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Syria

July 27, 2026

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Tourism students and visitors visit the ruins of the ancient city of Apamea in the Hama countryside, Syria, on July 8, 2026.

Syria arrivals surge 111% as government bets on tourism revival

The country welcomed 3.52 million visitors during the first half of 2026, more than double the figure recorded a year earlier, as the government pushes to reconnect to the world and promote tourism as a pillar of economic recovery.

Zaid AL-OBEIDI / AFP via Getty Images

Syria seizes arms shipment on Iraq border destined for Hezbollah

The operation comes as part of the Syrian authorities' efforts to curb illicit arms smuggling through its territory, namely intended for Hezbollah.

A man holds a Syrian flag across the street from the White House after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with President Donald Trump at White House in Washington, on Nov. 10, 2025.

Syria, US hold first business forum since sanctions relief: What to know

The one-day forum in Damascus was organized by Syria’s Ministry of Economy and Industry and the US-Syria Business Council, which was established in Washington last June to advance trade and investment between the two nations.

Latest News

Explainer

How Macron seeks to carve out France's role in new Syria

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) welcomes France's President Emmanuel Macron for a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

US to drop Syria from terror blacklist

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

Syrians gather at a market as they prepare for the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the war-ravaged town of Ariha in the rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, Syria, March 31, 2022.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader seeks more popular support in Syria's Idlib

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has recently visited the Jabal al-Zawiya area in Idlib upon an invitation by locals, to stress his organization’s ongoing support for the town.

US troops Syria

Four US soldiers injured by rocket attack in Syria

The barrage suggests Iran's proxies will continue to harass US forces in the region, whether or not the sides return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Mourners pray over the bodies of children killed on their way to school after regime forces shelled the village of Maaret al-Naasan, Idlib province, Syria, April 4, 2022.

Syrian regime, Russian forces escalate attacks in Idlib amid stalled war in Ukraine

The residents of Idlib in northwest Syria fear a military escalation at the battlefronts where the regime and opposition are escalating their military activities.

Aerial view of the destruction in the city of Raqqa, Syria, Nov. 7, 2021.

Pentagon could have done more to prevent casualties in key Syria battle, report

A 2017 decision to encircle the Islamic State's capital at Raqqa inhibited the possibility of civilian escape corridors, a Pentagon-sponsored report found.

Members of the Free Syrian Army wave the flag of the Syrian opposition as they travel in a truck through the town of Hazano, in Idlib's northern countryside, as reinforcements are deployed from Aleppo's northern countryside to Idlib's countryside to counter an ongoing pro-regime offensive, Syria, Feb. 5, 2020.

HTS explores rapprochement with Turkey-backed factions in north Syria

Regular meetings between the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army factions and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leaders in northwestern Syria will open a new page in relations between the two parties and might pave the way for military integration in the future.

A Syrian beekeeper prepares medicine to inject into hives at a bee farm in the rebel-controlled town of Hamouria, in the eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Oct. 2, 2016. Honey is used as a homoeopathic treatment for burns and wounds.

Syrians resort to herbal medicine amid drug crisis

The deteriorating living conditions in northwestern Syria and the expensive medical consultations and medicines have prompted Syrian patients to resort to herbal medicine to treat their diseases.

Syrians wave the flag of Russia.

Pro-Russia rallies continue throughout Syria

Syria has been one of the most vocally supportive countries of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Displaced Syrians in Idlib hold classes in Roman ruins

Volunteers have made ancient ruins in the middle of a displacement camp in Idlib into classrooms for displaced women and children.

Members of the Syrian National Army, an alliance of Turkey-backed rebel groups, ride in an armored personnel carrier in the town of Sarmin as they take part in a military offensive on the village of Nayrab following an artillery barrage fired by Turkish forces, near Idlib, Syria, Feb. 24, 2020.

Syrian Christian militia leader ready to join Russian forces in Ukraine war

The leader of a Syrian Christian militia loyal to the Syrian government is mobilizing fighters willing to fight in Ukraine alongside the Russian army by luring them with high salaries.

Members of Syria's top jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, parade with their flags and those of the Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" at the Clock Square in the center of the rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria, Aug. 20, 2021.

HTS faces backlash from jihadis over Syrian revolution anniversary celebrations

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham celebrated the anniversary of the Syrian revolution amid much fanfare, while preventing Islamic banners at the celebrations, in what provoked the jihadis who oppose it and led them to accuse HTS of trying to court the West.

People wave the Kurdish flag during a Syrian Kurdish celebration marking Nowruz in the town of Qahtaniyah, Hasakah province, Syria, March 21, 2022.

Culture

Nowruz not what it used to be for Afrin’s Kurds

Kurds in Syria have been celebrating Nowruz in secrecy for the past years, under the Assad regime and now under the control of the Turkish-backed rebels.

Walid Khweilid, surrounded by bodyguards.

Syrians outraged by luxurious lifestyle of Turkish-backed rebel leaders

Videos of Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army leaders and members showing off their luxurious lifestyle have sparked controversy in the opposition-held areas in northwestern Syria, where inhabitants live in poverty.