Enab Baladi was founded in the Damascus suburb of Daraya, which was subject to a four year siege and heavy bombardment [Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images]
Independent Syrian newspaper Enab Baladi announced its return to the country on Friday following decade of exile due to the country’s civil war.
A statement from the editorial board said that the paper, founded in the Damascus suburb of Daraya in December 2011, has set up a new headquarters in the capital city.
“After years of managing the organization from abroad due to security conditions that forced out team to leave in 2014, we return today to Damascus, carrying the message of free journalism to the homeland,” the statement read.
Being initially founded in late 2011, the paper issued its first print edition on 29 January 2012, and continued distributing papers even as the town became besieged by the regime.
Daraya’s besiegement lasted four years following its takeover by opposition fighters in 2012 till 2016, when a deal was cut to relocate armed factions and the town’s civilians.
The statement paid homage to Enab Baladi’s staff who were killed during regime’s siege of the town; Mohammad Anwar Kuraitem, Ahmad Khaled Shihadeh and Mohammed Fares Shihadeh, as well as colleagues who died under regime torture; Nabil Walid Sharbaji and Ahmad Walid Helmi.
At least 500,000 people were killed in the Syrian civil war, which erupted following a brutal regime crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011. Upwards of 100,000 are estimated to have been detained by the Assad regime in its crackdown on Syrian society, many of whom are yet to be accounted for.
“The sacrifices of these colleagues will remain a lasting symbol of the struggle for freedom of the press and the right to expression,” the statement read.
Enab Baladi later established itself in Germany and Turkey, two countries where millions of Syrians sought refuge after fleeing the war and the regime. Although based abroad, the paper has maintained a network of journalists covering Syria.
The paper said that in resuming its work from Damascus, it would continue providing coverage reflecting “the pulse of the Syrian street”.
“We hope that this return will contribute to strengthening the status of free and independent journalism as a fundamental pillar for democratic transformation in Syria and as an empowering tool for Syrians to exercise their rights and express their voices effectively.”
Since the fall of the Assad regime at the hands of a rebel offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in December, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees have returned to the country from host nations.
Likewise, Syrian civil society organisations have also made their way back, such as the Madaniya Network of civil society groups which held a press conference announcing the opening of its new headquarters in Damascus on 21 December.
