Syria Conflict

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd L), Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani (3rd R) and SDF commander Mazlum Kobane (4th R) meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, on Feb. 13, 2026 in Munich.

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Rubio said 'no meeting' with Syria’s Shibani in Munich unless Kurdish commander included

Rubio’s insistence was aimed at satisfying lawmakers demanding stronger US support for the SDF.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Suwayda

Syria begins prisoner exchange with Druze militia in south: What to know

The Suwayda area has seen significant instability since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, complicating government efforts to address sectarian factionalism.

Women and children seen inside al-Hol camp, amongst them some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities, and including relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists in the desert region of Hasakah province on Jan. 25, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Turkey to repatriate its ISIS fighters from Iraq as jihadis escalate Syria attacks

Ankara will repatriate its nationals from among thousands of fighters transferred from Syria, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a press conference after a Cabinet meeting to discuss both trade negotiations with the US and the situation in the Middle East, at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on July 30, 2025. Canada "intends" to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday, a dramatic policy shift he said was necessary to preserve hopes of a two-state solution. (Photo by Dave CHAN / AFP) (Photo by

Canada becomes latest Western country to lift Syria sanctions: What to know

Like the US, Canada had strained relations with Syria during the civil war but is now showing signs of engagement.

Latest News

Feature

After SDF-Damascus truce, is Kurdish haven still safe for Syria's Alawites?

Members of People's Defense Units (YPG) stand guard as Syrian government internal security personnel enter the northeastern city of Hasakeh, a Kurdish stronghold, on Feb. 2, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Rubio holds joint talks with Syria's FM, SDF commander in Munich

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd L), Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani (3rd R) and SDF commander Mazlum Kobane (4th R) meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, on Feb. 13, 2026 in Munich.

US military completes evacuation of ISIS prisoners from Syria to Iraq

A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands guard in a prison where men suspected to be afiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group are jailed in northeast Syria in the city of Hasakeh on Oct. 26, 2019.

US military pulls out of Syria’s Al-Tanf garrison in major shift

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Jared Szuba

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

Members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham attend a graduation for a new batch of fighters in the countryside near the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib, Syria, Sept. 13, 2022.

Rare clashes erupt between jihadist group, Turkey-backed faction in Syria's Idlib

Clashes erupted between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Faylaq al-Sham, affiliated with the Turkish-backed FSA, due to differences over the alleged opening of a commercial crossing with the Syrian government-held areas in the eastern Idlib countryside.

A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, removes an Islamic State group flag in the town of Tabqa, about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa city, on April 30, 2017, as they advance in their battle for the group's de facto capital.

US military kills three senior Islamic State leaders in Syria strikes

US strikes knocked off the jihadist group's second-highest Syrian commander and a smuggler believed to have helped kidnap and behead Kurdish officials.

A woman suffering from cholera receives treatment at the Al-Kasrah hospital in Syria.

Cholera spreads in Syria as displacement camps on high alert

Fears of a cholera outbreak in Syria are growing after authorities revealed that part of the Euphrates River has been contaminated.

This picture shows the damage in a street in the central Syrian town of al-Qaryatain in Homs province.

Syrian government gears up for major military operation against IS in the desert

Syrian government forces are deployed in the Syrian desert in preparation for a large campaign against the Islamic State.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) receives his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad in Tehran, on July 20, 2022.

Syria and Iran lower tariffs per free trade agreement

Syria and Iran signed a free trade deal more than 10 years ago but are still working out the details. The two countries are not major trade partners despite being political and military allies.

Smoke billows following Russian airstrikes near Syria's Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, Sept. 27, 2022.

Russian warplanes bomb FSA camp in Syria's Idlib

As Syrian and Russian attacks escalate in Idlib, the FSA-affiliated Jaysh al-Izza denied Russian reports that an airstrike at one of their sites in a displaced camp in the north killed some of their commanders.

Turkish soldier Sefter Tas, who was killed by the Islamic State, is seen in an undated photo. -

Turkish opposition revives questions over Islamic State burning execution

Almost six years on, Turkey’s public remains in the dark on the burning execution of two compatriots in Syria.

Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighters man a roadblock in the Turkish-controlled city of al-Bab following reported artillery shelling, northern Aleppo province, Syria, Feb. 2, 2022.

Al-Bab residents demand houses back from Turkish-backed forces in Syria

Demonstrations were organized against the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army in the city of al-Bab, during which protesters demanded that the factions return their houses and farms that had been seized after the FSA took control of the city in 2017.

Free Aleppo University

Culture

Syrian opposition launches program to teach Kurdish language in Aleppo

Syrian Kurds in the areas of the Syrian opposition welcomed the decision to launch a program to teach the Kurdish language at the opposition-affiliated Free Aleppo University in the city of Azaz.

Women buy cosmetics in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakeh on June 12, 2018.

Culture

Syrian women still get cosmetic surgery despite war

Despite the collapse of the health sector and the deterioration of living conditions in Syria, more women are getting plastic surgery than ever.

UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, holds a news conference on the creation of a constitutional committee for the country, at the United Nations offices in Geneva, on Oct. 2, 2019.

Syria still risks economic collapse, says UN envoy

Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, says that the country faces a ‘crisis of epic proportions for the Syrian people.’

Mourners take part in a funeral of people killed in reported artillery fire by Syrian government forces, in the opposition-held city of al-Bab, on the border with Turkey in the northern Aleppo province, Syria, Aug. 19, 2022.

Tensions high between narcotics division, FSA factions in Syria's al-Bab

An armed group affiliated with the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army stormed a house in the city of al-Bab belonging to a police officer after one of their drug shipments was confiscated.