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June 20, 2026

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Hassan Akkad speaks about fleeing Syria in 2015 and his work as a filmmaker at a BAFTA event, Sept. 2023.

Culture

In Syria, detention of Hassan Akkad raises alarm about free expression under Sharaa

Akkad, a British-Syrian filmmaker, was detained Wednesday night after his campaign questioning the whereabouts of funds allegedly pledged for relief, reconstruction and community initiatives across Syria.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

'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

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

Syria's Sufi Tahleela Band performs during the third annual Sufi Festival at the Royal Cultural Center in Amman October 12, 2010. Arab and international Sufi groups are taking part in the one week event. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (JORDAN - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT SOCIETY) - RTXTCZH

Syrian Sufis Divided As Salafist Influence Grows

Sufism has long been the dominant strand of Sunni Islam in Syria, but is under threat as Salafism gains power.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks to the media after a meeting of the foreign ministers representing the permanent five member countries of the United Nations Security Council, including Germany, at the U.N. Headquarters in New York September 26, 2013. U.S. and Iranian officials emerged upbeat on Thursday from a meeting on Iran's nuclear program but both sides also sounded a cautionary note, with the United States saying there was more work to do and Iran insisting on quick sanctions relie

Iran’s Foreign Minister Offers Help With Syria’s Chemical Weapons

Iran is ready to participate in the Geneva II process in Syria, but only if asked, says Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor.

Nader, a 20-year-old fighter of the first batch of the Al-Tawhid Brigade, stands beside other grooms during his wedding ceremony in Aleppo's countryside city of Al-Bab March 15, 2013. A mass wedding took place for fourteen members of the first batch of the Al-Tawhid Brigade, which operates under the Free Syrian Army, in Al-Bab. Picture taken March 15, 2013. REUTERS/Giath Taha (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT SOCIETY) - RTR3F2PX

Rift Between Syrian National Coalition And Islamist Rebels Deepens

The signs were obvious that an open rift between the Syrian National Coalition and the main Islamist rebel factions was imminent.

Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Syrian Opposition Coalition Chairman Ahmed Assi al-Jarba during the United Nations General Assembly at the Waldorf Astoria in New York September 24, 2013. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13YF3

UN Resolution Opens New Chapter in Syria Conflict

A UN Security Council resolution has recast the Syria conflict as a matter for international diplomacy, not US unilateral action.

Ammunition is seen at an area controlled by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at the front line during clashes with opposition fighters during a guided tour by the Syrian Army in the Damascus suburb of Jobar, August 24, 2013. Syrian state television said soldiers found chemical materials on Saturday in tunnels that had been used by rebels, rejecting blame for a nerve gas attack that killed hundreds this week and heightened Western calls for foreign intervention. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri

Turkish Court Investigates Syrian Jihadist Use of Chemicals

Turkish prosecutors have indicted a Syrian opposition figure with links to Jabhat al-Nusra's attempts to manufacture chemical weapons.

A protester loyal to the Shi'ite Muslim Al-Houthi group, also known as Ansarullah, wears a headband with a picture of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad as he attends a demonstration against potential strikes on the Syrian government, in Sanaa September 6, 2013. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX139T8

Yemen divided over Syria conflict

A diversity of views among Yemen's citizens has led to Yemeni factions taking opposing stances regarding the conflict in Syria.

$Chief spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition Khalid Saleh speaks during a news conference in Istanbul July 4, 2013. Syria's fractious opposition coalition meets on Thursday under pressure to name a new leader and prove to its Western and Arab backers it can be trusted with advanced weapons to beat back a concerted offensive by President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX11C52$

Syrian Coalition Prepares For Geneva II Conference

Khalid Saleh, spokesman for the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, says that opposition groups on the ground will support UN teams tasked to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem (R) meets U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane in Damascus, in this handout photo distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA on August 25, 2013. Syria has agreed to allow U.N. inspectors access to sites in suburbs of Damascus where alleged chemical attacks occurred, the Syria Foreign Ministry said in a statement broadcast on state television. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST)
ATTENTION EDITO

Syrian FM Refuses to Deal With US-Backed Opposition Group

Walid Moallem, Syria’s minister of foreign affairs and expatriates, says he will not deal with the National Coalition of Syrian Opposition and Revolutionary Forces, possibly complicating plans for Geneva II in November.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry faces protesters against a military strike in Syria, as he arrives at a U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Syria on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 4, 2013. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee will likely vote later on Wednesday on a draft resolution authorizing the use of military force in Syria, several members of the panel said. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTX13780

Using Women to Win in Syria

Women's brigades are fighting on both sides of the conflict in Syria, serving an important purpose for both regime and rebels.

Flags of the al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are hung on The Martyrs Church in Raqqa city centre September 27, 2013. The Al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant removed crosses from The Martyrs Church in Raqqa and hoisted their flags on Thursday, activists say. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA - Tags: RELIGION CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX14223

What is Turkey’s Role In Syria’s Islamic Opposition?

Experts in Ankara question Turkey’s policies as al-Qaeda-affiliate Syrian rebel groups declare goal of establishing a Sharia-based state.

A helicopter flies as smoke rises over Westgate shopping centre after an explosion in Nairobi, September 23, 2013. Powerful explosions sent thick smoke billowing from the Nairobi mall where militants from Somalia's al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group threatened to kill hostages on the third day of a raid in which at least 59 have already died. REUTERS/Karel Prinsloo (KENYA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW) - RTX13WO3

Kenya Terror Strike Al-Qaeda's Latest In Global Jihad

Al-Qaeda continually reconstitutes itself as a global terrorist threat, headquartered in Pakistan, and with franchises throughout Africa, the Middle East and worldwide.

Can Turkey, Iran Cooperate on Syria?

Working with Iran could help end Turkey’s growing isolation over the Syrian civil war.