My name is Mohamed and until 5 May, I worked as a surgeon at the Kafranbel Surgical Hospital in northwest Idlib. On 5 May, our thousands of patients were robbed of medical care and support when warplanes—believed to be Russian—bombed the hospital out of service. Read more

The Syrian regime and Russia have begun an all-out offensive on northwest Syria, jeopardising the lives of more than 4.5 million civilians. Since 29 April, 150,000 people have been forced to flee their homes with 20 civilians being killed on 7 May alone. Read more

The extremist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has begun targeting universities in northwest Syria, shutting down two institutions over the past few months and forcing students to abandon degrees that some had been working for years to achieve. It is another reminder of HTS’s brutality and influence over northwest Syria, following the group's seizure of Idlib and the surrounding Aleppo countryside in January. Read more

Let me tell you the story of the Kafranbel Surgical Hospital and the people who work there. The hospital has not had an easy history, but it is one that we in Kafranbel are proud of. It has been attacked by the regime at least 100 times and completely forced out of service 15 times, but the amazing team of doctors and nurses have reopened it every time, and it continues to serve our community. Read more

Spring rains have brought floods to northwest Syria, affecting tens of thousands of families living in tents in displacement camps and killing at least two people, including a child. Shelters have been washed away while people are left with soaked and freezing belongings, many in need of food, clean water and fuel. Read more

Since February, the Syrian regime has been escalating its attacks on northwest Syria, joined by its ally Russia in Moscow’s first major assault on the region in months. A combination of airstrikes, artillery shelling and cluster munitions have killed 146 people and wounded hundreds more. Read more

The militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is now in control of Idlib province and the neighbouring Aleppo countryside, following days of fierce fighting with the Turkish-backed National Liberation Front—a coalition of rebel groups in the northwest. Largely abandoned by Turkey, the Front has agreed to sign over all its territories to HTS, a former affiliate of Al Qaeda. Read more

On 2 November, the regime began bombing Jarjanaz village, which is home to 31,500 people and protected by the Idlib demilitarised zone. Since then, it has attacked the area on a near daily basis, killing at least 18 people in the past month. In fear for their lives, around 90 percent of the village’s population has fled to the surrounding areas, turning Jarjanaz into a ghost town. Read more

In the last few weeks of his life, Raed Fares knew that he was in imminent danger. The man who had survived an assassination attempt and weathered countless death threats began telling friends and colleagues what to do after he was gone. On 23 November, unidentified gunmen drove towards Raed and shot and killed him along with his friend and fellow activist, Hamoud Jnayd. Read more