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Syria

October 16, 2026

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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

UN report blames civilian deaths in northwest Syria on government and rebel groups

The report by the United Nations' Syria commission details numerous possible war crimes in recent months by both pro-government forces and the rebel group HTS.

Syrian children, who fled air strikes in their hometown, are pictured near tents at an informal camp for displaced people where they live with their families in northern Syria's Idlib province on January 7, 2020. - Displaced Syrians are spending the winter out in the open and non-governmental organisations have appealed for international support ahead of a decisive UN Security Council vote on cross-border aid.
The UN Security Council was to vote on extending humanitarian aid to Syria, including to some of t

Russia, China veto UN vote to extend aid to Syria’s opposition-held northwest

Russia previously made clear its intent to veto the proposal, despite last-minute hopes the Kremlin might abstain.

Hopes that Russia will drop objections to UN humanitarian aid routes to Syria begin to rise

With only hours left for the UN Security Council to announce the outcome of a vote on a draft resolution extending the mandate for critical aid routes to Syria, hopes are rising that Moscow won't stand in the way.

Humanitarian aid to Syria meets Russian resistance at the UN Security Council

Russia isn't budging from its resistance to deny crucial humanitarian aid to northwest Syria.

Italian police confiscate $1 billion worth of ‘Islamic State-made’ drugs

The 84 million Captagon tablets were stashed inside three containers investigators discovered at the Salerno port.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C), Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attend a joint press conference following a trilateral meeting on Syria, in Ankara on September 16, 2019. (Photo by Pavel Golovkin / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read PAVEL GOLOVKIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Iran, Russia, Turkey discuss stabilizing Syria in virtual summit

The presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia held a virtual summit to discuss the latest developments in Syria today.

TOPSHOT - Bags of Russian humanitarian aid are seen laying on the ground, after residents refused to accept them, in the town of Derouna Arha near the Syrian border with Turkey on June 16, 2020. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Congress urges UN to reopen humanitarian aid crossings into Syria

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers urged the United Nations to reopen a key border crossing into Syria, which Russia shut down in January using its veto power at the Security Council.

Turkish soldiers stand guard during a joint Russian-Turkish patrol along the M4 highway, which links the northern Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Latakia, near Ariha in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, on June 10, 2020. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Northwest Syria holds breath for decision on cross-border aid

Syrians in Idlib fear aid cuts as much as new battles as their living conditions worsen.

TOPSHOT - A Lebanese woman stands next to her empty refrigerator in her apartment in the port city of Tripoli north of Beirut on June 17, 2020. - Lebanon's economic crisis has led to a collapse of the local currency and purchasing power, plunging whole segments of the population into poverty as exemplified by near-empty fridges in many households. (Photo by IBRAHIM CHALHOUB / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM CHALHOUB/AFP via Getty Images)

How Caesar Act could hurt Lebanon's Tripoli

With residents of Tripoli already suffering shortages under Lebanon’s mounting system-wide collapse, the US Caesar Act promises to both hinder investment in Tripoli and increase cross-border smuggling.

HOLE, SYRIA - NOVEMBER 09: November 9, 2015 in Hassica, Rojava, Syria. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

US troops 'secure' northeast Syria oil, as contamination from it imperils lives

Dilapidated pipelines and oil waste coat polluted rivers and streams in Kurdish-run northeast Syria.

Syrians buy bread in the town of Binnish in the country's northwestern Idlib province on June 9, 2020. - Syrians held a third day of rare anti-regime protests over deteriorating living conditions Tuesday in the government-held city of Sweida, a war monitor said, as the value of the pound sunk. The value of the Syrian pound has plummeted with dizzying speed in recent days on the informal market, sending prices skyrocketing nationwide and shuttering shops. Dozens rallied in the majority-Druze city of Sweida i

Intel: US pledges nearly $700M in humanitarian assistance for Syrians

The US State Department announced it would be providing an additional $696 million in humanitarian assistance to Syrians.

Bolton, Pentagon rallied to keep al-Tanf base in Syria

After Donald Trump's surprising tweet in late 2018 that all US troops would return from Syria, John Bolton says he spoke out against the abandonment of the US garrison at al-Tanf.