Syria Conflict

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Kobane speaks during a press conference in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakeh on Dec. 6, 2024.

Explainer

SDF chief Kobane’s Damascus visit a high wire act for Syria’s Kurds

The SDF says its integration with Damascus is complete, but major questions remain over its fighters, weapons and the future of Kurdish self-rule.

ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 08: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) meets with Ahmed al-Sharaa, President of Syria (L) for bilateral talks at Beştepe Presidential Compound during the NATO Summit on July 08, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

US lifts Syria's terror designation after 47 years

The Trump administration also took Hayat Tahrir al-Sham off its blacklist of Specially Designated Global Terrorist organizations.

A Turkish soldier from the 1st Border Regiment Command looks out over the border wall to Syria during alert drills at a military outpost on the Turkey/Syria border on March 2, 2017 in Kilis, Turkey.

Analysis

Why Turkey sees Israeli strikes in Syria as warning over its military role, Mecca Pact

Ankara views Israel’s latest strikes in Syria as part of a broader effort to curb Turkey’s military influence in Damascus and a challenge to its regional defense partnerships.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Turkey/Syria border

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

As Washington pushes a new deconfliction mechanism between Turkey and Israel, the Jewish state shows little incentive to accept tighter constraints on its freedom of action in Syria, experts say.

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

Latest News

Analysis

Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them

ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 7: U.S. President Donald Trump (L)shakes hands with with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) during a formal arrival at the Bestepe Presidential Palace during the NATO summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Emrah Gurel - Pool/Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Turkey signals restraint as war of words with Israel escalates over Syria

Burhaanettin Duran

Syria’s FM pays Pakistan first visit in 19 years amid new regional alignments

Islamabad

Turkey looks to expand Syria energy footprint into oil, gas

President Ahmad al-Sharaa meets Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar at the People’s Palace in Damascus, Syria, on Aug. 19, 2026.

U.S. forces set up a new base in Manbij, Syria May 8, 2018. Picture Taken May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1504520BB0

US to withdraw from Syria, leaving Kurdish allies to face Turkish offensive alone

President Donald Trump tweeted that the war against Islamic State is over and his administration has confirmed American soldiers would leave Syria immediately, a significant diplomatic win for Turkey that follows US approval of a major weapons deal with Ankara.

A general view shows Turkish flags fluttering at a military post in the village of Ashma in the Kurdish region of Kobane in northern Syria on November 8, 2018. - In recent days, cross-border Turkish artillery fire has targeted positions held by the People's Protection Units (YPG), the main Kurdish militia in Syria. Ankara sees the de-facto autonomous rule set up by Syrian Kurds as an encouragement to the separatists of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has close ties to the YPG. (Photo

US official speaks out against possible Turkish offensive in Syria

After Iraqi Kurdistan-backed Rojava Peshmerga are sent to the Turkish-Syrian border, Turkish officials inveigh against the action and what it represents.

Syrian writer gives voice to victims of war

Betul Abras, who has fled from the Syrian war herself in 2013, has been helping other victims of war to heal for the last five and a half years.

Turkish soldiers ride on a military vehicle in the center of Afrin, Syria March 24, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1B6933DB00

How does Turkey's threatened Syria invasion play elsewhere?

As Turkey prepares for a possible offensive against Kurdish militias in Syria, Moscow is watching for any mistakes that multiple players, including the Unites States and the United Arab Emirates, might make in their efforts to deter the operation.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir walks with officials as he leaves the African Union (AU) summit in Nouakchott, Mauritania, July 2, 2018. Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters - RC1D50433000

Iran media on Bashir trip to Syria: Arab states have accepted reality of Assad

Iranian media believe that the Sudanese president's meeting with Bashar al-Assad is a sign that Arab countries are beginning to accept the reality on the ground in Syria.

Opposition group in Idlib orders extreme punishments

One of two opposition governments in rebel-controlled Idlib, Syria, has implemented a form of Islamic Sharia punishment that calls for criminals to be executed, exiled or have their hands cut off.

Trust needed between Arabs and Kurds to stabilize Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor

A series of attacks and assassinations in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor have heightened tensions between the Arab population and Kurds.

A Turkish military tank is seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC17EC8A27B0

Erdogan says Turkish troops to march into northeast Syria

Some experts think Erdogan's threat to send troops into northeast Syria is a trial balloon that has more to do with Turkey's March 31 local elections than anything else, but others take his statements more seriously.

A Turkish army howitzer fires from a military post on the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province, Turkey February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1DA3686FA0

US erects observation posts to avert war between Turks, Syrian Kurds

The move highlights the complexity Washington faces in its efforts to maintain a military presence in Syria while appeasing fellow NATO ally Turkey.

Israeli soldiers stand guard at a check-point on a raod leading to the border line between Israel and Lebanon, on the Israeli side of the border December 9, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC11450F0E90

The unlikely war between Iran, Hezbollah and Israel

Despite increasingly tough rhetoric and the launch of an operation along the border with Lebanon, Israel is unlikely to enter all-out war against Iran and its regional allies.

Syrians wave Iranian, Russian and Syrian flags during a protest against U.S.-led air strikes in Damascus,Syria April 14,2018.REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1815671B90

Does the US want a war with Iran over Syria?

Despite Trump’s initial caution about an indefinite military commitment, the risks of the United States getting drawn into the Syria conflict are growing.

People in the old city of Damascus, Syria, September 17, 2018. Picture taken September 17, 2018. REUTERS/Marko Djurica - RC1F0309D400

US sees renewed leverage over Assad in Syria

The Donald Trump administration is confident that its pressure is eroding the Syrian regime and its allies.