Today, we publish a special report seven years since the start of the war in Syria.

Introduced by Mina Al-Oraibi, The National’s Editor-in-Chief, our report by staff writers and contributors looks at the insidious nature of chemical attacks; President Barack Obama’s “red line”; the ever rising death toll; the resilience of the regime led by President Bashar Al Assad; the refugee crisis unparalleled since the Second World War; ISIL; the region’s shifting alliances and the failure of the international community to intervene in any meaningful way.

As the war enters its eighth year, our writers state eight reasons why we must make sure that this is its last.

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Syria latest

More than half a million killed in Syria's war

Erdogan threatens Kurds: Afrin will be occupied by nightfall

In Afrin offensive, some see Turkey as liberator

Syria becomes a testing ground as Russia revives its defence industry

Comment: Miscalculations in Afrin have dramatically changed the facts on the ground