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Syria

April 10, 2026

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This handout photograph provided by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (R) in Damascus on Dec. 22, 2025.

Analysis

How the Iran war can help Syria manage Turkey and its regional rivals

Rising regional tensions and disrupted oil flows are giving Damascus leverage to balance Ankara and other neighbors while exploring alternative energy corridors.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A member of the Popular Mobilization Forces patrols along a concrete wall at the Iraqi-Syrian border in Al-Qaim, west of Iraq, on Jan. 23, 2026.

Syria reopens key crossing after 11 years, aiding Iraq's oil exports amid war

Iraq and Syria have shown a desire to cooperate on oil exports, and the matter has become more urgent due to the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Sharaa, King Charles

In UK visit, Syria’s Sharaa doubles down on Western ties amid Iran war, refugee pressures

After talks with UK leaders on Tuesday, Syria's president said the country would remain neutral in the Iran conflict unless it was targeted.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (R) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa depart after speaking to the media following talks at the Chancellery on March 30, 2026, in Berlin, Germany.

Analysis

Why Germany may struggle to meet Merz’s 80% Syria repatriation goal

Germany, which hosts the EU’s largest Syrian refugee population, is pushing to repatriate Syrians, but Syria’s domestic issues and legal protections for asylum seekers complicate those efforts.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Latest News

Syria sustains drone attack from Iraq, tackles smuggling tunnels on Lebanon border

Members of the Popular Mobilization Units stand guard along the Iraqi-Syrian border in Al-Qaim, west of Iraq, on Jan. 23, 2026.

Syrian authorities restrict alcohol sales in Damascus: What to know

People drink and chat in a bar in the old town in Damascus on June 19, 2025 in Damascus, Syria.

Top Kurdish critic of Damascus named Syria's deputy defense minister

Sipan Hemo

Syria’s Sharaa blasts Iran’s 'destabilizing' role, moves closer to US, Gulf

A boy walks past an unexploded missile that landed in an open field on the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria, on March 5, 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

Syrian journalist Zeina Shahla types on her laptop at a cafe, Damascus, Syria, March 1, 2021.

Jihadist group in Idlib bans pro-opposition news channel

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has banned the pro-opposition Orient News channel from media coverage in Idlib, raising fears about the state of press freedom in Syria’s Idlib.

Members of the Spanish Guardia civil stand near vehicles seized during a raid targeting assets of the family of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in the Puerto Banus marina area of the plush resort of Marbella on April 4, 2017.

French court upholds conviction of Assad's uncle in money laundering case

A French court last year sentenced Rifaat al-Assad to four years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of his French real estate assets.

A drone images shows Syrian demonstrators gathering during a protest in the village of Maaret al-Naasan to protests against a reported attack by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Idlib province, Syria, May 1, 2020,

Syrian jihadist group works to attract tribes in Idlib

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has been paying more attention to Arab tribes and clans to benefit from them in expanding its influence in social circles and in recruitment processes.

Syrian Kurdish fighters walk carrying a People's Protection Units (YPG) yellow flag in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane.

Syrian Kurdish parties feel abandoned by US in wake of Turkish-backed attack

Turkey stepped up its attacks against Kurds in Syria, which raised concerns among the Kurdish forces over the US and Russian roles.

Members of Syria's top jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, parade with their flags and those of the Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" at the Clock Square in the center of the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib, Aug. 20, 2021.

Syrian tribe forms Shura Council in Idlib with blessing from jihadist group

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib demanded all the tribes in the areas it controls to coordinate with it to form separate Shura councils, with the aim of controlling the decisions taken by these tribes and expanding its popular base.

AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images

Amnesty report says Syrian refugees return to torture, rape

The report documented human rights violations carried out by Syrian intelligence officers against 66 Syrians who returned to the war-torn country, including 13 children.

Women with children walk at Roj camp, where relatives of people suspected of belonging to the Islamic State are held, in the countryside near al-Malikiyah (Derik), Hasakah province, Syria, March 28, 2021.

SDF transfers extremist IS women to Roj camp in Hasakah

The Syrian Demographic Forces moved 300 families of extremist women from al-Hol camp to Roj camp in Hasakah countryside, to confine them to one camp and control security in al-Hol camp.

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters assemble in the village of Miznaz, on the western outskirts of Aleppo province, on Feb. 14, 2020.

Humanitarian aid entering via conflict lines stirs controversy among Syrian opposition

The Syrian opposition fears the cross-border humanitarian aid mechanism will be replaced by cross-line aid deliveries amid accusations leveled at Hayat Tahrir al-Sham of trying to normalize ties with the Syrian regime and its allies.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria celebrates Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan"

Are Syrian jihadis ready to take the fight to Afghanistan?

Afghanistan revives terror challenges for Washington; Russia anticipates security vacuum; Erdogan senses an opportunity.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Taliban takeover may push Syrian jihadis toward Afghanistan

Some jihadist groups facing pressure from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria are eying Afghanistan as a new haven after the Taliban took control.

A picture shows an aerial view of the town of al-Bab in a rebel-held area in the north of Aleppo province on July 16, 2020.

Protests against Turkish-backed local councils in northern Syria expand over bad services

Protests in the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army areas in northern Syria broke out due to the deteriorating services offered by some local councils, including electricity provided by a Turkish power company.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham celebrates Taliban victory

Jihadi group in Syria’s Idlib faces criticism over unfair trials, death sentences

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham issued death sentences against two young men who have been detained in the organization’s prisons on charges of collaborating with the US-led international coalition.