Syrian Arab News Agency

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) (Arabic: الوكالة العربية السورية للأنباء (سانا), al-Wakālah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah lil-ʾAnbāʾ (SĀNĀ)) is a Syrian state-controlled news agency, linked to the country's ministry of information. It was established in June 1965.[1]

"SANA" redirects here. For other uses of SANA, see Sana (disambiguation).

Syrian Arab News Agency
TypeState media
FoundedJune 1965 (1965-06)
Websitewww.sana.sy
www.sana.sy/en/ (English)

SANA publishes more than 500 news stories and 150 photos on a daily basis and operates in multiple languages: Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Persian and Russian. The agency is also a member of the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA).[2][3]

Website

SANA launched its website in 1997.[4] Up until November 2012, SANA's website was hosted in Dallas, Texas, by the United States company SoftLayer. Due to sanctions related to the Syrian Civil War, which make this hosting illegal, the SoftLayer company was obliged to terminate its hosting responsibilities with SANA.[5]

SANA's English website states that the agency "adopts Syria's national firm stances and its support to the Arab and Islamic causes and principles with the aim of presenting the real civilized image of Syria."[6]

Criticism

According to German news agency Deutsche Welle; “when it comes to hard politics, the agency [SANA] has a clear agenda" and "SANA, being a public news agency, has a stake in the conflict to support Assad's government."[6][7][8][9][10][11] The agency does not describe opposition groups as "rebels", but rather labels them "terrorists".[6][11][12][13][14][10]

In 2011, SANA published an article giving its version of events surrounding the death of 13-year-old Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb, an account which differed from Al Jazeera's.[15] Al Jazeera reported that Hamza "spent nearly a month in the custody of Syrian security" and when his corpse was returned it "bore the scars of brutal torture."[15] According to Al Jazeera, "experienced local journalists and human rights researchers found no reason to doubt the authenticity of the footage of Hamza."[15] According to SANA, armed groups arrived in the village of Saida and Hamza was found dead after the fighting and sent to a hospital to be identified.[15] SANA, quoting a coroner, stated that Hamza died from three gunshots and that "there weren't any traces of violence, resistance or torture or any kinds of bruises, fractures, joint displacements or cuts."[15] According to SANA, the photos of Hamza circulating online "were taken after an advanced stage of disintegration after death."[15]

SANA called reports from August 2013 on a chemical attack in Ghouta "baseless" and an attempt to distract UN inspectors who had arrived in Syria to probe earlier allegations of chemical weapons use.[16] SANA had reported that anti-government forces were responsible for firing a rocket containing chemical materials in the Khan-al Assal area of Aleppo province in March 2013.[16]

In August 2015, after a three-day visit to Syria during the Syrian civil war, the emergency relief coordinator of the United Nations, Stephen O'Brien, told reporters he was "absolutely horrified by the total disregard for civilian life by all parties in this conflict."[17] O'Brien condemned the conduct of rebel groups and said (of the government airstrikes in Douma) "[they]…caused scores of civilian deaths and hundreds of people were injured."[17] SANA posted a video of his remarks on YouTube, editing the footage as a form of backlash, fading it to black before playing audio of his description of the government's attack.[17] SANA also omitted O'Brien's account of events from his time in the Old City of Homs.[17]

Managers
  • Fawaz Jundi (1965–1966)
  • Hussein al-Awdat (1966–1971)
  • Marwan al-Hamwi (1971–1975)
  • Saber Falhout (1975–1991)
  • Fayez al-Sayegh (1991–2000)
  • Ali Abdul Karim (2000–2002)
  • Ghazi al-Zeeb (2002–2004)
  • Dr. Adnan Mahmoud (2004–2011)
  • Ahmad Dawa (2011–2017)
  • Abderrahim Ahmed (2017–2021)
  • Iyad Wannous (2021–present)

See also

References
  1. Alan George (6 September 2003). Syria: Neither Bread Nor Freedom. Zed Books. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-84277-213-3. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  2. "About SANA". Syrian Arab News Agency. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  3. "About Us". Fana News. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  4. George, Alan (October 2000). "Syrian Surfers Take to the Net". The Middle East.
  5. Amy Chozick (29 November 2012). "Official Syrian Web Sites Hosted in U.S." The New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  6. "A look at the Syrian Arab News Agency – DW – 10/21/2016". dw.com. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  7. "Germany says in talks about possible military role in Syria". Reuters. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  8. Alsaafin, Linah. "'We are scapegoats': Arab journalists fired by Deutsche Welle". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  9. "Deutsche Welle Firings Set Chilling Precedent for Free Speech in…". Jewish Currents. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  10. Walcott, John; HHennigan, W. J. (28 October 2019). "U.S. Spies Say Turkish-Backed Militias Are Killing Civilians in Syria". Time. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  11. Hasan, Mehdi (26 October 2019). "U.S. Must Be Held Accountable for Once Backing Syrian Rebels". The Intercept. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  12. Ignatius, David (20 July 2017). "Opinion | What the demise of the CIA's anti-Assad program means". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  13. "Under Turkish tutelage FSA becomes better organised, but its mission shifts". The National. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  14. "What to know about potential war crimes in Syria by Turkish-backed fighters". ABC News. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  15. Friedman, Uri (31 May 2011). "On Syrian State TV Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb Is No 'Child Martyr'" The Atlantic. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  16. "Syria chemical weapons allegations". BBC News. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  17. Mackey, Robert (17 August 2015). "Syrian State TV Edits Out Criticism From Visiting U.N. Official" The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
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