Syria - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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Syria

June 29, 2026

Damascus 9:14 am

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Supreme Court backs Trump move to end Syrians’ deportation protections

The decision affects some 6,100 Syrians who live in the United States.

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Syria’s energy push could soon get a major boost from Chevron: What to know

The country's leaders are seeking to translate a flurry of oil and gas agreements into concrete investments and rebuild an industry devastated by more than a decade of war, sanctions and isolation.

Defendant Wassim al-Assad appears before the Fourth Criminal Court during the opening session of his trial in Damascus on June 24, 2026.

Syria opens trial of Wassim al-Assad, cousin of ousted president: What we know

The trial follows another session in the case against Atef Najib, also a cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad, as Syrian authorities continue prosecuting figures linked to the former regime and its remnants.

Latest News

Syria announces direct flights to Amsterdam as Europe links expand

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

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

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

Paramedics transport the corpse of a Syrian who died of the coronavirus during a funeral in the village of Barisha, Idlib province, Syria, Sept. 30, 2021.

Unprecedented COVID spread plagues health sector in Syria's Daraa

The number of COVID cases has increased steadily in most of the cities and towns of Daraa during the past few weeks amid a deteriorating health sector.

A Syrian child poses atop a stack of neutralized shells at a metal scrapyard on the outskirts of Maaret Misrin town in the northwestern Idlib province, on March 10, 2021.

Idlib’s children become breadwinners amidst rising poverty

Worsening living conditions and soaring poverty rates in Idlib force more and more children to drop out of school and start working to help their families meet their basic needs.

Syria games

Gaming offers livelihood for some young Syrians

Video games have recently become a way to earn money for young Syrians amid scarce job opportunities in all fields and financial hardships.

US soldiers patrol an area near Syria's northeastern Semalka border crossing with Iraq's Kurdish autonomous territory, on Nov. 1, 2021.

Islamic State down but not out in Syria and Iraq: Pentagon report

Also, Al-Monitor’s on-the-ground reporting on the security situations in Syria and Iraq, including the impact of the Turkish lira crisis on Idlib.

Syria refugees

US amends sanctions regulations to ease aid delivery in Syria

An amended general license allows NGOs in Syria to take part in otherwise prohibited activities, including new investment in Syria and transactions with the Syrian government.

Children on Nov. 20, 2021, carry a bucket of water, in the Bardaqli camp for displaced people in the town of Dana in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, as winter approaches.

Deteriorating Turkish lira hurts residents in Syria's Idlib

The depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar has resulted in worsening living conditions in Idlib and increased the people’s resentment against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Salvation Government, which they hold primarily responsible for the economic crisis.

A memorial to victims of the 1960 fire in Amude, Syria. Image taken Nov. 5, 2021

Syrian-Kurdish couple sets Amude's cinema ghosts to rest

Since a deadly fire in 1960, going to the cinema has been taboo in the Kurdish town of Amude in northeastern Syria, and a couple who recently emigrated from Europe hopes to change things.

ABDULAZIZ KETAZ/AFP via Getty Images

Drought parches Idlib governorate

Drought has dried up the Duwaisat Dam reservoir, west of Idlib, hitting farmers hard.

This picture shows a view of nightlife ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha at the Clock Square, Idlib, Syria, July 18, 2021.

Jihadi group seeks command of media, advertising in northwest Syria

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is seeking to organize media and advertising fields to serve its interests and the inclinations of its affiliated Salvation Government in Idlib in northwestern Syria.

The minarets of mosques and the steeples of churches are seen towering above rooftops in the Syrian capital Damascus, on June 26, 2013.

Jews of Syrian origin return to visit Damascus

The Syrian government has allowed some Jews of Syrian origin, residing in New York, to visit Damascus.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's war of attrition against Syria's Kurds

Alongside shelling and drones, Turkey is weaponizing water supplies in northeast Syria, turning an already horrible situation into a nightmare

Smoke and fire billow after shelling on the Islamic State group's last holdout of Baghuz, in the eastern Syrian Deir ez-Zor province on March 3, 2019.

Intel: Pentagon chief briefed on 2019 Syria airstrike

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the briefing after reading an investigation into the strike by The New York Times.