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Syria

September 19, 2026

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Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani visits Latakia airport on Sept. 18, 2026.

Syria’s Shibani visits Latakia airport to review Russia deal progress: What to know

Syria is seeking to ensure that the August deal to turn Russian facilities in the country into joint training centers is implemented.

Hibatullah Barakat / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon charges 5 in alleged Hezbollah operation to train Assad loyalists

A Lebanese military court has charged the five, including an Assad-era Syrian officer and Hezbollah members, with running a cross-border security network planning attacks in Syria’s coastal region.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

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.

Latest News

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

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.

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

Bakr ALkasem / AFP via Getty Images

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

Supporters of Hezbollah and relatives of Hezbollah members throw rice on a coffin at the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter who died in the Syrian conflict in Ouzai in Beirut May 26, 2013. Hezbollah forces and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops launched a fierce assault last week aimed at driving Syrian rebels out of Qusair, a strategic town close to the Lebanese border that rebels have used as a crucial supply corridor for weapons coming into Syria. REUTERS/Issam Kobeisy (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CONFLI

Hezbollah Confesses To Hand in Qusair Battle

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has explicitly acknowledged his party’s role in Syria, and sources describe the battle for Qusair.

Turkey and Syria’s Kurds Edging Toward an Uneasy Peace?

Fresh fighting between Syrian Kurdish groups and Arab opposition fighters in Syria's Kurdish region is threatening to spread.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu speaks to the media after the Friends of Syria alliance meeting in Amman May 22, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZX4H

Davutoglu Cautiously 'Not Pessimistic' On Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says US-Turkish policies on Syria are now synchronized.

A boy wearing an army suit is held by people as they watch Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as he appears on a screen during a live broadcast to speak to his supporters at an event marking Resistance and Liberation Day, in Bekaa valley May 25, 2013. The event is to commemorate the 13th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) MEDIA ANNIVERSARY) - RTX100EC

Nasrallah on Syria: 'This Battle Is Ours'

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declares war on Salafist groups and calls for "political dialogue" in Syria.

Syrian War Overtakes Lebanese Valley

Lebanon’s Wadi Khaled faces hardship and divisions as a result of the war in Syria.

A Lebanese army soldier is seen atop his tank as an ambulance travels past in Tripoli May 20, 2013. Three people have been killed and about 40 wounded in two days of fighting in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli, security sources said on Monday, as sectarian violence spilled over from the civil war in Syria. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTXZTWK

Syria's Struggle Is Now Lebanon's Struggle

Lebanon's political stability and instability have always depended on external key powers; today, the effect of the Syrian crisis, is no different.

Lebanese Sunni gunmen ride on motorcycles during the funeral of one of their colleagues in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli May 20, 2013. Three people have been killed and about 40 wounded in two days of fighting in Tripoli, security sources said on Monday, as sectarian violence spilled over from the civil war in Syria. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZTWV

Tripoli a ReflectionOf Syria’s Sectarian War

The fighting in Tripoli complicates Lebanon’s politics.

Palestinian Fatah members carry their weapons as they take part in a parade to mark the 65th anniversary of Nakba, at Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the port-city of Sidon, southern Lebanon May 15, 2013. Palestinians marked "Nakba" (Catastrophe) to commemorate the expulsion or fleeing of hundreds of thousands of their brethren from their homes in the war that led to the founding of Israel in 1948. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTXZN6R

Syria’s Conflict May Already Be in Lebanon

Following recent conflict in Lebanon’s Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, it is becoming ever more apparent that Syria’s conflict, as represented between Jabhat al-Nusra and Hezbollah, is already in Lebanon.

Misreading The 'Syria Transition Act' In Turkey

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee bill does not signal the imminent arrival of US arms to the Syria opposition.

Australian Visit Highlights Syrian Refugee Problem in Lebanon

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr calls for an end to the fighting in Syria and support for Lebanon.

Supporters of Hezbollah and relatives of Saleh Ahmed Sabagh, a Hezbollah member, carry the coffin during his funeral in the port-city of Sidon, southern Lebanon May 22, 2013. Syria's leading opposition group called on Wednesday for rebels across the country to send reinforcements to the strategic border town Qusair, where heavy fighting has drawn in fighters from Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST OBITUARY) - RTXZWIM

Lebanese Politics Affected By Syrian Battle for Qusair

The fall of the Syrian town of Qusair to regime forces will likely have consequences for Lebanon.

Israeli soldiers from the Nahal infantry brigade take part in a drill in the Golan Heights, near Israel's border with Syria March 5, 2013. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed the territory in 1981, a move not recognised internationally. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (MILITARY) - RTR3ELLJ

Syrian Minister Defends 'Legitimate Right' to Fire on Israel

An exchange of fire between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights raises the question of whether Damascus has adopted a new policy toward Israel and the possibility of an active Golan front.