Top References

European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA)
Oct 2023

Country of Origin Information - Syria

 A report from the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA), I provide information via mail and interview about recruitment and military service in Syria.
Also the report used a some of my previous outputs, like: "Fight or Flight: The Syrian Conscription Nightmare" and "The Selective Return of Syrian Refugees"

Österr. Rotes Kreuz

08\09\2022

Query response on Syria: Conscientious objection and desertion

Inquiries about Syria

 report from @roteskreuzat & ACCORD on Military Conscription in Syria,I submitted answers via e-mail to the researcher who prepared the report on the topic. The report is in German، An article I published with @CarnegieMEC

 "Drain Society, Feed the Military" was also used as a source for the report.

Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs 31\05\2022

Algemeen ambtsbericht Syrië van mei 2022

Syria is an insecure country

As part of a report by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it relied in its statements on several references, including studies and research papers issued by the Omran Center, including the "The Chain of Command in the Syrian Military" paper that was used as a reference in the report.

Arab Centre

18\05\2022

Why did the "Baath state" collapse in Syria?

In a study published by the Arab Center, it discusses the reasons and factors that led the Syrian state to enter into the worst existential crisis since its founding in 1920, and how the state, which was ruled by the Baath Party, abandoned its economic function (rentier-distributive) towards its traditional social support bases (workers, peasants, and rural areas).

The paper "Centers of Strength in the Regime's Army 2020" "Nahj al-Safa' al-Alawiya" was used as a reference in the study.

Human Rights Watch | HRW

15\10\2020

They are targeting life in Idlib

During this report, I provided some information and observations under the headings "Syrian military structure during the attack on Idlib," "Russia's involvement in Syrian military operations," as well as "the individual responsibility of Russian and Syrian leaders."

The paper "Centers of Strength in the Regime's Army 2020" The Safaa Alawi Approach" was used as a reference in the report.

Last Statements

Trouw

19\5\2023

Na een jarenlange politieke isolatie zit Bashar al-Assad weer aan tafel (Dutch)

Muhsen Al-Mustafa, onderzoeker bij het Omran Center for Strategic Studies en het Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, denkt dat de lan-den in de regio tevergeefs hopen dat ze de drugssmokkel kunnen inper-ken door de banden met Assad weer aan te halen. "Nu Assad ontdekt heeft hoe belangrijk ze het vinden om die smokkel te stoppen, kan hij ze ermee chanteren", zegt hij aan de telefoon.

"En dat zal hij zeker ook doen, keer op keer, om te kijken of hij er mis-schien nog meer toezeggingen it kan slepen."

Between Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu: What will their Syria policy look like?

Muhsen AlMustafa, a researcher at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies and a former Non-Resident Fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), expects Erdoğan’s current policy to continue if he wins on May 28. “Maybe the voluntary return will rise because of the economic crisis and the impact of the earthquake,” he added.

AlMustafa read Kılıçdaroğlu’s talk about withdrawing from Syria as an electoral promise, but not a true policy plan. “They made promises for the election, but when someone comes to rule, he will face the reality,” he said. “The army and the intelligence will not accept to lose this benefit from military operations—it’s a national security issue.”

L’Orient-Le Jour

6\05\2023

"Croyez-moi, si je pouvais rentrer en Syrie, je le ferais" (French)

Les réfugiés syriens n’accordent aucun crédit à la fameuse loi d’amnistie annoncée en avril 2022 par Bachar el-Assad et vantée comme permettant « l’ouverture d’un nouveau chapitre » avec ceux qui s’étaient « égarés » en chemin, en référence à ceux qui s’opposent au régime depuis 2011.

« Ce décret ne peut en aucun cas jeter les bases de la phase postconflit ni contribuer à la création d'un environnement sûr au retour des réfugiés et des personnes déplacées tant que le sort des détenus et des disparus reste inconnu », dénonce Muhsen ALMustafa, chercheur au Omran Center for Strategic Studies et chercheur non résident au Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (Timep).

EL PAÍS 

30\03\2023

Los sirios temen más al hambre que a las bombas  (Spanish)

No se puede obviar el factor político en un conflicto como el de Siria, en el que el presidente El Asad “ha castigado a toda la población por rebelarse contra él hace 12 años”, tal y como declara Muhsen al Mustafa, analista asociado al centro de análisis Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) de Washington.

DW (German Wave)

22\02\2023

What next for Syrians who returned home after earthquake?

"Because the returnees are mostly not going back into areas controlled by the Assad regime, they have no fear of pursuit or arrest by government security forces," said Muhsen al-Mustafa, a researcher at the Istanbul-based Omran Center for Strategic Studies.

Enab Baladi

21\11\2022

The possibility of Turkish escalation raises fears in eastern Syria

The possibility of escalation is possible, but it is too early to talk about a new military operation in northern Syria.

He pointed out that Turkey is likely to suffice with targeting, by air or land, the “SDF” cadres and leaders of the “PKK.”

Al-Istiqlal newspaper

4\11\2022

It finances the war and enriches Assad.. What are America's plans to paralyze the Syrian drug network?

In this context, Muhsin al-Mustafa, a researcher in military relations at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies, said, "The role of the American intelligence services will be limited to identifying personalities and networks that manufacture and smuggle drugs across borders."

Enab Baladi

9\10\2022

The residents of Daraa are not looking for the beneficiaries of the assassinations. They are leaving

Muhsen Almustafa, assistant researcher at the “Omran Center for Strategic Studies” and non-resident fellow at the “Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy” (TIMEP), told Enab Baladi that the targeting operations are limited to three conflicting parties, namely the opposition, the regime, and the fighters of the “Islamic State” in the south. Syrian.

He considered that the continuation of the targeting operations in the governorate is evidence of a “security failure” of the regime’s apparatus and forces there.

As for benefit and harm, the researcher considered that the regime does not view human losses as a measure of benefit and harm. What matters to it is controlling the land and imposing its sovereignty over it, regardless of the number of deaths from any party, including its own forces.

Al Hurra

5\10\2022

The Syrian regime's "tactical" projects... Why are the Russians and Maher al-Assad on the line?

Mohsen Al-Mustafa, assistant researcher at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies and a fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policies, believes that the “tactical and operational projects” that the Syrian regime has been announcing frequently come with the aim of “maintaining combat readiness, especially since military operations have decreased, Therefore, the new soldiers must enter the atmosphere of battle.

Alsouria Net

5\09\2022

“Gradual doses.” What is behind al-Assad’s “advantages” of medical personnel in Syria?

Muhsen Almustafa, assistant researcher at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies, considered that the aim of the decree is to try to benefit as much as possible from these doctors, especially since it is applied for the first time to a civilian sector, while it was previously in the police sector when a volunteer serves a five-year period of service. order to drop his compulsory service.

Statements

Enab Baladi

4\09\2022

Syria.. What are the implications of ending the military retention of medical and engineering students?

Researcher Muhsen Almustafa believes that the Syrian regime is trying to limit the emigration of doctors, not only because of a shortage in the medical staff, but also because the regime considers, according to its perspective, that the study of a medical student in Syrian universities for more than six years and his emigration after that to work outside Syria is a “material loss.”

The new Arab

10\03\2023

How does the Syrian regime blackmail the United Nations to hire relatives of its officials in its offices?

Assistant researcher at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies, and fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Politics, Muhsen ALMustafa, revealed to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “Director of the General Intelligence Department Hossam Louka has three children, Nuri, Natasha and Satanay, while Nuri is pursuing his postgraduate studies in Russia, Natasha finished her studies in pharmacy and married the son of Ibrahim Othman, head of the Atomic Energy Authority of the Syrian regime. As for Satanai, she studied at the Higher Institute of Business Administration in Damascus. Al-Mustafa is likely to employ her in the United Nations office.

Enab Baladi

5\03\2023

Military militias lead the distribution of earthquake aid in Syria

He pointed out that the activity of the Syrian regime forces concentrated in the period immediately following the earthquake.

On the official level, the “army” participated in rescue operations and removal of rubble, and military hospitals received civilian casualties for treatment of injuries.

Al-Istiqlal newspaper

17\05\2022

Three explanations.. Al-Assad appoints a Sunni defense minister and makes structural changes to his forces

Muhsen Almustafa, assistant researcher at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies, believes that "appointing Major General Ali Mahmoud Abbas as Minister of Defense is illogical, as he is not the oldest rank after General Ali Ayoub, especially since there are a large number of brigades in the army older than him."

Enab Baladi

1\05\2022

A new defense minister who is “close” to the regime.. Is it correct to appoint a brigade?

Muhsen AlMustafa, a researcher at the “Imran” Center, linked Tlass’ survival in power at the time to the “Baath” coup and Tlass’ assumption of the ministry before completing his fourth decade of life, while the positions held by the regime today are people of 60 years of age and over, as a result of the military hierarchy.

Enab Baladi

7\08\2022

Between two axes... The East swallows the West in Syria

Muhsen Almustafa, assistant researcher at the “Omran Center for Strategic Studies” and a fellow at the “Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy,” considered that the American distancing from the Syrian file on the military level during the past years cannot be considered an exclusion of America, which abandoned Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad (northeast). ) in the interest of Turkey, while it did not give up any areas for the benefit of Russia and Iran

Al-Istiqlal newspaper

15\06\2022

“Indirect.” Does Assad have cards to confront Turkey’s operation in northern Syria?

Muhsen Almustafa, assistant researcher on military affairs at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies, believes that "al-Assad received a warning that was conveyed through the Russians not to stand in the face of the Turkish army in the event of a military operation."

L’Orient-Le Jour

30\04\2022

Bashar al-Assad appoints a new defense minister (French)

Muhsen adds, “Alawites derslea of are attributed to are army'l of Omran to the researcher, Moustafa-al role Le. Strategic Studies for Center other'd with coordination of and tifsadministrative aspects of on treraitconcen se Abbas Mahmoud Ali of more as much'd, public institutions division

Watan podcast
01/03/2021

The Syrian presidential elections lack credibility and the majority of voters will not vote

My participation in the Watan podcast to talk about the presidential elections of the Syrian regime.

Watan podcast
28\10\2020

Syrian elections

My participation in the Watan podcast on the Syrian elections to talk about the fake elections and about the paper "Baathification Democracy... the 2020 elections and approaches to devoting Article 8", which I issued at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies.

Watan podcast
08/12/2021

Al-Assad forms his new government without radical changes

My participation in Watan podcast to talk about the government formed by Bashar Al-Assad after the presidential elections.