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Syria

October 6, 2026

Damascus 4:04 am

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A view of a traffic roundabout in central Latakia, Syria on June 12, 2025. The city's road network converges near the coast, forming one of the busiest urban intersections in the province. (Photo by Omar Albaw / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by OMAR ALBAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE-Syria move ahead on $20 billion real estate mega-developments

Major housing and tourism projects in Damascus and Latakia are set to advance following a new agreement with UAE real estate tycoon Mohamed Alabbar.

Syria denies meeting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah in Turkey: What to know

Both Damascus and Ankara denied reports that Syrian officials met with Hezbollah representatives in Turkey, as relations between the two sides remain fraught with tensions mainly over the Lebanese group’s support for Assad’s forces against rebels during the Syrian civil war.

A picture taken on May 1, 2019 shows a railroad of Mar Mikhael neighborhood in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Lebanon seeks Turkey’s help to join Syria-Saudi rail link: What to know

Beirut is seeking Ankara’s support to link its ports to a railway project aiming to link Turkey to the Gulf, through Syria and Jordan.

A member of Syria's security forces stands guard outside a former army base near the city of Quneitra in southern Syria, on the edge of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Sept. 21, 2025.

Feature

Syria Golan detentions fuel fury at Israeli forces, doubts in new government

Israeli forces have detained hundreds of Syrians and continue to conduct strikes and incursions in Quneitra, fueling resentment among residents who say Damascus has failed to protect them.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Analysis

How militias in Anbar could complicate Iraq’s energy ambitions

Iraqi soldiers from the new 'desert battalion' special forces stand next to military vehicles as the take part in a graduation ceremony, after months of training by the French military, at the Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar west of Baghdad on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Exclusive

How Syrian Air is braving regional turbulence to rise from the ashes

Syria Air

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Analysis

Can Netanyahu turn Israel's UN isolation into strength at home?

ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

UAE's Gargash expects 'prolonged' war, calls for Iran-Gulf security talks

Gargash

United Arab Emirates

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

Syrian Democratic Forces(SDF) fighters stand with their weapons north of Raqqa city, Syria March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS120ZB

YPG tightens noose around Raqqa

The battle for Raqqa is near as arms from the United States are dispersed among the coalition’s Kurdish ally, the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units.

Syrian refugee Reem al-Sawaa, 28, originally from Daraa in southern Syria, sits with her one-year-old son Khaled at their home in the Helwaan district of the Egyptian capital of Cairo on November 1, 2013. Reem fled Syra with her four children and husband Yussef al-Talha, who works as a computer technician. AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Syrian women in Egypt work to build strength out of hardship

Six years into the devastating war, Syrian women who sought refuge in Egypt have become stronger and acquired new survival skills.

Tehran, Washington set for proxy clash on Syrian-Iraqi border

Due to its strategic position and impact on the future of Syria, the Iraqi-Syrian border is likely to be the site of a new conflict between the allies of Washington and Tehran soon after the Mosul operation concludes.

Interview

Syrian rebel commander: 150 US troops at al-Tanf base

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Lt. Col. Muhannad al-Talla, the commander of Maghawir al-Thawra, speaks of the role of the US-led coalition at al-Tanf military base, which is close to the border between Jordan, Syria and Iraq.

Muhannad al-Talla

Muhannad al-Talla

Commander of Maghawir al-Thawra

Rojda Felat, commander of a U.S.-backed operation by Kurdish and Arab fighters to capture the Syrian city of Raqqa, uses her walkie talkie near the Taqba Dam, west of Raqqa, Syria March 30, 2017. Picture taken March 30, 2017. To match Interview MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-RAQQA REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX33I1G

Meet the Kurdish woman leading battle against IS in northern Syria

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Kurdish commander Rojda Felat, one of the leaders in the battle to retake Raqqa, shares her experience as a female fighter against the Islamic State.

Turkey wary of NATO's decision to join fight against IS

Turkey didn't veto NATO’s decision to join the anti-Islamic State coalition in Syria and Iraq, but it does consider the move part of a plan to strengthen the Kurdish People’s Protection Units.

Roses and rose leaves are pictured at a rose-oil plant in Isparta, Turkey, May 31, 2015. Turkey's harvest of its prized Damascus rose, set to end this weekend, transforms 16 million square m (4,000 acres) of land into beds of pink and perfumes the air around the town of Isparta, the world's biggest producer of Damascus roses and their costly oil, each June. Picture taken May 31, 2015. To match TURKEY-ROSES/ REUTERS/Ayla Jean Yackley - RTX1IW1U

Turkish town gets ready to smell the roses

The Turkish town of Isparta is in the midst of this year's rose harvest, a flower the Ottomans revered for its fragrance, taste and medicinal qualities.

Syrian news group consolidates opposition coverage

Journalists in the Idlib province are taking a step toward substantiating the Syrian opposition by joining with activists to create a unified news and reporting organization.

Russia’s Syria strategy hinges on Jordan

Russia’s relationship with Jordan has shifted as Moscow looks to Amman as its mediator with the Sunni world and the United States in the Syrian crisis.

A general view shows a deserted street at the beginning of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp April 29, 2015. A bout of fighting between militants over control of the Yarmouk refugee camp on the edge of Damascus has only compounded the misery of residents already suffering from acute shortages of food, clean water and power. REUTERS/Ward Al-Keswani - RTX1AUSJ

Future uncertain as jihadis begin to leave Damascus' Yarmouk camp

Fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, are leaving Syria’s largest Palestinian refugee camp as per a deal with the regime, although the residents do not seem so enthusiastic.

Iran follows Russia’s lead in backing Syria safe zones

Russia’s proposal legitimates Iranian military role in Syria; supreme leader hails victory for "Islamic democracy"; Turkish intervention in Sinjar could disrupt Mosul liberation plans; Egypt’s media crackdown.

Turkish military vehicles drive in the Syrian rebel-held town of al-Rai, as they head towards the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTX2XITU

Turkey making itself at home in Syria

Turkey is looking less like a visitor in northern Syria as it sets up more permanent facilities and resettles Turkmens in certain areas.