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Syria

October 8, 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

Anwar Aslan trial

German court convicts ex-Syrian officer of crimes against humanity

Anwar Raslan is the highest-ranking former Syrian government official to be tried for crimes committed in Syria's civil war.

A fighter with the Syrian Democratic Forces inspects a makeshift shelter dug in a trench at a makeshift camp for Islamic State members and their families in the town of Baghouz, Deir Ez-zor, Syria, March 9, 2019.

Syrians dig for Islamic State left-behinds in eastern desert

Many unemployed Syrians have embarked on dangerous search and excavation operations for money, gold and weapons left by the Islamic State in Deir ez-Zor governorate.

AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images

Poverty forces Syrian children to skip school, collect ordnance

For several child workers in the Idlib countryside, the detritus of war has become their livelihood.

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Intel: Biden faces bipartisan frustration over Syria policy

The top members on the House and Senate foreign affairs panels cautioned against giving “tacit approval of formal diplomatic engagement with the Syrian regime.”

Men standing in the back of a truck after fleeing battles between SDF and IS in the Syrian village of Baghuz arrive after crossing a desert to a region controlled by the SDF in Deir ez-Zor on Jan. 26, 2019.

Syrian Kurdish forces require displaced Arabs to obtain 'expat card' to remain in their areas

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is requiring Arabs displaced from all Syrian regions who are living in the areas under their control to obtain an expatriate card to be allowed to enter or remain.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

UN extends Syria cross-border aid without challenge from Russia

The Biden administration eased restrictions on aid groups working with the Syrian government in November.

Anas al-Kholi with his camera near Damascus.

Syrian activists tell stories of displacement over lost decade

Displacement and exile have become a common narrative for Syrians since 2011.

A journalist films the wreckage of a building described as part of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC) compound in the Barzeh district, north of Damascus, during a press tour organized by the Syrian information ministry, on April 14, 2018.

UN accuses Syria of failing to answer for chemical weapons program

The UN's top disarmament official said Syria's full disclosure was "essential" to resolving outstanding issues.

A fighter from the SDF carries a book on Islamic criminal legislation said to have belonged to the Islamic State, recovered in Baghuz, Syria, on March 13, 2020.

Islamic State ramps up activities in eastern Syria

Islamic State is applying Sharia rules in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor and imposing taxes on residents by force of arms.

Syrian Kurds parade a doll, made of wood and colorful fabric, as they perform the "Bride of the Rain" ritual in the northeast city of Qamishli on Nov. 19, 2021.

Ancient Kurdish rain ritual revived in Syria as drought continues

Kurdish farmers in the countryside of Qamishli revive an ancient ritual called Ziwa, or the Bride of the Rain, to invoke rain after seasons of drought.

Syria fighting

Syrian soldiers killed in deadly Islamic State ambush in Deir Ezzor

The Syrian army loyal to Bashar al-Assad has struggled to control the country's eastern desert.

Oil well pumps are seen in the Rmeilane oil field in Hasakah province, Syria, July 15, 2015.

Islamic State cells impose levy on oil investors in northeastern Syria

Islamic State cells are imposing levies on oil investors who have been contracted to work in oil fields in agreement with the controlling forces in northeastern Syria, as a share of the oil investment in a bid to finance their activities.