Feb 02, 2015 – Our Weekly Selection

The eight stories selected this week include a report on civil society activism within Syria, the rising tensions between Syrian refugees…and Syrian workers, and a profile of the new head of the National Coalition.

Who’s Who: Khaled Khoja, New President of the Syrian National Coalition: “Khaled Khoja’s appointment to the coalition leadership comes at a critical stage of the institution’s history.”

Syria says approves U.N. $2.9 billion humanitarian aid plan for 2015: “The strategic response plan appeals for some $2.9 billion in a bid to help 12.2 million Syrians, more than half the population, who are in need as the country’s civil war approaches its fifth year.”

Activism in Difficult Times: “The empowerment of civil society is an essential step in establishing and consolidating democratic structures. Irrespective of the course Syria takes in the coming years, civil society will continue to hold the government and its agencies accountable for their actions, to oppose dictatorship, to counteract terrorism and to struggle for a better future.”

Bekaa’s Brewing Conflict: Syrian Refugees vs. Syrian Workers: “Most analyses discussing the economic effects of the displacement of Syrian refugees have missed an important point: the people most affected by the influx of large amounts of refugees from Syria into Lebanon are none other than the Syrian workers who lived there before the crisis.”

Syria raises fuel prices to snuff out black market, soothe unrest: “Syria has raised fuel prices, cutting back on lavish subsidies, to quell a thriving black market that has led to anti-corruption protests in areas of strong government support.”

Syria Analysis: How Lebanon Is Cracking Under Pressure: “The Lebanese population’s resentment has taken the form of widespread racism, curfews and limits to freedom of movement for Syrian refugees in some municipalities. The more refugees are marginalised, and the more afraid of them the Lebanese get – and the more polarised and tense Lebanese society is becoming.”

ISIS Is Rebranding and Distributing Stolen UN Humanitarian Aid: “Images uploaded to ISIS propaganda channels suggest that members of the terror network near Aleppo, Syria, are stealing food and other humanitarian aid packages delivered by the United Nations, relabeling the boxes with its own logo and handing them out to desperate refugees.”

Exclusive: Obama Cuts Off Syrian Rebels’ Cash: “In the past several months, many of the Syrian rebel groups previously favored by the CIA have had their money and supplies cut off or substantially reduced, even as President Obama touted the strategic importance of American support for the rebels in his State of the Union address.”