All articles - Syria

Doha and Riyadh vie for influence in Syria

Officially Saudi Arabia and Qatar have only one objective in Syria, to bring down Bashar al-Assad. But behind the scenes each is trying to influence who leads the opposition.

Subscribers only 27.03.2013

Secret contacts on chemical weapons

The Syrian Air Force's intelligence service, which is in charge of securing chemical sites, has opened communication lines with the West.

Subscribers only 13.03.2013

GID and MIT back jihadists

Saudi Arabia and Turkey's intelligence services are banking on jihadist groups to bring down Bashar al-Assad.

Subscribers only Operations 13.03.2013

Revolutionary Guard liaises with army

The command of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (Pasdaran) has set up [...]

Subscribers only Defence 13.03.2013

"General Shateri's" hidden role

Iranian Hassan Shateri, who was killed in an attack on the road linking Damascus to Beirut at the beginning of February, was a military coordinator in southern Lebanon.

Free access 27.02.2013

Syrian Kurds do u-turn

After fighting alongside the Syrian Army since the start of the Syrian crisis, the Yekineyen Parastina Gel (YPG), the armed [...]

Subscribers only Defence 27.02.2013

Moscow has plans for Tartus

By sending its Baltic and Black Sea fleets to carry out unprecedented manœuvres in the Eastern Mediterranean from January 11 [...]

Subscribers only Defence 27.02.2013

Oil in the Levant attracts intermediaries

Impending oil exploration in the strategic Golan Heights and off the coast of Lebanon has inspired a number of ex-political figures to hone their advisory skills.

Subscribers only 27.02.2013

Bashar al-Assad’s parallel army

Faced with growing numbers of defections from the regular army, [...]

Subscribers only Defence 30.01.2013

Convoys ambushed on road to Damascus

Convoys between Baghdad and Damascus have been coming under systematic attack since the beginning of January by Sunni fighters linked [...]

Free access Defence 16.01.2013

Regime strengthens border controls

To prevent anti-government fighters coming into the country and to [...]

Subscribers only Defence 16.01.2013

Paris ponders post-Assad

The French foreign ministry's Crisis management task force, coordinated by [...]

Subscribers only Back-door diplomacy 16.01.2013

Security chiefs ponder Assad's chemical plans

What could be done if Syria deployed chemical weapons, was the key question French security chiefs addressed in Paris recently.