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 Syria's output as it takes over 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)

Mohammed Khier, head coach of Alsama cricket club, with cricketer Aya Fakhri Diab during practice in Al Marj camp.

Culture

Teenage Syrian refugees in Lebanon find cricket a welcome distraction

Cricket is emerging as a tool for social transformation and improving Syrian refugees’ education.

This aerial view shows tents covered in snow at a camp for internally displaced Syrians, near the town of Kafr Lusin, as a snow storm hit the region, at the border with Turkey in the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib, March 13, 2022.

Climate change makes life harder for displaced Syrians

The extreme weather conditions caused by climate change have been particularly felt by the displaced living in camps across northwestern Syria, where NGOs are struggling to meet all of their needs.

A picture shows the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on Dec. 6, 2021.

Iraqis murdered in Syria’s al-Hol camp

Tens of thousands of Iraqi nationals, mostly women and children, are “stuck in limbo” in a camp in northeastern Syria as violence against them and regional risks increase.

Syria attack

Pentagon inquiry finds no fault in 2019 Syria strike that killed civilians

Internal investigation blamed Syrian Kurdish forces for failing to mention the presence of civilians when calling in US airstrike.

Syrians coming from Turkey go through the Bab al-Salame crossing in the border town of Azaz, to spend the last days of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr holiday with family in Syria, in Aleppo province, Syria, April 18, 2022.

Turkish-backed forces meet with rival HTS in north Syria

Extensive meetings were held in the past days between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Idlib, and the Levant Front, one of the most prominent and strongest groups of the Syrian National Army, in a bid to reach a compromise between the two sides.

Syrian rebel fighters man anti-aircraft guns.

Syrians dodge military conscription

Syrian military-age men are fleeing conscription, forcing them to defer their future or pay back the government.

A Syrian worker is pictured at a makeshift refining installation in the Tarhin area near the Turkish-controlled city of al-Bab, in the north of the Aleppo province, on Nov. 19, 2021.

US eases sanctions on investment in Kurdish, Turkish areas of Syria

Syrian Kurds demonstrate on June 10, 2021, in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli.

Syrian Kurdish unity talks crumble as Turkey escalates anti-PKK campaign

The breakdown between sides serves Turkey’s agenda of keeping its Kurdish foes divided and weak.

A member of the border guard force loyal to the Syrian Democratic Forces looks from a position in the countryside near the town of al-Hol at construction work on a concrete border fence erected on the Iraqi side, Hasakah province, Syria, March 29, 2022.

Tribal violence haunts northeastern Syria

The de facto authorities controlling northeastern Syria stand idly by as tribal violence escalates, leading to casualties and tension in the area.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu

Difference over Syrian refugee policy behind unseemly feud between Turkish politicians

The founder of a small right-wing party challenges the interior minister in row over repatriations — but is it an attempt to gain support as Turks grow weary of refugees?

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

US announces $800M in Syria aid as border-access vote looms

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged the international community to ensure the latest Syria aid "actually reaches those in need."

Displaced Syrians arriving with their belongings in a convoy of trucks at a new housing complex.

Erdogan’s plan for return of Syrian refugees unlikely to succeed

Erdogan’s new plan to encourage the voluntary return of Syrian refugees promises little success as long as fighting, militia violations and insecurity continue in Syria.