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Syria

May 19, 2026

Damascus 2:46 pm

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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives to attend the second day of the first Syrian-Emirati (United Arab Emirates) Investment Forum, at the People's Palace in Damascus on May 12, 2026. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Ports and infrastructure: UAE embraces new economic order in Syria

UAE-Syrian ties have moved faster than expected, with Abu Dhabi embracing President Ahmad al-Sharaa and relations shifting from normalization to investment opportunities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A Syrian citizen exchanges old banknotes for new notes released and distributed by the central bank, at a bank in the capital, Damascus, on Jan. 3, 2026.

Interview

UK fintech brings foreign currency accounts to Syrians at home

The launch comes as Syria’s new government attempts to stabilize the country’s shattered economy following the January 2025 rise to power of President Ahmed al-Sharaa after the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad.

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander Kobane says Turkey visit ‘in the making,’ Ocalan meeting possible

The SDF commander-in-chief reflected on a fragile integration deal with Damascus, growing Kurdish backlash and ongoing talks with Turkey as questions mount over Rojava’s political future.

Mazloum Kobane

Mazloum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Latest News

Lebanon authorities release Salafist cleric Khaled Hablas: What to know

Khaled Hablas

Syria restores Raqqa oil field in former ISIS stronghold: What to know

Pictured in this undated image is the Al-Thawra oil field in Raqqa governorate, as rehabilitation works continue to restore production capacity.

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

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

A Lebanese Sunni Muslim woman and supporter of Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri kisses a poster of him (L) and his father, assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, during a protest in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, calling for Hariri to remain as prime minister and form the new government, January 24, 2011. Lebanese telecoms tycoon Najib Mikati, who is backed by Hezbollah and its allies, was set to lead a new government on Monday after winning support from Druze leader Walid Jumblatt

Lebanon's Sectarian Fall

As the Syrian conflict continues to rage, tensions are on the rise between Lebanese Sunnis and Shiites as a result of their affiliations with divergent Syrian groups.

Adnan Bader of the Al-Asala Society, a Sunni pro-government group, waves as he arrives at the National Dialogue session in Manama June 12, 2013. The talks, aimed at ending more than two years of unrest in Bahrain, resumed after a two-week boycott by opposition societies in retaliation against a raid on the home of Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim by security forces. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed (BAHRAIN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10LAB

Bahrain Salafists Increase Involvement in Syria War

Bahraini Salafists are playing a role in the fight against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Demonstrators display a model of a MiG-21 fighter plane during a demonstration against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Amuda June 22, 2012. Syrian air force pilot Colonel Hassan Hamada flew his MiG-21 fighter plane over the border to Jordan and was granted political asylum on Thursday, the first defection with a military aircraft since the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TRANSPORT) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY.

Syrian Kurdish Group Linked to PKK Kills Protesters

A first-hand report from Amuda, Syria.

Syrian students sits in a UNICEF school during a visit by European Union Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva and Italy's Foreign Minister Emma Bonino at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria June 25, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: EDUCATION CONFLICT SOCIETY) - RTX1106A

New Syrian Institution Helps US Deliver Humanitarian Aid

A senior US aid official tasked with coordinating humanitarian assistance to Syria says he is “all for” prolonging the Syria war if it leads to a “democratic Syria.”

Lebanese Shi'ite politician Ahmad al-Assaad, head of the Lebanese Option group, speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Hazmiyeh, near Beirut, May 5, 2009. Picture taken May 5, 2009. REUTERS/Cynthia Karam (LEBANON POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTXES0U

Lebanese Shiites' Divisions Intensify Over Syria

The murder of a student leader of an anti-Hezbollah Shiite group has served as a reminder of historical and shifting divisions within Lebanon’s Shiite community.

A general view shows damaged buildings at Karm al-Jabal neighborhood of Aleppo, an area controlled by the Free Syrian Army fighters, June 20, 2013. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10V7U

Syria's rebels in rift with Aleppo's civil opposition

Aleppo's civil opposition has been swept aside as hard-line armed groups assert their power in the city.

Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi smiles during the opening of the second plenary session of the dialogue conference in Sanaa June 8, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10G6Q

Syrians Add to Yemen Refugee Crisis

As with a previous wave of refugees that fled from Syria to Yemen during former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad's reign in the 1980s, Syrian refugees arriving there today find political, economic and security instability.

An employee seals bags of Syrian pound notes at the Syrian central bank in Damascus April 23, 2013. Picture taken April 23, 2013. To match SYRIA-CURRENCY/ REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT BUSINESS) - RTXYYBZ

Syrian Government Deals With Currency Collapse

The Syrian government has increased public sector employees' salaries and has kept its monthly ration coupons to counter the effects of war and sanctions on the economy.

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani (C) speaks during the London 11 countries "Friends of Syria" meeting in Doha June 22, 2013. Western and Arab opponents of Bashar al-Assad met in Qatar on Saturday to tighten coordination of their stepped up support for rebels battling to overthrow the Syrian president. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous (QATAR - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX10WYN

Syria in 'Free Fall'

Edward Dark describes the despair in both Aleppo and a Syrian prison; Syria is in “free fall,” according to the chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria.

Colonel Abdul-Jabbar al-Aqidi, commander of the rebels’ Military Council in Aleppo, launches a mortar shell at the frontline in the Al-Sakhour neighborhood of Aleppo, June 21, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10WGT

Geneva II: A Chance to End Syria’s Tragedy

There is hope that the Geneva II conference can help stem Syria's bloodshed.

Protesters clash with riot police during a protest against Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish government's foreign policy on Syria, in Istanbul May 16, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZP3Y

Turkey's Sunni Identity Test

The Turkish government’s sectarian impulse, resurging whenever foreign policy fails, reverberates in domestic politics and fans social unrest.

People gather in Abu Hanifa mosque during a celebration ceremony marking the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed, in Baghdad's Adhamiya district March 8, 2009. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ RELIGION SOCIETY ANNIVERSARY) - RTXCIVP

Iraqi Shiite Cleric: Iraqi Extremism A 'Transitory Phase'

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Iraqi Shiite authority Hussein al-Sadr shares his perspective on the state of affairs in Iraq 10 years after the fall of Saddam Hussein.