📺 Foreign correspondent @France24 based in 🇳🇱 ✒️ @Trouw 📘 Vier Seizoenen in Damascus (2020) https://xitter.cf/t.co/bKlnZRFKvB 🗣️ Rep @zijspreekt

Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Joined May 2009
De tweede druk van mijn boek Vier Seizoenen in Damascus is nu verkrijgbaar. @nrc noemde het "een overtuigende aanrader voor iedereen die bij die voortdurende oorlog ook de Syriër, de mens, wil ontmoeten." Dus ren naar je lokale boekhandel en #koopdatboek
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Fernande van Tets retweeted
After a week away, here's a few important & inspiring pieces of news & developments from #Syria -- starting with a beautiful feature advert from Syrian Airlines, as it rolls out its new vision & branding. "The Sky is Ours Again"
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Fernande van Tets retweeted
It's also not great if you're still hoping to encourage defections...
Went largely unnoticed but Hegseth on Iran said the U.S. would provide "no quarter, no mercy for our enemies" during his press conference today. "No quarter" is a violation of international humanitarian law. ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/cu…
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Fernande van Tets retweeted
Although the new war on Lebanon may look like a continuation of its forebear in 2024, it is in fact different in many ways.🧵
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#Syria's Interior & Justice Ministries have deleted #Assad-era legal files on more than 4.85 million people barring them from travel or acquiring new passports. That's more than 20% of the entire population.
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🇳🇱 The centre-left party #D66 and the far-right Party for Freedom (#PVV) are running neck-and-neck in the #Dutch snap election Thursday. Regardless of who emerges victories, talks will have to be held to build a coalition. Our correspondent @Fernande_VT has the details ⤵️
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As the Dutch head to the polls on October 29, far-right parties have made #immigration the central issue of the campaign. The hard line rhetoric has already led to violent protests in towns where asylum centers are set to open. @Fernande_VT and @alixlebourdon's #FOCUS report ⤵️
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Fernande van Tets retweeted
An obvious disconnect here at this NATO summit: 🇺🇸Hegseth tells defence ministers that Europe should take control of its own security. 🇪🇺Then he tells Europe to step aside while Trump takes control of their security for them through bilateral 🇺🇦negotiations with Putin.
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The seven person Preparatory Committee for the Syrian Dialogue Conference includes technocrats, HTS, SNA, NGO, Christian-Feminist, and independent representatives. 1- Maher Alloush is an independent researcher/columnist and a former prisoner in Sednaya. 2- Mustafa Mousa was the previous technocratic Prime Minister of the Salvation Government in Idlib. 3- Huda Al-Atassi is the director of the International Humanitarian Relief Foundation. IHRF is a board member of @Ulfed_ar, a federation of the most powerful Syrian NGOs. Huda serves as the general secretary of the federation. 4- Hassan Al Daghim was the head of the Moral Guidance office of the Syrian National Army. He was responsible for educating the SNA soldiers on international law, the Geneva Convention and anti-extremism work. He was a fierce critic of Ahmad al-Shara until they reconciled in an half-day long meeting last year. He played a key role in organizing the unification of all Syrian armed opposition factions into the new Syrian army. 5- Hind Qabawat is a Christian who founded the Syrian Centre for Dialogue and leads TASTAKEL, a women's empowerment group. She was the former deputy head of the oppositional Syrian Negotiation Committee. She is also a senior non-residential fellow at the @ACMideast. 6- Youssef Al-Hajer is a senior HTS member who is very close to Ahmad Al-Sharaa. 7- Mohammad Mastat was the technocratic director of primary healthcare in the Ministry of Health in İdlib’s Salvation Government.
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Although I returned to Damascus—a city where I have personal roots—I must admit: I was among the people inexplicably reticent to go. In my circles, quite a few Syrian exiles have found reasons, like me, to dither and delay. Part of my trip was an attempt to understand why 🧵
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In his first interview as Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa lays out his vision for rebuilding Syria to our editor-in-chief, @zannymb econ.st/4jL3mEg
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Fernande van Tets retweeted
How could Western media so systematically misrepresent Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon? Were these wars ignored, or censored, or misunderstood? No quite. They resonate deeply, in fact, with a resurfacing of our own xenophobic and colonial past. mondediplo.com/2025/02/02mid…
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Fernande van Tets retweeted
NEW -- #Trump's global aid freeze has cut the salaries paid to many of the prison & camp guards responsible for securing 9,500 #ISIS militants & ~40,000 associated women/kids in northeast #Syria. Many are no longer turning up for work.
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There is a fake version of me on this platform. @fernandevantets is a scam, please beware! @XComms
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🇳🇱 Eighty years after the end of World War II, the #Netherlands' largest war archive is going public. It contains the names of hundreds of thousands of people who were investigated for collaborating with the #Nazis. FRANCE 24's @Fernande_VT and @alixlebourdon report 👇
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Five weeks after Bashar al-Assad’s fall, the US and EU still have no policy on Syria’s transition: a seismic change which they have demanded for over a decade, and in which they have much at stake. So far, most responses range from incoherent to wildly counterproductive. 🧵
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Fernande van Tets retweeted
Good -- #Syria's Arab Red Crescent has dismissed all "advisors" previously hired by the #Assad-picked Khaled Hboubati (a nightclub & casino businessman who made money off sieges).
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Great news that the #US has suspended some of its sanctions on #Syria for 6 months affecting: - remittances - transactions with governing institutions - energy transactions such as oil, natural gas and electricity Valid till 7 July. ofac.treasury.gov/media/9338…
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EXECLUSIVE: Documents Found After the Fall of Assad Show Syrian Intelligence Spying on @SIRAJ_SYRIA and our journalistic activities. 📍A file discovered at GID General Intelligence Directorate headquarters details an operation to investigate SIRAJ, a Syrian journalist collective that is part of the @OCCRP network and media partner of @ICIJorg & @LHreports. Thread 🧵👇
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Ahmad Al-Sharaa to @syr_television: "We entered #Damascus when it was in its worst state, with the damage affecting all aspects of life. The Governor of the Central Bank says Bashar ordered printing banknotes without any financial backing. There is a real tragedy, and we have plans to address these issues as we continue gathering data. The #Syrian revolution has triumphed, but Syria cannot be governed with a revolutionary mindset. There is a need for law and institutions, and for transitioning from the mentality of revolution to the mentality of statehood. During the battle, we liberated Syria in 11 days after years of preparation. The Syrian revolution experienced internal conflicts, factionalism, and international interventions, making it an exceptional case. A political solution was entirely impossible in every sense, leaving us no choice but military action despite its complexity. #Russian airstrikes targeted civilian areas, and there were fears of a Gaza-like scenario in northern Syria. Many details and behind-the-scenes aspects of the battle remain undisclosed, but we will reveal them later. We are merely tools used by God to achieve victory over the former regime, but the effort belongs to all Syrians. We successfully ended the #Iranian presence and hold no hostility toward the Iranian people. There has been systematic destruction of the agricultural and industrial sectors, as well as the banking system. We tried to avoid provoking the #Russians, giving them a chance to reassess their relationship with us. The regime did not build a state but rather a farm, with significant theft that will be exposed through documented evidence. The next phase is one of construction and stability. We are currently working to meet Syrians' primary needs. Food is abundant now, whereas Assad systematically deprived Syrians of it. Most ambassadors have remained in their positions, and embassies that ceased operations after the revolution are returning. #Israel’s excuses have run out, and they have crossed the lines of engagement. We are not seeking to engage in any conflict given Syria’s fragile state, and we are addressing the international community. We will put an end to the production of #Captagon in Syria. We took control of major cities without causing displacement @Abu_Orwa91
أحمد الشرع لتلفزيون سوريا: دخلنا دمشق وهي في أسوأ حال وحجم الأذى يشمل جميع النواحي يقول حاكم المصرف المركزي أن بشار أخبره بضرورة طباعة الأوراق النقدية بلا أصول هناك مأساة حقيقية ولدينا خطط لعلاج هذه المواصيع ريثما ننتهي من جمع البيانات الثورة السورية انتصرت ولكن لا يجب أن تقاد سوريا بعقلية الثورة هناك حاجة لقانون ومؤسسات ضرورة نقل العقلية من الثورة للدولة خلال المعركة حررنا سوريا في 11 يوما بعد إعداد استمر لسنوات الثورة السورية شهدت نزاعات وحالة فصائلية وتدخل دولي من عدة جهات وهي حالة استثنائية كان هناك استحالة للحل السياسي بكل معنى الكلمة ولم يكن لدينا الخيار إلا العمل العسكري رغم تعقيده الطيران الروسي كان يركز على الأهداف المدنية وكان هناك تخوف من سيناريو غزة في شمال سوريا هناك الكثير من تفاصيل المعركة وكواليس لم تظهر للعلن سنفصح عنها فيما بعد نحن أدوات سخرها الله للانتصار على النطام البائد ولكن الجهد هو جهد كل السوريين استطعنا إنهاء الوجود الإيراني ولا نكن العداوة للشعب الإيراني هناك تدمير ممنهج للقطاع الزراعي والصناعي والبنوك حاولنا الابتعاد عن استفزاز الروس وإعطاء فرصة لهم بإعادة تقييم العلاقة معنا النظام لم يبني دولة بل مزرعة وحجم السرقات كبير وستطرح وثائق تثبت ذلك المرحلة المقبلة هي مرحلة البناء والاستقرار نعمل الآن على تلبية الاحتياجات الرئيسية للسوريين هناك وفرة بالغذاء وكان الأسد يحرم السوريين بشكل ممنهج معظم السفراء بقوا في مراكزهم وهناك عودة للسفارات التي توقفت بعد الثورة السورية الحجج لدى إسرائيل انتهت والإسرائيليين تجاوزوا خطوط الاشتباك لسنا في وارد الدخول بأي صراع في وضع سوريا المنهك ونخاطب المجتمع الدولي سنضع حدا لإنتاج الكبتاغون في سوريا سيطرنا على مدن كبيرة دون أن ينزح أحد
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