Less dramatic than the barrel bombs and less celebrated than the White Helmets but Syria’s green buses are still iconic.

They may only be 600km apart but the types of warfare both cities are experiencing are markedly different.

The loss of the city is a blow to ISIL but bigger challenges are looming.

The enormity of the crisis in Syria is almost indigestible to those who do not see it directly.

The failure of the latest ceasefire in Syria must inspire more concerted and imaginative attempts at finding success.

Syria is a conflict with no breaks and Assad himself is insulated in its cockpit.

There is a gap between rhetoric and reality when it comes to this geopolitical tool of choice.

The last 10 days have been a reminder of the breadth and complexity of the active conflicts going on in the country.

Never before in the history of conflicts we had so much information as to what is happening, yet know so little.