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April 20, 2026

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Members of Iraq's security forces stand guard on the the al-Rabia border crossing with Syria on April 20, 2026.

How Syria's border opening with Iraq redefines Turkey-Kurd balance

After years of closure, the reopening of al-Yaaroubiya crossing is redrawing Kurdish economic leverage and reinforcing Turkey’s regional strategy.

Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP via Getty Images

EU to restore Syria cooperation pact ahead of May talks: What to know

The European Union has proposed the full resumption of a decades-old cooperation agreement with Syria ahead of high-level talks next month.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkish Presient Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in Turkey April 17, 2026.

Sharaa distances Syria from Iran war, says Israel talks ongoing: What to know

Negotiations with Israel "have not reached a dead end, but they are progressing with great difficulty” Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

Kurdish people waving Kurdistan flags gather to celebrate Nowruz on the hill of Urkesh in the countryside of Amuda in northeastern Syria on March 18, 2026. Nowruz, meaning "new day," is an ancient festival that marks the start of spring and the new year on the vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 20 or 21. It is celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide and has been observed for over 3,000 years across regions including the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and parts of Eastern Euro

Analysis

Is Syria’s Sharaa poised to outdo Turkey in formalizing gains for Kurds?

Damascus is making limited but tangible progress in its engagement with Syrian Kurds, even as Ankara seeks to shape the terms of any settlement.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

US troops depart Syria, ending decade of presence in fight against ISIS

Boys along a road wave to an approaching US military mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) armored fighting vehicle moving in a convoy transporting Islamic State group detainees being transferred to Iraq from Syria, on the outskirts of Qahtaniyah in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Feb. 7, 2026.

Analysis

How the Iran war can help Syria manage Turkey and its regional rivals

This handout photograph provided by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (R) in Damascus on Dec. 22, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syria reopens key crossing after 11 years, aiding Iraq's oil exports amid war

A member of the Popular Mobilization Forces patrols along a concrete wall at the Iraqi-Syrian border in Al-Qaim, west of Iraq, on Jan. 23, 2026.

In UK visit, Syria’s Sharaa doubles down on Western ties amid Iran war, refugee pressures

Sharaa, King Charles

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

TOPSHOT - This picture taken on January 19, 2020, near the northern Israeli kibbutz of Misgav Am, shows a general view of the Israel-Lebanon border as Israeli army forces begin deployment of infrastructure for a ground "defensive system" along the fence. - Israel's army said it would start drilling to install ground sensors along its border with Lebanon on January 19, a year after a weeks-long operation to destroy tunnels dug across the frontier that it had accused Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah of buildin

Israel upping alert on tensions with Hezbollah

According to the latest reports, Israel has decided to up the level of alert on its borders with Lebanon and Syria; several roads near the borders will be closed for civilian vehicles as of this evening.

Coronavirus compounds Syrian crisis in Idlib

Amid lack of international aid and a fragile health system, officials and activists are concerned about the rapid spread of the coronavirus in northwest Syria.

Iran accuses US fighter aircraft of harassing Iranian airliner over eastern Syria

An Iranian broadcaster says an Iran-to-Beirut commercial passenger flight had US jets make an aggressively close pass to it over Syria near the Iraqi border.

Will Syrian rebels kill each other in Libya's proxy war?

Syrian mercenaries from that country's civil war could now meet opposite each other in the Libyan conflict, only this time as Wagner Group mercenaries.

TOPSHOT - Displaced Syrian women walk at a camp in Kafr Lusin village on the border with Turkey in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, on March 10, 2020. - When protesters in March 2011 demanded their rights and regime change, they likely never imagined it would trigger a reaction that has led to the 21st century's biggest war. Nine years on, President Bashar al-Assad is still in power and there to stay, more than 380,000 people have died, dozens of towns and cities razed to the ground and half of the c

Women journalists in northwest Syria brave daily dangers

Syrian female journalists face challenges and abuse just for being women.

Erdogan: Turkey will stay in Syria until the 'people are free'

The Turkish president's comments follow parliamentary elections in Syria over the weekend that critics described as a farce.

Alleged Israeli airstrikes hit Iranian and Syrian government targets in Syria

The Syrian government and the opposition suspect Israel has carried out numerous airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria this year.

Russia’s combat dolphins may have been used in Syria: report

Satellite imagery shows possible marine mammal pens at Russia's naval base in Syria during late 2018.

The mother of a victim (C) cries for her son on his coffin during a funeral ceremony in Gaziantep on July 21, 2015, following a suicide bomb attack the day before which killed at least 31 in the southern Turkish town of Suruc. A suspected Islamic State suicide bomber killed at least 31 people in an attack on a Turkish cultural centre in the southern town of Suruc, where activists had gathered to prepare for an aid mission in the nearby Syrian town of Kobane. It was one of the deadliest attacks in Turkey in

Five years on, no justice for victims of IS suicide bombing spree in Turkey

Families of the 33 victims of the devastating Suruc attack by an Islamic State suicide bomber commemorated the massacre today, reminding Turkey and the world that justice has yet to be served.

Turkey helps Moldovan family escape Islamic State camp in Syria

The woman and her family had been living in al-Hol since 2019, but their exact connection to IS is unclear.

Islamic State recruit Shamima Begum can return to UK to appeal citizenship removal, court rules

The Court of Appeal said Begum, who is currently detained in Syria, should be allowed to return to her home country to fight the UK’s decision to revoke her British citizenship.

CENTCOM: No sign of coronavirus in Syria’s IS prisons as riots raise concern

Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, the top commander of American forces in the Middle East, said today that his command is concerned about recurring uprisings in prisons holding thousands of Islamic State detainees in northeast Syria.