The End of Assad? Syrian Rebels enter the outskirts of Aleppo for the first time since 2016

It was the usual crowd, they were busy repeating Russian and pro-Assad propaganda, denying every chemical attack, etc.

Israel at it again.

Israel's bombing campaign may have backfired

I don't think Israel is the main story here, re: the attack on Druze. Rather, the ever present danger to Syrian minorities from the fanatics within the Sunni majority. This isn't new. 2015 massacre of Syrian Druze: https://www.reuters.com/article/world/calls-for-aid-to-syrias-druze-after-al-qaeda-kills-20-idUSKBN0OR0O4/

The Assad's were brutal, but kept religious fanatics in check. The future of Syria is still unknown. It doesnt look good for minorities given the escalation in attacks, and the new govt made up of ex-Al Qaeda people

A lot has happened in the past week in Syria with government forces pushing the SDF back to east of the Euphrates. Are the US still supporting the SDF? How much is Turkey behind the rapid advance by the new Syrian army? Will the US keep control of the oil? Will Israel intervene to prevent a strong and unified Syria emerging?

“What the Syrian government here is doing is trying to increase its leverage over the SDF, it feels like it’s been offering the SDF very, very good deals – for example recognising the Kurds as a distinct minority group in Syria, their language, their holidays,” Rob Geist Pinfold, a lecturer at King’s College London, said.

“But if you ask Syrian government sources, they say they’ve got nothing in return.”

Meanwhile, the government in Damascus knows the United States won’t tolerate a prolonged offensive against the SDF not just because it’s an ally, but because there’s the risk of 10,000 ISIL prisoners being held by the Kurdish group escaping.

“We already saw pictures and footage from areas like Tabqa of prisoners being let out of jail… It will not be long before that footage is weaponised by the SDF,” Pinfold said.

He predicted the SDF will end up “negotiating relatively quickly simply because they will feel like they have no alternative” as the army keeps pushing its forces out of territory.

Kurds yet again being used and discarded when no longer useful. They should have looked to afghanistan to see how US treats its allies.

Definitely have to feel for them - the SDF was a bulwark against jihadism which is on the rise massively in syria yet again.

I can't see the SDF accepting integration into Syria when all of their actions have been towards an independent country. The fighting is likely to continue with the risk of Israel intervening to seize more land for themselves under the pretence of stopping a genocide! Big question is whether Israel would back off if Turkey get involved?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gwk37ewvwo

A Turkish defence ministry spokesperson warned on Thursday that Ankara is prepared to fight the SDF alongside Damascus and even went as far as to say that Turkey and Syria are “one state, one army.”

The Syrians have chosen to attempt to take full control of Syria when the World's media are distracted on other topics.

There was a meeting yesterday in Damascus between the commander of the Kurdish-led SDF Mazloum Abdi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

We’ve heard from multiple sources the meeting lasted five hours and afterward Abdi returned to the northeast with neither side releasing an official statement.

According to sources, one of the major issues in the meeting concerned the province of Hasakah. Now Hasakah has a majority Kurdish city and an Arab tribal population in the countryside.

Hasakah was mentioned in the previous US-brokered ceasefire deal, but there were some ambiguities and its administration was not quite resolved.

Now, Abdi apparently asked for the city and the province to be under full SDF control. We’ve heard from sources again that President al-Sharaa refused this and said if it wasn’t implemented under Ministry of Interior forces he would take it by force.

Abdi then asked for a five day grace period to discuss the matter, which President al-Sharaa refused.

On Telegram the SDF released a statement calling on Kurds in Turkiye, Iran, Iraq and even Europe to join what it called “the resistance” and to unite and push back.

videos of attacks on kurdish civilians and the aftermath are all over social media. It really isnt hard to see the evidence. But it is nowhere near appropriate content to post here

The US is now relying on the Syrian government to control the ISIL prisoners. The support and co-operation of the US depends on them doing that. Hopefully the Syrian government will hold proper trials and sentence or release the persons being held unlike what happened in Guantanamo and elsewhere.

The announcement came as US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said “the original purpose” of Kurdish forces as the primary anti-ISIS force had “largely expired.

Syria’s interior ministry said it was taking necessary measures to maintain the security of al-Hol.

Thousands of former extremists, including many Westerners, are held in seven prisons, while tens of thousands of their family members live in two camps established by Kurdish forces in northern Syria, al-Hol and al-Roj.

The Kurds get screwed again. Thanks for all your help with ISIS, but you are no longer of use to us...

US is moving ISIL and other prisoners to Iraq. No word of any trials being held.

The US military said on Wednesday it has begun transferring Islamic State group (IS) prisoners held in northeastern Syria to Iraq, as the Syrian army continues to take control of areas previously administered by Kurdish forces.

US Central Command said it transferred about 150 IS detainees from a facility in Hasakah province to secure locations in Iraq.

“Ultimately, up to 7,000 ISIS detainees could be transferred from Syria to Iraqi controlled facilities,” it said, using another acronym for IS.

Despite being a majority Muslim country, the relative secularism there in recent decades has meant a general availability of alcohol. The new government are trying to ban it in Damascus, and there's been push back.

https://www.dw.com/en/why-syrias-new-alcohol-ban-is-about-much-more-than-beer/a-76457547

But its part of a wider range of measures like rules about modest beachwear and so on. I guess since a lot of the new regime were in Al Qaeda, you shouldn't be surprised to see stuff like this :)

There is a slight pause in Israel's bombing of Lebanon so they have bombed Syria.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260410-israeli-tanks-shell-daraa-province-in-southern-syria/

I thought that it wasnt a total ban on booze, but restricted purchasing locations. Like Dubai, Qatar, Doha, Saudi.