Dear Deeply Readers,

Welcome to the archives of Syria Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on May 15, 2018, and transitioned some of our coverage to Peacebuilding Deeply, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on the Syrian conflict. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors contributors.

We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].

Executive Summary for May 14th

To give you an overview of the latest news, we’ve organized the latest Syrian developments in a curated summary.

Published on May 14, 2014 Read time Approx. 2 minutes

U.N. Mediator Lakhdar Brahimi Quits

The New York Times reports that Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.’s special envoy to Syria and the diplomat who has acted as a mediator between the conflict’s warring parties, has resigned. It is not yet known who will replace him.

Brahimi quit “citing frustrations over the moribund political negotiations.” His exit “pointed to the failings of the West’s signature efforts on Syria, finding a diplomatic way out of a civil war in its fourth year. The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that he had accepted the resignation of his special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, who told reporters, ‘It’s very sad that I leave this position and leave Syria behind in such a bad state.’”

The move also “signaled the bleak prospects for peace in a conflict that has claimed more than 150,000 lives and shows no signs of abating. Mr. Brahimi’s announcement came just two days before Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterparts from European and Arab nations are to gather in London to discuss the crisis in Syria, with no new or obvious path forward.”

France Says Syria Used Chlorine Gas in 14 Recent Attacks

Reuters reports that the French government has accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons, namely chlorine gas bombs, in 14 separate attacks in recent months. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also expressed concern that Assad, despite agreeing to turn his entire chemical cache over to the U.N. and the OPCW, is still hiding toxic weapons.

“We have at least 14 indications that show us that, in the past recent weeks again, chemical weapons in a smaller scale have been used, in particular chlorine,” Fabius said at a Tuesday press conference in Washington, where he met with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry. “Right now we are examining the samples that were taken.”

Fabius also said that the Syrian government “had handed over 92 percent of its chemical weapons stockpile under an international agreement overseen by the watchdog OPCW. But France believed the Assad government was hiding some of the stockpiles and the reports involving chlorine gas attacks indicated he still had the ability to produce chemical weapons.”

Health Care Workers in Syria Are Under Attack

The Times also reports that Physicians for Human Rights, a leading advocacy group, says government forces “have systematically attacked doctors and other medical workers in rebel-held areas and are responsible for 90 percent of the confirmed assaults on health care facilities in the country.”

Its new report, “which is essentially an annotated map, represents what its creators called the most comprehensive look at attacks on medical-aid providers, hospitals and clinics since the war began. Such violence, when carried out in a widespread and organized way, can constitute a crime against humanity under international law.”

Donna McKay, the organization’s executive director, said in a statement that “Syria is among the worst examples of targeting medical care as a weapon of war.”

Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team

Reuters: Obama, in Meeting with Syria’s Jarba, Praises Leadership in Crisis

BBC: Love and Power Across Aleppo’s Front lines

Suggest your story or issue.

Send

Share Your Story.

Have a story idea? Interested in adding your voice to our growing community?

Learn more