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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

Children on Nov. 20, 2021, carry a bucket of water, in the Bardaqli camp for displaced people in the town of Dana in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, as winter approaches.

Deteriorating Turkish lira hurts residents in Syria's Idlib

The depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar has resulted in worsening living conditions in Idlib and increased the people’s resentment against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Salvation Government, which they hold primarily responsible for the economic crisis.

A memorial to victims of the 1960 fire in Amude, Syria. Image taken Nov. 5, 2021

Syrian-Kurdish couple sets Amude's cinema ghosts to rest

Since a deadly fire in 1960, going to the cinema has been taboo in the Kurdish town of Amude in northeastern Syria, and a couple who recently emigrated from Europe hopes to change things.

ABDULAZIZ KETAZ/AFP via Getty Images

Drought parches Idlib governorate

Drought has dried up the Duwaisat Dam reservoir, west of Idlib, hitting farmers hard.

This picture shows a view of nightlife ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha at the Clock Square, Idlib, Syria, July 18, 2021.

Jihadi group seeks command of media, advertising in northwest Syria

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is seeking to organize media and advertising fields to serve its interests and the inclinations of its affiliated Salvation Government in Idlib in northwestern Syria.

The minarets of mosques and the steeples of churches are seen towering above rooftops in the Syrian capital Damascus, on June 26, 2013.

Jews of Syrian origin return to visit Damascus

The Syrian government has allowed some Jews of Syrian origin, residing in New York, to visit Damascus.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's war of attrition against Syria's Kurds

Alongside shelling and drones, Turkey is weaponizing water supplies in northeast Syria, turning an already horrible situation into a nightmare

Smoke and fire billow after shelling on the Islamic State group's last holdout of Baghuz, in the eastern Syrian Deir ez-Zor province on March 3, 2019.

Intel: Pentagon chief briefed on 2019 Syria airstrike

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the briefing after reading an investigation into the strike by The New York Times.

A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, removes an Islamic State group flag in the town of Tabqa, about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa city, on April 30, 2017, as they advance in their battle for the group's de facto capital.

Attack on Syrian prison holding Iraqi Islamic State captives raises concerns

Local forces backed by coalition air support reportedly prevented an attack on a prison housing thousands of Islamic State operatives in northeastern Syria under Kurdish-led administration.

Members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps march during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the Iraq-Iran War, Tehran, Iran, Sept. 22, 2018.

IRGC Syria commander removed 'upon request from Assad'

The future of Iran’s presence in Syria seems to be dividing the Syrian leadership.

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

Expensive private schools become many Syrian students' only option

As public schools struggle to accommodate an increasing number of students, thousands of students in the Aleppo area are being pushed into private schools.

The Arc of Triumph in the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria, circa 1880.

Russia begins restoration of Arc of Triumph in Syria's Palmyra

Russia has begun the restoration of the Arch of Triumph, one of the historical landmarks in Palmyra, in cooperation with UNESCO.

Mansour Abbas, head of Israel's conservative Islamic Raam party, speaks in his capacity as Knesset deputy speaker during a plenum session on the state budget on Sept. 2, 2021.

Mansour Abbas’s star turn rattles Israeli politics

Also: Syrian Kurdish leader not worried — yet — about Turkish invasion (exclusive).