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June 18, 2026

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Mazloum Abdi (Kobani), commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on January 24, 2019. - Any deal between Syria's Kurds and the Damascus regime should respect the "special status" of Kurdish-led forces who fought the Islamic State (IS) group, Kobani said. The SDF control around a third of Syria after expelling jihadists from a large northeastern swathe of t

Syrian Kurd commander Kobane kicks off European tour amid scrutiny from Damascus

Commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces Mazlum Kobane is on a European tour and will likely meet French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris.

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is welcomed by Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia on April 24, 2026, on the sidelines of a European summit.

Analysis

Why Trump’s push for Syria to confront Hezbollah is an unlikely bid

Trump’s proposal faces resistance from Damascus, skepticism from experts and opposition across Lebanon’s political spectrum.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

Syria reports sabotage of undersea internet cable between Tartous and Alexandria: What to know

This photo illustration taken in Damascus on May 20, 2026, shows the X account of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on a smartphone displaying his tweet to President Donald Trump.

Exclusive

US firm HKN Energy takes over 7 oil fields from Syria's Kurds

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on February 9, 2026. (Photo by Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

People read the newspapers with cover stories of Osama bin Laden, in Riyadh, May 3, 2011. Bin Laden was killed in a U.S. special forces assault on a Pakistani compound, then quickly buried at sea, in a dramatic end to the long manhunt for the al Qaeda leader who had been the guiding star of global terrorism. REUTERS/Mohammed Mashhor (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: SOCIETY MEDIA) - RTR2LXUQ

Saudi Arabia toughens stance on jihadist groups

Saudi Arabia is responding to widespread accusations that it is supporting extremist groups by publicly toughening its rhetoric against jihadists.

As IS advances, Syrian rebels reinforce northern strategic town

The rebel-held town of Marea in the Aleppo countryside — the last supply line for the rebels to Turkey — is at risk of falling to the Islamic State.

A militant Islamist fighter uses a mobile to film his fellow fighters taking part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from

The Islamic State's social media strategy

The Islamic State is using social and other media to recruit followers and scare its enemies into submission.

A burnt vehicle belonging to Iraqi security forces is pictured at a checkpoint in east Mosul, one day after radical Sunni Muslim insurgents seized control of the city, June 11, 2014. Sunni insurgents from an al Qaeda splinter group extended their control from the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday to an area further south that includes Iraq's biggest oil refinery in a devastating show of strength against the Shi'ite-led government. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Can Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE form Arab security alliance?

With the Islamic State (IS) out to change the regional order, Gulf states ought to establish a security alliance to prevent this from happening.

The Armenian St. Kevork Church (Saint George) is seen in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on October 30, 2012, after it was burnt during fighting between rebel fighters and Syrian government forces. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Aleppo's Christians in Syrian crossfire

Christians in Aleppo fear an uncertain fate; Iran’s decisive role in the appointment of Haider al-Abadi as Iraqi prime minister-designate; battle for Arsal may not be over yet; Netanyahu is Israel’s "weakest prime minister" ever; lobbying profiles of Gulf countries to be released.

Syrian refugees, fleeing the recent fighting in Arsal, wait with their belongings in Majdel Anjar in the Bekaa valley, near the Lebanese border with Syria August 8, 2014. The refugees, who had sought shelter in Arsal, were attempting to head back to Syria; however, they say Syrian authorities at the border rejected them until further investigation to verify their identities and statuses. REUTERS/Hassan Abdallah (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR41Q6X

Arsal battle brings Syrian refugee issue to the fore in Lebanon

Since the Arsal battle, Lebanon has been taking a new look at its Syrian refugee crisis, which it has been struggling with for years.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan greets members of his ruling AK Party (AKP) as he arrives at a meeting at the party headquarters in Ankara August 14, 2014. Turkish president-elect Erdogan urged his ruling AK Party on Thursday to work for a stronger parliamentary majority next year to enable them to re-write the constitution, signalling no let-up in his drive to create an executive presidency. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR42E72

Amid regional instability, Turkey focuses on domestic agenda

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party are engrossed in the transition to a presidential system, but unrelenting developments in the Middle East will leave Ankara facing major regional problems.

Nuns pray in Saint Peter square during a mass at the Vatican on September 7, 2013. The pope has called for a global day of fasting and prayer on Saturday for peace in Syria and against any armed intervention. AFP PHOTO / Filippo MONTEFORTE (Photo credit should read FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)

Envoy: US 'appalled' by reported killing of priest in Syria

US envoy to Syria Robert Ford has condemned the killing of Catholic Priest Father François Mourad and stated that "unprovoked violence against civilians is completely unacceptable"

Iraqi Christians displaced by the violence in their country wait in line to receive aid from a Chaldean Catholic Church truck in Beirut August 13, 2014. Well financed and armed, Islamic State insurgents have captured large swathes of territory in a summer offensive, as the Iraqi army - and now Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the self-governing north - have crumbled in the face of its onslaught, massacring Shi'ites and minority Christians and Yazidis as they advance. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLI

Lebanon a safe haven but Middle Eastern Christians still at risk

The arrival of Iraqi Christians in Lebanon is significant, as the country has historically been considered a safe haven for Christians in the Levant, and requires considerable diplomatic support from religious and political authorities in the region.

A militant Islamist fighter waving a flag, cheers as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars and holdi

IS emerges from radical Islamic jurisprudence

The Islamic State and other radical groups found their religious underpinnings in the heart of Islamic teachings.

A student wears a headlight, due to electricity shortage, as he takes his year-end examinations at a school in Aleppo's al-Sha'ar district June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT EDUCATION SOCIETY) - RTX10CK8

Power outages add to Aleppo’s suffering

The electricity network in Aleppo has been severely damaged by the war, with power outages of more than a year in some neighborhoods.

A man reads the Bible sitting in a street of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on February 20, 2014. Syria's government forces have begun using a powerful type of cluster munition rocket not previously seen in the country's conflict, Human Rights Watch said in a statement. AFP PHOTO/ALEPPO MEDIA CENTRE/FADI AL-HALABI (Photo credit should read Fadi al-Halabi/AFP/Getty Images)

Aleppo's forgotten Christians

The ethnic cleansing of Christians in Mosul has alarmed Aleppo's large Christian community, which criticizes the West for failing to protect the Middle East's Christians.