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

Palmyra

Syria

July 2, 2026

Damascus 9:27 am

27°C

Syrian textile employees work in a textile workshop in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Jan. 30, 2025.

Explainer

Turkey eases job rules for 1M+ Syrians under temporary protection: What to know

The move, part of a broader easing of restrictions on Syrians living in Turkey, could allow roughly 1.1 million working-age Syrians to enter registered employment more easily as Ankara seeks to reduce informal labor and address workforce gaps.

Al Sharaa

Syria announces Sharaa's parliamentary appointees, SDF Kurds sidelined

The Syrian government has announced the list of 70 members appointed to its transitional parliament.

Omar Albaw / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Kuwait's Zain eyes $1.5B mobile network in postwar Syria: What to know

The Kuwaiti company is planning to invest more than $1.5 billion in Syria after securing a license to operate there, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Latest News

Druze gunmen, Syrian government forces clash in Suwayda: What to know

A Druze fighter stands at a roundabout draped with the Druze flag and a portrait of a local leader in the predominantly Druze city of Suwayda in southern Syria on July 21, 2025.

Syria slams Israeli 'violations' in south as ground clashes intensify: What to know

A car drives past an United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) outpost in the village of Khan Arnabah, Quneitra, southern Syria, April 29, 2026.

Supreme Court backs Trump move to end Syrians’ deportation protections

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

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

Sheen Ibrahim, Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) looks for drones operated by Islamic State militants in Raqqa, Syria June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic - RC1D3CB0FA70

Turkish drone strike kills three Kurdish women in Syria

The leader of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces called on the United States and Russian to stop what he called Turkey's "policy of massacres against the Kurds" after last night's drone strike.

Suspected Israeli airstrikes hit various locations in Syria

Syria said it downed several missiles it says came from Israel, but there are also reports of casualties.

Screenshot (392).png

British charity worker detained by HTS in Idlib

Tauqir Sharif was kidnapped by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham on Monday, according to a statement from his aid organization in northwest Syria.

France repatriates children from Islamic State camp in northeast Syria

Ten children are being repatriated to France from the notorious al-Hol camp, according to a northeast Syrian official. Thousands of foreign and local children remain there.

A foreign prisoner, suspected of being part of the Islamic State, lies on top of an examining table next to a doctor inside a prison in Hasaka, Syria, January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic SEARCH "ISLAMIC STATE PRISONERS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. - RC2YYE9HG8VE

Syrian doctor accused of prison torture arrested in Germany

The suspect faces charges of crimes against humanity and grievous bodily harm.

A woman pushes a cart loaded with a sack of wheat in Qamishli, Syria September 18, 2017. Picture taken September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said TO MATCH INSIGHT MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-WHEAT-ISLAMIC STATE - RC183B72BD10

Syrian Kurds say Turkish charity dwarfed by stolen produce

As Turkey touts its humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria's Idlib, critics weigh the six truckloads of supplies against its thousands of tons of allegedly looted Syrian grain.

General view of the courtroom during the trial against two Syrian alleged former intelligence officers accused for crimes against humanity, in the first trial of its kind to emerge from the Syrian conflict, in Koblenz, Germany June 4, 2020. Thomas Lohnes/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - PIXELLATIONS FROM SOURCE - RC2H2H9DIBYL

Syrian torture victims file complaint in Germany over prison sex abuse

The criminal complaint accuses nine high-ranking Syrian officials of various sexual and gender-based crimes.

A boy wearing a Turkish flag stands next to a Turkish soldier in the town of Tal Abyad, Syria October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1FEACF7860

Turkey gets comfortable in northern Syria

Turkey appears to be preparing to remain in Syrian areas under its control without much thought for the long-term financial and political costs.

Members of the Spanish Guardia civil stand during a raid targeting assets of the family of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in the Puerto Banus marina area of the plush resort of Marbella on April 4, 2017.
The raids, a result of corruption investigation launched in France against Assad's uncle, Rifaat al-Assad, have seen the assets of Rifaat al-Assad and his family in Spain valued at 691 million euros ($736 million), seized.

/ AFP PHOTO / JORGE GUERRERO (Photo credit should read JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via

Bashar al-Assad’s uncle sentenced to four years in French prison for money laundering

A French court convicted Rifaat al-Assad, 82, of misappropriating Syrian public funds to expand his holdings in Europe.

Turkey mum as Syrian Kurds take 'historical step' in unity talks

Syria's rival Kurdish groups have announced their initial agreement on a Kurdish unity plan following US-mediated talks that began in April.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad stands next to his wife Asma, as he addresses injured soldiers and their mothers during a celebration marking Syrian Mother's Day in Damascus, in this handout picture provided by SANA on March 21, 2016. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

Intel: Assad, wife named in new Syria sanctions

The US State Department has warned more sanctions are coming in the weeks and months ahead as part of the Caesar Act.

A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in the rebel-held town of Nairab, Idlib region, Syria April 17, 2020. Picture taken April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC2C8G9K3BBG

US kills two al-Qaeda affiliates in northwest Syria

A US drone struck a vehicle carrying two senior commanders of Huras al-Din, one a Jordanian leader and the other a Yemeni leader of the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group.