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

Palmyra

Syria

April 26, 2026

Damascus 11:19 pm

18°C

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

Astana talks

Few signs of progress at Turkey-Syria normalization talks in Astana

Syrian president sees no need to compromise, while UN representative admits 'comprehensive solution is not doable.'

In this handout image released by the South Korean Defense Ministry, U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers (R), F-22 fighter jets and South Korean Air Force F-35 fighter jets (bottom) fly over South Korea Peninsula during a joint air drill on February 01, 2023 at an undisclosed location in South Korea.

Syria: US sends F-22 stealth fighter jets to ward off Russian pilots' harassment

The Pentagon is upping the ante to deter the Kremlin's provocations in Syria as both Russia and Iran seek to take advantage of a smaller US force fighting ISIS.

A US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter takes off at sunset while transporting American troops out of a remote combat outpost known as RLZ near the Turkish border in northeastern Syria, May 25, 2021.

22 US soldiers injured in Syria helicopter accident

The MH-17 helicopter took a "hard landing" shortly after take off, but hostile fire was not involved, Pentagon officials said.

KHALIL MAZRAAWI/afp/AFP via Getty Images

Jordan shoots down drone carrying drugs from Syria

The operation is the latest effort by Jordanian authorities to curb drug smuggling from neighboring Syria.

An aerial picture shows Syrian refugees living in Turkey waiting to take a bus through the northern Bab al-Hawa border crossing, on February 17, 2023, as they return to Syria in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. - Turkey this week allowed Syrians under its protection who hold ID cards from one of the quake-hit provinces to leave for between three and six months, a rule change designed to reunite families on both sides of the border hit by the February 6 disaster, which has killed more than 41,000 people

In first for Turkey, National Security Council addresses Syrian refugee return

Turkey’s National Security Council has openly expressed the need for international support for Syrian refugees to return home.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan (R) escorts US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as they arrive for a meeting with GCC Ministers at the GCC Secretariat in Riyadh on June 7, 2023.

Blinken urges coalition partners to repatriate Islamic State fighters in Syria

At a gathering in Riyadh of the global alliance to defeat IS, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked partners to repatriate their detained citizens and announced new funding for stabilization work in Iraq and Syria.

`French police officers stand next to an emergency truck in Annecy following a mass stabbing in the French Alpine town, June 8, 2023.

France arrests 'Syrian asylum seeker' in Annecy stabbing attack

French authorities are still investigating whether the attack this morning at a park in the southeastern French town was a terror act or not.

Men hang the national flag next to posters of President Bashar al-Assad, a candidate for the Presidential election, in the Syrian capital Damascus on May 17, 2021.

Breaking | Last Updated: May 30, 2023, 2:42 pm

US unveils Caesar sanctions on Syrian money service businesses

The sanctions targeting a pair of money service businesses are the administration’s second use of the bipartisan Caesar Act.

Seized drugs, including Captagon, are displayed for the media in the town of Marea, in the northern Aleppo countryside, on May 24, 2022, following clashes among different Turkey-backed factions in Syria. - A decade of appalling civil war has left Syria fragmented and in ruins but one thing crosses every frontline: the drug fenethylline, commercially known as captagon. The stimulant -- once notorious for its association with Islamic State fighters -- has spawned an illegal $10-billion industry that not only

US readies strategy to target Syria’s Captagon trade

In the coming weeks, the Biden administration will submit to Congress an interagency plan to tackle the Syrian regime's multi-billion-dollar drug business.

A large poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is decorated with paper flowers during the opening of the 42nd International Flower Show in the Tishreen park in the capital Damascus on June 22, 2022. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria's Assad accuses France of 'hysteria' for calling to put him on trial

Damascus is furious after French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said she thinks Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should stand trial for his role in the Syrian war.

Raqqa’s first ever girls’ soccer team poses outside a pitch funded by Norwegian donors, April 25, 2023.

Syrian girls play soccer among ghosts of Islamic State

Raqqa's first-ever girls' soccer team is blooming where Islamic State once terrorized the society.

Syrian refugees living in the earthquake-affected areas of southeastern Turkey cross the Turkey-Syria border at the Cilvegozu border crossing, Turkey, February 19, 2023. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country's south-east in the early hours of February 6, followed by another 7.5-magnitude tremor just after midday. The quakes caused widespread destruction in southern Turkey and northern Syria, leaving behind more than 46,000 dead. (Photo by Konstantinos Tsakalidis / SOOC / SOOC via AFP) (Photo by KONS

Turkey Elections: Runoff becomes tug of war over Syrian refugees

As Turkey heads for its presidential runoff, the opposition and the government are in a race to send Syrians and other refugees back home in an effort to woo nationalist voters.