Natacha Danon

The story of farmers in southwest Syria, swathes of which Israeli forces have seized since the fall of the al-Assad regime, echoes that of Palestinian farmers across the border, as they fight for their lands and their livelihoods. My latest for @newlinesmag.

🧵 As the trial of former Assad regime security official Atef Najib moves forward, some lawyers and human rights experts warn that it may be premature in the absence of a legal framework for transitional justice. 🔗 bit.ly/4eGIIFi

From disarmament in Turkey to a shrinking foothold in Syria, the PKK is navigating a historic transition What are the implications for the Middle East? @natacha_danon reports newarab.com/analysis/what-…

In @AJEnglish’s #TheTake I went on air with @kdhirten to discuss northeast Syria, the Kurds, and the US withdrawal: youtu.be/o8KAWfByG5k

Protesters gathered in downtown Damascus on Friday for a “law and dignity” sit-in to express political, social and economic grievances against the Syrian government. "Our demands are that the resources of Syrians be in their hands and that there be transparency," said Nasouh Tayara, a former detainee who participated in the sit-in. Tayara called for greater "participation of all Syrian groups in governance." Other demonstrators voiced concerns with rising costs and privatization. Meanwhile, dozens of counterprotesters gathered to chant their support for the government, denouncing the protesters as regime sympathizers. Both sides waved Syrian revolution flags, while those attending the sit-in chanted a familiar refrain: "One, one, one, the Syrian people are one." As crowds from both sides swelled, dozens of riot police intervened to break up fistfights, and formed a wall between the groups.

🧵 As Alawites mark one year since the massacres in Syria’s coastal regions, residents of Baniyas say fear persists, wounds remain unhealed and political demands unmet. 🔗bit.ly/4sF1wbC

4/ Ultimately, the Middle East is a theater for conflict that will mark their demise by setting a precedent for how ongoing and future wars in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe will unfold.

3/ The latest war shows once again that Western countries only ever believed that the rules-based order should apply to them.

1/ The ongoing US-Israeli assault on Iran is not just an act of aggression against the entire region. It signals the collapse of an international order that was already in tatters after Gaza.

🧵 As the Syrian government shuts down Deir e-Zor’s informal refineries, a local industry risks collapse even as nearby communities are likely to reap health and environmental benefits. 🔗 bit.ly/4aVv3GW

My latest from Raqqa with @HasanAlkassab drawing on interviews with former SDF fighters, tribal figures, and civil society actors.

🧵 Encircled by government forces and without basic services, residents of Kurdish-majority Kobani fear a return to the city’s darkest days as the end of a fragile ceasefire approaches. 🔗 bit.ly/4t4eXmz

Since Monday, Kobani has been besieged by Syrian government forces. Electricity has been fully cut off amid snow conditions, leading to the death of four children today. The Kurdish city acutely remembers the 2014 siege by ISIS and recurrent attacks by Jabhat al-Nusra and Turkey.

NEW: A former military barracks on Syria’s coast has become a sanctuary of coexistence. In Tartus, the Solidarity Fields co-op helps displaced families rebuild lives and bridge wartime divisions, reports @natacha_danon for @newlinesmag. newlinesmag.com/spotlight/the-…

The fall of Assad's brutal regime has filled Syrians with hope for the future, but the slow march of transitional justice could test the country's stability My latest for @The_NewArab with insights from @ShadiHaroun and other former detainees. newarab.com/analysis/one-y…

Nearly a year after the fall of the Assad regime, some in SDF-held northeastern Syria await a “liberation” of their own amid an uptick in arbitrary arrests, including for supporting the new government. My latest with @HasanAlkassab with insights from @AKMcKeever & @kh4syria.

Just as Israel has violated the “ceasefire” in Gaza countless times, Israel has struck Beirut in a similar “ceasefire” in Lebanon, as Israel claims Hezbollah is regrouping.

My latest reporting from Aleppo on the first trial in Syria’s long transitional justice process. I spoke to family members of accused perpetrators of both former regime and government forces, as well as @snhr @SyriaTransition @taafi_SY about what it means for the future.

My piece for @The_NewArab on what the PKK withdrawal from Turkey could mean for its presence in Syria and Iraq, with insights from @ThMcGee and @mutludc. newarab.com/analysis/what-…

Syria’s official integration into the US-led Coalition against ISIS is as much a message to the SDF as it is to the extremists among its ranks, preceded by the raid on al-Fardan camp last week.