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Syria

January 19, 2026

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Syrian government troops stand guard next to a burning tyre along a street of Tabqa, in Raqa province, on the southwestern banks of the Euphrates on Jan. 18, 2026.

Bowing to US pressure, Syrian military advances, Kurdish-led SDF agrees to Sharaa's terms

Syrian government forces rapidly retook Raqqa and key eastern territories from the US-backed SDF, prompting a ceasefire agreement that effectively restores Damascus’s control over much of Syria’s oil-rich northeast.

LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images

Syria’s Sharaa declares Kurdish a national language, recognizes Nowruz

Syria's interim president surprised the country's Kurdish citizens with a decree enshrining their culture and language as an "inseparable component of Syria’s unified and diverse national identity."

US special envoy for Syria and Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a flag-raising ceremony at the US ambassador's residence in Damascus on May 29, 2025.

Exclusive

US envoy Barrack to meet Kurdish SDF chief Kobane in bid to avoid Syria escalation

The US special envoy to Syria is expected to meet SDF leader Mazlum Kobane in Erbil amid mounting tensions that threaten to unravel a fragile agreement between the Kurdish-led administration and Damascus.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

From Egypt to Lebanon: What’s at stake for regional states on Trump’s visa ban list?

The State Department claimed that citizens from the affected countries are more likely to use social welfare services at a high rate.

Latest News

Syria declares 'closed military zone' east of Aleppo as Kurds protest

Members of the Kurdish forces hold a portrait of Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler which reads "Shame on the killers of innocents in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood" during a protest by Syrian Kurds against violence they say was committed by Syrian government forces during recent clashes in Aleppo's Kurdish neighbourhoods, in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Qamishli on Jan. 13, 2026.

Syria’s Sharaa heads to Davos, ending years of global isolation

President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City. — Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Syria Druze leader Hijri calls for independent entity, says country ‘heading toward partition’

Sheikh Hikmat Salman al-Hijri is pictured at Qanawat, the headquarters of the Druze spiritual presidency, on Dec. 28, 2024, in Suwayda, Syria.

Analysis

What Syria and Israel’s new communications cell really signals

Israel military vehicles drive along the border fence into Israel, near the town of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, on July 17, 2025. Syrian government forces have withdrawn from the whole of Sweida province after days of sectarian bloodshed in the heartland of the Druze minority, a war monitor and witnesses said July 17, 2025. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Rina Bassist

By Rosaleen Carroll , Rina Bassist

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

$SYRIA - FEBRUARY 20, 2019: A humanitarian corridor for refugees leaving the Rukban refugee camp and 55-kilometre US-controlled Al-Tanf security zone in the settlement of Jabal al-Ghurab. Syria's law enforcement authorities and military police units of the Russian Armed Forces provide security at the two humanitarian corridors, Jleb and Jabal al-Ghurab. Konstantin Machulsky/TASS (Photo by Konstantin Machulsky\TASS via Getty Images)$

‘Nobody cares about us’: Syrians stuck at Rukban camp decry lack of testing

Syrians in the Rukban camp near the Jordanian border hope the coronavirus does not reach their isolated area as they have no coronavirus test kits; they also cannot cross the border into Jordan for any other type of medical care unless they have taken such a test and have proven negative.

Intel: US holds virtual anti-IS meeting amid COVID-19 pandemic

The US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State convened a virtual meeting today to discuss the fight against the remnants of the terrorist group.

Syrian Kurds designate graves for those who die abroad

To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in Syria is burying any residents who die abroad in designated graves near border crossings.

Are there any partners for Turkey among radicals in Idlib?

The reopening of the M4 highway in Idlib remains a tall task for Turkey, which is grappling with how to remove jihadi groups from the area.

Syria’s Ras al-Ain to open trade crossing with Turkey

Turkey is constructing a border crossing linking the opposition-held city of Ras al-Ain in northeastern Syria with Turkish territory.

A view shows a new S-400 "Triumph" surface-to-air missile system after its deployment at a military base outside the town of Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia March 11, 2019. Picture taken March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Vitaly Nevar - RC11938EDE40

Intel: Turkey says S-400 stance unchanged despite US pressure

Turkey’s stance on its S-400s hasn’t changed, even as the United States appeared to dangle support in Syria in exchange for Ankara abandoning the controversial Russian missile defense systems, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday.

Extended lockdown brings more burdens for Syrian Kurds

Residents in the Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria are criticizing the autonomous administration’s lockdown measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, in the absence of alternative sources of income.

Syrian youths wave to a convoy of Turkish military reinforcements advancing near the town of Hazano in the countryside of Syria's Idlib province, on April 12, 2020, on the highway linking the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey to Idlib. (Photo by Aref TAMMAWI / AFP) (Photo by AREF TAMMAWI/AFP via Getty Images)

Battles rage in Syria despite coronavirus cease-fires

Clashes are raging between Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and Syrian Kurdish groups east of the Euphrates River in what Syrian Kurds claim that is a Turkish effort to prevent displaced civilians from returning to their homes.

A flag of Islamic State militants is pictured above a destroyed house near the Clock Square in Raqqa, Syria October 18, 2017. Picture taken October 18, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro - RC159E696010

Islamic State spreading terror once again in Syrian desert

The Islamic State is taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic and resuming its activities against regime forces in the Syrian desert.

Local groups in cooperation with the Turkish health department measure people's temperatures and inform them about the dangers of the spread of the coronavirus, on March 17, 2020 near the camp for displaced Syrians in Deir al-Ballut camp in Afrin's countryside in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, along the border with Turkey. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP) (Photo by RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images)

How Syrian opposition is trying to stop coronavirus from reaching its areas

The Syrian opposition-led government is penalizing anyone involved in smuggling operations in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

US Army Colonel Myles Caggins (L), official military spokesperson for international military intervention against the Islamic State (IS), and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) media spokesman Mustafa Bali (R), visit a military base in Rumaylan (Rmeilan) in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on March 6, 2020. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Intelligence sharing remains key to fight against IS

The Islamic State is continuing to carry out guerrilla attacks; developing and maintaining a comprehensive intelligence picture of the group is seen as an important weapon to keep its militants at bay.

Intel: Why Russia is getting involved in Mideast COVID-19 fight

Syria has requested assisted from Moscow to fight the coronavirus outbreak, as Russia implements a campaign to cultivate its image as a "caring power," approaching Middle East leaders to work together against the spread of the virus.