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Syria

October 7, 2026

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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)

Culture

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

As Kurdish students protest language restrictions, unexpected alliances are emerging between Syria’s Kurds and Arabs.

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

Syria’s Sharaa in Riyadh as Saudi airports come under Houthi attacks: What to know

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa held talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to Riyadh as the Houthis escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia and warned international airlines against using Saudi airspace.

A view of a traffic roundabout in central Latakia, Syria on June 12, 2025. The city's road network converges near the coast, forming one of the busiest urban intersections in the province. (Photo by Omar Albaw / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by OMAR ALBAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE-Syria move ahead on $20 billion real estate mega-developments

Major housing and tourism projects in Damascus and Latakia are set to advance following a new agreement with UAE real estate tycoon Mohamed Alabbar.

Latest News

Syria denies meeting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah in Turkey: What to know

Lebanon seeks Turkey’s help to join Syria-Saudi rail link: What to know

A picture taken on May 1, 2019 shows a railroad of Mar Mikhael neighborhood in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Feature

Syria Golan detentions fuel fury at Israeli forces, doubts in new government

A member of Syria's security forces stands guard outside a former army base near the city of Quneitra in southern Syria, on the edge of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Sept. 21, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Analysis

How militias in Anbar could complicate Iraq’s energy ambitions

Iraqi soldiers from the new 'desert battalion' special forces stand next to military vehicles as the take part in a graduation ceremony, after months of training by the French military, at the Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar west of Baghdad on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

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

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R).

Russia expresses 'understanding' for Turkey’s security concerns in north Syria

Receiving Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu maintains that the creation of a safe maritime corridor for Ukrainian grain exports should be accompanied by the easing of sanctions against Russia.

A truck carrying aid packages from the World Food Program drives through the town of Hazano in the rebel-held northern countryside of Idlib province, Syria, May 16, 2022.

Jihadi group in Syria’s Idlib seeks control of NGOs

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham continues to restrict humanitarian organizations operating in its areas of control in northwestern Syria.

Idlib trench

Trench divides Syrian armed groups in Idib

The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is digging a trench to isolate its stronghold in Idlib from the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army-held areas in Aleppo countryside, which will escalate the humanitarian crisis and increase the suffering of millions of Syrian displaced in northwestern Syria.

LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images

US lawmakers push sanctions for Syria's Tadamon massacre

Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) called on the Biden administration to sanction four Syrians linked to the 2013 murder of 41 unarmed civilians.

Syrian Kurdish and Arab families are pictured fleeing in the countryside of the town of Darbasiyah.

Clashes turn tribal between Turkish-backed opposition factions

The Turkish-backed opposition factions are trying to portray their conflicts as tribal in a bid to absolve themselves of the violations committed in the area.

In this photo illustration taken on April 21, 2022, the icon of a video-sharing mobile phone application TikTok is pictured on a mobile phone.

Turkish-backed Syrian factions target TikTok influencers in Aleppo

TikTok content creators in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib face a spate of arrests over accusations of corrupting the public morality of the local Syrian community.

A Turkish-backed Syrian fighter of the Sultan Murad Turkoman brigade.

Syrians north of Aleppo prepare for Turkish military operation

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s pledge to carry out a new military operation on Turkey’s southern border sparked speculations as to the possible targets, which could include towns such as Tel Rifaat, Manbij and Kobani.

Members of the Syrian army deploy in the al-Rashidin 1 district, in Aleppo's southwestern countryside, on Feb. 16, 2020.

Release of Syrian soldier accused or war crimes stirs protests

Protesters rallied in the city of al-Bab, which is controlled by factions allied with Turkey, demanding an investigation into the release by the opposition-affiliated military police of a soldier accused of murder and rape.

An aerial view shows Syrians sitting amidst the damaged buildings to break fast during an iftar gathering in Tadef.

Syrians reject trench dug by Turkish army near Aleppo

The residents of Tadef in the Aleppo countryside are rejecting a military trench being dug by the Turkish army that would cross through their city, calling on changing its course and retaking control of the areas held by the Syrian government forces inside the city.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (L) and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (2R).

Turkey threatens new Syria incursion amid NATO debate

Erdogan ups the ante as NATO allies offer cool response to Ankara’s demands over Sweden, Finland membership.

This aerial view shows tents covered in snow at a camp for internally displaced Syrians, near the town of Kafr Lusin, as a snow storm hit the region, at the border with Turkey in the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib, March 13, 2022.

Climate change makes life harder for displaced Syrians

The extreme weather conditions caused by climate change have been particularly felt by the displaced living in camps across northwestern Syria, where NGOs are struggling to meet all of their needs.

Displaced Syrian orphans receive food aid at their school in the El Ardiye Orphanage camp run by the Turkish Red Crescent on the outskirts of Idlib, on Nov. 26, 2021 in Sarmada district, Idlib Province, Syria.

Culture

Syrians sponsor abandoned children

Amid the rising number of abandoned children due to the deteriorating economic conditions in northern Syria, one organization seeks to care for them and secure them a family that would cater to their needs.