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Syria

May 20, 2026

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Car bomb in Syrian capital leaves 1 dead, 23 injured: What to know

Tuesday's bombing is the latest in a string of recent security incidents in Damascus.

NICOSIA, CYPRUS - APRIL 24: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for an informal meeting of European Union leaders on April 24, 2026 in Nicosia, Cyprus. The EU heads of state and government are meeting over two days to discuss the conflict in Iran and the Middle East, including freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the effects of high fuel prices, and how Europe may contribute to de-escalation and a peace agreement. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)

Syria's Sharaa renews ban on Israeli imports in customs law: What to know

The renewal comes even as Damascus pursues US-backed security talks with Israel aimed at reducing tensions along the border.

Latest News

Analysis

Ports and infrastructure: UAE embraces new economic order in Syria

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives to attend the second day of the first Syrian-Emirati (United Arab Emirates) Investment Forum, at the People's Palace in Damascus on May 12, 2026. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Interview

UK fintech brings foreign currency accounts to Syrians at home

A Syrian citizen exchanges old banknotes for new notes released and distributed by the central bank, at a bank in the capital, Damascus, on Jan. 3, 2026.

Interview

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

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.

Mazloum Kobane

Mazloum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Lebanon authorities release Salafist cleric Khaled Hablas: What to know

Khaled Hablas

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

Soldiers loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad gesture from their tank, as they pass Mar Bacchus Sarkis monastery, in Maloula village, northeast of Damascus, after taking control of the village from rebel fighters April 14, 2014. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3L92W

Syria confident of Russian military support

In an interview with Al-Monitor in Damascus, a senior Syrian official said the Syrian war would end like the Algerian one, with the state defeating the terrorists and staying in power.

A fishmonger cleans fish at a wet market in Latakia city May 25, 2014. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: FOOD BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) - RTR3QRGH

Syrian coast attracts Aleppans displaced by war

Thousands of mostly Sunnis from Aleppo fleeing the violence in their city have found work, and little discrimination, on the Alawite-dominated Syrian coast.

Displaced young Syrians find home in Gaziantep cafe

A hip cafe in Gaziantep, near the Syrian border, has become a refuge for young, educated Syrian refugees.

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman attends a meeting with the business community in Uganda's capital Kampala, September 10, 2009. Lieberman, accompanied by business and military delegation, is on an official African visit to Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Nigeria. REUTERS/James Akena (UGANDA POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR27O1U

Liberman outlines vision for 'regional arrangement' with Arab states

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman offers a plan for open contacts with "moderate" Arab states to deal with the threat from Iran and in pursuit of an agreement with the Palestinians.

A woman walks past election posters of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad along a street in Damascus June 2, 2014. Buoyed by a sequence of victories over the past year, won in large part through Iran and Hezbollah, its Lebanese paramilitary proxy, Assad will be elected president this week for a third seven-year term, symbolically contested by selected opponents playing walk-on roles to pad out the main drama. To match Insight SYRIA-ELECTION/ASSAD REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS

Syrian official: 'West will deal with us as a fait accompli'

With presidential elections in Syria scheduled for June 3, a Syrian official says, "Turkey will suffer greatly from its involvement against us."

Film tracks Syrian refugees' creative journey to asylum

A group of Palestinian Syrian refugees performed a mock wedding ceremony to bypass security checks as they crossed Europe from the Mediterranean to reach asylum in Sweden.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan during an unannounced visit to Bagram Air Base in Kabul, May 25, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3QSY3o

Obama ramps up on Syria

The US president is giving new priority to the threat from terrorists in Syria, while calling for increased military support for opposition forces.

A Syrian national living in Beirut holds a picture of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and his father, late President Hafez al-Assad, as Syrians gather to make their way to the Syrian Embassy in Beirut to cast their votes ahead of the June 3 presidential election, in Yarze, east of Beirut May 28, 2014. Expatriates and those who have fled the war were casting their ballots at dozens of Syrian embassies abroad ahead of next week's vote inside the country that opponents have dismissed as a farce as the fighti

Syrian voters shake up Lebanese politics

The throngs of Syrian voters in Beirut shocked the Lebanese political establishment.

A man takes a photo of his friend in front of a poster of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at Umayyad Square in Damascus May 16, 2014. Syria is holding a presidential election for June 3, preparing the ground for Assad to defy widespread opposition and extend his grip on power, days after he said the civil war was turning in his favour. Opponents have dismissed the vote as a farce. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3PGCV

Syrian government focuses on high election turnout

As the presidential elections approach, the Syrian regime is seeking validation in a high voter turnout.

A member of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant carries his weapon as he looks through a hole in a wall in Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood December 4, 2013. REUTERS/Molhem Barakat (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTX163J6

Hamas denies ISIS presence after Gaza jihadist killed in Syria

A Palestinian jihadist militant fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) was killed last week in Syria, reflecting the rise of Salafist militants in Gaza, but Hamas remains adamant that the radical group does not exist in the Gaza Strip.

Iraqi Kurdish supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) hold flags bearing portraits of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration in Arbil on April 12, 2014 against the decision by Kurdish authorities to dig a trench along the border with neighboring Syria. The Kurdish autonomous region has backed Kurds in Syria against the extremists and has taken in some 200,000 refugees from the bloody conflict. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

Rival Kurdish parties battle for power in Syria

A series of tit-for-tat incidents has worsened relations between the Kurdistan Workers Party of Abdullah Ocalan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzani.

Damage and debris is seen in the souks of Old Aleppo, November 23, 2013. The Syrian army loyal to President Bashar al-Assad took control of the souk surrounding the Umayyad Mosque that was previously dominated by Free Syrian Army fighters, they said. Some of the areas recaptured are the gold market, Souk Khairat Beck, Alzerb market and the Wali bil Maarouf shrine. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX15Q1O

War profiteers plunder Syria

Both Syrian government forces and rebels are accused of rampant, systematic looting and robbery of civilian homes.