Turkish-Kurdish conflict

Members of People's Defense Units (YPG) stand guard as Syrian government internal security personnel enter the northeastern city of Hasakeh, a Kurdish stronghold, on Feb. 2, 2026.

Feature

After SDF-Damascus truce, is Kurdish haven still safe for Syria's Alawites?

Thousands of Alawites who fled violence in western Syria now face uncertainty as the Syrian government and Kurdish forces reach a tentative truce.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Kurdish security forces patrol the street on Jan. 23, 2026 in Qamishli, Syria.

Analysis

Kurds, Damascus step back from brink as SDF signs fresh deal with Syrian government

After intense US-led diplomacy, Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led SDF agreed to a ceasefire and phased integration, averting all-out conflict.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Siyamend Ali

Interview

YPG spokesman: Syrian forces' strategy is to isolate Kurdish towns and cities

In an interview with Al-Monitor, YPG spokesman Siyamend Ali said Kurdish forces were successfully repelling advances by the Syrian army, while Damascus accused the Kurds of launching unprovoked attacks.

Siyamend Ali

Siyamend Ali

YPG spokesman

A woman with braided hair during a solidarity demonstration in Erbil, Iraq's Kurdistan region, on Jan. 23, 2026.

Turkey detains nurse over hair-braiding video in support of SDF

Authorities say the nurse’s social media post amounted to terror propaganda, while critics argue that her symbolic protest falls under freedom of expression as tensions over Syria spill into Turkey’s fragile peace process.

Latest News

Analysis

Turkey’s Syria gains come with risks as Damascus pushes Kurdish integration

Turkish Foreign Ministery Press Service / AFP via Getty Images

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Could US shift on Syria’s Kurds unlock progress with Turkey?

Syrian government forces ride on the roof of a vehicle as they deploy after crossing the Euphrates River in the province of Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria, on Jan. 19, 2026.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Trump praises Syria's Sharaa after truce reached with SDF

President Donald Trump takes questions from the media during a press briefing on Jan. 20, 2026, in Washington.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Syria’s Kurds accept sweetened ceasefire deal as US envoy Barrack declares SDF obsolete

Soldiers walk past a parked car as Syrian government forces make their way to the city of Hasakeh in northeastern Syria on Jan. 20, 2026.

Tal Afar wary and wedged between Iran, Turkey and PKK

The Turkmen-majority city of Tal Afar remains sparsely populated and wary of outsiders a year and a half after being taken from the Islamic State. Geopolitical considerations and the nearby presence of the PKK, the Syrian border, the desert and mountains mean that operations continue in the area despite apparent calm.

Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), speaks during an electoral rally for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Arbil, the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region on April 29, 2018. (Photo by SAFIN HAMED / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

Barzani: Russia key to settlement between Assad and Syrian Kurds

Manbij leaders prefer the United States, but would rather deal with Russia and Syria than Turkey; Amberin Zaman gets exclusive access to a prison for IS terrorists; did HTS force the resignation of a Syrian opposition leader?; Syrians protest Turkish truckers; Rouhani’s meeting with Sistani is "crowning achievement" of trip to Iraq.

A member of Manbij Military Council gestures at a car in Manbij city, Syria December 29, 2018. Picture taken December 29, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1EFBFDDC70

Russian forces will defend Manbij 'the minute Americans leave'

The Manbij Military Council and Russian commanders have made a verbal agreement over who will defend Manbij when the United States leaves, and Turkey is not part of the equation.

Can joint Turkey-Iran action against PKK be real?

Turkey’s wish for a joint operation with Iran against the outlawed Kurdish militants along the Turkish-Iranian border is back on the agenda once again, but how realistic is it? Experts believe it is not.

Turkish air force patrollers fly by as Turkish soldiers take photos with their mobile phones during a ceremony celebrating the 96th anniversary of Anzac Day in Canakkale on April 24, 2011. A dawn ceremony on April 25 marks the time of the first landings of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at the Gallipoli peninsula in the ill-fated Allied campaign to take the Dardanelles Strait from the Ottoman Empire. In the ensuing eight months of fighting, about 11,500 ANZAC troops were killed, fighting

Cyberization means it's not your daddy's war anymore

New technology is infiltrating the old conflict between Turkey and outlawed Kurdish militants, and soldiers may have to sacrifice their smartphones for safety.

Turkey’s new Kurdish card in Syria: Kurds themselves

A relatively new Kurdish group that doesn't reject relations with Turkey is rising, calling itself the Independent Kurdish Coalition of Syria.

Intel: Why Erdogan is keeping it ‘all in the family’ as he meets with Kushner

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) celebrate the first anniversary of Raqqa province liberation from ISIS, in Raqqa, Syria Ocotber 27, 2018. REUTERS/Aboud Hamam - RC1BDC1D4780

UAE steps up anti-Turkey efforts in Syria

The United Arab Emirates engages Turkey in a war of words and deeds over Ankara's fight with Kurds in Syria.

United Arab Emirates

Protestors with flags of Kurdistan scuffle with policemen in plain clothes during a May Day demonstration in Istanbul, Turkey, May 1, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - LR1EC510RJ66T

Turkish judiciary toughens stance on ‘Kurdistan’ groups

The word “Kurdistan” is once again becoming taboo in Turkey, with the judiciary targeting parties and civic groups that use the word in their names.

Turkey succumbs to US court summons, readies defense over DC violence

The Turkish government hires law firm and gets 55-day extension from a US district court in a case where Erdogan's bodyguards beat protesters two years ago in Washington.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan walk during their meeting in the Black sea resort of Sochi, Russia, 14 February 2019. Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS - RC1506773F00

Turkey fails to win green light for safe zone at Syria summit

Iran and Russia’s leaders tell President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he must acquire consent from Damascus to launch an offensive in northeast Syria against Kurdish forces.

Buildings, which were damaged during the security operations and clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants, are seen in the southeastern town of Cizre in Sirnak province, Turkey March 2, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - GF10000330919

European court offers little solace to victims of Turkish state violence

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled the first of many cases filed on behalf of the 130 people killed in state-sponsored violence in Cizre inadmissible because the plaintiffs had not taken their case to Turkey’s Constitutional Court.