Syria

World News

58 Die In Attack In Syria Where Toxic Chemicals And Shelling Were Reported

6:24pm April 04, 2017

by Bill Chappell

An attack on a town in Idlib province early Tuesday allegedly combined conventional and chemical weapons. After the initial strike, a hospital was reportedly bombarded as it treated victims.

Syrian refugee Monzer Omar, 34, was recently reunited with his family in Germany. Wife Walaa Ahmed, 26, holds 14-month-old Lossin. Omar holds Lamar (left), age 4, and Lojain, 2.

World News

In Germany, A Syrian Refugee Is Reunited With His Family

7:09pm March 31, 2017

Syrian refugee Monzer Omar, who first spoke with NPR in 2015, has been living in Germany awaiting his wife and young children. After a 10-hour trek out of Syria, they were able to join him in January.

Queue Listen Now

CHART: Where The World's Refugees Are

10:49am March 27, 2017

by Malaka Gharib

A report from the U.N. Refugee Agency shows some surprising trends in the world's refugee crisis.

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, regroup on the northern outskirts of Deir Ezzor as they advance to encircle the ISIS bastion of Raqqa on Feb. 21.

Big Changes And Major Dilemmas Loom In Next Phase Of ISIS War In Syria

9:21pm March 23, 2017

The U.S. considers deploying hundreds more American troops to Syria in the final phase of the war against ISIS — one that could reshape borders and relationships in the Middle East.

Queue Listen Now

Dr. Hussam Jefee-Bahloul, right, reads one of his poems for Ta'sheeq, a project he founded to help Syrian poets and artists share their experiences.

Health & Safety

Who Will Listen To The Suffering Syrians?

5:35pm March 23, 2017

by Deb Amos

The conflict has created chronic mental pain in a country with few mental health specialists. Dr. Hassum Jefee-Bahloul, a Syrian psychiatrist who now lives in the U.S., has a plan to help.

Dr. Hussam Jefee-Bahloul is the founder of Ta'sheeq, a group that puts on performances with Syrian poets, artists and musicians.

A Poem From A Syrian Psychiatrist: 'Cloud-Cafe'

5:32pm March 23, 2017

by Marc Silver

Dr. Hussam Jefee-Bahloul writes poems to capture his longing for his troubled homeland.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks Wednesday at the meeting of the Global Coalition on the Defeat of ISIS in Washington. Top officials from the 68-nation coalition are looking to increase pressure on ISIS.

Tillerson: Defeating ISIS 'No. 1 Goal' for U.S., But Others Should Do More

6:41pm March 22, 2017

by Michele Kelemen

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is hosting officials from 68 countries to discuss how best to take on ISIS. "As a coalition we are not in the business of nation-building or reconstruction," he said.

Queue Listen Now

A tribal leader from the Rukban camp tries to get help for children from Raqaa who were separated from their parents, who were allowed into Jordan two years ago after their father became ill.

World News

Along Syria-Jordan Border, Refugees Struggle At A Camp Aid Workers Can't Visit

7:26pm March 20, 2017

by Jane Arraf

In the Syrian desert near Jordan's border, some 60,000 refugees live in dire conditions. A trip with the Jordanian military provided a glimpse of the Rukban camp. Few outsiders have seen it.

Queue Listen Now

Mohammed Mohiedin Anis, or Abu Omar, 70, smokes his pipe as he sits in his destroyed bedroom listening to music on his vinyl player, gramophone, in Aleppo's formerly rebel-held al-Shaar neighbourhood.

World News

Living Among the Ruins In Aleppo, A Man Keeps Playing His Songs

12:55pm March 18, 2017

by Scott Simon

There is a photograph that's been seen around the world this week. It seems to hold both civilization and destruction in the same frame.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

How Many Health Workers Have Been Killed In Syria?

4:32pm March 15, 2017

by Marc Silver

It's complicated to confirm a death. But a new study gives a minimum number of health workers who've been killed since the war began six years ago.