Syria Conflict

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on Feb. 15, 2026.

Interview

US oil firm HKN aims to double output in Syria's formerly Kurdish-run fields

HKN Vice President Matthew Zais tells Al-Monitor the company plans to double production at Syria’s northeastern oil fields while tackling pollution, as questions remain over the future of the Kurdish-run Jazira Oil Company.

Matthew Zais

Matthew Zais

HKN vice president for government affairs

Zaidi

Iraq's Zaidi meets Sharaa on first Syria visit: What to know

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has sought to assuage concerns about his past militant activity in Iraq, whose oil trade and security cooperation with his two country is rising.

Mourners attend the funeral of those who were killed in airstrikes carried out by Jordan the night before on the village of Al-Taf in the Al-Lajat region, located in the northeastern countryside of Daraa, on Oct. 27, 2026.

Syria slams Jordan over crossborder strikes, denies coordination: What to know

Jordan said its airstrikes targeted ISIS fighters, while Syria said civilians were killed, sparking outrage.

New female cadets from the new women's police academy attend the first cohort graduation ceremony after completing a six-month training program, in al-Tal on the northern outskirts of Damascus, on Sept. 22, 2026.

Culture

Syrian women easy target in Sharaa’s drive to consolidate power

Syria’s interim president is balancing Western demands for inclusion with pressure from Islamist hard-liners as he seeks to consolidate power and shed his jihadi past.

Latest News

Analysis

What’s at stake for Turkey as Israel heads to the polls?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York, on Sept. 19, 2023.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Analysis

How Israel’s elections could bring thaw with Syria

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly gathering, UN Headquarters, New York, Sept. 22, 2026.

Ezgi Akin

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

Analysis

'The problem and the solution': Netanyahu-Sharaa call exposes Israel's Syria dilemma

Israeli troops stand guard on the dividing line between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syrian, near Majdal Shams, July 16, 2025.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Syria to rejoin Arab group at IMF, leaving Russian-led constituency

An attendee walks past signage displayed inside the venue for the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images)

Fighters from the Kurdish Women's Protection units (YPJ) participate in a military parade on March 27, 2019, celebrating the total elimination of the Islamic State (IS) group's last bastion in eastern Syria, in the northwestern city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Child recruitment casts shadow over Syrian Kurds' push for global legitimacy

Failed efforts to secure the return of a recent spate of Kurdish youth recruited to fight in northeast Syria shows the delicate path the region's autonomous administration must navigate in its relations with the PKK.

Syrian opposition retracts decision on electoral committee

Against a wave of criticism by the Syrian opposition, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces backtracked on its decision to form a national elections commission.

Two Palestinian youths on crutches wearing a protective mask due to the Covid-19 pandemic, walk past graffiti depicting a disabled man carrying a national flag, during an event marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities in Gaza City on December 3, 2020. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

No relief in sight for Mideast hotspots after catastrophic 2020

Conflict, disease, famine compound crises in Gaza, Yemen, Syria.

Women and children who fled the Islamic State (IS) group's embattled holdout of Baghouz on February 14, 2019, wait in the back of a truck in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor. - IS jihadists using tunnels and suicide bombers were mounting a desperate defence today of their last square kilometre in eastern Syria.
Kurdish-led forces closed in on the small town of Baghouz where IS fighters and their relatives were hunkered down and met famished and dishevelled people turning themselves in. (Photo by Fa

Why refugees won’t return to Syria

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s call on Syrian refugees to return to the homeland has sparked many reactions, as some still fear returning to cities and towns occupied by Iranian forces accused of violations and abuses against the locals.

Smoke rises during a reported air strike by Russian forces targetting the outskirts of the town of Al-Bara, in the southern countryside of the rebel-held Idlib province, on November 13, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed AL-RIFAI / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED AL-RIFAI/AFP via Getty Images)

Opposition factions in Idlib prepare for imminent Syrian government offensive

After Turkey withdrew from observation posts within regime-controlled areas, Syria and Russia stepped up their attacks in Idlib, raising fears of an imminent battle.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem dies at 79

The career diplomat was a steadfast supporter of the Syrian president's bloody crackdown on the opposition.

How will US removal of Turkestan Islamic Party from terrorism list affect Syrian file?

The Turkestan Islamic Party, which is mainly made up of fighters from the Uighur minority in China and is one the largest non-Syrian fighting group in Idlib, has been removed from the US terrorist exclusion list.

Indiana woman gets 6 years in prison after smuggling cash for the Islamic State

Prosecutors say Samantha Elhassani also brought her two children to live in IS-controlled territory in Syria.

Mazloum Abdi (Kobani), commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on January 24, 2019. - Any deal between Syria's Kurds and the Damascus regime should respect the "special status" of Kurdish-led forces who fought the Islamic State (IS) group, Kobani said. The SDF control around a third of Syria after expelling jihadists from a large northeastern swathe of t

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander sees chance to ease tensions with Turkey under Biden

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Mazlum Kobane said the former vice president's victory may well spell change in Ankara’s behavior.

Mazlum Kobane

Mazlum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Members of the Deir Ezzor Military Council (DEMC), a coalition of Arab tribes and fighters that belongs to the broader US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, stand in line during an announcement by their leader, Ahmed Abu Khawlah (bottom-C), in the town of Shadadi, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of the northeastern Syrian city of Hassakeh, on August 25, 2017.
The US-backed Arab and Kurdish fighters said on August 25, 2017 that they would launch an offensive "very soon" to oust the Islamic State (IS) grou

Islamic State regroups in Syrian Kurdish region

Islamic State cells carry out assassinations against the SDF in the SDF-controlled countryside of Deir ez-Zor on an almost daily basis, affecting some civilians and tribal leaders close to the SDF.

Tulsi Gabbard succeeded in House by Afghan war veteran

Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii who served in the Army in Iraq and ran for president in 2020, has been a critic of the US prosecution of "endless wars." Her successor, Democrat Kai Kahele, served in Afghanistan.

While America counts its votes, Erdogan advances his agenda

Can the next US president manage Erdogan’s ambition?