Analysis Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines As Washington pushes a new deconfliction mechanism between Turkey and Israel, the Jewish state shows little incentive to accept tighter constraints on its freedom of action in Syria, experts say. By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist
Analysis Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them Israeli officials remain skeptical of Turkish and Syrian denials over Ankara’s military ambitions in Syria, warning that a deeper Turkish foothold could threaten Israel’s security and strain its ties with Washington. By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Turkey signals restraint as war of words with Israel escalates over Syria The Turkish president’s top communications aide says Ankara will not be drawn into the Israeli government's “games” as Washington pushes a Turkey-Israel-Syria deconfliction mechanism. Turkey
Syria’s FM pays Pakistan first visit in 19 years amid new regional alignments Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani is paying his office's first visit to Pakistan in nearly two decades after Islamabad, Ankara and Riyadh signed a joint defense pact. Syria
Syria announces capture of senior ISIS official near Manbij: What to know By Jared Szuba In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military
What we know about Israeli strikes on Syrian air base tied to Turkey By Adam Lucente In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change
Turkish-backed rebels fight each other in Ras al-Ain, Syria Syrian rebel groups backed by Turkey clashed with each other in the border town they captured from Kurdish forces last year. Syria
Why Russia’s grip on Syrian military is weaker than it seems Russia’s attempts to centralize the command of numerous pro-Assad militias operating in Syria have been a mixed bag, to say the least. Syria
Iranian FM meets with Syria’s Assad amid coronavirus pandemic Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif meets with his counterpart Walid Moallem and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as Turkey accuses Syria of breaking the cease-fire in Idlib province. Syria
Syria's Kurdish-led region decries lack of international support in COVID-19 fight Syria's northeast is left with little outside assistance to fight the coronavirus pandemic and requires much more international support. Syria
‘Nobody cares about us’: Syrians stuck at Rukban camp decry lack of testing Syrians in the Rukban camp near the Jordanian border hope the coronavirus does not reach their isolated area as they have no coronavirus test kits; they also cannot cross the border into Jordan for any other type of medical care unless they have taken such a test and have proven negative. Jordan
Syria’s Ras al-Ain to open trade crossing with Turkey Turkey is constructing a border crossing linking the opposition-held city of Ras al-Ain in northeastern Syria with Turkish territory. Syria
Battles rage in Syria despite coronavirus cease-fires Clashes are raging between Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and Syrian Kurdish groups east of the Euphrates River in what Syrian Kurds claim that is a Turkish effort to prevent displaced civilians from returning to their homes. Syria
Islamic State spreading terror once again in Syrian desert The Islamic State is taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic and resuming its activities against regime forces in the Syrian desert. Syria
How Syrian opposition is trying to stop coronavirus from reaching its areas The Syrian opposition-led government is penalizing anyone involved in smuggling operations in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Syria
Intelligence sharing remains key to fight against IS The Islamic State is continuing to carry out guerrilla attacks; developing and maintaining a comprehensive intelligence picture of the group is seen as an important weapon to keep its militants at bay. Iraq
Intel: State Department backs up watchdog report on Syria chemical weapons use The United States agrees with the recent assessment of a global chemical weapons watchdog that found the Syrian regime used banned weapons against its own people, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday. Syria
Syrian camps brace for potential COVID-19 outbreak Doctors are deeply concerned about the devastation likely to occur if the coronavirus spreads into northwest Syria, particularly the camps for the displaced. Syria
