Author: Bente Scheller

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The Syrian-Jordanian border crossing at Jaber-Nassib has re-opened (photo by Louai Beshar/AFP/Getty Images)

Assad's rehabilitation

At the expense of the Syrian people

A number of Arab League member states have announced in recent weeks that they intend resuming relations with the Syrian regime. A potential invitation to the Arab League summit in Algeria in March was even on the table, but the conference has since been postponed. By Bente SchellerMore

Syria and the Arab world: Assad's return to the foldSyria's constitutional committee: Geneva is key to Assad's rehabilitationReconstruction in Syria: The next battleground
Syrian civilian in the ruins of Idlib (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

War in Syria

The horror of Idlib

The recent escalation of violence in Idlib is also a result of the increasing tensions between Turkey and Russia. The victims are those in Idlib, caught up in a hopeless situation amid a huge spectrum of differing interests. By Bente SchellerMore

The decades-long rule of Syria's al-Assad dynasty: Psychogram of a Syrian dictatorFighting for democracy and a free Syria: "Ideas cannot be killed with weapons" – remembering Raed FaresAssad & Baʹath party rule: About Syria, which is no more
Assadʹs troops in Daraa province (photo: Getty Images/AFP)

The demise of Daraa, former rebel stronghold

At the mercy of Assadʹs troops

While Berlin was contemplating secure borders, the Syrian regime embarked on its next campaign to exacerbate the suffering of refugees. To Syriaʹs President Bashar al-Assad, they are nothing more than a weapon. By Bente SchellerMore

Tens of thousands return home after south Syria ceasefire deal Carving up Syria: Reserved for Assad loyalistsEnding the civil war: For a different Syria
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

The Syrian conflict

Priority revenge

The question is often asked what an Islamist rebel victory might mean for Syria's minorities. But what about the acts of revenge that are to be expected from Bashar al-Assad? A commentary by Bente SchellerMore

Charges against Bashar al-Assad: His turn will comeThe destruction of Aleppo: Surrendering our soulRussia and the Syrian conflict: Drop the dictator!
Aleppo lies in ruins (photo: picture-alliance/AP-Photo/M. Brabo)

The siege of Aleppo

Seven levels of hell

The breathtaking ruthlessness of Assad′s regime means that the hoped-for humanitarian corridors, aimed at bringing relief to the besieged residents of Syria′s Aleppo, are never likely to materialise. By Bente SchellerMore

Syrian conflict: Everyone against everyoneThe Syrian uprising five years on: Alive and kickingHezbollah in Lebanon: How Hezbollah is paralysing Lebanese politics
Geneva peace negotiations on the war in Syria (photo: Getty Images/AFP/F. Coffrini)

Syria and Geneva III

The great pretenders

As the Geneva III peace talks get underway, there is no sign that the conference will secure an end to the violence in Syria. The Assad regime can participate safe in the knowledge that it has nothing to fear. A commentary by Bente SchellerMore

IS: the winners and the losers: The time is ripe for Bashar and his croniesWestern involvement in Syria: Fewer bombs, not more!Chronicle of a war foretold: Redefining the "Syrian" conflict
French Rafale fighter jet takes off from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to carry out airstrikes against IS in Syria (photo: Getty Images/AFP/A. C. Poujoulat)

Airstrikes against IS

Solidarity yet no strategy

Western airstrikes will fail to have any significant impact on the terrorist militia as long as the Syrian rebels, prevented from focusing their efforts on the jihadists by the ongoing offensive staged by Assad′s regime, have to defend themselves simultaneously against IS and Assad. A commentary by Bente SchellerMore

Chronicle of a war foretold: Redefining the "Syrian" conflictThe Syrian conflict: The illusion of a political solutionThe Syrian conflict and the advance of ISIS: Assad and the myth of the lesser evil
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Photo: Hassan Ammar/AFP/Getty Images

The Syrian conflict and the advance of ISIS

Assad and the myth of the lesser evil

Assad has used chemical weapons and laid waste to entire neighbourhoods and regions with barrel bombs. However, in the West, fears of what ISIS Islamists could achieve loom so large that Syria's dictator continues to be seen as a smaller part of the problem. By Bente SchellerMore

Book review, "The Wisdom of Syria's Waiting Game": How to stay in power against the oddsInterview with Rafik Schami: Defending the Assad kingdomSyria and the Ba'ath regime: Assad and the post-eternity era
Bashar al-Assad (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

International policy on Syria

The rehabilitation of Assad

Above all, the West wants stability in Syria. Because he has managed to sit out everything that has happened in recent years, the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad seems to offer this very stability. But accepting the kind of stability Assad offers would mean having to forget the atrocities committed by his regime. A commentary by Bente SchellerMore

Syria's Civil War: Promoting DemocracyHuman Rights Activist Razan Zeitouneh Kidnapped: Syria's Fearless DissidentRussia, the US and the Syrian Civil War: A Bloody Game of ChessThe German NGO "Adopt a Revolution": Planning for a Postwar Syria