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Syrian conflict

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A court sketch of Rayann El Houli, 34, during an appearance at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

‘ISIS bride’ accused of trying to indoctrinate children into terrorism before return to Australia

Rayann El Houli insists she has since renounced violent extremism, but hasn’t completed an anti-terror program because it was “a bit much” for her.

  • Erin Pearson

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The families leave Sydney Airport.

Australian-based ISIS victims don’t want the ‘brides’ settled here. For them, it’s personal

Four thousand Yazidi people fled Syria after an ISIS genocide and settled in Australia. Their stories should be heard.

  • Jacqueline Maley
Samer Zakhour with two moulds made for Australian paralympic hopefuls. Also pictured is an Australian flag and pink cockatoo that a friend bought Zakhour when he received Australian citizenship.

A refugee’s journey from a war zone to helping Australia’s Paralympians

A decade ago, Samer Zakhour was making prosthetics for wounded civilians during the wars in Iraq and Syria. Now, he makes prosthetics for the Australian winter Paralympic team.

  • Frances Howe
The damage caused by an explosion in a mosque in Homs, Syria.

Eight killed during prayer in terrorist bombing of Syrian mosque

Images from the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the city of Homs showed blood on the carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage.

  • Ghaith Alsayed and Sally Abou Aljoud
After the fall of his regime in Syria, Bashar al-Assad and his family live a luxurious life in Moscow.

Private yachts and $20,000 hotels: Online posts reveal exiled dictator’s life of luxury

From the moment they fled their Damascus palace via private jets and convoys of cars, the Assad family has maintained an opulent lifestyle.

  • Erika Solomon, Christiaan Triebert, Haley Willis and Ahmad Mhidi
Mohammad Marwan has spent the past year trying to recover from his time in prison under the Assad regime.

The dictator, the rebels – and the father of three who stumbled barefoot into freedom

As Bashar al-Assad fled for Moscow, the doors of his notorious prison flew open. And one man, after six long years behind bars, made his way home, broken but alive.

  • Ghaith Alsayed and Abby Sewell
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Australian children at the al-Hawl camp in Syria in 2019.

They’re Australians whose cause was bloodthirsty and lawless. Here’s why we should bring them home

The real reason Australia won’t do the right thing and repatriate its ISIS brides is the prime minister’s increasing habit of jumping at shadows.

  • Michael Bachelard
Kirsty Rosse-Emile, pictured with son Yahya in al-Hawl camp in 2019.

Signs that the arrival of women and children fleeing Syria was not a complete surprise

Little is known about the location or living conditions of the six who returned to Melbourne late last month, after people smugglers helped them flee Syria.

  • Michael Bachelard
Heba Kassoua , Heba Kassoua is a member of the Syrian Druze community in Sydney. They are increasingly concerned about their family in Syria who are facing attacks from the Bedouins and Israel.

Heba’s days are spent thinking about a city on the other side of the world

In Sweida, in southern Syria, violence has been raging for weeks, and Syrian-born Sydneysiders are increasingly concerned about an escalation in the conflict.

  • Anthony Segaert
President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Trump’s Middle East trip has shown he is not Netanyahu’s patsy

Israel and the United States remain close allies. But the president’s visit to the Middle East has exposed previously subterranean tensions with the Israeli leader.

  • Matthew Knott