sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell
@sewella.bsky.social
3.1K followers 150 following 150 posts
News director for Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Turkey at the Associated Press. Contact asewell @ap.org
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Nov 16
I'll start by posting a chain with some links to my recent/relevant work (most, but not all, related to the war in Lebanon):

apnews.com/article/leba...
Children brought from Gaza to Lebanon to heal from wounds become caught in another war
Seven-year-old Halima Abou Yassine was brought to Lebanon from Gaza for treatment after an Israeli strike left her near death with a gaping wound in her skull.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · 3d
Minorities had hoped to break into Syria's new political order in the weekend vote but few succeeded

We followed minority candidates from Latakia, Jaramana and Afrin in Syria's parliamentary elections

apnews.com/article/syri...
Minorities had hoped to break into Syria's new political order in the weekend vote but few succeeded
Syria's first parliamentary elections since the ouster of former President Bashar Assad have revealed deep divisions among the country's minority communities.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · 7d
How Syria’s first elections since Assad’s ouster are expected to unfold

apnews.com/article/syri...
How Syria's first elections since autocrat Assad's ouster are expected to unfold
Syria is due to hold parliamentary elections for the first time since its autocratic former president, Bashar Assad, was unseated in December.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · 12d
A year after losing its longtime leader, Hezbollah is beginning to regroup

@bmroue.bsky.social
and I take a look at where the organization stands one year after it took a series of blows in its most recent war with Israel, culminating in the killing of Nasrallah

apnews.com/article/leba...
A year after losing its longtime leader, Hezbollah is beginning to regroup
Hezbollah is regrouping after suffering significant losses in its recent conflict with Israel. The Lebanese militant group lost its longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in Israeli airstrikes a year ago ...
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · 12d
Lebanon's ex-central bank chief accused of corruption, Riad Salameh, released on $14 million bail apnews.com/article/leba...
Lebanon's ex-central bank chief accused of corruption released on $14 million bail
Lebanon's former central bank chief has been released on $14 million bail after a year in jail awaiting trial on corruption charges.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · 15d
Lebanese village mourns children and father killed in Israeli strike

apnews.com/article/leba...
Lebanese village mourns children and father killed in Israeli strike
A village in southern Lebanon has buried five people, including three children and their father, killed in an Israeli strike over the weekend.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · 17d
Israeli drone strike kills 5, including 3 children, in southern Lebanon

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the children and their father were U.S. citizens

Via @chehayebk.bsky.social

apnews.com/article/leba...
Israeli drone strike kills 5, including 3 children, in southern Lebanon
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon has killed five people, including three children. The attack took place on Sunday.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · 25d
An Israeli strike on a meeting of Hamas officials in Qatar has cast a cloud of growing concern across Turkey that it could be the next target

With @andywilks61.bsky.social

apnews.com/article/hama...
Turkey wary of Israeli threat following airstrike on Hamas in Qatar
An Israeli strike on a meeting of Hamas officials in Qatar has cast a cloud of growing concern across Turkey that it could be the next target.
apnews.com
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Reposted by Abby Sewell
eciu.net
ECIU @eciu.net · Sep 5
The worst drought in decades is threatening Syria's fragile recovery from years of civil war

Most experts agree that Syria and the broader region appear headed toward worse climate shocks, which they aren't prepared to absorb.
@sewella.bsky.social
The worst drought in decades is threatening Syria's fragile recovery from years of civil war
The eastern Mediterranean and Middle East are in the grips of one of their worst droughts in decades, which is drying rivers and lakes, shriveling crops and even leading to water cutoffs in major…
buff.ly
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Sep 5
Evidence indicates the camera in question belonged to a Reuters video journalist who routinely covered his equipment with a white cloth to protect it from the scorching sun and dust. The journalist, Hussam al-Masri, was killed in the initial strike.

Via @sammymagdy.bsky.social and Sam Mednick
apnews.com
The Associated Press @apnews.com · Sep 5
AP reporting raises questions about Israeli strikes that killed 22 people at a Gaza hospital, including five journalists – among them Mariam Dagga, who worked for AP and other news organizations.
AP reporting calls into question why and how Israel attacked a Gaza hospital
Associated Press reporting into an Israeli attack that killed 22 people at a Gaza Strip hospital, including five journalists, raises questions about Israel’s rationale for the attack and the way it was carried out.
bit.ly
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Sep 4
The worst drought in decades is gripping much of the region. It's particularly dire in Syria, where rainfall has been declining for decades, and after a 14-year civil war that left millions impoverished and reliant on foreign aid.

Our deep dive:
apnews.com/projects/syr...
apnews.com/projects/syr...
Severe drought is devastating war-torn Syria
The most severe drought in decades is gripping much of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East following the impacts of climate change, leading to a particularly dire situation in Syria.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Aug 31
Alawite families flee Damascus suburb after violence and eviction threats

apnews.com/article/syri...
Alawite families flee Damascus suburb after violence and eviction threats
Many of Syria's Alawite minority are leaving a Damascus suburb after a pro-government armed faction raided the area.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Aug 28
US diplomat apologizes for using the word 'animalistic' in reference to Lebanese reporters

apnews.com/article/tom-...
US diplomat apologizes for using the word 'animalistic' in reference to Lebanese reporters
A U.S. diplomat has apologized for using the word "animalistic" during a press conference in Lebanon.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Aug 25
Four journalists were killed by an Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital today, including Mariam Dagga, a freelancer with the @apnews.com. She has a 12-year-old son, who was evacuated from Gaza earlier in the war.

She was a true hero, like all of our Palestinian colleagues in Gaza.
tinyurl.com/3cn5c9vb
Multiple journalists killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza hospital
A hospital strike in southern Gaza has killed at least eight people, including four journalists. The attack happened on Monday.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Aug 11
Israel targets and kills Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif as toll worsens on Gaza journalists
apnews.com/article/mide...
Israel targets and kills Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif as toll worsens on Gaza journalists
Israel’s military has targeted an Al Jazeera correspondent with an airstrike, killing him, another of its journalists and at least six other people sheltering outside a Gaza City hospital.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Aug 6
Survivors of the pager attack are easily identifiable, with missing eyes, faces laced with scars, hands with missing fingers. The AP interviewed six of them — offering a rare glimpse into the human cost of the attack

Powerful work by @bmroue.bsky.social @seldeeb.bsky.social @hassanammar.bsky.social
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Jul 29
The Iraqi PM has kept his country on the sidelines amid regional wars, balancing Iraq’s relations with two countries vital to his power and enemies with each other: the U.S. and Iran.

Qassim Abdul-Zahra and I interview PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani for @apnews.com:

apnews.com/article/iraq...
Iraq's prime minister seeks closer US ties while keeping armed groups at bay
The prime minister of Iraq has kept his country on the sidelines as military conflicts raged nearby for almost two years.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Jul 28
Lebanon mourns iconic composer Ziad Rahbani as mother Fayrouz makes rare appearance

apnews.com/article/fayr...
Lebanon mourns iconic composer Ziad Rahbani as mother Fayrouz makes rare appearance
Hundreds of people in Lebanon have paid tribute to iconic composer, pianist and playwright Ziad Rahbani, who died over the weekend.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Jul 26
Ziad Rahbani, Lebanese composer and son of iconic singer Fayrouz, dies at 69

apnews.com/article/fayr...
Ziad Rahbani, Lebanese composer and son of iconic singer Fayrouz, dies at 69
Ziad Rahbani, the Lebanese composer and playwright, has died at 69, according to the National News Agency.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Jul 25
Lebanese pro-Palestinian communist militant Georges Abdallah arrived in Lebanon Friday following his release after more than 40 years in detention in France

apnews.com/article/abda...
Militant Georges Abdallah arrives in Lebanon after more than 40 years in French detention
A Lebanese pro-Palestinian communist militant has arrived in Lebanon following his release after more than 40 years in detention in France.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Jul 24
Statement by AP, AFP, BBC News and Reuters regarding the situation of our colleagues working in Gaza:

"Journalists endure many deprivations and hardships in warzones. We are deeply alarmed that the threat of starvation is now one of them."

www.ap.org/the-definiti...
Joint statement on Gaza from AFP, AP, BBC, Reuters | The Associated Press
The Associated Press, AFP, BBC News and Reuters on Thursday issued this joint statement about journalists in Gaza:  We are desperately concerned for
www.ap.org
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Jul 23
AFP journalists warn their 'last reporters will die' working in current Gaza conditions

apnews.com/article/gaza...
AFP journalists warn their 'last reporters will die' working in current Gaza conditions
A group of journalists at Agence France-Presse is sounding the alarm about conditions faced by their colleagues working in Gaza, saying that without immediate intervention, the last reporters working ...
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Jul 21
US envoy doubles down on support for Syria's government and criticizes Israel's intervention

@apnews.com interview with Tom Barrack

apnews.com/article/syri...
US envoy doubles down on support for Syria's government and criticizes Israel's intervention
A U.S. envoy is reaffirming Washington's support for Syria's new government and telling The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that there is "no Plan B" for uniting the country.
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Jul 19
^^ Attached the above to wrong link - related story is here: apnews.com/article/syri...
US envoy says Syria and Israel agree to ceasefire as Druze minority and Bedouin clans clash in Syria
U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack says that Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire following Israel’s intervention this week in fighting between Syrian government forces and .
apnews.com
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Jul 19
Ahmed Aba Zeid, a Syrian researcher who has studied armed groups in southern Syria, said there is “no specific reason” for the historic tensions between the groups (Druze and Bedouins).

“All of Syria is full of social problems that have no reason,” he said.
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sewella.bsky.social
Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · Jul 19
Deadly violence in Syria's Sweida could reshape domestic and regional alliances. It will further complicate, if not derail, implementation of the SDF-Damascus agreement and will likely halt Syria-Israel rapprochement, bring Damascus closer to Turkey:

apnews.com/article/syri...
Deadly violence in Syria could reshape domestic and regional alliances
Violence between government forces and armed factions of a religious minority in southern Syria this week has deepened divisions in a country still recuperating from a civil war.
apnews.com
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