Syria - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Palmyra

Syria

October 15, 2026

Damascus 10:53 pm

19°C

An attendee walks past signage displayed inside the venue for the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images)

Syria to rejoin Arab group at IMF, leaving Russian-led constituency

Syria will rejoin the Arab constituency at the International Monetary Fund beginning Nov. 1 and has applied for membership in the EBRD.

Mihrac Ural, who was also known as Ali Kayali, was arrested

Explainer

Syria arrests Mihrac Ural, ex-Assad militia head also wanted by Turkey

The Turkey-born militia chief and a longtime ally of the Assad-regime, was sought by Ankara over the deadly Reyhanli bombings and by Damascus over his alleged role in massacres on the Mediterranean coast.

In first, Israel’s Netanyahu says he held call with Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa

It is the first publicly disclosed contact between the leaders of Israel and Syria, which lack formal relations and have fought several wars. Sharaa’s government began US-mediated talks with Israel in 2025.

Demonstrators ride through a street while waving Syrian flags

Analysis

Why Syria and Iraq are taking different approaches to armed groups

In a break from past policies, the new governments in Damascus and Baghdad are clamping down on militant groups with the capacity or desire to harm regional partners.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Latest News

Culture

Syria reopens Aleppo's 1,300-year-old Great Umayyad Mosque after 13 years

A view of the Great Umayyad Mosque during the reopening ceremony, Oct. 8, 2026.

Analysis

Why Syria sending troops to Yemen would be a risky bet for Sharaa

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Oct. 6, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Culture

Syria's Kurds, Arabs find common cause in battle for language rights

Youths play the daf, an Iranian frame drum, during a protest demanding the right to education in the Kurdish language in Al-Qamishli, Syria, on September 22, 2026. The demonstrations follow a decision by the Syrian Interim Government to allocate only Kurdish language classes in schools. (Photo by Amjad Kurdo / 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

Who is behind wave of killings of tribal sheikhs in east Syria?

Syria's eastern province of Deir ez-Zor sees escalating tensions between Arab tribes and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Israeli airstrikes target T4 base, Syrian regime says

Israel continues to strike targets in Syria, Assad's state-run news agency says.

American who joined IS pleads guilty to terrorism charge

Omer Kuzu faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

One of the two top political leaders of the Syrian Kurdish alliance and co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council Ilham Ahmed attends a press conference, in Paris, on December 21, 2018. - Two top political leaders of the Syrian Kurdish alliance battling the Islamic State group visit Paris for talks on the planned US military withdrawal from Syria, an alliance representative said. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP) (Photo credit should read STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Syrian Kurds court Moscow to avert potential Turkish attack

The Istanbul-based leader of Syria’s opposition interim government has denounced an agreement reached in Moscow over the weekend between the US-backed Syrian Democratic Council and the pro-Russia Popular Will Party.

Israel suspected of striking southern Syria

The Syrian government last reported that Israel struck the country in late July and this led to clashes between Israel and Hezbollah on the Israel-Lebanon border.

Is Syria’s eastern front about to boil over?

Another tough week for US-Turkey relations as Erdogan accuses US of "sick mentality."

A Syrian man rides a motorbike past a mural painted as part of an awareness campaign by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) intitative, bearing instructions on protection from COVID-19 in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli of Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on August 16, 2020, after a spike in infections in the area. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

COVID-19 cases increasingly rapidly in northeast Syria

The Kurdish-led autonomous region's high population of displaced people and isolation following the UN closure of a border crossing is contributing to the virus' spread.

A Turkish-Russian military convoy tows a damaged vehicle after its joint patrol was reportedly targeted on the strategic M4 highway, near the Syrian town of Urum al-Jawz in the south of the northwestern Idlib province, on August 25, 2020. - Russia and Turkey launched joint patrols along the M4 highway in March following a ceasefire agreement aimed at stopping heavy fighting in and around Idlib, the last major bastion of anti-government forces in Syria's civil war. (Photo by Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP) (Photo by

Who is benefiting from Russian-Turkish patrols in northwest Syria?

Many in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib see no benefits to the joint Russian-Turkish patrols conducted under a demilitarization deal, as the Syrian regime sporadically attacks the area and managed to take several areas since the deal was reached in September 2018.

US troops injured after encounter with Russian vehicle in Syria

The US called the incident with Russia in northeast Syria a "breach of deconfliction protocols."

Clashes between US, regime forces present new challenges for Russia in Syria

Northeastern Syria's volatile mix of players is proving to be a tough test for Russia.

A Turkish-Russian military convoy tows a damaged vehicle after its joint patrol was reportedly targeted on the strategic M4 highway, near the Syrian town of Urum al-Jawz in the south of the northwestern Idlib province, on August 25, 2020. - Russia and Turkey launched joint patrols along the M4 highway in March following a ceasefire agreement aimed at stopping heavy fighting in and around Idlib, the last major bastion of anti-government forces in Syria's civil war. (Photo by Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP) (Photo by

Battle for Idlib draws near as sides take position

Russia is conducting air raids on several areas in Idlib while the Syrian government shells de-escalation zones.

A journalist wearing a protective face mask films the arrival of the bus carrying a delegation taking part in a meeting of Syria Constitutional Committee at the United Nations (UN) Office in Geneva on August 24, 2020. - Members of Syria's Constitutional Committee will be meeting for the first time since last November, following delays brought on by the coronavirus crisis. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria constitutional talks 'on hold' after three test positive for coronavirus

Three of the 45 delegates participating in the so-called Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva tested positive for the virus.