The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented today 62 cases of arrest and enforced disappearance of Syrians returning from Lebanon by the Syrian regime forces, since the beginning of the year.

While many expected the Russians to put more pressure on the regime, they appear to largely support the latter’s political choices, political commentator Akil Hussein says

A close confidant of Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Adnan Tanriverdi claims expertise in all the dark arts of warfare. In the eyes of some, he is the Islamic world’s most powerful gun-for-hire, a well-connected ex-general with thousands of battle-hardened Syrian mercenaries at his command. A close confidant of Turkey’s …