Turkish-Kurdish conflict

Kurdish security forces patrol the street on Jan. 23, 2026 in Qamishli, Syria.

Analysis

Kurds, Damascus step back from brink as SDF signs fresh deal with Syrian government

After intense US-led diplomacy, Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led SDF agreed to a ceasefire and phased integration, averting all-out conflict.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Siyamend Ali

Interview

YPG spokesman: Syrian forces' strategy is to isolate Kurdish towns and cities

In an interview with Al-Monitor, YPG spokesman Siyamend Ali said Kurdish forces were successfully repelling advances by the Syrian army, while Damascus accused the Kurds of launching unprovoked attacks.

Siyamend Ali

Siyamend Ali

YPG spokesman

A woman with braided hair during a solidarity demonstration in Erbil, Iraq's Kurdistan region, on Jan. 23, 2026.

Turkey detains nurse over hair-braiding video in support of SDF

Authorities say the nurse’s social media post amounted to terror propaganda, while critics argue that her symbolic protest falls under freedom of expression as tensions over Syria spill into Turkey’s fragile peace process.

Turkish Foreign Ministery Press Service / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Turkey’s Syria gains come with risks as Damascus pushes Kurdish integration

Turkey has benefited from the Syrian government’s rollback of the Kurdish-led forces, but whether those gains translate into lasting security, refugee returns and domestic de-escalation will depend on political inclusion in Damascus.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Analysis

Could US shift on Syria’s Kurds unlock progress with Turkey?

Syrian government forces ride on the roof of a vehicle as they deploy after crossing the Euphrates River in the province of Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria, on Jan. 19, 2026.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Trump praises Syria's Sharaa after truce reached with SDF

President Donald Trump takes questions from the media during a press briefing on Jan. 20, 2026, in Washington.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Syria’s Kurds accept sweetened ceasefire deal as US envoy Barrack declares SDF obsolete

Soldiers walk past a parked car as Syrian government forces make their way to the city of Hasakeh in northeastern Syria on Jan. 20, 2026.

Erdogan welcomes Syria-SDF agreement, urges full implementation

DAMASCUS, SYRIA - JANUARY 18: Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa signs a ceasefire agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on January 18, 2026 in Damascus, Syria. According to Syrian state media, the deal includes a handover of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa governates into government control, and the full integration of SDF fighters into state institutions. It follows the government's recent push towards the key city of Raqqa, after SDF fighters withdrew from Aleppo amid deadly clashes over the

Kurdish Syrians demonstrate in the Syrian eastern city of Qamishli to demand the release of the jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan in Turkey, on May 29, 2025.

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM party to meet jailed PKK leader Ocalan

The meeting will come as Ankara ramps up threats against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to disarm.

A convoy of Syrian military and security forces passes a sign for Sweida city on July 15, 2025, near Sweida, Syria.

Analysis

Turkey’s gamble: Syria defense deal signals long road to rebuilding forces

Experts say training police and army units could take years and billions, while Ankara seeks to curb SDF influence and expand its regional role.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

DEM Party co-chair Tuncer Bakirhan speaks during a group meeting in Ankara, on May 13, 2025.

Turkey’s parliamentary body on solving Kurdish issue bars Kurdish language speech

Two Kurdish women invited to address the parliamentary committee were told they could not speak Kurdish during the session.

Members of the new Syrian government's army are seen amid battles with militias loyal to the Assad regime on the Syrian coast near Latakia, Syria, on March 7, 2025.

Turkey launches military training for Syria’s new army: What to know

Ankara has launched training, consultancy and technical assistance support to Syrian troops, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM slams Fidan’s threats against Syria's SDF

As Ankara increasingly threatens the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the opposition People's Equality and Democracy Party warns that a potential Turkish military operation against the Kurdish-led group could disrupt the peace process at home.

The new Syrian government's army fights the remaining elements of the Assad's regime on the Syrian coast near Latakia, Syria, on March 7, 2025.

After inking military pact, Turkey to provide Syria with weapons, training

The initial phase of Turkey-Syria military cooperation will address building a regular army and basic defensive needs, analysts say.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Will Turkey follow through on threats to attack Syria's Kurds?

This week we unpack the stakes around Ankara's threats to take military action alongside Damascus against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

turkey syria pact

Turkey, Syria ink defense cooperation deal as Ankara ups pressure on Kurdish-led SDF

The military agreement comes amid Ankara’s warnings to the Pentagon-allied and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces over their refusal to integrate into Syria’s army.

AMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey-France rivalry disrupts US-led mediation between Damascus, Syrian Kurds

Ankara is pressuring Damascus to cancel talks in Paris, fearing French support will tilt negotiations in favor of the Kurds, regional officials told Al-Monitor.

Turkish Foreign Ministry

Turkey’s Fidan visits Syria as Ankara pushes SDF to disarm: What to know

The top Turkish diplomat’s visit to Damascus comes as Ankara ramps up pressure for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to lay down arms.

A fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) aims a machine gun while lying prone during a joint military exercise with forces of the US-led "Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve" coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiya (Derik in Kurdish) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Sept. 7, 2022.

Turkey turns up heat on SDF to disarm as US Syria envoy returns to Damascus

While Turkey demands that the SDF disarms, Washington is trying to revive stalled talks between Kurdish forces and the new Syrian government in Damascus.

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 via its counter-ISIS authorities at least through 2026.

Jared Szuba

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