Syria Conflict

Demonstrators hold a banner reading "Free Gaza, free world"

Analysis

Gaza progress, Syria pullback: What Turkey wants from Israel’s next government

Ankara sees room for limited improvement in ties if Israel’s next government eases Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and reduces military pressure on Syria.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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.

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Culture

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

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.

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

US, Russian troops square off in northeast Syria as Kremlin eyes wider footprint

US-Russian standoff near Derik, Syria, blocks traffic for hours before Russians return to Qamishli.

People walk past the looted premises of cellphone company Syriatel, which is owned by Rami Makhlouf, the cousin of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in Deraa March 21, 2011. Unrest spread in southern Syria on Monday with hundreds of people demonstrating against the government after five civilians were killed in protests in the city of Deraa over the past four days.REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS) - GM1E73M07IA01

Syria’s stock market stops trades of Rami Makhlouf’s telecom company

The company, owned by President Bashar al-Assad's embattled cousin, has been suspended from the exchange indefinitely.

Reports: Children among the dead after Syrian rebels clash in Turkish-held Afrin

Clashes between Syrian rebel groups in the northern city of Afrin left at least two children dead Thursday.

Turkey's assault against Syrian Kurds leaves trail of misery and spin

Was a burn victim hit by white phosphorus during Turkey's invasion of Ras al-Ain in October? Whatever the reason, he and many others are still suffering.

ALEPPO, SYRIA - NOVEMBER 18: Russian soldiers, with Russian flag, are seen on armoured vehicle as they enter the base at the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates, which the US troops' withdrew from, located 90 kilometres east of Aleppo in Aleppo Governorate, Syria on November 18, 2019. (Photo by Bekir Kasim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Russia to negotiate with Syria on more military bases: Interfax

Russia, which currently has two permanent military facilities in Syria, will reportedly hold talks with Damascus over obtaining more.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi during a gathering of foreign ministers aligned toward the defeat of Islamic State at the State Department in Washington, U.S., February 6, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1400997050

Intel: Pompeo discusses Syria with Jordan’s foreign minister

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed Syria today on a phone call with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

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Intel: EU renews sanctions on Syrian regime

The European Union renewed its sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for another year.

Russian and Syrian forces are seen in the Nasib border crossing with Jordan in Deraa, Syria July 7, 2018.REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki - RC1BD48D1A50

Report: Russia building new military base in northeast Syria

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the news coincides with tensions between Kurdish and Russian forces over the M4 highway.

A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter takes off at the Russian military base of Hmeimim, located south-east of the city of Latakia in Hmeimim, Latakia Governorate, Syria, on September 26, 2019. - With military backing from Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's forces have retaken large parts of Syria from rebels and jihadists since 2015, and now control around 60 percent of the country. Russia often refers to troops it deployed in Syria as military advisers even though its forces and warplanes are also directly invo

Intel: Russian jets intercept US Navy plane over eastern Mediterranean

Two Russian fighter aircraft intercepted a US Navy patrol plane over the eastern Mediterranean.

Syrian Muslim men wearing face masks, queue to enter the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus to attend the Friday prayer on May 15, 2020, following the authorities' decision to allow prayers on Fridays in disinfected mosques with strict social distancing and protection measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. - President Bashar al-Assad warned earlier this month of a "catastrophe" in war-battered Syria if the easing of lockdown measures against coronavirus is mishandled. (Photo by LOUAI BES

Syrian government lifts nightly curfew despite uptick in coronavirus cases

The Syrian Ministry of Health has registered 121 coronavirus cases and a death toll of four in areas under regime control.

US may try to raise the stakes for Russia in Syria

The politics of humanitarian corridors; Hayat Tahrir al-Sham tries a shakedown in Idlib; Ben Caspit to interview former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Al-Monitor podcast.

Two Islamic State leaders killed in joint coalition-SDF raid in Syria

The raid comes amid a string of SDF operations against suspected IS members over the past week.