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May 1, 2026

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A young man stands in the entrance of tunnels that were used by the ISIS and the Assad's regime for fighting. Tadamon, Syria, February 7, 2025. (Photo by Raghed Waked / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by RAGHED WAKED/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria arrests Amjad Youssef, Tadamoun massacre perpetrator: What to know

Amjad Youssef appeared on video, allegedly killing dozens of civilians in 2013; he is the latest member of the Assad regime to be captured by the new Syrian government.

President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City.

Analysis

'Is it worth it?' Syria's Sharaa faces backlash over Missy Elliott performance

Backlash erupts after dancers perform to Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” exposing the tightrope between Sharaa’s outreach to the West and pressure from his Islamist base.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives ahead of a meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in central London on March 31, 2026.

Syria’s Sharaa makes fourth visit to Saudi Arabia, first since Iran war: What to know

The visit comes in light of the deepening economic relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia post-Assad.

Members of Iraq's security forces stand guard on the the al-Rabia border crossing with Syria on April 20, 2026.

How Syria's border opening with Iraq redefines Turkey-Kurd balance

After years of closure, the reopening of al-Yaaroubiya crossing is redrawing Kurdish economic leverage and reinforcing Turkey’s regional strategy.

Latest News

EU to restore Syria cooperation pact ahead of May talks: What to know

Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP via Getty Images

Sharaa distances Syria from Iran war, says Israel talks ongoing: What to know

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkish Presient Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in Turkey April 17, 2026.

Analysis

Is Syria’s Sharaa poised to outdo Turkey in formalizing gains for Kurds?

Kurdish people waving Kurdistan flags gather to celebrate Nowruz on the hill of Urkesh in the countryside of Amuda in northeastern Syria on March 18, 2026. Nowruz, meaning "new day," is an ancient festival that marks the start of spring and the new year on the vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 20 or 21. It is celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide and has been observed for over 3,000 years across regions including the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and parts of Eastern Euro

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

US troops depart Syria, ending decade of presence in fight against ISIS

Boys along a road wave to an approaching US military mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) armored fighting vehicle moving in a convoy transporting Islamic State group detainees being transferred to Iraq from Syria, on the outskirts of Qahtaniyah in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Feb. 7, 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

TOPSHOT - A picture taken on October 11, 2020, shows a church in the middle of a scorched hillside due to forest fires in the countryside of the Syrian western city of Tartus. - Dozens of fires that ravaged parts of Syria and Lebanon in recent days were brought under control, authorities in the two countries said. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Assad pays rare visit to fire-ravaged western Syria

The UN says at least three people have died in the fires that erupted last week in Latakia, Tartus and Homs provinces.

A member of the Syrian pro-government forces rides a bicycle through a damaged street in the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp on the southern outskirts of the capital Damascus on May 22, 2018. - The government seized earlier in the week the Yarmuk Palestinian camp and adjacent neighbourhoods of Tadamun and Hajar al-Aswad from the Islamic State (IS) group , putting Damascus fully under its control for the first time since 2012. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadat

Palestinians displaced from Syria's Yarmouk camp to finally go home

The camp had been the focus of fighting and seizure by Islamic State and Syrian government forces.

A Turkish-Russian military convoy tows a damaged vehicle after its joint patrol was reportedly targeted on the strategic M4 highway, near the Syrian town of Urum al-Jawz in the south of the northwestern Idlib province, on August 25, 2020. - Russia and Turkey launched joint patrols along the M4 highway in March following a ceasefire agreement aimed at stopping heavy fighting in and around Idlib, the last major bastion of anti-government forces in Syria's civil war. (Photo by Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP) (Photo by

Russia's outreach to Syrian Kurds highlights dual-track approach

While Russia blames the United States for adding fuel to the fire of Kurdish separatism, it calls on the Syrian Kurds to lay the groundwork for constitutional reform, so as to contain conflict in the territories over which Damascus has long lost control.

The United Arab Emirates embassy is pictured in the Syrian capital Damascus on December 27, 2018 after its reopening, the latest sign of efforts to bring the Syrian government back into the Arab fold. - The UAE broke ties with Syria in February 2012, as the repression of nationwide protests demanding regime change was escalating into a devastating war. (Photo by Maher AL MOUNES / AFP) (Photo credit should read MAHER AL MOUNES/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Oman ambassador returns to Syria

With much of Syria now under Syrian President Basher al-Assad's control, some Arab states are slowly considering the reopening of foreign missions in Damascus.

Car bombing kills more than a dozen in Syria's al-Bab

The town controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces continues to experience violence.

Assad accuses Turkey of instigating Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

The hostilities have killed hundreds of people since late September.

This picture taken on April 14, 2018 shows the wreckage of a building described as part of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC) compound in the Barzeh district, north of Damascus, during a press tour organised by the Syrian information ministry.
The United States, Britain and France launched strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime early on April 14 in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack after mulling military action for nearly a week. Syrian state news agency SANA r

Rights groups ask Germany to investigate Syria’s use of chemical weapons

The criminal complaint covers attacks on rebel territory in Eastern Ghouta in 2013 and Khan Sheikhoun in 2017.

Why Syrians are joining Turkey in Nagorno-Karabakh clash

Al-Monitor spoke with Syrian opposition fighters who joined the fight in Azerbaijan. Here is what they had to say.

A woman walks past others gathering by the back of a pickup truck at Camp Roj, housing family members of people accused to belong to the Islamic State (IS) group who were relocated from al-Hol camp, in the countryside near al-Malikiyah (Derik) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on September 30, 2020. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Kurdish authorities set to release Syrians from camp for IS families

Syrian detainees — mostly women and children family members of Islamic State terrorists — are to be released from the notorious detention camp al-Hol, yet foreigners will remain.

STEPANAKERT, NAGORNO-KARABAKH - OCTOBER 2: Journalists take pictures and video of a crater left by a bomb that fell outside a fire station on October 2, 2020 in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh. A decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has reignited in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, recognized by most countries as part of Azerbaijan, but controlled by ethnic Armenians since a 1994 ceasefire. Dozens have been reported killed in the recent fighting, in which both countries blame the other

Did Erdogan approve Azerbaijan escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh?

The Turkish president is the author of a militarized regional policy that now stretches from the Caucuses to Libya.

STEPANAKERT, NAGORNO-KARABAKH - OCTOBER 2: An emergency services member stands atop the site of a grass fire started by a bomb that fell nearby on October 2, 2020 in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh. A decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has reignited in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, recognized by most countries as part of Azerbaijan, but controlled by ethnic Armenians since a 1994 ceasefire. Dozens have been reported killed in the recent fighting, in which both countries blame the

Syrian fighters add snarls to tangled south Caucasus

Clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia seem to have taken a dangerous turn with conflicting reports of Turkey bringing in Syrian mercenaries.

Passengers, wearing protective face masks, arrive at the Damascus International airport in the Syrian capital on October 1, 2020. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria resumes commercial flights out of Damascus

The first international flight in six months departed today for Cairo.