Syria Conflict

Germany's forward #26 Deniz Undav (2nd R), an ethnic Kurd, scores his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group E football match between Germany and Ivory Coast at the Toronto Stadium in Toronto on June 20, 2026.

Culture

Amid political setbacks, Kurds shine at the World Cup

Kurdish players and clubs are making rare global gains on football’s biggest stage, offering a brief lift amid ongoing political setbacks across the region.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Syria announces direct flights to Amsterdam as Europe links expand

The head of Syria’s General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport announced that after years of suspension, Syrian Airlines would restart direct services between Damascus and Amsterdam.

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Oval Office, Washington, DC, Nov. 10, 2025.

Syria’s Sharaa says he had ‘multiple discussions’ with Trump on Lebanon, favors dialogue

Syrian President Sharaa has again played down Donald Trump’s request that Syria could enter Lebanon and help disarm Hezbollah.

Mazloum Abdi (Kobani), commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on January 24, 2019. - Any deal between Syria's Kurds and the Damascus regime should respect the "special status" of Kurdish-led forces who fought the Islamic State (IS) group, Kobani said. The SDF control around a third of Syria after expelling jihadists from a large northeastern swathe of t

Syrian Kurd commander Kobane kicks off European tour amid scrutiny from Damascus

Commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces Mazlum Kobane is on a European tour and will likely meet French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris.

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Analysis

Why Trump’s push for Syria to confront Hezbollah is an unlikely bid

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is welcomed by Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia on April 24, 2026, on the sidelines of a European summit.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Russia in talks on 'reformatting' its military sites in Syria: What to know

AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images

HIBATULLAH BARAKAT/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

At least $216B needed to rebuild postwar Syria, says World Bank

Reconstruction costs of damaged physical assets are projected at between $140 billion and $345 billion, with a conservative best estimate of $216 billion, the World Bank reports.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on Jan. 24, 2019.

Syria’s SDF releases detainees as 'goodwill' gesture after talks with Damascus

The talks on the situation in Aleppo, where a siege of Kurdish areas is reportedly ongoing, come as the Syrian government and the SDF work on a deal to integrate the Kurdish-led force into the new army.

A Syrian reads the state-run daily newspaper al-Thawra outside his shop in downtown Damascus on Sept. 3, 2004.

Feature

Former Assad mouthpiece Al-Thawra to test limits of Syria's new rulers

Despite the fall of Assad, Al-Thawra struggles to shed its propaganda legacy, as new editor Nour al-Din al-Ismail works to professionalize the state-owned paper amid a culture of fear and entrenched habits.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yasser Barniyeh

Syria finance chief meets US, World Bank officials as Trump admin pushes more sanction relief

Less than two weeks ago, the US Senate approved a measure to repeal the 2019 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act sanctions on Syria as part of its 2026 defense budget.

ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/AFP via Getty Images

Even as Putin shields Assad, Syria’s Sharaa seeks to 'redefine' Moscow ties

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Moscow in a visit overshadowed by the presence of ousted President Bashar al-Assad in Russia and Moscow’s attempts to maintain its military presence in Syria.

Kurds wave Kurdistan Workers' Party flags (PKK) and flags depicting Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, during a demonstration to call for Ocalan's liberation outside the European Council in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Sept. 15, 2025.

Exclusive

PKK leader Ocalan appeals to Iraqi Kurdistan president for help in Turkey peace talks

In a letter shared exclusively with Al-Monitor, the jailed PKK leader asks Barzani to help advance negotiations aimed at ending decades of conflict with Turkey.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey, Syria hold high-level security summit as SDF integration talks ramp up

The summit comes as Turkey and Syria coordinate over the future of the Kurdish-led SDF, amid US mediation efforts to meet the year-end integration deadline with Damascus.

Yazan

Culture

Healing through art: Syria’s artists seek to unite a fractured nation

From Damascus to Idlib, a new generation of Syrian artists is reclaiming public space and rebuilding cultural life through contemporary art.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

US Senate approves repeal of Caesar Act sanctions on Syria: What to know

The 2019 Caesar Act imposed sweeping sanctions on Syria to hold the government accountable for human rights abuses committed during the country’s civil war.

MOHAMAD DABOUL/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria: Siege persists in Aleppo’s Kurdish enclaves despite SDF-Damascus truce

Tensions are rising over plans to integrate the Kurdish-led SDF into the new Syrian military amid clashes between government-affiliated and Kurdish forces in Syria’s largest city.

This picture taken on Aug. 20, 2021 shows a view of smoke rising from bombardment on the outskirts of Syria's rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib.

US strike in Syria kills al-Qaeda-linked planner, hints at changing militant networks

Members of Syria’s al-Qaeda branch, Huras ad-Din, have been joining Ansar al-Islam as US drone strikes have continued to pick off Huras ad-Din's leaders, a report to the UN Security Council noted in July.

Members of the Syrian Kurdish Asayish security forces stand guard at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on April 18, 2025, as the Syrian Democratic Forces mount a security campaign against IS "sleeper cells" in the camp.

Damascus declares truce with Syria’s Kurdish forces after Aleppo skirmishes

US military helicopters delivered Syrian Kurdish commander Mazlum Kobane to Damascus in push to halt a burst of fighting overnight in Aleppo that risked unravelling the fragile rapprochement between Syria's two largest post-Assad forces.