Asmaa al-Omar

Asmaa al-Omar is a journalist who has reported extensively on the Middle East, human rights violations, and conflict for multiple publications, including The New York Times, The Financial Times, and The Washington Post.

She began her career in 2016, covering the Syrian civil war and the European migrant crisis from Istanbul for BuzzFeed News and Le Figaro. These experiences crystallized her interest in refugee issues. In 2018, she started contributing to The Guardian, focusing on refugee issues, including the deportation of Syrian refugees back to war-torn Syria. This has become one of her primary beats.

She later joined The New York Times and The Financial Times, where she expanded her focus on Middle East politics from a geopolitical perspective. Her work includes reporting on GCC countries' affairs, investigating Syrian mercenaries in Libya and Ukraine, and uncovering corruption linked to governments in Iraq and Syria.

Asmaa grew up in Damascus, Syria, and has lived in Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, and Europe. She speaks Arabic, English, and Turkish.

As a fellow of the Berlin Scholarship Program, Asmaa aims to enhance her skills in protecting herself and her sources from cyber threats and to improve her investigative techniques.