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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

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem (L) shakes hands of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) after a press conference at Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing on June 18, 2019. Fred Dufour/Pool via REUTERS - RC1583F62660

China shows greater interest in Syria amid pandemic, US tensions

China is looking to increase its influence in war-torn Syria, and using the coronavirus pandemic to accelerate these plans.

Syria’s Kurdish-led alliance sweeps Deir ez-Zor for Islamic State sleeper cells

A Syrian Democratic Forces operation dubbed "Deterring Terrorism" nets 17 Islamic State suspects in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province.

A MiG-29 fighter jet flies during the Zapad 2017 war games at a range near the town of Borisov, Belarus September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko - UP1ED9K0T2K1F

Russia says it delivered MiG-29 fighter aircraft to Syria

Wednesday's Russian statement, backing up one made by Syria on Saturday, came after the United States accused Russia on May 26 of delivering aircraft to Libya via Syria.

US, Russian troops square off in northeast Syria as Kremlin eyes wider footprint

US-Russian standoff near Derik, Syria, blocks traffic for hours before Russians return to Qamishli.

Kurdish women wearing traditional clothes dance during a celebration for Kurdish outfit day in the northeast Syrian Kurdish city of Qamishli Syria March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - GF10000340960

Northeast Syrian women to participate in meetings on tribal matters

Some women in the autonomous, Kurdish-led statelet welcome the move.

People walk past the looted premises of cellphone company Syriatel, which is owned by Rami Makhlouf, the cousin of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in Deraa March 21, 2011. Unrest spread in southern Syria on Monday with hundreds of people demonstrating against the government after five civilians were killed in protests in the city of Deraa over the past four days.REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS) - GM1E73M07IA01

Syria’s stock market stops trades of Rami Makhlouf’s telecom company

The company, owned by President Bashar al-Assad's embattled cousin, has been suspended from the exchange indefinitely.

Women hold food aid distributed by humanitarian institutions in Afrin, Syria March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC169F36FD00

‘An insult to women’ everywhere: Afrin kidnappings prompt calls for investigation of Turkey-backed rebels

A video reportedly showing detained women inside a secret prison in Afrin has prompted further criticism of Turkey's proxy forces operating in Syria.

Intel: SDF commander reports progress on Kurdish reconciliation talks in Syria

Mazlum Kobani, commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, announced Friday that the first stage of reconciliation talks with rival Kurdish National Council has “gone well” and that “the second phase has begun.”

An Islamic State flag flies over the custom office of Syria's Jarablus border gate as it is pictured from the Turkish town of Karkamis, in Gaziantep province, Turkey August 1, 2015. Karkamis is a Turkish town of 10,500 people that sits directly opposite the border post. Shut for more than a year, the military sealed the crossing with a breeze block wall a few months ago. Behind it, just inside Syria, the black flag of Islamic State flaps in the breeze. Karkamis lies on the northeastern edge of a rectangle o

Turkey deports 12 Islamic State-linked fighters to Finland

The move comes after European governments have largely declined to take back detained citizens with links to the terror group.

Reports: Children among the dead after Syrian rebels clash in Turkish-held Afrin

Clashes between Syrian rebel groups in the northern city of Afrin left at least two children dead Thursday.

Turkey's assault against Syrian Kurds leaves trail of misery and spin

Was a burn victim hit by white phosphorus during Turkey's invasion of Ras al-Ain in October? Whatever the reason, he and many others are still suffering.

Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport after being attacked in Tripoli, Libya February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Elumami - RC2O9F9S4FIK

What does Libya’s ‘Syrianization’ scenario mean for key actors?

Turkey may have gotten kudos for tipping the balance in Libya, but Russian countermoves raise the prospect of Turkish collaboration with Russia in the North African country, which is not to the liking of countries that have been giving plaudits to Ankara.