Syria Conflict

Germany's forward #26 Deniz Undav (2nd R), an ethnic Kurd, scores his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group E football match between Germany and Ivory Coast at the Toronto Stadium in Toronto on June 20, 2026.

Culture

Amid political setbacks, Kurds shine at the World Cup

Kurdish players and clubs are making rare global gains on football’s biggest stage, offering a brief lift amid ongoing political setbacks across the region.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Syria announces direct flights to Amsterdam as Europe links expand

The head of Syria’s General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport announced that after years of suspension, Syrian Airlines would restart direct services between Damascus and Amsterdam.

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Oval Office, Washington, DC, Nov. 10, 2025.

Syria’s Sharaa says he had ‘multiple discussions’ with Trump on Lebanon, favors dialogue

Syrian President Sharaa has again played down Donald Trump’s request that Syria could enter Lebanon and help disarm Hezbollah.

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

Syrian Kurd commander Kobane kicks off European tour amid scrutiny from Damascus

Commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces Mazlum Kobane is on a European tour and will likely meet French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris.

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Analysis

Why Trump’s push for Syria to confront Hezbollah is an unlikely bid

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is welcomed by Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia on April 24, 2026, on the sidelines of a European summit.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

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

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Russia in talks on 'reformatting' its military sites in Syria: What to know

AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images

Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad on a state visit to the United Arab Emirates on March 19، 2023

Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad’s leukemia diagnosis: What we know

Assad is facing a relatively difficult path to recovery due to her history of breast cancer, a leukemia expert told Al-Monitor, with sanctions on Damascus further complicating her treatment options.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

US repatriates 11 Americans held in northeast Syria

Five years after the Islamic State lost its final stronghold in Syria, tens of thousands of women and children remain stranded in detention camps in the country's northeast.

Washington Connection

TOPSHOT - Migrants walk in the sea to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024. Five migrants, including a seven-year-old girl, died on April 23, 2024 trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain, local authorities said, just hours after Britain passed a controversial bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP) (Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images)

Cyprus is favored route for thousands of Syrian migrants escaping Lebanon

Nearly 60 times as many people, mostly Syrians, are leaving Lebanon by boats en route to Europe when compared with last year — a number expected rise in the next few months during peak migration season.

A photo taken at the "Written Eye" exhibition in Damascus.

Culture

‘Written Eye’ exhibit breathes life into Syria's art scene

Several young artists showcased their works at a new-concept exhibition held in the heart of the Syrian capital, signaling a revival of the Syrian art scene after years of war.

Iranians attend the funeral procession for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria, which Iran blamed on Israel, in Tehran on April 5, 2024.

Iran's hold on Syria strong despite 'withdrawals' after Israeli attacks

While Tehran has been withdrawing some military commanders from Syria in response to Israeli targeting, reports of a large-scale drawdown in Iranian forces in the country are exaggerated, analysts say.

JARABLUS, SYRIA - AUGUST 31: A member of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) stand guarded in front of a ISIS flag in the border town of Jarablus, August 31, 2016, Syria. Turkish troops and Turkey-backed rebels have been fighting Kurdish-led forces and IS since Turkey's incursion into Syria on Aug. 24. with the swift capture of Jarablus, a town a few km inside Syria that was held by Islamic State.(Photo by Defne Karadeniz/Getty Images)

ISIS takes advantage of Israel-Iran spiral to mount resurgence in Syria

Amid the relocation of Iranian-backed forces due to Israeli and US airstrikes and the lack of coordination between the SDF and Damascus, ISIS has intensified its operations, clawing back parts of the vital highway separating Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on Jan. 24, 2019.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander says resolve of US-led anti-ISIS coalition weakening

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, SDF chief Mazlum Kobane said the conflict in Gaza has boosted ISIS and warned that the conditions exist for a "resurgence" of the group to its former strength.

Mazlum Kobane

Mazlum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Emergency and security personnel gather at the site of strikes which hit a building next to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus, on April 1, 2024.

Iran says killing of commanders in suspected Israeli strike ‘won’t go unanswered’

Fears grow over a wider regional conflict as Iran's leadership pledges retaliation against Israel, which is accused of having killed over a dozen senior Iranian commanders during the course of the Gaza war.

Syrian air defense batteries responding to what the Syrian state media said were Israeli missiles targeting Damascus, Jan. 21, 2019.

Syria: Over 40 killed in alleged Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah warehouse

The attack reportedly hit at least one weapons warehouse belonging to Hezbollah near Aleppo International Airport.

A photograph taken on Oct. 22, 2011, shows a Turkish military helicopter flying over a mountain in Yemisli, in the Hakkari province

PKK kills Turkish soldier in northern Iraq as Ankara threatens major offensive

The militant group killed one Turkish soldier and wounded four others in northern Iraq, as Turkey threatened a major offensive to "annihilate" the Kurdish militant group by summer.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Russia sets up observation points in Syria near Golan Heights

New Russian observation posts have popped up in southwest Syria amid increased tensions between pro-Iranian groups and Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war.

A man walks past a poster of President Bashar al-Assad, a candidate in the presidential election, Damascus, Syria, May 17, 2021.

Congress pushes White House to toughen anti-Assad policy

The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation meant to combat the normalization of Syria's long-shunned regime.