit from forming, natural resource management consultant Mwaffak Chikhali said.
November 27, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Hot spring winds, which historically blew through Syria in late April and early May, now increasingly coincide with olive flowering in March and April, drying blossoms and stopping fruit from forming, natural resource management consultant Mwaffak Chikhali said.
Providing irrigation for olive trees that once relied on rainfall can be a tall order, as Daraa is also facing a water crisis. Drought, degraded infrastructure and unregulated well drilling have depleted the resource. See our past reporting: syriadirect.org/drought-dril...
Drought, drilling, diversion: Daraa’s deepening water crisis
Historic drought, degraded infrastructure and unregulated well drilling drain Daraa’s water as authorities struggle to respond to the country’s worst water crisis in decades.
syriadirect.org
November 27, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Providing irrigation for olive trees that once relied on rainfall can be a tall order, as Daraa is also facing a water crisis. Drought, degraded infrastructure and unregulated well drilling have depleted the resource. See our past reporting: syriadirect.org/drought-dril...
“Olive trees are native and long-lived in Daraa, but the climate conditions are no longer suitable for them, so they have to be compensated in terms of watering, irrigation, fertilizers and care in order to thrive,” olive farmer Muawiya al-Zoubi said.
November 27, 2025 at 5:16 PM
“Olive trees are native and long-lived in Daraa, but the climate conditions are no longer suitable for them, so they have to be compensated in terms of watering, irrigation, fertilizers and care in order to thrive,” olive farmer Muawiya al-Zoubi said.
Syria, like the rest of the Middle East, is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. When less rain falls, or changing weather patterns bring rain very early or late in the season, many crops are impacted, including olives.
November 27, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Syria, like the rest of the Middle East, is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. When less rain falls, or changing weather patterns bring rain very early or late in the season, many crops are impacted, including olives.
The effects of a changing climate—drought, shifting seasons and rising temperatures—are a major factor in the decline, agricultural experts and olive growers told Syria Direct.
November 27, 2025 at 5:16 PM
The effects of a changing climate—drought, shifting seasons and rising temperatures—are a major factor in the decline, agricultural experts and olive growers told Syria Direct.
‘Unprecedented’: Syria launches first trial over deadly coastal violence
✍️ @natachadanon.bsky.social
✍️ @natachadanon.bsky.social
‘Unprecedented’: Syria launches first trial over deadly coastal violence
The first trial of hundreds of suspects accused of involvement in killings on Syria’s Alawite-majority coast marks the start of a closely watched and unprecedented accountability process.
syriadirect.org
November 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
‘Unprecedented’: Syria launches first trial over deadly coastal violence
✍️ @natachadanon.bsky.social
✍️ @natachadanon.bsky.social
While many are impatient for justice, “the worst thing would be to hold [regime perpetrators] accountable under Syrian criminal law because the current law protects them and gives them immunity,” said Ahmad Helmi of the Ta'afi Initiative.
November 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
While many are impatient for justice, “the worst thing would be to hold [regime perpetrators] accountable under Syrian criminal law because the current law protects them and gives them immunity,” said Ahmad Helmi of the Ta'afi Initiative.
While Tuesday’s hearing marked a step towards accountability for post-Assad crimes, movement towards broader transitional justice remains limited. Syria has no domestic legislation for war crimes, crimes against humanity or enforced disappearance.
November 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
While Tuesday’s hearing marked a step towards accountability for post-Assad crimes, movement towards broader transitional justice remains limited. Syria has no domestic legislation for war crimes, crimes against humanity or enforced disappearance.
“The timing of the trial is directly linked to US conditions placed on President Sharaa to proceed with full lifting of sanctions,” Malik al-Abdeh of Syria in Transition said. “The US wants the government to punish those responsible for the coastal massacres and the violence in Suwayda.”
November 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
“The timing of the trial is directly linked to US conditions placed on President Sharaa to proceed with full lifting of sanctions,” Malik al-Abdeh of Syria in Transition said. “The US wants the government to punish those responsible for the coastal massacres and the violence in Suwayda.”
“This is unprecedented in Syria, and extremely important,” said Fadel Abdul Ghany of the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR). “For the first time, security and military forces affiliated with the authorities themselves are being held accountable.”
November 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
“This is unprecedented in Syria, and extremely important,” said Fadel Abdul Ghany of the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR). “For the first time, security and military forces affiliated with the authorities themselves are being held accountable.”
Half the accused are members of government security forces accused of killing unarmed civilians, while half are Assad loyalists accused of “sedition [and] incitement to civil and sectarian war.”
November 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Half the accused are members of government security forces accused of killing unarmed civilians, while half are Assad loyalists accused of “sedition [and] incitement to civil and sectarian war.”
Fourteen defendants appeared in an Aleppo city courtroom on Tuesday, among more than 500 suspects referred for prosecution following a months-long government inquiry into violence that killed at least 1,426 people, mostly Alawite civilians, in March.
November 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Fourteen defendants appeared in an Aleppo city courtroom on Tuesday, among more than 500 suspects referred for prosecution following a months-long government inquiry into violence that killed at least 1,426 people, mostly Alawite civilians, in March.
Israel’s occupation of southern Syria persists, nearly a year on
✍️ Anagha Subhash Nair and Oudai Efnikher
✍️ Anagha Subhash Nair and Oudai Efnikher
Israel’s occupation of southern Syria persists, nearly a year on
More than 11 months on, Israel’s occupation of parts of Syria’s southwestern Quneitra province seemingly has no end in sight.
syriadirect.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Israel’s occupation of southern Syria persists, nearly a year on
✍️ Anagha Subhash Nair and Oudai Efnikher
✍️ Anagha Subhash Nair and Oudai Efnikher
Rasm al-Rawadi resident Abu Muhammad saw his home destroyed last December, and described “humiliation” in the months since. “I feel like I’m living under occupation. They don’t let us farm. They destroyed all our trees….our lands, roads, water supply and electricity.”
November 14, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Rasm al-Rawadi resident Abu Muhammad saw his home destroyed last December, and described “humiliation” in the months since. “I feel like I’m living under occupation. They don’t let us farm. They destroyed all our trees….our lands, roads, water supply and electricity.”
Israeli abuses in southern Syria over the past year include the war crime of forced displacement, @hrw.org reported in September. Homes have been demolished, and arrested Syrians have been taken across the border in violation of international law.
November 14, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Israeli abuses in southern Syria over the past year include the war crime of forced displacement, @hrw.org reported in September. Homes have been demolished, and arrested Syrians have been taken across the border in violation of international law.
“This is really a breakout opportunity for the Israeli government,” Director of the New Lines Institute Caroline Rose said, “a way to disrupt any momentum that the new administration has, and prevent it from being able to acquire any sort of conventional military equipment or capabilities.”
November 14, 2025 at 2:44 PM
“This is really a breakout opportunity for the Israeli government,” Director of the New Lines Institute Caroline Rose said, “a way to disrupt any momentum that the new administration has, and prevent it from being able to acquire any sort of conventional military equipment or capabilities.”
Nearly a year later, the occupying forces regularly set up flying checkpoints at the entrances of Quneitra villages in the former buffer zone, conduct incursions deeper into Syrian territory and arbitrarily detain residents.
November 14, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Nearly a year later, the occupying forces regularly set up flying checkpoints at the entrances of Quneitra villages in the former buffer zone, conduct incursions deeper into Syrian territory and arbitrarily detain residents.
When the Assad regime fell last December, Israel unilaterally declared the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria “void until order was restored,” invaded the buffer zone and established six military bases in Quneitra province.
November 14, 2025 at 2:44 PM
When the Assad regime fell last December, Israel unilaterally declared the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria “void until order was restored,” invaded the buffer zone and established six military bases in Quneitra province.
What would Syria joining the US-led coalition mean for the fight against IS?
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syriadirect.org/what-would-s...
✍️ @walid-alnofal.bsky.social
syriadirect.org/what-would-s...
What would Syria joining the US-led coalition mean for the fight against IS?
Amid signs of deepening security and intelligence cooperation between Syria and the US, talk is mounting of Syria joining the international anti-IS coalition. What could such a move mean?
syriadirect.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:31 PM
What would Syria joining the US-led coalition mean for the fight against IS?
✍️ @walid-alnofal.bsky.social
syriadirect.org/what-would-s...
✍️ @walid-alnofal.bsky.social
syriadirect.org/what-would-s...