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

Palmyra

Syria

April 13, 2026

Damascus 1:41 pm

20°C

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

Members of the Syrian Kurdish internal security services known as Asayish and Syrian government forces man a checkpoint in Tayy neighbourhood in the northeastern city of Qamishli, after the implementation of a Russian-brokered cease-fire agreement, Syria, April 27, 2021.

Syrian government, Kurdish forces end dispute in Qamishli

The clashes between the Syrian government-affiliated forces and Kurdish security forces ended in Syria's northeast city of Qamishli after reaching an agreement between the two parties under Russian auspices.

Syrians sit inside a prayer hall of a cemetery where displaced families took refuge in the town of Sarmada in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, on Feb. 23, 2020.

Suicide on rise among young people in northwest Syria

The organization says children account for nearly one in five recorded suicide attempts and deaths in northwestern Syria.

A picture taken on April 20, 2020 shows a 120-bed ward at a specialised hospital for coronavirus cases inaugurated by the Kurdish Red Crescent around 10 kilometres outside the Syrian city of Hasakeh after the first COVID-19 death was reported in the northeastern region.

Northeast Syria's pandemic response in jeopardy as cases rise, charity warns

Amid a spike in coronavirus cases, the region's hospitals are grappling with a major shortage of oxygen and testing supplies.

A boy awaits departure during the release of another group of Syrian families from the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds suspected relatives of Islamic State (IS) group fighters, in Hasakah governorate of northeastern Syria, on Feb. 20, 2021.

CENTCOM chief warns children risk radicalization at Syrian al-Hol camp

Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie said radicalization would remain a problem unless countries repatriate and reintegrate the children of suspected Islamic State fighters.

Asayish in Qamishli

Kurdish authorities refuse to take part in Syrian presidential elections

The Kurdish-led autonomous administration in northeastern Syria said it will not allow the Syrian government to hold the presidential elections in its areas of control.

Francois Delattre, ambassador and permanent representative of France to the United Nations, speaks during the UN Security Council meeting on Syria, New York, Feb. 27, 2020.

France seeks foothold in northeast Syria

France has extended an invitation to the various components of northeast Syria, namely the Kurds, to visit Paris as the latter seeks more influence in the area.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) speaks to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) as they attend a press conference on Oct. 10, 2016, in Istanbul. Putin visited Turkey for talks pushing forward ambitious joint energy projects as the two sides try to overcome a crisis in ties.

Turkish-Russian ties marked more by rivalry than cooperation today

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan believed Russia would provide him leverage against the United States and Europe after Turkey’s ties with the West took a nosedive.

Vehicles wait to cross into Syria at the recently reopened Naseeb border post in Daraa province, at the Syrian-Jordanian border south of Damascus, Nov. 7, 2018.

Is opening of Jordanian-Syrian crossing politically motivated?

Jordan reopened the Naseeb-Jaber crossing with Syria to restore trade movement, although some do not see any economic benefits for the Syrian government.

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

New Kurdish group in Syria attacks Turkish-backed opposition in Afrin

The Afrin Liberation Forces, which has escalated attacks against the Turkish-backed opposition in the Aleppo countryside, is being secretive about the sources of its support, weapons and training.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Fighting between Syria's Kurdish forces, pro-Assad militia enters fourth day

CENTCOM commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said the United States is "prepared to assist" the Kurdish-led forces to de-escalate clashes.

al-bab explosion

Security chaos prevails in FSA-controlled town of north Syria

Assassinations and attacks are on the rise in the Syrian city of al-Bab controlled by the Free Syrian Army, and the perpetrators remain unknown.

A Russian military police armored truck drives past a US military MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle near the village of Tannuriyah in the countryside east of Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on May 2, 2020.

Syrian government reportedly building tribal force in Hasakah

Russia and Iran are seeking to build a tribal army within the Syrian Democratic Forces' areas in Hasakah to protect the regime’s survival near the sources of oil and agricultural wealth.