The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) is pleased to announce the release of the most comprehensive dataset on the Syrian conflict to date.
The data are based on a collaborative effort by the main providers of information on the conflict in Syria: The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Airwars, the Carter Center, International Security and Development Centre (ISDC), the Clingendael Institute, LiveUaMap, Shaam News, Syria Direct, the London School of Economics Conflict Research Group, and a number of undisclosed sources. Director of SNHR, Fadel Abdul Ghany, says, “We are very proud to contribute to this network. Determining the level and size of violations is very critical and shows the importance of documenting incidents. We will continue to document what’s happening in the country for all the families and collaborators.”
The data on Syria are fully triangulated, rely on transparent methodology, and are released weekly. Key characteristics include:
- A comprehensive overview of all violence back to 2017 with constant expansion;
- Based on diverse sources: social media, traditional media, and human rights sources;
- Relies only on organizations with clear and transparent methods;
- Inclusion of sources is based on their coverage (geographic, types of violence, etc.) to ensure balanced coverage and complementarity of sources;
- Freely available for everyone to use.
This initiative is inspired by the realization that comprehensive coverage of the Syrian conflict requires genuine collaboration. Executive Director of ACLED, Prof. Clionadh Raleigh, states, “We know from research that information is reported in line with mandates and will reflect the ways in which local networks are built. Genuine collaboration can recognize and account for these reporting patterns and ensure comprehensive coverage. These data are released in spirit with these principles.”
A US-based 501c3 established in 2014, ACLED is the highest quality, most widely used, realtime data and analysis source on political violence and protest in the developing world.
For further information, please contact: [email protected].
