Syria - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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Syria

September 18, 2026

Damascus 5:53 am

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Former Assad official sentenced to 60 years in US for torture

Samir Ousman Alsheikh was convicted by a jury in March of three counts of torture, one count of conspiracy to commit torture, visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud.

Assala Nasri (C) attends the 2025 Joy Awards at The Venue, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 18, 2025.

Culture

Syrian singer Assala returns to Damascus stage after 15-year exile

The Syrian star, one of the Arab world’s most famous artists, had been in self-exile since 2011 after she openly supported the uprising against the since-ousted Assad government.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, Sept. 15, 2026.

Syria’s Sharaa talks economic ties with UAE leader: What to know

The UAE is moving to boost trade and investment ties with Syria amid the conflicts in the region and following initial caution in its dealings with Damascus.

Bakr ALkasem / AFP via Getty Images

Fuel price protests in Syria continue for second day: What to know

The Syrian government hiked fuel prices by more than 28%, prompting massive protests across at least eight provinces.

Latest News

UN watchdog formally ends probe into Assad-era nuclear sites

Two women stand before graffiti on the cemetery wall for victims of the chemical massacre, on Aug. 21, 2025 in Zamalka, Syria.

Syria destroys 42 bombs in chemical stockpile purge: What to know

Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images

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

An Israeli security forces member stands by as a Jordanian helicopter starts to lift off to take U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Amman, in Jerusalem, June 29, 2013. Kerry was bound for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Jordan. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX115RJ

US Outs Israel on Syria Attack? Blame Edward Snowden

Why are the Americans providing the international media with information about alleged covert Israeli operations while the Europeans are ratcheting up the settlement boycott?

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem July 14, 2013. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX11MDX

Squeaks in US-Israeli Relations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments on "Face the Nation" about what the US should do about Iran stir controversy.

People buy potatoes from a street vendor on the first day of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, at the Karaj Al-Hajez crossing, a passageway separating Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr, which is under the rebels' control and Al-Masharqa neighborhood, an area controlled by the regime, July 10, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTX11J4H

Aleppo Starves Under Siege

A firsthand account of the devastating rebel siege of Aleppo that is depriving 2 million residents of basic supplies.

U.S. President Barack Obama salutes before boarding Marine One at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, July 5, 2013. Obama will fly to the presidential retreat, Camp David, in Maryland. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX11DYI

Obama Administration Should Clarify Syria Policy

The US objective should be to convene the Geneva Conference on Syria as soon as possible, not to provide an open-ended commitment to the Syrian rebels.

Palestinian Syrian refugee children sit on a concrete block during a demonstration in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Beirut January 2, 2013. The demonstration, organised by the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, was held to ask the UNRWA for help in improving the refugees' living conditions. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: SOCIETY IMMIGRATION POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3C1NY

Syrian Child Refugees Find Little Solace on Beirut Street

The tragedy of Syria's war is evident on the streets of Beirut, where working Syrian children struggle to survive.

A view shows debris and blood after mortar bombs landed on the canteen of Damascus University's College of Architecture, March 28, 2013 in this handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA.Twelve Syrian students were killed on Thursday when rebel mortar bombs landed on the canteen of Damascus University's College of Architecture, state-run media said. Al-Ikhbariya television showed images of doctors pumping the chests of at least two young men and blood splattered on the floor of what

Syrian War Keeps University Students at Home

A report from Amuda, in northeast Syria, where students have been forced to abandon their studies due to the war.

Demonstrators hold Kurdish flags and portraits of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds gathered in the regional centre of Diyarb

Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process Poorly Managed

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan needs to address the trauma resulting from the fight against PKK terror for over three decades.

Senate homeland security and governmental affairs investigations subcommittee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) holds an iPhone as he speaks to Apple CEO Tim Cook during a hearing on offshore profit shifting and the U.S. tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 21, 2013. Apple Inc's chief executive officer defended the company's tax record at a Tuesday Senate hearing where lawmakers said the maker of iPads, iPods and Mac computers kept billions of dollars in profits in Irish subsidiaries to avoid U.S. taxes.

Levin Says US Should Consider Limited Military Strikes on Syria

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Carl Levin says only increased US support for vetted rebel groups can level the Syrian playing field and allow for a political settlement.

Bomb Shakes Hezbollah Stronghold

A first-hand account from the Bir el-Abed neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs, the scene of a bombing today, July 9, which injured 53.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout slogans in front of army soldiers at Republican Guard headquarters in Nasr City, a suburb of Cairo July 8, 2013. At least 51 people were killed on Monday when demonstrators enraged by the military overthrow of Egypt's elected Islamist president said the army opened fire during morning prayers outside the Cairo barracks where Mursi is believed to be held. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVI

Four Reasons Why Iran Wins From Morsi’s Fall

Iran stands to gain regionally from the coup in Egypt.

A newly arrived Syrian refugee receives aid and rations, at Al-Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, on World Refugee Day, June 20, 2013. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres, and the Norwegian foreign Minister, Espen Barth Eide, along with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) special envoy, actress Angelina Jolie, held a news conference at the camp to commemorate the World Refugee Day, and to urge the world to support refugees in Syria and around t

UN Role in Post-Conflict Syria Depends on Geneva

With no date set for the Geneva Conference, the UN has so far been unable to come up with a peacekeeping plan for Syria.

Jordanian Salafi jihadi leader Abu Sayyaf (R) speaks to his supporters and the media during a demonstration against prolonged detention of the group's leaders near the prime minister's office in Amman, April 9, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTXYES1

Rise of Local Salafist Jihadists Worries Jordan's Government

For decades, the Muslim Brotherhood has been the Jordanian government's main political rival. But a new player has emerged to fret the Hashemite regime: homegrown Salafist jihadists.