In the age of social media and information for all and by all, it’s more than ever necessary to build up a reliable list of resources on the subjects you want to analyze and understand. Particularly when it comes to international geopolitics.
This note was prepared by “Interstices-Fajawat“. As an initiative connected to Syrian society, we have put together this note to share our sources of information on Syria. We do not claim that these sources are all impartial or neutral, as we believe that neutrality is often synonymous with blindness or complicity. We ourselves have our own bias regarding our beliefs in revolution and internationalism from below.
Wherever possible, we have indicated the biases and partialities we have identified. We have chosen to retain in the list resources whose analysis we do not share, because they are nonetheless well-informed and transmit first-hand information, which just needs to be taken with great care.
TO READ AND FOLLOW US :
WEBSITES
At the top of the list, the first two categories contain most of the sources whose opinions we share, and which we recommend.
News and Analysis Websites :
- Al Jumhuriya (EN & AR) – based in Germany, Independant Syrian-led – https://aljumhuriya.net/ar/article_types/english/
- Daraj (EN & AR) – based in Lebanon, Independant Lebanese-led – https://daraj.media/en/
- Raseef 22 (EN & AR) – based in Lebanon, Independant Lebanese-led – https://raseef22.net/english/countries/207-syria
- Megaphone News (AR) – based in Lebanon, Independant Lebanese-led – https://megaphone.news/
- Syria Untold (EN) – based in Germany, Independant Syrian-led – https://syriauntold.com/en/
- From the Periphery (EN) – based in UK, Independant & International Media Collective – https://fromtheperiphery.com/
- Antidote Zine (EN) – based in the US, Independant – https://antidotezine.com/
- The Fire This Times (EN) – based in UK – Independant – https://thefirethesetimes.com/
Personnal Blogs (opinions & academic research) :
- Leila Al Shami (EN) – https://leilashami.wordpress.com/
- Elia Joseph Husseini-Ayoub (EN) – https://eliaayoub.com/
- Robin Yassin Kassab (EN) – https://qunfuz.com/
- Yassin al-Haj Saleh (EN) – https://yassinhs.com/
- Zyad Majed (FR & EN) – https://vendredis-arabes.blogspot.com/
- Joseph Daher (FR & AR) – https://syriafreedomforever.wordpress.com/
- Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (EN) – https://aymennjawad.org/
Syrian-led Advocacy & Media NGO Websites :
- Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (EN & AR) – based in UK – https://www.syriahr.com/en/
- Pro-Justice (EN & AR) – based in the US – https://pro-justice.org/
- The Day After (EN) – – https://tda-sy.org/
- Action Group For Palestinians of Syria (EN & AR) – based in UK (Syrian Palestinian) – https://www.actionpal.org.uk/en/
- Syria Direct (EN) – based in Germany – https://syriadirect.org/
- Wanabqa (EN) – based in Canada – https://www.wanabqa.com/
- SIRAJ (EN) – based in France – https://sirajsy.net/
- The Syrian Archive (EN) – based in the US – https://syrianarchive.org/
Local or specialized information websites :
- Creative Memory of the Syrian Revolution (AR, EN, FR) – based in France, Syrian/Palestinian-led NGO (Amaken) – https://creativememory.org/
- The Syria Report (EN) – Syrian-led – https://syria-report.com/
- Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (EN & AR) – Syrian-led, anti-SDF bias – https://www.raqqa-sl.com/en/
- Al Marsad (EN) – based in occupied Syria (Golan), Syrian-led – https://golan-marsad.org/
- Suwayda24 (AR) – based in Syria, Syrian-led – https://suwayda24.com/ + https://www.facebook.com/Suwayda24
- Rojava Information Center (EN) – based in Syria, pro-PYD bias – https://rojavainformationcenter.org/
- Hawar News Agency (multinlingual) – based in Syria, Syrian-led, pro-PYD bias – https://hawarnews.com/en/
- Rudaw (multilingual) – based in Iraq, pro-KDP bias – https://www.rudaw.net/
- Kurdistan 24 (multilingual) – based in Iraq, KDP owned – https://www.kurdistan24.net/en
- Rojinfo (FR) – based in France, pro-PYD bias – https://rojinfo.com/
General news websites :
- Enab Baladi (EN & AR) – based in Turkey, Syrian-led – https://english.enabbaladi.net/
- The Syrian Observer (EN) – based in Turkey, Syrian-led – https://syrianobserver.com/
- The New Arab (EN) – based in UK, Qatar owned – https://www.newarab.com/tag/post-assad-syria
- Middle East Eye (EN) – based in UK, Qatar owned – https://www.middleeasteye.net/
- Middle East Monitor (EN) – based in UK, Qatar owned – https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/
- Al Majalla (EN) – based in UK, Saudi owned – https://en.majalla.com/
- Syria TV (AR) – based in Turkey, Qatar owned – https://www.syria.tv/
- Al-Hal (AR) – based in the US – https://7al.net/
- Les clés du Moyen Orient (FR) – based in France – https://www.lesclesdumoyenorient.com/
- Orient XXI (FR) – based in France, Independant (NGO) – https://orientxxi.info/fr/mot1.html
ESSENTIAL FACT CHECKING WEBSITE
Verify Syria (AR & EN) – based in Turkey, Syrian-led NGO
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS (ex-Twitter/X & Instagram)
⚠️ Some of these accounts can share sometimes BIASED or ACRITICAL (sectarian, pro-Sharaa/HTS, pro-SDF/PYD, western…) content ⚠️
Matar Ismaeel – @RevoreporterSy
Joseph Daher – @JosephDaher19
Robin Yassin-Kassab – @qunfuz2
Hassan Ridha – @sayed_ridha
Leila Al-Shami – @LeilaShami
Rim Turkmani – @Rim_Turkmani
Mohammad Hassan – @mohammed_nomad
Firas Kontar – @fkontar78
Rami Jarrah – @RamiJarrah
Mazen Hassoun – @HassounMazen
Nedal Al-Amari – @nedalalamari
Ibrahim al-Assil – @IbrahimAlAssil
Qalaat Al Mudiq – @QalaatAlMudiq
Aymenn J Al-Tamimi – @ajaltamimi
Hassan I. Hassan – @hxhassan
Jenan Moussa – @jenanmoussa
Hussam Hammoud – @HussamHamoud
Abd alhade alani – @abdalhadealani
Rami Safadi – @RamiSafadi93
Vlogging Syria – @timtams83
Suhaib Zaino – @suhaib_zaino
Qusay Noor – @QUSAY_NOOR_
“Osama” – @OsamaSHL
“Karim” – @Idlibie
Tawfiq Ghailani – @SyriaNewsMan
Ivan Hassib – @Ivan_Hassib
Karim Franceschi – @karimfranceschi
Evin Cudi – @FreedomKurds
ScharoMaroof – @ScharoMaroof
FOREIGN JOURNALISTS/ANALYSTS :
Cédric Labrousse – @CdricLabrousse
Thomas Van Linge – @ThomasVLinge
Charles Lister – @Charles_Lister
Wladimir van Wilgenburg – @vvanwilgenburg
CJ Werleman – @cjwerleman
C4H10FO2P – @markito0171
ACT for the Disappeared – @actforthedisappearedlb
Action For Sama – @actionforsama
Al Swaida Al Thawra – @alswaidaalthawrah
Aljumhuriya – @aljumhuriya_net
Association Of Detainees & The Missing in Sednaya Prison – @sednayamissing
Based Syria – @based_syria
Caesar Families Association – @caesarfamilies
Daraj Media English – @darajmediaenglish
Dawlaty – @dawlatysy
Don’t Suffocate the Truth – @donotsuffocatetruth
Eye On Syria – @eyeonsyriaeng
Families For Freedom – @families4freedomsyria
Free Syria’s Disapeared – @freesyriasdisappeared
From the Periphery Media – @fromtheperipherymedia
Half of Syria – @halfofsyria
Horan Free League – @horanfreemedia1
Jadaliya – @jadaliyya
Jusoor for Studies – @jusooren
La Cantine Syrienne de Montreuil – @lacantinesyriennedemontreuil
Live Updates Syria – @liveupdatesfromsyria
Madaniya Network – @madaniyanetwork
Megaphone News – @megaphonenews
Middle East Eye – @middleeasteye
Middle East Institute – @middleeastinst
Middle East Matters – @middleeastmatters
Raseef 22 – @raseef22en
Release Me – @release_me0
Revoleft Syria – @revoleftsyria
Rojava Information Center – @rojavaic
Scholars for Syria – @scholars4syria
SOAS Syria Society – @soassyriasoc
Street Archives Syria – @streetarchivessyria
Syria Civil Defense – @syriacivildefence
Syria Mobilization Hub – @thesyriahub
Syria Pixel – @syria_pixel
Syria TV – @syr_television
Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression – @scmsyriancenter
Syrian Emergency Task Force – @syrianetf / @ualr_setf
Syrian Eyes – @syrianeyesteam
Syrian Feminist Lobby – @syrianfeministlobby
Syrian Hub Official – @syrianhubofficial
Syrian Network for Human Rights – @snhr
Syrian Print Archive – @syrianprintarchive_
Syrian Revolution Archive – @syrian_revolution_archive
Syrian Revolution Story – @syrian.revolution.story
Syrian Road to Justice – @road2justicesy
Syrian Solidarity Campaign – @syria_solidarity_campaign
Syrian Spot – @syrianspot
Syrian Women For Democracy – @cswdsyr
Syrians for Palestine – @syrians4palestine
Syrians For Truth & Justice – @syrians_for_truth_and_justice
Ta’afi Syria – @taafi.syria
Tastakel Organization – @tastakel
The Fire These Times – @firethesetimes
The New Arab – @thenewarab
The Syria Campaign – @thesyriacampaign
The White Helmets – @the_whitehelmets
Verify Syria – @verify.sy
Vive Levantine – @vivelevantine
Wanabqa – @wanabqa
Yarmouk Camp – @yarmouk.camp
BOOKS
👷🏽♀️🔧 🚧 – work in progress, please help us by sharing with us books about Syria written by progressive Syrians –
DOCUMENTARIES (with our rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️)
We find it unfortunate that most of these testimonies are inaccessible to the general public and restricted to discretionary festivals where only the intellectual elites and concerned people can see them, while the Humans in question suffer and die most often in the shadows. We respect copyright, but would nevertheless like to acquire all these films, so if you know how to download or buy them, please don’t hesitate to contact us:
collective@interstices-fajawat.org
1974 – EVERYDAY LIFE IN A SYRIAN VILLAGE by Omar Amiralay ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The first documentary to present an unabashed critique of the impact of the Syrian government’s agricultural and land reforms, Everyday Life in a Syrian Village delivers a powerful jab at the state’s conceit of redressing social and economic inequities.
2003 – A FLOOD IN BAATH COUNTRY by Omar Amiralay ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The movie examines the flood’s devastating impact on a Syrian village. With its powerful and daring critique of Syria’s political regime and the tribal politics that hold it together, the film foreshadows the wave of democracy currently sweeping the Arab world, with citizens finally rising up to demand a fundamental change in their countries’ leadership.
2013 – RETURN TO HOMS by Talal Derki ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A look behind the barricades of the besieged city of Homs, where for nineteen-year-old Basset and his ragtag group of comrades, the audacious hope of revolution is crumbling like the buildings around them.
2014 – SYRIA : CHILDREN ON THE FRONTLINES by Marcel Mettelsiefen & Anthony Wonke ⭐️⭐️
The story of five young children whose lives have been changed forever by the civil war in Syria.
2014 – THE LAST ASSIGNMENT by Rashed Radwan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
On November 20, 2013, Iraqi freelance cameraman Yasser Faisal al-Jumaili crossed the Turkish border into Syria with his trusted Syrian fixer Jomah Alqasem. The Syrian war had been raging for two-and-a-half years and now saw the various rebel groups splitting one from another, mostly around ideological differences. The assignment was to access the groups and build a picture of who these men were, away from rhetoric, both on and off duty on the frontlines. For 13 days in Syria, the two reporters filmed the men behind the frontlines: fighters with the Free Syrian Army, Al-Tawhid Brigade, Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar Al-Sham, and even ISIL.
2014 – HAUNTED by Liwaa Yazji
When the bomb comes the first thing we do is to run away, later we remember and think of everything we left behind. We did not bid farewell to our homes, memories, photos, identities and life that passed. It is about how homes haunt the life of the souls that were living in them, as much as they themselves haunt the houses.
2014 – OUR TERRIBLE COUNTRY by Mohammad Ali Atassi & Ziad Homsi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
How to make a film on violence without directly showing or reproducing it? The film Our terrible country attempts to respond to this approach by taking us on the perilous journey of Yassin Haj Saleh, a well-known Syrian intellectual and dissident, and young photographer Ziad Homsi who travel together in an arduous, dangerous route from the liberated area of Douma, Damascus to Raqqa in northern Syria, only to find themselves eventually forced to leave their home country for a temporary exile.
2014 – SILVERED WATER, SYRIA SELF PORTRAIT by Wiam Bedirxan & Ossama Mohammed ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A look at first-hand video accounts of violence in modern-day Syria as filmed by activists in the besieged city of Homs.
2014 – THE CAVE by Feras Fayyad
Deep beneath the surface in the Syrian province of Ghouta, a group of female doctors have established an underground field hospital. Under the supervision of paediatrician Dr. Amani and her staff of doctors and nurses, hope is restored for some of the thousands of children and civilian victims of the ruthless Syrian civil war.
2014 – LETTERS FROM YARMOUK by Rashid Masharawi ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Messages captured at the Yarmouk refugee camp in moments of extreme complexity; messages siding with life in the face of death; moments of love in a time of war and questions of homeland and exile.
2015 – SALAM NEIGHBOUR by Zach Ingrasci & Chris Temple
Two filmmakers fully embed themselves in a Syrian refugee camp, providing an intimate look at the world’s most dire humanitarian crisis.
2015 – 7 DAYS IN SYRIA by Janine Di Giovanni & Robert Rippberger ⭐️⭐️⭐️
In the most dangerous country in the world for journalists, Newsweek Middle East editor, Janine di Giovanni, risks it all to bear witness, ensuring that the world knows about the suffering of the Syrian people.
2015 – A SYRIAN LOVE STORY by Sean McAllister ⭐️⭐️
Filmed over 5 years, A Syrian Love Story charts an incredible odyssey to political freedom. For Raghda and Amer, it is a journey of hope, dreams and despair: for the revolution, their homeland and each other.
2016 – THE WAR SHOW by Andreas Dalsgaard & Obaidah Zytoon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Syrian radio DJ shares her experiences in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring.
2016 – HOUSES WITHOUT DOORS by Avo Kaprealian
Aleppo-Armenian filmmaker Avo Kaprealian shows the life of an Armenian family that has fled to Beirut during clashes in the New Village district of Aleppo, Syria, in 2015. Kaprealian documented the destruction in the district and the civilians who faced hardships. He managed to shoot footage from the balcony of his house […]
2016 – BORN IN SYRIA by Hernán Zin
Since civil war started in Syria in 2011, an estimated 9 million Syrians have fled their homes, half of them children. These children have fled unimaginable horror: the indiscriminate bombings of Bachar Al Assad’s government, and ISIS’ raping and beheading, only to find themselves trapped in makeshift camps or closed borders. We witness the journey of these refugees to the promised land of Europe.
2016 – THE WHITE HELMETS by Orlando von Einsiedel ⭐️⭐️
As daily airstrikes pound civilian targets in Syria, a group of indomitable first responders risk their lives to rescue victims from the rubble.
2016 – TADMOR / PALMYRA by Monika Borgmann & Lokman Slim ⭐️⭐️
Amidst the popular uprising in Syria that began in 2011, a group of former Lebanese detainees of the Assad regime decides to break their long-held silence about the horrific years they spent imprisoned in Tadmor, Palmyra, one of the Syrian government’s most dreaded prisons.
2017 – LAST MEN IN ALEPPO by Feras Fayyad ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Volunteers Khaled, Mahmoud, and Subhi rush toward bomb sites while others run away. They search through collapsed buildings for the living and dead. Contending with fatigue, dwindling ranks, and concerns for their families’ safety, they must decide whether to stay or to flee a city in ruins.
2017 – CRIES FROM SYRIA by Evgeny Afineevsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️
An attempt to re-contextualize the European migrant crisis and ongoing hostilities in Syria, through eyewitness and participant testimony. Children and parents recount the revolution, civil war, air strikes, atrocities and ongoing humanitarian aid crises, in a portrait of recent history and the consequences of violence.
2017 – CITY OF GHOSTS by Matthew Heineman ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The anonymous activists who exposed ISIS atrocities in Raqqa. Follows their undercover operations, exile, and risks taken to reveal the ruthless realities under ISIS rule. The story of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently”:
2017 – OF FATHERS AND SONS by Talal Derki ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Talal Derki returns to his homeland where he gains the trust of a radical Islamist family, sharing their daily life for over two years. His camera focuses on Osama and his younger brother Ayman, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up in an Islamic Caliphate.
2017 – HELL ON EARTH: THE FALL OF SYRIA AND THE RISE OF ISIS by Sebastian Junger & Nick Quested
A look at the current state of Syria amidst war and chaos in 2017, featuring stories of survival and observations by political experts from around the world.
2018 – THIS IS HOME by Alexandra Shiva
The lives of four Syrian families, resettled in Baltimore and under a deadline to become self-sufficient in eight months.
2019 – FOR SAMA by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In a time of conflict and darkness in her home in Aleppo, Syria, one young woman kept her camera rolling — while falling in love, getting married, having a baby and saying goodbye as her city crumbled. The story before “Action For Sama”:
2020 – AYOUNI by Yasmin Fedda
Noura and Machi search for answers about their loved ones – Bassel Safadi and Paolo Dall’Oglio, who are among the over 100,000 forcibly disappeared in Syria.
2021 – OUR MEMORY BELONGS TO US by Rami Farah ⭐️⭐️
Three Syrian activists are reunited on a theatre stage in Paris. 10 years after the revolution, they revisit traumas and memories of a ferocious war.
2021 – LITTLE PALESTINE: MEMORY OF A SIEGE by Abdallah Al-Khatib ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
After the Syrian Revolution, Al-Assad’s regime besieges the district of Yarmouk, largest Palestinian refugee camp in the world. Yarmouk is cut off. The director records the daily deprivations while celebrating the people’s courage.
2022 – THE LOST SOULS OF SYRIA by Garance Le Caisne & Stéphane Malterre ⭐️⭐️
In 2013, a Syrian official flees with 27,000 photos of corpses tortured to death in the country’s prisons since 2011. One year later, the photos of the Caesar Report reveal to the world the horror of the crimes of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.
2023 – UNDER THE SKY OF DAMASCUS by Talal Derki
In Damascus, a collective of young female actors comes together to research the topic. They plan to use the moving anonymous statements of countless women to create a stage play that will break taboos.
2024 – MY MEMORY IS FULL OF GHOSTS by Anas Zawahri
Like a visual elegy, My Memory Is Full of Ghosts explores a reality caught between past, present and future in Homs, Syria. Behind the self-portrait of an exsanguinated population in search of normality, emerge memories of the city, haunted by destruction, disfigurement and loss. A deeply moving film, a painful echo of the absurdity of war and the strength of human beings.