Past Articles by Kelly McEvers
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A Close-Up Of Syria's Alawites, Loyalists Of A Troubled Regime A director spent a year filming the Alawite community in the Syrian coastal city of Tartous, where many believe President Bashar Assad is the only man who can save them from the mostly Sunni Muslims leading the country's rebellion. |
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A Close-Up Of Syria's Alawites, Loyalists Of A Troubled Regime A director spent a year filming the Alawite community in the Syrian coastal city of Tartous, where many believe President Bashar Assad is the only man who can save them from the mostly Sunni Muslims leading the country's rebellion. |
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In Syria, Some Ruling Minority Alawites Take Risky Stand Against Regime The Alawite sect has a history of siding with former dictator Syrian Hafez Assad, an Alawite, and his son, current President Bashar Assad. But during a recent gathering in Cairo, a group of Syrian Alawites say after burying so many of their own, they are willing to denounce the regime despite the risks. |
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In Syria, Some Ruling Minority Alawites Take Risky Stand Against Regime The Alawite sect has a history of siding with former dictator Syrian Hafez Assad, an Alawite, and his son, current President Bashar Assad. But during a recent gathering in Cairo, a group of Syrian Alawites say after burying so many of their own, they are willing to denounce the regime despite the risks. |
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Members Of Assad's Sect Break Ranks With Syrian Regime The Alawites have a history of siding with former dictator Syrian Hafez Assad and his son, President Bashar Assad, who are also members of the Shiite minority. But during a recent gathering in Cairo, some said they're willing to take the risk and denounce the regime after burying so many of their own. |
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Members Of Assad's Sect Break Ranks With Syrian Regime The Alawites have a history of siding with former dictator Syrian Hafez Assad and his son, President Bashar Assad, who are also members of the Shiite minority. But during a recent gathering in Cairo, some said they're willing to take the risk and denounce the regime after burying so many of their own. |
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Syrian Government Stronghold Raqqa Falls To Rebels The Syrian provincial capital of Raqqa is the first city to fall entirely to rebels who are fighting to bring down President Bashar Assad's regime. We have the story of Mohammad Abdel Aziz, who witnessed the fall of Raqqa from inside a prison cell. |
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Ten years ago Tuesday, the aerial bombardment of Iraq began. It was the opening volley of a U.S.-led invasion that would topple the regime of Saddam Hussein. One of the questions is: Can Iraq's fragile democracy hold, as the region splits along sectarian lines? |
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Syrian-Americans Contribute To Rebels' Cause Some Syrians in the U.S. are wracked with guilt that they can't do more to help their countrymen. Others are taking action. One Syrian-American gun enthusiast is doing his part to arm and train the rebels, and a Syrian doctor hopes to help train civilian doctors in conflict zones on trauma medicine. (This piece initially aired March 5, 2013 on All Things Considered.) |
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Syrian-American Returns To Home Country To Help Train, Arm Rebels Some Syrians living comfortably in the U.S. are understandably wracked with guilt that they can't do more to help their countrymen. Each has his own way of dealing with the situation. But now that the liberated north is easier to reach, they're starting to come back and many of them visiting parts of the country they've never seen before. We profile a Syrian-American gun enthusiast who's doing his part to arm and train the rebels. |
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Syrian Army Base Blocks Rebels Plans For Idlib Province It's thought that the province of Idlib in northern Syria might be the first to fall under the control of anti-government rebels. If that were to happen, Idlib, which borders Turkey, would become an unofficial buffer zone, where rebel fighters could regroup and aid workers could get help to the displaced. But one key government-controlled army base is standing in the way. |
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Sectarian Tensions Are On The Rise In Iraq Overall violence in Iraq has gone down in recent years but lately there's been a string of attacks targeting Shiite interests and security forces. Widespread protests in Sunni areas are calling for the downfall of the Shiite-led government. |
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Conflict Transforms Syrian English Teacher Into War Photographer Nour Kelze, a 25-year-old resident of Aleppo, was a teacher. Then the war came to her city, and with it, a new career as a war photographer. She has been chronicling the violence from the front lines. |
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Conflict Transforms Syrian English Teacher Into War Photographer Nour Kelze, a 25-year-old resident of Aleppo, was a teacher. Then the war came to her city, and with it, a new career as a war photographer. She has been chronicling the violence from the front lines. |
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Jihadi Fighters Win Hearts And Minds By Easing Syria's Bread Crisis When fighting shut down mills and bakeries late last year, the people of Aleppo began running out of their staple flatbread. A jihadi group has now stepped in to provide fuel and generators — and protection — to get bakeries running again. But not everyone in Aleppo is happy with how the group is distributing the goods. |
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Jihadi Fighters Win Hearts And Minds By Easing Syria's Bread Crisis When fighting shut down mills and bakeries late last year, the people of Aleppo began running out of their staple flatbread. Two rebel groups have now stepped in to provide fuel and generators — and protection — to get bakeries running again. But not everyone in Aleppo is happy with how one of the rebel groups is distributing the goods. |
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For Those Still In Syria, A Daily Struggle The situation is dire for hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees seeking shelter outside the nation's borders, but inside, the numbers are even higher. NPR's Kelly McEvers spent the night in one school, one of thousands, where families are taking cover from the shelling and fighting. |
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For Those Still In Syria, A Daily Struggle The situation is dire for hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees seeking shelter outside the nation's borders, but inside, the numbers are even higher. NPR's Kelly McEvers spent the night in one school, one of thousands, where families are taking cover from the shelling and fighting. |
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In War-Torn Aleppo, Old Doors That Reflect A Grand Tradition Syria's war has badly damaged many parts of Aleppo, an ancient city. But some places are still intact, and above the doorways you can still find the inscriptions of pilgrims who have traveled to the holiest site in Islam. |
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In War-Torn Aleppo, Old Doors That Reflect A Grand Tradition Syria's war has badly damaged many parts of Aleppo, an ancient city. But some places are still intact, and above the doorways you can still find the inscriptions of pilgrims who have traveled to the holiest site in Islam. |
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A Welcoming Way Station For Syrians Fleeing Home Part hostel, part performance center, a house in southern Turkey has become a valuable place for Syrians fleeing their homeland and seeking temporary refuge. |
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A Welcoming Way Station For Syrians Fleeing Home Part hostel, part performance center, a house in southern Turkey has become a valuable place for Syrians fleeing their homeland and seeking temporary refuge. |
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U.N.: More Than 60,000 Syrians Killed During Civil War In Syria, opposition activists report heavy fighting around a government-held airbase near the northern city of Aleppo. And in Damascus, a Syrian air force jet attacked a gas station in a rebel-held suburb, leaving dozens dead and wounded. |
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As Syrian War Grinds On, A Rebel Keeps Reinventing Himself Since the uprising began, Ibrahim Abazid has been a protester, a rebel fighter and an aid worker. Now he is looking to form a city council that could run his hometown in southern Syria. |
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As Syrian War Grinds On, A Rebel Keeps Reinventing Himself Since the uprising began, Ibrahim Abazid has been a protester, a rebel fighter and an aid worker. Now he is looking to form a city council that could run his hometown in southern Syria. |
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'Friends Of Syria' Recognize New Opposition Coalition The U.S. now recognizes the newly formed National Syrian Coalition. The announcement came at a meeting of the so-called Friends of Syria group in the Moroccan city of Marakesh. |
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A Rebel Fighter Sees Islamic Law In Syria's Future Islamist rebels are among the groups fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, raising concerns in the West about what their role would be in a Syria without Assad. NPR's Kelly McEvers recently spent some time with these Islamist fighters in the embattled city of Aleppo. |
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A Rebel Fighter Sees Islamic Law In Syria's Future Islamist rebels are among the groups fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, raising concerns in the West about what their role would be in a Syria without Assad. NPR's Kelly McEvers recently spent some time with these Islamist fighters in the embattled city of Aleppo. |
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Syrian Rebels Claim They Shot Down Fighter Jet With A Missile   Syrian rebels claim to have shot down a government MiG fighter jet and captured one of its pilots. It appears to be one of the first times Syrian rebels have successfully used a type of portable missile and could mark a turning point as the rebels challenge the regime's advantage in the air. |
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Syrian Rebels Claim They Shot Down Fighter Jet With A Missile Syrian rebels claim to have shot down a government MiG fighter jet and captured one of its pilots. It appears to be one of the first times Syrian rebels have successfully used a type of portable missile and could mark a turning point as the rebels challenge the regime's advantage in the air. |
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Iraqi Businesses Feel Pinch Of Iran's Economic Woes Najaf in southern Iraq is beginning to feel the pain of neighboring Iran's economic woes. Business around Shiite sites, which usually draw scores of Iranians for the holy days of Ashura, is way down. |
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Iraqi Businesses Feel Pinch Of Iran's Economic Woes Najaf in southern Iraq is beginning to feel the pain of neighboring Iran's economic woes. Business around Shiite sites, which usually draw scores of Iranians for the holy days of Ashura, is way down. |
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Conflicts Brew Between Kurds, Arabs In Iraq Arab-Kurd skirmishes in southern Iraq late last week injured dozens of people and killed at least one. Now troops from both sides are escalating and tensions are high again. This all comes as Kurdistan president Massoud Barzani battles Iraqi Central government Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Analysts say Barzani has been emboldened by independent oil contracts, the increasing support of Turkey, and ongoing events in Syria. |
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Syrian Opposition Movement Hampered By Fractures On Thursday, there were talks in Qatar aimed at restructuring and reinforcing Syria's opposition movement. |
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In Syria's Biggest City, A Deadly Stalemate It's been more than three months since rebels in Syria launched an offensive to take the northern city of Aleppo. In the early days of the offensive, the rebels took about half the city. But since then, neither the rebels nor government forces have managed to gain the upper hand. |
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Little Festivity As Syria's Holiday Cease-Fire Fails It's Eid al-Adha, or the feast of the sacrifice, a four-day religious holiday that is one of the holiest events of the Muslim world. But there is little to celebrate in Syria's largest city, Aleppo. A cease-fire called for the holiday is already crumbling, and in some areas it never took hold. |
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Syria's Cease-Fire Barely Lasts A Few Hours The guns have fallen silent in some areas of Aleppo, but there are still reports of scattered fighting in several parts of Syria. The military and Syrian rebels had agreed to a temporary cease-fire during the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice. |
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Life And Death And Puppets In Syria Criticizing Syrian President Bashar Assad can be a dangerous business. But that hasn't stopped the creators of YouTube videos called Top Goon, which relentlessly mock the Syrian leader with paper mache puppets. |
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Syrian Activists Attack Assad Regime, With Puppets Criticizing Syrian President Bashar Assad can be a dangerous business. But that hasn't stopped the creators of YouTube videos called Top Goon, which relentlessly mock the Syrian leader with papier-mache puppets. |
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Tensions Run High In Beirut Over Slain Official Violent protests briefly broke out in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, yesterday. The protests came after the funeral of one of the country's top intelligence officers, who was assassinated by a bomb placed in a car Friday. |
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In Syrian Conflict, Hezbollah Rears Its Head The Lebanese militant organization is entering the conflict on the side of the Syrian government. Its role is apparent in one rebel-held village on the Syrian-Lebanese border. |
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U.N. Envoy To Syria Heads To Damascus To Discuss Cease-Fire This is Lakhdar Brahimi first serious attempt for peace. One of the issues he'll have to deal with is disarray among the rebels. |
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Syria Experiences More Bloody Weekend Fighting In the country's largest city Aleppo, large swaths of a historic market were burned to the ground as government troops battled rebels for control of the city. And a bomb struck a largely Kurdish city in the country's northeast. |
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Syrian Rebels Work To Restore Order To Border Town Rebels trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad are making slow but steady gains in securing an incrementally larger safe zone in the north. They've captured a third major border crossing between Syria and Turkey. The rebels are trying to restore services to a recently liberated town. |
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As Numbers Swell, Syrian Refugees Face New Woes As the conflict in Syria grinds on, thousands are fleeing their homes for refuge in neighboring countries. Jordan, to Syria's south, is having a difficult time caring for the 200,000 who have arrived so far. |
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Syrian Activists Protest, But Not Over Anti-Islam Video For the past year and a half, every Friday in Syria has been given a name. That's because every Friday, people protest against the government, and those protests get a title. This week's title? "Syrian sons and daughters of the Prophet Mohammed are being slaughtered." In other words: "To all you Muslims who are angry about the denigration of the Prophet Mohammed in some YouTube film? Don't forget about us." |
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In Wake Of Violence, Pope Addresses Middle East Pope Benedict XVI is in Lebanon for a three-day visit that follows the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya. The Vatican has been promoting this trip as a pilgrimage of peace for the entire region. |
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Syrian Refugees Move Into Lebanon's Crowded Camps As Syrians flee war in their homeland, many come to Lebanon, which has not built tent cities as other countries in the region have. Some Syrians are taking up residence in Palestinian refugee camps that have existed for more than six decades. |
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With No End To Conflict In Sight, No Winners In Syria August was the deadliest month yet, with thousands of people, mostly civilians, killed in fighting around the country. While anti-government rebels are making advances, government troops are digging in their heels. |
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Syrian Rebels Heavily Manage Their Message Just like the Syrian government, the rebels in one besieged Syrian town are in the business of message control. They're trying to depict themselves in a sympathetic light and say they are protecting the remaining civilians. But if the rebels weren't there, would the government be targeting the town in the first place? (This piece initially aired July 27, 2012, on Morning Edition.) |
