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Syria

October 11, 2026

Damascus 12:18 am

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Demonstrators ride through a street while waving Syrian flags

Analysis

Why Syria and Iraq are taking different approaches to armed groups

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

A view of the Great Umayyad Mosque during the reopening ceremony, Oct. 8, 2026.

Culture

Syria reopens Aleppo's 1,300-year-old Great Umayyad Mosque after 13 years

Syrian authorities are working to restore cultural landmarks and ancient sites that had been damaged or destroyed during the civil war.

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

Analysis

Why Syria sending troops to Yemen would be a risky bet for Sharaa

Syria insists it will not send troops to fight the Houthis alongside Saudi Arabia, but its economic dependence on Riyadh could complicate Damascus’ resistance to the idea.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Culture

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

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)

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

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

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

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)

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

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

The Russian Navy cargo ship Dvinitsa-50 sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik - RC2HQF9QB951

Intel: Why Moscow is dispatching its military to fight coronavirus in Syria, Italy

On March 25, the first Russian navy cargo ship transited Turkey’s Bosporus strait en route to Syria. The ship was reportedly carrying three ambulances and a shipping container on its deck — equipment to be used to help fight the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Syria.

A boy stands holding a Kurdish flag near a bonfire marking the Kurdish holiday of Noruz in Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on March 20, 2020, after the local authorities cancelled holiday celebrations due to fears of the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus disease. - The Persian New Year is an ancient Zoroastrian tradition celebrated by Iranians and Kurds which coincides with the vernal (spring) equinox and is calculated by the solar calendar. (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SO

Syrian Kurds still fight for rights on unrecognizable battlefield

Nine years into the Syrian war, much has changed for the Kurds, but conditions seem riper today than ever for them to obtain their rights.

A fighter of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands on the back of a pick-up truck, with a weapon installed on it, in Qamishli, Syria March 30, 2019. Picture taken March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho - RC1961AA5550

SDF calls for humanitarian truce in Syria amid coronavirus crisis

Following the lead of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces call for a cease-fire in order for all warring parties to combat COVID-19 instead.

Does Turkey have the will to take on jihadis in Idlib?

Turkey and Russia will continue to be at odds in Syria's Idlib due to radical groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

$DAMASCUS, SYRIA - MARCH 23, 2020: Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (L-R front) shake hands during a meeting. Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defence Ministry Press Office/TASS (Photo by Vadim Savitsky\TASS via Getty Images)$

Intel: What was Russia’s defense minister doing in Syria?

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu just paid a visit to Damascus for talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A member of the Asayish stands near a man in a wheelchair along an empty street, as restrictions are imposed as measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Qamishli, Syria March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC2VPF9ALD0J

Kurdish-led northeast under lockdown as Syria announces first coronavirus case

The Kurdish-led autonomous administration declares a two-week curfew in an effort to keep the coronavirus out of northeast Syria; Turkey cuts off water supply to Hasakah.

Impacts of US withdrawal from Qaim base in Iraqi border with Syria

US forces pulled out of the strategic Qaim area on the Iraqi-Syrian border in mid-March, citing success in preventing IS resurgence; locals agree that the Islamic State presence has been significantly weakened but warn the move may lead to nonstate actors gaining more power over official Iraqi security forces.

A health worker with a face mask walks inside a hospital, as hospitals enforce a series of measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Damascus, Syria March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC20NF9CYGOY

Coronavirus in Syria: a catastrophe in the making

The Syrian government has stepped up measures to tackle the spreading novel coronavirus amid growing fears among Syrians of the pandemic’s catastrophic spread in light of their harsh living and humanitarian situation.

American detained in Syria moved to undisclosed location, family says

An American psychotherapist's family is more worried than ever about the dual US-Syrian citizen who disappeared in Damascus in 2017 as a potential coronavirus outbreak looms over Syria’s prisons.

A Turkish soldier gestures as people stand on a military vehicle during a protest against the agreement on joint Russian and Turkish patrols, at M4 highway in Idlib province, Syria, March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC2EKF9R77N5

Intel: Turkey targeted by both sides in northern Syria conflict

The Turkish troops in northern Syria have become a target of all warring parties in the area in less than a month, after a rocket attack by a radical group killed two Turkish soldiers and wounded one in the region yesterday.

Meet Syria’s female doctors

Syrian women stepped up and took on medical work to fill the void left by men in the health care sector in northern Syria.

A Kurdish checkpoint is seen near Manbij, Syria October 15, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC19DD85E750

Profit, necessity spur trade across conflict lines in north Aleppo

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and Turkish-backed rebels have reopened trade crossings in northern Aleppo, bringing a sigh of relief to residents.