Syria Conflict

Syria

Syria claims Hezbollah cell plotting attacks arrested in Damascus: What we know

Syrian authorities have announced the arrest of a Hezbollah cell in Damascus.

His Excellency the President of the Republic, Ahmed al-Sharaa, meets at the People's Palace in the capital, Damascus, with the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak.

Russia sends second Syria delegation since Assad’s fall to safeguard military interests

Russia has been engaged with Syria’s new authorities as it seeks to maintain its presence and role in the region after the fall of its long-time ally, President Bashar al-Assad, last year.

Jordanian soldiers stand guard near the "Gate of Peace" at the Jordan Valley site of Baqura, east of the Jordan River, on Nov. 13, 2019.

As youth unemployment nears 50%, can conscription ease Jordan's economic woes?

Jordan is reinstating mandatory military service for young men to address rising youth unemployment, promote national identity, and counter domestic and regional security threats.

This picture shows pumpjacks in an oil field and smoke plumes rising in the background, following reported Turkish drone strikes near the town of al-Qahtaniyah in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province, close to the border with Turkey, on Nov. 23, 2022.

Exclusive

UK-based oil firm victim of standoff between Damascus, Syria’s Kurds

Gulfsands Managing Director John Bell outlines his company’s plans and Syria’s energy prospects in an exclusive interview.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Syria seizes Captagon with Turkish backing amid drug trade boom

A member of the security forces with Syria's new government stands over pills of Captagon during a raid in Latakia on Jan. 19, 2025.

Syria exports first oil in 14 years after sanctions lifted: What to know

HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images

After weeks of threats, is Turkey softening line on Syrian SDF?

SDF fighters wave flags and flash victory signs from a vehicle during a convoy procession in Aleppo, Syria, on April 9, 2025.

US eases export controls to boost Syria's recovery

People unload containers at the port of Latakia in western Syria on Dec. 30, 2024.

Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar (R) meets Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (L) during an official visit in Tunis, Tunisia on April 17, 2023 (Tunisian Foreign Ministry)

Syria FM visits Tunisia in latest Arab embrace of Assad

Mekdad's three-day visit to Tunis marks the first by a Syrian official since the North African country cut ties with the Syrian regime in February 2012 over its brutal crackdown against peaceful protests.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Fresh Turkey strikes in Syria kill 10 Kurdish militants: Ankara

Turkish troops have killed 10 Kurdish militants in a cross-border escalation ongoing since the weekend, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry.

A general view shows a burnt out vehicle next to a banner bearing the Islamic State group's flag in the village of Dibsiafnan on the western outskirts of the Islamist's Syrian bastion of Raqa, after Syrian pro-government forces entered the area on June 11, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / George OURFALIAN (Photo credit should read GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: April 17, 2023, 3:18 pm

US forces kill senior Islamic State official in pre-dawn Syria raid: official

Local reports said several US helicopters were involved in an operation in an area controlled by the opposition Suqour al-Sham militia.

Syria

US citizen sues Syria over torture amid regional embrace of Assad

Obada Mzaik filed a federal lawsuit against the Syrian government over torture he says he endured during his three-week detention in 2012.

Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman and Presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu speaks during a rally in Canakkale, western Turkey, on April 11, 2023.

Turkey’s opposition foreign policy promises gradual departure from Erdogan’s

Turkey’s opposition alliance vows to prioritize diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in Ankara’s foreign ties, yet it might adhere to policy continuity on many issues should it win the elections next month.

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (left) meets with Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Jeddah on April 12, 2023.

Arab initiative offers best chance for Syria in years

The Saudi-brokered meeting and Jordanian road map could boost the long stalled Syrian political process; Turkey is still key to settlement; Assad also has his cards to play.

This picture shows a view of the Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees, near the Jordanian city of Mafraq.

Jordan proposes Syria peace plan during Arab FM Saudi meeting

The plan includes steps to tackle the refugee crisis and smuggling across borders.

(L-R) Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for a photo before a trilateral meeting on Syria in Tehran on July 19, 2022. (Photo by Sergei SAVOSTYANOV / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey hopes Iran will play constructive role in Syria thaw

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu acknowledged difficulties so far but called on Iran to make a constructive contribution to the high-level talks between Turkey, Syria and Russia.

A vendor arranges truffles at his road side stall in Damascus on March 1, 2023.

Islamic State kills three truffle hunters in Syria

Truffle hunting is potentially profitable for Syrians amid the bleak economic situation in the country, but the activity is also dangerous due to targeting by the Islamic State.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks.

Turkey accuses Iraqi Kurdish party of being under ‘full control’ of PKK

Turkey's top diplomat tore into an Iraqi Kurdish group following an April 8 drone strike targeting the US-led coalition’s top ally in Syria, saying the PKK had taken “full control” of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

Flags of Arab League nations are set up at the convention center slated to host the league's Heads of State summit, in Algeria capital Algiers, on October 30, 2022. - Arab leaders are to meet in the Algerian capital on November 1 for their first summit since a string of normalisation deals with Israel that have divided the region. (Photo by Fethi Belaid / AFP) (Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

US softens rhetoric on Arab outreach to Syria’s Assad

The Biden administration says "real steps to improve the situation for the people in Syria" should be part of any engagement with the long-boycotted regime.

Turkish coast guard

3 Syrians dead, 3 missing as Ukraine-bound ship sinks off Turkey's coast

Rescuers are trying to reach three missing crew members of the Joe 2 ship, which had 14 crew on board.