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Millions of people inside Syria, and refugees outside, are said to be grappling with trauma and extreme poverty, along with 'a deep sense of hopelessness about the future'

Key role for Ireland in maintaining Syria aid corridor

The UN's Special Envoy for Syria has said he is hopeful that Ireland, working alongside his home country of Norway, can help maintain the only remaining cross-border aid corridor into Syria from Turkey.

World • 04 Feb 21

Children are led to school in the Atme camp close to the border with Turkey in Syria's northwestern Idlib province

Ireland to renegotiate Syrian humanitarian aid corridor

Ireland is being tasked with renegotiating the mandate to maintain a crucial humanitarian aid corridor from Turkey into north-west Syria, as part of its new role on the UN Security Council.

Ireland • 03 Feb 21

Shamima Begum had her British citizenship revoked on national security grounds after she travelled to Syria in February 2015

IS bride Begum can return for appeal in UK, court rules

A London schoolgirl who travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State group should be allowed to return to the UK to challenge the deprivation of her British citizenship, senior judges have ruled.

UK • 16 Jul 20

Syrian protesters in Idlib carry placards expressing their opposition to regime ally Russia's attempt to reduce cross-border aid

Russia, China veto extension of Syrian cross-border aid

Russia and China have vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to prolong cross-border humanitarian aid to war-torn Syria, the authorisation for which expires later in the day, diplomats have said.

World • 10 Jul 20

Captagon was originally produced for medical use but illegal versions have been dubbed the 'Jihad drug' (file pic)

Italy seizes €1bn haul of IS-made drug from Syria

Italian police say they have seized a world record 14-tonne haul of amphetamines made by the so-called Islamic State group in Syria.

Europe • 01 Jul 20

Turkish soldiers patrolling in Ariha, 15km south of Idlib last week

Russia resumes air-strikes in Syria after three months

Russian air strikes have hit Syria's last major rebel bastion for the first time since a March ceasefire came into force, a war monitor said today.

World • 03 Jun 20

Anwar al-Bunni, a human rights lawyer who fled Syria for Germany, said the trial will send "an important message" to the Assad regime

Syrians take their alleged torturers to German court

When Anwar al-Bunni crossed paths with fellow Syrian Anwar Raslan in a DIY store in Germany five years ago, he recognised him as the man who had thrown him in jail a decade earlier.

World • 20 Apr 20

Aid agencies fear what Covid-19 will do to refugee camps

Irish aid worker's Covid-19 fears for Syrian refugees

The Cork woman who is UNICEF's Deputy Representative in Jordan has warned that Covid-19 has caused "massive complications" to meeting the humanitarian needs of Syrian refugee children and their families.

Coronavirus • 15 Apr 20

This weekend marks the ninth anniversary of the Syrian Civil War

Military firepower remains primary weapon in Syrian war

After nine years of the Syrian Civil War, nearly a quarter of a million civilians have died and over five million refugees fled to nearby countries. RTÉ's Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin reports that despite the violence, there is no sign of an effective peace process in place.

World • 15 Mar 20

Syrian refugee Sahar, 26, was just a teenager when conflict began

Syrian refugee's plea: 'Stop the river of blood'

As Syria marks a decade of fighting, a young Syrian refugee tells of her family's desperate attempts to escape the war.

World • 14 Mar 20

A Syrian soldier photographed in Idlib province after the ceasefire took hold

Relative calm in Idlib following ceasefire

Syria's war-ravaged northwest woke up to relative calm, its skies free of warplanes for the first day in months, following a Russian-Turkish ceasefire deal.

World • 06 Mar 20

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands at a press conference

'Relative' calm in Idlib as ceasefire takes effect

"Relative" calm has been reported around the conflict-shattered Syrian region of Idlib soon after a ceasefire between Russia and Turkey came into force at midnight on Friday local time, according to the British-based the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.

World • 06 Mar 20

Dozens of parliamentarians joined the brawl, some climbing desks or throwing punches

Fistfight breaks out in Turkish parliament

A fistfight erupted in the Turkish parliament during a speech by an opposition politician who earlier accused President Tayyip Erdogan of disrespecting Turkish soldiers who died in Syria.

News Lens • 04 Mar 20

A soldier stands guard as migrants attempt to scale fences erected by the Turkish army

EU accuses Turkey of using migrants to pressure Europe

European Union member states have said the bloc "strongly rejects" what it sees as Turkey's use of migrants for political goals.

Europe • 04 Mar 20

A migrant waits in the port of Lesbos in Greece

Europe pledges €700m to Greece amidst migrant crisis

The European Commission has pledged €700 million to Greece to deal with the growing migrant crisis at its border.

World • 03 Mar 20

Refugees walk on a road near the Greek-Turkey border crossing of Kastanies

Turkey says it will let refugees into Europe

Refugees in Turkey headed towards European frontiers today after an official said the borders had been thrown open, a response to the escalating war in Syria where 33 Turkish soldiers were killed by Russian-backed Syrian government troops.

World • 28 Feb 20

Since the video, Salwa and her family have been invited to live in Turkey

Laughing Syrian girl begins new life in Turkey

A young Syrian girl who went viral after a video showed her father playing a game to distract her from bomb strikes has begun a new life in Turkey.

News Lens • 27 Feb 20

Turkey said the soldiers were in Idlib to 'establish peace'

Turkish soldiers killed in Syrian govt airstrikes

Two Turkish soldiers were killed and another five were wounded in Syrian government air strikes near the north western region of Idlib.

World • 20 Feb 20

Abdullah Mohammad and his daughter Salwa

Syrian father helps daughter face fear with laughter

Daily air strikes and bombs have prompted Syrian father Abdullah Mohammad to come up with a new way to help his daughter Salwa adapt to the sounds of war.

News Lens • 18 Feb 20

The Washukanni Camp for the internally displaced, near the city of Hasakeh in northeastern Syria

UN rights chief urges Syria humanitarian corridors

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for the creation of humanitarian corridors in northwestern Syria, expressing horror at a Russian-backed regime offensive in the area.

World • 18 Feb 20

Vehicles carrying displaced people and their belongings drive through the town of Darret Ezza, northwest of Aleppo

900,000 displaced by fighting in northwest Syria - UN

A Russian-backed regime offensive in northwest Syria has displaced 900,000 people since the start of December, and babies are dying of cold because aid camps are full, the UN said today.

World • 17 Feb 20

Syrian civil war has caused over 800,000 people to flee the Idlib and Aleppo provinces since December

US and Turkey call for Russia to stop backing Assad

US President Donald Trump has called for Russia to end its support for the Syrian regime's "atrocities" as he expressed US concern over violence in the Idlib region, the White House said.

World • 17 Feb 20

Syrian Army soldiers advance towards Saraqeb in Idlib province

Syrian forces make fresh advance in Idlib

Syrian regime forces have reportedly advanced into the strategic town of Saraqeb, despite a demand from Turkey that Syria pull back its forces from Turkish-manned posts in the last rebel enclave.

World • 05 Feb 20

Syrian people gather near the Syrian-Turkish border

Syrian offensive in Idlib displaces more than 500,000

A Russian-backed Syrian government offensive against the country's last rebel enclave has caused one of the biggest waves of displacement in the nine-year war.

World • 04 Feb 20

Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad shaking hands in Damascus

Putin hails 'huge' progress in talks with Syria's Assad

Russian President Vladimir Putin has met his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad during a surprise visit to Damascus as the prospect of conflict between Iran and the United States looms over the region.

World • 07 Jan 20