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. By Amberin Zaman Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture
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 YPG spokesman
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. Turkey
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. By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Analysis Could US shift on Syria’s Kurds unlock progress with Turkey? By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Trump praises Syria's Sharaa after truce reached with SDF By Elizabeth Hagedorn In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights
Syrian Kurdish groups deny responsibility for bloody Afrin bombing A truck explosion led to more than 50 deaths Tuesday in Turkish-controlled Afrin, Syria. Syria
Afrin truck bombing kills dozens in Syria The explosion during the holy month of Ramadan in the city controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels killed at least 36 and wounded at least 40. Syria
Turkey grants Kurdish militants no peace, even in death In the long and devastating war between Kurdish rebels and the Turkish state, violations against the Kurdish fallen continue well past their deaths. Turkey
Turkish-backed rebels fight each other in Ras al-Ain, Syria Syrian rebel groups backed by Turkey clashed with each other in the border town they captured from Kurdish forces last year. Syria
Syriacs mark Easter in Turkey amid safety fears The indictment of a monk on terrorism charges and the mysterious death of an elderly woman has shaken one of the world’s oldest Christian communities as it celebrates Easter during the coronavirus pandemic. Turkey
Iraq condemns Turkish strikes against PKK in Kurdistan region Ankara claims it killed four PKK members in a Qandil mountains airstrike in Iraq northeast of Erbil, but Kurds report only physical damage there; Baghdad says Turkey did kill three civilians in Makhmour, to the southwest of Erbil. Iraq
A year after local polls, Turkey’s Kurds left with only third of gains Not even the coronavirus outbreak has slowed Ankara’s crackdown on local administrations held by Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party, which, many now fear, will continue until the last one is seized. Turkey
Archive Upfront from Mar 26, 2020 Turkey appears to want more than Syria’s oil Like Moscow and Washington, Ankara seems to be coveting the oilfields of Deir ez-Zor in Syrian Kurdistan, which Kurds fear would give Turkey an opening to take over the entire Rojava area. Syria
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. Syria
Justice Department ordered Turkish TV station to register as foreign agent The decision came amid an intensifying push by the Donald Trump administration and Congress to get foreign media outlets to register. Qatar
Turkey’s geostrategic orientation at crossroads amid Idlib tangle Confusion prevails in Ankara on how to resolve the entangled Idlib crisis and the choices it will ultimately make could bear on its geostrategic orientations in the coming years. Syria
Erdogan turns to oil in a bid to salvage Syria policy Turkey’s president eyes oil-related bargains in Syria after failing to achieve his stated objectives in Idlib and acquiescing to a new deal with Russia in the rebel stronghold. Syria
