Syria

Turkey promotes tribal role in Syrian opposition institutions

The Syrian opposition is divided over activating the role of tribes in the coalition, as some believe this would be in favor of figures close to Turkey and would help it dominate the opposition institutions.

Mohammed Hardan | Syria | Jun 23, 2021

Nasr al-Hariri is stepping down as head of the Syrian National Coalition opposition grouping. Here, he gives a press conference in Moscow on Oct. 26, 2018.

Syria's Idlib University bans mixed-gender online groups

Idlib University, managed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s government in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, issued a decision banning mixed-gender groups on social media, causing uproar and division among students.

Sultan al-Kanj | Syria | Jun 22, 2021

Syrians attend the screening of the Oscar-nominated film "Last Men in Aleppo" at the University of Idlib in the country's rebel-held province, Idlib, Syria, Feb. 12, 2018.

Russia gains foothold in Syria’s Palmyra through archaeological restoration

Russia has begun a project to rehabilitate Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra in its latest efforts to gain a foothold in the country’s vital sectors.

Mohammed Hardan | Syria | Jun 22, 2021

Russian army soldiers patrol the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on May 5, 2016.

Biden administration not trading Syrian oil for aid corridors with Moscow

The Biden administration said Syrian oil is for the people of Syria, not for the United States.

Amberin Zaman | Syria | Jun 21, 2021

International humanitarian aid trucks cross into Syria's northwestern Idlib province through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, on Sept. 7, 2020.

Islamic State revives religious police in northeast Syria

The Islamic State's religious police are back at work in the areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria.

Mohammed Hardan | Syria | Jun 21, 2021

Uzbek jihadis destroy antiquities in Idlib Museum

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham tries to manage the even more radical groups under its rule.

Khaled al-Khateb | Syria | Jun 21, 2021

Does Kurdish jihadist group threaten Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in north Syria?

Ansar al-Islam is a Kurdish Salafist and jihadist group operating in the Kurdistan mountains in northern Iraq all the way to Latakia in Syria, fighting against the Syrian government.

Sultan al-Kanj | Syria | Jun 20, 2021

Opposition fighters belonging to Ansar al-Islam and Ahrar ash-Sham walk on a street next to the frontline that divides rebel and regime-controlled areas in the Tadamon neighborhood, south of Damascus, and near the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp, Syria, June 15, 2015.

Turkey wild card in US-Russia conflict over Syria aid

The US administration might be open to a position shift on the Syrian file to secure the flow of cross-border international aid to Syria, a prospect that may spoil Turkey's calculations in Syria and particularly in Idlib.

Fehim Tastekin | Turkey | Jun 18, 2021

Is Islamic State rebuilding in Syrian desert?

Hardly a day passes without the Islamic State carrying out an attack against government forces and their allied militias in the Syrian desert.

Mohammed Hardan | Syria | Jun 17, 2021

A general view taken on August 13, 2017, shows an Islamic State group poster in the central Syrian town of Al-Sukhnah.

Syria's internal border crossing key to power, revenues for government and opposition groups

The internal crossings in Syria are used to prove control and sway, and they are a key source of income for the warring sides.

Mohammed Hardan | Syria | Jun 17, 2021

Syrian civilians wait at a checkpoint of the Syrian Democratic Forces on the western entrance of Raqqa as they are prevented by forces from entering the the embattled city, Syria, Oct. 26, 2017.

The Takeaway: Pragmatism is the new watchword in US-Turkey relations

Plus: A fresh start for Israel; Iran’s hard-line front-runner on the issues; Egypt’s faltering Palestinian mediation; Saudi-Syria talks; Golani’s makeover.

Andrew Parasiliti, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Joe Snell | Turkey | Jun 16, 2021

US President Joe Biden (R) speaks with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to a plenary session of a NATO summit at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels, on June 14, 2021.

Biden discusses imperiled Syrian aid at high-stakes Putin summit

The two leaders met ahead of a looming UN Security Council deadline to renew a massive cross-border aid operation that Russia is intent on shutting down.

Elizabeth Hagedorn | Syria | Jun 16, 2021

US President Joe Biden (R) talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to the US-Russia summit at the Villa La Grange, in Geneva on June 16, 2021.

HTS posts infographic on life and times of Syrian jihadist leader

The fallout continues over the PBS documentary on Abu Mohammed al-Golani, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib.

Khaled al-Khateb | Syria | Jun 16, 2021

An undated image of Abu Mohammed al-Gulani (center) posted to Twitter on May 30, 2020.

All-women's cafe in opposition-held Idlib stirs controversy

Syria’s northwestern city of Idlib, which is under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, witnessed the opening of its first female coffee shop in what some deemed a type of discrimination against women. Others saw it as an outlet for women to escape the prevailing patriarchy in the Syrian opposition areas.

Sultan al-Kanj | Syria | Jun 15, 2021

Eve Cafe, a women's-only cafe in Idlib, Syria.

The slow, uncertain pace of Saudi-Syrian rapprochement

Even if the two sides eventually normalize ties, Damascus faces an uphill struggle to return to the Arab League.

Samuel Ramani | Syria | Jun 11, 2021

Syria

Turkey promotes tribal role in Syrian opposition institutions

The Syrian opposition is divided over activating the role of tribes in the coalition, as some believe this would be in favor of figures close to Turkey and would help it dominate the opposition institutions.

Syria's Idlib University bans mixed-gender online groups

Russia gains foothold in Syria’s Palmyra through archaeological restoration

Biden administration not trading Syrian oil for aid corridors with Moscow

Islamic State revives religious police in northeast Syria

Uzbek jihadis destroy antiquities in Idlib Museum

Does Kurdish jihadist group threaten Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in north Syria?

Turkey wild card in US-Russia conflict over Syria aid

Is Islamic State rebuilding in Syrian desert?

Syria's internal border crossing key to power, revenues for government and opposition groups

The Takeaway: Pragmatism is the new watchword in US-Turkey relations

Biden discusses imperiled Syrian aid at high-stakes Putin summit

HTS posts infographic on life and times of Syrian jihadist leader

All-women's cafe in opposition-held Idlib stirs controversy

The slow, uncertain pace of Saudi-Syrian rapprochement

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