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.

Latest News

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

A member of the Asayish stands near a man in a wheelchair along an empty street, as restrictions are imposed as measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Qamishli, Syria March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC2VPF9ALD0J

Kurdish-led northeast under lockdown as Syria announces first coronavirus case

The Kurdish-led autonomous administration declares a two-week curfew in an effort to keep the coronavirus out of northeast Syria; Turkey cuts off water supply to Hasakah.

A health worker with a face mask walks inside a hospital, as hospitals enforce a series of measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Damascus, Syria March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC20NF9CYGOY

Coronavirus in Syria: a catastrophe in the making

The Syrian government has stepped up measures to tackle the spreading novel coronavirus amid growing fears among Syrians of the pandemic’s catastrophic spread in light of their harsh living and humanitarian situation.

Meet Syria’s female doctors

Syrian women stepped up and took on medical work to fill the void left by men in the health care sector in northern Syria.

Members of the Syrian Violet NGO set up triage tents for suspected coronavirus patients outside the Ibn Sina Hospital in Syria's northwestern Idlib city on March 19, 2020. - Syrian authorities on March 13 announced measures aimed at preventing coronavirus from reaching the war-torn country, including school closures and a ban on smoking shisha in cafes, state media reported. (Photo by Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP) (Photo by ABDULAZIZ KETAZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Doctors in northwest Syria brace for ‘devastating’ coronavirus

Medical personnel in Syria contacted by Al-Monitor worry that Idlib's crippled health infrastructure will not be able to handle a coronavirus outbreak.

Turkey’s geostrategic orientation at crossroads amid Idlib tangle

Confusion prevails in Ankara on how to resolve the entangled Idlib crisis and the choices it will ultimately make could bear on its geostrategic orientations in the coming years.

Deir ez-Zor residents protest rule by Syrian Kurdish group

The Deir ez-Zor military council, affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has been firing on protesters and believes they are being fed anti-SDF propaganda by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Oil pumpjacks are seen at the Rumeilan oilfield, Qamishli province December 11, 2013. Picture taken December 11, 2013. To match Special Report SYRIA-KURDISTAN/ REUTERS/Rodi Said (SYRIA - Tags: ENERGY POLITICS CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS COMMODITIES) - GM1EA1M1LFR01

Erdogan turns to oil in a bid to salvage Syria policy

Turkey’s president eyes oil-related bargains in Syria after failing to achieve his stated objectives in Idlib and acquiescing to a new deal with Russia in the rebel stronghold.

Leftist Egyptian party looks to bolster ties with Assad

Western powers demand “accountability for the atrocities committed by the Assad regime” in a statement, as Egypt's National Progressive Unionist Party is boosting its efforts to return Syria to its full standing in the Arab world.

Syrian army soldiers gesture in southern Idlib province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on March 5, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE - RC2WDF9OXEEJ

US prepares biting Syria sanctions as Assad pummels Idlib

The United States is preparing to slap stringent sanctions on the Bashar al-Assad government as it pummels Idlib, raising questions about Syria’s long-term reconstruction.

Syrian government struggles with unrest in Suwayda

Local figures in Syria’s southern province of Suwayda have been considering solutions to the clashes and tension ongoing with regime affiliates in the province.

Migrants from Iran and Syria walk towards Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing with Greece's Kastanies, in Edirne, Turkey, March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC2CGF9X2KH1

‘Let them cross’: Turkey’s president defiant on Europe border crisis

Turkey's president, after meeting with EU leaders, says Greece should open its border with Turkey to migrants and then let them cross into other European countries; Russian and Turkish patrols for a new security corridor straddling Syria's M4 highway also are set.

Turkish Ambassador to the United States Serdar Kilic speak to the Conference on U.S.-Turkey Relations in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC11C9AEE7A0

Turkish envoy calls for more international support for Syria refugees, cease-fire deal

Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kilic said Ankara is not receiving enough support from the international community as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Brussels for meetings with the European Council and NATO.