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May 14, 2026

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Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander Kobane says Turkey visit ‘in the making,’ Ocalan meeting possible

The SDF commander-in-chief reflected on a fragile integration deal with Damascus, growing Kurdish backlash and ongoing talks with Turkey as questions mount over Rojava’s political future.

Mazloum Kobane

Mazloum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Khaled Hablas

Lebanon authorities release Salafist cleric Khaled Hablas: What to know

Hablas was imprisoned for his role in the deadly 2014 clashes with the military and Hezbollah and his release follows Syria lobbying for the return of militants detained in Lebanon.

Pictured in this undated image is the Al-Thawra oil field in Raqqa governorate, as rehabilitation works continue to restore production capacity.

Syria restores Raqqa oil field in former ISIS stronghold: What to know

Before Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, national oil production stood at between 400,000 and 500,00 barrels per day before falling to under 100,000 bpd during the conflict.

Latest News

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

EU restores economic pact to pursue fuller trade ties with Syria

Kaja Kallas

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Syria arrests Amjad Youssef, Tadamoun massacre perpetrator: What to know

A young man stands in the entrance of tunnels that were used by the ISIS and the Assad's regime for fighting. Tadamon, Syria, February 7, 2025. (Photo by Raghed Waked / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by RAGHED WAKED/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

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

An Assyrian Church is seen damaged, due to what activists said was a bomb placed by Islamic State fighters, in tel Nusri, May 21, 2015. Picture taken May 21, 2015. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX1E3X3

Assyrian family shares tale of capture, displacement

A family of Assyrians, one of Syria’s Christian sects, tells Al-Monitor their story of surviving imprisonment by the Islamic State only to lose their son this year to the fighting in Raqqa.

A female member of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a militia affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), carries a sniper and an AK-47 rifle in the village of Umm al-Dhiban, northern Iraq, April 29, 2016. They share little more than an enemy and struggle to communicate on the battlefield, but together two relatively obscure groups have opened up a new front against Islamic State militants in a remote corner of Iraq. The unlikely alliance between the Sinjar Resistance Units, an offshoot of a lefti

Who's fighting whom in Iraq's Sinjar?

After KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani warned that the KRG may resort to force to expel the Kurdistan Workers Party from Sinjar, tensions rose in the region.

AMMAN, JORDAN- NOVEMBER 7: Jordan's King Abdullah II is welcomed by the chairman of the joint chiefs staff Mahmoud Freihat, upon his arrival for the State opening of the Parliament on November 7, 2016, in Amman, Jordan. King Abdullah addressed the recently elected 18th Jordanian Lower House of Parliament with the appointed Higher House of the Senate with the attendence of royal family members and the government. ( Photo by Jordan Pix/ Getty Images)

Jordanians question timing, messages of top military brass

The Dec. 30 BBC interview with Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, raised eyebrows in Amman and prompted local commentators to speculate about the purpose and meaning of Freihat’s statements.

Sports champion provides artificial limbs near Aleppo

In the thick of the Syrian war, an athlete channels his skills to help amputees receive prosthetics.

Foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov (C) of Russia, Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) of Turkey and Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, attend a news conference in Moscow, Russia, December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RTX2VUYG

Is Iran following Russia’s lead in Syria?

Russian diplomatic blitz on Syria includes building bridges between Iran and Turkey.

Does New Year's nightclub attack signal tough year ahead for Turkey?

As transnational networks of the Islamic State come under increasing pressure in Iraq and Syria, they are likely to shift to Turkey, while Ankara still gives priority to the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Three reasons the Islamic State is focused on Turkey

While the Islamic State intensifies its activity throughout Turkey, questions are raised as to whether Middle Eastern wars are now engulfing Turkey.

Turkey: Winner or loser in Syria?

There is unfortunately every indicator that terror will continue to hit Turkey in force during 2017.

Will improved ties with Russia make Turkey regional player?

Not everyone close to the government thinks developing relations with Russia to counterbalance tense ties with the West is the right way to go.

Should Iran worry about Putin throwing it under the bus?

Iranian officials have always had a pessimistic outlook toward Russia, which could serve them well given the apparent possibility of closer US-Russian relations under Donald Trump.

Can Aleppo’s displaced survive in Idlib?

Refugees keep flooding into Idlib, Syria, seeking shelter from the civil war but straining the city's resources.

Russia pleased with deepening US-Turkey rift over Syria

Russia is cleverly filling the void created by the estrangement between the United States and Turkey.