Syria - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Palmyra

Syria

July 12, 2026

Damascus 7:47 pm

32°C

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) welcomes France's President Emmanuel Macron for a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

Explainer

How Macron seeks to carve out France's role in new Syria

French President Emmanuel Macron became the first Western leader to visit Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, showcasing Paris' support for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa while seeking to secure a share of the country's emerging reconstruction market.

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 2026.

US to drop Syria from terror blacklist

The terrorism label remained a key obstacle to Syria's postwar reconstruction.

Latest News

Explainer

French energy, shipping giants explore Syria deals during Macron visit

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shakes hands with France's President Emmanuel Macron following a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

Macron's Syria visit eyes to boost France's economic role: What to know

Ludovic MARIN / AFP via Getty Images

Two explosions hit Damascus as Macron visits Syria

Security personnel and first responders prepare to cordon off an area near the Four Seasons Hotel following two blasts nearby in Damascus on July 7, 2026. Syrian authorities said 18 people were wounded by two blasts in central Damascus on July 7 near the hotel where France's president spent the night, with the Elysee Palace saying his visit is ongoing. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / 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

Passengers, wearing protective face masks, arrive at the Damascus International airport in the Syrian capital on October 1, 2020. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria resumes commercial flights out of Damascus

The first international flight in six months departed today for Cairo.

Italian police displayed a confiscated Islamic State (IS) during a press conference on anti-terrorism operation at the police headquarters in Rome.
Hmidi Saber, a suspected member of Ansar al-Sharia, a Libyan group linked to al-Qaeda, was arrested on January 10, 2017 in an anti-terrorism operation called 'Black Flag'. / AFP / TIZIANA FABI (Photo credit should read TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)

Terror charges follow Islamic State woman repatriated to Italy

An Italian woman and her four children have been repatriated to Italy, where she was arrested on terror-related charges for having gone to Syria with her husband to join the Islamic State.

US sanctions Syria’s central bank chief, intel head

The Trump administration sanctioned more than a dozen Syrian officials and entities in its latest push to choke off the regime's financial network.

Egypt cracks down on Syrian businesses allegedly tied to Brotherhood

Egypt is going after certain Syrian businesses that have flourished, citing national security.

Syrian university students protest in the city of Idlib on February 9, 2019 after jihadists of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organisation closed many private education centres in the north-western Syrian province of Idlib. - The Idlib region is mainly controlled by the jihadists of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a Syrian group led by former Al-Qaeda fighters, after they pushed back smaller, Turkey-backed rebel outfits last month. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Ge

Jihadist regime forbids philosophy in Syria’s Idlib

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Syria’s Idlib province, forbids the teaching and even discussion of philosophy.

Smoke billows following a reported Russian airstrike on the western countryside of the mostly rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib, on September 20, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed AL-RIFAI / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED AL-RIFAI/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: HTS claims credit for death of Iraqi IS leader's brother

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has claimed responsibility for killing the brother of Hajj Taysir, an Iraqi Islamic State emir killed by the United States earlier this year.

Vehicles wait to cross into Syria at the recently reopened Nassib border post in the Deraa province,at the Syrian-Jordanian border south of Damascus on November 7, 2018. - Syrian regime forces retook control of the Nassib border crossing from rebels in July, and last month reopened it after a three-year closure, allowing Jordanians to dash over for cheap shopping. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Jordan reopens major border crossing with Syria to truck traffic

The Jaber-Nassib crossing has reopened for the first time since it was closed in August.

TOPSHOT - Members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and Women's Protection Units (YPJ) attend the funeral of Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces that were killed in combat against Islamic State (IS) group in Deir Ezzor, on March 3, 2018, in Qamishli. / AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Top official of Syria's Kurdish-led alliance survives new assassination attempt

Gunmen reportedly attacked a van carrying Laila al-Abdallah in Deir Ez-Zor.

A Turkish-Russian military convoy tows a damaged vehicle after its joint patrol was reportedly targeted on the strategic M4 highway, near the Syrian town of Urum al-Jawz in the south of the northwestern Idlib province, on August 25, 2020. - Russia and Turkey launched joint patrols along the M4 highway in March following a ceasefire agreement aimed at stopping heavy fighting in and around Idlib, the last major bastion of anti-government forces in Syria's civil war. (Photo by Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP) (Photo by

Turkey's military deterrence breaks down in Syria's last rebel stronghold

Despite Turkey’s efforts to maintain the status quo in Idlib, a Russian-backed Syrian assault seems increasingly likely.

(L to R) Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Ghait, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali al-Hakim, and Assistant Secretary-General Ambassador Hossam Zaki attend the Arab Foreign Ministers 153rd annual meeting at the Arab League headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo on March 4, 2020. (Photo by Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt rallies Arab states against Turkey in Syria

Cairo is capitalizing on anger over the Turkish intervention in Syria to unite the Arab ranks in support of Damascus.

This picture taken on August 16, 2019 shows a smoke plume rising following a reported air strike in Kfar Ruma in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. - Air strikes on August 16 by Syria's regime and its Russian ally killed 15 civilians in the area controlled by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Idlib province, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The strikes came as regime forces battled HTS jihadists and allied rebels in the region, where fierce fighting

'Guardians of Religion' extremist group under siege in Syria's Idlib

The Guardians of Religion Organization, which has close ties to al-Qaeda in Syria, is under pressure from US drone strikes and a possible assault by Russian-backed Syrian forces.

US deploys Bradley armored vehicles to Syria after dustups with Russia’s troops

Four US service members were injured last month when a Russian troop carrier rammed a US military vehicle.