Alison Meuse

A U.N. commission accuses Russian-backed Syrian forces and rebel factions of war crimes in Aleppo. Civilians "were increasingly left vulnerable to repeated violations by all sides," the report says.

Activists say more than 300,000 people have been detained over the course of Syria's civil war. A Syrian lawyer is trying to get the plight of detainees on the agenda at peace talks.

As Syrian forces advanced on rebel-held areas, many rebels and others fled to Syria's northern countryside. But that area could be next on the government's strategic map.

In some areas of Syria, local truces have averted deadly military takeovers. But in a suburb north of Damascus, rebel fighters say their departure resulted more from coercion than negotiation.

After a week of heavy fighting and shelling, evacuations have begun in the besieged city of Aleppo. A few thousand people have been able to leave, but still many are trapped in the eastern part of the Syrian city.

Wounded fighters, their families and civilians boarded buses for evacuation from the besieged city of Aleppo, Syria. The shaky cease-fire appeared to be holding as the buses began the trip to Idlib

Shelling and airstrikes have stopped in the besieged Syrian city. A Russian-led evacuation of rebels and civilians is underway, though there have been reports of evacuees being fired upon.

A ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey designed to allow civilians, fighters and their families leave besieged eastern Aleppo broke down before anyone could flee.

There are conflicting reports as to whether civilians are being evacuated from the rebel-held part of Aleppo. It's also not know if a cease-fire is still in place.

As the forces aligned with the Syrian government move deeper into rebel areas in the city of Aleppo, residents there and the international community call for help and a ceasefire.

Civilians in the rebel-held side of the city are fleeing for their lives, dodging crossfire along the front line to reach the regime-held part of the city. "It was all so sudden," one woman tells NPR.

Beirut's lone communist inspired bar toasts the life of Fidel Castro.

President Assad's supporters greeted the U.S. election results with optimism. For years they've faced hostility from the U.S. Opponents to the government fear a Trump administration will abandon them.

Revelers drink, dance and listen to music in the Syrian capital's Old City bars. "No one talks about the war anymore," a bartender says. "We got used to it."

There are no tourists, and Damascenes have thinner wallets these days. But commerce still flows in the ancient Hamidiyeh bazaar in the Syrian capital, where the war feels very distant.

The Syrian capital carries on with the rhythms of business as usual despite five years of war. NPR's Alison Meuse, who has been covering the war from Beirut, Lebanon, shares her impressions.

An ambulance driver and others in the Syrian city of Aleppo talk about life amid the past two weeks of intensive bombing of civilian areas.

The Syrian regime and Russian forces have been bombarding the city of Aleppo, often hitting civilian targets in the process. An attack on a bread line is among the latest.

A man who heads a volunteer rescue group in the rebel-held parts of Aleppo says he was in the office when the convoy arrived — and then he heard the sound of bomb-carrying helicopters.

Syrian regime attacks like the one that wounded an Aleppo boy in images last week have been commonplace. But recently rebels are attacking civilians on the government side of town as well.