Deborah Amos

Teaching The Rules Of War In Syria's Vicious Conflict

Deborah Amos — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:36:00 +0000

A new video from Syria is shocking even by the standards of a war that keeps setting new standards for brutality.

In the video, a rebel fighter identified as Khalid al-Hamad is shown cutting out and eating the organs of a dead government soldier.

This appeared shortly after a pro-regime militia filmed the aftermath of a massacre of Sunni villagers in the coastal town of Banias, in which at least 62 people, including babies, were stabbed or sh

Top U.S. Official Meets With Rebels Inside Syria

Deborah Amos — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:34:00 +0000

Ambassador Robert Ford, the State Department's point man on Syrian policy, crossed into northern Syria on Wednesday. The secret visit was confirmed by Syrian activists at the media office at the Bab al-Salama crossing on the Turkish frontier.

Ford met with the head of the Aleppo military council, Abdul Jabbar Okaidi, who thanked him for the shipment of nonlethal aid. Seven trucks transported some 65,000 MREs, or meals ready to eat, the U.S. military's battlefield rations.

Syrians Bused To Jordanian Refugee Camps

Deborah Amos — Mon, 06 May 2013 09:11:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

Syria has accused Israel of flagrantly violating international law after a series of airstrikes on targets near the Syrian capital over the weekend. Now, Israel has not officially accepted responsibility, but Israeli sources say the targets included Iranian-made missiles bound for Hezbollah fighters in neighboring Lebanon.

As the civil war rages on inside Syria, the rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad have made significant gains in the southern part of the country.

As Syria Melts Down, Ice Cream Shop Sets Up In Jordan

Deborah Amos — Sat, 04 May 2013 10:03:00 +0000

Bakdash is a landmark in the Syrian capital, serving the Arab world's most famous ice cream since 1895.

Sea Of Syrian Refugees Threatens To Overload Jordan

Deborah Amos — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:22:00 +0000

Jordan's fastest-growing city lies in the middle of the desert, where the sand is so white that from a distance it looks like snow. There's little running water and not much electricity.

The name of this place? The Zaatari refugee camp, home to more than 100,000 Syrian refugees.

"This is a city — not one that anybody would want to create if they had a choice," says Caroline Gluck of Oxfam, one of the aid agencies working in the Zaatari camp.

'It's Not Normal': Syrian War Transforms Lives

Deborah Amos — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:22:00 +0000

In November, Razan Shalab Al-Sham, the daughter of a wealthy Syrian family, led the way to the Syrian farming village of Khirbet al-Joz to deliver an unusual kind of aid: police uniforms. A cold winter rain turned the frontier forest between southern Turkey and Syria into a muddy march up a mountain ridge along a smugglers' trail. She climbed the mountain to make the delivery herself.

Delivering police uniforms was a critical mission for Al-Sham— a symbol of what she wants Syria to become: a democratic country, with a civilian police force.

Syrian Financial Capital's Loss Is Turkey's Gain

Deborah Amos — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 07:03:00 +0000

There is a brain drain in Syria, an exodus of the skilled and the educated as the Syrian revolt grinds into a third year.

The health care system is one casualty, as hospitals and clinics are shelled and doctors flee the country.

The business community is another — particularly in Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once the country's industrial and financial hub.

As Aleppo was dragged into the war, many in the business community fled to southern Turkey, less than a two-hour drive away.

Syrian Aid Groups Train An Army Of Activists

Deborah Amos — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 07:24:00 +0000

At a border crossing, Mulham al-Jundi directs aid vehicles from southern Turkey into Syria.

Syrian Opposition Poised To Vote On Interim Government

Deborah Amos — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:36:00 +0000

As Syria's revolt enters a third year, Syria's political opposition is meeting in Istanbul this week to choose a rebel government, despite opposition from the Obama administration.

Twelve candidates are in the running to lead the efforts, including an economist, a former agriculture minister and an IT specialist who is overseeing the Syrian National Coalition's aid operation on the Turkish border.

With this list of technocrats, the opposition hopes to show it can administer large areas in nort

Courts Become A Battleground For Secularists, Islamists In Syria

Deborah Amos — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:27:00 +0000

In rebel-held parts of Syria, a clash of ideologies is playing out. Powerful Islamist brigades are competing with pro-democracy civilians to shape Syria's future.

One battlefront is in the courts. In many areas in northern Syria, Islamists have set up religious courts that deliver rulings under Shariah, or Islamic law — a fundamental change in Syria's civil legal system.

This is evident on a recent day in a courtroom in the northern Syrian city of Azaz.

In the courthouse, a judge and two lawyers preside over a civil case. It's a commercial dispute over a carload of cigarettes.

Syrian Cyber-Rebel Wages War, One Hack At A Time

Deborah Amos — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 08:28:00 +0000

The Internet is a battleground in Syria, a place where President Bashar Assad's regime has mounted a sophisticated surveillance campaign that includes monitoring and arresting activists by tracking their Facebook pages.

The Syrian Electronic Army, an arm of the Syrian military, is in charge of the monitoring.

But online rebels have mounted a counteroffensive.

In Ancient Aleppo, Plotting The Future

Deborah Amos — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 09:53:00 +0000

A soft-spoken, clean-shaven, 31-year-old aid worker hopes to determine, in part, the future of Aleppo, Syria's largest city.

In a rare test of democracy, Abdul Rahman Kahir won a seat on the Aleppo provincial council in a vote on March 3. The 29-member council is an attempt to restore civilian rule in the rebel-held province of 6 million people.

Thousands More Flee Syria After Latest Military Airstrikes

Deborah Amos — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:20:00 +0000

A new flood of Syrian refugees is streaming into southern Turkey after the Syrian air force bombed the city of Raqqa, a provincial capital that the government lost control of earlier this week.

The Syrian rebels overran Raqqa, capturing several high-ranking prisoners, including the provincial governor. Many residents supported the rebels, but when the airstrikes began, they packed in a hurry and fled, believing it was safer to make a dash for the border than stay at home.

The shells started crashing into residential neighborhoods Tuesday, says Rima, the only name she gave.

Miles From Home, Syrians Vote In Free Elections

Deborah Amos — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:53:00 +0000

In Syria's northern province of Aleppo, the war is far from over. Yet civilians are planning a dramatic gesture: an election for a civilian government.

This weekend, delegates from across the province are taking part in the first free vote outside of the control of President Bashar Assad's regime. Its location: Gaziantep, Turkey.

While most election stories begin with the issues, the candidates and what's at stake, this election is about a first-time vote for civilian leaders in a rebel-held province.

Syrian Rebels: New U.S. Aid Not Helpful Without Weapons

Deborah Amos — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:32:00 +0000

The top rebel commander in northern Syria was not impressed with Secretary of State John Kerry's announcement of new direct U.S. aid to the rebels and their political leaders.

Syrian Rebels, Secular And Islamist, Both Claim The Future

Deborah Amos — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:42:00 +0000

Syria's Islamists have grown in influence as the war against President Bashar Assad's government grinds on.

A Visit To A Christian Community In Syria

Deborah Amos — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 10:43:00 +0000

Syria's minority Christians are caught in the middle of the country's 23-month conflict. Many members of one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East are fleeing Syria. Those who stay say they fear they will be targeted by Islamist militants — a growing force among rebels fighting President Assad's regime.

Newly Displaced Syrians Head For Turkish Border

Deborah Amos and Rima Marrouch — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:39:00 +0000

A new surge of Syrian refugees is swamping humanitarian aid agencies in southern Turkey, where official refugee camps are full.

But the newcomers may be just the tip of the iceberg. In central Syria, civilians under attack by combat jets, tanks and artillery have fled towns and villages north of the city of Hama, and thousands are on the move.

"What they do now, they burn everything ahead of them. They bomb this area with everything they've got," says Hossan Hamadah, a Syrian-American from Texas.

He's seen firsthand the devastation of the new army offensive.

Through Social Media, Tracking Rape In Syria

Deborah Amos — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:57:00 +0000

Rape has long been a weapon of war, but documenting sexual violence usually happens after a conflict is over. Researchers are taking a new path with the Syrian conflict: tracking the incidents of rape as they occur.

The Women Under Siege project is live-tracking how sexualized violence is being used in Syria.

Syrian Opposition Fears Waning Western Support

Deborah Amos — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Let's talk next about the uprising in Syria, where many people are asking, what happened to the United States? The U.S. promised practical help to the Syrian opposition, but NPR's Deborah Amos reports that help has not arrived.

DEBORAH AMOS, BYLINE: This was the scene last month in Morocco, at the Friends of Syria meeting.