Kurds

US soldiers patrol in Syria's northeastern city Qamishli, in the Hasakah province, mostly controlled by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, on Jan. 9, 2025.

Senate defense spending bill would restrict US troop drawdown from Syria

Washington plans to zero out stipends for Iraqi Kurdistan’s peshmerga forces but will continue funding Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces through 2026.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) line up to put their weapons into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on July 11, 2025.

Kurdish militants return abducted Turkish agents as fragile peace push continues

The handover is seen as a confidence-building measure, as Erdogan seeks a deal with militants to secure Kurdish support for extending his presidency beyond 2028.

Members of the Lebanese Kurdish community wave the flags of (L to R) the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), Women's Protection Units (YPJ), another showing jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan, and the flag of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), during a celebration marking the spring festival of Nowruz (Noruz) in Lebanon's coastal town of Damour, 24 kilometers south of Beirut, on March 24, 2019.

Analysis

Can Turkey dismantle PKK, push SDF integration while rewriting rules in Syria?

Ankara hopes for the PKK's disarmament and the SDF's integration under Damascus, but skepticism and risks remain.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Mazlum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria, on April 26, 2025.

Analysis

Emboldened by Suwayda fallout, Syria’s Kurds hold their ground with Damascus

The Suwayda crisis boosts Kurdish confidence and threatens Erdogan’s bid to secure Kurdish support for a third term.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

US envoy, Syria FM meet in Paris, seek Kurdish integration deal

US Syria envoy Tom Barrack, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani meet in Paris on July 25, 2025.

Syria turns to Turkey for military support as US envoy urges strategy rethink

Syrian security forces stand guard in front of the heavily damaged Syrian army and defense ministry headquarters complex in Damascus, following Israeli strikes on July 16, 2025.

2 Iranian border guards killed in Kurdistan province: What to know

A general view shows the Iranian-Iraqi border crossing point of Bashmakh in the Kurdistan province, March 3, 2007.

‘We will intervene’: Turkey’s Fidan warns against dividing Syria

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 16: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout image provided by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) are seen as Ukrainian, American and Russian delegates meet for peace talks at the office of Turkish President in Dolmabahce Palace on May 16, 2025 in Istanbul, Turkey. Under pressure from the United States to

Kurdish youths holds a poster of jailed PKK militant group leader Abdullah Ocalan during Newroz celebrations, on March 21, 2025, in Diyarbakir, Turkey.

Turkey unveils prison reform bill, but Kurds say it falls short

The proposed changes would expand conditional release for some inmates but fail to meet demands of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party amid peace efforts.

A handout picture from the Syrian state news agency SANA showing members of the security forces in Syria's coastal region

EU sanctions Sunni factions accused of violence against Syria’s Alawites, Kurds

As former rebel leaders take positions in the new Syrian government, Kurdish officials warn of renewed threats to their autonomy.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaks with Al-Monitor president Andrew Parasiliti at an Al-Monitor Global Institute event in Washington, DC, May 22, 2025.

US backs more energy investment in Kurdistan region: Energy secretary

Speaking at the Al-Monitor Global Institute event, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright signaled American support for further investment in Iraqi Kurdistan’s hydrocarbon resources.

Tom Nicholson/Getty Images

Macron after meeting Sharaa: Lifting Syria sanctions 'in everyone's interest'

French President Emmanuel Macron is rolling out the red carpet for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in hopes of gaining regional influence.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he addresses a speech during the Justice and Development Party (AKP), as part of the 8th Ordinary Grand Congress at the Ankara Arena in Ankara, on Feb. 23, 2025.

Turkey’s Erdogan rebukes Syrian Kurds over decentralization calls, but keeps tone mild

The Turkish president's restrained comments hint at an evolving strategy toward Kurdish forces in Syria.

Syrian Kurds chant slogans and wave flags as they demonstrate in the northeastern city of Qamishli on March 14, 2025, against the new constitutional declaration announced by the interim government in Damascus the previous day.

Analysis

Syria’s Kurds reap benefits of Erdogan’s 'terror free Turkey' as Ankara halts attacks

Turkey’s softened stance signals a strategic shift in its approach to Syria’s Kurds and the PKK.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Raqqa

Feature

Nightlife rocks Raqqa as Syria’s Islamist leaders navigate power

A reopened nightclub in Raqqa spotlights the uneasy balance Syria’s new Islamist-led government is striking between ideology and public life.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Women are seen walking at the Roj Camp in northeast Syria, on April 8, 2025.

Exclusive

Syria's Kurds say Trump aid cuts are feeding radicalism in ISIS camps

In an interview at Syria’s Roj camp, the head of intelligence for the Women’s Protection Units warns that US funding cuts are fueling a resurgence of ISIS ideology among detained women and children, deepening an already volatile security crisis.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A picture taken on Oct. 17, 2017, shows excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the multiethnic northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

Exclusive

Iraq seeks more compensation from Turkey, 'blocks' reopening of Kurds' oil pipeline

Disputes over oil revenues and arbitration claims have kept the Kurdish pipeline closed.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

An Israeli soldier checks a Merkava battle tank deployed at a position in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights along the border with southern Syria on March 25, 2025. Israel's military said it carried out a second strike in Syria on March 25, in response to incoming fire from across the demarcation line, hours after Syrian authorities reported that at least five people had been killed as a result of Israeli shelling. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Are Lebanon, Syria ripe for peace with Israel or on cusp of more escalation?

While some Israeli leaders hope for normalized ties with Lebanon and Syria, others warn that the uncertainty of the current situation could become permanent or deteriorate.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Urmia

Analysis

How unrest in Iran's Urmia exposes deep-seated ethnic fault lines

The situation escalated as stick-wielding government loyalists chanted inflammatory slogans against Sunni Kurds, whose cultural celebrations coincided with a key Shiite mourning ritual.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Fidan Syria

Analysis

Turkey, alarmed by sectarian clashes, steps up Syria role, criticizes Iran

As last week’s bloody clashes in Syria have deepened divisions among Turkish experts over the country's future, Turkey’s priorities in Syria remain focused on countering the SDF and combating ISIS.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security