William Christou

Minority Islamic sect associated with overthrown Assad regime waits to see how threats of revenge will play out

To prepare khubeiza , the leaves of the kale-like plant must be roughly chopped and sauteed with onions, garlic and a dash of salt.

It was no secret, everyone seemed to know where it was. When asked for directions, the coffee vendor pointed up the hill. “The Captagon factory? Straight ahead.”

Burnt-out rooms reveal extent of lucrative regime-supported operation to smuggle drug across region

William Christou reports for the Guardian from a Captagon factory outside Damascus.

· 6-min read Standing at the gates of the Khmeimim airbase, a fighter from the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) eyed a pink vape being puffed on by a Russian soldier.

Syria’s new leaders are taking a pragmatic approach to relations with foreign powers, including former Assad ally Russia

Killing of journalists in Israeli strike could be war crime, legal experts say after Guardian investigation

The last time Alaa Qasar saw her father, in 2013, he studied her face as if he was trying to memorise it.

Uncertainty over the disappeared is forcing many to confront the brutal reality of Assad’s military prisons