Archive: syria

26th September 2023
By: Brian Whitaker
One of the most horrific moments of the Syrian conflict came in August 2013 when rockets laden with the nerve agent sarin hit Ghouta, a rebel-held area on the outskirts of Damascus. Hundreds of people died and thousands more were injured. It was the deadliest chemical attack anywhere in the world… Read more
1st October 2022
By: Brian Whitaker
"International observer" Beeley (right) at the news conferenceA British woman who became a prominent defender of Syria’s Assad regime resurfaced this week as an “international observer” for Russia’s sham referendums in Ukraine. Vanessa Beeley – described by Russian broacaster RT as “an independent… Read more
24th September 2022
By: Brian Whitaker
A British academic whose Twitter account is tagged as "Iran state-affiliated media" was the main author of a report on Islamophobia published this week with funding from the EU's Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme. The academic in question – former professor David Miller – is a director… Read more
8th August 2022
By: Brian Whitaker
Shortly before Christmas in 2012 a mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in the United States left 20 children and six teachers dead. Eight months later an incendiary bomb hit a school in Syria's Aleppo province, killing at least 10 students on the spot. Six other victims died later and… Read more
31st January 2022
A new book containing a chapter by a prominent defender of Syria's Assad regime has been withdrawn from sale, the publisher confirmed today. The Research Handbook on Political Propaganda comprises 29 chapters by a variety of academic authors. When it first went on sale last December the… Read more
27th December 2021
By: Brian Whitaker
A man suspected of supplying equipment to the Syrian army – including components that could be used in the manufacture of chemical weapons – has been arrested in the south of France after arriving there for a holiday, French media reported on Sunday. The man has not been officially named but he is… Read more
23rd December 2021
The Research Handbook on Political Propaganda is a new book described by its publishers as "a crucial resource for both scholars and students". Optimistically priced at £195 ($258), it has 29 chapters by different authors presenting academic studies of propaganda in a variety of countries. There… Read more
14th December 2021
A report in the Washington Post yesterday appears to confirm Syrian claims that Israel bombed chemical weapons facilities in the country last June – thus destroying evidence sought by OPCW investigators. Although the paper's story is based on unnamed intelligence sources, information from… Read more
29th October 2021
Syria's Assad regime is resisting calls to substantiate its claim that Israel has destroyed evidence relating to an alleged chlorine attack on Douma in 2018. According to the regime, two gas cylinders at the centre of the Douma investigation were among the "losses" resulting from "flagrant" … Read more
28th September 2021
By: Brian Whitaker
In April last year a report by the OPCW, the international chemical weapons watchdog, blamed the Assad regime for two sarin attacks on Ltamenah in northern Syria. The implications of this were especially serious because the attacks took place in 2017 – four years after the regime had formally… Read more