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Syria

October 31, 2026

Damascus 6:34 pm

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Mohammed Mir / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Syria flash floods kill at least 5, force hundreds of families from camps

Heavy rain and flash floods left five people dead, including four children, and forced some 375 families to flee displacement camps in Syria’s Raqqa province.

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on Feb. 15, 2026.

Interview

US oil firm HKN aims to double output in Syria's formerly Kurdish-run fields

HKN Vice President Matthew Zais tells Al-Monitor the company plans to double production at Syria’s northeastern oil fields while tackling pollution, as questions remain over the future of the Kurdish-run Jazira Oil Company.

Matthew Zais

Matthew Zais

HKN vice president for government affairs

Zaidi

Iraq's Zaidi meets Sharaa on first Syria visit: What to know

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has sought to assuage concerns about his past militant activity in Iraq, whose oil trade and security cooperation with his two country is rising.

Latest News

Syria slams Jordan over crossborder strikes, denies coordination: What to know

Mourners attend the funeral of those who were killed in airstrikes carried out by Jordan the night before on the village of Al-Taf in the Al-Lajat region, located in the northeastern countryside of Daraa, on Oct. 27, 2026.

Culture

Syrian women easy target in Sharaa’s drive to consolidate power

New female cadets from the new women's police academy attend the first cohort graduation ceremony after completing a six-month training program, in al-Tal on the northern outskirts of Damascus, on Sept. 22, 2026.

Analysis

How Israel’s elections could bring thaw with Syria

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly gathering, UN Headquarters, New York, Sept. 22, 2026.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

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

Syrian security forces stand guard in front of the heavily damaged Syrian army and defense ministry headquarters complex in Damascus, following Israeli strikes on July 16, 2025.

Syria turns to Turkey for military support as US envoy urges strategy rethink

The move deepens Ankara’s influence with the new government as Kurdish forces in Syria's northeast face new pressure to integrate with Syrian army.

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia to invest $6B in Syria in boost to Sharaa: What to know

The kingdom has been at the forefront of diplomatic and economic efforts to support Syria's recovery.

A man carries the Syrian and the Saudi flags past a billboard thanking Qatar, in Damascus, on May 14, 2025.

Saudi Arabia offers travel permits to Syrian businessmen, investors: What to know

Syrian entrepreneurs can now directly apply for travel licenses at the Saudi Embassy in Damascus, while Saudi investors seeking to visit Syria can register via the Interior Ministry’s e-platform.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 16: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout image provided by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) are seen as Ukrainian, American and Russian delegates meet for peace talks at the office of Turkish President in Dolmabahce Palace on May 16, 2025 in Istanbul, Turkey. Under pressure from the United States to

‘We will intervene’: Turkey’s Fidan warns against dividing Syria

Ankara threatens action against the Kurdish-led SDF as the US pushes for the group’s integration into a post-regime Damascus.

Bedouin fighters are seen on the streets of al-Mazraa village in Syria's southern Suwayda governorate on July 18, 2025, in Suwayda, Syria.

Suwayda violence boosts Kurds’ leverage as US Syria envoy, SDF chief meet

Syria's Kurds remain hesitant about integration with Damascus as interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa struggles with unrest in Suwayda.

Hosam Saraya

Family says US citizen killed in Syria’s Suwayda

The US State Department said Monday that an American citizen was killed during the unrest in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda last week.

RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images

Ceasefire fragile as Syria evacuates Bedouins in Suwayda, US urges accountability

The Syrian government has moved some Bedouin families out of the southern province after clashes with Druze fighters intensified over the weekend.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa shake hands during a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, on Feb. 4, 2025. — OZAN KOSE/Getty

Analysis

Suwayda clashes stoke Turkey's fears of Kurdish gains, Syria's fragmentation

Amid Israeli strikes and sectarian violence, Turkey is doubling down on preserving Syrian territorial integrity, hoping to manage refugee returns and prevent Kurdish autonomy.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Fighters from Bedouin tribes gather near a burning building in al-Mazraa village, in Syria's southern Suwayda governorate, as clashes with Druze gunmen continue, on July 18, 2025.

Turkey on edge as clashes continue in Syria's Suwayda, Kurds weigh next move

Turkey fears a deepening ethnic fracture in Syria could redraw the regional map — and embolden its own Kurdish population.

Bedouin and tribal fighters deploy as a car burns at the western entrance of Syria's Druze heartland of Suwayda on July 18, 2025.

Analysis

Why Iran is alarmed but vindicated by Syria's Druze crisis

Iran is framing the recent escalation in Syria's south as proof of its long-standing warnings about the post-Assad dynamics while deeply concerned by what it sees as Israeli plots to redraw the regional map.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images

As Bedouins mobilize, clashes with Druze resume in Syria’s Suwayda: What to know

Despite a ceasefire agreement, fighting involving the government, Bedouin clans and Druze fighters spiraled on Friday.