Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He has served as President since 2000, when he succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 30 years prior to his death. Al-Assa... Explore this topic

Jisr ash-Shugur is a city in the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria. Situated at an altitude of 170 metres above sea level on the Orontes river, the city was inhabited by 44,322 people as of 2010. Explore this topic

Homs, previously known as Emesa, is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is 501 metres above sea level and is located 162 kilometres north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is also the central link between the interior cities and th... Explore this topic

The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the senior most posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 per... Explore this topic

Daraa, also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera, and Derʿā, is a city in southwestern Syria, just north of the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Daraa Governorate, historically part of the ancient Hauran region. The city is located about 90 kilometres south of Damascus on the Da... Explore this topic

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian. These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal right... Explore this topic

The al-Assad family has ruled Syria since Hafez al-Assad became President of Syria in 1971 and established an authoritarian regime under the control of the Ba'ath Party. After his death in 2000, his son Bashar succeeded him. The Assads are originally from Qardaha, just east of... Explore this topic

Mosaic is a daily news program that features selections from news programs produced by national broadcasters throughout the Middle East. The news reports are presented unedited and translated, when necessary, into English. Some of the broadcasters are state controlled and othe... Explore this topic