Middle East — Nicolas Lupo

Middle East Correspondent (2012-2017)

Based in Beirut, Lebanon, I covered events in the region for several newspapers, websites and radio stations. During my time there, the major story was the Syrian war and its regional consequences: the spillover in Lebanon and a wave of refugees escaping violence to the neighboring countries, the biggest since World War II.

I visited refugee camps in Lebanon and traveled across the country to write feature articles about the country, politics, its society, the culture and the economy. I also visited Aleppo when the city was cut in half, between the Syrian regime headed by Bashar al-Assad, and opposition groups; went to Mosul when Iraqi forces and an international coalition was dislodging ISIS from the old part of the city; and followed Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi migrants along the Balkan route, trying to reach a new future in Europe.

My articles were published in English, Spanish, French, and I worked as a Middle East correspondent for the biggest news radio station in Spain, Cadena SER.

SYRIA

Justice in chaos

AL-BAB, Syria — Samaan, a 21-year-old Syrian soldier who was shot in the leg when rebels captured him last month, waits impassively to be judged, saying he has no fear of the verdict.

Lying on a wooden table and covered by a blanket despite the stifling heat, Samaan says weakly, “What happens, happens. I am not afraid of the sentence, because I know I have not killed.”

How the opposition groups failed to replace the role of the state when they took over half of the most populated city in Syria, for Al-Monitor — ***How the opposition groups failed to replace the role of the state when they took over half of the most populated city in Syria,*** *for* *Al-Monitor*

A week in Aleppo, Syria

ALEPPO, Syria — The sun goes down in Aleppo and the city falls into darkness. It is Ramadan; the streets become deserted and only a few lights are visible on the horizon. Most of the buildings lack generators, and electricity comes to houses in drips and drabs. The sound of sniper shots, mortar explosions and fighter planes flying the sky are now less common than last summer.

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After escaping the war in Syria, Osama received an offer to return to football coaching in Spain. But adjusting has not been that easy, for Al Jazeera — ***After escaping the war in Syria, Osama received an offer to return to football coaching in Spain. But adjusting has not been that easy,*** *for* *Al Jazeera*

A new life away from war

GETAFE, Spain — Osama Abdul Mohsen is at first hesitant to speak about the day he became known to millions. Sitting in a bar in Getafe, a town near Madrid, the Syrian refugee shakes his head and says he prefers not to talk at length about Petra Laszlo, the journalist who tripped him as he carried his son in Hungary.

Lebanon

Hezbollah has become a key support of the Assad regime in its quest for survival -for both of them. But it didn’t come without a price, for Middle East Eye. — ***Hezbollah has become a key support of the Assad regime in its quest for survival -for both of them. But it didn’t come without a price,*** *for* *Middle East Eye*.

Hezbollah’s burden

TYRE, Lebanon — The cemetery in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Tyre, also known as Sour, is a grey monotonous place surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. The only contrast comes from a yellow flag with a green emblem, stretched taut by two sticks. It is a new, pristine Hezbollah flag that surrounds the tomb of a teenage militant who died two months ago fighting in Syria.

Syrian refugees in Beirut travel back to the capital of the Islamic State, even risking their life, for El Mundo — ***Syrian refugees in Beirut travel back to the capital of the Islamic State, even risking their life***, *for* *El Mundo*

Back to the caliphate

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The dozen passengers on the Beirut-Raqqa coach show serious expressions on their faces a few minutes before departure. It's seven in the afternoon, it has already gotten dark in the Lebanese capital and a plainclothes policeman is registering the documents of each of the travelers. This is the first of dozens of inspections that Lebanese and Syrian soldiers and Islamic State (IS) militiamen will carry out on the coach, whose 50 seats are mostly empty.

In Lebanon's second city, two neighborhoods have been clashing and tearing each other apart for more than forty years, for Orient XXI — ***In Lebanon's second city, two neighborhoods have been clashing and tearing each other apart for more than forty years,*** *for* *Orient XXI*

Tripoli’s curse

TRIPOLI, Lebanon — The capital of North Lebanon adrift. Often, the reasons for this violence are described as only sectarian or related to the Syrian conflict. This is to forget that politicians use militias to consolidate their prestige and that they more easily recruit unemployed young people from these two neighborhoods who have in common their extreme poverty.