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Syria

July 2, 2026

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Syrian security forces and people gather at the site of an explosion at a cafe in the capital, Damascus, on July 2, 2026.

At least 6 killed, 22 wounded in Damascus cafe explosion: What to know

Syrian authorities have yet to identify a perpetrator in relation to the incident, and armed groups opposing the transitional government did not immediately take credit.

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.

Latest News

Syria announces Sharaa's parliamentary appointees, SDF Kurds sidelined

Al Sharaa

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

Omar Albaw / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

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.

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attend a meeting in Damascus, Syria January 7, 2020. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC29BE9XR6LF

Putin sees opportunity in Syria's COVID-19 crisis

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the dispatch of medical assistance to help Syria combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, but his real objective is far from altruistic.

A man wearing a protective mask walks by at an empty market in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province, on March 23, 2020, amid measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. - The Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria have not recorded any deaths so far, but have imposed a curfew in a bid to stem any outbreak. (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Syrian Kurds hunker down amid fears of COVID-19

Most people in northeastern Syria seem to be obeying a lockdown imposed by the Kurdish autonomous administration to contain the spread of the coronavirus, but many are wondering how they will survive financially.

A picture taken on April 26, 2019 shows a general view of the hall where the Syrian constitutional committee takes place in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. - Two-day talks on Syria backed by Iran, Russia and Turkey concluded in Kazakhstan on April 26, 2019 without notable progress on forming a constitutional committee to drive a political settlement in the war-wracked country. (Photo by Alexey FILIPPOV / AFP) (Photo credit should read ALEXEY FILIPPOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Is COVID-19 changing Astana allies' dynamics in Syria?

The coronavirus outbreak in Syria may give Russia an opportunity to limit the Iranian presence.

Syrian Kurds say no escapees after IS prison revolt

Kurdish forces have put down a prison revolt in northeast Syria, where Islamic State detainees were apparently protesting their conditions, likely in fear of the coronavirus pandemic.

Syrian children sift through garbage at a landfill in the rebel-held part of the northern city of Aleppo, on October 27, 2015. According to UNICEF, more than 2.6 million children from war-ravaged Syria are out of school, sparking fears of a "lost generation." AFP PHOTO / FADI AL-HALABI / AFP / AMC / Fadi al-Halabi (Photo credit should read FADI AL-HALABI/AFP via Getty Images)

Many in northern Syria live off rubbish dumps

Years of war pushed many people to the brink of poverty, leading children and women to beg for money or search through garbage in order to make ends meet.

A Turkish military convoy drives along the M4 highway, which links the northern Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Latakia, near the village of al-Nayrab, about 14 kilometres southeast of Idlib city and seven kilometres west of Saraqib in northwestern Syria on March 25, 2020. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Is Turkey ready to take on jihadis in Syria’s Idlib?

While Turkey and Russia seek to maintain a cease-fire in Idlib, the Syrian government and jihadi groups want to resume battles.

A security man checks the temperature of a customer, as he enters the supermarket before curfew , following the outbreak of coronavirus, in Baghdad, Iraq March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RC2RLF917B9G

Intel: US touts nearly $40 million in coronavirus aid to Middle East

The United States today touted nearly $40 million in aid to the Middle East and North Africa as part of a $274 million emergency health and humanitarian assistance package to help afflicted countries deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Turkish government divided over lockdown proposals

Turkish policymakers are split on whether a lockdown approach is the best way to protect Turkey from coronavirus, with some more fearful of the economic fallout than the potential deaths.

Pump jacks operate in an oil field in the countryside of al-Qahtaniyah town in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province near the Turkish border, on March 11, 2020. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

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.

A street cleaner rests at empty Souk al-Hamidieh, as restrictions are imposed as measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Damascus, Syria March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC2HQF9TCDQH

Is Syria unable, or unwilling, to fend off Iran coronavirus contagion?

While close links between Damascus and Tehran put the former at great risk of an influx of COVID-19 cases, Syria's reliance on Iran for political and military support may make stemming the spread more difficult.

The Russian Navy cargo ship Dvinitsa-50 sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik - RC2HQF9QB951

Intel: Why Moscow is dispatching its military to fight coronavirus in Syria, Italy

On March 25, the first Russian navy cargo ship transited Turkey’s Bosporus strait en route to Syria. The ship was reportedly carrying three ambulances and a shipping container on its deck — equipment to be used to help fight the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Syria.

A boy stands holding a Kurdish flag near a bonfire marking the Kurdish holiday of Noruz in Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on March 20, 2020, after the local authorities cancelled holiday celebrations due to fears of the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus disease. - The Persian New Year is an ancient Zoroastrian tradition celebrated by Iranians and Kurds which coincides with the vernal (spring) equinox and is calculated by the solar calendar. (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SO

Syrian Kurds still fight for rights on unrecognizable battlefield

Nine years into the Syrian war, much has changed for the Kurds, but conditions seem riper today than ever for them to obtain their rights.